Now the situation in front of Li Fushou is ~ Africa's cheapness is not taken advantage of, anyway, everyone is going to rob it, if you don't rob it, no one will say that you have a high style, a good image, and a beautiful voice.

The great powers of Europe occasionally sympathize with the weak, provided that the white countries of Europe do so.

In the past two years, the Dutch competed for colonies in the East Indies, and the Queensland rulers left a bad impression on the European powers, thinking that the Earl of Queensland was a new Oriental aristocrat who was full of greed and possession, and he did not look good.

In particular, the reviews of newspapers and magazines in the United States are scathing, with a strong smell of vinegar, and they are particularly disgusting to point fingers at what the Earl of Queensland has done.

European public opinion is slightly better, but all kinds of sarcasm are indispensable, and Li Fushou doesn't care about the high-minded ridicule of these European newspapers and periodicals.

The so-called impression can neither be used as money to spend, nor can it fill the stomach, and it is not a top at a critical time, and it still needs to rely on strength to speak, no matter how bad the impression is, how bad can it be?

He is going to get the benefits now, and put it in his bowl to make it fragrant.

The four pieces of African land that Li Fushou plans to occupy have their own wonderful uses, and of course he will not talk to Professor Glenn Johnson, anyway, the benevolent will see the benevolent, the wise will see the wise, and let him think about it.

The Somali region of the Horn of Africa is undoubtedly important in guarding the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which is the key point of the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.

The island of Madagascar is an African island country located in the western Indian Ocean, across the Mozambique Channel from the African continent.

Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world, and its inhabitants are light-skinned, descendants of immigrants from the East Indies, mixed with Arabs and local blacks, and completely different from the Mozambican blacks on the other side.

The island dominates the kingdom of Madagascar, whose king was strangled in a rebellion more than a decade ago, and is now ruled by the queen.

In 1883, some French adventurers had always harbored intentions for the island, and in 1883 they organized a force of 1,700 men to attack the island, and the French army bombarded the port of Mahajanga and landed at the port of Tamatave, and the Malagasy people finally woke up in the face of aggression and fought a war of resistance, defeating the French colonists many times.

It should be pointed out that ~ this is not a colonial action led by the French government, but an interesting adventure funded by retired French military officers and some businessmen, which is not uncommon in Africa, which has long become a paradise for European adventurers.

Ahem...... Now Queensland should be added.

Li Fushou is now a bit of an island collector, controlling the world's second largest island, Shangri-La (Ilian Island), and two-fifths of the territory of Borneo, the world's third largest island, and of course he will not let go of Madagascar, the world's fourth largest island!

Don't look at the island now, the key depends on who runs it.

Africans, who are extremely backward in productive forces and have a primitive culture, cannot develop even if they are given a piece of treasure land, and this is the case in Madagascar.

With its beautiful environment, lush vegetation and abundant flora and fauna, it is very suitable for development as an agricultural plantation, and can also be used as an intermediate node for development and trade with Africa, replenishing cargo ships and warships, and maintaining a military presence in Africa.

Importantly, the island of Madagascar can be used as a base camp for the invasion of Mozambique, where there is enough food production and a large enough place, excellent port conditions and a similar climate to allow the soldiers to better adapt to the African environment, and the benefits are numerous.

Mozambique, on the other side of the strait, is a mainland region rich in resources, and it is also a place where Li Fushou is greedy, where there is gold and ivory, rich in minerals and inexhaustible labor, why can't it be included in the bag?

Neither Somalia nor Guinea, nor Madagascar, have a strong influence on the whole of Black Africa, and they are basically a corner of the world.

Mozambique is different, it is located in the heart of East Africa, not far from South Africa, and the Mississippi River basin is rich in water and water, and is a region rich in traditional resources, rich in gold and ivory, and has an important position on the African continent.

If compared with West Africa, it is almost the Congo River basin, which is now hot, is also very large, with a large population and rich resources.

As for the tiny Guinea region, it's not as simple as it seems.

Li Fushou sees it purely for three ulterior purposes, one of which is because Guinea is located on the Atlantic coast of western Africa, has excellent port conditions, and enters the Mediterranean Sea more than 3,000 kilometers to the north.

As long as Guinea is obtained, it is equivalent to obtaining a stable base on the Atlantic coast, which is of great potential strategic importance.

Think about it, the significance of a Chinese-dominated force gaining a foothold in West Africa, not far from Europe, cannot be overestimated.

If it weren't for the tiger's skin of the British, it would have been almost impossible to get their hands on Guinea.

Second, although Guinea is not a small place, it is a region known as a "geographical miracle", with large reserves of aluminum and iron ore and high grade, of which the reserves of aluminum ore rank first in the world.

In addition, there are diamonds, gold, copper, uranium, cobalt, lead, zinc, etc., rich in water resources, is the birthplace of the three major rivers in West Africa, the river network in the region is dense, has the innate conditions for the development of water transport, known as the "West African water tower".

Rainfall, which is generally lacking in Africa, is flooded here, and 6 million hectares of arable land, 99% of which are uncultivated, are in unique conditions for agricultural development.

The third is that Guinea has a small population and a small target.

Counting the fingers, there are no major forces in the whole of Guinea, they are all scattered indigenous tribes, with a total population of no more than 100,000 people, Guinea is inconspicuous in West Africa, no one knows that there are such rich resources under the land here, it is an almost forgotten corner.

Controlling here, coupled with Australia's rich iron ore resources, Li Fushou can be said to occupy more than sixty percent of the world's iron ore resources and more than eighty percent of the aluminum ore resources, which is equivalent to grasping the world's industrial resources, and its importance is by no means inferior to that of Somalia, or even surpassed.

For several days in a row

Li Fushou and Professor Glenn-Johnson had an in-depth discussion on African issues, and basically formed a general framework for action.

The plan will be a three-step operation, known as Operation Brightman, to colonize Somalia, Guinea, Madagascar and Mozambique.

In line with the principle of first making it easier and then more difficult, the first step is to take Guinea through diplomatic and economic means, and then directly occupy the Somali coast militarily, which is located in the Djibouti region.

For the first step, Queensland will send a delegation headed by Professor Glenn Johnson, including Tang Shaoyi and other military and political attachés, to Europe, with a focus on London and Madrid, to conduct relevant lobbying activities.

The so-called lobbying activities will be understood by narrow-minded people as unilateral bribery or profit temptations, and Li Fushou prefers to call it one of the action efforts to spread light.

Needless to say, the delegation in London would approach Lord Gulliver, Minister of the Colonial Department, through various connections, because Queensland was not a national polity and could not participate in the Berlin Conference, and the relevant occupied territories needed to be communicated to European countries through the British Empire Colonial Office in order to be recognized and respected.

Of course, this part of the area will be part of the British Empire and will essentially be run by Queenslanders, which is not a big problem.

Lord Gulliver, Minister of the Colonial Department, and Li Fushou, Earl of Queensland, have several correspondence contacts, relying on Li Fushou's thin face, Professor Glenn Johnson has no problem meeting Lord Gulliver in person, presumably Lord Gulliver will also like the gift brought by Australia ~ 30,000 ounces of gold and a copy of the equity transfer document.

Worth £118,000 for 30,000 ounces of gold, these shiny and expensive metals are so beloved that they are one of Australia's specialities.

This equity transfer letter contains 5% of the shares, is a sales company established by FLM Gas Cooker Company in the United Kingdom, which can generate a stable annual income of more than 500,000 pounds, and 5% of the equity is 25,000 pounds per year, which will tie the interests of both parties together.

This lucrative extra income, which even the honorable Minister of the Colonies, Lord Gulliver, could not ignore, was bound to pay off.

There will be no problem with the military occupation of the Somali region, all you have to face is some indigenous tribal warriors with spears in hand, and then there will be no more.

Guinea has some problems, it has been Portuguese territory since the 15th century, then infiltrated by the Spanish, and now the French also have ideas about the region, which is a big headache for the Portuguese.

The land of chicken ribs, the pity of eating and abandoning, is the most vivid portrayal of the present.

Glen Johnson's delegation needed to go to Lisbon and mediate with the Kingdom of Portugal on the Guinean question for an economic solution.

The second step of Operation Brighter is the island of Madagascar, which must be destroyed by means of war and achieved full control over the island by means of war, as long as it is achieved within the next three years.

The third goal is the Mozambique region, which should be to provoke disputes after the acquisition of the island of Madagascar, and to attack and encroach on the Portuguese power step by step, and this goal can be achieved in the next 10 years.

After it was agreed

Professor Glenn Johnson and his entourage to Europe have made preparations for a half-year or more trip across continents, leaving enough time to say goodbye to their loved ones.

meanwhile

The main force of the Shangri-La Division stationed in Jayapura received an urgent military order, ordering it to immediately organize a 1,500-strong elite expeditionary force to target the Horn of Africa, which was thousands of miles away.

Relatively speaking, as the general reserve in the two directions of Australia and Borneo, the Shangri-La Division, which is still overstaffed, has sufficient troops, and after sending this regimental expeditionary force of 1,500 people, the size of the force has almost returned to the normal establishment of 6,500~6,700 people.