Chapter 465 Quasi-Alliance
After driving Ferdinand away, Franz called his staff to discuss whether it was necessary to form an alliance with East Africa, but to be on the safe side he decided to discuss it with the Austrian government first.
"Why should we form an alliance with an African country? Are we going to make a fool of ourselves in front of other European countries? To be honest, even an alliance with pagans in the Middle East will sound much better than joining forces with African countries, except Egypt, of course," said the Prime Minister of the Austrian government.
"But as far as I know, the Black Hingen royal family of the East African Kingdom has great power in the empire. They control some important areas of the empire's economy, such as railways, steel, food and electricity. They are very important for stabilizing the kingdom's economy and regime. If we do not choose East Africa, it will inevitably affect our relationship with the Black Hingen royal family. Moreover, we also have our own practical interests in East Africa, so we have a basis for cooperation." The Minister of Finance retorted.
"If the Empire and East Africa unite, I believe the Hungarian government will be the first to oppose it!" said the Prime Minister.
Franz agreed and said, "This is why I came to you. Cooperation with East Africa is indeed not conducive to our international reputation. If we form an alliance with East Africa, will it affect the international situation? Will Britain, France and other countries misjudge that we have ideas about Africa and overreact?"
"Your Majesty, this is bound to happen. Every move of the empire is watched by other countries. If we show interest in East Africa, it will probably cause a chain reaction. The problem is that we have no real intention or ability to colonize Africa. This is completely contrary to our general direction of focusing on the European continent." The Prime Minister replied affirmatively.
"Well, the growth of the East African Kingdom's strength cannot be underestimated, especially in terms of the navy. The Hechingen royal family has ordered many warships from Austria, and because of Princess Karina, the royal families of the two countries actually have a pretty good relationship."
"But this doesn't prove anything. The relationship between countries is still based on national interests. What benefits can we get from forming an alliance with East Africa?" the Prime Minister asked.
Franz said, "We know too little about East Africa. East Africa's location means that it has never been taken seriously by Europe. But what is the overall strength of East Africa? How much control does the Hechingen royal family have over Africa?"
"Your Majesty! Don't you know either?" In the Prime Minister's opinion, the Hechingen royal family and the Habsburg royal family are related by marriage, so the royal family should be very clear about the national conditions in East Africa. After all, the East African naval commanders are all their own people.
Franz shook his head and said, "I may have a general understanding of the situation in East Africa a few years ago. At that time, East Africa had a certain scale, but now too much time has passed."
"Judging from the East African Kingdom's ability to purchase steel and warships from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, East Africa's national strength should not be bad," the Finance Minister analyzed.
"That's different. The wealth of the Hechingen royal family and East Africa should be viewed separately. Take the navy for example. If the Rothschild family is willing to do so, I believe they also have the strength to form their own private navy. Many nouveau riche in the United States probably also have this ability." The Prime Minister denied. In fact, in the eyes of the Prime Minister, the Hechingen royal family is also such a nouveau riche, but after all, the Hechingen royal family is also a traditional noble family, so it is a little different.
And why is the Hechingen royal family so rich? To answer this question, just look at the companies established by the Hechingen royal family in Germany. The Hechingen Bank alone is wealthy enough to rival a country.
In fact, many nobles envied or even envied the wealth of the Heixingen royal family, but that was all. First, they could not break the rules among the nobles. Second, the Heixingen Group was not dead. Its size was too huge. Any move would affect the entire group, and it affected the food and clothing of millions of workers and farmers.
The difference between the Hechingen Consortium and Jewish capital is that it really attaches great importance to industry. While these industries create value for the Hechingen royal family, they also create value for Germany and Austria. Therefore, if you want to touch the Hechingen Consortium, you must first cut the knife on yourself. The Austro-Hungarian Empire obviously could not accept this method. Any disturbance could potentially cause serious damage to this ancient empire. No noble would want to let 1848 happen again.
"So it is still the Black Hinggan royal family. It is not an exaggeration to say that East Africa is the private property of the Black Hinggan royal family. The question is whether we choose to cooperate with the Black Hinggan royal family."
The Chancellor of the Exchequer: "I personally support cooperation, because cooperation with East Africa will help stabilize the Empire's economy. I believe the Imperial Navy also has this attitude. Without the East African order, the Navy's two ironclad ships would not have appeared out of thin air."
Prime Minister: "Cooperation with East Africa is indeed beneficial to us, but East Africa has gone against its norm by seeking the Empire's protection. It is obvious that they are asking for help from the Empire. There must be a reason for the Hexingen royal family to do this. What is their reason?"
Franz was also stunned by this question. That's right! Why didn't the Hechingen royal family raise this request before, but now that they have developed, they have changed their attitude?
The Prime Minister went on to say, “This time it is the East African Kingdom seeking cooperation, which means they are facing a threat they cannot handle… countries that are more powerful in Africa, such as Britain, France, or Portugal!”
"It is very likely that East Africa obviously wants us to be a shield to prevent external threats!"
"If that's the case, it makes sense!"
"Should we do this? If Britain, France and other countries really have intentions towards Africa, will we be dragged into it?"
Franz also remained silent. If it was true as the Prime Minister said, it would be a difficult decision.
East Africa certainly faced such a threat, but it was not as serious as the Austrian monarchs and ministers thought. This was a misjudgment caused by improper intelligence.
"Then is there a way to maintain friendly relations with the Hechingen royal family without being dragged into the water?" Franz decided to let his subordinates think more about it.
After thinking for a while, the finance minister said: "If this is the case, we may be able to carry out limited cooperation, win over East Africa while ensuring that we will not get involved in the troubled areas of Africa."
"How about limited partnership law?"
"We do not cooperate with East Africa in the name of the Empire, but only in the name of the Austrian government. Austria cannot fully represent the Empire, so when East Africa conflicts with other countries, the Empire can just stand by and watch. After all, Hungary's attitude also determines the direction of the Empire, and the Hechingen royal family cannot say anything."
The Austrian Finance Minister's idea is that Austria will get the benefits and Hungary will take the blame.
"Ahem, please don't say anything that is not conducive to unity. However, your Austrian government can do the alliance with East Africa alone." Franz said.
Prime Minister: "If that is the case, then it is indeed a feasible solution. We Austria and East Africa will negotiate separately, but it does not represent the attitude of the entire empire."
…
June 1876.
The Austrian government signed the "Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Assistance between the Kingdom of Hechingen and the Kingdom of Austria" with the Kingdom of East Africa alone, and the two sides concluded a quasi-alliance.
The Austrian government's actions have caused dissatisfaction in Hungary. What are you doing? Why don't you discuss this with me?
The Austrian Prime Minister told the Hungarian Prime Minister: "This is due to the needs of Austria's economic development. The business community in Austria and East Africa have common interests that cannot be ignored."
Hungary: "Then why is the treaty you signed a quasi-alliance treaty? Wouldn't it be enough to sign an economic treaty?"
"The Austrian government has its own plans in this regard. The content of the treaty is limited to the Kingdom of Austria and will not have any negative impact on Hungary."
"That means the contents of the treaty do not represent the will of the empire!"
"Of course, if I represent the empire, I will definitely have to discuss this with you!" said the Austrian Prime Minister with a laugh.
This answer satisfied the Hungarian side. The Hungarian side mainly wanted to prevent the Austrian government from representing the empire as a whole. So what was the difference between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the former Austrian Empire!
If it was just the Kingdom of Austria's diplomatic activities with other countries, Hungary would not have reacted too much, after all, Hungary also has its own diplomatic department.
In fact, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had three governments: the central government, the Austrian government and the Hungarian government. Austria and Hungary both had a certain degree of autonomy, so Austria could bypass Hungary and East Africa to form an incongruous alliance. So the two sides were considered to be allied, but not completely allied.
(End of this chapter)
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