Chapter 469: Chapter 42, Greater French Empire
 

As the Anglo-Austrian game over South Africa had just begun, a significant change had already taken place on the European Continent. This time, Napoleon III showed his decisiveness by sending troops to take control of the governments of the Italian States.

Clearly, his patience had reached its limit, and he was no longer willing to dawdle with these characters.

After suppressing the weak resistance of the States, under the threat of bayonets, the governments were forced to agree to join the Kingdom of Sardinia to form the Italian Empire.

On August 24, 1870, the Italian Empire held its first congress, in which the assembly elected Napoleon III as Emperor.

The following day, Napoleon III, unable to wait, was crowned in Rome as the Italian Emperor, that is, Emperor Napoleon I of Italy.

Napoleon III then announced the establishment of an alliance between France and Italy, creating the Greater French Empire, and took the title of Emperor once more. To placate the Italians, this time there would be dual capitals, Paris and Rome respectively.

Following Napoleon, the Bonaparte family once again established an empire. Or rather two empires, the Bonaparte Dynasty of the Italian Empire and the Bonaparte Dynasty of the Greater French Empire.

Regarding etiquette and appearances, Napoleon III completely disregarded them. Opportunities to face off against England and Austria were rare, and if he missed this chance, it would be difficult to find another in the future.

With the establishment of the Greater French Empire, the situation in Europe changed in an instant. France, having annexed Italy, seemed ready to soar to hegemony over the European Continent.

Due to the Great Prusso-Russian War, the only powers capable of intervening in the French annexation of Italy at this time were England and Austria.

As attention converged on Vienna and London, a new round of diplomatic intrigue commenced secretly, and an undercurrent against the French surged across the European Continent.

In Vienna, even though he was somewhat prepared, Franz was still shocked by the audacity of Napoleon III.

In his plans, the French should have proceeded step by step. For example: first establish the Italian Empire to unify the Italian Area, then promote the merger of the two countries, a process that should have taken several years at least.

The Vienna Government could not sit idly by, and Prime Minister Felix immediately declared, “Your Majesty, we cannot let the French continue to grow stronger, this threat is simply too great.”

To disrupt the French expansion plan was not hard, one only needed to ally with the United Kingdom immediately and then apply pressure together with other European countries; the French would likely compromise.

Despite Napoleon III’s swift and decisive actions, giving the impression of a resolute determination to annex Italy at all costs, he was not truly prepared to make enemies of the whole of Europe. The French did not have the courage to challenge the European Continent again; it was merely a show of force.

What really gave them confidence was the France-Austrian Secret Treaty, which stipulated that at this juncture, Austria would also make a move against the German Federation Empire, sharing the international pressure together.

Even the Vienna Government was already in motion; most of the Sub-State governments in the German Federation had already sided with Austria. If Franz wished, it could take at most a month to annex the German Federation.

This was the convenience brought by railroads. The Sub-States that Austria had won over had mostly chosen the Austrian standards, and many had already completed rail integration with the Austrian Railway.

To this day, except for the Kingdom of Hanover which had not been completely penetrated by Austria, the other Sub-States could not escape Austrian influence.

The success of this plan was not just due to the surge of nationalism, but also, more significantly, economic interests.

Nobility and capitalists from within the German Federation had already aligned their actions with Austria, binding their interests together.

Even the opposition camp’s concentration camp, the Kingdom of Hanover, could not escape, and as time passed, this influence would only grow stronger.

The British may support them, but British capitalists would never share their market with them, let alone allow them to develop in their own colonies.

When Austria was developing its colonies, it heavily immigrated from the Germany Region, and these sub-states were no exception.

While immigrating, Austria also courted the local power factions, participating in the development of Austrian colonies, creating a community of shared interests with many locals.

This infiltration was something the German Federal Government could do nothing about. After all, they couldn’t possibly enact laws to prohibit cooperation between the two parties, could they?

Moreover, even if they were prohibited, it wouldn’t work. The sub-states below wouldn’t take the Central Government’s orders seriously anyway. It was well established that the Central Government dared not use force to resolve the issue.

The French suddenly quickened their pace, and naturally, Austria was unable to keep up. From beginning to end, Franz had only intended to cheat the French, with no real preparations to unify the Germany Region at this time.

The Germany Region needed to be unified, but the time was definitely not now. Before he had the power to dominate the European Continent, Franz was not prepared to become the target of everyone.

Franz tapped his fingers on the table and said, “Let’s wait a bit longer. The French can’t swallow up Italy that easily, and their internal problems are not something that can be sorted out in a short period of time.

For now, let’s just go through the motions. The Foreign Ministry will issue a statement strongly condemning the despicable actions of the French, and then we’ll see how other countries react.”

A joke, indeed. Having finally baited the French, how could he possibly let them slip through the net?

If establishing the Greater French Empire were so easy, why didn’t Napoleon directly unify Italy back then, but instead bestowed kings to rule?

If it were just a simple unification of Italy, the Italian people might have accepted Napoleon III also being the Italian Emperor. But now that it’s being directly annexed into the Greater French Empire, nationalists will hardly accept it.

Keep in mind that what they merged with was France, the cradle of revolutionary ideas. It would probably not take long for revolutionary thoughts to spread from France to Italy, then set ablaze far and wide.

Even establishing a Dual Empire would be better than a direct annexation of Italy. At least the former can stabilize, provided there is no war or external force to disrupt the situation, and after courting local power factions.

To be frank about France’s strength, as long as they handle their diplomatic affairs well, outside threats are very small. As long as the government doesn’t mess up, this Dual Empire could last many years.

If he hadn’t wanted to make this play more convincing, Franz would have thrown a big feast to celebrate this great victory. From now on, for many years to come, France would not be a threat.

In the future, to topple France, it would be enough to fund the Italian Revolutionary Party; constant revolutions would drain France’s power in the quagmire of Italy.

Foreign Minister Weisenberg suggested, “Your Majesty, now that the French have drawn the world’s attention, shouldn’t we also accelerate our pace?”

Indeed, no one could hinder Austria from annexing the German Federation at this time. As the French themselves were caught in the storm’s eye, they would only be too happy for Austria to step up and share the pressure.

With the French enforcers gone, the British would at most put on a show of force at sea. Prussia, with will but no strength, would likely first react by quickly annexing Poland if Austria truly took action.

Franz sneered and said, “No need, proceed as planned. We’re not in a hurry. The German Federation Empire is right there; sooner or later, it will be ours.

For now, let’s continue to compete with the British for South Africa. The matters of the European Continent are not urgent, and as allies, we must also help relieve some of France’s pressure.”

Fulfilling the obligations of an ally, sharing the pressure. Nobody would believe that, when have France and Austria ever truly been friendly?

Even after forming an alliance, they never stopped pulling each other’s legs. Now that Franz suddenly wants to help the French, there must definitely be a story behind it.

If the Emperor is unwilling to speak, no one can do anything about it.

Franz also has his reasons, but can’t articulate them. They haven’t yet felt the full force of nationalism, so naturally, they don’t know it’s a huge pitfall.

Wanting to explain, but not knowing where to start, Franz had no choice but to act autocratically just this once.

After all, once the French annex Italy, they will become the target of public criticism. Any time would be good to act, Austria wouldn’t lack allies, so everyone can afford to wait patiently.

…

Austria’s passive resistance had a massive influence on the European Continent. Many people believed that the Vienna Government was scared and didn’t dare confront the French directly.

Behind this was Franz, who seemed to be deliberately contributing to the chaos, with the intention of not resting until he had seen France ascend to the world’s number one empire.

In London, the British Government, which had originally been enjoying the spectacle and looking to pick up a bargain, could no longer sit still. They had never imagined that Austria would refuse to take the lead, shattering their dreams of watching the tiger fight from the mountain.

On Downing Street, Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli asked with a frustrated expression, “Can anyone tell me what the Austrians are thinking? Don’t they recognize the threat of the French,

or are the renowned Emperor Franz and Chancellor of Iron and Blood Felix both cowards who only know how to develop the economy at home?”

No one could answer this question, and everyone was equally perplexed. Certainly, no one thought Franz and Felix were cowards; otherwise, how would Austria have acquired its territory?

Foreign Minister McLean analyzed, “Your Excellency Prime Minister, my view is quite the opposite. The Vienna Government’s reluctance to take action is probably because they have seen through our plans.

Having suffered in the anti-French wars, Austria cannot possibly be indifferent to the French threat. Now their inaction is likely because they do not wish to face the French alone.

Moreover, France’s immediate threat is not Austria. The Italian Area is newly acquired territory, and the French can’t possibly trust to leave their rear in the hands of the Italians.

If an attack is launched from Central Europe, the geographical situation dictates that the French can only advance from the north, and before Belgium, the German Federation, and the Kingdom of Prussia fall, they are safe.

Since there is no immediate threat in the short term, naturally, the Vienna Government can afford to wait. When everyone else can no longer bear it, they will once again form an Anti-French Alliance and strike together to cripple France.”

Clearly, this is not the outcome they want, because if France were to fall, the European Continent would be Austria’s domain. At that time, even Britannia would be powerless if Germany Region were unified.

To suppress France is only when the French expansion threatens their interests. Not to mention, once the French annex Italy, there would no longer be a place for them in the Mediterranean.

And it is not only so; having learned from one lesson, the French would obviously not follow Napoleon’s old path this time.

After annexing the Italian Area, for many years to come, the French will try to avoid conflicts with other countries on the European Continent to lower everyone’s guard.

If there is no possibility of further expansion on the European Continent, then the target will definitely shift overseas. The British would be the first to be affected, as it is almost inevitable that the French will challenge their maritime supremacy.

The world’s foremost colonial empire brought not only glory and wealth but also challenges from various countries.

In this regard, Austria was much more stable, with its core colonies in the African Continent, and the trend was now set, so there was no fear of prying eyes.

The few overseas colonies weren’t significant enough in interest to make others want to turn against Austria.

By comparison, the British were deeply envied, having taken the largest slice of the cake. The colonies of other European countries combined couldn’t compare to the allure of their own.

It wasn’t just the colonies, the Strait of Gibraltar alone was enough to keep the French awake at night.

The ancient enmity between England and France wasn’t easily forgotten, and if they didn’t keep a chokehold here, dividing the French Navy in two, it would have been the British who lost sleep.

A heart full of contradictions made it hard for the London Government to make a firm decision. Now, they needed to suppress the French while fearing that pushing too hard could cripple France, which was a headache indeed.

Colonial Minister Louis reminded everyone, “Gentlemen, let’s not forget our conflict with Austria is not over, and it seems the Vienna Government isn’t planning to give up.

According to the latest combat reports from the front, we are currently at a disadvantage, and that fool Derfu has already sent three urgent requests for reinforcements, each more desperate than the last.

If we don’t take any measures, we might resolve the French problem only to lose the Cape Town Colony first.”

The French were too conspicuous, drawing everyone’s attention, so much so that even the pleas for help from South Africa were ignored.

The Minister of the Navy, Robert, said excitedly, “We absolutely cannot give up the Cape Town Colony. With the Suez Canal under the control of France and Austria, if the Cape of Good Hope falls into Austrian hands, both of our sea routes to the Indian Ocean would be unsafe.”

He had every reason to be agitated, for with the Suez Canal under Franco-Austrian control, they were already at a disadvantage. If they were to lose the Cape of Good Hope too, the Royal Navy would face even tougher days.

Let alone anything else, if they were to fall out with Austria one day, with the African coast lined with enemy colonies, even logistical resupply for the Royal Navy en route to India would be a headache.

There was no need to consider the Suez Canal, as it was now barred to military ships, except for those from France and Austria. Military vessels from other countries had to take a longer route.

The Canal Company’s regulations were specifically aimed at the British, mainly to retaliate for the British interference during the excavation of the canal.

In his heart, Benjamin had already cursed Louis as incompetent, only capable of causing trouble and achieving nothing else. Accusations aside, the follow-up work still needed to be done.

Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, rubbing his forehead, said, “Alright, the strategic value of the Cape Town Colony is vastly important; we truly cannot afford to lose it.

The Foreign Department will make contact with the Vienna Government first to see if an agreement can be reached. The Colonial Department must promptly come up with a plan to reinforce troops in the Cape Town area.

With the situation in Europe out of control, we must resolve the Cape Town issue as soon as possible, and if necessary, we can give up on the Boer Republic.”

Without a doubt, Benjamin had tied the outcome of this war to Louis. If the war was lost, it was time for a new Colonial Minister.