It is in this historical context

Britain made great compromises on the African issue, so as not to prevent European kingdoms from forming an anti-British and French alliance with the United States and harming vital European interests. This will become an inevitable choice.

Lord Gulliver, the Minister of the Colonial Department, sensitively noticed a loophole, that is, as an overseas colony, Queensland proved itself by winning the East Indies War and had a certain ability to expand.

Therefore, he envisioned that by secretly supporting Queensland's expansion and endorsing it from the UK, he could also achieve a strategic concept of occupying more territory and gaining more benefits in Africa.

This can be used as a supplement to the 2c plan. Anyway, I am lucky to get it, but I am lucky to lose it, and I don’t need anything to pay for the British Empire. This is probably what Qi means.

“…

Therefore, after communication and discussion with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we agreed to support Queensland's occupation in Somalia, and the relevant interests will be guaranteed at the Berlin Conference, which is also an embodiment of the "first come first served" principle of this session. After all, no country has previously advocated interests in Somalia.

As for Guinea, no one cares about the little bits and pieces of chicken feet, and this is not a problem.

In return

We hope that Queensland can make substantial moves in Madagascar, including but not limited to the establishment of cutting-edge settlements, gradually expanding its presence in the region, and it would be better if the island could be fully occupied.

The Mauritius colonies require cheap labor from the Kingdom of Madagascar, which is crucial for us to develop the region. At the same time, the existence in Madagascar will greatly curb the spread of French forces on Reunion, which is what we are willing to see.

I know that the Earl is very interested in Africa and hopes to discuss this issue openly and honestly. I wonder what to do?”

Lord Gulliver made his point straight to the point. This did not require any concealment, it was all a matter that everyone knew.

Li Fushou did not answer immediately, and was silent for a while, then carefully considered it and asked, "As far as I know, the French are fighting a war of conquest in Madagascar."

"That's right, but there's nothing to worry about. The arrogant Gaul rooster has been defeated in the past two years. After the defeat in the Qing and French War, it hit the stronghold of the Kingdom of Madagascar. The 4,700 French troops landed were injured and killed or injured, and more than 900 people were injured. Finally, they had to retreat in shame and temporarily hide in Fort Ivan licked their wounds. It is estimated that this war of conquest will end in fruitlessness again, hahaha..."

Lord Gulliver did not have the intimacy he had when he met with Deputy Prime Minister Jean-Jose. Instead, he smiled and gloated, fully interpreting the British and French plastic brotherhood.

"With the strong strength of the French army, it seems that the combat power of the Kingdom of Madagascar is not weak!" Li Fushou said with a serious expression.

"It's okay, the firearms in the Kingdom of Madagascar are all bore-type rifles eliminated from the British arsenal. The youngest has a history of more than 40 years. It is estimated that almost half of them were scrapped in this battle, and the remaining black gunpowder is not enough."

This question was answered by Sir Blair. After years of infiltration, the British knew the reserves of Madagascar's arsenal; "We provide the black gunpowder on the island, and the supply will not exceed 100 barrels per time. We can get the next batch after almost using it. It is estimated that there will be twenty or thirty barrels left now, which is only enough to fight a small war of small size."

The British and French are just a valley. When dealing with them, no local natives will suffer losses.

Well, Li Fushou is not a messenger of justice, let alone hide his intentions. What he needs now is stronger support.

"Lord, with the strength of Queensland today, it is impossible to make a strategy for Madagascar overnight. We need to formulate a practical implementation plan, gradually expand our power within 2 to 3 years, and make steady progress step by step."

"Watt...This is too long, we hope to see results within a year."

"Lord, Queensland is now in the post-war recovery period. In October this year, more than 7,000 experienced veterans who participated in the war retired and obtained their meritorious fields to be a happy farmer. The troops of each division have shrunk by one quarter, and they have more than enough maintenance and insufficient expansion!"

"Anyway, the team of experienced officers is still there, so you can recruit soldiers and train troops immediately. As long as the investment in funds can keep up, I don't think it will take long."

"The military training will take as long as 6 months. It will be the end of next year when action is taken. The larger the scale, the longer it takes to prepare. To be honest, I don't think that in 1885, one or two settlements can be tentatively established, depending on the support of London."

"Uh... don't count too much in terms of money. The fiscal expenditure budget in 1885 did not have this item, and the coordination of the army was also difficult. They currently maintain the huge expenditure of the troops in Afghanistan and Myanmar. It is no different to reach the top if they squeeze out a little blood. It is more of a diplomatic recognition. If they can gain a stable foothold in Madagascar, they can divide the relevant areas into Queensland. This is fine." Lord Gulliver looked at Li Fushou's embarrassing expression and thought for a while and said; "I have recently communicated with the Royal Navy that they intend to sell a batch of old iron-armored warships. If Queensland has demand, I can get a discounted price of half-buy and half-get."

"Thank you Lord Lord. Queensland does not have such demands, and we cannot afford to bear more expensive warships, but we still have to sincerely thank you for your kindness." Li Fushou refused.

What a joke?

The old ironclad ships of the Royal Navy that still retain their sails are just a pile of rags, looking for surrenders everywhere to take over!

I heard that the three South American countries (Brazil, Chile, and Argentina) had an intention. The Ottoman Empire sent personnel to visit. There were even the Fusang Japanese devils stimulated by the two giant ships, Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, drooling around the iron-armored warship that was about to be retired. They wandered around for a long time, but in the end they didn't know who the flowers fell?

This batch of iron armored warships did not actually serve a long time, but with the rapid development of technology in the Steam Age, it has lagged behind the times and is about to be eliminated.

No matter who wants it, Queensland doesn't want it anyway, this group of sail ironclad ships that still use old horizontal steam engines are two eras away from today's latest steam engines. It has low power consumption and high pollution. It is simply a mobile black smoke manufacturer. The data on paper is very intimidating, with a displacement of six or seven thousand tons, but it is just a bunch of rags.

Seeing Li Fushou shrewdly not take the bait, Lord Gulliver smiled and did not take it to heart. This was originally a big shot of a jujube but no dates.

To get Queensland out of the situation, we must provide practical action support. Lord Gulliver's eyes met Sir Glair and signaled to come up with an alternative plan to discuss.

"Ahem..."

Sir Glair coughed twice and cleared his throat, attracting Li Fushou's gaze, and then said with a sincere look on his face;

"London has difficulties in London and may not be able to provide strong support in terms of money. Even if the Ministry of Finance formulates a special budget, the scale will not exceed 200,000 pounds, which is a drop in the bucket for a war.

But support can be compensated through other aspects. We know that Madagascar does not have abundant resources, but across the strait, the Zambezi River basin in Portuguese East Africa on the other side is rich in gold and ivory, and there are large groups of bisons. It is a good place with abundant resources."

"So what?" Li Fushou asked.

"As long as Queensland sends colonial troops of more than 10,000 people, and according to our tacit understanding with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and launches actions within this cabinet term, we can withstand the pressure of small Western European countries joining Germany and the French, recognize Queensland's interests in the region, and draw a large area of ​​territory from Portuguese East Africa. This is our greatest sincerity."

After Sir Glair finished speaking, he closed his mouth tightly, and a confident smile appeared on his face. He was sure that the young count in front of him would take the bait, and there was no reason not to see the fat meat and take a bite.

The reason is very simple;

Remote places like Somalia and Guinea can arouse the Count of Queensland's keen interest, and there is no reason why Portuguese East Africa, which is rich in resources, is not moved.

Even old colonial countries such as Britain, France and the Netherlands were salivating here and challenged Portugal's colonial rule over the region several times, but they were returned by a tough counterattack and were not successful.

Since the 15th century, the Portuguese began to gradually erode the Mozambique region in East Africa. Portugal's occupation of Mozambique has been constantly facing challenges from Western European powers.

In the 17th century, Dutch fleets surrounded Mozambique Island many times but failed to occupy it.

In the 1860s, gold and diamonds were discovered in the Cape colonies near Mozambique, and the competition between Western European powers over Mozambique became more intense.

In 1869, Britain attempted to occupy the Deragua River Bay failed.

At the upcoming Berlin Conference, Portugal tried hard to promote the recognition of its sphere of influence in East Africa by France and Germany, and the United Kingdom was completely negative about this.

From this we can see that the British are still stubborn about the region.

If Queenslanders can try again, why not do it?

Li Fushou had to sigh that the British man’s water was too deep, so it was a trick!

But I like it, really.

He was worried that there was no reason to intervene in the Mozambique area, and these two self-conceived important figures in the colonial department handed over the painting cake. What's the reason not to accept it?

The British can indeed bully Portugal. Even if Portugal is the closest ally following the British, London would not mind cutting a large piece of meat from him and instigating European public opinion to recognize Queensland's occupation in the Mozambique region.

The occupation of Queensland is equivalent to the occupation of London, and there is nothing wrong with it.

The premise is that Queensland does not have any inappropriate ideas, is not independent, and is not separated from the glory of the wise and wise Queen, and the arrogant British have never thought that Queensland would become independent. How is this possible?

In Whitehall Street, a small cafe called Dawn, the three people who participated in the secret talks privately divided more than one million square kilometers of land in Africa, including more than half of Madagascar and Mozambique, establishing the general territory of the emerging empire in the future, with far-reaching influence.

Eighty years later, on the African continent where national consciousness is generally awakened, the newly established African Union had to accept the emerging empire as one of its member states, and occupied a decisive voice with its strong strength, affecting most African countries.

At this time, the emerging empire shouted the slogan "Africans do things, Africans make the decision", and evolved into a ridiculous African version of Monroe's policy, but the dominant ones were lighter-skinned Orientals, generally considered white countries by Europe.
Chapter completed!