Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 234

Chapter 234: Chapter 121, International Politics and Diplomacy
At a critical moment, the bureaucrats of the Tsarist Government proved unusually efficient.

They were all intelligent individuals who understood the gravity of the situation; lacking such insight, they would have been eliminated in the internal struggles of the bureaucracy long ago.

The demand for weapons and ammunition was so great that they couldn’t be made available immediately; orders had to be placed for production. Even if Franz was prepared, he couldn’t possibly have stockpiled hundreds of heavy guns and tens of thousands of tons of shells to just sit there.

Who could he sell such armaments to if the Russians decided not to buy?

The Austrian Army had no use for these unwieldy heavyweights, and the Navy, being penniless, simply didn’t have the funds to procure so many cannons; moreover, coastal defenses didn’t require such an arsenal.

Once the decision was made, the Tsarist Government immediately sent people to place orders with Austria, but sadly the heavy gun production capacity was inadequate.

Because in normal times, the Austrian Army only purchased 6-pound and 12-pound cannons, which were the most commonly used active service equipment, and there were very few equipped with 24-pound field cannons. In this era, most Navy cruisers were equipped with 24-pound guns, and the main battleships only had 48-pound guns.

Now attacking the fortifications of Constantinople, the power of these cannons was clearly insufficient. The Russians needed heavy cannons of 68 pounds and above, which were generally used as coastal batteries and had a very limited actual demand.

(Note: During this era, there were significant caliber discrepancies in cannons, with a few millimeters of error being common among cannons of the same model and batch; cannons of the same model produced by different armament factories could have caliber discrepancies of up to a dozen millimeters or so. Using caliber to gauge the size of cannons became impractical.)

These heavy cannons were not only siege weapons but also posed a lethal threat to British and French warships. Clearly, the Russians intended to change the current dire situation of being passively bombarded.

With little market demand, the armament industries had fewer production lines. Many armament factories only had the capacity to produce large cannons, and they would only open the production lines after receiving an order, which took time.

Insufficient production capacity? No problem, weren’t Russia and Austria allies? Franz was indeed a helpful man; even active service equipment could be sold, as long as the Austrian Army had it, they were free to choose.

The era of breech-loading guns was fast approaching, and these cannons would soon become obsolete. Consider this an early re-equipment.

Old guns? You don’t have to buy them; new ones will be available after a few months.

Obviously, the Tsarist Government couldn’t wait, and the frontline Russian Army was even more anxious. It didn’t matter whether the guns were old as long as they could be used properly; at worst, they could just ask the Austrians to provide after-sales service.

Even the cannons ordered by the Austrian Navy were intercepted by the Russians – the Navy wouldn’t be engaged in combat anytime soon, and out of priority for Russo-Austrian friendship, they opted to satisfy the ally first!

As it turned out, any plan is ideal only in theory. After a delay of more than two months, Austria managed to scrape together just over 150 heavy cannons; the rest had to be made up with 24-pound and 48-pound cannons.

Having the cannons in hand did not mean they could attack right away. Transporting them from Austria via the Danube to Bulgaria was easy, but moving them to the frontline afterward was extremely troublesome.

Moving these heavyweights weighing dozens or even hundreds of tons was a considerable hassle. Initially, these cannons were intended for coastal defense, and as long as their firepower was sufficient, their weight and size were irrelevant. Now, the transport naturally became a problem.

Without the cannons in position, Menshikov slowed down the frontline offense. He had no wish for Russian soldiers to die in vain; grey mounts might be cheap, but a high death toll still tugged at the heartstrings.

Athens

The Army Minister said anxiously, “Your Majesty, claiming to be pursuing the enemy, the British have crossed the border and entered our territory. This is a document from the frontline, asking for instructions on what to do.”

Otto I casually swatted away the document. What to do? Wasn’t the answer to that simple question obvious? Do nothing, of course.

Blocking the British was beyond their power, and helping the British to chase down the fleeing soldiers was even less likely. No matter the circumstances, the Greece Government could not stoop so low.

“Have the local governments find a way to hide the soldiers who have returned. If not, send them further back. We must act cautiously and not give the British any leverage,” ordered Otto I.

By now, it would cost them to avoid the situation politically. The British’s actions had essentially offered him a chance to disentangle himself.

The Great Britain Empire was the master of the seas and a top-tier power; the public would find it more acceptable to lose to them rather than to the Ottomans.

It wasn’t that the government hadn’t tried; the enemy was just too strong.

If Otto I were slightly less honorable, he could boast about their initial, seemingly unstoppable campaign against the Ottoman Empire and claim that they had been underhandedly ambushed by the British, resulting in an undeserved defeat.

As for whether this would spark an anti-British wave among the public, that was no longer a concern. Since the last Anglo-Greek conflict, relations between the two countries had never been good, and one more grievance would probably not matter.

The Foreign Minister reminded, “Your Majesty, judging from the current situation, the outcome of this Near East war is no longer related to us.

The British Army has entered the Greek Peninsula, and we have now lost the right to choose; we must start thinking about the aftermath.”

Despite their confidence in the Russians, the British had arrived. If they didn’t take action, they might end up as an exiled government even before the Russians triumphed.

Thinking of this, Otto I felt a headache coming on. His main family had just been expelled from the Kingdom of Bavaria, and if not for Austria’s careful consideration in trading the throne of the Kingdom of Lombardy, they would already be in exile.

With the family’s resources now invested in the Kingdom of Lombardy, they had no energy to support him. After years of pure investment with no returns, many family members were discontented.

In history, after Otto I abdicated, the Bavarian Royal Family sent a member to take over the throne, but none of Otto’s brothers or nephews were willing to take on such a mess; that’s why it fell to George I.

Without external support, he faced even more troubles than historically, and one false step could lead to his removal by the British.

Pacing for a few moments, Otto I spoke up, “Have the Foreign Ministry initiate secret negotiations with the British; under current conditions, we can only mitigate the losses.

At the same time, reach out to the Russians, French, and Austrians; surely they also don’t want to see the British gaining too much ground. We now need their diplomatic support.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” the Foreign Minister replied.

In an era of great powers, escaping this crisis without the support of the powers would be as difficult as reaching for the heavens.

As it turned out, Otto I’s judgment was accurate. Although the Kingdom of Greek was weak, underdeveloped economically, and not rich in resources, their geographical location was advantageous.

The Russians could not tolerate the British dominating this area, blocking their route into the Mediterranean; the French also did not want to see the British expanding their influence in the Near East, affecting their interests.

Not to mention Austria, with Greece just beyond the Adriatic Sea, allowing the British to grow strong here would also threaten Austria’s maritime security.

Vienna

After receiving a plea for help from the Greece Government, Franz decided to intervene in the British actions in Greece, but how to intervene became the question.

Military intervention was out of the question unless he sent the Austrian Army there, and as for the navy, the Austrian Navy was not up to par.

Metternich suggested, “Your Majesty, this time we can join hands with the French. Napoleon III would also not want to see the British seizing their interests.

In the Mediterranean Region, as long as both of our countries reach an agreement, the British would no longer possibly ignore it.”

True, even combined the France-Austrian Navy could not contend with the British, but with many colonies, the British Navy was stretched across various regions.

By contrast, the Austrian Navy was all nested in the Mediterranean and was second only to England and France in naval power there. Together, the naval forces of France and Austria in the Mediterranean surpassed the British.

Strength is speaking power, and even as sovereigns of the seas, the British could not ignore the united will of Austria-France.

Historically, the Kingdom of Greek survived by exploiting the contradictions between other countries, and now Otto I had made the same choice.

International politics are such that in the morning on one issue, we are allies, and by the afternoon on another issue, we become enemies.

Allies without conflicting interests nearly do not exist in this era. What essentially determines alliances are whether mutual interests outweigh the contradictions.

Franz thought for a moment and said, “Let’s talk to France first, see what they want. The interests within Greece are not worth mentioning; we don’t need to demand anything; we just need to prevent the British from completely controlling Greece.”

Without desires or demands, that was Franz’s stance on Greece. The reason was very simple, historically, all investments in Greece resulted in losses.

If nothing unexpected happened, the Kingdom of Greek would soon face financial difficulties in paying back loans to various countries, and then those countries would manage Greece’s finance for a period.

And it was not just once or twice that had happened—whomever took Greece under their wing would then need to provide loans for them to sustain.

For financial-dominant countries like England and France, they could still do this kind of business. Capitalists could use various means to raise funds and profit from it, and even if the loans or bonds failed, it was just the general public who suffered, while they had already gained enough benefits.

Austria, however, could not play this game. It didn’t have enough idle funds domestically to engage in such speculative activities. If financial groups dared to behave like that, the Vienna Government would be the first to disapprove.

Those funds would be far better spent developing the country than trying to buy off the Greek people. Under the philosophy of developing its own, Austrian financial capital appeared very low-key on the international capital market.

Being low-key was indeed a necessity. Compared to the British and French Consortia, domestic Austrian financial groups were much weaker financially. If too active, they might fall into a trap and be swallowed whole.

Since the end of the westward strategy, the Vienna Government had been easing relations with various European countries.

Without conflicting interests, diplomatic relations naturally recovered quickly. Especially with smaller nations, as soon as the Vienna Government extended an olive branch, their mutual relations eased immediately.

If you hold grudges in international diplomacy, congratulations, soon the whole world will be your enemy.

Even the issue of leadership over the German Federation Empire was, in reality, the result of a compromise between Anglo-Austria. If the two countries continued to dispute, it would not have been possible to elect an Emperor so swiftly.

Now, repairing Austria-France relations has become a priority for Austria’s Foreign Ministry, and it is likely that the Paris Government will make a similar decision. Nothing but interests!

Just because Napoleon III has consistently pursued a pro-British policy does not mean that England and France are allies. In reality, they are allies only when facing the Russians.

Most of the time, England and France are on opposite sides. The British are the world’s premier naval power; the French are second, and the gap between their powers was not as wide back then as it became in later years, with the French Navy having about six or seven-tenths the strength of the Royal Navy.

This ratio alone is enough for the leader to suppress the runner-up, and with conflicts over their overseas colonies, the contradictions between England and France are significant. It’s just that the Russians’ ability to draw hatred was so strong that it overshadowed the England-France contradictions.

Against this backdrop, once they had gained the advantage on the Crimea War Field, Napoleon III promptly negotiated with the Russians, showing no consideration for his British ally’s feelings, precisely because France needed Russia to contain John Bull.

Complex international relations gave Franz headaches. Until Austria ventured out to establish overseas colonies, it had little conflict of interest with other countries.

Once it took that step, the situation quickly changed. Clashes with colonial countries were inevitable, and how to manage these relationships became the greatest challenge for Austria’s Foreign Ministry.

From one standpoint, the British did a favor. Although their goal was to prevent the outbreak of a European Continent war and to not miss the opportunity to contain the Russians, the establishment of the German Federation Empire also avoided direct conflict between France and Austria.

No matter the strength of the buffer, its existence meant that the governments of France and Austria did not have to face each other’s military pressure directly.

Franz had his reservations about the French, just as Napoleon III was wary of Austria. On the surface, the two great powers were evenly matched, creating a balance between Western Europe and Southern Europe.

Balance signifies stability, and without sufficient interests coming into play, neither Paris nor Vienna would rashly break this equilibrium.

As the French sought to expand their overseas colonies, they inevitably had to increase naval spending. For their own homeland’s security, improving relations with Austria was a natural decision.

Similarly, as the Vienna Government wished to join this banquet, for its own safety, it too must seek to ease the tension between the two countries.

Under these circumstances, warming relations between France and Austria became inevitable. And jointly mediating the Greece issue further created an opportunity for improving their relations.