Chapter 187 Persuasion
In fact, it is procedurally impossible for Prince Constantine to leave for Africa immediately, after all, Prince Constantine's status is not ordinary.
Not only is he the monarch of Hechingen, but he is also the prince of the Kingdom of Prussia. If he goes to East Africa, he must bring some confidants of the Hechingen royal family with him. He cannot just let these loyal ministers who have worked for the Hechingen royal family for generations be disbanded on the spot.
Hechingen is not large in area, but as a country, it has all the necessary administrative agencies. Even after it was incorporated into Prussia, some powers were handed over.
That was only the power of military and taxation. The Heixingen royal family still had a large number of people under their command, including servants and guards.
The follow-up arrangements for these people must be made. Those who are willing to go to East Africa with Prince Constantine will be taken along, and those who are unwilling will be given a higher severance pay. The rest who are unwilling to go to East Africa and have nowhere to go will stay and continue to manage Hexingen's industry.
After all, castles and industries also need people to take care of them. However, after Prince Constantine left, they no longer belonged to the Hechingen royal family, but were managed by the Hechingen Consortium, and they changed from practitioners dependent on the royal family to employees.
At the same time, Prince Constantine's whereabouts had to be thoroughly discussed with his family, and the first to receive the news was Sigmaringen next door.
"Constantine, do you really want to go overseas alone?" Prince Karl Anton asked Prince Constantine.
As one of Prince Constantine's most familiar friends and relatives, Karl Anton did not quite understand Prince Constantine's decision.
Because of geographical location and family reasons, Hechingen and Sigmaringen have a very good relationship, especially in this generation, Prince Karl Anton and Prince Constantine have the best relationship.
The two of them decided together that the two countries would be incorporated into Prussia, and they also helped each other politically. In recent years, Constantine has faded out of Prussian politics, but his support for Prince Karl Anton has not diminished.
Sigmaringen has indeed developed well. Both of Karl Anton's sons are quite promising and they themselves hold important positions in the Kingdom of Prussia. If Prince Constantine had not faded out of the kingdom's power center, he would probably be in a similar position to Prince Karl Anton in the Kingdom of Prussia now.
"Yes, for the family's overseas expansion, an old man like me wants to contribute as well," said Prince Constantine.
"Then there's no need to go to East Africa in person! In this era, there are almost no nobles of our status going overseas to develop. Europe is the center of the world. The overseas situation is complicated and you may not be able to grasp it!"
Prince Carl Anton is alluding to none other than the Brazilian Empire, a country that was briefly established when the Portuguese royal family was forced to move to Brazil because Napoleon.
"To be honest, our foothold in Europe depends largely on the mutual support of family and political allies. After all, overseas is a region where our power is difficult to radiate, and we have no power there. Going overseas is too risky." Prince Karl Anton said to Constantine.
In Carl Anton's view, the East African colonies were probably just like those traditional colonies, where the colonial powers used a conciliatory approach to maintain colonial rule.
So the minority temporarily suppresses the majority. After all, colonies are used for plunder, and who would have the time to spare and vigorously build colonies?
Even if Britain, France and other countries had some construction in their colonies, it was only to further exploit the potential of the colonies. Only Portugal had no choice but to vigorously develop Angola and Mozambique.
There is still a risk of independence for overseas colonies, so Karl Anton urged Constantine not to take the risk of going overseas.
"Alas, Karl, I am different from you. Hechingen is a small country without much potential. Since it was incorporated into Prussia, I have no motivation to strive for it.
Unlike you, now most of your sons can find a good place to live. Ernst was too young before and didn't catch up with the good times. Even if he wants to operate in Europe in the future, I'm afraid the chance will be slim. After all, I'm old, and Ernst's situation will be even more difficult after I die."
What Constantine is talking about here is Ernst's future. Just like Sigmaringen, Ernst himself also has the possibility of becoming the king of Europe, but this kind of pie-in-the-sky thing is probably something that only Sigmaringen can encounter twice.
Although European nobles intermarried and Germany had a tradition of exporting kings, the position could not be created out of thin air after all.
Especially in recent years, the political situation in Europe is chaotic, and even if there is a real opportunity, Constantine may not agree.
In Europe, if someone invites you to be king, it is not just a small matter of treating you to a meal. It is done to maintain their own interests. For example, Maximilian I was a pawn thrown into Mexico by Napoleon III and was at best a puppet with a high status.
A country like Romania, which is under the influence of the Ottoman Empire, is eager to join Europe and needs a king to strengthen its ties with Europe, is extremely rare.
"This is not a big deal. There are so many nobles in Europe, especially those of us with relatively high status. There are also three royal families in neighboring France, with so many people under them. It is indeed difficult to make further progress. But as a prince, Hechingen has good talents. Besides, you only have one son, and Ernst will inherit your title in the future. Moreover, Hechingen's industry is so large now that many nobles have requests from your family. This is something that many people cannot envy!" Prince Karl Anton still could not understand Constantine's thoughts.
To be honest, Prince Karl Anton was actually very envious of Constantine. What nobles like them lacked the most was money. If one were to talk about which family had the most money in Germany, the Hechingen royal family would definitely be among the top. The Hechingen Bank alone was one of the largest banks in Europe. If Constantine were to arrange a marriage for Enst, a large number of top nobles would definitely flock to him.
Although the great nobles themselves have a lot of assets, their expenses are even greater, especially those European nobles who have lived through the Middle Ages. They have always been troubled by debts in history. In the eyes of outsiders, Ernst is a synonym for youth, wealth, and noble status.
"Money is not everything. At least our Hechingen royal family is not very interested in money now." Constantine was rarely proud. "It's enough to have enough money to spend. When wealth reaches a certain level, it doesn't mean much to nobles like us. If we want to achieve something, we still have to go further in politics."
"Then you don't have to go to that damn place in Africa to suffer! With Hechingen's current strength, I think there will be many opportunities if you operate in Europe, especially since you have a good relationship with the Austro-Hungarian Empire. If you have nothing to do, you can at least go to the Balkan Peninsula to seek a throne!" said Karl Anton.
"There are many opportunities in the Balkan Peninsula and the success rate is high, but the situation there is too complicated. It has to survive in the cracks between three major powers. I'm sure Karl (Carol I, King of Romania) has complained to you a lot!" Constantine asked back.
"That's true, but it's better than the barren land of Africa. Even if Carl really can't control it, we won't stand idly by. But if you go to Africa, we won't be able to do anything even if we want to intervene." Carl Anton said.
"There's nothing wrong with the barren land. At least it shows good potential. And Europe is too competitive. It's really not easy to stand out. Although there may be many dangers there, it's much easier to deal with the natives than a bunch of old foxes in Europe." Constantine said insincerely.
The more he learned, the more he felt the potential of East Africa. Before Constantine decided to go to East Africa, he actually had a similar impression of Africa as Prince Karl Anton.
But when more and more data were placed in front of Prince Constantine, he had to admit that his most optimistic expectations for East Africa were too conservative.
After Ernst's vigorous development, East Africa has almost no shortcomings, except for the navy. However, East Africa is now busy with inland expansion and does not have an urgent need for a navy.
Constantine became more and more excited when he thought about an emerging country with a population of more than two million, which was very easy to rule, and an area of more than two million square kilometers that was still expanding, being taken into the possession of the Hechingen royal family.
However, as the saying goes, "Birds of a feather flock together." Following his son, Constantine has now learned bad things and has become a master at making a fortune in silence.
He said to Karl Anton: "Although Africa is difficult, it was also extremely difficult for our Hohenzollern family to rise to prominence. It took many generations to achieve today's achievements. The future development of the East African colony will inevitably require the support of Germany. When the time comes, don't be stingy and fight for more support for me in the kingdom."
They never mentioned the current development of East Africa and the huge interests of the Hechingen royal family in East Africa, but instead turned the tables and sought help.
(End of this chapter)
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