Chapter 312 The Sword Points at the Abyssinian Empire
The road to the unification of the Kingdom of Italy has been completely blocked, and many territories have been folded in, but the population has not decreased on a large scale. Therefore, the Kingdom of Italy must find a way out, and the only way left is colonization.
Emmanuel II was inspired by the Kingdom of East Africa, and is also preparing to open a colony in Africa, the most important thing is to solve the food shortage problem in the Kingdom of Italy.
Although it was temporarily hindered by finances and could not be carried out immediately, Emmanuel II still asked people to start collecting information on Africa.
There is only so much information in Africa, and the subordinates quickly collected the general information and reported it to Emmanuel II.
"Your Majesty, almost all the coasts of Africa are dotted with powers from various countries. Among them, West Africa has the best conditions. The countries of Britain, France, Portugal, and the Netherlands are all distributed here. North Africa is the closest to us, but most of them are desert areas, and there is no large-scale suitable for them. Cultivated land, some oasis areas are controlled by France and the Ottoman Empire, East Africa is dominated by the Kingdom of East Africa and Portugal and Mozambique, South Africa is the British colony of Cape Town, the climate is most similar to Italy, but the UK can be provoked Sorry."
Emmanuel II listened to the report of his subordinates, frowned and said: "It seems that the competition in Africa is also very fierce! I thought it was a barren land? I didn't expect that there are so many European forces. "
"Your Majesty, the main reason is that other countries have a great first-mover advantage. Even the small Kingdom of Hexingen in Prussia can go to Africa to seize a large area of territory, so the strength of African natives is evident, and although these countries have strongholds in Africa , but apart from the Kingdom of East Africa and Portugal, the Boers have almost no power to develop the interior of Africa on a large scale, and we still have many opportunities."
Hearing this, Emmanuel II was also relieved: "Then do you have any general directions?"
"Your Majesty, after we reviewed the information in the African region and the intelligence of the past two years, after careful analysis, we believe that the Abyssinian Empire on the coast of the Red Sea is a good place that is more suitable for the physique of our Kingdom of Italy."
Emmanuel II asked: "The Abyssinian Empire? What advantages does he have?"
"Your Majesty, first of all, Abyssinia is located on the coast of the Red Sea, handing over the Suez Canal, which provides convenience for us to attack this place."
Emmanuel II: "Isn't North Africa closer to us!"
The Kingdom of Italy is in danger of subjugation in the face of the wolf-ambitious Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the European territory of the Ottoman Empire is threatened by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Although Ottoman still has a generational enemy-Tsarist Russia, France also exists to the west of the Kingdom of Italy. Historically, France is also a great threat to Italy.
"Secondly, the second point I want to say, the Abyssinian Empire has a large amount of cultivated land. In this regard, North Africa is far inferior to the Abyssinian Empire. What our Kingdom of Italy needs most now is Cultivated land, and the cultivated land of the Abyssinian Empire is ready-made. Their land has been developed for thousands of years. Unlike other parts of Africa, there is uncertainty. As long as we can suppress the Abyssinian Empire by force, That will definitely be able to continuously import food to the local area.”
The agricultural conditions in the Ethiopian plateau are really good. If the altitude is not too high, it is nearly a kilometer higher than the East African plateau, and the degree of civilization is too high. Ernst will be excited. The high altitude also has the benefits of high altitude. The terrain of the Ethiopian plateau is affected by the interception of rain. , the average annual precipitation is between 1200mm and 1600mm, known as the water tower of East Africa.
Especially in the southwestern part of the Ethiopian plateau occupied by the Kingdom of East Africa, the precipitation is maintained above 1300mm all year round, forming a unique rainy alpine plateau climate area.
Of course, it is worth noting that in this time and space, the Abyssinian Empire cannot be equated with the Ethiopian Plateau. In the previous life, Ethiopia monopolized the Ethiopian Plateau as an independent country, and now it is jointly owned by the Abyssinian Empire and the Kingdom of East Africa, but Ethiopia The main body of the plateau is still in the territory of the Abyssinian Empire, East Africa only occupies the southwest, and the southeast is a relatively dry plain area.
The agricultural area of the Abyssinian Empire is concentrated in the northwest region of the Ethiopian plateau, and it is also the foundation of the Abyssinian Empire, making it an agricultural country like Egypt. The Sudanese area in the middle is dominated by nomadism, with only a small area The agricultural belt of China depends on the confluence of the blue and white Nile, and its water depends on the water from the blue Nile originating in the Ethiopian plateau.
Emmanuel II: "Since this is the case, the national strength of the Abyssinian Empire should not be bad. You are sure that it will not be a hard nut to crack!"
"Your Majesty, don't worry, we chose this area naturally with this in mind. This is the last point we want to emphasize. The national strength of the Abyssinian Empire is not worth mentioning. Three years ago, the British used very few troops to The capital of the Abyssinian Empire was broken, and its emperor committed suicide due to defeat. The Abyssinian Empire fell into disintegration. At the same time, Egypt in the north also had conflicts with the Abyssinian Empire. The two sides fought in the Sudan area. It was the weakest period in the history of the Abyssinian Empire."
As a local power, the Abyssinian Empire has several vassal states in the Sudan area. This is also the reason for the conflict between Egypt and the Abyssinian Empire. However, Egypt’s rule over Sudan is relatively weak, and the traffic is relatively poor, which has caused Egypt’s national strength. Qiang has nothing to do with the fragmented Abyssinian Empire.
During Ali’s era, Egypt’s expedition to Sudan stopped in the northern part of Sudan due to the harsh desert environment, and imposed a detaining rule on Sudan similar to that of Ottoman on Egypt.
After hearing this, Emmanuel II was very satisfied: "Sure enough, the aborigines are the aborigines. We can't beat Austria. If we don't believe it, we can't do anything about the Abyssinian Empire. We can do what the British can do. "
Then Emmanuel II began to prepare for the plan of the Kingdom of Italy to invade and colonize Abyssinia, and the Colonial Department of the Kingdom of Italy also began to prepare. The opponent of Abyssinia is large enough, has a large population, and has excellent agricultural conditions. All these are what the Kingdom of Italy needs. Now the domestic industry and commerce need a market because of the independence of the Kingdom of Naples, and the surplus population caused by the war also needs land. There is nothing more attractive than invading the Abyssinian Empire.
The various forces in the Kingdom also actively supported Emmanuel II's decision. After experiencing the disastrous defeat of the second Italian-Austrian War, the great ideal of unifying Italy will come whoever likes it. The Kingdom of Italy is afraid of being beaten anyway. Weak opponents like Abyssinia are the first choice for our Kingdom of Italy.
(end of this chapter)