The fertile soil of the Côte d'Ivoire region is ideal for the growth of tropical plants.

It is precisely because of the geographical and geographical advantages that Franz, who is proficient in agricultural knowledge, and some professional scientists in Austria have prepared a large number of improved seeds for this future "model overseas enclave" after a long period of research and discussion, as well as experienced farmers for future cultivation.

However, both coffee and cocoa need five years to grow, and more importantly, the trade cycle needs to be maintained without interruption, so cotton is the only crop of choice.

For Austria, one advantage is that it can buy cotton from Côte d'Ivoire, then transport it back to the country to be processed into cotton cloth by factories, and then sell the finished product to Ivorians, and the cycle of production and marketing forms a closed loop.

The most important reason for not directly establishing a processing plant in Côte d'Ivoire is that there is a lack of a large enough market, and the establishment of a textile factory in Austria is more conducive to solving employment and livelihood problems, and can play a role in alleviating social conflicts.

When this cycle of trade is formed, a large number of cheap Austrian industrial goods will hit the local market, causing the natural economy to collapse and become governed by a small elite and plantation owners.

These elites and plantation owners were more economically dependent on the Austrian market, and naturally politically tied to Austria, and even if the lower echelons wanted to rebel, they would not get the consent of the higher-ups.

As for the so-called elite at the top, it is naturally hostile to the people at the bottom, and if they really choose to take the road of rebellion, then Austria can take advantage of this contradiction to easily subvert it, and then foster a group of controllable high-level positions to continue this circular game.

Franz's West African jungler trip went well in the first stop in Ivory Coast, and the second stop was in Guinea, which was difficult to bite.

At this time, the largest colonial power in Guinea was the Portuguese, who numbered about 500 people in total, and the old overseas colonial powers such as Spain, the Netherlands, France, and the United Kingdom all established trading posts here.

However, the local state is under the control of the Tyre Order (the name of the historical order is not used in the book, so as not to cause unnecessary cases of missing chapters), and the foreign powers are not allowed to penetrate into the interior.

As a latecomer, Franz did not choose to show his power in this area with great fanfare, but only approached the chiefs of several coastal tribes to sign trade agreements and protection treaties to prevent the French from being squeezed out in the same way in the future.

Franz had no interest in confronting a clerical state with a population of nearly one million, and it was not wise for Austria to take the initiative to cause trouble at this time, so it was better to let the French take the lead and wait for the opportunity to do it themselves.

What he hates most in his eyes is this kind of clerical state, although it is unbearable to start a war, but the endless law and order war will definitely discourage any force.

Moreover, Guinea's resource reserves are far inferior to Côte d'Ivoire, although its iron ore and bauxite reserves are large and high-grade, but these are not the resources that Austria lacks, and its only value is the numerous rivers in its territory, and the title of "West African Water Tower" is not in vain.

Guinea has great agricultural potential, but due to a number of special historical and other reasons, 80 per cent of the country's arable land remains uncultivated to this day.

At the same time, it is connected to Côte d'Ivoire and, if properly developed, could provide enough food and non-staple food for Austria itself in wartime.

In short, Guinea did have advantages as a colonial option, but its internal ethnic and religious contradictions were so deep that Franz did not want to be the first to wade into this troubled water.

In contrast to Togo, which borders the coast of West Africa, the slave trade in Benin did not end when the slave trade was banned, but the slave trade in nearby Benin did not end there.

As a result, powerful tribes continued to come to the Togo region to plunder the population, including the famous kingdom of Dahomey. This plundering of the population has resulted in a serious shortage of local productivity.

After the arrival of the Austrian fleet, the chieftains of Togo welcomed Franz and his party with a grand ceremony. They hope to exchange their population for weapons in exchange for the protection of the safety of their land and property.

Those so-called slaves were not acquired through wars or kidnappings, but voluntarily, and most of them were women, because many able-bodied young men were either sacrificed on the battlefield or became slaves because of the slave hunting wars of neighboring countries.

Most of the women will not go to dangerous areas to participate in hunting, so they will not be discovered by the slave team, and even if they are discovered by the enemy, most men of the same tribe will choose to let the queen of the palace and let the women escape first.

Friedrich looked at the costumed slaves in front of him, but in fact most of them were the widows of the slave victims.

Within these indigenous tribes, the social status of women is extremely low, and more often than not, they are only part of the tribal property. In order to protect the safety of the tribe, they sacrificed it in exchange for weapons, and even they themselves agreed.

Franz, however, did not want to engage in the slave trade at all, much to the disappointment of the chiefs.

But to their excitement, the foreign Grand Duke showed them a clear way to sell them equipment, and the same way to deal with it was in Côte d'Ivoire, starting with the establishment of a trading post and then teaching the locals how to grow cotton, coffee, and cocoa.

As for the arms deal, if the other party is willing, you can sell them a batch first, and it will be regarded as a deposit. The chiefs were overjoyed when they heard that they could get their weapons, and immediately agreed to sign the contract with great readiness.

Franz was pleased to be able to complete the first task of the colony without the use of force.

Several coastal tribes even held a grand signing ceremony for the occasion, where they invited Franz and Friedrichian to sit on the throne and then received the enthusiastic cheers of the chiefs standing in the audience.

The whole process went very smoothly, and then a lively live dance performance followed. This African dance has a vague hint of modern sliding style.

"Hey! Franz, I see that black chick has a crush on you! Friedrich laughed. Franz looked in the direction Friedrich was pointing, and he saw a black girl with an unusually athletic body, like a graceful cheetah hunting.

Although I have a collecting habit, I don't have this special hobby. "Uncle Friedrich, you're really joking. I'm still a minor, so you better think more about yourself.

Look at that young lady so strong, if you are together, your children will definitely surpass you in height in the future. ”

Franz was only trying to counter the ridicule from the other side, but he could see that Friedrich had made a decision after serious consideration.

"No, it's too"

At this time, the black girl suddenly got up and walked over to Franz and Friedrich, although she was laughing, but it made Franz's scalp tingle a little unconsciously.

The quality of the Austrian royal guards was still very high, and they stopped the black girl at a distance of about five meters. The girl showed a shy expression, and when the guard turned her head to ask, the girl, who was very shy and shy just now, had an extra machete in her hand at some point.

At the sight of the machete, both Franz and Friedrich exclaimed, "What a!" Although the meaning is slightly different, the surprise is palpable.

Before the guard could react, the girl directly stepped forward and raised the machete, looking at the posture as if she wanted to make a leap of faith and chop off the "dog head" of the two.

It's just that before she could put the knife down, she was hit by several shots in the air and fell on her back, and when she landed, she was already a bloody corpse.

Franz pushed away the big salt fir sound that pounced on him, pulled out his revolver and looked around.

Apparently there was more than one assassin, and it seemed to have been premeditated, and the black girls sitting in the audience just now all picked up their machetes and rushed to the table where Franz and Friedrich were located.

By this time, the chiefs had been paralyzed by fright, begging in the native language, and it seemed that they were unaware of the sudden incident, and it was likely that they had been taken advantage of by someone with a heart.

Franz retracted his fierce gaze, and then Colonel Pep Griffiths, the captain of Friedrich's guard, said: "Your Highnesses the two Grand Dukes, please rest assured, there are thirty of us in total, all of whom are carefully selected guards, and we will definitely be able to send them out." I'm ready to break out now, please follow us! ”

Friedrich's previous battles had been won by crushing, and he could even enjoy refreshments while watching the battle on the battlefield. But at this time, it was different, splashing blood and hideous corpses appeared in front of his eyes, and Rao was a real general who couldn't help but feel fear.

The appearance of his uncle, who had no master, made Franz suddenly feel that he and the brazen and confident war maniac were almost like two people.

But it's a normal reaction to think about it, after all, who in this world is born not afraid of death?

"Listen, stay here, don't go anywhere, reinforcements will be there soon." Franz exclaimed.

After he reminded them, everyone next to them suddenly realized that there were still 200 royal guards outside, and a whole dragoon regiment (the legacy left by Franz II to his eldest grandson) was stationed less than 300 meters away from the scene.

The entire stage is divided into inner and outer floors, with Franz and Friedrich being the central rostrum and the ceremonial performance area. It is separated from the outer layer by a fence, and anyone who wants to enter this level will be searched by the royal guards.

With the exception of Chief Yobaru, who was the host, who was followed by two bodyguards, the bodyguards of the other chiefs were all stopped on the periphery. In order to prevent unexpected surprises, Franz had the cavalry stay nearby as a guard of honor.

It wasn't clear where the attackers got their machetes, but it was a bit whimsical to kill thirty heavily armed elite guards with such rudimentary weapons.

Moreover, there were not many attackers, and they screamed one by one to try to break through the effectively separated altar and the guard circle of the royal guards, but there was no strong cooperation and teamwork, and the scene was just chaotic and amazing.

Franz still doesn't know who the person who is going to attack him is? But he can assure you that the guys are definitely miscalculated.

(End of chapter)