Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 265: Gold Mine

Guinea

At this time, most of Guinea was still an undeveloped tropical rainforest. Now, during the rainy season, the jungles were even more dangerous.

But this did not dampen the people’s enthusiasm for making money. The Austrian colonizers had already begun to move inland. They didn’t even need a government to organize them; civilian armed groups who wanted to get rich had already taken action on their own.

In this era, Europeans who voluntarily ventured into the colonies were known for their boldness and courage, much more so than those who were forcibly relocated by the Austrian government.

This was also related to the proportion of young adults among the refugees. Due to the effects of the Balkan wars, massive casualties among young adults meant that most of the refugees going to Africa were women.

This was also good for the development of the African continent by the Austrian government. The colonization activities of this era were basically all done by men. All nations had a headache about the gender imbalance in the colonies. This problem resulted in a large number of mixed-race children being born in the colonies.

Well, there’s no need to worry. The influx of large numbers of female immigrants has solved this problem. Once they start families, things will mostly stabilize.

Franz has already devised a propaganda plan; all that’s left is to discover the gold.

There was no alternative, Europeans of this era only recognized gold mines. For most people, mining gold was the easiest way to become rich overnight.

To attract immigrants, Franz reluctantly had to give up the plan to monopolize the gold mines. Of course, not knowing the exact location of the gold mines was also a major reason.

……

After the rain, Baron Falkner set out with the colonization squad. As a traditional German military aristocratic family, his father’s generation had failed to keep up with the times of great change, and the family business had slowly declined.

Originally, the output of the land was not substantial, and after the abolition of serfdom, his income became even less. Relying solely on the income from his land, he could no longer maintain his extravagant aristocratic lifestyle.

To avoid becoming one of the bankrupt nobles, after the Austrian government opened up African colonies, Falkner mortgaged his estate to the bank and organized a colonial armed force of two hundred men.

Unlike other colonial forces, all of his troops had a connection to him; they were all private troops formed from the tenant farmers of his fiefdom.

Falkner’s family cultivated these people over many years. Even after the abolition of serfdom, the locals remained loyal to him.

Although his team was only middling in size among the colonization teams going to Africa, its combat power was top-notch.

This was the foundation of an aristocratic family. Even in decline, the remaining capital could not be matched by upstarts.

……

“Baron, the scouts up ahead have spotted a tribe of natives hunting. There are about one hundred and fifty of them, mainly armed with bows and bone spears.” A middle-aged man said solemnly.

Falkner frowned. He deeply disliked dealing with these purely native tribes. There was simply no way to communicate with them.

He was not a slave trader, and he had little interest in capturing slaves. By this time, however, American slave traders had already appeared at the colonial outposts specifically to buy slaves, and they paid well.

As a nobleman, Falkner couldn’t lower himself to become a slave trader; he felt it would dishonor the family’s name.

He had always looked down on those teams that degenerated into profiting from the slave trade.

The Austrian government had also outlawed the slave trade. Soon after Franz’s ascension to the throne, they passed the “Slavery Abolition Act”, which provided the legal basis for the emancipation of serfs in Austria.

Of course, this law doesn’t apply to the African continent for the time being. As long as slaves are not brought to the Austrian mainland, no one will interfere.

Whether it’s Americans or Portuguese engaged in the slave trade, the colonial government never questions or controls them; in Africa, might is right.

Relying solely on the one battalion of Austrian soldiers in the colonial outposts, they were probably no match for the slave traders.

The reality was just that cruel. Overseas colonization also had to take costs into account. Austria has opened more than twenty colonial settlements on the African continent, with the forces of a single infantry division distributed among all of them.

In addition to the government military, the various large and small civilian colonization squads were an important part of the colonial forces. Individually, they seemed insignificant, but collectively they were the equivalent of two infantry divisions.

From the moment they entered the colonies, they became reserve units of the Austrian army. In case of emergency, the colonial governments had the authority to call up all squads.

Falkner asked: “Can we avoid them?”

He had come to seek his fortune by prospecting for gold, not to fight the native tribes. Such conflicts would bring him no glory and would only use up precious weapons and ammunition.

The middle-aged man thought for a moment and said, “I’m afraid not. They’re blocking our path, and if we don’t stop our advance, it’s unlikely we’ll be able to avoid them.

Moreover, even if we manage to get around them, there’s a good chance we’ll be ambushed on our way back. Several teams have been ambushed in the settlements by indigenous tribes.

And these people often wear human skulls on their waists; they are probably cannibal tribes, not friendly folks. We have no reason to be polite to them.”

“Bang, bang, bang…”

Before Falkner could give the order, gunfire erupted.

“What’s happening?”

“Baron, the enemy has spotted us and is attacking us,” a soldier hurriedly reported.

Upon learning that the enemy had attacked, Falkner immediately ordered without hesitation: “Vinnie, take men to kill them, use guns directly, don’t be foolishly engage them in hand-to-hand combat!”

“Yes, sir!”

……

Gunshots rang out 150 meters away.

“Bang, bang, bang…”

There was no suspense; the battle ended quickly. Dealing with natives stuck in the era of cold weapons didn’t require much effort.

Once the enemy had been routed, Baron Falkner did not order any further pursuit. He was not a slave trader and had no interest in taking prisoners.

A soldier who went to inspect called out excitedly: “Gold!”

“Baron, these natives have a piece of gold. We may have stumbled upon a gold mine!”

The appearance of gold meant that there must be a gold mine nearby. In this era, the range of activity for native tribes was limited, usually within a 180-kilometer radius.

Once the scope was determined, finding the gold mine would not be difficult. Everyone was excited. After months of toiling on the African continent without success, it would be strange if they were not desperate.

Grateful for the discovery of gold, Baron Falkner, in a cheerful mood, said, “Father, give them some last rites!”

The priest replied with obvious disgust, “Forgive me, Lord Baron, they are not believers in God. Besides, I don’t think this evil cannibal tribe deserves a place in heaven; their only destination is hell!”

Savage cannibal tribes were beyond what normal people could accept. Except for brainless idealists, most normal people could not recognize that “cannibalism is a culture”.

Baron Falkner had just been in a good mood and had shown some kindness on a whim, overlooking the identity of the enemy. This did not mean that he had any goodwill towards the savage cannibal tribes.

“Very well, let’s continue searching for the gold mine.”

……

As if God had played a joke on him, the nearby gold mine did not appear. Instead, the colonial team suffered several attacks from jungle predators, resulting in three deaths and five injuries.

Faced with these apex predators, Falkner’s colonial team found it difficult to cope. The team’s morale inevitably dropped.

“Our supplies are low. If we still don’t find the gold mine after searching this area, we’ll return to the outpost for supplies first. Let’s start preparing food. After eating, except for those who are assigned to the night watch, the rest of you should rest well. If there are still no results tomorrow, we’ll come back next time.

Don’t worry, the gold mine is underground, it won’t run away. This is a God-given opportunity, and our current predicament is a test for us!” Baron Falkner reassured them.

After the reassurance, the mood of the team stabilized. Searching for a gold mine was never smooth sailing, and encountering setbacks was part of the process.

The legendary man-eating flowers, cannibal trees, devil sorcerers — they encountered none of them, only some poisonous bugs and ferocious beasts. That could already be considered good luck, Falkner consoled himself.

His funds were running low, and if he couldn’t find the gold mine, he would have to become a mercenary, serving the colonial government for a fee or working for slave traders to earn commissions to keep the team going.

After a long hesitation, family honor finally prevailed. He still could not stoop so low as to serve slave traders.

Serving the colonial government was still serving the Empire. Although the income might be less, the status was different!

As a nobleman, it would be a problem if he could earn merit but still couldn’t rise to a high position in the colonies.

At that moment, a familiar voice sounded: “Baron, this is the river sand we found in the river ahead. It seems to contain gold.”

After speaking, the man handed the river sand shimmering with gold to Baron Falkner.

After examining it, Falkner quickly said, “Hurry, please bring Father Bartig here. We may have found a gold mine.”

During this time, European priests often had multiple roles, such as teachers, scientists, engineers, and more. Without family responsibilities, they had ample time each day to acquire knowledge, resulting in a generally decent level of knowledge.

Father Bartig was recruited by Baron Falkner with the promise that once they found the gold mine, he would sponsor the construction of a Catholic church and help him spread the Gospel in the colonial settlement.

The camp was not very large, and Father Bartig, who was in the midst of prayer, was called upon to determine if the glittering substance in the river sand was indeed gold.

Father Bartig held a magnifying glass and observed carefully for a while, saying, “God bless you, Baron, you’ve finally found a gold mine. However, I still need to personally explore the riverbank to determine the gold content in the river sand. If it exceeds 5 grams, then it has development value.

Judging from this handful of river sand, the gold content in this area should be quite high. Based on my experience, it should not be less than 5 grams.”

Falkner replied eagerly, “No problem, Father. It’s late, so we’ll rest for the night. Tomorrow we can go out and explore the area.”

The presence of gold in river sand was no secret, but the content was often meager. In over a hundred tests, the gold content per ton of river sand never exceeded 3 grams.

This number might be considered a rich ore deposit in later times, but at that time it had no mining value at all. Even if they were to forcibly mine it and refine it, there would be no profit.

At first, Baron Falkner was enthusiastic about testing the river sand, but he gradually became disheartened. It was only when he saw the glint of gold in that handful of sand that he paid attention to it.

Since it was visible to the naked eye, the gold content was obviously not low. However, this handful of river sand was not indicative, and actual field exploration was required to determine the exact gold content.

Father Bartig replied, “Baron, I have no objections. You can make the arrangements for these matters.”

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