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

Chapter 653 Adventure Log
Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.

Although Franz looked at the two reports on the table with regret, he was not surprised.

At this time, the inland of Africa was still considered a restricted area for white people. Franz's hired Congo expedition and East Africa expedition were wiped out again. In the end, only the guides brought back their expedition logs.

Poisonous insects, plagues, frequent beasts, hostile indigenous tribes, complex terrain, and long-term mental and psychological pressure are all reasons why expeditions have repeatedly failed.

Due to the plentiful supply of allicin and quinine, disease-related exterminations are greatly reduced.

Historically, the price of quinine in the world before 1870 was still very high, and it had to wait until around 1900 for quinine to enter thousands of households.

But Franz had long planted quinine in Chenla and Kalimantan, so the reserves of the Austrian Empire were still very rich.

As for why it is not planted in West and East Africa, because the cinchona tree is very delicate, and it will die on a large scale if you are not careful.

In view of the level of agricultural technology at this time, it can only be compensated by a large number of skilled workers.

And Franz couldn't find so many skilled agricultural populations in the West and East African colonies to serve this delicate plant.

As for training African natives, the cost may be similar to that of Franz transporting people from the mainland, and the latter can be more reliable.

Even today, the crudeness of African agriculture is still outrageous.

What is even more pitiful is that "oranges grown in Huaibei are trifoliate oranges, and oranges grown in Huainan are oranges." The quinine content of cinchona trees grown in later generations in Africa, including India, is seriously insufficient.

This is why the Dutch have been able to rely on Indonesia to control the secret of the world's quinine for 100 years (the output has long accounted for more than two-thirds of the world), and this bottleneck was only broken through by genetic technology in the 90s.

However, Franz is not an expert in genetic engineering. With the current speed of scientific development in the Austrian Empire, he may not be able to wait for that day.

Closer to home, to deal with poisonous insects and beasts, in addition to the necessary mosquito nets and insect repellents, Franz asked the Royal Society of Science to develop some pyrethrum sprays and vine sprays.

Pyrethrum is native to Europe and is the most widely used natural insecticide. Not only is it effective, but its toxicity is only aimed at insects, and its damage to mammals is negligible.

As for deer vine, which is also a specialty of Southeast Asia, it is much more toxic than pyrethrum.Especially for relatively primitive creatures like insects and fish.

As long as a small amount of deer vine is crushed and thrown into the pond, the fish in the entire pond will soon be poisoned.Generally speaking, there will be no problem if people eat it, but there are many examples of people and fish dying together in folklore in the early years.

However, the reason why Franz designed the two insecticides was not to allow them to catch fish to eat, but to reduce the possible resistance of insects.

As for why it is necessary to use pure natural insecticides, it is not that Franz pays attention to protecting the environment, but that the science and technology of this era are very limited, and DDT cannot be produced at all.

If Franz had Dichlorvos, he wouldn't mind spilling it all the way from West Africa to East Africa.

As for the beasts on the African continent, in addition to bringing an animal and plant expert, Franz also added professional hunters to the expedition. They can also serve as soldiers when necessary to prevent indigenous attacks.

In addition, Franz also approved a strike plan, that is, to launch a sweep against the aggressive natives who were closer to the colony.

The Oman Empire in East Africa immediately expressed support, and they were even willing to send troops to help the Austrian Empire clean up.

In addition to the deterrence given to the former by the latter's powerful neighbor, the Oman Empire itself also has a great demand for slaves.

Participating in this kind of war kills two birds with one stone, Said is a smart man and naturally he will not miss this opportunity.Although the governor of East Africa felt that this might be a false plan by the Omanis to destroy the country, Franz felt that it was unlikely.

After all, the East African region is not that fragile, and the Austrian Empire is not to the point where it can be humiliated. The information bought from the Oman Empire merchants shows that Said is very afraid of Austria and does not dare to do anything out of the ordinary.

However, out of security considerations, Franz still suggested that the Oman Empire troops follow the route designed by the East African colonial government.

Saeed didn't have that kind of idea in the first place, so he naturally had no objection, but the businessmen in Oman were a little dissatisfied with the temporary change of route, after all, they wanted to make more money.

But thinking that they could capture a large number of slaves and sell them to the Americans and French, they had no complaints. After all, the slave trade was the most profitable business at this time.

As for the problem of food and water, Franz also has his own solution.

Compressed biscuits are a product that only appeared in the late period of World War I, but the technical content of this thing is really very limited.

As a result, the hydraulic presses of the Austrian Empire, in addition to squeezing oil and making instant coffee, now have an additional job of compressing biscuits.

Some people say that the invention of the hydraulic press is a great progress in the history of the food industry in the Austrian Empire.
As for the water, Franz had in mind the siphon filtration method, which is also a very simple technology.Humans discovered the siphon phenomenon as early as the first century AD, but the siphon water filtration method was not officially proposed until 1850 in history.

But for Franz, a later generation, it is not very difficult to design a siphon water filtration device, not to mention that he has enough talents under his command, and it is enough for him to propose ideas and directions.

After all the preparations, Franz started the recruitment of explorers. Explorers must have strong psychological qualities, excellent survival skills, and enough experience, and the rest can only be left to God.

"Grand Duke Franz, the explorers who meet your conditions are almost dead. After several miserable failures, more and more people have accepted the rumor that the interior of Africa is a forbidden zone for life.

The French and the British are exploring the North Pole instead, would you like to join in? "

Adjani has always been responsible for the recruitment of the expedition team. She is very confident in the people she recruits, but the results are not satisfactory every time.

Franz even specially developed some equipment for this purpose, and the investment was several times that of Britain and France.Ajani has been thinking is it really worth it?
After all, it was considered impossible to go deep into the interior of Africa at this time, and all Austrian colonies were built in the coastal areas, and the areas relatively far from the coast could only rely on the natives who were attached to Austria.

Moreover, with the increase in the population of the colony, the cost of maintenance has also risen, and at the same time, those natives have begun to move around again.

In Adjani's view, it seems a wiser choice to use the locals for colonial rule like the British, after all, it can reduce a lot of expenses for maintaining the colony.

There is no need to allocate a large amount of materials and people from China and Asia to support local construction. The saved money can completely launch more wars.

In Adjani's eyes, Franz is a person who likes to invade other countries very much, and feels like a Russian with endless desire for land.

"Why do you want to go to the North Pole? Do you think I'm the same as my father?" Franz said impatiently.

Exploring the North Pole may be a big event for all mankind, but it doesn't have much practical significance for the Austrian Empire at this time.

(End of this chapter)