Chapter 215: Chapter 102, Each with Their Own Plan

Translator: 549690339

St. Petersburg

The Tsarist Government found itself in a difficult position; Austria’s expansion was happening too fast, and they had to find a way to contain it.

However, the Russian-Austrian Alliance could not be broken. Austria was the Tsarist Government’s only significant ally on the European Continent, and they absolutely could not afford to lose them.

Currently, Austria had not expanded beyond the stipulations of the treaty, so they couldn’t even find an excuse to intervene.

This had nothing to do with credibility; as long as it was in their interest, the Tsarist Government didn’t care about betraying an ally.

Clearly, the current interests were not sufficient for the Tsar to betray an ally. Even if England and France abandoned the Ottoman Empire, the Tsarist Government would not likely tear up the Russian-Austrian treaty.

The reason was very simple. The Near East wars had awakened the Tsarist Government to the realization that they were not as strong as they had imagined. Since they were not strong enough, they needed allies.

Looking all over the world, there were only a handful of countries qualified to be Russia’s allies, and after counting them up, Austria, the traditional ally, remained reliable.

Spain was unstable domestically, and Isabella II was still preoccupied with internal strife, incapable of intervening in European affairs. Such an ally would not be accepted by Nicholas I even if offered.

England and France had the strength, but weren’t they currently at war? Outright enemies, without a doubt, how could they possibly become allies?

Then, there was only the Kingdom of Prussia left as a quasi-great power. Putting aside the previous conflicts between the two, an alliance with Prussia was clearly a loss for the Russians.

When they needed help, the Prussians would be powerless; on the other hand, they would still have to support Prussia quite often.

Seeking an ally was for mutual benefit. If it could not be a give and take, forming an alliance was out of the question, which was also the reason for the collapse of the Nordic Three Courts system.

Foreign Minister Carl-Wassell said anxiously, “Your Majesty, the call for unification in the Germany Region is very strong. The nationalism of Bavaria is not even the most fervent, and they have supported Austria’s launched war of unification with real actions.

Other Sub-States are probably not much better. Aside from the Kingdom of Prussia, the Austrians could likely seduce the other Sub-States with political tactics.”

“Now, even the Prussians are scared and dare not send troops to intervene in this war. The German unification war we had foreseen has now turned into an armed parade for Austria.

If we don’t intervene, England and France probably won’t have the ability to stop Austria’s next moves.”

Allies also need to be guarded against. Austria’s rapid development was not good news for the Russians either.

Finance Minister Aristanderlode objected, “We cannot directly intervene in this German unification war. The Russian-Austrian secret pact has already delineated the spheres of influence of the two countries. Before Austria exceeds the previously agreed boundaries, we cannot violate the treaty.

“The enemies of the Russian Empire are England, France, and the Ottoman Empire. Hasty intervention in the war would only result in our enemies benefiting for nothing. Without Austria’s support, we wouldn’t be able to continue the Near East war at all.

“The threat from Austria is only potential, and that still rests on their unification of the Germany Region. Currently, their chances of unifying the Germany Region are still slim, at least the Kingdom of Prussia has not yet capitulated.

“Moreover, this threat is not only directed at us. The French should be most worried now. If Austria unifies the Germany Region, they will pose the greatest threat to France,” continued Aristanderlode.

Geopolitics determines the strategic threats to each country. The British Isles are separated from the European Continent, so the British can only be threatened from the sea. If the Germany Region unifies, the French would be the first ones in the firing line, followed by Russia.

“No, Mr. Aristanderlode, you’re mistaken. Intervening in this war does not conflict with honoring the alliance. As long as we support the Austrians in acquiring the territory previously agreed upon, it doesn’t count as a breach of the alliance,

“This matter could be left to England and France to play the villain. We don’t need to conflict directly with Austria,” explained Carl-Wassell.

Aristanderlode asked uncertainly, “Do you mean splitting the Germany Region and completely severing the route to German unification?”

Carl-Wassell answered affirmatively, “Exactly, facts have proven that once nationalism awakens, if the Germany Region isn’t split, unification will inevitably happen.

“It’s still possible to stop it now, but if we wait any longer and the Kingdom of Prussia is also swayed by public opinion, it would be difficult for us to prevent unification!”

“Do you have any specific plans?” asked Nicholas I with interest.

Carl-Wassell analyzed, “Your Majesty, this plan will also require the efforts of England and France, and it cannot be proposed by us—that would affect our relations with Austria.

“Based on the current situation, it’s not a problem for the Austrians to take the South German Region. If England and France are willing to stop them, they can play the villain.

“Prussia could gain certain expansion in the North German Region, and the Two Principalities Schleswig and Holstein could be given to Denmark. The Sub-States in the western region could be merged with Belgium and the Netherlands.

“Of course, the Sub-States in West Germany are none of our concern; let the United Kingdom worry about that. Whether they go to Prussia or to the little brothers, Belgium and the Netherlands, or even if they become independent, it doesn’t matter to us.

“As long as these economically developed regions aren’t swallowed by Austria, their power won’t surge. After Germany is split, the road to Austrian expansion will be blocked, and then they can only compete for Overseas Colonies.

“That will inevitably lead to conflict with England and France. With a common enemy, in the future, our relations with Austria can even be expected to improve further.”

To solve the problem once and for all indeed seemed like the best choice. As long as the Germany Region was completely divided, no country in the European Continent would be able to threaten the security of the Russian Empire.

At least for now, it was hard to see any country with the power to threaten Russia. Even France, the nation most dreaded by the Tsarist Government, was no longer as frightening as it was during the Napoleonic Era.

Paris

The situation changed too fast, and Napoleon III’s plan to watch the tigers fight had been nipped in the bud before it could even begin.

All the sub-states in the German Region had turned ostriches, as if the Bavarian Government was truly sinful and detestable, and Austria’s overthrow of their rule was the wish of the people.

Well, based on the intelligence from Bavaria, Napoleon III had to admit that Austria’s actions this time truly reflected the people’s will.

This meant that Austria’s annexation of Bavaria would be quite easy: from start to finish, it was nothing more than an armed parade, with the combined casualties of both sides not exceeding three digits. With such strong public support, ruling in the future would pose no problem at all.

Napoleon III cursed, “The news from the German Region is known to everyone.

The situation has completely spiraled out of control, and if we do not act now, it might not be long before Austria can reestablish that damned Shinra Empire.

If you do not wish to witness the revival of that monstrosity that has plagued France for hundreds of years, then find a way to strangle them now!”

Minister of Internal Affairs Pesini suggested, “Your Majesty, given the current situation, we must be prepared for armed intervention. Considering the state of affairs in the German Region, those sub-states will not become our allies.

Austria is not weak, and to be safe, it would be best to act in concert with England and Russia. Right now, the most important thing is to coordinate diplomatic relations and ensure a consistent stance among the great powers.”

Pesini was Napoleon III’s chief strategist, including the plan for restoration, which he had devised. He might not have been adept at governing the country, but he was definitely an expert at playing the game of power.

While he was actually advising Napoleon III not to rashly intervene in the war, when it passed through his lips, it became a matter of diplomatic necessity.

He subtly reminded Napoleon III that France’s main forces were still on the Near East Battlefield, and domestically there was a scarcity of troops; sending this small number of forces would only add to the enemy’s list of achievements.

There was no helping it; the era of universal conscription from Napoleon’s time was in the past. The French Empire now could not even mobilize as fast as Prussia.

Without enough troops at hand, rashly jumping out to intervene militarily would be a joke, wouldn’t it?

Napoleon III, concerned, asked, “How long will it take for us to have sufficient forces to intervene in this war?”

Army Minister Arno thought for a moment and said, “Your Majesty, due to the Near East War, we now have over eight hundred thousand in our standing army, and a large number of reserves have been called up.

Two hundred and eighty-thousand on the Crimea Peninsula, two hundred thousand in Istanbul, one hundred and fifty-four thousand in overseas colonies, with less than one hundred and seventy thousand troops at home.

We are now able to mobilize one hundred and fifty thousand young men each month. These recruits require at least three months of training before they can be deployed to the battlefield.

If we are to intervene in this war alone, it will take at least half a year to amass sufficient forces.”

Napoleon III utterly dismissed the idea of going it alone. This was all the doing of the July Monarchy. During the time of Louis-Philippe, France’s standing army typically numbered only about two hundred thousand, and the system of universal conscription had also fallen into disuse.

After Napoleon III came to power, the army had expanded to eight hundred thousand, leaving no room for so many reserves to be directly called up.

While eligible French youth were not lacking, these individuals could not be sent straight to battle upon picking up weapons; they required a certain amount of training.

A three-month basic training would essentially produce the lowest of the fodder, pitiful in combat strength. Napoleon III would not dare to take such unreliable forces into battle.

It’s not that the French mobilization capability was truly poor; in this era, almost everyone was in the same boat. Before Franz had reformed the military system, Austrian mobilization capabilities were about the same as the French.

In this era, countries in Europe capable of swiftly mobilizing eight hundred thousand troops only included Russia, France, and Austria. Of course, many countries could muster the numbers, but ensuring combat effectiveness was a different matter.

Seeing the turning leaf and knowing autumn, Napoleon III quickly concluded that this military intervention would likely be unfeasible.

Unless the Austrians really decided to unify Germany and pushed everyone to desperation, it would be impossible to proceed without England, France, and Russia drawing back their fighting troops; currently, none had sufficient forces on hand.

His judgment was correct; the British were the first to abandon plans for military intervention, precisely because the British Army could not field a force of significant size.

While all countries were making preparations, Franz was also busy at work as the Foreign Office became a hive of activity, opening up public relations across the entire European Continent.

Not even Switzerland, a sworn enemy of the Habsburg dynasty, was spared, for hatreds belonged to the past. Since the declaration of perpetual neutrality at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, relations between the two countries had normalized.

Of course, this wasn’t the focus of Austria’s public relations efforts, just a routine affair to show attitude to the Swiss Government.

Unless Switzerland was willing to give up its neutral stance, they could not possibly be involved in this war; in reality, they lacked the capability to do so.

In this era, Switzerland was not the developed nation it would be later; as a mountainous country, it inevitably struggled with poverty before completing industrialization.

Beyond convincing the sub-states of the German Region, the main objective of these public relations was actually the French. Russia couldn’t be counted, as agreements had been secured beforehand; now it was merely about maintaining communication.

Franz didn’t neglect the British because he didn’t want to work with them; the problem was that John Bull was too shrewd, and Austria had no benefits to bribe them with.

On the other hand, there was a common language with the French, and a certain price could be paid to win them over. Franz was loath to cut his own flesh, so he would have to be generous with someone else’s.