Greece to roman road

Constantine and his attendant Schmidt said goodbye to Sanford in a hurry and took the New York to London cruise ship to return to Europe.

Constantine, who was troubled by the competition for the Congo River by European countries, stood on the side of the ship, blowing the strong sea breeze, looking at the vast sea, hoping to calm down his complicated heart.

Based on the information sent by the Greek ambassadors in London, Paris, and Berlin, these major countries are all thinking about the Congo River Basin.

The Congo River Basin has a dense network of rivers and abundant rainfall. Although the length of the Congo River is not ranked first in the world, the water flow of the Congo River ranks second in the world after the Amazon River in Brazil.

The tributaries of the Congo River include the Ubangi River, the Sanga River, the Lukuga River, the Luama River, the Elila River, the Ulindi River, the Lowa River, the Kasai River and many other rivers, criss-crossing and densely packed. Ignoring those sections of the river that are blocked by waterfalls and cannot be navigated together, it is almost a natural inland river navigation network.

More importantly, Congo is located in an important strategic location in the center of Africa.

If a European country with considerable strength occupies this land, then in the competition for European colonies, it can attack from all sides, encroach step by step, gain an advantage, and make other countries feel like a chokehold.

The Congo River Basin borders French North Africa and French West Africa to the south, British-controlled Sudan, Egypt and Uganda to the northeast, Tanzania to the east, Rhodesia (Zambia and Zimbabwe) and South Africa to the south. To the southwest was Portuguese-controlled Angola.

The importance of its strategic location is evident.

Up to now, the so-called African colonies of various countries have only established colonial strongholds near coastal ports and rivers deep inland to facilitate commercial trade.

In other words, it is still full of uncertainty as to who owns a certain piece of African land.

(In fact, from the time European countries colonized Africa until African countries became independent after World War II, most areas never established effective rule).

Taking the Congo and the river basin as the starting point, attacking in all directions, and gradually encroaching on the surrounding African territory, is an obvious and effective strategy to compete for African territory.

This also determines that any country that covets European colonies must seize the Congo if they do not want to be at a disadvantage in the future African cake-sharing feast.

The competition among various countries for the Congo region is bound to focus on the mouth of the Congo River.

The reason is obvious. Many tributaries of the Congo River merge into the main stream of the Congo River and flow into the Atlantic Ocean. A Congo without the mouth of the Congo River becomes an inland area.

No matter what resources and business opportunities Congo has, goods from outside cannot be shipped in, and internal resources cannot be shipped out. The value of Congo without shipping is greatly reduced.

As long as it controls the mouth of the Congo River, it will control the Congo and the basin in disguise.

Constantine faced the sea, thinking about the Congo Committee's decision-making and response.

The cruise ship cut through the waves and headed east. The red sun slowly rose where the water and light met. Seagulls flew across the ship. The wind suddenly rose and the flags on the mast flew high.

"Your Excellency, the wind has picked up, please go back to the cabin to take shelter from the wind," Schmidt said with concern, standing behind Constantine.

"Yes, the wind is blowing"

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Eight days later, the two people crossed the Atlantic and arrived in London, then took a boat non-stop to the port of Piraeus in Athens.

Tatoi Palace, north of Athens, the king's study room.

King George and Queen Olga were delighted to see their son Constantine successfully complete his two-year study trip to Germany after two years of absence.

"Constantine, I heard that your Congo Committee is in trouble. How is it? Can it be solved?" King George was more concerned about his son's career.

"Yes, France and Portugal have disputes, and the British must have understood. Can your Congo Committee handle it?" Queen Olga also echoed.

Britain and France are both important powers in Europe. One is the undisputed hegemon of the world, with the most powerful navy in the world. The other is a traditional European continental power, and the strength of the army cannot be ignored.

The Congo Committee supported by Constantine was really not enough in the face of such a behemoth.

"There is nothing to worry about. In fact, the more countries that are interested in the Congo River Basin and the more complicated the competition, the greater the chance of the Congo River Commission." Faced with the increasingly severe situation, Constantine became more and more confidence.

King George nodded thoughtfully, agreeing with his son's statement.

Only Queen Olga could not understand what riddles the father and son were playing.

"How long will the high spending continue? Even the royal family cannot sustain such a large amount of spending," Queen Olga frowned and complained dissatisfied.

"It won't be long, the parties are about to show off," Constantine comforted. After all, up to now, the royal family has spent a huge sum of 7 million francs on the Congolese Committee, and the landlord's family does not have much leftover food.

This 7 million francs is not only the cost of supporting the adventure team, but also includes the cost of mobilizing public opinion in newspapers from various countries, the cost of scholars speaking out in support of the Congo Committee, the salary expenses of military personnel, etc.

This huge expenditure has so far yielded almost no return worth mentioning.

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Time quickly comes to January 1884.

Banning, who rushed back from southern Africa, came to Tatoy Palace to report the news in Africa to Constantine.

Banning has been in Africa for three months. His cheeks have become noticeably darker and thinner. His face cannot hide the fatigue. His sharp eyes reveal that he is in good spirits. It seems that he has suffered a lot in Africa.

"Thank you, Banning, how is the situation in Africa?" Constantine asked.

"The situation is not bad. In March last year, Stanley invited all the chiefs on the left bank (north bank) of the Congo River between the Kwelu River and the lower Ni'a River to Kinshasa and persuaded them to sign a joint protection treaty with the Congo Committee. After that, the Committee Seven strongholds were set up there." Banning replied.

As he spoke, he pointed to the map of the Congo River Basin on the table and showed it to Constantine.

After the establishment of these strongholds, they cut off the French base camp and Brazzaville's access to the Congo River.

At least legally (as long as both sides are not strong), it is impossible for the French to threaten the mouth of the Congo River.

Constantine breathed a sigh of relief. Under such circumstances, the Congo Committee had a legal advantage in diplomatic negotiations.

"Apart from this, is there any other news?" Constantine continued to ask.

"I recently heard that a large amount of gold deposits were discovered in South Africa, specifically in the Transvaal. This was a topic I heard the crew talking about when I returned to Europe." When talking about gold, Banning was very interested. .

"According to them, the country in the UK is in a state of excitement. A large number of people who fantasize about getting rich overnight are rushing to South Africa. Now the whole of Western Europe is going crazy."

"They originally had 50 crew members on board, but when they returned from Africa, there were still more than a dozen people on the ship. In their words, if it hadn't been for the captain's strong request, they might not have been able to find the manpower to sail the ship."