London, United Kingdom.

In order to prevent France and Spain from coming together, at this critical juncture before the accession of Isabella II to the throne, the British were ready to support Carlos again.

It's just that old Carlos has given up the right to the throne, and he is an extremely superstitious and stubborn fellow.

So the British chose his son, Robert Carlos, and it happened that Spain was suffering from both natural and man-made disasters.

Natural disasters have been mentioned before, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, mycosis and other areas in Catalonia.

The so-called man-made disaster is the tyranny of Queen Regent Christiana and the military junta, and the formulation and implementation of policies on both sides have reached an inappropriate level.

Moreover, many of the policies of the two sides are contradictory, and the chaos in the entire Spanish region can be imagined. Although the French forcibly replaced the junta, the power of the junta was not eradicated.

The most important thing is that the decline of Spain's national fortunes at this time, coupled with the impact of the industrial revolution and the entry of French goods, is not something that Christiana can solve with a wicked woman who can only fight in the palace.

What's more, Queen Regent Christiana doesn't want to solve the problem, she just wants to make up her daughter's pension before she reaches adulthood.

Christiana's lovers took turns to come to power, and these people, like the Queen Regent, did not care whether the Spaniards lived or died.

So when Prince Carlos, who was backed by the British, decided to provoke a civil war, it was immediately widely responded, especially by the remnants of the military junta.

So the Carlos War 2.0 was about to be staged vigorously, and at this time, the Germans suddenly found out that the Boers had German blood.

What the hell is this? The first reaction of almost all British politicians was this, they didn't quite know what was crazy about Austria? To do such a stupid thing.

Crossing the whole of Africa to wage a war with no chance of winning? It should have been, but now there is a little problem in Britain itself.

The Spanish Civil War was about to begin, and Britain was likely to fight the French. It would have been a surefire war, but what if there was a war with the German Confederation at this time?

And what about the Americans? Although John Russell has just subdued Polk, but the latter is known as the toughest president in American history, will he fall into the ground?

Whitehall was deeply divided, with some feeling that the British Empire was invincible and more than capable of facing any challenge, while others felt that it was too risky to go to war with the whole world, no matter how powerful Britain was.

But more British politicians believe that it is not cost-effective, and even if the war with the world is won, it will do more harm than good to Britain, factories will be depressed, trade will shrink, and many financiers' foreign investments will be wasted.

And how long will this war last? Ten years, twenty years, or thirty years like the war that brought down three empires?

As for the so-called Boers, many British high-ranking officials had never heard of them, and the Transvaal was a barren land, and many people had heard of it for the first time.

Palmerston spoke directly, he couldn't stand the cringe of his colleagues.

"Whether it's Germany or Austria, they give it to them if they want it.

The so-called Boer people as a whole numbered no more than 20,000 people, and the Transvaal seems to be called that name, which is nothing more than a freshly leveled pasture.

It would not be cost-effective to go to war with the entire German Confederation just for the sake of such a small amount of land and population. ”

"Hmph, you're right, what if the German Confederation had an appetite not just for the Transvaal, but for the entire Cape colony?"

Earl Henry Grey, the Minister of the Colonies, said very upset that he hated that his colonial department was being looked down upon, so he retorted.

But Earl Grey overlooked a problem, and Palmerston was not an easy man to deal with.

"My lordship, I ask you, is the Transvaal coast?"

"No, the Transvaal is inland."

"How can 20,000 Boers counterattack the Cape colony, which has a population of 100,000?"

"This"

"The Namibian colony of Austria next door is rich in gold and diamonds, and if you take it together, it will not only solve the worries of the Cape colony, but also open up the territory of our British Empire. What do you think? ”

Namibia's ports are not difficult to conquer, but the Austrian-Namibian colony is built on the inland mountains, and what is even more terrifying is that if you want to attack the interior, you must first cross a large desert.

After the soldier passes through the desert, he can only have half a life, let alone attack the city, it is difficult to say whether he will surrender directly at that time, the so-called gate of hell is not called in vain.

As for the 20,000 Boers, the vast majority of them were old and weak, women and children, and because of the frequent wars and the heavy labor they had to deal with, the adult males suffered great losses, and the number of men who could carry guns at full strength was probably 3 or 5,000.

The British's Cape Colony was used to house veterans of the war, not only with sufficient manpower, but also with a large number of trained soldiers and their descendants.

Note: There were nearly 100,000 whites in the Cape Colony, and about half as many blacks.

Earl Henry Grey, the colonial minister, only snorted coldly and did not answer, but Palmerston did not give up.

"Why don't you take Austria's East African colonies and the Omani Empire by the way?"

"You"

"Enough!" John Russell put a stop to the quarrel between the cabinet members, he hated Palmerston, but he couldn't really spoil the whole situation because of such a thing.

"The Transvaal can give it to them, but they must guarantee their neutrality in the rest of the war."

When the Prime Minister speaks, the cabinet members still have to give some face. And this method seems to be the most reasonable approach at this time.

However, before the British could send an envoy to the German Confederation, the latter's messenger arrived first, hoping that the two sides could negotiate a settlement.

This relieved the British, and it seemed that the Austrians did not want to fight either. In fact, it is not difficult to imagine that Austria had just offended France on the question of Switzerland, and it would be very unwise to go to war with Britain at this time.

As a result, negotiation became the most reasonable option for both sides.

In fact, the monarchs of the German states were opposed to war with the British, so the German Confederation convened its first enlarged conference (including the Swiss states).

In this vote, with the exception of Luxembourg, almost all the states voted against.

However, in order to accommodate the national sentiments, the German Confederation would not abandon its compatriots in southern Africa, so it intended to solve the problem by means of redemption.

However, it is good not to talk about money, and the monarchs of various states are a little reluctant to talk about money, but the domestic nationalists are making a lot of trouble, and they can only compromise.

Fortunately, the Transvaal is a barren land, and most of the land is still in indigenous hands, so the price should not be very high.

But the words of British Foreign Secretary Palmerston were dumbfounded.

"Ten million, pounds."

(End of chapter)