Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 258: The Rookies' First Steps

Austria is situated by the Adriatic Sea, and for overseas trade, one must navigate around the Italian Peninsula and pass through the Strait of Gibraltar to leave the Mediterranean.

Both in terms of distance and safety, this route is not very reliable. For future development, it is crucial to have control over a safe route out of the Mediterranean.

Four years ago, Franz proposed the idea of constructing the Suez Canal and even sent a team of experts to explore the area.

As for the masters of this region, the Egyptian government and suzerain state, unfortunately, the Austrian government forgot to inform them.

Once the technical feasibility was confirmed, the Austrian government strengthened its penetration in the Egyptian region. Franz, being self-aware, didn’t rush to Cairo or compete with Britain and France for territory. Instead, he set his sights on the Sinai Peninsula.

Not to mention in this era, even in the 21st century, the Sinai Peninsula is considered the most underdeveloped region in Egypt. Now, it’s viewed as a desert island in the eyes of the public.

The peninsula has arid and rainless areas, mostly covered by deserts. For generations, the local population has relied on camel herding for their livelihood.

Before the Age of Discovery, there was a trade route here connecting the Ottoman Empire and Egypt. The locals made a living by selling camels to passing merchants and were able to get by.

In the early 19th century, the region gained independence. This severed ties with the Ottoman Empire and led to a complete decline.

In the 61,000 square kilometers of the Sinai Peninsula, the permanent population is less than 30,000, and the largest city, Arish, is not comparable to a small town in Austria. Even a newly established colonial outpost in Africa is more prosperous than here.

To be exact, it was once a city, now reduced to the level of a village — the base of a nomadic tribe. Besides sand, there was more sand. And every now and then a small oasis would appear, which was a valuable resource.

In this impoverished setting, the Austrian government initiated colonial activities in the Sinai Peninsula.

……

Staring at the endless desert before him, Leo Haval said incredulously: “Andrea, are you sure that the domestic orders are for us to create a pretext here and take the opportunity to conquer this barren land?”

What they saw was more than Leo Haval could accept. The terrain of the Sinai Peninsula was not bad, except for the lack of water; everything else was manageable.

Unfortunately, all of Egypt had only one river, the Nile. Rivers and even streams were rare in the Sinai Peninsula. This made the place unsuitable for human habitation.

Before the discovery of oil, there was absolutely no economic value to be found here. As for strategic value, that would be after the Suez Canal was opened to navigation. At present, there is no value to be found here.

The equally confused Andrea replied uncertainly: “I think so!”

The two exchanged a strange look and then fell silent for a long time.

After a moment of silence, Leo Haval suggested, “Why bother finding an excuse? Let’s just take Arish directly. Let’s take Arish directly. It’s just a native tribe anyway. If we gather the people we have on the ship, we can occupy it. There’s no need to wait for reinforcements from home.”

“That’s not right. We have to have an excuse, otherwise it will be a diplomatic challenge,” Andrea objected.

Leo Haval said indifferently, “What is there to fear? Everybody does it. The British and French colonizers do worse things. Let’s occupy this place first, then bring down some goods from the ship, and treat it as seized loot. If there are casualties, we will include them.

Let’s say it was our caravan that was attacked by the local nomadic tribe, and we merely organized a counterattack in self-defense. Let the diplomats handle the rest. For such small matters, no one cares; a plausible excuse is all that matters.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Andrea said decisively: “Wealth comes with risk. Let’s do it! This is our first pot of gold. Hopefully, we can grab some good things.”

Franz is very generous to the bold colonial expedition teams. All spoils will be distributed among the colonial teams, and the Austrian government will not covet them.

That is why they changed the plan. After all, if they personally took control of this place, then the wealth here would be their private property.

If they had followed the original plan, just causing trouble to create a pretext, they would have at most received a bonus.

Stimulated by the prospect of profit, this newly formed civilian colonial team has taken the first step toward colonization.

……

The battle unfolded without suspense as the two, leading a colonial team of over 180 people, launched a surprise attack on the indigenous tribe that ruled the area and quickly achieved victory.

But when they saw the casualties, their faces immediately darkened. Three dead and seven injured was a devastating blow for this small colonial team.

Andrea complained unwillingly: “Damned bastards! They caused us such heavy losses. We absolutely cannot let them off lightly!”

Leo Haval said calmly, “Enough, Andrea. To walk this path is to be prepared for sacrifice. It’s said that thousands die every year in the colonial efforts of Great Britain and France.

For now, take stock of the spoils of war and arrange the scene to make it look like they acted out of greed.

Then signal the military to come and take over here; otherwise, when the regular Egyptian army comes, we won’t be able to hold on.”

Adjusting her emotions, Andrea said: “Don’t worry, I’m fine. It’s just hard to see some of the young men we brought with us die. I feel a little upset.”

Leo Haval calmly said, “Get used to it. You can’t avoid casualties in this line of work. People can’t come back to life. What we can do is provide some compensation to their families after we return.”

This colonization team was formed by the two of them in partnership. Due to their limited strength, they didn’t have the ability to establish overseas colonies on their own. Their main business was to take orders from the military.

They specialized in the dirty work that the military didn’t want to do, and they were paid in commissions.

If they were strong enough to conquer and rule land overseas on their own, Franz would not interfere either.

This is purely theoretical. Without a country’s support, even if they set up an overseas colony on their own, they wouldn’t have enough strength to maintain it.

Currently, Austria’s overseas colonial activities had just begun, and until they saw results, the major nobility back in the country wouldn’t invest much.

The civilian colonial teams that were now appearing were mostly small organizations of about a hundred people. They lacked the manpower and resources to maintain an entire colony.

These small teams could only follow the government’s pace and participate in colonial activities, such as exploring the African continent, suppressing natives that threatened the security of colonial outposts, or establishing their own outposts to sell to the government.

Teams with capabilities can also partner with the government to jointly manage operations. In other words, the government provides security, the colony team manages the colony and pays taxes to the government, while the profits from running the colony belong to the team.

Those who make a significant contribution to colonial activities may also receive titles and fiefs. Except for paying a small amount of taxes, all matters within the fief are handled by the nobles themselves.

……

Clearly, these two novice colonizers are still unaware of the significant impact their actions will have on future generations. At the moment, they are still complaining about the meager harvest and feeling disgruntled.

Leo Haval exclaimed, “God, why is this tribe so poor? Besides a group of camels and sheep, all they have is a pile of hides. Where did the gold and gems that the natives supposedly used for rituals go?”

Andrea said sympathetically, “I also wonder where the gold and gems have gone! Just now I opened the deeply hidden treasure they hid, and inside were actually several jars of salt.

God, when did salt become a treasure? Wasn’t this place originally a transit point for trade between Egypt and the Ottoman Empire? How is it possible that there’s no treasure at all?”

Leo Haval, irritated, said, “Nonsense about being a trade transit point! That was all in the last century. After the trade routes were cut off, the natives all left, and now only nomadic tribes remain.

It’s not just here. It’s said that all the permanent inhabitants of the Sinai Peninsula are nomadic tribes. With no traveling merchants and severe water shortages making agriculture impossible, it has now regressed to primitive times!”

To primitive times, that was definitely an exaggeration. At least flintlock rifles had appeared among the nomadic tribes. Although it is still unknown what era the flintlocks belonged to, it meant that they were still in the era of hot weapons.

In terms of lifestyle, however, there was no difference from primitive societies. It was still stuck in the nomadic era, with no trace of modernity.

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