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

Chapter 1586 Dividing the Spoils on the Spot (Part 1)

Bismarck's choice of Madagascar was actually out of necessity. As the Austrian Empire had begun its colonial activities ahead of time, other countries, seeing the benefits, joined the frenzy of partitioning the island.

However, the Kingdom of Prussia's foundation in colonialism was practically nonexistent. It was utterly uncompetitive against powerful nations, and even its advantages against weaker ones were not particularly pronounced.

If we could turn back time a few years, Prussia could have directly purchased trading posts from other countries at low prices to gain spheres of influence.

However, at this point, it was simply impossible for Bismarck to use money to buy trading posts and spheres of influence, at least with the money he had.

As for the inland regions, no other country besides the Austrian Empire has succeeded so far, and Prussia cannot afford the high costs.

Even if it did seize colonies in the interior, how would it maintain ties with the mainland? And how would it generate profits?

Frederick William IV no longer needed to worry about those matters, as the Austrian Empire announced its plans to launch an expedition to Madagascar.

Prussia lost a diplomat and more than 300 colonial pioneers, so it was bound to get a share of the spoils in this operation.

To ensure this right, Frederick William IV immediately dispatched troops to support the Austrian Empire's expedition.

Other small countries in Germany and Italy also immediately expressed their positions, and the Spanish government, which had always wanted to create a big news story to restore its past glory, naturally did not miss this opportunity.

St. Petersburg, Russia.

Although Madagascar and Russia had absolutely no connection, Nicholas I was still very happy, seeing it as a significant testament to Russia's growing influence in Europe.

At the same time, he was also aware that the partition of Madagascar was Austria doing Russia a favor, since it was obvious to everyone that this was an Austrian expedition.

As for whether there was any intention to counterbalance Britain and France, Nicholas I didn't care at all; he was more concerned about whether Russia could gain any benefits.

Even better news for Russia was that Nicholas I could be certain that the Austrian Empire was still on his side and not directly colluding with Britain and France; otherwise, there would have been no need for such mutual suspicion.

At this time, Russia was facing unprecedented pressure. Although the war had ended, its effects continued.

Poland, Ukraine, southern Russia, and the Caucasus region, which are important sources of tax revenue for Russia, have all suffered losses to varying degrees.

The fiscal deficit and debt have exploded, and even the economic foundation has been damaged. What's worse, the uprisings in these regions have only been suppressed, not eradicated, and there are even some signs of compromise.

The most critical issue is the Balkans. Instead of generating any revenue for Russia, it has become a bottomless pit, swallowing up Russia's funds and military strength.

Nicholas I had almost forgotten how many times he had sent reinforcements to the Balkans, but the enemy had not decreased; on the contrary, the number of enemies had increased with each battle.

The complex terrain of the Balkan Mountains exposed Russia's fragile supply capabilities. In order to get enough to eat, many Russian soldiers had to sell their supplies to rebels in the Balkans. Some even joined the rebels or chose to flee and become bandits in the mountains, which in turn threatened the Russian supply lines.

The Ottomans were eyeing the region covetously, and the British did not want Russia to gain a foothold in the Balkans. Although the Russians had no direct evidence, many speculated that the rebellions in the Balkans were inextricably linked to the British.

This accusation was certainly not unfounded, as the cost for the British to do so was far lower than the cost of directly sending troops. At this time, Britain also needed to recuperate, and instigating a rebellion was an extremely profitable business. The British could send 10,000 pounds of arms into the Balkans to incite a rebellion that would have taken hundreds of thousands of pounds to plan, while Russia would have to spend at least millions to quell it.

The British wouldn't make it too obvious, but they weren't afraid of the Russians finding out either, since they had plenty of reasons, and could even glorify such behavior.

It's important to understand that at that time, Britain was the beacon of the world.
The British were somewhat dissatisfied with the expedition launched by the Austrian Empire, because the Austrian Empire had invited too many countries to participate, which would directly lead to a situation where there were too many participants and not enough resources.

Even the great powers couldn't prevent these small countries from getting a share of the spoils. At this time, most of these small countries were supporters of the Austrian Empire, and Britain would probably have a hard time getting what it wanted when the spoils were divided after the war.

But it is precisely for this reason that the British cannot openly help Madagascar, not only because of public opinion, but also because of their actual interests.

To limit Austria's development and potentially lose important ports, Britain is going to war with all of Europe.
The British cabinet would never agree to such a thing.

Louis-Napoleon did not want the Austrian Empire to gain too much, but he was also unwilling to give up territory he had acquired for free. Previously, due to British interference, the French had suffered several setbacks.

At this point, there was absolutely no reason to refuse the benefits that were already in hand, but the French cabinet was still not entirely at ease with the Austrians and the British, so it decided to send an expeditionary force as well.

However, before the war was over, Franz had already sent notes to various countries, inviting them to Vienna to negotiate the division of territories after the war.

As a result, ambassadors from various countries gathered in Vienna, and Prince Schwarzenberg presided over the meeting.

The British Ambassador, Viscount Stratford, began by saying this.

“I believe that with our country’s strength, we are qualified to control Antziranana (northern) and Mahazanga (eastern) provinces and ensure that the local indigenous people no longer hate Europeans.”

Eastern and northern Madagascar play a crucial role in controlling shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean, especially Tamataf, which directly controls the Mozambique Channel and holds an extremely important strategic position.

Besides Britain and Austria, the Netherlands and France also attach great importance to this route.

Seeing that no one spoke, it was Alexander Colonna Valevsky who spoke first.

How many troops did your country send?

Alexander Colonna Warewski's sudden attack caught Viscount Stratford off guard. He had expected the Austrians to make the first move and could only respond helplessly.

"600."

"By what right does your country, with only 600 troops, control the wealthiest eastern region of Madagascar?"

This statement left Viscount Stratford speechless. He had originally intended to gauge the attitudes of other countries before taking a step back and relinquishing Antziranana to take the eastern province of Mahazanga.

In fact, the British initially aimed for Mahazanga province, though it would have been ideal if they could have also taken over Anziranana in the north.

However, he did not expect that no one would take the bait. Alexander Colonna Warewsky directly asked the British to abandon the East.