War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

The Battle of Paradise Castle started too suddenly and ended even more suddenly (I don’t know how to describe it here).

The Weijin Kingdom's army collapsed almost as soon as the Austrian army appeared. The death of the leader later restored the army to its original state - a tribal armed force.

The corpses of black soldiers were everywhere inside and outside Paradise Castle. The wizard of the tribe was directly hit by a siege rocket and turned into a piece of mud stuck on the wall.

Without their spiritual leader, the group of soldiers who thought the bullets were magic immediately fled. The battle ended before many of the new equipment Friedrich brought were put to use, which left him feeling unsatisfied.

On the side, Princess Sneka, who pretended to be calm on the surface, was already turbulent inside.

She had seen the scimitar warriors raised in her family riding high on war horses, but in front of the troops of this European nobleman, they were like clowns riding wooden horses.

And this is just Austria's navy. I really don't know how terrifying their army will be. But Sneka quickly calmed down and chatted and laughed with Friedrich as usual.

A few days later, the British fleet finally arrived. Lieutenant General Raven Hoback complained bitterly that he had been searching the waters of the Cape of Good Hope for several days but could not even find the wreckage of the Austrian warship.

In desperation, Friedrich had to entertain him again.

However, the depressed look of the city of Bagamoyo at this time made the British feel happy. They felt that these Austrian rookies really didn't know how to run a colony, and such a good place had turned into such a horrible state.

After a few days' rest, the Anglo-Austrian fleet set off again and arrived in Mumbai first. The local Indians held a grand welcome ceremony for them.

This made Lieutenant General Hoback very gratified. Although he did not like these lowly Indian ants, he was still very satisfied with the fact that he could show his majesty in front of his Austrian counterparts.

However, the British soon discovered that something was wrong. Yes, these Indians came to welcome the Austrians, not their "masters".

There is nothing that can be done about this, after all, the smuggling trade between Austria and India is prevalent at this time. As for the loyalty of businessmen, they have a flexible moral bottom line. They naturally follow whoever makes money and who they are loyal to.

The UK has seen the third brother's double-dealing too many times in recent years. However, Lieutenant General Raven Hoback did not connect these two things. After all, they were thousands of miles apart.

Mainly because in the eyes of the British, Indians seem to treat everyone the same. In short, they are inferior people who like to beg for mercy from others.

Friedrich actually didn't like Indians very much, but Princess Sneka was very interested in these guys who acted according to the circumstances and found them mysterious and interesting.

And these Ah San became even more attentive after learning about the marriage between the Austrian Empire and the Oman Empire; because in their eyes, the Oman Empire was an existence that could rival the British Empire and would bring them a lot of benefits.

As the representative of the Indian businessmen, Vera Wise naturally expressed her feelings. Other businessmen and princes who wanted to join the Austrian line also invested money to prepare for a grand wedding.

Of course, this is just a unilateral over-interpretation by the Indians. Friedrich and Princess Sneka were only engaged, and it was the kind that did not get the consent of the Habsburg family.

Although there was no wedding in the end, there was still a grand celebration.

The unmarried couple had a great time. Friedrich lamented that Franz had extended Austria's influence to the South Asian subcontinent, while Sneka became increasingly alarmed by the power of that empire.

Lieutenant General Raven Hoback and Baron Billy Mullen Jr., the head of the British Investigation Team, had unhappy expressions, but they only laughed at the ignorance and stupidity of the Indians.

After all, the Austrian navy's ungrateful behavior, especially its deviant behavior of disembarking from ships and engaging in land battles with others, was not worthy of being an opponent of the British Empire.

In fact, Lieutenant General Hoback was very depressed in his heart. The Austrians were causing trouble on land along the way. He also wanted to find a pirate to practice his skills, but it seemed that God was deliberately making things difficult for him. In these days, no one took the initiative to send him. The prey that comes to your door.

In fact, any pirate who sees a formation of dozens of battleships will avoid them, and any thought of provoking them is tantamount to seeking death.

After leaving Bombay and arriving in Calcutta, the locals behaved even more exaggeratedly. This time, not only Indians, but also the British compatriots of Lieutenant General Raven Hoback also joined the welcoming team, and even awarded Friedrich. Honorary Mayor's Medal

This series of actions almost shocked the general. In fact, he did not know that the Austrian fleet had ever visited here.

After all, it happened to coincide with the Indian Ocean tsunami, and many citizens and officials in Calcutta were rescued from the rubble by Austrian naval soldiers.

And later, under Franz's strict control, Calcutta became the least affected and best-recovered area in India, almost eliminating secondary disasters. On the contrary, plagues broke out in other places one after another.

On the one hand, it is out of gratitude, and on the other hand, it is because Calcutta is also the "hardest hit area" for the smuggling trade with Austria.

Colonial officials know very well that no matter how much they earn from normal trade, they may not always be theirs, but smuggling is completely different. Even if the tax point is low, they can still make a lot of money.

Therefore, officials here have also established a deep "friendship" with Austria.

However, there were still some people in Calcutta who did not welcome the arrival of the Austrians, such as the opium merchants.

Albert Sassoon, the eldest son of David Sassoon, the Sassoon family known as the "Rothschilds of the East" and the mastermind behind the Opium War, was so frightened that he peed his pants and hid in a tree without even daring to go home. , dare not enter the house.

This is because Franz held a banquet in Calcutta in order to win people's hearts, and this Albert Sassoon brought boxes of opium with a group of opium merchants.

Franz didn't know what the other person was thinking, but he only knew that he was unhappy and had to do something.

Albert Sassoon said that he asked two royal princes to taste the quality of opium, but he knew very well that such young people were most likely to become addicted to drugs, because their strong competitiveness and strong desire for knowledge would make them addicted to drugs. They take it upon themselves to try this horrible stuff.

As a result, Franz locked a group of opium merchants in a room that was almost flooded by sea water. In fact, it was almost like a water prison.

In the cold sea water, these people have no food, only laudanum and pipes, and the guards outside will provide them with this without limit.

Several people died after being imprisoned for just one day, but Franz didn't care. He only said that he would be imprisoned for another two days, so Friedrich forgot about it and only remembered it a week later.

In the end, only single digits of the thirty or so opium merchants survived. These people relied on drinking opium and eating rat carcasses to maintain basic body functions.

So Albert Sassoon, a drug lord who was feared by people in East Asia, hid in a tree and shivered when he heard that the Austrians were back.

However, Franz did not forget this family. He even prepared coffins for these people.