Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.

Franz had to admit the cunning of the British, and at the same time to review his bad habit of relying too much on the experience of later generations.

Because in his memory, Liberia has always been an independent country, although the economy is a mess, but it is a non-aligned country.

In fact, I was misled by some short videos to think that Liberia has always been so rigid.

Liberia's choice to ally with the British would have directly threatened the security of Austrian Guinea, which in fact had France, Spain, and Portugal in addition to Austria.

Although the Liberians have the support of the British, there is no need to worry too much, because the country is still too weak to stretch its hand too long, and at least the local natives must be dealt with before they can consider further northward or eastward expansion.

The Austrian Empire was the largest colonial force in Guinea at this time, with more than 4,000 men, but it was the worst of all Austrian colonies.

One was because there were too many countries to colonize here, and the other was because of the strong influence of the Order of Tyre, which caused the local chieftains to reject and evade the Austrian Empire.

In addition to this, Guinea was considered a mineral-deficient country at the time, gold and diamonds had not yet been discovered, and the rainforests prevented further exploration by colonists.

After all, at this time, the interior of Africa was still a death zone for ordinary white people.

As a result, the Austrian colonists could only carry out hopeless reclamation activities without the help of the locals, and although they signed land treaties with countless tribes in five years, they actually controlled less than one-twentieth of the territory of their sphere of influence.

Franz knew that in order for Guinea to truly develop, it was necessary to contact the Order of Tyre, and that either an agreement between the two sides or a complete elimination of it would solve the problem of colonial development.

However, with the level of medical care at this time, Franz did not feel the need for Austria to penetrate into the interior of Africa to exterminate a feudal kingdom, after all, it would not be worth the cost.

The only option is negotiating, whether it's a promise of protection, cheap industrial goods, or the use of gold as a bribe.

At this time, what Guinea lacked most was manpower, and Franz knew very well that as long as the colony developed, it would be possible to regain what had been lost in a few decades, maybe even a few years.

In fact, Franz had already sent people to Bolivia to collect the seeds of the cinchona tree, which were widely planted on the islands of Chenla and Kalimantan.

Historically, it is the legend that Quinine helped the African colonizers defeat the "white grave".

(The interior of Africa was once known as the grave of the white.) ）

Although quinine was introduced to Europe as early as the 17th century, it was not until the middle of the 19th century that the Europeans achieved quinine freedom.

It wasn't until 1860 that the British introduced cinchona to India, and ten years later Europeans finally had stable access to this anti-malaria drug.

It was precisely because of this premise that the Europeans were able to start the wave of colonial partition in the seventies of the nineteenth century.

However, this time, Franz started the experiment of planting cinchona trees in the warm and humid rainforests of Southeast Asia as early as 1836, and it is believed that it will not be long before he can get rid of his dependence on quinine in Brazil and other countries.

At this time, the Brazilian quinine cost nearly 100 pounds a kilogram, which was not at all affordable for ordinary people, and like rubber, it was often out of stock.

The Austrian Empire did not have rubber to stop production, reduce production, and reform technology, but without quinine, people would die.

Although it can also be replaced with artemisia annua turtle soup, Franz is not prepared to put the backup plan into use too soon, after all, malaria resistance is a major matter for all mankind.

Getting back to the point, Franz really had someone in his hands who could negotiate with the Order of Tyre, and that was the Karamanli family, who had been kept in Tripoli by the Austrian Empire.

After the Near East crisis, the Karamanli family returned to Tripoli with the help of Friedrich, and it was the craftsmen who had rescued Austria from Egypt who helped them get started.

This group of people had a very high level of loyalty to the Austrian Empire, and the Karamanli family was able to gain a foothold in Tripoli because of Austrian protection, which was why the British and Ottoman Empires turned a blind eye to them.

When Franz made his request, the head of the Karamanli family immediately agreed.

The negotiation process went smoothly and the two sides quickly reached an agreement.

The Order of Tyre was actually very poor, they lacked everything, weapons, clothing, food, salt, sugar, tools could be traded, and they only had manpower, hides, and ivory.

The Order of Tyre, like the rest of the Arabs, valued commerce and had no guilt of dealing with infidels.

The reason why they were hostile to the Austrians and refused to communicate with them was actually that they were afraid and deceived by the Portuguese.

The Portuguese colonists, though few in number, numbered only 500, were overwhelming for the Tyre Order, which was still in the early Middle Ages.

In the past, the Portuguese, the French, and the Spaniards all regarded him as slaves, and they often used them in transactions to deceive and even directly rob them by force.

Therefore, the Order of Tyre had great trust in Austria as an honest and reliable business partner, after all, their asking price was very low, and Franz was not prepared to engage in a slave economy in Africa, and he could not control what other countries did.

With the help of these locals, the Austrian Empire's colonies would grow at a much faster rate.

As for the fact that when other countries want to dig into the wall, they will find that Franz has kept the prices of goods very low, and he is not prepared to play the kind of tricks of short-term arbitrage.

Franz wanted an economy dependent on the Austrian Empire, but with very cheap labor.

Moreover, the first thing the Tyre Order did after receiving Franz's support was to conquer the weak tribes and strengthen themselves, and at the same time began to try to expel the power of the colonists.

The heaviest losses were suffered by Portugal and the tribes that depended on it, but given the country's sparse strength at this time, it had no intention of retaliating.

The Portuguese governor here was a clever man, and he soon found the head of the Austrian Empire in Guinea, and finally the two sides finalized an agreement to sell the colony for five thousand pounds.

Of course, the Austrian side needed to help the captured Portuguese, and although the lower echelons of the Tyre Order were fiercely opposed, the upper echelons were well aware of their strengths.

In fact, in the deal with the Austrian Empire, some of the top of the Tyre Order had begun to be corrupted, and they had even begun to secretly convert to the Catholic Church, and the Portuguese Christians were their votes.

Franz was surprised by the efficiency of the conversion of the Austrian Church, but Archbishop Rauscher said that the top of the Tyre Order had voluntarily asked for conversion, and that he had not sent anyone to contact them.

As a result, Franz could only sigh at the horror of the sugar-coated shells.

(End of chapter)