Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 377

Chapter 377: Influence

Without exception, representatives from the United Kingdom, France, Austria, and Spain appeared at the negotiation table. Unable to get what they wanted from secret negotiations, the Southern Government did not hesitate to invite the great powers to intervene.

To balance the power of both the North and the South, this was the common wish of the four countries. Since the Northern Government had greater comprehensive national strength than the South, it naturally became the target of suppression by all.

Even Indian representatives appeared at the negotiation table. Forget talking about racial conflicts or white supremacy—when it came to interests, all these issues took a back seat.

Of course, the Indians, being the weakest in power, merely had a seat to listen on the side, waiting for the outcome. They still had no say at the negotiation table.

As a great tribal alliance, the Indians were too weak, merely equivalent to a Federal State, and could not be compared at all with either side of the North and South.

From the start of the meeting, the North and the South argued incessantly about legal issues. Matters of secret private contacts were all hidden by both parties.

Contacting the enemy in private without parliamentary approval is something that cannot be made public, as exposure would result in a political crisis.

Meanwhile, as negotiations continued, news of the Russian-American Joint Fleet’s results in eradicating pirates in the American Strait Islands also came out. Exactly how many pirates were wiped out was still unknown, but it’s certain that the Russian-American Joint Fleet nearly suffered a complete disaster.

“The Navy losing to pirates” was not news, as there were occasions when, if isolated, the Navy could understandably be overwhelmed by pirates. During the Age of Sail, the gap between pirates and naval forces was not insurmountable.

But this time, a fleet from Russia and the American West Coast Fleet, comprising a total of twenty-three vessels large and small, went to suppress pirates and only two small boats managed to escape. It could be considered an entire fleet wiped out, and this indeed was big news.

If the navy of a small country like the Ryukyu Kingdom or Kingdom of Hawaii were wiped out by pirates, everyone could understand.

Even if it was the American West Coast Fleet getting hammered by pirates, everyone could accept that. After all, they were newcomers; it was normal for their naval strength to be inadequate.

However, the main character this time was the Russian navy, and it just so happened during the Prusso-Russian War, which magnified the issue.

With such an incident, the Federal government certainly could not sit idly by.

No matter how, the Russians had perished while helping them eradicate pirates. President Lincoln ordered a fleet from the East Coast to be dispatched immediately to the Strait Islands to eliminate the pirates.

Since everyone was now at the negotiation table and the great powers had intervened, anyone wanting to continue the war would be the enemy of the UK, France, Austria, and Spain. Since the war could not start, dividing forces to the West Coast was not a major issue.

While deploying the military, the Federal government also informed the Tsarist Government via telegraph at the first opportunity. Of course, they also took the chance to inform the other European countries. As the telegraph lines had to be routed through various European countries, the news naturally leaked.

Currently, there was only one telegraph line between Europe and America, and there was no direct line from America to Russia. It had to be routed through European countries, making it impossible to avoid.

During the outbreak of the American Civil War, the information blocked by the Federal government could only be transmitted by ship to other countries.

The news of the naval defeat would not remain a secret for the Americans for many days, even if they wished to keep it so.

Besides, the situation was different now, and the importance of Russia to the Federal government had decreased. President Lincoln certainly would not care about the trouble caused by the leak to the Russians.

Forsaking loyalty is a common ploy used by American politicians. If you want to earn the Americans’ friendship, speak with interests; everything else is nonsense.

In history, the Tsarist Government supported the Federal government in unifying the country, but as soon as the Americans recovered from the Civil War, they immediately became anti-Russian vanguards.

The backers behind the Russo-Japanese War were not just the British; Americans also played a major role.

There’s no choice; the term of the American President is only four years, and no one can serve more than two terms. No matter how good relations were made, once the next administration came to power, all investments would be lost.

Almost all republics perform poorly when it comes to policy continuity. Many times, policies are negated just for the sake of negation.

As the opposition party, after defeating your political enemy in the elections, you must overturn the policies of the previous term. That is politically correct.

Even if they knew the predecessor was correct, they must act regardless. Otherwise, how could they explain to the voters, or rather, the backers behind the scenes?

…

In Vienna Palace, upon receiving the news that the Russian navy had nearly been totally annihilated, Franz simply laughed it off.

Knowing full well how bad relations were with the British, yet still running off to interfere in America—wasn’t this courting death?

An “ambush by pirates”?

Who didn’t know that the British Navy’s ancestors were pirates? Only, they were legal pirates. Don’t be misled by the past decade; occasionally going back to their old trade is inevitable for the British Navy.

There were rumors of the British Navy moonlighting as pirates continuing well into the early 20th century, although the British never admitted to this.

After mourning the Russians for a second, Franz began to gloat.

He had heard many jokes about the Russian navy, but experiencing it firsthand was different.

These were minor issues, after all. Since when was the Tsarist Government not dependent on the army? When has the navy ever been strong?

The Russian navy was not small, with a total tonnage only after England, France, Austria, Spain, and America. It had started as early as the 17th century and had been around for two hundred years.

However, that did not mean the Russian navy was strong. On the contrary, the current Russian navy was far behind the European countries.

All major naval powers were building ironclad ships, while the Russian navy stubbornly clung to sailing warships. There was no other reason, simply because there was no money.

First was the Near Eastern War, then the reforms by Alexander II, and now the Prusso-Russian War was underway. How could the Tsarist Government afford to develop the navy?

In this respect, it was quite prescient of Nicholas I to appoint Mianshikov to oversee the navy.

Naval combat capability might not have been developed, but their land combat capability surely improved, right? At least they had one skill, and the military expenditure was not in vain.

Franz considered whether to suggest to Alexander II to send the navy on a surprise attack against Prussia’s coastal regions.

Unable to gain battle honors at sea, they could make up for it on land. The elite Russian navy would face no pressure in fighting the hastily conscripted civilians of the Kingdom of Prussia.

After some hesitation, Franz decisively abandoned this tempting thought. Now was not the time; putting it forward at this moment would put Alexander II in an extremely awkward position.

This was not urgent, they could wait a bit longer. Although the Tsarist navy was not strong in combat, they could bully the Prussian navy without any pressure.

Even if the Kingdom of Prussia had built ironclad ships, their limited technical capabilities meant those were pseudo-ironclads, so there was no need to worry their cannons wouldn’t be powerful enough to sink them.

On land, it was not so certain; they were the peak of naval land combat capabilities of their age. Before actually fighting, no one knew which of them would come out on top.

In St. Petersburg, upon receiving the news that nearly the entire main force of the Far Eastern Fleet had been wiped out while visiting the United States, Alexander II exploded in rage.

They had been humiliated all the way to America, and although he suspected that the British had a hand behind it, there was no evidence.

In this regard, the British Navy was professional; once out of uniform, they could refit their warships and become pirates. Even the Americans, who were the local power, hadn’t found any problems.

Now it was the era of ironclad ships; the obsolescence of sailing warships was inevitable. Pirate ships that had robbed the Russian navy were still lingering in the American Strait Islands.

The men were gone, but the ships remained.

Clearly, the British had sold these soon-to-be-scrapped warships to pirates, making a clean break with the sneak attack on the Russian fleet.

“My Minister of the Navy, can you tell me what happened? Since when is the Russian Empire’s navy incapable of defeating pirates?”

The current Minister of the Navy, Laurence Lovsky, responded nervously, “Your Majesty, this band of pirates has quite a number of warships; they should not be treated as ordinary pirates.

According to the information provided by the Americans, we can preliminarily judge that this was orchestrated by the British; the cannons on their ships are British-made. It’s even possible that it was the British Navy disguised as pirates ambushing us.

However, rest assured, the Ministry has already prepared to dispatch a fleet to the Pacific to eradicate these pirates and wash away our shame.”

Alexander II cursed, “Fools, knowing it’s the British behind this, you still want to send warships? Do you crave more losses?”

As for retaliation, Alexander II certainly thought about it, but the strength was not there. If the enemy was British, no matter how many warships they sent, the outcome would be the same.

He wouldn’t dare overestimate the British’s moral scruples; the Royal Navy, when impersonating pirates, is not something many countries can handle.

Foreign Minister Clarence proposed, “The Empire’s dignity is inviolable, and these pirates must be eradicated.

However, sending a fleet from the homeland is unnecessary, the Prusso-Russian War is of greater importance. Eradication of pirates could be resolved through diplomatic means.

It’s feasible to ask the Americans to deploy troops or to seek help from the Austrians. For their own reputation, the British would not stand up for these pirates.”

That was inevitable; John Bull, no matter how shameless, would not openly collude with pirates. From the beginning, these pirates were expendable.

The British only meant to give the Russians a hit, not really to sever ties. The Russian Empire today is not to be trifled with; if pressed too hard, there will be another Indian defense war.

Now, with a band of pirates left behind, it’s just to let off steam for the Russians, lest the Tsarist Government has no way to step down without causing trouble for them.

Is the Tsarist Government short of money? That’s correct, but that doesn’t mean the Russian Aristocracy is too. Should Alexander II become desperate and use India as a promise to fundraise from the domestic Nobility, gathering enough funds for a war wouldn’t be too difficult.

The Russians are now full of pride, deeming themselves the best land army in the world, thinking they can steamroll over anyone without issue.

Or perhaps they could fundraise from abroad. As long as the interests are sufficiently tempting, finding a lender wouldn’t be a problem.

The Austrian financial sector hesitates to lend to the Tsarist Government, mainly due to worries about their repayment capability. If Alexander II is willing to offer collateral that intrigues Franz, these concerns vanish.

The expansive Russian Empire has plenty of capital at hand. As long as Alexander II is willing to sell out the country, not only Austria but even getting a loan from the French wouldn’t be difficult.

What normally wouldn’t happen doesn’t necessarily apply to the Russian Empire.

The divine maneuvers of Peter III are still clearly documented in history books; who could guarantee that Alexander II wouldn’t dare to take a gamble?

Just like Nicholas I, a win would make him the greatest Tsar in Russian history; a loss would merely mean meeting God a bit early.

After some hesitation, Alexander II made a decision, “Let the Americans handle it then. This incident started because of them; it’s only natural for them to take care of the aftermath.”

This was the wisest choice; the strategic value of Russia-America relations was not high, and it wasn’t necessary to invest too much capital.

Using this incident as a pretext to put a period at the end of the relationship between the two countries is beneficial for everyone.

The Federation was not yet the American Empire Federation of later times; there was no way they could help with European matters, not even able to provide a loan.

Likewise, they were unable to provide the help that Americans wanted. This naval tragedy was a warning from the British to them, advising not to get involved in American affairs.

Alexander II, who had initially planned to seek a seat at the North-South negotiations, was thoroughly awakened.

The Russian Empire was indeed very powerful, but only on land. They had great influence in Europe, Central Asia, and the Far Eastern region, but in America, separated by oceans, nobody listened to them.

The four countries including the UK, France, Austria, and Spain participating in this mediation, each a naval power, each with a fleet in the American region, capable of mustering tens of thousands of troops? Who wouldn’t listen to them?

Power is the currency of discourse, have you not seen how the Federal government, who is friendly with them, has now not even invited them?