The South African War had ended, yet as the victorious side, the Vienna Government could not find much joy in it. Reality had once again proven that in modern warfare, war reparations could no longer cover the losses.
Through the armistice treaty, the Vienna Government obtained 3 million in land redemption payments. Added to the ransom for prisoners, the total came to 6.1268 million Pound Sterling, equivalent to 12.2536 million Divine Shield.
It looked like an enormous sum, but compared with the cost of the war, it was merely a cup of water against a cartload of firewood. Not even a quarter of the expenses had been recovered.
And that was only because the French had secretly lent their strength. Otherwise, the price paid would have been even greater.
The spoils of war amounted to nothing more than a savage wilderness. Because of the war, there were scarcely even any native tribes to be found in the land acquired from British South Africa, let alone immigrants.
Had they not strategically opened up South Africa's outlet to the sea, squeezed British influence into a tiny corner, and secured the safety of Transvaal and the Orange Free State, it would have been a thoroughgoing loss.
The war had been won. No matter the losses, rewards for merit were indispensable.
However, since they had fought under the borrowed skin of the Boer Republic, the later accounting of military merit had to take a detour. It would wait until Austria annexed these regions before being settled.
Among the powerful and noble figures of the former Boer Republic, aside from the handful of clever men who had made the right choice, the rest faded into obscurity amid this round of reshuffling.
This was a difference in scale. In the old Boer Republic, anyone employing several