Chapter 1227: Good deeds? Business? (Part 1)

Chapter 1227: Good deeds? Business? (Part 1)

Franz released Zhu Qiongying after fulfilling the agreement. After all, he still needed her to control the Southern Ming.

As for what if someone in the Southern Ming took the opportunity to rebel? What else could he do? Of course, he had to set things right. After all, he was now the monarch of Austria, not the monarch of the Southern Ming.

After the truce between Austria and Britain, the rescue operation of the Austrian Empire Church began again. This time, there were not only missionaries from Austria, but also priests from Rome, Italy, Spain, and even France.

After all, saving the Irish in the hands of Britain was a major event in the Catholic world. It was normal for people from other countries to help. It was abnormal for the Austrian Empire to be busy unilaterally as before.

At this time, the British high-level views on the Austrian rescue operation also changed. Instead of keeping the Irish to harm themselves, it was better to let them harm other countries.

In fact, compared with relief and sending troops to maintain stability, giving them to the Austrian Empire was the cheapest way.

But the British government still adhered to its usual style of not being a human being, and deliberately stuffed some old, weak, sick, and criminals to Austria.

However, the people who were mainly responsible for the rescue came from the church. They didn't have much opinion on these people, at least their attitude was much stronger than others.

Since medicine was a compulsory course in the Austrian church, Austrian priests were very good at treating patients.

In particular, the herbal medicine advocated by the Austrian church was particularly useful for some strange diseases that seemed very difficult at the time, and common diseases could usually be solved with allicin and quinine.

In fact, most Irish people suffered from poverty diseases, and their symptoms were mostly caused by malnutrition, so a few full meals could often cure a group of people.

As the saying goes, bystanders see more clearly, while those involved are confused. Those Irish who were treated did not think that things would be so simple. People often attributed things they could not understand to "miracles".

If a serious doctor heard the word "miracle", he would definitely feel very angry, but for church doctors, it was just the opposite. They were very useful and felt that it was the best verification of their faith.

Of course, the so-called treatment was not a blind cat catching a dead mouse. All these treatment cases would be recorded and eventually included in the church archives.

This is a priceless treasure for empirical medicine. A Chinese medicine family often practices medicine for hundreds of years to gain experience, but it only takes a few months under the blessing of the entire church system of the Austrian Empire.

The Irish who were treated often had an almost crazy worship and trust in Austria and the church, and they would be very persistent in doing all the tasks they received.

However, the Austrian Empire often required them to reclaim land, grow food, and protect their homes as much as possible to prevent harassment from wild beasts and black natives.

Most of the colonies of the Austrian Empire did not directly produce daily necessities, but regularly purchased them from their own country and sent them to the colonies.

Such a life may be unbearable for the wealthy, but it feels particularly fair to the lower class, especially immigrants like the Irish.

Because there are only a few kinds of goods, there is not much room for choice, and everyone buys with their own money, and what to buy depends entirely on their likes and needs.

If an emergency occurs, the colonial government will directly distribute emergency supplies to everyone, and war will also take turns, and the Austrians seem to be particularly abiding by the rules, and rarely bully outsiders, which makes the Irish feel that the years are peaceful.

In fact, what they don't know is that apart from a small number of unlucky people and adventurers, most of the Austrian overseas colonies are exiled prisoners and vagrants who can't pay back their debts. In the eyes of Austrian officials, the status of these guys is not necessarily higher than that of Irish immigrants.

Of course, the colonies are not paradise, with terrible mosquitoes, epidemics, catastrophic climates, various beasts and hostile tribes, as well as severely backward infrastructure and extremely scarce extracurricular activities.

Coupled with the desolate land and heavy physical labor, it is really not easy for people to survive without some faith or something like that.

The initial cost of the colony is huge, of which the labor cost accounts for a considerable proportion. And the population directly affects the development speed of the colony. Just look at the colonies established by early colonists in Africa.

Many colonies have been established for hundreds of years, but most of them have a population of no more than a thousand people, no less than a hundred people, and even dozens of people exist.

The development of these colonies is very slow, so slow that it makes people feel incredible. For hundreds of years, only one or two kilometers or even a few hundred meters of land around them have been developed, and they know nothing about the inland.

In fact, this is related to their colonization methods. Most of the early African colonists were mainly Portuguese and Dutch. They only wanted to do business, so they only established trading stations on the coast to exchange European goods for ivory, gold, and slaves.

The Spanish and Portuguese of the same period spread all over the Americas and even created a Latin America.

At this time, the number of British people in the Cape Colony, the most important colony of Britain in Africa, was only about 30,000, while the number of French people in North Africa was already hundreds of thousands.

Franz did not plan to set up trading stations in Africa, nor did he want to support agents, so he needed a large population to develop and enrich the colonies.

Over the years, Franz has spared no effort to increase the population of the colonies, painting big pictures, talking about dreams, money, material rewards, and coaxing and deceiving, and carrying out large-scale exiles, and even directly designated that some people must go to the colonies (mostly children of nobles).

But he encountered the same problem as those colonists in history, with benefits and costs inverted, and the more he developed, the more he lost.

The population of the colonies increased slowly, while the cost of maintaining the colonies became higher and higher. What's more terrible is that plagues, escapes, and rebellions are emerging in an endless stream, and the time and money required to deal with these problems are very exaggerated.

In desperation, Franz relaxed ethnic and even nationality restrictions. As long as they are willing to abide by colonial laws and obey the orders of the Austrian Empire, even French people are welcome.

However, in fact, the most attracted are Italians and Spaniards. The reason they came to the colonies is also very simple. They can't survive in their own country.

The material needs of these people are far lower than those of Germans and Austrians, and they are relatively easy to discipline and more willing to take risks.

So each colony of the Austrian Empire is actually a small Austria, which often has residents of several or even more than a dozen ethnic groups.

However, the German-speaking population in all colonies must exceed 40% of the white population. This is the red line set by Franz.

If it is below the red line, it will not only be difficult to assimilate, but it will also affect the security and culture of the colonies.

As for the Irish, they are strictly considered laborers. Only some of the Irish with better performance and higher assimilation can join the Austrian Empire.

The rest of them can choose to work in the colonies for a lifetime, or return to their hometown.