The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1522 The solution is not a solution

It was naturally impossible for the British to compete with the French who had planned it too early, but the British did not want to make any bidding. What they opposed was the construction of the Suez Railway itself.

After all, Egypt is the sphere of influence of the United Kingdom, which is tantamount to tampering with the emperor's head. However, the so-called sphere of influence of the British is just their own idea and has not been recognized by the international community.

As for Egypt, after losing the two monarchs Muhammad Ali and Ibrahim, it had become a complete mess, and Abbas I did not have the courage to confront the great powers.

The Egyptian government has actually become a tool for the great powers to rule Egypt. As for the Egyptians themselves, their spirit of resistance is extremely weak. They dare not resist foreign rulers, let alone resist the great powers.

Abbas I also understood his situation, so in order to maintain his position he would do everything he could to please the great powers.

Britain is certainly formidable, but the great powers around Egypt are even more formidable.

So the Suez railway project was implemented amid protests from Britain, and John Russell didn't know what to do.

Although France's status has been declining, it is still Britain's only useful ally on the European continent at this time. We can't expect Portugal to fight against the European powers.

There were cries of war and killing in the British Parliament, and many members of parliament were clamoring to send more troops to Egypt and go to war with France. John Russell rubbed his forehead. Land warfare was not what Britain was good at, especially when facing the most elite French army in Europe.

In addition, France is a Mediterranean country, close to Egypt, and its efficiency in deploying troops is much higher than that of the United Kingdom. Moreover, the United Kingdom now needs to do its best to avoid war, especially this meaningless war.

Finally John Russell came up with a solution that was not a solution.

Topkapi Palace, Ottoman Empire.

Queen Mother Shefkefza and Mohammed Murad V were listening to Viscount Stratford's story in confusion.

Theoretically speaking, Egypt was still a territory of the Ottoman Empire at this time, and the Egyptian Pasha was only a vassal of the Ottoman Sultan.

So the British government directly passed the buck to the orphan and the widow, hoping that they could come up with a solution.

This is a bit difficult. Queen Mother Shefkefza dare not do anything to the great powers. If she really had that ability, the Ottoman Empire would not have fallen to its current state.

Murad V was a typical Napoleon fan. When he heard that Napoleon III was so bold as to act against the British, he couldn't help but feel heroic.

If Queen Mother Shefkefza had not stopped him, Murad V would have joined forces with Napoleon III to fight against the British.

In fact, Viscount Stratford also thought this was stupid, but he still had to obey his superiors' orders. However, he did not expect the Ottoman Empire to really stand up for Britain. If the Ottomans really went to war with the powers, then he would really worry.

So after the routine, Viscount Stratford left, and only then did Queen Mother Shefkefuza breathe a sigh of relief.

"The British are becoming more and more unreliable."

"Mother, the British want us to be their knives. They are just using us and don't really want to be our allies."

Queen Mother Shefkefza hugged Murad V into her arms.

"Silly child, there are no allies. Countries are just using each other. You have to grow up quickly, the future of the Ottoman Empire depends on you." However, the Ottoman Empire did not say nothing. It symbolically levied a tax on the Suez Railway, which was about 100,000 francs per year.

Louis Napoleon was naturally very happy to pay the money and publicized it in French newspapers.

French merchants took action immediately. The main value of the Suez Railway was to transport personnel and materials before the Suez Canal was built.

In fact, the French had similar plans before, but were forced to give up due to the obstruction of the British.

Although the railways in France have not been completed, the Suez Railway has created quite a craze in France and once became the stock with the highest bullish rate in Paris.

On the other hand, the Austrian Empire was not idle either. It immediately overturned the British plan and began to expand comprehensively. In order to speed up the construction progress, the Austrian Empire decided to start the project from four places at the same time, namely:
The northernmost Port Said, where the port is expanded and the channel is dug.

The middle section of the Great Bitter Lake area connects to the canal and adjusts the water level difference.

The southern section of the Little Bitter Lake area is the most difficult part of the entire canal, because it is a real desert, which is like hell for the construction workers. Historically, this section of the project buried at least 50,000 Egyptians.

The southernmost point is the Gulf of Suez. The task here is also arduous, because there is no foundation, so a brand new port needs to be built. In addition to the canal, the reefs on the shore are also a big problem.

Fortunately, the manpower provided by Egypt was sufficient, so Franz could start this huge project without any scruples. As mentioned earlier, as outsiders, the Egyptian government did not care about the lives of Egyptians, so it directly provided 300,000 workers.

Why not provide more? On the one hand, Egypt's population is limited, and on the other hand, the Egyptian government's control is too weak.

It was with the help of the great powers that 300,000 workers were mobilized. Although the Egyptian government had mobilized 300,000, 500,000, and 1.55 million workers in history, in reality there were only 30,000 to 40,000 people participating in the construction at the same time.

However, this time it is a joint construction by multiple countries, and the Egyptian government cannot just send some people out to do the job.

Of course, the cost of food, clothing, and tools for these hundreds of thousands of people are all borne by the Suez Canal Company and the Egyptian government.

Franz didn't care about this at all. After all, East Africa was right next door. At that time, the cotton textile industry in the Austrian Empire was also very developed, and its tool manufacturing industry was the best in the world.

Anyway, it was a matter of money going out with one hand and money coming in with the other. The more the Suez Canal cost, the happier Franz was. In short, the Austrian Empire did not suffer any loss.

But the Egyptian government has a headache. According to the agreement, in addition to providing manpower and land, they also have to bear 10% of the comprehensive costs.

The proportion of 10% does not sound very high, but the problem is that the Egyptian government has no money after abolishing the tobacco and alcohol monopoly system.

Abbas I was a monarch who was only good at infighting. He stopped the modernization reforms of his father and grandfather, which ostensibly saved money, but in fact he spent all the capital on useless things, such as the stable of priceless Arabian horses.

During the short period of Abbas I's rule, Egypt relied on imports for 80% of its food. The cotton and tobacco it planted were cash crops, but the British and other European powers lowered the purchase prices, resulting in the country not making any money. Instead, it incurred heavy debts due to fluctuations in world food prices.

When talking about debt, we have to mention the French and the British. They had already prepared the loan agreement and were waiting for the Egyptian government to sign it.

Another major characteristic of Abbas I was his weakness towards the great powers. He was far inferior to his grandfather who dared to fool European countries.

When the British wanted to build a railway in Egypt, Abbas I even provided them with funds. Now that the French wanted to build a railway, he also chose to take the initiative to invest.