Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 145

Chapter 145: Chapter 32: What to Do When the Spoils Are Not Divided Evenly

Translator: 549690339

January in Vienna drowned in biting winds, snow flitting gracefully from the heavens, descending like threads of rain. A gust of wind, as if casting fine salt into the sky, danced chaotically, adorning the whole Vienna Palace into a fairy-tale world of ice and snow.

Franz had already given up his habit of winter swimming, for in this frozen world, he couldn’t take to the water without fearing for his well-being, distrusting the medical care of his era should he fall ill.

The artificial lake was capped with thick layers of ice where several of his younger brothers still frolicked.

Fallen into the water? No matter, they’d treat it as an icy bath, rise, change clothes, and carry on.

Coddled living was out of the question, for the brothers had undergone military training from a young age. Their skills in theory were certainly not lacking, or else Franz wouldn’t be so confidently taking charge of armies in history.

As snowflakes swirled, Franz stood inside a pavilion looking into the distance, the water in the teapot beside him beginning to boil.

Brewing tea had become a habit for Franz, though since when he couldn’t recall. That’s right, just brewing, for he relished the fragrance released from the tea.

As for the waste of tea leaves each day, that was not a concern of Franz’s. After all, there were plenty eager to curry favor; without his consumption, how would they find their chances?

The Vienna Court’s main beverage was still coffee, with tea being an occasional alternative, mostly black tea at that, which, with added sugar and milk, became the so-called—milk tea.

“Your Majesty, the Archbishop of Kentenia requests an audience,” the maid’s crisp voice echoed.

A visit from the Church, Franz’s brows furrowed. It was known that, since the Austrian Government had acted against domestic churches, a rift had formed between the Church and the Vienna Palace.

Even the Archbishop of Kentenia, who had always maintained good relations with the royal family, had reduced his visits, so his appearance now likely spelled no good news.

“Bring him here,” Franz replied indifferently.

The visitor was already at the door; out of respect for the past relations, Franz couldn’t decline to see him.

(The crisis of the Holy Land erupts, omitting ten thousand words, dare not touch on religion)

“Your Majesty, what do you think?” asked the Archbishop of Kentenia anxiously.

Being a devout Catholic, he bore no resemblance to half-hearted believers like Franz. He was deeply angered by the events that had transpired in.

“Understood, this matter involves a lot, and I need to discuss with the Cabinet before deciding,” Franz answered, his brows tightening.

Internally, he had already started to have second thoughts, as if correct, the historical spark of the Crimean War was this very crisis, and Franz had no desire to become ensnared.

Unable to obtain the outcome he wanted, the Archbishop of Kentenia was powerless. It was no longer the Middle Ages; in Austria, the royal power had overtaken the ecclesiastical.

“Your Majesty, Louis-Napoleon-Bonaparte is ambitious, and he seeks to rebuild France’s status as a great power in Europe. Perhaps this opportunity should be given to them,” suggested Metternich.

If Austria did not wish to take the lead, a scapegoat must be found. There were many Catholic countries in Europe, but only three grandes: Austria, France, and Spain.

Spain’s current circumstances were far from optimistic, plagued by internal issues, leaving it with no resources to intervene in this matter.

The French were the most suitable candidates, as their international status and power did not align at present.

Louis-Napoleon-Bonaparte’s desire to secure France’s position was only part of it; more importantly, he needed public support for a restoration and could expect opposition from the parliament in other matters, but interference in   was the preferred option, for even his political foes would not dare to object on this issue.

“Let’s give this opportunity to the French then. The government must pacify domestic public sentiment. The Press Supervision Bureau must focus on guiding public opinion, and we cannot allow others to set the pace.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should coordinate our relationship with allies. The government will allocate two million shields specifically for propaganda in the South German Region. We must find a way to gradually manipulatethe public opinion in these regions.

It would be best to secretly acquire some newspapers and publishing houses locally, vigorously supporting the Pro-Austrian Faction and the advocates for the unification of a Greater Germany.

As the government ought not to act personally in these affairs, intelligence organizations or civil exchange groups could take the lead.

The German Confederation is a collective body, and various comprehensive civil organizations could be established, such as the German Writers’ Association, the German Music Association, among others,” Franz reflected.

Only upon reflection did Franz realize that in the realm of arts and culture of this era, Austria actually held an advantage.

Of course, it could not compare with France, the leader of Romanticism, nor with Italy, being the cradle of the Renaissance and with Rome as the cultural center of Europe.

However, the story differed in the German Region, where the small states held little influence.

Prussia, as a state dominated by the military—discussing art with them seemed rather absurd, didn’t it? Their structural foundation predetermined their inherent deficiency in culture.

Bavaria, though not lacking in other aspects, was simply too impoverished. Poverty was an embarrassing problem, for art too required a material foundation.

Against this backdrop, Austria’s prominence emerged. Vienna itself was already a historic city, surpassing any German regional state in cultural heritage.

In modern times, as the saying goes, “the misfortune of the state is the fortune of the poet.” As a multi-ethnic state, the collision of various cultural thoughts naturally sparked brilliance, and in this era, Austria reached its cultural peak.

Since advantages existed, they had to be leveraged. Without comparison, there would be no hurt, and the idea of great unification had already begun to spread in the Germany Region. Compared to the rigid Kingdom of Prussia, it was an easy choice for cultural figures on whom to support.

Don’t underestimate these pen-wielders; they seemed to serve no purpose. But once Austria swallowed up the sub-states of the South Germany Region, with them cheering from the stands, Austria could digest the area in the shortest time.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Prime Minister Felix answered.

As a staunch supporter of the Teutonic cause, he backed any decision favorable to the unification of Germany. If it hadn’t been for his untimely death historically, the Kingdom of Prussia would have found it not so easy to unify Germany.

Metternich said, “Your Majesty, the Prusso-Russian conflict is about to end, and with the Holy Land crisis erupting at this time, the Russians will definitely intervene. Maybe they will even use this as an excuse to take action against the Ottoman Empire.

From the intelligence we’ve received, the Russian Empire is preparing for war. Clearly, they do not plan to wait for us to be ready; they want to launch a war in advance.

If the war comes earlier, we will face a choice. It’s too dangerous for Austria’s national strength to support a war on two fronts. We must either take the opportunity to unify the South German Region or go all out for the Balkan Peninsula.”

Franz frowned, fighting on two fronts was too dangerous, a self-flattering statement.

If there were no intervention from the great powers, Franz wasn’t afraid of fighting on two fronts. In reality, aside from the duped Russians, none of the remaining great powers supported Austria.

Not to mention, as long as the British were willing to spend money, the Kingdom of Prussia would backstab Austria, and the possibility of the French intervening by sending troops was as high as 99 percent.

If fighting on only one front, then Austria, with concentrated strength, still had some deterrent power. If forces were split, it wouldn’t scare anyone.

Army Minister Prince Windischgrätz proposed, “Your Majesty, I suggest prioritizing expansion into the Balkan region. On this issue, we can still gain the support of the German Confederation, and we’ve reached an agreement with the Russians, facing resistance only from England and France.

The Russians want to annex the Ottoman Empire; the first target of British and French attacks will inevitably be the Russians. As long as we know when to stop, they will mostly acquiesce to our expansion.

If at this time, we deploy troops to unify the South German Region, all the states of the entire Germany Region will stand against us.

Because of geographical reasons, it would be much easier for the French to intervene militarily, and we might face a coalition attack from France, Prussia, Bavaria, and other countries.

If the strategy fails, Austria could only leave the German Federation. The Holy Roman Alliance that has been established will also crumble.”

Franz, knowledgeable in history, was clear that expanding into the Balkan Peninsula at this time meant almost certain victory, as long as we maintained our stance.

Even historically, when Austria joined the wrong side, it had the chance to annex the Two Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, if only the Vienna Government hadn’t been reluctant to give up the Italian Area as a price.

(Note: Wallachia Principality is now Romania’s southern region; Moldavian Principality now encompasses Romania’s northeastern region, part of Moldova, and Ukraine.)

Prime Minister Felix urgently opposed, “No, Austria lacks not territory, but the number of people of the majority nationality. Even though we have started to implement national integration, this is not something that can be accomplished in the short term.

At such a time, expanding into the Balkans may indeed be easy. But the more we consume, the more difficult it will be to achieve integration.

We can do some calculations; a small part of Serbia has a population of five or six hundred thousand people, Bosnia and Herzegovina four or five hundred thousand, Wallachia nearly one million, and Moldavia has one million four or five hundred thousand people.

This means that Austria would suddenly grow its population by ten percent, and all would be minorities, different from our own, with no sense of identity with the nation.

How much effort would it take to assimilate these people? Twenty years, or thirty years?

Until national integration is completed, we can’t do anything.

If we annex the south German sub-state area, it’s different. The people have a strong sense of identification, and in no more than three to five years, we can establish effective rule and turn potential into national strength.

Then we can turn towards Balkan expansion, which would be entirely feasible.

As for the risks, they are actually controllable.

If the Kingdom of Prussia objects, we can support them in annexing the northern German regional states, and we can divide Germany together. If they disagree, we can use the Russian-Austrian Alliance to threaten them with unification.

If the French object, we can cede all territories west of the Rhine to them, make greater concessions in the Italian Area, and even support them in annexing Belgium.

In this world, so-called contradictions are nothing more than issues of interest. As long as everyone gets what they need, there’s nothing that can’t be solved!”

It cannot be denied, Felix was ruthless. If it were done this way, it would become a collective land expansion by the European powers.

Pruso-Franco-Russian expansion simultaneously, is there a solution to this issue? Even if the remaining countries united in resistance, it would be useless, and naturally, the attitude of the British could be disregarded.

But how could European statesmen not have thought of this? Why hadn’t it been implemented?

Clearly, it was not so simple, an uneven distribution of spoils was an intractable problem. The Russians took too much, and everyone was dissatisfied.

In addition to the massive size of Mao Xiong, it caused everyone’s fear, worried about their continued expansion against which no one could stand.

With the British stirring trouble on the side, the likelihood of a joint expansion plan greatly decreased.