Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 331:

Chapter 331: Chapter 18, No Other Choice

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Watching the great powers stir the winds and clouds, Wilhelm I, who had just ascended to the throne of the Kingdom of Prussia, could no longer contain himself—perhaps it was the Junker nobility that could no longer hold back.

The butterfly effect is powerful. With Austria’s resurgence, the Prussian Government found that their dream of becoming a great power was about to become just that—a dream.

Awareness of crisis drove Prussia towards becoming a formidable force. In the First Schleswig War, the Prussian Army’s performance was far from impressive; in fact, it could be characterized as rubbish.

The calls for military reform were relentless within the Prussian Army, led chiefly by one of the three heroes of Prussia—Albrecht von Roon.

Roon’s fame was limited, but his deeds were earth-shaking. Not only did he preside over the reform of the Prussian Army, but he also promoted Maoqi and put Bismarck on the Prime Minister’s throne.

Without him—an excellent judge of talent—Maoqi might still have had the opportunity to climb the ranks, but Bismarck—an enemy of the royal family—could forget about ascending to power.

Now, General Roon was extremely troubled. He had recently taken on the role of Minister of the Navy in addition to his duties as Army Minister and was facing a significant issue: domestic calls to establish colonies were growing louder.

Roon didn’t know what others thought, but he was against establishing overseas colonies for one simple reason—lack of money.

To dispel this unrealistic idea, he had to obtain support from Wilhelm I. Yet, at this very moment, Wilhelm I too wished to seize wealth from overseas colonies to alter the Prussian Kingdom’s financial difficulties, causing him a headache.

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At the government meeting in the Berlin Palace, Prime Minister Frank once again reiterated the benefits of establishing colonies and proposed the creation of a Colonial Empire belonging to Prussia.

Portugal and the Netherlands, two smaller nations, both owned extensive overseas colonies; it didn’t seem impossible for the Prussian Kingdom, with its capabilities, to establish its own colonies.

Roon objected, saying, “Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I understand that establishing colonies is important. It can provide cheap raw materials and markets for domestic industry and commerce, as well as change the government’s financial woes.

But, it seems you have overlooked the most crucial problem—every Colonial Empire is also a maritime power.

With the few ships our navy possesses, we might not even be able to deal with a large group of pirates, let alone establish colonies overseas.”

This was true. The very fact that the Army Minister could also serve as the Minister of the Navy was a clear indication of how destitute the Prussian Navy was. Any country with a remotely powerful navy would never have this situation.

Prime Minister Frank explained, “The government is already preparing to expand the navy. The Prussian Kingdom needs its own Ironclad Fleet.”

Roon, with a face ashen, asked, “Where will the military funding come from?”

Frank calmly replied, “Now that the Vienna System has been rebuilt, tensions between nations have eased and the European Continent is moving towards stability; the likelihood of war erupting is slim.

Under these circumstances, there is no pressing need to carry out military reforms. This time, the army will sacrifice for the nation and endure a few difficult years.

We can transfer part of the soldiers to the navy to save on military expenses, and the government will try to collect some funds to first establish an Ironclad Fleet.

Once the colonies are developed and the domestic industrial and commercial raw material and market issues are solved, we can improve the national economy and then carry out military reforms.”

In response to the rise of Austria and the impact of the resurgence of France, Roon had recently proposed a detailed plan for military rearmament:

He demanded the extension of military service from 2 years to 4 years; the abolition of the militia reserve; the replacement of standing army equipment, with an annual budget allocation of 17.5 million Thalers starting from the next fiscal year.

These measures meant that the recruitment numbers would rise from 40,000 to 85,000, the number of army regiments would increase from 102 to 163, and standard forces would go from 208,000 to 327,000.

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This military reform measure, more radical than any in history, was primarily based on the fact that the Kingdom of Prussia was facing increased military pressure.

Currently, the Russians have a standing army of 990,000, the New Holy Roman Empire has a standing army of 580,000, and the French have a standing army of 500,000.

With three such abnormal neighbors, Prussia must expand its army or risk losing its quasi-great power status.

Moreover, it’s common knowledge that Franz yearns to unify the German Region, and Napoleon III makes no secret of his covetousness for the Rhineland region.

Represented by Roon, the Junker aristocracy naturally developed a sense of crisis.

Without army expansion, Prussia’s military strength would be less than one-third of any of its adversaries’. Should war break out suddenly, they wouldn’t even be able to put up a fight.

The bourgeoisie, however, saw things differently; they had confidence in the Vienna System and expressed concerns about army expansion:

On the one hand, abolishing the reserves and extending active service undoubtedly would diminish their influence in the military;

On the other hand, two-thirds of the officers and nine-tenths of the instructors in this large army were Junkers, harboring a dangerous potential for the military to become a tool for the Junkers to oppose the parliament.

“Who can guarantee that the sharpened weapons will be used for its own purposes?”

Thus, represented by the Progressive Party, the bourgeoisie utilized the parliamentary powers granted by the constitution of 1850 to bargain with the government, delaying the passage of the army expansion plan.

To avoid the worst-case scenario, capitalists began to tout the benefits of colonial expansion, painting a grand picture to the high-level officials, attempting to use naval development as a means to weaken the Junkers’ power.

Many people were being fooled by the reality in front of them. If there were no benefits to colonial expansion, why were England, France, and Austria all engaged in it?

Even the losses of the Austrian overseas colonies were spun into profits by the data manipulated by the capitalists. Using a bunch of economic jargon, they cheated even the Prime Minister and the King.

They made them believe that the Austrian colonies were only administratively unprofitable. The Vienna Government, through currency taxes, mined gold, cheap industrial raw materials, and other taxes the market brought, had already turned a profit.

This was reflected in the fast pace of domestic economic development and rapid growth in government revenues. It also had the additional benefits of warding off economic crises and reducing the outflow of gold and silver.

After a mess of data, the conclusion was reached: the Austrian colonies brought in a profit of twelve million Divine Shields annually for the Vienna Government.

This was no small sum, almost half of the fiscal revenue of the Prussian Kingdom. Coupled with a host of other benefits, many people were fooled.

In actuality, this accounting was utterly unclear; the Austrian economy’s rapid development indeed contributed to the colonies. But too many industries were involved and the economic cycles were too complex, even the slightest addition could lead to an astronomical difference in the end.

The reason everyone was convinced was the great endeavors of the Vienna Government in colonial expansion. Judging by themselves, if it were not profitable, they definitely would not have invested so actively.

Including England, France, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands, five countries were analyzed by capitalists as examples, concluding that with large colonial empire territories, a nation is powerful; losing colonies, a nation will decline.

Listened to once, it might seem inconsequential, but if various experts repeatedly whisper in one’s ear day by day, with time, it becomes deeply ingrained in people’s minds as an accepted truth.

Roon insisted, “No, the military reform of the army absolutely cannot stop. Just look at the map to see the enormous national defense pressure we face.

Should one day we come into conflict with any major nation, with the current military strength of Prussia, we won’t have the capacity for even a single battle.”

Finance Minister Feibel Adolf scoffed, “General, if it’s based on the need to confront the three great powers, even doubling your army expansion plan would probably still be insufficient.

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However, the financial capacity of the Kingdom of Prussia is limited. Even if we invest all our fiscal revenue into the military, we still can’t compete with any major country.

Modern warfare is no longer the same as it was in the past. During the Near East war period, the total strength of the Russians at one point exceeded two million; when Austria launched the war of unification, the total force mobilized was close to that number as well.

With a population of just over fourteen million, our human resources have already set the upper limit for our army expansion. Using the contradictions between other countries to maintain the balance in Europe is the most suitable strategy for us.

You may not be aware, so let me tell you some economic data, and you’ll understand.

In 1850, the fiscal income of the Kingdom of Prussia was 40.3% of Austria’s, 28.2% of France’s, and 30.3% of Russia’s;

After Austria established the New Holy Roman Empire in 1854, the fiscal income of the Kingdom of Prussia was 31.1% of Austria’s, 27.2% of France’s, and 27.6% of Russia’s;

In 1860, the fiscal income of the Kingdom of Prussia was 20.2% of Austria’s, 21.3% of France’s, and 31.1% of Russia’s.

Because a large sum of money was consumed by the military, our economy has nearly come to a standstill. We spent 43.2% of the amount that Austria did on military expenditures, with only 20.2% of their fiscal income.

Military spending has to support not just the army, but also the accompanying military-industrial complex. Under the compulsory military service system, this industrial chain is the most expensive.

Currently, only seven countries in the world have a complete military-industrial complex: England, France, Russia, Austria, Prussia, the US, and Spain. Among them, France, Austria, and Prussia are at the forefront of land army technology.

This is also the reason why Prussian military industry monopolizes the market—their scale simply cannot support a second firm. In order to reduce costs, all countries are making efforts to sell armaments abroad.

Franz even went as far as to export the military-industrial system directly to the Russians. Because of financial reasons, to save costs, during Nicholas I’s period, Russian military enterprises imported production lines from Austria.

After so many years, the equipment produced has flooded their entire army, and it would be difficult to switch back.

The Kingdom of Prussia became tragic for its lack of renown in the world, making it hard to sell arms; thereby, the military-industrial complex lost its ability for self-regeneration. After all, what they sell is just armaments, without attaching political influence.

The age of industrialization is harsh, because of the lack of markets and cheap industrial raw materials. In the process of industrialization, Prussian capital naturally could not compete with its opponents and could only stick to the domestic market.

The Customs Union that historically supported the development of the Kingdom of Prussia no longer exists due to the interests involved.

Even the Russian market, due to the worsening Prusso-Russian relations, has been part taken over by the Austrians.

All these unfavorable factors reverberate in the economy, and the outcome is naturally not optimistic. It’s no wonder that the Prussian economy stagnated.

Facing this situation, it became inevitable for the capitalists to seek to open up overseas colonies to solve the problems of raw materials and markets.

Now the Prussian government is desperately seeking solutions, which is indeed because they have no better choice. If this continues, the Kingdom of Prussia will be directly dragged down.

Looking at the faces of everyone present, Roon wanted to say more but hesitated. Although the Kingdom of Prussia was accustomed to heavy military expansion, it really could no longer sustain it.

In this era, the military expenditure of each country is very large—around ten to thirty percent or even more is quite normal.

The military spending of several major countries could exceed their fiscal income; how could they compete?

If it were just about enduring hardships for a short period, the government would have tried to bear it. But now, with the Prussian Kingdom expanding its army, there is simply no value to be seen.

Roon knows that if he continued like this, it wouldn’t take long for the Kingdom of Prussia to fall behind due to financial problems.

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In such a situation, the only solution was to launch wars and annex more territories to resolve internal conflicts through expansion.

Historically, this was precisely what the Kingdom of Prussia had done—they kept doubling down, uniting the Lesser Germany region, only to lose the Empire in the end.

Without a doubt, now that the Chancellor of Iron and Blood Bismarck was gone, Prime Minister Frank, who was in power, was not so aggressive. He advocated for temporarily abandoning the quest for land hegemony.

After hesitating for a long time, Roon finally said, “Gentlemen, these problems are indeed very troublesome, but let’s not forget to look at the map.

The Kingdom of Prussia is now divided in half. If we don’t have a strong enough army, we could be swallowed up by others at any time.

Placing our security in the hands of a treaty is very unreliable. The Northern Three-Court System that used to ensure our safety no longer exists.

Despite our efforts to mend the Prusso-Russian relationship, the results are still minimal.

We wanted to join the Russian-Austrian Alliance but were rejected by both countries. There were no other reasons; it was entirely because of the gap in strength—we were not qualified to form an alliance with them.

To change this situation, we must expand on the European continent. Otherwise, it won’t be long before the Kingdom of Prussia sinks into obscurity, becoming a minor nation struggling for survival among the great powers.”

Wilhelm I frowned. He too wanted to expand, but the strength was just not there. Do not assume that just because the Kingdom of Prussia could beat any neighbor besides Russia, Austria, and France, in reality, they did not dare to touch any of their neighbors.

Denmark was Russia’s little brother, and with the tiger’s might of the Russian Empire still present and the Russian-Austrian Alliance by its side, it was possible that they wouldn’t gain any territory and instead risk themselves.

The German Federation Empire was also not to be provoked. It had the support of England and France, and its own economic strength was above that of Prussia.

One wrong move, and those Sub-States could directly defect to Austria, leaving Prussia with nothing but tears.

Do not think it is impossible. From the perspective of interests, staying within the German Federation Empire would allow them to retain their rights to the greatest extent. Joining Shinra would yield the maximum economic benefits while aligning with the Kingdom of Prussia offered nothing.

Whether it was the Junker aristocracy or the capitalists within Prussia, life had not been easy in recent years. Everyone was starving, so where was there room to worry about appearances?

Without a doubt, the Netherlands and Belgium also had their overlords. Touching one thing would affect everything else.

Wilhelm I said, “Roon, your ideas are too idealistic. We do not yet have the power to disregard the rules. If we rashly take unwise action, we will likely face suppression from all nations immediately.

To my knowledge, the French have concocted a plan for Russia, Austria, and France to divide up Prussia. But it was only because the spoils were not divided equally, and the interests of the three countries conflicted, that nothing came of it.

The Vienna System is now the best option to ensure the security of Prussia. If we don’t take advantage of this peaceful period to grow and strengthen, we will be in real danger once the balance of Europe is disrupted.

The most important thing now is to establish overseas colonies to solve the problems of raw materials and markets needed by domestic industries and commerce, so that we can complete industrialization as soon as possible.

Only when our strength has grown will the Kingdom of Prussia be able to advance further in the next European reshuffle.”

Such plans were not unique to the French; even the Austrian General Staff had one, and perhaps even the Russians harbored similar ideas.

Roon smiled bitterly and nodded in acknowledgement—he didn’t have Bismarck’s oratory skills to persuade everyone to continue with the continental strategy.

The international situation had changed, and even if Bismarck were resurrected, he would not be able to replicate the success of the past and might not even have the chance to take the first step.