Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.

Franz was not surprised by the fact that the real identity of the inner line secretly supported by the US government was a spy sent by the Austrian Church.

At this time, without the help of the more sophisticated counterintelligence systems such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National Security Agency (NSA), it is not surprising that there is little experience in counter-terrorism, and it is understandable that there was an inhuman negligence.

Far from taking the initiative to help Washington correct this serious mistake, he intends to make preparations for the plan, taking the funds provided by the Americans on the one hand, and launching an operation to clean up the internal instability on the other.

"Archduke Franz, the output in Nicaragua and Costa Rica is very unpromising. If we continue to invest, it is very likely that our colonial cause in Central and North America will fall into the consequences of losing money. And according to the information from the church informant, the locals seem to be difficult to control. ”

Adjani has doubts about the mess that Franz has taken over the American Federation. The people who live in this land have a strong will to resist, and its complex terrain is far more difficult to conquer than those of African countries.

It may take dozens, if not hundreds of years, to completely erase the imprint of Spanish culture, which has been left over from hundreds of years of colonial rule.

"I see. How much does it cost? Franz said casually, planning a very important voyage in his mind.

"It's probably between 2 million and 3 million florins, but you need to invest 15 million florins upfront. If you add in the previous war reparations of 10 million francs, the total is about 20 million florins.

Based on this calculation, it will take about 10 years for us to recover our costs. But with the cost of maintaining law and order and dealing with special events such as possible uprisings and natural and man-made disasters, it may take longer."

In fact, Adjani missed the worst-case scenario, as years of war have left Nicaragua and Costa Rica in ruins, and it is unclear how long it will take for production to resume.

Another important factor that has long plagued and constrained local development is the scarcity of the population (indigenous and immigrant). In the past, the authorities of the two countries have relied on contract slaves and imported black slaves to solve local development problems.

It was clear that this was no longer the case, for the Austrian Empire, like other European countries, was forbidden to the slave trade, and Archduke Franz himself seemed to be extremely disgusted by it.

"Well, it's a lot better than I expected." Franz still coped absent-mindedly.

He was still pondering the Admiralty's information, and it seemed that the voyage would be full of uncertainties. This is still under the favorable situation that the local side has taken control, otherwise this voyage would not be possible at all.

"Archduke Franz, what's wrong with you? Is there something uncomfortable? Adjani began to realize that something was wrong, after all, the Grand Duke's mind had always been quick, and today he was acting a little unusually.

Franz subconsciously looked down, and then said very calmly.

"Oh, nothing, you don't have to worry, it's not the worst-case scenario."

His words didn't match the words before and after, which made Adjani a little confused.

"So what do you think is the worst-case scenario?"

"The Anglo-French alliance has completely squeezed us out of Central America."

Adjani was speechless for a while, according to the information and intelligence in her hands, the probability of such an extreme situation happening was very small, and there was no need to discuss it at all.

"Do you already have a plan in place?"

Franz shook her head, and she felt even more depressed after being speechless.

"Then I can only remind you that you need to pay 10 million florins in advance for the construction of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The Empire's colonial establishment there was nothing short of an empty shelf, as the funds had been appropriated by Archduke Friedrich for his navy. ”

"Don't blame him, who made the navy itself a gold-eating beast? But then again, that doesn't have an impact on our plans in North and Central America. ”

Adjani was a little confused, Nicaragua and Costa Rica did not have a local tyrant and gentry who could suck blood, and a small number of wealthy landowners either fled to other regions, or were absorbed by the church and developed into an insider.

"But without any initial investment, taxes and inefficient plantations alone would not have been able to reach even 700,000 florins a year."

"Don't worry about that, Nicaragua and Costa Rica are part of the expansion of the Imperial Church. In this case, all the expenses and expenses are borne by them, and they are not short of money anyway. Also, don't the natives dislike the rule of the empire? Then send them to California. ”

Franz's actions further confused Adjani, because Nicaragua and Costa Rica were already very scarce in labor, and wouldn't the colonization plan become meaningless if they were to send labor to a sparsely populated part of California?

"With all due respect, what exactly are you going to do?"

"Vacate the cage for the bird."

Franz looked at her with a puzzled look on her face, and said slowly:

"It's not hard to understand that it took hundreds of years for Spain to gain a foothold in the Americas. But we didn't have a few hundred years to assimilate the indigenous peoples, and with the intervention of Britain and France, Mesoamerica would sooner or later become a key area of competition among the great powers. ”

At this time, Adjani suddenly remembered the previous agreements signed between Austria and Mexico, and she thought that Franz would attract locals from Spain and Mexico to immigrate to California, but she never expected that Nicaragua and Costa Rica would become the main force of transportation.

It's just that she still can't understand why he said that in the future, Central America will become one of the battlegrounds for the great powers, maybe because of precious metals?

However, judging from the usual methods of the great powers in the colonial struggle at this time, they will not go to war because the other side has used some shady means.

But in the face of his subordinates' questions, Franz seemed very helpless, and he couldn't tell her directly that a Grand Canal would be dug here in the future and directly control the fate of the two continents.

In fact, Panama is not the only region suitable for canals, and Nicaragua is also suitable; Moreover, the volume of the Nicaraguan Canal is much larger than that of the Panama Canal, and of course the cost and amount of work is greater.

However, this kind of unjust role is still more suitable for other countries, after all, it doesn't hurt if the stick hits others.

"But in this way, the local population is even more insufficient, and I am afraid that even the existing tax revenue and output cannot be guaranteed." Adjani continued.

"Don't worry, leave these things to the church. We should give God's servants the opportunity to show themselves. ”

Franz's words made Adjani silent for a while, but she knew very well that once he insisted on something, it meant that everything was in the plan, and there was usually no chance to change, so there was no need to continue to dwell on it, not to mention that she had other important things to report at the moment.

(End of chapter)