War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark.

Christian VIII was surprised by the amazing offers he heard. At first he just wanted to sell these colonies to survive the financial crisis.

After all, the value of these lands far away from Denmark is constantly declining and they are long-term threatened by the British. It is better to sell them than to live in fear.

But the British offer was so low that it was simply robbery. However, if no one bids, Christian VIII will have no choice but to agree to this loss-making transaction.

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

Christian VIII thought over and over again and felt that it was the buyer who had offended the British anyway, so he could not be blamed, so he started the auction.

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

Soon the starting price of the Danish colony in India rose from the starting price of 100,000 Danish crowns to 700,000 Danish crowns, 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 want to worry about that. He just wanted to ensure the eternal foundation of the British Empire. And Charles Canning, who was at the auction, was a staunch anti-Austrian and it was impossible for Austria to gain any benefit.

So the British bid 1 million Danish kroner. Before Christian VIII on the stage could get excited, the Austrians raised the price to 1.5 million.

Charles Canning had no choice but to raise the price to 1.6 million, followed by 1.7 million, 1.8 million, and 1.9 million.

Finally, the price was raised to three million Danish kroner (equivalent to 157,900 pounds). At this time, Charles Canning was sweating profusely, because these bad lands were not worth that much.

In order to prevent the Austrians and French from maliciously raising the price, Robert Peel allocated 200,000 pounds to Canning.

It should have been more than enough, but now the Austrian side has no intention of stopping. Canning became even more depressed when he saw that a half-year-old child (Franz) was participating in the auction.

Because when such rich young people are full of enthusiasm, it is possible to raise the price to 10 million. At the same time, Canning has also heard many rumors about Franz. He doesn't know whether they are true or false, but he is definitely spoiled.

To be honest, Canning really hated participating in the same auction with such a spoiled "rich young man". Also disgusting to him were the "Pear King" Louis Philippe and the "Merchant King" William II.

"3.1 million!"

"The British bid is 3.1 million! Does anyone want to increase the price?"

The venue was filled with murmurs.

"Three million and one million! Once!"

There was silence in the meeting place.

"Three million and one million! Twice!"

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

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

"Three million and two million! The Austrian Empire offers three million and two million."

Canning looked over immediately, and he clearly saw a mocking smile on the other person's face, as if this was just a game.

The price continued to soar and soon reached four million. At this time, Canning finally discovered a problem, whether it was Louis Philippe, the "Pear King", William II, the "Merchant King", or Francis, who had been causing trouble. Lantz, they all seemed to be in cahoots and only bid against him.

At this time, the price had exceeded the price allocated by Congress. It was impossible for Canning to pay for the auction out of his own pocket, but he did not want it to be easy for his British competitors.

The final price was raised to five million Danish kroner (approximately £263,100), as continuing to soar would do no good for the UK.

Because when it comes to hating Britain, 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 are things the Danes can forget.

If one day they can rise up, the first people to take revenge will be the British. Even if they cannot rise up, whoever beats the British and the Danes will still be willing to help.

Although Denmark is only an island country, it was once the overlord of Northern Europe and even invaded Great Britain. This makes the United Kingdom dare not look down upon it, not to mention that the latter is not an island country?

Canning did not have the courage 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 100,000 Danish kroner.

However, the most profitable countries are Austria, France and the Netherlands. In fact, Canning's guess is correct. Austria, France, and the Netherlands have long been colluding. Instead of fighting alone, it is better to join forces and compete with the British.

Moreover, the Danish colonies in India were not only in Tranquiba, Tamil Nadu, but also in Serampore, Calcutta 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 powerful countries, so they prefer land on land.

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

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

As for Tranquiba's strategic location close to the Palk Strait, it also has a relatively complete infrastructure and a relatively stable governance foundation after two hundred years of Danish management.

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

In order to finally defeat the British, Austria, France and the Netherlands prepared a total of 10 million Danish kroner, but in fact only half 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 2.5 million, because the Nicobar Islands is the most advantageous location, and also because the Netherlands is the weakest member of the three countries.

Austria and France each paid 1.25 million Danish kroner (approximately 657,800 florins). This is not a big figure for Austria and France. It is not even enough for both parties to spend time in Luxembourg and Alsace-Lorraine. The cost of moving troops during the two crises.

But letting everyone share the benefits is a necessary behavior at this time, because no country in Austria, France, or the Netherlands can withstand the anger of the British.

However, the alliance of the three countries and the approaching Sikh War made the British afraid to act rashly.

The reason why the British dared to take action against the Sikhs was because after the death of Ranjit Singh, the originally powerful Sikh Empire staged many dramas of fatherly kindness and filial piety, brotherly friendship and brotherly respect, and even a battle between 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 did this emperor have weak legitimacy, but he was also too young to be in charge. His relatives were involved in the government, there were many internal factions, and the local military had exclusive power. Therefore, this was the time when the Sikh Empire was at its weakest.

The British would naturally not let go of this opportunity to unify the Indian subcontinent in one fell swoop, but what they didn't know was that there was still a pair of eyes staring at them from the north.