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

Chapter 613 Auction

Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark.

Christian VIII was amazed by the amazing offers he heard, at first he just wanted to sell the colonies to survive the financial crisis.

After all, the value of these lands far away from Denmark is constantly weakening and has been threatened by the British for a long time. It is better to sell them than to live in fear.

But the British bid was so low it was a robbery.But if no one bids, Christian VIII has no choice but to agree to this loss-making deal.

Then the helpful Franz suggested to him that a public auction could be used to curb the malicious bargaining behavior of the British.

Christian VIII thought over and over again that the buyer who offended the British was the buyer anyway, so he started the auction.

It is not common to auction colonies, so he deliberately chose Frankfurt, a neutral city.

Soon the Danish colony in India rose from the starting price of 70 Danish kroner to [-] Danish kroner, and the bidder was naturally the Habsburg family.

As for the reason, there is no need at all. After all, it is completely reasonable for this family that can colonize deserts and glaciers to colonize India.

But Robert Peel didn't care about that. He just wanted to ensure the eternal legacy of the British Empire.And Charles Canning, who was at the auction site, was a staunch anti-Austrian, and it was impossible for Austria to benefit a little.

So the British bid 100 million Danish kroner. Before Christian VIII on the stage could get excited, Austria raised the price to 150 million.

Charles Canning had no choice but to raise the price to 160 million, followed by 170 million, 180 million, and 190 million.
Finally, the price was raised to 300 million Danish kroner (equivalent to 15.79 pounds). At this time, Charles Canning was already sweating profusely, because these rotten lands were not worth that much.

In order to prevent the Austrians and French from maliciously raising the price, Robert Peel allocated a sum of 20 pounds to Canning.

It should have been more than enough, but now the Austrian side has no intention of stopping.Especially after Canning saw that the one who participated in the auction was a half-old child (Frantz), he became even more depressed.

Because this kind of rich young man may raise the price to 1000 million when his blood is surging.At the same time, Canning has also heard many rumors about Franz. He doesn't know if those are true or not, but being pampered is certain.

To be honest, Canning really hates participating in the same auction with this spoiled "rich young master". He also disgusts "Pear King" Louis Philippe and "Business King" William II.

"310 million!"

"Britain bid 310 million! Anyone else raise the price?"

The venue was whispering.

"One million! One time!"

The hall was silent.

"One million! Twice!"

Canning breathed a sigh of relief, it seems that he finally got over it.

But before he could catch his breath, Franz raised the sign again.

"320 million! The Austrian Empire bid 320 million."

Canning looked over immediately, and he clearly saw a mocking smile on the other side, as if all this was just a game.

The price continued to soar and soon reached 400 million. At this time, Canning finally discovered a problem, whether it was "Pear King" Louis Philippe, "Business King" William II, or Fran who had been making trouble. Ci, they all seemed to be in collusion and only bid against him.

The price at this time has exceeded the price allocated by Congress. It is impossible for Canning to participate in the auction with his own money, but he does not want the British competitors to feel better.

The final price was raised to DKK 500m (approximately £26.31) as it was also not in the UK's interest to continue to soar.

Because when it comes to hating the UK, the Danes are definitely at the top of the list.The sinking of the fleet, the burning of the city, the massacre in the capital, these Danes may forget.

If one day they can rise up, the first to retaliate will be the British. Even if they can't rise up, whoever fights the British Danes is willing to help.

Although Denmark is just an island country, it was once the overlord of Northern Europe and even invaded Great Britain.This makes Britain dare not despise it, not to mention that the latter is not an island country?

Canning didn't have the guts to speak harshly like Palmerston, so he could only leave in embarrassment.

Christian VIII was very satisfied with the results of the auction. Although he had to pay a 10% commission to the German Confederation, it was still a good deal compared to selling it to the UK for [-] Danish kroner.

However, Austria, France, and the Netherlands are the three countries that make the most money. In fact, Canning's guess is correct.Austria, France, and the Netherlands have long been in collusion, and it is better to team up and compete with the British than to fight alone.

Moreover, Denmark's colonies in India are not only in Tranquiba, Tamil Nadu, but also in Kolkata, Serampore and the Nicobar Islands.

These three colonies have their own characteristics and can just meet the different needs of the three countries. Austria and France are both powerful countries, so they prefer land on land.

Serampore is close to Calcutta, the largest opium distribution center in the nineteenth century, and the French naturally hope to get a share of the opium trade.

The Nicobar Islands are located overseas and are relatively far away from the British. They are safe and the Dutch have rich experience in ruling small islands.

As for Tranqueba's strategic location close to the Palk Strait, it is important. In addition, after 200 years of operation by the Danes, it has a relatively complete infrastructure and a relatively stable ruling foundation.

At the same time, there is another advantage, that is, it is close enough to Sri Lanka.

A total of 1000 million Danish kroner was prepared to win against the British, Austria, France, and the Netherlands, but in fact only half of it was used, so it was considered a small victory.

According to the previously agreed distribution principle, the Netherlands needs to pay half of the cost, which is 250 million, because the Nicobar Islands are the most advantageous area, and also because the Netherlands is the weakest member of the three countries.

Austria and France each contributed 120 million Danish kroner (approximately 65.78 florins). This is not a big figure for Austria and France, and it is not even enough for the two crises in Luxembourg and Alsace-Lorraine. The cost of deploying troops.

But letting everyone share the benefits is a necessary behavior at this time, because neither Austria, France, or the Netherlands can bear the anger of the British.

However, the alliance of the three countries, coupled with the approaching Sikh War, made the British dare not act rashly.

The reason why the British dared to attack the Sikhs was because after the death of Ranjit Singh, the originally powerful Sikh Empire staged many scenes of fatherly kindness, filial piety, brotherly friendship, and even a battle of illegitimate children. .

In the end, the wife of a branch of the branch was regent on behalf of the youngest son, and the power of the country was actually controlled by the army.

Not only was the emperor not very orthodox, but also because he was too young to be in charge, his relatives intervened in politics, there were many internal factions, and the local army was monopolizing power, so this was the time when the Sikh Empire was at its weakest.

Britain will naturally not let go of this opportunity to unify the Indian subcontinent in one fell swoop, but what they don't know is that the north still has a pair of eyes staring at them
(End of this chapter)