Chapter 256: Italy accepts "refugees"
"Dong, dong, dong..." There was a knock on the door.
"Please come in!" A voice came from the study.
Tom walked into the room with two telegrams. Ernst was processing documents in East Africa. As the crown prince of East Africa, he naturally could not let his old father suffer, so many affairs were completely handled by Ernst. After handling it, let Constantine directly implement it, so that Ernst can discuss some undecided matters with Constantine.
"Your Highness, we have just received telegrams from the Hamburg and Trieste branches. Currently, all idle ships under the Hechingen Ocean Fleet have been vacated. However, I am afraid that such a small number of ships cannot complete your mission. Tasks assigned.”
"I also know this. How many ships have they prepared?"
"A total of sixty-four ships, and the rest have to be responsible for other businesses, such as the recent export of grain and commodities to Marseille, so this time the ship call has actually affected the company's overall "
"Well, you should first contact our old friends, those Dutch shipowners and immigrants from the North German region, and let them take charge temporarily. They are also familiar with the line, Austria and Italy. Immigration contact other people in Trieste They should be able to share some of it with other fleets. After the opening of the Suez Canal, it will not be difficult for these Mediterranean ships to go to East Africa. As long as the price is negotiated, it should be no problem. And our cargo transportation, the Marseille part. Find an Italian! It’s not enough to think of solutions from other countries, Greece or Spain can do it!”
Short of ships, if it’s the Far East, there are a lot of so-called maritime powers in Europe around the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, especially Italy and Greece. , the freight is cheap and the quantity is sufficient.
Before the Suez Canal was not opened, the countries engaged in ocean trading were mainly concentrated on the Atlantic coast, mainly Britain, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and France. Ernst chose to cooperate with the Dutch. These countries only had the political attributes of the Dutch. It is the smallest, has enough money, and has few things to do. Moreover, it has trade activities as far away as Japan and North Korea, which is consistent with Ernst's immigration route.
After the opening of the Suez Canal, Ernst had more choices. Austro-Hungarian merchant ships and warships could use the Suez canal to directly enter the Indian Ocean.
As far as Ernst knew, Franz smuggled the army weapons to Rome using hired Italian ships.
As for why Ernst knew it, it was because of curiosity. Ernst also wanted to know how the Austro-Hungarian Empire transported the weapons and equipment of the entire army to Rome.
After all, Rome was on the west coast of Italy and surrounded by the current Kingdom of Italy. The Austro-Hungarian Empire must have its own channels if it wanted to transport weapons.
As the initiator of this matter, Ernst went directly to ask Franz. Franz did not hide anything. The solution was very simple and unpretentious. He just found an Italian merchant ship and negotiated the price, and the rest was done. It's all up to the Italians themselves.
Ernst said he had learned it, and also analyzed East Africa to avoid such loopholes. However, East Africa in a "closed country" state does not seem to have this problem. The closed country is a one-way valve, which only flows in but not out. Although there are two Free trade ports exist, but they are a place for ships from all over the world to stop and to prevent false accusations. The British at sea often make troubles under the banner of free trade, so they left Mombasa and Dar es Salaam. Freeport.
Now that the Suez Canal is open, basically all European ships are queuing up in the Red Sea. In the eyes of Europeans, the East African coast that "lacks markets and resources" has declined. Only East Africans and Arabs are still wandering in this sea.
......
Under the nose of the Kingdom of Italy, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had its troops and weapons and equipment ready to support the Papal State, just waiting for Italy to take the bait.
So from August onwards, ships in Hechingen began to be vacated in preparation for the "possible" mass arrival of Italian immigrants, or war refugees. In fact, in June, the Hechingen fleet had already quietly prepared in the German region. As France declared war, some residents on the German-French border, and even in Alsace and Lorraine in France, took a ride on East African immigrants to East Africa. migration.
As the former homeland of the HRE, most of the residents in Alsace and Lorraine are essentially Germans under French rule. They speak High German (actually speaking a South German dialect). By coincidence, Heixing The same goes for the royal family, like Prussia and the Uttar Pradesh states in the North German Confederation, which belong to Low German.
At the same time, South Germany, Alsace, Lorraine, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire are still Catholic areas, so the cultural differences between North and South Germany are still somewhat large. This is why South Germany naturally tends to Austria (Austria’s German comes from Bavaria) The reason for the evolution and development of dialects).
In the past three years from the East African Colony to the East African Kingdom, the original surplus population in South Germany has been almost absorbed by East Africa. With this war, the population of Baden and Württemberg in the south may usher in With a negative growth, it’s hard to say the specific situation in Bavaria, but it’s probably about the same.
South German immigrants and Austro-Hungarian immigrants dominate the pure German population, and the Hechingen royal family itself comes from the South German region, so the overall cultural attributes of East Africa are more biased towards South Germany.
That's fine. The half-dead Austro-Hungarian Empire has limited ability to intervene overseas and has no willingness to do so. Prussia is too strong, so it is more reassuring to choose Austria-Hungary for cooperation.
Except for the Mediterranean Sea, East Africa is only separated from the Austro-Hungarian Empire by Egypt, which is nearly three million square kilometers. Therefore, in theory, the Austro-Hungarian Empire can take care of this little brother in East Africa. It is not far or close, and the location is just right. .
And Ernst has already prepared a location for Italian immigrants. A large amount of land in Zambia needs to be filled with people. There is no need to be too picky and the new town will be built directly where the indigenous people live.
Wherever a settlement is formed, the environment will not be too bad, and the local "labor force" can be fully utilized to develop new land.
Italian immigrants will be scattered in various provinces of Zambia together with Far East immigrants and German immigrants, and at the same time, some residents will be moved from the east to guide their agricultural production and labor.
East Africa is a typical tropical plateau agriculture. Its experience and climate are different from those of the Far East and Europe. In the early days of agricultural development in East Africa, on the one hand, it absorbed the experience of indigenous agriculture, and on the other hand, it sought guidance from "professionals" from South America and Mexico. It took three years of exploration to develop. Today's East African model, so these new immigrants also need help and guidance from the old immigrants.
The climate conditions in Zambia are the same as those in the East African Plateau. Even the precipitation and latitude are the same (although Zambia is inland), so there is no problem in developing according to the East African Plateau model.
......
"Tom, there is one more thing. Marseille is a bit cleaner. We are only responsible for the input of raw materials and product production, and the rest can be left to the Medina family. , in non-German areas, our purpose is to make money together and not to directly interfere in politics. We can just let our allies do this."
"Yes, Your Highness, I will investigate carefully. Nothing can go wrong.”
For the friendly forces of the Hechingen royal family such as the Medina family, they naturally need support. This Franco-Prussian War is an opportunity. Ernst knew that France was going to lose, but not completely. At least the French people did not surrender, and the Medina family With the help of this war, he can accumulate his reputation in the south of France. Anyway, Prussia can only fight as far as Paris. Count Medina can express his "patriotic" feelings unscrupulously in the rear and win the favor of the French people.
(End of this chapter)