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

Chapter 1584 Bismarck's Colonial Diary
Bismarck was frustrated. He never considered himself ordinary, but he was truly clueless about overseas colonization. Bismarck had never studied how to communicate with the natives, but Frederick William IV's orders were absolute, and he had no choice but to obey.

Frederick William IV was truly determined to make this minister look like an idiot; he absolutely could not tolerate such humiliation.

Thus, Bismarck received 20,000 thalers as start-up capital and a colonial team of 300 prisoners.

The reason Frederick William IV acted so blatantly was mainly because he had a very limited understanding of colonial activities. He believed that colonies were developed through the exile of convicts.

This put Bismarck in a difficult position, as he had to hire experts and sailors with his limited funds, and also subdue the prisoners sent by Frederick William IV.

There were few people in the Kingdom of Prussia who knew much about the colonies, and even fewer who had ever sailed overseas. Fortunately, neighboring Denmark and the Netherlands had no shortage of such talent, and there were also many talented but unappreciated people in the Kingdom of Prussia, which was in a period of decline at the time.

So Bismarck actually managed to cobble together a team, and he also convinced the prisoners. Some of them were persuaded by reason, while others were persuaded by physics.

Bismarck then began to select colonization targets, but unfortunately, almost all areas of North and West Africa had already been occupied by others, and even those without colonies were designated as spheres of influence by certain countries.

The region of Nigeria was not officially colonized, but the British took advantage of the civil war to occupy the estuary and install a puppet regime within it.

Gabon was also "protected" by France under the pretext of combating the slave trade, and while Portugal did not yet have actual control over southern Angola, the British had already extended their reach there.

East Africa was also largely divided up by Britain, Portugal, and Austria, leaving only the populous and powerful Abyssinian Empire.

In fact, Bismarck did consider taking over this country, but after careful consideration, he abandoned the plan.

The main reason was that Abyssinia was sandwiched between the spheres of influence of Austria and Britain, and its strategic value would rise sharply once the Suez Canal was opened. He was afraid that Prussia would not be able to hold onto it.

Although Abyssinia is not yet fully unified, Tvordros II has already demonstrated a wisdom and decisiveness that is quite different from that of other African monarchs.

Ultimately, Bismarck chose Madagascar, a place severely divided internally, ruled by a tyrannical and incompetent monarch, and most importantly, untouched by foreign powers.

However, with only three hundred men under his command, conquering a country with millions of people was still a pipe dream, so Bismarck came up with a plan.

Lanavarona I was known for her tyrannical rule, under which everyone lived in constant fear of death.

Therefore, there were many forces opposing the Queen in the Kingdom of Imrena, some of whom happened to be Christians. Furthermore, Queen Lanavarona I had just carried out a massacre of Christians within the Kingdom of Imrena, and Bismarck's target for winning over was the Church.

Among all the national churches, the one with the most power was the church of the Austrian Empire. Bismarck quickly identified Alfred Taffy, a young bishop of noble birth and holding an important position.

The young bishop's diocese happened to be in East Africa, and he was the younger brother of Edward Taffy, the governor of East Africa.

Bismarck couldn’t imagine a more perfect candidate, and then the old fox went to Bagamoyo to start his deception.

As it happened, Alfred Taffy also wanted to make a name for himself and prove that he was no less than anyone else. So the two hit it off and agreed that Prussia would establish a colony that only believed in Catholicism, and Alfred Taffy and his priest brothers would be free to preach and save Christians, and even establish a theocracy.

The bishop, who had just turned eighteen, immediately began to call for men, but Bismarck, fearing that too much attention would be drawn and that he would be exposed, urged Alfred Taffy to act as soon as possible, citing the fear that things might get complicated if he delayed.

The young bishop, easily provoked, decided to act ahead of schedule, and a group of nearly two thousand people arrived at the Sakawara tribe under the cover of night.

After drinking a cup of tea offered by the Sakavara chief, the two men lost consciousness. When they awoke, the camp reeked of blood, as the Sakavara were stripping the richly dressed priests of their spoils.

Everywhere you looked, there were corpses—Prussians, natives, and Austrians. Two burnt-out ships were still emitting smoke on the shore.
By this time, Bismarck and Alfred Taffy, of course, knew what had happened and began to curse, but the Sakawara chieftain acted as if he hadn't heard them. He put them in cages, hung them on a carrying pole, and set off. On the way, Bismarck's mind finally cleared up a bit. Although the enemy had launched a surprise attack under the cover of night, this time they were all elite troops and shouldn't have been beaten so badly.

At that moment, Bismarck suddenly touched a scab on his beard, which still had blood on it. He finally understood that the tea offered by the Sakavara was poisoned.

Many people had lost their fighting ability before the war, and the fact that he and Bishop Alfred had disappeared led to the complete defeat.

Thinking of this, Bismarck became even more frustrated. He shouldn't have followed the understanding of the nobility, and he shouldn't have trusted those damned natives.

Out of shame and anger, and fueled by his strong sense of pride, Bismarck gripped the cage, shaking it violently while shouting, "Let's fight one-on-one!"

Through Bismarck's persistent efforts, the ropes suspending the cage finally snapped, and the cage landed without falling apart.

As a result, Bismarck was gagged after being severely beaten and hung up in a hoisted-back manner.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Bismarck and Alfred Taffy were locked in the same cell. Their eyes met, and Bismarck spoke first.

“Bishop Alfred, you are likely to be canonized by the Church.”

"I truly hope my sacrifice will bring you your freedom. But I suspect the Prussian government will award you a medal?"

Bismarck gave a cold laugh and did not answer.

Soon, someone brought food and water, and Alfred Taffy began to recite scriptures. Bismarck, however, paid no heed and began to eat heartily, after all, he had suffered quite a bit on the journey.

"Your Excellency, why aren't you eating?"

Bismarck asked curiously.

"I will go on a hunger strike to protest their despicable practices."

Alfred Taffy said stubbornly.

"What good is it! You don't actually think they'll let us go, do you? They just want to humiliate us and show their subjects how we're barely surviving."

In fact, Alfred Taffy didn't think as much as Bismarck did; he was just a little scared.

Aren't you afraid the food might be poisoned?

Bismarck burst into laughter upon hearing this.

“Your Excellency, you are so humorous! We are already fish on the chopping block, why would they need to poison us? Or do they need to be full to have energy?”

"what are you up to?"

"Make them pay!"

Don't worry.