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

Chapter 1859 Cutting the cake

Gladstone was speechless. How much money could win a war? How would he know? Besides, why even bother fighting? The big spenders certainly didn't want to fight anymore!
"One hundred million pounds."

Gladstone felt that the Austrians would never accept this price, after all, 100 million pounds was an astronomical figure at this time.

If the Austrian Empire had actually paid 100 million pounds to Britain, its economic system would have collapsed on the spot.

At that time, one hundred million pounds was equivalent to 732.24 tons of pure gold, enough to fill 250 carriages.

As Gladstone knew, the Austrian Empire itself was also plagued by numerous problems at this time, such as bandits, robbers, rebel organizations, cults, gangs, heretical ideas, uncontrolled public opinion, and corruption.
Even with so many internal problems, the Emperor of Austria still had to crack down on internal government issues and fight rats.

This incident had long become a laughing stock worldwide, even reaching the Qing Dynasty. Of course, by the time it reached Emperor Xianfeng and the ears of the literati, it had been completely distorted.

Almost at the other end of the world, there was a country that had reached the pinnacle of art through generations of highly abstract art. One day, the emperor woke up and saw a mouse, and ordered the entire nation to catch it.

As the saying goes, "Keep the rats, but not the people; keep the people, but not the rats." Their brutality far surpasses that of King Zhou of Shang and King Jie of Xia, standing in stark contrast to the Qing dynasty's proclaimed reigns of wise rulers.

Some felt proud and indignant on behalf of Emperor Xianfeng. Others, however, felt that the Qing Dynasty's fate was probably sealed.
Emperor Xianfeng was bewildered as he looked at the intelligence sent by the Sticky Rod Office, because that bizarre and ridiculous country had just defeated Britain in the Near East, even forcing Britain to cede dozens of islands.

"Youyou Cang Tian, ​​how can you treat me less favorably?"

In addition, the Austrian Empire was also on an expedition against the regional hegemon of the western Indian Ocean.

The Austrian imperial family and government were fond of grandiose projects, constantly undertaking large-scale constructions and celebrations.

Gladstone would never believe that the Austrian Empire's treasury still had money. The Habsburg family has been putting on a show of wealth for hundreds of years and still hasn't learned its lesson.

Gladstone wasn't sure if £100 million would be enough to win the war in North America, but the Austrian Empire certainly couldn't afford it.

However, the Earl of Derby was unaware of this, and he simply continued to ask.

"How long can £100 million last?"

Gladstone thought for a moment and then said.

"If we have an extra £100 million, we can maintain the status quo for three to five years without additional military spending."

The Earl of Derby nodded. In fact, if the war had continued for a few more years, the United States would have collapsed.

At that moment, Gladstone suddenly spoke.

"You don't really want to sell the Cape Colony, do you?"

The Earl of Derby did not answer. As a seasoned politician, he would not easily reveal his intentions, especially since Gladstone was not exactly one of his confidants.

The Earl of Derby did not answer, and Gladstone could not press the matter further.

After Gladstone left, the Earl of Derby immediately summoned his staff.

"What do you think?"

“Your Excellency, this is a huge gamble. If we bet on the Cape Islands and still fail to win, then Britain is truly doomed.”

The Earl of Derby was somewhat dismissive, after all, his predecessor had just staked his war on the West Indies and left him with such a mess. So what if the Near East war was lost?

They're already quite old, wouldn't it be better for them to retire early?

"The British Empire is rich in the world, how could it be so easily destroyed? And how do you know it can't be won? How much blood do the Americans still have to shed?"
"If we win now, we'll be heroes who have reclaimed the thirteen North American colonies!"

"Forget about the thirteen states. We'll be lucky if we can keep the remaining half."

"We'd be heroes if we could get even half back! North America is far more valuable than South Africa! South Africa only has wool as something of value, and at most, it can contribute a few hundred thousand pounds in taxes each year. It's not even comparable to a single state in North America!"

In fact, these advisors were right; at this time, the Cape Colony was receiving more subsidies than it could pay in taxes.

The Cape Colony's main industry was wool export, with other products including wine, furs, grains, and meat. Despite the variety of products, the total value was very low, not only compared to the thirteen colonies of North America, but even less than the princely states of India.

At this time, Britain valued the Cape Colony most for its strategic worth, but what the British government needed now was money.

His staff's concerns differed from those of the Earl of Derby, which made him somewhat agitated.

"Is it possible or not?"

Now the Earl of Derby is only concerned with this, but unfortunately no one dares to make any guarantees about it.

At that moment, a young aide spoke.

"Your Excellency, perhaps we can consider a different approach. The Austrian Empire currently has a fleet heading towards the western Indian Ocean region, and according to reliable intelligence, this fleet has a strength of around 30,000 men."

Given the military strength of the Austrian Empire, this army was capable of conquering the Cape colony.

Do you think it's possible they might choose to attack our colonies while we're fighting the Americans in North America?

"No way. Don't our two countries have a secret agreement?"

The Earl of Derby found it hard to believe, but his asking proved that he had come to believe the speculation.

"If we hadn't suffered a defeat in North America, the Austrians would certainly have abided by the agreement, since it wouldn't have benefited them either if we had gone to war and both sides had suffered heavy losses."

But now, a defeat in North America has given the Austrians an opportunity, though they are not very confident, which is why they proposed to buy rather than occupy.

As for the reason for starting the war, do you remember the German Confederation's shared colonies?

In truth, the Earl of Derby didn't know much about the matter, but he couldn't lose face, so he nodded anyway.

"Your Excellency, there have always been conflicts between the Cape colonies and that German Confederation-owned colony."

Although the Austrian Empire, along with the German Confederation, pressured us to prevent the annexation of the Orange Free State.

However, those Boer states were all landlocked and lacked even the most basic industrial production capacity, so they had to import everything from outside.

The Cape Colony only collected normal tariffs, but the Boers were clearly very dissatisfied. Conflicts frequently broke out between the two sides, and they always wanted their own ports.

They frequently sent people to the German Confederation Congress to make wishes; previously, these people were considered clowns by the Germans.

But at the recent Tour de Germany cycling race, they went to make a wish again. Although they were driven away, many monarchs were present.

"What happened today might have been a foreshadowing of what happened back then."

Derby closed his eyes and frowned deeply.

Is the German Confederation a terrorist organization?

The Earl of Derby's staff were speechless. In fact, the only difficult thing for the entire German Confederation to deal with was the Austrian Empire, and of course, the Austrian Empire alone was troublesome enough.

"In short, we cannot ignore this possibility. If the negotiations fail, the Boers and Austrians could collude from within and without, and the Cape Colony simply cannot be held. We, Britain, still have hope in a naval war against a country like Austria. But if the battlefield is moved to land, there is absolutely no hope."

At this moment, someone took out a map and spread it out.

"Your Excellency, you see! At this time, the so-called German Confederation's shared colonies are now connected with the Austrian Empire's Namibian colonies."

With such a vast area, it's unrealistic for us to drive them out even if we wanted to.

We must learn to coexist with enemies we cannot defeat.

Looking at the map of Africa, Earl Derby could clearly see that from west to east, Namibia, Botswana, and the German Confederation's shared colonies had become one continuous stretch.

Furthermore, the Austrian Empire's East African colonies were expanding, and sooner or later they would include Zambia.

He took a deep breath, realizing that the Austrian Empire's colonies would then be connected, cutting off the entire continent of Africa. It seemed he had no other choice.

If negotiations fail, the Austrian Empire may send troops to seize the throne directly. It now seems that the Austrian Empire's announcement of its intervention in the Omani Empire's struggle for the throne was premeditated.

However, if the Cape colony were ceded to the Austrian Empire, then within a few years the entire southern Africa would fall under Austrian control.

The Earl of Derby thought for a long time, and his staff cooperated by not saying much.

In reality, everyone knows that there is no absolutely correct option. At this point, it seems that we can only choose one that is not so bad from several not-so-good options.

At this moment, the Earl of Derby suddenly thought of a way to break the deadlock, which could not only solve the two immediate crises, but also leave a glimmer of hope for the future of Britain.

However, it depends on the outcome of James Harris's negotiations with the Austrians. If it's only £3000 million, that's far from enough.

However, the Earl of Derby soon received shocking news: the Austrian Empire was indeed willing to pay £100 million to buy the Cape Colony.

"You are truly a hero to Britain!"

In fact, according to the analysis of the professional advisors under the Earl of Derby, the Austrian Empire would offer a maximum of fifty million pounds, because the Austrian Empire could not possibly come up with more money.

James Harris, feeling a little smug after receiving the praise, still wanted to make things clear.

"The Austrians lent us Austrian Empire banknotes."

James Harris was interrupted by Earl Derby, whose expression changed drastically, before he could finish speaking.

"What? Isn't that just a pile of waste paper?"

"No, those expected banknotes are just like paper money; they can be used to purchase goods within the Austrian Empire and have the same payment power."

However, it was typically used only for large payments and could only be used within the Austrian Empire.

Count Derby looked very grim; he wanted to use Austrian Empire money to pay off his debts.

"Can't it be used to pay off debts?"

James Harris shook his head. As a foreign minister, he really didn't know much about this. In fact, the concept of expected currency was explained to him by the Austrians.

“We can find some professional bankers to do this.”

The Earl of Derby scoffed at the suggestion.

"Don't you have to pay any fees to bring in those bankers? They'll definitely charge exorbitant fees for such a large transaction."

A hundred million pounds would take 3% or 5% of the money, but given the style of bankers in the City of London, 10% is the norm.

"The Austrians said we could buy goods and supplies directly from the Austrian Empire, and even use them to pay for transportation and security."

"But we have too much debt."

At that moment, the Earl of Derby's secretary suddenly spoke.

“Your Excellency, please forgive my bluntness, but you have completely changed your approach and are using anticipated currency to solve the government procurement problem.”

Then you can use the money you save to pay off your debts, right?

If that's still not enough, they can demand that Austria pay for a portion of the precious metals, a precedent set during Prime Minister Gordon's tenure.

While the high-ranking officials might not be familiar with the operational procedures, their subordinates were quite accustomed to such operations. In particular, the Austrian Empire's banknotes were frequently used in large-scale trade; they were safe, reliable, and would not be treated differently.

In reality, Austrians use these tools in their own businesses, so they wouldn't deliberately set a trap for Britain.

The Earl of Derby nodded after hearing this.

“That is indeed a good idea. So, Earl Harris, I hope you will talk to the Austrians again about whether we can sell only half of the land.”

"Half the land?"

“That’s right. We can sell the Eastern Cape colony to them. We can use the Salt River as the boundary.”

"Eastern Cape Colony?"

In reality, the so-called Eastern Cape colony was just a wasteland, which was used as a military frontier to defend against the Zulus. The towns and ports were very small, and there was no manufacturing industry, only simple agriculture.

However, even comparing agriculture alone, the West is completely incomparable. For example, in the wool industry, the output value of the East and the West is roughly one to nine.

There was virtually no infrastructure, and a large number of savage Xhosa people occupied the area.

Moreover, the British in the Eastern Cape colonies had been causing divisions, but the London and colonial governments had been turning a blind eye. Whenever the divisions escalated, the supply of food and ammunition would be cut off, and the British would quickly back down.

The entire Eastern Cape colony had no true ports, only suggested supply depots or anchorages, which were all small in scale and strategically located, and few ships would choose to stop there.

In fact, Count Derby's plan was very good. Selling the Eastern Cape colonies to the Austrian Empire not only preserved the essence of the Cape colonies, but also allowed him to firmly control the strategic points.

After the Austrians settled in the Eastern Cape colony, it also served as a frontier for the British, preventing invasions by barbarian tribes from the east.

More importantly, it solved the immediate crisis and silenced the dissenting voices in parliament. He himself was somewhat impressed with himself.

Lord Haberscu was somewhat bewildered that the British had actually made this choice; fortunately, the Austrian Empire already had a corresponding plan.

Of course, Lord Haberscu would not immediately give a price for the deal, otherwise it would seem too fake; he still needed to report the matter to Vienna first.

The Eastern Cape colonies might have been a liability for the British, but for the Austrian Empire, they were a perfectly acceptable option.

However, Franz felt that the price was capped at 30 million pounds, with 5 million pounds being its true value. But considering its actual strategic value to Britain, he was willing to accept a premium.

After all, even if we take a step back and assume the worst, the Eastern Cape colony or the entire Cape colony would be the same for the Austrian Empire in the long run.