Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 350

Chapter 350: Chapter 37, The Meticulously Planned Uprising

After Alexander II ascended the throne, he initiated reforms within the nation, softening his governing tactics in the Polish Region to gain the support of the Polish people.

The Tsarist Government pardoned Polish political prisoners and allowed the establishment of the Polish Medical Academy and Agricultural Association Organization in Warsaw.

In 1863, Alexander II reinstated the Faith and Public Education Committee, which had been abolished twenty years earlier, and also permitted the convening of the State Advisory Meetings (of an advisory nature).

(Note: Since the accession of Alexander II and the timing of the reforms were delayed in the story, many dates differ from historical events.)

The Tsarist Government’s concessions satisfied the Polish bourgeoisie and nobility. The calling of the State Representative Assembly provided them with a channel to exert influence on domestic politics.

Happiness is always relative, and when compared to the reforms in Austria a decade earlier, the Polish people felt much more fortunate than their counterparts in the Galicia Region.

Bear in mind that during the European revolutions of 1848, most of the nobility and capitalists in the Galicia Region were killed by the revolting serfs due to their overactive participation, and a small number of survivors were implicated in the rebellion and dealt with by the Vienna Government.

Those who survived either exercised extreme caution or were die-hard loyalists to the Habsburg Family, staunchly standing by the Emperor’s side.

With this lesson in mind, the expectations of the nobility and capitalists in Russia Poland were lowered. In case the Tsarist Government showed its true colors, they believed the consequences would be even more severe.

At least the Vienna Government would find a reasonable excuse to act within the rules, whereas the Tsarist Government would not need one.

Franz was a person who bullied the weak but feared the strong, most often eliminating capitalists without a foundation and with tarnished reputations.

He typically forced the nobility to sell their land, stripping them of their titles only in severe cases and never personally got his hands dirty with the extermination of entire families.

The Tsarist Government’s compromise with the Polish people attracted the attention of the Berlin and Vienna Governments, with many fearing it was a prelude to Russian expansion in Europe.

The Vienna Government could disregard it, as Austria’s power was not what it once was, and with the Russian-Austrian Alliance in place, any major Russian actions against Austria were extremely unlikely.

The Berlin Government, however, saw the Russia and Poland compromise as closely connected to the Tsarist Government’s plan to capture the territories of Prussian Poland.

It was uncertain when this plan was initially devised. During the first Prussia-Denmark War, whether by intent or accident, the Tsarist Government let slip their plan to take Prussian Poland.

Due to the existence of this plan, the Kingdom of Prussia hesitated to take action during Austria’s campaign for unification, missing the chance to annex the Northern Germany Region.

At that time, the Tsarist Government had deployed two hundred thousand troops along the border, and Nicholas I had even sent envoys to encourage Prussia to take action, resulting in Frederick William IV becoming even more reluctant.

There was no choice; the Russian reputation was too poor. With the Russian-Austrian Alliance in place, the Berlin Government feared a joint attack from Russia and Austria should they deploy their main forces.

The Vienna Government also possessed a plan to divide and conquer the Kingdom of Prussia between Russia and Austria, and even though it was merely a smokescreen released by Franz, the Berlin Government dared not take the risk.

In a domestic conflict, whether facing an Austrian offensive or a Russian offensive, the Kingdom of Prussia could hold out for a long time, waiting for intervention from other European countries.

Combat across the border was another matter, as Prussia had not yet achieved the invincible status of later years, with its performance in the first Prussia-Denmark War leaving the Berlin Government lacking confidence.

Upon learning of the Tsarist Government’s compromise with the Polish people, the Berlin Government immediately began public relations efforts to persuade the Tsarist Government to change its stance toward the Polish people.

Prime Minister Frank once said in private, “I sympathize with the plight of the Polish people, but we must survive, and if necessary, they must be sacrificed.”

His attitude was also the position of the Prussian Government, which did everything in its power to undermine the compromise between the Tsarist Government and the Polish people, becoming a national policy for the Prussian Government.

In the mid-1860s, the Polish society of the Congress Kingdom faced two choices.

First, to cooperate with the Tsarist Government, which would bring some relief to national oppression and some incomplete social reforms.

Second, to collaborate with the Russian Revolutionary Movement Organization to jointly strive to overthrow the rule of the Tsarist Government.

Clearly, although choosing the latter could attract funding from various European countries, the success rate of rebellion was never high, and the likelihood of becoming a martyr was greater than that of becoming a hero—a choice unsuitable for the propertied class.

The Polish Independence Movement Organization failed to gain the support of the nobility and capitalists, turning instead to rally the workers and peasants.

Manipulated by the British, as early as the end of 1862, the Polish Independence Organization had signed an agreement with the Russian Revolutionary Organization to jointly oppose the rule of the Tsarist Government.

The agreement stipulated that once the Polish Independence Organization launched an uprising, the Russian Revolutionary Organization would provide support and, at an opportune moment, would also instigate a rebellion within the country.

After the Tsarist Government’s compromise with Poland in 1863, the Kingdom of Prussia also joined in supporting the Polish Independence Organization, secretly assisting in the training of its military and allowing Prussian Poles to renounce their citizenship to join the revolutionary organization.

As for the French, another supporter of the Polish revolutionary organization, they were connected as early as 1848, and the internationally-minded French even once contemplated organizing an expeditionary force to help Poland achieve independence.

Alexander II’s reforms also sparked concerns in England and France. Under Franz’s butterfly effect, the Tsarist government won the Near Eastern War and captured Constantinople, elevating the Russian threat to a level higher than ever before in history.

Even in its feudal era, the Russian Empire was formidable. If they completed capitalist social reforms, then what?

The British worried that if Russia continued to grow stronger, it would threaten their position as the world’s hegemon, especially as the Indian region could be threatened by the Russians at any time.

The French saw the Russians as the largest obstacle to hegemony in Europe. As for the neighboring Austria, at least it seemed not as capable as Russia.

This was an experience passed down from their ancestors: no matter how strong the Habsburg dynasty might be, France would ultimately win the victory. With the sense of superiority cultivated over several hundred years, Napoleon III decided to deal with Russia first.

England, France, and Prussia all wanted to take on Russia, ideally to interrupt Alexander II’s reforms and split the Russian Empire.

Apart from Russia, all of Europe agreed: a divided and weak Russia was the best Russia.

With the support of these three countries, the Polish independence organization gained rapid strength from 1863, and finally, everyone felt adequately prepared, sparking the Polish uprising for independence.

This time the Poles were quite confident, backed by the most luxurious lineup in history.

Besides England, France, and Prussia, the majority of European countries either sympathized with or supported Polish independence, including Russia’s own allies.

Specifically, the Polish independence organization collected one million Divine Shields in donations in Austria without any interference from the Vienna Government.

Franz, the covert supporter of the independence organization, took no interest in knowing who else was involved. After all, it was Russia’s trouble, and he needn’t concern himself.

He was also completely unaware of the Junkers’ plans. It wasn’t due to the incompetence of the intelligence organization but rather that such matters, unrelated to Austrian interests, weren’t worth utilizing spies that had been hard-earned within the Prussian Government.

Due to the Russian-Austrian Alliance, when the countries were conspiring, they naturally avoided Austrian agents overtly.

Covert agents, painstakingly planted, couldn’t possibly risk transmitting such intelligence, since every information exchange was a risk.

From beginning to end, Franz regarded this Polish uprising as a typical independence movement.

Support from foreign forces was inevitable; during this era, any uprising within the Russian Empire wouldn’t lack unsolicited international support.

Franz was unaware, and so was Alexander II in St. Petersburg. Having just eased tensions with the power factions in the Polish Region and won over capitalists and nobility, the current revolt naturally didn’t receive much attention from the Tsarist government.

Revolts in the Polish Region were a routine occurrence for Russians who had grown accustomed to them. If no uprising took place every three to five years, that would be cause for concern, indicating a major undertaking by the Poles.

Accustomed to such events, the Tsarist government simply ordered the local authorities to suppress the rebellion.

Alexander II’s reforms had achieved interim success. With the abolition of serfdom, Russian industry and commerce developed at a rapid pace.

Do not misunderstand; this rapid development mainly pertains to quantity, with industrial capacity increasing significantly. However, with no substantial improvement in quality, they remained at a competitive disadvantage in the market.

The people preferred expensive imported goods over domestic products. At this time, Russian industrial products suffered from being roughly made and of low quality. Not only were they ineffective, but they were also not affordable.

Domestic transportation issues kept the transportation costs of Russian raw materials exceedingly high, leading to inflated production costs.

Trouble brewed as industrial products were manufactured, but unfortunately, they were hard to sell in the market, especially machinery, which was completely unsellable.

Despite incessant hikes in tariff rates by the Tsarist Government, it was futile. Some even mocked that Russian produced industrial equipment couldn’t even compete with handicrafts.

This was an exaggerated statement; even so, the efficiency was certainly better than pure manual labor. Of course, given Russia’s low labor costs and the high defect rate of machinery, it was a real unknown which would have higher final costs.

In Chekhov’s literary works, he mentioned that screws made in Russian machine shops required additional manual rework before use.

This might not be an exaggeration, as during the Russo-Japanese War, some artillery shells had dimensional discrepancies, requiring soldiers to manually grind them before they could be loaded and fired normally.

If military weapons were made do in this way, civilian products being made in a perfunctory manner were even less worth mentioning. In short, Russian products in the 19th century were synonymous with poor craftsmanship.

With no traction in the domestic market and being ignored internationally. Against this backdrop, the Tsarist government decided to use their guns to seek export markets for its industrial products.

In the summer of 1864, Alexander II approved the Army Department’s plan for expansion in Central Asia, and the freshly erupted Polish uprising was ignored.