Chapter 237 Someone Else [Additional 1000 Words]

"It seems that I was foresighted. If we had signed the contract on the ship, there would not have been this accident. But you insisted on experiencing the African customs, and as a result, the two of us almost reported to God in advance." Franz said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Who knows why these natives suddenly went crazy! If I had known earlier, I should have learned from you and done it like you did in Ivory Coast, and destroyed a few tribes first."

Friedrich recovered from the shock just now, and even had the mood to quarrel with Franz, teasing the latter's deterrence plan formulated in Ivory Coast.

The female attack team that rushed into the celebration area was almost killed. Coincidentally, the Royal Guards also rushed in from the gate at this time. Just when the two were still quarreling, a burst of neighing of war horses came from all around.

300 meters is nothing for cavalry, at most it is only a minute's journey.

(This does not mean that it takes a horse one minute to run 300 meters, but the reaction time of the cavalry, from hearing the gunshot to coming to support.)

Most of the attackers were very brave. Of course, most of them died in the first battle, but even the bravest group still hesitated after seeing the tragic death of their companions.

As the situation reversed, the attackers who were on the offensive side just now could only curl up in the corner. Although they still had machetes in their hands, the courage to charge was gone. Those who were lucky enough to survive were even so cowardly that they could not even commit suicide.

The Royal Guards pushed them into the corner very experiencedly, because the situation was basically under control, and the next thing to do was to find out the real culprit behind the scenes.

So it was very important to keep a few survivors to interrogate intelligence, and the officers were also paying attention to whether there was anyone who was eager to get rid of these attackers.

Because usually this kind of attack occurs, there are internal ghosts at work.

About three minutes later, there were no living natives in the entire celebration area except for a few chiefs and a few remaining attackers huddled in the corner.

However, the killing outside was still going on. It was impossible to expect these elite soldiers to show mercy to possible attackers.

"Why do you want to murder us?" Franz pointed a gun at one of the chiefs and said in very stiff Portuguese.

The other party shook his head. Franz's shooting skills were very poor. Even at a distance of about two meters, he could not guarantee a hit. In the end, he had to empty the magazine awkwardly before "sending" the other party away.

Franz came to another chief.

"It's your turn. Why do you want to murder us?"

Seeing the miserable state of the previous chief, the second chief immediately spoke in the native language. Franz was trying to aim at the other party's head in order to kill him with one shot.

At this time, the chief reacted and immediately switched to Portuguese.

"No! Not us! It was King Cabrenon in the north who promised us that if we got rid of you, he would urge King Gezo of Dahomey to let us go."

The north of Togo is a low plateau, but due to the barrier of the Kola Mountains, European explorers at that time knew almost nothing about the geography and folk customs of the north, so Franz did not want to go deep into the inland area and take this big risk.

"What's your name?"

"Kamtich."

"Do you know how to communicate with those Dahomey people?"

Kamtich nodded fiercely.

"Go tell them to tell the King of Dahomey that if he continues to not stop the slave hunting war, sooner or later he will face justice. They can leave if they lay down their weapons."

Kamtich walked to a place about five meters away from the beautiful Dahomey warriors and stopped, and communicated with them in the native language.

At first, the female warriors opened their eyes wide, looking incredulous. One of them dropped her weapon and fled to the woods. Sure enough, no one shot at her. The others followed suit and quickly fled into the bushes, soon disappearing from Franz's sight.

"Why did you let them go?" Friedrich asked.

"What's the point of keeping them? Do you want to enrich your harem?" Franz asked back.

"Forget it. I'm afraid I'll die unclearly one day with a group of female "Assassins." Friedrich said with lingering fear.

(Assassins are a legendary sect that once controlled the country by assassination. Its representative is the old man in the mountain, which is used here to refer to the killer.)

"I think you're afraid you won't be able to find them at night?" Franz teased.

"You make sense."

Friedrich was speechless.

"To be honest, even if we kill them, it's meaningless except for venting our anger. We need to let the King of Dahomey know everything that happened here. Suppose we send a messenger, not to mention whether the other party believes it or not, do you think the person we send will come back alive?

And if possible, I still hope that the other party will give up and choose to cooperate with us. After all, this meaningless killing can neither increase our glory nor make us feel the slightest bit of happiness."

Of course, after saying this, Franz himself suspected that these native chiefs might have lied, otherwise how could it be so convenient to transmit intelligence with the efficiency of communication in this era?

Europeans of this era may not know much about the Kingdom of Dahomey. But Franz knew it very well. After all, this was one of the few African countries that had ever defeated the great powers, and its territory was less than one-tenth of the size of Ethiopia and the Zulu Kingdom.

At this time, the slave trade in the Benin region had not yet ended, and the Kingdom of Dahomey was not the country that later declined. It now has more than 6,000 female guards, and the total number of troops that can be mobilized is close to 20,000.

During the same period, the total military strength of Zulu, known as the first military empire in "Black Africa", was only 50,000, and its population was ten times that of the Kingdom of Dahomey.

Moreover, Dahomey is a landlocked country. Franz neither wants to offend the slave traders, nor does he want to fight deep into the interior of Africa, nor does he want to be used as a pawn in the hands of others.

This attack was so strange that he simply did not believe that two inland indigenous countries would randomly send people to the beach to intercept him.

I have only been in Togo for more than ten days. If it is really a planned murder, then from the collection and acquisition of intelligence, to the formulation of the plan and the collusion with the local indigenous people, to the dispatch of a team of trustworthy killers to carry out the mission , all require a long period of preparation and planning.

He felt that with the efficiency of a mere indigenous kingdom, there would never be such mobilization and organizational capabilities. There is also a speculation that before he arrived in West Africa, thoughtful people in the tribe had already received the news.

However, after Franz thought about it, he dismissed the second possibility. After all, this place is 1,700 kilometers away from Guinea. The geographical disadvantage and the inefficiency of communication made him deny that the murder was the result of a series of connections between these indigenous tribes.

Then excluding the above three, there is only one last possibility left, the fourth party force. They are most likely slave traders or competitors of the Austrian Empire.

At least there was someone who didn't want Franz to continue doing what he was doing.

Therefore, Franz firmly believes that now is not the time to vent his anger on the indigenous people. What he has to do is to complete his great plan step by step - to gain a foothold on the coast of West Africa. Only by laying the foundation for the first step can he avoid being about.

Looking at his thoughtful nephew, Friedrich was not sure whether this man's thinking was different from ordinary people. In short, he could not figure out Franz's true thoughts.

The casualties were soon tallied up. In the battle in the celebration area just now, a total of thirty-five people from the legendary and powerful Daho beauty warriors were killed, while only one person from the Austrian royal guard had his arm chopped off.

Coupled with his previous fighting experience in the Ivory Coast, he did not feel that these indigenous tribes could pose any substantial threat to the Austrian army on the battlefield, so he allowed Franz Hu to come.

"What are you going to do here now?" Friedrich asked.

Friedrich's intention, of course, was to kill the remaining people to eliminate future troubles. No matter what the other party's reasons were, as a traitor, he should be prepared to be killed.

Franz shook his head. He didn't think this was a good idea, and then walked up to the three chiefs and said.

"I'll give you thirty days. After thirty days, I want all the chiefs in southern Togo to sign the treaty. If it exceeds thirty days, even for every extra day, I will annihilate a tribe as a sign of breach of trust. Punishment. You should have seen the fate of the Bayou tribe. If I remember correctly, he should be the most powerful chief among you, right?"

Franz kicked Chief Bayou, who was shot to death at random the first time. At that time, the guards thought of this guy as soon as they were attacked.

As a result, the most influential chief in southern Togo and his two strong bodyguards were instantly beaten into pieces.

Even if he survived by chance, there were not many people left in his tribe at this time. After all, the two sides did not understand each other's language. In addition, both the royal guards and Franz's direct cavalry felt that the attack on the royal family was an honor to them. great stain.

There are even some people who think this is a good opportunity to please the two Grand Dukes. Naturally, they have no reason to spare those treacherous natives.

And the most important point is that Archduke Franz doesn't seem to like plundering very much, but as long as everyone is killed, it is "taking" rather than "robbery".

Although the cavalry will soon be eliminated on the European battlefield, it is still the most terrifying harvesting machine on the battlefield on the African continent at this time.

Especially in the open plains of southern Togo, there are very few trees to hide in. Therefore, the terrifying cavalry raid just now left an unforgettable nightmare for the surviving indigenous people.

The remaining three chiefs immediately nodded and fled towards their tribes.