Chapter 369 Farewell
Ernst was completely unaware of Rosens’ behavior. If Ernst knew that such a talent existed under his command, he would definitely reward him greatly. At this time, Ernst finally finished his visit to Germany and took a train from Berlin towards Austria. Ernst chartered two carriages, and in addition to himself, there were also security personnel and a think tank team.
"Your Highness, your tea."
"Well, put it aside. Don't splash the tea on the table and wet the manuscript." The train was churning, and it felt very bumpy. Intense, this was something Ernst, who often traveled around by train, was accustomed to.
"Your Highness, why do you have to personally take part in dealing with the Boers? You must know that there are thousands of kilometers from Dar es Salaam to the Matabele Plateau (Zimbabwe), and you They may not be adapted to the African environment.”
Ernst: "It doesn't matter. I know a lot about Africa, especially East Africa. It's no different from going home."
The subordinates only regard Ernst as Bragging, in fact, not only East Africa, but also West Africa and South Africa. Ernst also visited many countries, but he didn't stay long.
"Your Highness, the main reason is that you have never been to Africa. If you study the map every day, I am afraid that you cannot intuitively feel all aspects of Africa. The environment in Africa is not as superior as Europe."
Nothing else. In other words, the two-dimensional map in Ernst's hand was not very intuitive, but Ernst didn't feel unfamiliar when using it. He had thoroughly studied the topography of East Africa in his previous life.
The first thing Ernst wanted to do when he went to East Africa this time was to direct the war against the Boers. It was almost the beginning of the year when he arrived at the Matabele Plateau, just in time for this war.
The so-called "I command" means "I am present". This is also true when Ernst went to the Matabele Plateau. This matter was a bit more difficult and there could be no danger. Ernst did not go to the front line to charge into battle. He was mainly responsible for supervising the battle. At the same time, he could Make up your mind on the spot for some general events in the battle.
This is how much attention is paid to the Boer war. First of all, the Boer regime is a white regime. This is completely different from the enemies faced by East Africa in the past. The elimination of 10,000 indigenous forces is not as good as the elimination of A small white country shocked the East African people greatly.
At the same time, the situation in the Transvaal Republic is very complicated. The black Zulu Kingdom, the Orange Free State, which has the same origin as the Transvaal Republic, the British, and Mozambique all need to pay attention. Among them, Mozambique Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, is in the south, not far from the influence of these countries, so Mozambique’s strength cannot be underestimated.
Maputo and Pretoria, the capital of the Transvaal Republic, are both near 25 degrees south latitude, so just west of the core of the Portuguese colony of Mozambique is the battlefield area designated in East Africa.
The area bordering northern Mozambique and East Africa is much different. This is why Mozambique watched the Germans annex East Africa but was unable to do anything. Mozambique is narrowly distributed from north to south, with a length of 2,000 kilometers from north to south. This is exactly the Map Plan The distance to the northernmost tip of Mozambique.
In the southern region headed by Maputo, the situation is very different. The Portuguese dare to strike hard at the British who are plotting in Mozambique. If the British move just a little south, Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, may be in danger. , separated by a Zulu kingdom.
In addition to the above forces that need attention, there is also the Kingdom of Swaziland in the eastern part of the Republic of Transvaal, which is also an indigenous kingdom.
After three days of traveling, Ernst and his party arrived in Vienna. Here Ernst was preparing to say goodbye to Rudolf. This was what was agreed before. After Rudolf knew that Ernst was going to East Africa, I just want to give my eldest brother a ride.
The train slowly and leisurely entered the Vienna Railway Station, preparing to complete maintenance and other work in Vienna. In addition, Vienna is a large station, so the stay will be longer.
Ernst got off the carriage. Rudolf had been waiting here: "Ernst, here."
"Rudolf, did you tell His Majesty the Emperor when you came over?" "Of course he didn't know. Recently he and his mother had another quarrel, so I sneaked out."
" Ah! Aren't you afraid that Emperor Franz will settle the score with you?" Ernst was worried about him, but he was the culprit, so it was hard to preach.
"I'm not afraid of getting beaten at most. Compared to being bored in the palace, I still feel happier outside." Now Rudolph has completely turned into a brat, trying to escape from the palace all day long. , and Franz couldn't keep an eye on him every day. Franz also had a lot of things to do. The recent alliance between Germany, Austria, and Russia alone was a mess.
In fact, Rudolf spent most of his life under the hands of his mother and grandmother, and was less influenced by Franz. However, his mother and grandmother broke up later, and he was completely taken over by his grandmother.
If Rudolf had been under the control of Queen Elizabeth, he would at least be sure to live a happy life, because Queen Elizabeth herself was a restless master and was not strict with her children.
Later, under the pretext of taking Rudolf to study in Prussia, Ernst took Rudolf to Berlin. In Berlin, Rudolf finally found a confidant, that is, William II, who shared the same illness.
The source of William II's pain came from his mother, Princess Victoria. Princess Victoria and Queen Elizabeth were similar in that they were both isolated by the court. The only difference was that Victoria had a good husband. Crown Prince Frederick and Victoria had a very close relationship. good.
Because his mother felt guilty about his physical defects, she constantly asked William II to exercise more, which led to a very bad relationship between him and his mother. Because his mother came from the British royal family, he often instilled in him the concept of the supremacy of British status. And insisted on calling him by his English name. This also made William II have extremely complicated emotions towards Britain since he was a child, which also affected his future foreign policy towards Britain.
Therefore, William II's childhood experiences can be said to be similar to Rudolf's. The two later took different paths. However, judging from the results, William II's character is obviously better than Rudolf's. To be optimistic, this is worth learning from Rudolph.
"Forget it, I'm afraid I won't be able to come back for a year or two when I go to Africa this time, so I have no excuse to take you out to play. You should be more considerate of yourself and stop worrying about your father. If you were in his position, you would probably I can understand his difficulty.
Don’t think that Hungary is a good thing, they are just one. A small group of people are using the whole of Hungary as a bargaining chip to threaten your father to compromise in order to win privileges. In fact, your father also hopes that all ethnic groups can live in harmony and preferably integrate. However, the Hungarian nobles also know this and they will not let it go. , but you have to go against Austria everywhere to continue to maintain this state. Believe it or not, Austria cannot leave Hungary.
Losing Hungary will trigger a chain reaction. Czechoslovakia, Croatia, Slovenia... will all do the same, and Austria will immediately fall from its position as the top power. Come down, anyone in your father's position The city is in a dilemma.”
Rudolf: “I know this. Friedrich (William II) also told me in this regard that he also views the Hungarian issue in the same way. It’s my fault. I used to think that the Hungarian problem was just a national problem.”
You can teach me! Ernst nodded and said: "Very good. Sometimes it's good to be clear about political matters. You don't have to worry about it now. You still have a long way to go. Anyway, your father is there to support you, so you don't need to express any opinions. , just do everything according to your father’s ideas.”
Franz's waiting time is quite long. The history of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is basically the history of Franz's rule. Rudolf doesn't have to worry at all.
"Okay, the train is leaving soon, I'm going to say goodbye to you right here!" Ernst said.
Rudolph: "Well, see you in two years."
(End of this chapter)