Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 349

Chapter 349: Chapter 36: The Junkers’ Calculations

Belvedere Palace, Franz was still anxiously awaiting the outcome of the American Civil War. As for the controversy over the exorbitant expenses of the Central American Colony, he hardly took it to heart.

Wool comes from the sheep, without the Central American Colony, Austria couldn’t have profited handsomely from the American Civil War. Now, these profits were being spent on the development of the Central American Colony.

Since it was the Americans footing the bill, why should he feel distressed?

Being able to gain a foothold in the Central American region and plant a thorn in the Americans’ backyard was already a huge win.

Although they hadn’t gotten their hands on the Panama area, their influence had already spread into it. Franz’s goal was just to delay the opening of the Panama Canal and cause some disruption; there wasn’t necessarily a need to take over the land.

Viewing things from different heights alters perspectives. Franz’s definition of overseas colonies had always been: a source of raw materials and a market at the present stage, and a future economic and political influence zone for Austria.

In this aspect, the British had done well—the strategic concept of the Commonwealth was quite successful. The only problem was that the U.S. and Soviet were too powerful, while Britannia had declined.

Weakness is the original sin. With the decline of Britannia’s strength, the Commonwealth naturally couldn’t play the role envisioned. However, it still retained some economic and political benefits, which was better than nothing.

Austria could certainly emulate this; the unique system of the Holy Roman Empire was naturally prepared for such a situation.

Feudal states or autonomous provinces took into consideration the interests of all parties while maintaining national unity. As long as the central government was strong enough, the empire would be unbreakable.

…

Foreign Minister Weisenberg said, “Your Majesty, we’ve just received news that a large-scale rebellion occurred in Russia Poland three days ago.”

A rebellion in the Russian Empire could only be considered a trivial matter. Ever since the reforms of Alexander II, such occurrences were almost an annual event.

However, a rebellion in the Polish Region was a different matter. Ever since the three powers partitioned Poland, the Polish issue had become a problem closely linked to the Russian-Austrian Prussia.

Poland had its era of glory, but hubris often leads to downfall. Without a doubt, Poland became overconfident, treating the Germany Region and Russia as their hunting grounds.

It was all fine when Poland was powerful, but unfortunately, by the late 18th century, the Kingdom of Poland had declined, and at the same time, their good neighbor Russia had grown stronger.

Under the influence of hatred and interests, the Russian-Austrian Prussia decided to partition Poland, permanently eradicating this enemy, and the once-mighty Poland ceased to exist.

As the first among these countries, Russia seized 62% of Polish territory, approximately 460,000 square kilometers; Prussia took 20% of Polish territory, about 141,100 square kilometers; Austria captured 18% of Polish territory, about 121,800 square kilometers.

Having had a glorious past, the Polish naturally couldn’t tolerate being ruled by three countries. Entering the 19th century, the Polish independence movement became an important part of European history.

Now came the test of ruling capabilities of these nations. Without a doubt, after decades of Germanization efforts by the Prussians and Austria’s ongoing efforts at national integration, Russia, which had done nothing, was hit the hardest.

Gaining the most land and people from Poland but failing to assimilate them, combined with the corrupt rule of the Tsarist Government, Russia Poland became the main base for the Polish independence movement.

Rebellions, however, can spread. While Austro-Poland had always been stable, close attention was still necessary.

Franz asked, “Is there any foreign power involved?”

No one on the European Continent wanted to see the Tsarist Government succeed in its reforms, including Austria. A corrupt Russian Empire was in the interests of all parties.

The most telling example was the resistance of the capital markets to the Tsarist Government’s efforts to raise funds during the reformative period. Aside from the government’s poor credit, the political stance of various nations was a significant factor.

With the Russian-Austrian Alliance in place, Austria wouldn’t directly stab Russia in the back, but other European countries might, especially Russia’s archenemy, John Bull.

Foreign Minister Weisenberg replied, “Yes, and it’s not just one. According to the intelligence we’ve gathered, we can preliminarily determine that both England and France have financed the Polish Independence Organization, and the Prussian Government has provided them with help as well.

Besides, several other European countries have also facilitated the Polish Independence Organization in secret.”

“Recently, the Polish Independence Organization has been very active, seeking diplomatic support everywhere. Inside the country, too, there have been appearances of the Polish Independence Organization, with the anti-Russian Faction providing them with cover.”

Franz rubbed his forehead, it was indeed so. One had to admire the Russians’ ability to draw ire. Even with the Russian-Austrian Alliance in place, the anti-Russian voice inside Austria remained significant.

It could be said that if he were to shift to a pro-Russian diplomatic stance today, the anti-Russian Faction could become the mainstream in Austria tomorrow.

This was Russia’s own doing. After signing the Russian-Austrian Alliance, Russia often regarded itself as the big brother, which naturally angered many.

Especially after Austria had grown stronger, the voices of dissatisfaction grew louder. Franz pretended to be ignorant; the Russian-Austrian Alliance couldn’t be torn up now. Likewise, he wouldn’t cultivate any supposed Pro-Russian Faction.

Without further discussion, Franz knew that among the several European countries secretly supporting the Polish Independence Organization, Austria was included as long as it didn’t openly act to destroy the Russian-Austrian Alliance, Franz encouraged everyone to exercise their own initiative.

If he weren’t worried that the strengthening of the Polish Independence Organization might threaten the security of Austro-Poland, there would probably be even more people in the Vienna Government supporting Polish independence.

Franz thought for a moment and said, “Warn the anti-Russian Factions inside the country to restrain themselves and not to give Russia any leverage.”

“`

“Even if we need to trip up the Russians, it’s best to set up a few fronts, so as not to get ourselves implicated,” Franz said.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Wessenberg replied, the least desirous of trouble. Should a diplomatic conflict arise, the burden of mopping it up would ultimately fall upon him, the Foreign Minister.

…

In Berlin, Roon, who had taken on the roles of both Army Minister and Minister of the Navy, had been increasingly anxious lately. Since learning of the Junker nobles’ scheme for Polish independence, his heart had been uneasy.

Since the Great Revolution, the anti-Russian faction within the Kingdom of Prussia had gained dominance. The plan for Polish independence was proposed at that time, mainly to pave the way for Prussia’s unification of the German Region.

However, Wilhelm-Frederick IV suppressed the plan, leading to its indefinite shelving. This delay shifted the European situation, and with Austria’s resurgence, Prussia’s opportunity to unify the German Region vanished into thin air.

To change the passive stance in diplomacy, there were calls within the Prussian Government to improve Russo-Prussian relations, with Bismarck among the leaders of this idea.

Sadly, Bismarck was assassinated in St. Petersburg, and the Tsarist Government made a perfunctory investigation, blaming the Polish Independence Organization in haste, which reignited the anti-Russian tide.

Such reasonings were still insufficient to spur the Junker nobles into challenging Russia’s might—outwardly formidable yet inwardly brittle, the Russian Empire was nonetheless a fearsome entity, at least one Prussia dared not provoke.

The real driving force behind their decision was the opening up of the colonies on the Indochina Peninsula. Though they had only seized the Phnom Penh Dynasty, it nonetheless yielded no small benefit for the Prussian Government.

At this time, a split occurred within the Junker nobility, with a faction that had reaped substantial rewards from overseas colonial ventures aligning with the capitalists, advocating increased investment in the navy.

This group advocating overseas colonization mainly consisted of Capitalist Rongke Nobility, also known as the Marine Rongke Nobility.

The other faction, traditional Junker nobles, also referred to as the Continental Faction, feared that once the strategic focus shifted to the seas, their dominant position within the army would no longer exist.

After all, Junker nobles had almost monopolized the position of army officers. With specialized military training from a young age, they were far superior in professionalism and would effortlessly outcompete the commoner officers who had entered the military midway through their careers.

On the seas, it was different. Though the navy was initially staffed by army officers, dominion was still held by Junker nobles.

However, in practice, they found that excellent army officers didn’t necessarily make equally excellent naval officers. Many transitioning into the navy proved unable to manage their new roles.

The Germans’ characteristic rigidity came into play – if you are incompetent, step down. The officers themselves would dismiss those unfit before anyone else could and send them back to the army.

With some leaving, the number of commoner officers in the navy grew daily. Should the navy become the heart of the Kingdom of Prussia, it would be difficult for them to maintain control over the military.

For their own interests, the Continental Faction had no choice but to sabotage the navy. They could agree to naval development, but only if they could guarantee their control over the military.

Put simply, they wanted to slow down naval development until their next generation was trained as qualified naval officers.

This peculiar idea had quite a market among the Junker nobility. In their view, it was merely a matter of a few years, and dragging it out posed no issue.

Planning Polish independence was just the first step; only by keeping the Russians preoccupied could they take their chance at seizing the Schleswig-Holstein Duchies.

It was a golden opportunity to kill two birds with one stone: capturing the duchies not only enhanced Prussia’s power but also weakened Russia, incidentally resolving the internal conflict between the navy and the army,

After all, once war broke out on land, military finances would inevitably tilt towards the army, naturally delaying naval development.

Delay for a few years until Junker-born naval officers graduate from school. Letting these insiders take power within the navy was the best way to safeguard their interests.

The plan seemed perfect, and for safety, they even secured England and France as fall guys. Should the plan fail, Prussia’s involvement would appear minimal, and the Russians would have to take their grievances to England and France.

Roon asked, “Maoqi, do you think this plan can succeed?”

Chief of General Staff Maoqi replied, “Your Excellency, I cannot answer this question. Russia, big in business and might, how much trouble just Poland can cause them remains unknown.

While England and France have agreed to support the Polish Independence Organization, no one knows how much they’re willing to commit.

We must also consider the Austrians’ reaction; if they side with Russia, the chances of a successful Polish independence movement are even slimmer.

We cannot wait for Poland to succeed before we act; their odds are too low. The best choice is to have the Polish distract the Russians, covering our seizure of the duchies.

As long as we establish a fait accompli by occupying the duchies before Russia deals with Poland, the Tsarist Government will be powerless against us.”

This rough plan originated from the Prussian General Staff. As part of the Junker nobility, Maoqi had no desire to witness the decline of the Junker class.

To prevent the bourgeoisie from seizing an opportunity, they had to take a strategic gamble. If handled well, they might even swallow the Kingdom of Denmark, thereby reversing Prussia’s passive status on the European Continent.

One could say that the French had set an example for them, igniting the ambitions of the Prussians.