Chapter 453 Dilemma

Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.

When the news that the German Confederation was going to fight against South Sea pirates reached Vienna, Franz was still very surprised. He did not expect the progress to be so fast, and he did not expect the German Confederation to pass this resolution.

At this time, Franz was increasingly suspicious of the professional level of Austrian diplomats. It was terrible that such a fantastic resolution could be passed.

Another point is that this incident disrupted Franz's self-proclaimed exquisite layout. In fact, due to the limitations of transportation and communication in this era, a lot of information could not be conveyed in time.

So some ideal exquisite layouts can only exist in ideals.

Due to some minor deviations and accidents, the current situation was created.

Franz never expected that a small person whose name he could not remember would once again make the front page of the German regional newspaper.

In fact, Austria is not unable to take on this crisis, but it should not be done by this person and at this time.

Perhaps it was a mistake not to arrest this person and lock him up to death. In fact, the secret police did not take Ludwig von Lens away for investigation.

Unfortunately, the head of the secret police who interrogated him happened to be a Pan-German, and he was helped by an economist, Böhm-Bawerk.

The "culprit" who directly caused the Luxembourg crisis was sent home to reflect after only one week in the interrogation room, and even came to the temporary headquarters of the German Confederation as a student representative again a few months later.

Then he once again dragged the entire German Confederation to the brink of war. Yes, sometimes it only takes a few days for a rain to turn into a flood, and so does public opinion.

Obviously, with the experience of the previous Luxembourg crisis, people seemed to be more enthusiastic about the war and had no fear at all.

But they soon discovered a problem, they seemed unable to reach Asia.

In fact, Franz knew that the British would sooner or later target the small Southern Ming court, after all, it was a gold mine. And with the experience of trading with the Qing Dynasty, they naturally thought that the Southern Ming would also buy opium from them.

But one of the agreements Franz and Zhu Qiongying made was to prohibit the Chinese from taking opium at will, and it was naturally not included as a medicine.

Zhu Qiongying has been in Southeast Asia for many years and what she hates most are opium merchants and human traffickers. No one knows better than her how hateful these two types of people are.

In fact, when Franz mentioned opium, Zhu Qiongying thought that the former wanted to monopolize the opium trade. But Franz's proposal was just the opposite. He asked Zhu Qiongying's Nanming to completely ban opium. Of course, this would take a process of ten, twenty, or even fifty years.

But in fact, Franz still underestimated Zhu Qiongying's determination and the courage of this ancient nation. In just a few years, opium smokers were physically eliminated.

However, the British did not know this, but even if they knew this, they would continue the opium trade. There was no other reason, in order to balance the trade deficit.

The products of Kalimantan Island are far less abundant than those of the Qing Dynasty, but self-sufficiency is not a problem. At the same time, it is part of the agreement with Franz and a need to maintain rule.

Most of the materials of this small Southern Ming court were imported through Zhenla, which was actually a theocracy controlled by Franz. This was done naturally to tie the new Southern Ming firmly to the Austrian chariot.

When Zhu Qiongying rejected the British "peaceful trade", the two sides were bound to conflict. Then, generally speaking, facing such a weak country, the British would first choose gunboat diplomacy, force the other party to sign a trade treaty, forcibly import goods, support agents, and gradually control

However, the British did not have much power in the Nanyang region, and even if they wanted to fight, they would not choose to land and fight. After all, the Southern Ming could quickly defeat the surrounding indigenous forces, as well as those Qing court lackeys and local factions. It was not the jade seal given to Zhu Qiongying by Franz, but guns, but hundreds of thousands of light and strong men.

Of course, if the British really had their brains out and chose to start a war in the jungle on Kalimantan Island, then Franz would be very happy, because it would be a bottomless pit.

But it turned out that the British were not stupid. They sent a miniature fleet to blockade several important ports of the Southern Ming. However, no attack was launched. After all, Zhu Qiongying could have sent people to surround the British strongholds on Kalimantan Island.

The two sides could not continue to be deadlocked, so it was the turn of the Dutch.

In fact, in a sense, the Southern Ming and the Dutch East India Company were hostile to each other, but the two sides had both confrontation and cooperation. For example, the Dutch would not refuse to make money from smuggling.

Then there was a scene where British warships seized Dutch merchant ships.

In fact, the decline of the Netherlands should be largely attributed to the Anglo-Dutch War, so the Dutch, who had an advantage in Southeast Asia, were very dissatisfied with the British who had just arrived.

The result was that a Dutch fleet besieged the British port in a mighty manner, and then fled back to Jakarta in disgrace after losing many soldiers and generals.

(In fact, the Dutch called Jakarta Batavia at that time.)

The Dutch fleet was still at the level of the 18th century, and had no chance of winning in front of the British new warships. The Dutch soldiers who were pampered all day were not the opponents of the British navy that was plundering everywhere.

A crushing defeat was inevitable, but Franz didn't expect the two sides to really fight. He just wanted to take the opportunity to solve the trade crisis of the Southern Ming Dynasty and find a reason for the Netherlands to join the German Confederation.

It's just that things developed a little too fast, and now Austria is once again being put on the spot.

Yes, so far, Austria is the only country in the entire German Confederation that has colonies in Asia, and only its navy can take on the task of combating pirates in the South China Sea.

The problem is that the so-called pirates are actually British, and Austria cannot take the initiative to declare war on Britain, which puts it in a dilemma.

Vienna, Regent Council.

"Catch the idiot Pillersdorf quickly, he actually has the face to come back! And that college student! I said that the supervision of universities should be strengthened! You just don't listen!"

Prince Metternich complained wildly and threw the blame wildly. To be honest, he was extremely disappointed with this incident. Fighting with the British on the European continent is fine, but going to Asia to fight a naval battle with the British is simply suicide.

Count Korolav also had a serious expression. He had a very good relationship with the military. According to Count Tural, the Austrian navy was now fully capable of defeating the British Mediterranean Fleet.

The problem was that first, the Mediterranean Fleet was just one of the British squadrons. Second, the target this time was in Asia. Third, Tural had never been to a river in his life, so theoretically he knew nothing about the navy.

Finally, they were talking about the Austrian Navy at a family gathering, which meant that the other party was most likely drunk.

In fact, on the other side of the sea, British Prime Minister Robert Peel was also looking at the intelligence in his hand with a confused look on his face.

"The German Confederation will organize a delegation to ask our country about its views on South China Sea pirates"