Chapter 649 Adventure Log
Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.
Franz looked at the two reports on the table with some regret, but he was not surprised.
At this time, the African interior was still considered a restricted area for white people. Franz's hired Congo expedition team and East African expedition team were once again wiped out. In the end, only the guides brought back their expedition logs.
Poisonous insects, plagues, frequent wild beasts, hostile indigenous tribes, complex terrain, and long-term mental and psychological pressure are all reasons for repeated failure of expeditions.
Due to the abundant supply of allicin and quinine, killings due to disease were greatly reduced.
Historically, the price of quinine in the world before 1870 was still very high. It would have to wait until around 1900 for quinine to enter thousands of households.
But Franz had already planted quinine on Chenla and Kalimantan, so the reserves of the Austrian Empire were still very rich.
As for why it is not planted in West Africa and East Africa, it is because the cinchona tree is very delicate and will die in large areas if you are not careful.
Given the level of agricultural technology at this time, it could only be compensated by a large number of skilled workers.
Franz simply could not find so many skilled agricultural people in the West and East African colonies to serve this delicate plant.
As for training indigenous Africans, the cost may be about the same as Franz transporting people from the mainland, and the latter can be more reliable.
Even today, the crudeness of African agriculture's technology is still appalling.
What’s even more deceptive is that “Oranges grown in Huaibei are known as tangerines, and oranges grown in Huainan are known as tangerines.” Cinchona trees grown in later generations in Africa, including India, have seriously insufficient quinine content.
This is also the secret why the Dutch have been able to control the world's quinine for a hundred years with Indonesia alone (production has long accounted for more than two-thirds of the world's production). This bottleneck was only broken through by genetic technology in the 1990s.
However, Franz is not an expert in genetic engineering. With the current speed of scientific development in the Austrian Empire, he may not be able to wait for that day.
Closer to home, to deal with poisonous insects and ferocious beasts, in addition to the necessary mosquito nets and repellent drugs, Franz asked the Royal Scientific Society to develop some pyrethrum sprays and rotten sprays.
Pyrethrum is native to Europe and is the most widely used natural insecticide. Not only is it effective, but its toxicity is only against insects, and the harm to mammals is negligible.
As for the fish rattan, which is also a specialty of Southeast Asia, its toxicity is much greater than that of pyrethrum. Especially for relatively primitive creatures like insects and fish.
As long as a small amount of fish vine is crushed and thrown into the pond, all the fish in the pond will soon be poisoned. Generally speaking, there is no problem if people eat it, but there are many examples of people and fish dying together in folklore in the early years.
However, the reason why Franz designed two pesticides was not so that they could catch fish to eat, but to reduce the possible resistance of insects.
As for why pure natural pesticides must be used, this is not because Franz pays attention to protecting the environment, but because the science and technology of this era are very limited, and DDT cannot be produced at all.
If Franz had dichlorvos, he wouldn't mind spreading it all the way from West Africa to East Africa.
As for the beasts on the African continent, in addition to bringing an expert on animals and plants, Franz also added professional hunters to the expedition. They can also act as soldiers when necessary to prevent indigenous attacks.
In addition, Franz also approved a strike plan, which was to launch a sweep against the aggressive indigenous people who were closer to the colony.
The Oman Empire in East Africa immediately expressed support, and they were even willing to send troops to help the Austrian Empire with its clean-up work.
In addition to the shock to the former from the latter's powerful neighbor, the Oman Empire itself also had a great demand for slaves.
Participating in this kind of war kills two birds with one stone. Said is a smart man and will not miss this opportunity. Although the governor of East Africa felt that this might be a false plan by the Omanis to destroy Guo, Franz felt that it was unlikely.
After all, the East African region is not that fragile, and the Austrian Empire is not at a point where it can be insulted lightly. The intelligence bought from businessmen in the Oman Empire shows that Said is very afraid of Austria and does not dare to do anything extraordinary.
However, for security reasons, Franz still suggested that the Oman Empire's army take the route designed by the East African colonial government.
Said had never had that idea and naturally had no objections. However, the Omani businessmen were a little dissatisfied with the temporary change of route. After all, they wanted to make more money.
But thinking that they could capture a large number of slaves and sell them to the Americans and French, they had no complaints. After all, the slave trade was the most profitable business at this time.
As for the problem of food and water, Franz also has his own solution.
Compressed biscuits were a product that only appeared in the late World War I, but the technical content of this thing is really limited.
So in addition to pressing oil and making instant coffee, the hydraulic presses of the Austrian Empire now had another job of compressing biscuits.
Some people say that the invention of the hydraulic press was a major advancement in the history of the Austrian Empire's food industry.
As for water, Franz had in mind siphon filtration, which is also a very simple technology. Humans discovered the siphon phenomenon as early as the first century AD, but historically the siphon water filtration method was only formally proposed after 1850.
But for Franz, a later generation, it was not very difficult to design a siphon water filtration device, not to mention that he had enough talents at his disposal. All he had to do was propose ideas and directions.
After being fully prepared, Franz began to recruit explorers. Explorers must have strong psychological qualities, excellent survival skills, and enough experience. The rest can only be left to God.
"Archduke Franz, the explorers who meet your conditions are almost dead. After experiencing several tragic failures, the rumor that the interior of Africa is a forbidden area for life has been accepted by more and more people.
The French and British are exploring the Arctic instead. Do you want to join them? "
Adjani has always been responsible for the recruitment of the expedition team. She is very confident in the people she has recruited, but the endings every time are not satisfactory.
Franz even developed some equipment specifically for this purpose, and the funds invested were several times that of Britain and France. Adjani has been thinking about whether this is really worth it?
After all, it was considered impossible to go deep into the interior of Africa at this time. Austria's colonies were all built in coastal areas. Areas relatively far from the coast could only rely on the indigenous people who were dependent on Austria.
Moreover, as the population of the colony increased, the maintenance costs also increased, and at the same time, the former indigenous people began to move around again.
In Adjani's view, it seems to be a wiser choice to use local people for colonial rule like the British did. After all, that can reduce a lot of expenses in maintaining the colony.
There is no need to allocate a large amount of materials and people from China and Asia to support local construction. The money saved can completely launch more wars.
In Adjani's eyes, Franz is a man who likes to invade other countries. He feels like a Russian who has endless desire for land.
"Why do you want to go to the North Pole? Do you think I am the same as my father?" Franz said impatiently.
Exploring the Arctic may be a big event for all mankind, but it did not have much practical significance for the Austrian Empire at this time.