Chapter 25 The Importance of Railways
In the next two days, Elizabeth and William chatted very speculatively because of their common interest in architecture.
So that before they left Corfu, Queen Elizabeth officially announced that she had made a will and William would inherit this exquisite Achilles Palace after her death. The reason was that the treasures should be reserved for appreciation. A man of its unique charm.
Constantine and Rudolph, who heard about this, were very surprised, because the queen would come to this beautiful shrine on the Adriatic Sea every summer to spend the summer.
For her, it was a way to escape the dreary court life in Vienna with strict rules and red tape.
The two did not expect that Queen Elizabeth would hand it over to William to inherit.
William and Constantine, who left on a cruise, went north along the Adriatic Sea, via the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and landed in the Austro-Hungarian Empire from the important seaport city of Riyast, and took the train to Germany.
Constantine's study in Germany began.
After following William to Berlin, I visited Prince Frederick (later German Emperor Frederick III) living in Sanssouci Palace and his mother, Princess Victoria (the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of England), Happened to meet William's youngest sister, Princess Sophie, who was about the same age as Constantine.
After nearly a year, Constantine studied political science at the University of Heidelberg with his tutor, Dr. Rudes.
It wasn't until October 1883 that Schmidt received a telegram from Banning: The lion's territory has been stabilized, the invaders have been repelled, and a new journey can begin.
This is a coded telegram, which clearly means: the construction of the stronghold in the Congo River Basin has been completed, and other adventurers who coveted here have been expelled, and other preparations can be made.
Constantine, who received the telegram, immediately took the train and took Schmidt to Hamburg.
During the trip, the two people have a profound understanding of Germany's fast-developing railways.
Sitting on the train from Heidelberg to Hamburg, Schmidt envied: "It's really convenient. If Greece can have a lot of railways, then we will be able to defeat the damn Turks."
Schmidt obviously noticed the role of railways in warfare, but as a soldier, he did not know enough about the economic value of railways.
Constantine envied Constantine's speed of development for today's largest European power.
The railway plays an important role in the modernization of a country.
Before the railway, there was only one kind of large-scale transportation for human beings.
In order to use ships to transport materials, in history, various countries were forced to spend huge manpower and material resources to build numerous canals, such as the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in China, the Erie Canal in the United States, the Suez Canal in France, and the Kiel Canal in Germany.
Even in the 21st century, ship transportation is still the cheapest mode of transportation. There is nothing but the cheapest.
This situation led to the emergence of railways, the world's powerful countries are some island or coastal countries, people call such countries as maritime countries.
Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and France, which have successively emerged as world powers, all have one thing in common-relying on the convenience of shipping, they are all maritime countries.
The long coastline provides enough seaports to boost commercial development.
Their rise is dependent on the advantages of a navy power, a commercial power, and a maritime power.
Until the advent of railways, it became possible to transport materials on a large scale and cheaply in land countries.
Speaking of it, Germany's national destiny strongly proves this point.
The economic reunification of Germany is far ahead of the political reunification. The establishment of the German Customs Union laid the foundation for the reunification of Germany.
In the 20th century, Germany, with its breeze on all sides and its war capabilities shocking the world, had maintained a fragmented political structure for a long time, with small states scattered in the German region.
Until the beginning of the 19th century, the economic development of the German region became increasingly eager for a unified market.
Various states levied tariffs on each other, which seriously hindered the development of German commerce.
For example, as an important commercial channel, the Rhine has important commercial value. However, before the establishment of the German Customs Union, various states set up too many tax cards in order to increase taxes.
After a ship of goods is transported through the Rhine, the accumulated taxes and fees paid are higher than the value of the goods themselves.
This wicked situation makes the Rhine, a natural business road of great commercial value, greatly compromised.
After the establishment of the Customs Union, driven by economic interests, various states began to build railways.
In 1835, Germany had only one 6-kilometer railway. After the establishment of the Customs Union, driven by economic interests, various states began to build railways.
Before the Franco-Prussian War, in 1870, Germany, with an area of only a few hundred thousand square kilometers, had a railway mileage of 19,575 kilometers.
The railway has developed to such a point that although the various states are still independent, the commercial ties established through the railway have brought the whole of Germany together.
By 1871, before the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, Prussia and various states had assembled troops through various railway stations and transported 500,000 troops, as well as supporting equipment and materials, to the assembly areas on the front line.
On the French side, Napoleon III had just assembled 200,000 troops and hurried to the front.
As a result, the war lasted only a few months, and Napoleon III led hundreds of thousands of French troops to surrender.
This result surprised all countries.
The military value of railways has since been valued by military strategists all over the world.
If you really want to say what is the most direct factor in the rise of Germany, the railway will do its part and take great credit.
Thinking of this, Schmidt patted his shoulder and said, "Sooner or later, Greece will build a large-scale railway."
The two got off the train in Hamburg, and after leaving the train station, they made peace with Banning who had returned from Africa.
Banning is the chairman of the Congolese Council and has been in Africa before that, replacing Constantine with Stanley's adventures.
Banning is an important adviser to Constantine, and has been advising Constantine since the start of the Africa Project.
"Welcome back to Europe, Banning." Constantine said to Banning, who was tanned, and gave him a hug.
"Thank you, Lord Duke."
Then the three of them found a cafe on the street.
"Your Excellency, our business base in Africa has been completed." Banning said excitedly.
"How exactly? How many commercial strongholds and entrusted rule treaties?" Constantine asked eagerly when he heard such words.
"The Congolese Commission has established about 30 commercial bases in Africa, and about 400 commission treaties," Banning replied.
"Your Excellency, I am coming back this time just to discuss with you, what should we do next?" Banning asked.
Whether it is a power of attorney or a commercial base, it will be meaningless if it is not recognized by the European powers.
How to get European powers to recognize the Congolese Commission's sovereign status over the Congo River Basin is the most difficult part of this African plan.