Chapter 307: Changing the Cage and Replacing the Bird

Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.

Franz was not surprised that the insider secretly fostered by the US government was actually a spy sent by the Austrian Church.

At this time, there was no help from the well-established counter-espionage systems such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National Security Agency (NSA), which became famous in later generations. It was not surprising that he lacked experience in subversion, and it was also understandable that he had neglected the right person.

Instead of actively lending a hand to help Washington correct this serious mistake, he planned to make two-handed preparations, taking the funds provided by the Americans on the one hand and taking action to clean up the unstable factors inside on the other hand.

"Archduke Franz, the output of Nicaragua and Costa Rica is very pessimistic. If we continue to invest, it is likely that our Central and North American colonial cause will suffer losses. And according to the intelligence from the church informant, the locals seem difficult to control."

Ajani had doubts about Franz taking over the mess of the Central American Federation. The people living on this land have a strong desire to resist, and its complex terrain is far more difficult to conquer than those African countries.

It would take dozens or even hundreds of years to completely erase the strong Spanish cultural color left over from hundreds of years of colonial rule.

"I know. How much does it cost?" Franz said casually, as he was planning a very important voyage.

"It's probably between 2 million and 3 million florins, but 15 million florins will be invested in the early stage. If we add the previous 10 million francs of war reparations, the total is about 20 million florins.

According to this calculation, it will take us about ten years to recover the cost. But with the expenditure on public security maintenance and dealing with possible uprisings and natural disasters and other special events, it may take longer."

In fact, Adjani missed the worst case scenario. Years of war have almost turned Nicaragua and Costa Rica into ruins. How long it will take to resume production is still unknown.

Another important factor that has long plagued and restricted local development is the scarcity of population (the number of indigenous people and immigrants). In the past, the authorities of the two countries have always relied on indentured slaves and imported black slaves to solve local development problems.

Obviously, this road is not feasible now, because like other European countries, the Austrian Empire has a clear ban on slave trade, not to mention that Archduke Franz himself seems to be extremely disgusted with it.

"Well, it's much better than I thought." Franz still responded absent-mindedly.

He was still thinking about the intelligence from the Admiralty at this time. It seems that this voyage will be full of uncertainties. This is still under the favorable situation that the party has already controlled the local situation, otherwise this voyage would not be possible at all.

"Archduke Franz, what's wrong with you? Are you uncomfortable somewhere?" Ajani began to realize the difference. After all, the archduke's thinking has always been very agile, and his behavior today is a little abnormal.

Franz subconsciously looked down, and then said very calmly.

"Oh, nothing, don't worry, this is not the worst situation."

His incoherent words made Ajani a little confused.

"What do you think is the worst case scenario?"

"Britain and France will join forces to completely squeeze us out of Central America."

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

"Do you have a response plan?"

Franz shook his head, and she felt even more depressed now.

"Then I can only remind you that you need to pay 10 million florins in advance for construction and other expenses in Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The empire's colonial institutions there are simply empty shells, because the relevant funds have been diverted by Archduke Friedrich to his navy."

"Don't blame him, who made the navy itself a money-eating beast? But then again, this has no impact on our planning in Central and North America."

Ajani was a little confused. There were no local tyrants and evil gentry who could suck blood in Nicaragua and Costa Rica, and a small number of wealthy landlords either fled to other regions or were absorbed by the church and developed into insiders.

"But if there is no initial capital investment, it may be difficult to reach 700,000 florins per year with just taxes and those inefficient plantations."

"Don't worry about this. Nicaragua and Costa Rica are already part of the expansion of the Empire Church. In this case, all expenses and costs will be borne by them. They are not short of money anyway. Besides, don't the natives dislike the rule of the Empire? Then send them to California."

Franz's behavior made Ajani even more confused, because Nicaragua and Costa Rica themselves have a very scarce labor force. If they send workers to California, a sparsely populated place, wouldn't the plan to colonize the two places become meaningless?

"Excuse me, what exactly are you going to do?"

"Change the cage and replace the bird."

Franz said slowly under her puzzled gaze:

"It's not hard to understand that it took Spain hundreds of years to gain a foothold in America. But we don't have hundreds of years to slowly assimilate the local indigenous peoples, and with the intervention of Britain and France, Central America will sooner or later become a key area of ​​competition among the great powers."

At this time, Ajani suddenly remembered the agreements signed between Austria and Mexico. She thought Franz would attract local immigrants from Spain and Mexico to California, but she never expected that Nicaragua and Costa Rica would become the main transporters.

But she still couldn't understand why he said that Central America would become one of the battlefields for hegemony among the great powers in the future. Perhaps it was because of precious metals?

But judging from the usual tactics of the great powers in the colonial competition at this time, they would not go to the point of going to war just because the other party used some shady means.

But facing the questions of his subordinates, Franz seemed very helpless. He couldn't just tell her that a large canal would be dug here in the future to directly control the fate of the two continents.

In fact, Panama is not the only area suitable for digging a canal. Nicaragua is also suitable; and the transportation volume of Nicaragua's canal is far greater than that of the Panama Canal, and of course the cost and engineering volume are also greater.

However, it is more appropriate to give this role of a sucker to other countries. After all, it will not hurt only when the stick hits someone else.

"But in this case, the local population will be even less, and I'm afraid that even the existing tax revenue and output cannot be guaranteed." Ajani continued.

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

Franz's words made Ajani silent for a while, but she knew very well that once he insisted on his own opinion and made a decision on something, it meant that everything was within the plan, and there was generally no chance to change it, so there was no need to continue to entangle with it, not to mention that she had other important things to report at the moment.