Chapter 369 Farewell
Ernst was completely unaware of Rosens' behavior. If Ernst knew that there were such talents under his command, he would definitely reward him greatly. At this time, Ernst finally finished his visit in Germany, and took the train from Berlin to Austria. Ernst booked two carriages, and besides himself, there were also security personnel and a think tank team.
"Your Highness, your tea."
"Well, put it aside, don't splash the tea on the table and wet the manuscript." The train groaned and groaned, with a strong sense of bumps, which was normal for Ernst who often traveled around by train.
"Your Highness, why do you have to go to the field to deal with the Boers yourself? You must know that it is thousands of kilometers from Dar es Salaam to the Matabele Plateau (Zimbabwe), and you may also be concerned about the Boers in Africa. The environment didn't fit in."
Ernst: "It doesn't matter. I know a lot about Africa, especially East Africa. It's no different from going home."
The subordinates only think that Ernst is bragging. In fact, not only East Africa, West Africa, South Africa, Ernst has also been to many countries, but he didn't stay long.
"Your Highness, the main reason is that you haven't been to Africa, and studying maps every day, I'm afraid you can't intuitively feel all aspects of Africa. The environment in Africa is not as superior as that in Europe."
Among other things, the two-dimensional map in Ernst's hand is not very intuitive, but Ernst doesn't feel unfamiliar when using it. In his previous life, he had thoroughly studied the terrain of East Africa.
The first thing Ernst had to do when he went to East Africa this time was to direct the war against the Boers. It was almost the beginning of the year when he arrived on the Matabele Plateau, just in time for this war.
The so-called I command, I am present, and Ernst went to the Matabele Plateau for the same reason. Make up your mind on the spot for some major events in the battle situation.
This is how the war against the Boers is attached to. First of all, the Boer regime is a white regime, which is completely different from the enemies that East Africa faced in the past. The elimination of 10,000 indigenous forces is not as good as the elimination of a small white country to the East. The shock of non-nationals is great.
At the same time, the situation in the Transvaal Republic is very complicated. The black Zulu Kingdom, the Orange Free State with the same origin as the Transvaal Republic, the British, and Mozambique all need attention. Among them, Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, is In the south, it is not far from the forces of these countries, so the strength of Mozambique should not be underestimated.
Maputo and Pretoria, the capital of the Republic of Transvaal, are both near 25 degrees south latitude, so the core west of the Portuguese Mozambique colony is the battlefield area designated by East Africa.
The area bordering East Africa in the north of Mozambique is much worse. This is why Mozambique watched the Germans annex East Africa but was powerless. Mozambique is long and narrow from north to south, with a length of 2,000 kilometers from north to south. This is exactly the distance from Maputo to the northernmost point of Mozambique. distance.
In the southern region led by Maputo, the situation is quite different. The Portuguese dared to strike hard at the British who plotted against Mozambique. Even if the British only went south, Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, might be in danger. , the two sides are separated by a Zulu kingdom.
In addition to the above forces that need attention, there is also a kingdom of Swaziland in the east of the Transvaal Republic, which is also an indigenous kingdom.
After three days of traveling, Ernst and his party arrived in Vienna, where Ernst was about to bid farewell to Rudolph. This was agreed before. After Rudolf knew that Ernst was going to East Africa, he wanted to send his eldest brother off. Procedure.
The train slowly subtracted and entered the Vienna Railway Station, preparing to complete maintenance and other work in Vienna. In addition, Vienna is a large station, so the stay time will be longer.
"Rudolph, did you tell His Majesty the Emperor when you came here!"
"Of course he doesn't know. He and his mother had another fight recently, so I sneaked out."
"Ah! Are you afraid that Emperor Franz will settle accounts with you?" Ernst broke into a cold sweat for him, but he was the one who started it, so it's not easy to preach.
"At most, it's just a beating. I'm not afraid. Compared with being bored in the palace, I still feel happier outside." Now Rudolph has completely turned into a leather child, trying to escape from the palace all day long, and Franz It is impossible to stare at him every day. Franz also has a lot of things to do, and the recent alliance between Germany, Austria and Russia alone has caused him to be overwhelmed.
In fact, Rudolph spent most of his life under the hands of his mother and grandmother before, but he was less influenced by Franz. It was only after his mother and grandmother had a quarrel that he was completely taken over by his grandmother.
If Rudolph has been under the control of Queen Elizabeth, at least he can be sure that he will have a very happy life, because Queen Elizabeth herself is a restless master and is not strict with her children.
Later, Ernst took Rudolph to Berlin under the pretext of taking Rudolph to study in Prussia. In Berlin, Rudolph finally found a confidant, that is, the sympathetic William II.
The source of William II’s pain came from his mother, Princess Victoria, who was similar to Queen Elizabeth in that they were isolated by the court. The only difference was that Victoria had a good husband, and Crown Prince Frederick and Victoria had a very good relationship.
Because his mother felt guilty about his physical defects, he kept asking William II to exercise more, which led to a very bad relationship between him and his mother. Because his mother was born in the British royal family, he was often instilled in him with the concept of British supremacy. And he insisted on using his English name, which also gave William II a very complicated feeling for Britain since he was a child, which also affected his future foreign policy towards Britain.
Therefore, William II’s childhood experience can be said to be similar to Rudolph’s, and the two later took different paths. However, from the results, William II is obviously more optimistic than Rudolf’s character. It is worth learning from Rudolph.
"Forget it, this time I go to Africa and I'm afraid I won't be able to come back for a year or two, so I have no excuse to take you out to play. You should take care of yourself and stop fussing with your father. I can understand his difficulty.
Don't think that Hungary is a good thing. They are just a small group of people holding the whole of Hungary as a bargaining chip to threaten your father to compromise and make concessions to fight for privileges. In fact, your father also hopes that all ethnic groups can live in harmony, and it is best to integrate, but The Hungarian nobles also know this, they will not let it go, but will fight against Austria everywhere to continue to maintain this state, believe it or not, and Austria cannot leave Hungary.
Losing Hungary will trigger a chain reaction. Czechoslovakia, Croatia, Slovenia... will all do the same. Austria will immediately fall from the position of the top power. Anyone who is in your father's position will be in a dilemma. "
Rudolph: "I know this. Friedrich (William II) also told me about this. He also thinks the same about the Hungarian issue. Fortunately, I used to think that the Hungarian issue was just a national issue."
Ruzi can be taught! Ernst nodded and said: "Very well, sometimes it's good to be clear about politics. You don't have to worry too much now. You still have a long way to go. Anyway, your father is standing in front of you, so you don't need to express any opinions." , just do everything according to your father's ideas."
Franz's standby time is quite long, and the history of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is basically the history of Franz's rule, so Rudolph doesn't have to worry at all.
"Okay, the train is about to leave, I'm here to say goodbye to you!" Ernst said.
Rudolph: "Well, see you in two years."
(end of this chapter)