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

Chapter 1900 Crossing the River
Why didn't the British make the weapons they sold to India better?
Need I say more? Who would want the local powers in their colonies to grow stronger?
Moreover, there were agreements between the colonial government and those princely states, stipulating that no matter what kind of garbage the British arsenals produced, the princely palaces had to purchase a fixed quota every year, neither more nor less.

That's why the arms business in Tranquiba is so prosperous.

The Austrian Empire was smuggling so openly, did the British not care?
This brings us to the importance of reciprocity. From the moment the Austrian Empire's fleet first arrived in India, the two sides began close cooperation.

Over the years, the Austrian Empire's relationship with the British Indian colonies had become deeply entrenched. In addition, Franz was quite generous, giving British officials stationed in India a share of the profits every year, so he was naturally able to win favor with both sides.

Of course, even if we take a step back and assume the worst, the strength of the Austrian Empire at this time should not be underestimated.

In the British Indian colonies, almost no one was willing to take responsibility for a conflict with the Austrian Empire, let alone want to do so.

You have to understand that war kills people.

Moreover, the Austrian Empire's colonies looked more like military outposts, with fortresses, small strongholds, and a fairly high proportion of soldiers.

It's impossible to tackle such a tough challenge without paying a price, so the amount of that price becomes a crucial factor.

Besides, it wasn't that no one had ever coveted the Austrian colonies; a princely state, instigated by the Indian colonial government, once launched an attack on Tranquiba.

The result was a crushing defeat. Even its original territory was attacked by other princely states and bandits, and in the end, the entire princely state was taken over by the British.

The British' inhuman behavior is always impressive. Their lackeys were boiled and eaten after they died in battle. When other princely states wanted to become British lackeys to test the Austrian Empire's colonies, they would carefully consider the consequences and everything that had happened before.

The merchants who traveled far and wide naturally recognized Queen Jhansi as a wanted criminal, but Lakshmi Pai didn't care, since most of her people had already left.

Although she failed to protect her hometown, she at least gave the people an explanation.

In a place like India where power relations are complex, merchants need to be discerning. Seeing that the Austrian Empire was treating them as honored guests, they naturally wouldn't want to make a fool of themselves.

After all, Austria and Britain were both great powers and both Europeans, so these Indian merchants would subconsciously think that the two were closer.

They didn't want to put in effort for nothing.

Moreover, the Austrian Empire was an important trading partner and a cash cow for them, so it was best not to offend it if possible.

Austrian goods were very popular in India. Small items like kerosene lamps and matches that might be insignificant in Europe were considered luxury items in India.

Bicycles and sewing machines also broadened the horizons of Indians, and all the princes of the princely states were proud to own these two items.

Because some of the more discerning princes had been to Europe, they knew that these two items were considered luxuries even there.

However, the two most profitable items for the Austrian Empire in India were clocks and music boxes, as well as some wind-up gadgets.

A simple music box costs only 3 florins to produce in the Austrian Empire, but can sell for as much as 4 pounds in India, a price increase of more than ten times.

Moreover, the music box is very lightweight and takes up little space, making it quite inexpensive to transport.

High-end music boxes are even more profitable, but as a luxury item, the market isn't particularly large. However, for a small trading hub like Tranquiba, they are considered very good products.

The real highlight was still clocks, which could perfectly capture the attention of all classes in India who could afford watches, from royalty and nobility to soldiers, tax collectors, and even Brahmin astrologers. As for the social elites, they were even more unable to resist such a thing.

Moreover, in addition to people needing to wear watches, clocks were also needed at home and in the workplace. Indians at that time even had wall clocks on their carriages, but mainly for decoration.

Modern people may not have much of a feeling about clocks, just thinking of them as an ordinary object. However, in the 19th century, clocks were a real necessity that swept the world.

Indians' obsession with clocks is also related to their religion, especially the concepts of auspicious time and status, which make it almost impossible for them to resist owning a watch.

In addition, Indians are actually very Western-worshipping. Franz remembered reading a biography of an Indian scholar in a library in his previous life, and there was a passage that left a deep impression on him.

"When I first put on the pocket watch, I felt that I was no longer that country boy, but a modern, educated person. The pocket watch made me punctual, and punctuality made me successful."

The Austrian Empire could sell tens of thousands of watches of various types in India every year, earning nearly a million florins from this alone.

Those Indian businessmen would undoubtedly make even more outrageous profits after reselling, and it goes without saying what they would do.

Moreover, the Queen of Jhansi was, to some extent, a potential customer of those Indian merchants.
Looking at the bustling dock and the idyllic scenery around it, Lakshmi Pai still asked.

"Are you really just here to do business?"

As a seasoned diplomat, Decker was no stranger to this kind of situation; many people had asked him the same question back in Siam.

“We are merely His Majesty the Emperor’s servants. The current state of Tranquiba is proof of that.”

The subtext of this statement is that this is not my responsibility; my job is to do business. You can see how Tranquiba has developed since then.

Even the proud Lakshmi Pai had to admit that the prosperity of Transvaal was unmatched by Jhansi under her rule.

Not just Jhansi, but probably none of the princely states in India could do this.

Why are you helping me?

Decker smiled.

"This is His Majesty the Emperor's order. You can also consider this a mutually beneficial deal. His Majesty the Emperor is benevolent; he will not treat you unfairly."

Lakshmi Pai remained unmoved. The sound of two little boys playing and laughing nearby made her brows relax.

The two boys were her 10-year-old adopted son, Damor Rao, and her child, Kwalawan Rao. They had both been used as hostages in exchange for an alliance, but that alliance proved shockingly fragile.

The British eased their pressure slightly, and internal conflicts erupted within the alliance. The continuous clashes severely weakened the alliance, causing disunity and mutual hostage-taking.

Fortunately, a merchant hired by the Austrian Empire mediated and the two children were safely returned. However, Lakshmi Pai was not grateful to Franz at all, as the latter also bore some responsibility.

She certainly had the pride of a Kshatriya, a royal, as the Queen of Jhansi, but she was also a mother.

If all hope is lost, it is not entirely unacceptable to live out one's life peacefully with two children, even in a foreign land.

Lakshmi Pai sighed, seemingly having given up her ambitions. She calculated the days and it was time to board the ship.

It wasn't until recently that Lakshmi Pai realized that not all of the Austrian Empire's ships were so magnificent; most were just ordinary seagoing vessels.

It might be somewhat stronger than Britain and other princely states in India, but it certainly didn't have that many giant ships; at least, there wasn't a single one in the entire city of Transvaal.

With a series of crisp ringing sounds, the large ship slowly docked. Lakshmi Pai and her entourage, as the last group of Jhansi people to board the ship, couldn't help but feel a little sentimental.

Although the children couldn't understand it, they still sensed the sadness from the adults.

The sky was azure, but her mood was gray.

Lakshmi Pai donned her most magnificent attire, adorned with a jewel-encrusted scimitar, as if attending a festival; she didn't want anyone to see her vulnerable side. Just before stepping onto the deck, Lakshmi Pai couldn't help but look back; her hometown lay over a thousand kilometers away.

Now she's leaving it.

A hot tear rolled down her cheek.
The Indian Ocean monsoon blew, ruffling her hair and filling the sails.

The horizon quickly disappeared from view, and after several sunrises and sunsets, they arrived at their destination—Mombasa.

As the capital of Austrian East Africa, it is essentially a larger Tranquiba, only more rationally planned, with cobblestone roads stretching to the very end of the city.

On one side of the road are uniform European-style houses, and on the other side are crooked and haphazard classical buildings.

The city's divisions didn't stop there; she also saw many more European and Asian faces.

However, the city was much more deserted than Bürranqueba, with a small population, but the flags of the garrison were particularly conspicuous in the distance.

Lakshmi Pai's sensitive nerves were touched again; she felt that Franz's intentions were not pure.

Regardless of Franz's motives, Mombasa is the gateway to Austrian East Africa, and it's impossible for it not to be heavily guarded.

The Austrian Empire initially chose Bagamoyo as the capital of its East African colony. This was partly because the Dutch had already laid a foundation, and partly because Franz remembered Bagamoyo as the capital of German East Africa.

However, it wasn't long before the colonial government discovered a huge problem: Bagamoyo's potential was severely lacking, which was even more incompatible with the Austrian mentality of a great power at the time.

Moreover, given the technological limitations at the time, making modifications was virtually impossible, which is why the relocation plan was devised.

At the time, there were two plans. One was to go south to Dar es Salaam, a deep-water port with great potential, and relatively safe in the middle of the colony, at least not threatened by the indigenous tribes on the mainland.

However, Dar es Salaam had a huge disadvantage at the time: it started from a very low point, being just a small fishing village.

Another plan was to head north to Mombasa. For Franz, acquiring Mombasa wouldn't be difficult, as it had the foundations left by the Portuguese.

Although it was almost completely destroyed by the Omanis and the Mazri family, it was still much better than a small fishing village.

However, Mombasa's biggest problem is its location on the frontier, and the fact that it was acquired from Oman poses a significant risk of war.

Ultimately, the colonial authorities in Austrian East Africa vacillated between the two options multiple times before settling on the Mombasa Plan.

Although it has become the capital, its nature as a military frontier has not fundamentally changed.

To the northeast are the Somali tribes under Oman control, to the north is the chaotic Abyssinian Empire, to the northwest is the Sudanese region under Egyptian control, and even in the west, Uganda, there was once a large Bantu army and a steppe tyrant.

Surrounded by barbaric forces eager for expansion, Austria's military might was insufficient, and it would be repeatedly bullied and exploited. Therefore, it was crucial to maintain sufficient strength from the outset.

Of all the surrounding powers, the most difficult to deal with is actually the Sudanese region, which is frequently invaded by small groups.

Their numbers are too small to engage in direct combat, and their objective is plunder, so they won't stay in one place for long.

This was very troublesome for the Austrian Empire's regular army, which was accustomed to frontal warfare, and even somewhat counterproductive.

In some extreme cases, the invaders may number only a few, making it very difficult to find them on the vast grasslands. Moreover, operating deep inland is a very costly endeavor in such situations.

Without a clear target, launching an attack rashly will not only waste a lot of resources, but will also most likely result in failure, a purely negative outcome.

But this didn't stump Franz.
Lakshmi Pai and her retinue's lavish attire quickly caused a commotion. A tall, thin old man wearing a monocle blocked their way with ill intent, his eyes greedily scanning them up and down.

"Not bad. She has a fairly full figure and her skin looks good. The scars on her arms are a minor blemish, and she looks a bit older, but she takes good care of herself."

Lakshmi Paik could not tolerate being judged like a commodity; both the words and actions of the other party were extremely offensive.

However, this was, after all, Austrian territory, and while she was still hesitating, a graceful figure, as always, blocked her way.

"How dare you! You rude fool, get out of here at once!"

Manzhu's sword was not drawn, but it was placed in front of her opponent, ready to be drawn and killed at any time if she wanted to.

Manju understood that this was someone else's territory, but the monarch's face was also important.

If someone has to pay the price, then it would be best if it were her, the maid.

Lakshmi Pai couldn't help but feel a little touched, but the thought that their sisterly bond of more than ten years was less valuable than that man's one-night stand made her furious.

Although the curved blade was inches from his throat, the tall, thin old man with a monocle didn't seem to care at all, and even waved to stop the bodyguards who wanted to come up and help.

"That's interesting."

No! Truly wild! I hadn't realized such explosive power from that slender frame. Hmm, you're Kshatriyas, aren't you? Not bad background.
Name your price.

At this moment, Lakshmi Pai's face was so gloomy it was almost dripping with water; she had never encountered such a humiliating disgrace.

"What do you mean?"

The tall, thin old man didn't shy away from it.

"Of course I'll buy you. Tell me where your master is, and I'll give you and him a price you can't refuse."

Then, in an almost boastful tone, he spoke in Hindi.

"Don't let my age fool you, I can tame even the most unruly lioness."

If you don't believe me, you can try it.

Before he could finish speaking, Lakshmi Pai swung his knife, but fortunately, the bodyguard next to the tall, thin old man pulled him away, narrowly avoiding the attack.

Although the scimitar did not cut off his head directly, it ripped his scalp open, and a few centimeters down would have been enough to kill him.

"Ah! My head! My head is flying!"

The tall, thin old woman clutched her head and screamed, causing a commotion. Her attendants, who were carrying the luggage, were all terrified.

However, Lakshmi Pai couldn't care less about that at the moment. She was furious, feeling that she had been deceived and had not only lost her reputation, but that she and her people had become commodities in the eyes of others.

(No green in the following plot, please enjoy. This recent part of the story was added because readers complained about the lack of lap pillows, so it was added to wrap up the Indian Revolt.)

It's not that I have any special fetishes.
(The items in parentheses are not included in the price; this was calculated before the article was published.)