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

Chapter 1807 Good Luck and Bad Luck

The conflict between the two sides could hardly be called a battle; it was more of a one-sided massacre.

By the time Franz's order arrived, the city's population had decreased by a quarter, and this was under relatively restrained circumstances.

If we let these people run wild, the gates of hell might already be open by now.

It must be said that those who can survive on this land must have some skills, and they quickly got to work.

However, Franz didn't trust them that much; he mainly assigned them to repair roads and build reservoirs.

To get rich, build roads first. This saying is true most of the time, especially in the nineteenth century.

Ancient Canaan was not particularly poor; its modern poverty is largely due to the disrepair of its roads.

In fact, the Canaan region has a foundation laid in the ancient Roman era, so its basic conditions are not too bad. As long as the main areas are restored, they can be connected immediately.

However, Franz's ambitions clearly did not stop there. The Ottomans were not entirely without merit over the centuries; at the very least, they preserved several ports left over from the ancient Roman era.

However, these major ports remained undeveloped natural shallow water harbors, making it impossible for the Austrian Empire's large ships to dock. They could only transport soldiers and supplies using small and medium-sized ships.

Fortunately, Franz had knowledge from later generations. He knew that Haifa was actually a natural deep-water port, but the Ottomans had misjudged it for hundreds of years, so it was still a small town at this time.

With just a few simple modifications, Haifa could become an excellent deep-water port, and the combination of sea and land routes could revitalize the entire region.

Seawater desalination projects are too advanced for this era and are too expensive. Building reservoirs and digging deep wells to extract groundwater are more reliable options.

In addition to integrating road traffic, Franz also needed to rebuild the local water system. It must be said that the ancient Romans were truly remarkable, especially their underground canals, which were simply ingenious designs.

However, at this point, less than one-tenth of the original structure remained, and rebuilding the water conservancy system would require starting from scratch.

Undoubtedly, this will be a daunting project. Franz is not prepared to merely restore the appearance of ancient Rome, after all, it is now the 19th century. He intends to solicit proposals from all over the world and take a one-step approach.

As for funding, this time Franz does not intend to rely on the Austrian Empire or the royal family as usual; he plans to raise funds and volunteers from around the world.

At the same time, a Holy City Reconstruction Committee should be established to oversee these matters and prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation.

Franz was absolutely qualified to do these things at this point, after all, the entire Canaan region was the spoils of war of the Austrian Empire.

Raising funds and volunteers not only reduced the Austrian Empire's own losses but also increased its allies, since they had also done their part.

This was partly to prevent the Austrian Empire from one day becoming isolated and helpless in the Canaan region, so Franz had to drag more people into the mess.

At this point, every brick, tile, and copper coin they contributed would be recorded. It would also serve as a record of their achievements, and if the Austrian Empire could truly establish itself in this region, they would reap corresponding rewards.

Franz's main objective was actually in the Sinai Peninsula.

That's right, it's all for the Suez Canal that's about to open.

The Austrian Empire would establish several outposts on the Sinai Peninsula, not so much to prevent an Egyptian invasion, but to protect the Suez Canal.

Franz still didn't quite trust the British. If things went against them and they couldn't control the situation, Franz suspected the British would resort to desperate measures.

The opening of the Suez Canal this time will have a greater impact than in the past, and may even revolutionize the entire shipping industry.

Theoretically, this new Grand Canal will allow four lanes of traffic in both directions, meaning that the African route can be completely abandoned, and the time and distance from Europe to the East will be greatly shortened.

This will be especially true for Mediterranean countries, which will experience a rebirth as the Mediterranean once again becomes the center of the world economy.

For this reason, the Mediterranean countries did everything they could to get the Suez Canal completed as soon as possible. All kinds of explosives and machinery were put into use, and Egyptian slave laborers were used to the extreme. Countless engineers and experts worked day and night on the front lines.

The plan finalized by the Austrian Empire was also revised several times, but these revisions were not due to sabotage like the British did, but rather to fix problems encountered in the actual project.

Although it was said that Egyptian slaves were used to the point of death, the actual casualties were much lower than in history, and the utilization efficiency was much higher.

There are many different opinions about how many Egyptian laborers were used in history. Some say 1.5 million, some say 2 million, and a few years ago some Egyptian archaeologists even claimed that at least 3 million Egyptians were used.

However, it must be admitted that the entire project had a very low utilization rate of workers, with only 3 to 4 people working at the same time, even at its peak.

Moreover, due to food and medical shortages, coupled with a lack of tools and overall planning, even fresh water was scarce.

The result was that, apart from causing a large number of casualties, no other remarkable achievements were made.

But things were different now. All manpower was fully utilized, with at least 200,000 people working on the Grand Canal every day.

But what will happen to Egypt's own agriculture if so many laborers are forcibly conscripted?
Isn't this a coincidence? Everyone was hoping that Egypt would switch from wheat to cotton.

The shift from a self-sufficient small-scale farming economy to a single-export, commercialized, and intensive agricultural economy has naturally led to a significant increase in efficiency, which in turn reduces the need for as many people.

But what about Egypt's food supply?
That's easy to handle. The Austrian Empire's Tanzanian colony was in a state of complete overproduction; it would actually be more accurate to call it Austrian East Africa now.

Every year, the grain from Austrian East Africa not only supplies the Oman Empire and some neighboring countries, but also exports a large amount to Egypt.

Even if the Egyptian government didn't want to import, it had no choice, since they also had a stake in the Suez Canal Company. So the canal company could import the grain first and then charge Egypt the bill.

With the Austrian Empire leading the way, other European powers naturally followed suit, supporting the construction of the Suez Canal while selling grain to Egypt.

Especially in France, Napoleon III would not miss such a money-making opportunity.

Under his leadership, large quantities of grain were sold to Egypt, which ironically prevented a crisis caused by overproduction and benefited the farmers.

The downside is that soaring urban prices have slowed down industrialization and urbanization, exacerbating the conflict between urban and rural areas.

Fortunately, Europe has had relatively good harvests in recent years, so the conversion of wheat to cotton did not make the Egyptian government money, but instead saddled it with even heavier debt.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of European countries, the Suez Canal Company's money was naturally spent very quickly.

Without money, they naturally had to continue raising shares, but Britain, caught in an economic crisis and multiple wars, certainly couldn't afford to fill the hole.

After several rounds of financing, the Austrian Empire naturally became the largest shareholder of the Suez Canal.

Meanwhile, the completion date of the Suez Canal is fast approaching, and in fact, if Franz wanted to recoup his costs sooner, it could have been opened this year.

Although it couldn't achieve four lanes in both directions, it could still allow two-way traffic. However, Franz wasn't the kind of person who lacked patience; on the contrary, he felt that the greater cost was worthwhile in order to accomplish this feat.

The southern and central sections of the canal were actually largely completed; the problem lay in the northern section. It turned out that the soft, shifting sand and silt were far more difficult to handle than the hard rock.

After all, several tons of explosives can solve the problem of hard rock, but this method is not effective against quicksand and silt.

The amount of work in the northern section is much greater than expected, because geological problems often cause landslides while excavating.

Furthermore, the surrounding sand dunes are constantly shifting, so the workload often increases as the area dries out.

It will take at least three more years to complete the project in order to meet the previously planned standards.

This greatly displeased many shareholders within the canal company, with many threatening to sell their shares.

However, judging from the stock price alone, there has been no change. Even if someone is selling, it is most likely just those small shareholders.

Even if a major shareholder was preparing to sell, Franz was not afraid; the Austrian Empire would love to have all the shares for itself.

Besides the Austrian imperial government, France and Spain were also very interested in the Suez Canal.

In addition, there is private capital, especially the Venetian consortium, which is among the most active in every round of financing.

The limited carrying capacity of the Port of Venice, which Franz had previously worried about, is no longer an issue in the face of monetary power.

Venetian merchants built a new port right outside the old port area of ​​Venice. This new port was even larger than Trieste and became the largest port on the Mediterranean coast at that time.

The Venetians are prepared for the opening of the Suez Canal, but they are the most understanding of the project's delays.

Of course, not all the news recently has been good. For example, in the Indian subcontinent, Franz thought that by secretly forming an alliance with the rebels in advance, they could resist the British army for a while longer, and it was even possible to directly restore the Mughal dynasty.

After all, the British seemed to have abandoned the Indian subcontinent and would not send regular troops to help quell the rebellion for at least several years, at most just to protect the coastal port cities.

However, Franz overestimated the Indians. In fact, the rebels, united as one, did catch Charles Canning off guard and thwarted the counterattack of the British troops stationed in India.

Charles Canning once tried to negotiate peace due to the heavy losses he had suffered, but this was rejected by the pro-war faction led by Lakshmi.

The pro-war faction, led by Lakshmi, wanted to drive the British out of the Indian subcontinent and restore the rule of the Mughal dynasty.

Unfortunately, their proposals affected the interests of many princely states. After all, who would sell the cotton and opium if the British left?

But that's all it is, at least it maintains a facade of unity.

However, some of the princes who participated in the uprising had other wicked intentions. First, someone falsely conveyed the orders of Delhi Bahadur Shah II and killed the entire family of the uprising's supreme commander, former British commander Bakt Khan.

Afterwards, Bakt Khan's men carried out a massacre of opponents in Delhi in revenge, and after successfully controlling Bahadur Shah II, they demanded that the states submit to him.

If Bakt Khan were still alive, given his prestige, it wouldn't be entirely impossible for him to do something like holding the emperor hostage to command the other lords.

But his men had already ruined his reputation by carrying out massacres in Delhi and even going so far as to swagger before Bahadur Shah II.

As a result, the princes of the princely states who had previously sworn allegiance to Bahadur Shah II once again sent troops to Delhi.

Just as the insurgents were besieging Delhi again, the Maratha Alliance (another insurgent force in India) chose to launch a surprise attack.

The princely states that participated in the siege of Delhi rushed back to defend the city, but friction and mutual scheming were still inevitable.

After more than six months of chaotic fighting, the rebels suffered heavy losses.

Meanwhile, more and more princely states are declaring allegiance to Britain, even though India has always been a fragmented country.

The reason why some princely states did not express their stance was simply because the situation was unclear or the price offered by the British was not high enough.

But as time went on, more and more people realized that the rebels were unreliable and that Charles Canning was indeed very generous with his money.

As a result, many princely states returned to British control, especially Hyderabad and Kashmir, which greatly enhanced Britain's power in India.

Hyderabad was one of the wealthiest states in India at the time, while Kashmir was known for its bravery and fighting prowess.

In addition, Nepal had already come under British control at this time, and they sent twenty regiments of Gurkha soldiers in one go.

After careful consideration, Charles Canning realized that he now had more troops than the rebels.

"What's the point of talking about this?"

Charles Canning immediately decided to quell the rebellion, and the main British army advanced all the way to Delhi. Delhi was originally a fortified city, capable of holding out for at least a year and a half.

However, Bahadur Shah II began to cause trouble again. He first sent people through a secret passage to secretly hand over the city's military deployment and real intelligence to the British commander.

They also blew up the city gates before the British attack, and during the siege, they declared the rebels to be traitors and called on the people and nobles to attack the defending soldiers.

Under Bahadur Shah II's machinations, Delhi was quickly "liberated".

However, what awaited Bahadur Shah II was not a reward from the British for his loyalty, but a complete purge.

Almost all of the core members of the Mughal royal family were publicly executed, and most of the remaining royal family members also perished in the subsequent British purge.

In its later stages, under the guidance of several traitors, even men related to the Mughal royal family by blood were not spared.

After Bahadur Shah II declared the entire rebel army to be rebels, the British confiscated all his property and stripped him of all titles and allowances on charges of treason.

Bahadur Shah II was to be exiled to Yangon (Myanmar), where he would spend the rest of his life at the age of 82.

The second alliance to be breached was the Magenta Alliance, proving that a single force is utterly vulnerable to the British without any reinforcements or restraint.

As the British were about to defeat the Indian rebels one by one, the Queen of Jhansi was not lacking in the courage to sacrifice herself for her country.

"I am willing to fight for freedom, as long as I have a breath left."
Ah! Enemy, don't be so smug!

"Jansi will never fall, as long as there is one woman protecting her!"