Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 258: Chapter 7, The Rookie’s First Cry
Austria is located on the Adriatic Sea, and overseas trade requires circumnavigating the Italian Peninsula before passing through the Strait of Gibraltar to leave the Mediterranean.

Whether in terms of distance or safety, this route is not very reliable. For future development, securing a safe sea route to leave the Mediterranean is crucial.

Four years earlier, Franz had proposed the excavation of the Suez Canal and even dispatched a team of experts to conduct on-site surveys.

As for the owners of this region, it’s unfortunate for the Egyptian Government and its sovereign state—the Vienna Government had forgotten to notify them.

After confirming the technical feasibility, the Austrian Government intensified its infiltration into the Egypt Area. Franz, very much aware of his limitations, did not vie for territory in Cairo against England and France. Instead, he set his sights on the Sinai Peninsula.

Not to mention this era, even in the 21st century, the Sinai Peninsula remains one of Egypt’s most backward areas, now even more so—the epitome of a desert island in the public’s eyes.

The peninsula suffers from drought and scant rainfall, with most of the area covered by desert, and the local residents have survived generations by raising camels.

Before the Age of Exploration, this place also served as a trade route connecting the Ottoman Empire with Egypt. By selling camels to passing merchants, the locals managed to get by.

From the beginning of the 19th century, as the Egypt Area agitated for independence, severing the trade route with the Ottoman Empire, the area fell into complete decline.

The Sinai Peninsula, covering 61,000 square kilometers, has a permanent population of less than 30,000. Its largest city, Arish, is not even comparable to a small town in Austria; it is even less developed than the newly established African colonial strongholds.

To be precise, it once was a city but has now devolved to the level of a village, serving as the residence of a nomadic tribe. Apart from sand, the occasional oasis represented a precious resource.

The local area was so poor that it could hardly collect any taxes. The Cairo Government also paid little attention to it, and authority was delegated directly to the nomadic tribes.

Against this backdrop, the Vienna Government began colonial activities on the Sinai Peninsula.

Looking at the endless desert before him, Leo Haf could hardly believe his ears as he said, “Andrea, are you sure the domestic order is for us to fabricate an excuse and seize this savage land by opportunity?”

What lay before his eyes truly exceeded Leo Haf’s capacity for belief. The terrain of the Sinai Peninsula was quite favorable, except for the lack of water which was a minor issue.

Unfortunately, there was only one Nile River in all of Egypt and not to mention rivers, even small streams were rare on the Sinai Peninsula. This fact alone doomed the area as unsuitable for human habitation.

Before the discovery of oil, there was no economic value to be found here. The strategic value would only be relevant after the Suez Canal opened to navigation. For now, the area seemed void of value.

Equally perplexed, Andrea replied uncertainly, “It seems like it!”

The two exchanged a strange look, then fell silent for a long while.

After a moment of silence, Leo Haf suggested, “How about we stop bothering to look for an excuse and just take over Arish?

It’s only a native tribe, after all. Concentrate the people from the ship, and we can occupy the place without waiting for troops from home.”

“Isn’t that a bit much? We still need some kind of excuse. Otherwise, it’s going to be difficult diplomatically,” Andrea objected.

Leo Haf replied indifferently, “What’s there to be afraid of? Everyone’s doing it. The colonists from England and France have done far worse things.

First, we take over this place, then move some goods from the ship to pretend as captured spoils. If there are casualties, we add that to the account as well.

We just say that our trade caravan was attacked by the local nomadic tribe, and we merely organized a counterattack in response.

Let the foreign ministry haggle over the details later; no one really cares about such trifles. As long as there is a pretext, the truth doesn’t matter.”

After hesitating for a moment, Andrea resolved, “Fortune favors the bold! Let’s do it! This will be our first pot of gold, hopefully, we can seize some valuable goods.”

Franz was very generous with the daring colonists of the Death Squad; all captured spoils would be distributed among the Colonial Teams. The Vienna Government would not covet these meager war trophies.

This was the reason for the two men changing their plans. After all, if they took the place themselves, its wealth would be their private property.

If they had followed the original plan, which was merely to cause trouble and create excuses, they would have earned at most a bonus.

Driven by the lure of profit, this nascent civilian colonial team took their first step in colonization.

The battle was a foregone conclusion. Leading a colonial squad of over a hundred people, they launched a surprise attack on the native tribe governing this area and quickly achieved victory.

However, seeing the casualties afterward, their faces immediately darkened. Three dead and seven wounded was a major blow to this colonial squad.

Andrea complained bitterly, “Damn bastards, they caused us so much damage, we can’t let them off easy!”

Leo Haf said calmly, “Enough, Andrea. Once we embark on this path, we must be ready for sacrifice. It is said that England and France lose thousands of people each year in the colonial movement.

Now let’s take stock of the spoils and arrange the scene so that the war looks like it was motivated by greed.

Then send a signal to the military to take over here; we can’t hold out if the Egyptian regular army arrives.”

Andrea adjusted his emotions and said, “Don’t worry, I’m fine. It’s just hard to see some of the young men we brought out die.”

Leo Haf spoke indifferently, “You’ll get used to it. In this line of work, it’s impossible not to have casualties. Dead men can’t be revived, what we can do is give their families more compensation when we return.”

This colonial squad was formed by their partnership. With limited power, they lacked the capability to independently establish colonies overseas, and their main business was to undertake military contracts.

They specialized in doing the dirty work that the military wasn’t suited for and earned commissions as compensation.

If they were strong enough to reign in foreign lands on their own, Franz wouldn’t care.

But this is just theoretical; without the backing of a nation, even if one managed to establish overseas colonies, they wouldn’t have the power to maintain them.

Austria’s overseas colonial activities were just beginning, and domestic nobility wouldn’t invest heavily without seeing some results first.

The civilian colonial teams that have emerged are mostly small organizations of a hundred or so people, lacking the power and finances to sustain the operation of a colony.

These small teams can usually only follow the government’s lead in participating in colonial activities, such as exploring on the African Continent, suppressing native tribes threatening colonial safeholds, or establishing a colonial strongpoint to sell to the government.

A powerful team could even co-manage with the government, which means the government provides protection, the colonial team manages the colony, pays taxes to the government, and the profits from operating the colony belong to the team.

Those who contribute greatly in the colonial activities could also receive noble titles and land grants, and apart from paying a small amount of tax, they manage all internal matters within their fief.

Clearly, these two novice colonists were unaware of the significant impact their actions would have on future generations. They were still indignant about their meager gains.

Leo Haf exclaimed, “God, how could this native tribe be so poor? Apart from a herd of camels and sheep, all they had was a pile of furs.

Where are all the gold and gems used for native rituals mentioned in the legends?”

Andrea, in full agreement, said, “I want to know where the gold and gems went too! I just went and opened their well-hidden treasure trove, only to find it contained several jars of salt.

God, when did salt become treasure? Wasn’t this place supposed to be a trading hub between Egypt and the Ottoman Empire? Where is all the treasure?”

Leo Haf said irritably, “Bullshit trading hub, that was last century’s news. After the trade routes were severed, the locals left, and now only nomadic tribes remain.

It’s not just here; it’s said that all permanent residents on the Sinai Peninsula are nomadic tribes. Without merchants, and with a severe water shortage preventing agriculture, they have regressed to a primitive era!”

Primitive era is an exaggeration, of course. At the very least, firearms have appeared among nomadic tribes, and while they may not know the age of the matchlock guns, that still puts them into the Age of Hot Weapons.

However, in terms of lifestyle, they aren’t much different from primitive societies. They are still in the nomadic era and completely lacking any hint of modernization.