Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 134

Chapter 134: Chapter 21, Walking the Tightrope

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Translator: 549690339

Everyone was in a difficult position, and Franz breathed a sigh of relief; the war between Prussia and Denmark would not end in the short term, which meant that he had enough time to fill the gap.

You can’t hide flaws in paper, and if you don’t fill the gap, even if you try to pin the blame on the Prussians, it’s not credible!

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If it gets exposed one day, would Emperor Franz still have any face left?

Diversion of funds and embezzlement are two completely different concepts. The former can be explained as normal capital operations of a bank. In any case, as long as the money is paid on time, it’s fine. The latter is forever a dark history.

While Prussia and Russia were deadlocked, the great powers of Europe were not idle either.

The French, aside from occasionally expressing their opinions on international issues to swear their presence, were mainly busy with internal struggles, even overseas colonial expansion was affected.

The British were busy, on the one hand, intensifying their aggression in India, and on the other hand, expanding their colonies in Southeast Asia. They also launched an invasion of New Zealand

The British Colonial Empire was almost completely formed. With the exception of the African Continent being absent, other regions had basically been included or were being included into the British Colonial Empire.

Everyone was very busy, which created opportunities for the Austrian Empire.

While the world’s attention was focused on the Prussian-Danish battlefield, on April 15, 1849, the Austrian Empire established the Holy Roman Economic Alliance in Rome with Naples, the Papal States, Tuscany, Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden, and the Hesse-Darmstadt Sub-State, among others.

European public opinion exploded with shock. Fortunately, Franz didn’t set up the headquarters in Vienna, or the political influence would have been even greater.

The most intense reaction came from Prussia, who were hard-pressed at the forefront with Russia for the unity of the Germanic Region, and Austria had pulled the rug out from under them.

Apart from the Kingdom of Prussia, the main sub-states in the Germany Region joined the Holy Roman Alliance led by Austria, meaning that Prussia was kicked out of the discourse in the Germanic Region.

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Influenced by the establishment of the Holy Roman Alliance, the idea of Greater Germany rose again. For many nationalists, economically banding together would help the nation’s unity.

Even within Prussia, there were people advocating to join the alliance established by Austria. As for the German Customs Union, its historical mission was completed, and it could be relegated to the dustbin.

This change caused Frederick William IV a lot of headaches. Nationalism was a double-edged sword: it could support Prussia’s unification of Lesser Germany and could also support Austria’s unification of Greater Germany.

As for the addition of the Italian Area, nationalists didn’t care. In their eyes, as long as the German People had the dominant position, the bigger the empire established, the better.

“Prime Minister, what attitudes do the nations hold towards Austria’s wild ambitions?” Frederick William IV asked expectantly.

Joseph von Radovich thought for a while before replying, “The British have issued a diplomatic note to Austria, opposing Austria’s alliance actions, and strongly condemning Austria for breaking the principles of free trade.

The French government has protested against Austria’s establishment of an economic alliance that excludes third countries, and so far, no further action has been taken.

The Spaniards have stated that they are closely watching the subsequent developments of the situation. Most European nations hold a neutral stance, and Russia has not yet made a statement.”

Undoubtedly, everyone is too busy now to be bothered with Austria’s troubles.

The British, who have not strongly intervened in the Prussian-Danish war, likewise lack the energy to interfere with Austria’s alliance actions. Without the support of the Great European Nations as enforcers, their influence on the European Continent is limited.

As for the French, let them settle their internal factions first. Otherwise, in the midst of internal conflicts and opposition for the sake of opposition, the French government won’t be able to accomplish anything.

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Frederick William IV was extremely depressed. As he saw it, the Russians, who were most capable of interfering with Austria, were currently restrained by their help, and the Tsarist Government could not intervene in the Prussia-Austria situation simultaneously.

Without a military threat, could mere protests overwhelm Austria? Frederick William IV shook his head. Prussia faced significant diplomatic pressure as well and still managed to withstand it, didn’t they?

Austria’s establishment was only an economic alliance, and most European countries, unconcerned with the issue, hung up high and became onlookers on the sidelines.

“Haven’t the British taken any action?” Frederick William IV asked concernedly

London

As the world’s number one instigator, how could the British just watch Austria form an alliance?

One must know that the Holy Roman Economic Alliance encompassed almost half of the Germanic lands, more than half of Italy, and the Austrian Empire—a behemoth that was the number one economy in Europe in terms of economic volume.

Even though these places were mostly semi-feudal and semi-capitalist with not weak industries of their own, and the British market share there was not significant, they were not lacking markets.

But even a mosquito’s share is meat, and simply giving it up is not John Bull’s style.

“Something’s amiss, why are the Russians reacting so sluggardly this time?” Prime Minister John Russell asked with suspicion.

Palmerston thought for a moment and said, “Perhaps they are hesitating. The Prusso-Russian war has already tied up a lot of their attention, and intervening in Austria at this point might lead to a unified front between Prussia and Austria.

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Nicholas I is no fool. If it comes to that, the ‘Nordic Three Courts’ system would crumble to pieces, and as long as they don’t want to be isolated in Europe, they won’t act against Austria.”

Since the Berlin Convention, the European Continent had entered the “Prussian-Austrian-Russian Union era,” with the three countries jointly maintaining the Vienna System, and even the British were excluded from the European Continent.

Now, due to the Prussia-Denmark war, cracks appeared in Prusso-Russian relations, and the British naturally wanted to find a way to break up this alliance.

Whether it was encouraging Austria to expand into the Balkan region, supporting Austria’s occupation of the Danube Basin, or indulging Prussia in launching a war against Denmark, it was all part of this plan.

It has to be said that the Russians have kept their secrets well this time, fooling everyone, with all imagining their own misconceptions.

“The Russians probably never dreamed that the Prussians would hold on this time. Now they are also in a difficult position.

“However, the Holy Roman Alliance established by Austria is also a trouble. With Metternich, that old fox around, it’s going to be difficult to unite the countries to pressure them,” John Russell said with a frown.

Palmerston smiled and said, “Why must we force the Austrians to dissolve the alliance? After all, it’s not us who should be most worried about it.

Russia, Prussia, and France— which one of them is not more anxious than us?

Especially the Prussians, who are at an impasse with the Russians. Austria would have been the best mediator, but now Austria has set up this alliance, so it looks like the Nordic Three Courts alliance is about to come to an end.

Do we need to help them prolong this alliance?”

Prussia, facing conflicts with both Russia and Austria, naturally can’t continue in the Tripartite Alliance.

The British have made quite an effort to dismantle this alliance, and now it’s just missing the final push—they certainly won’t be giving it a lifeline.

“It looks to be very much to our advantage, but we still have to be wary of Austria. What Metternich, the old fox, is best at is balancing, and the influence of the Habsburg dynasty is deep-rooted.

We cannot let them turn this economic alliance into an empire, or else our interests in the Mediterranean won’t be secure,” John Russell said gravely.

This is not an unfounded worry; everyone knows that the Habsburg Family is best at marital alliances. Through internal intimacies within the structure of the alliance, merging into one family after several generations, that is how the Austrian Empire came to be.

If Franz knew the thoughts of the British, he would surely want to laugh. An alliance with the Italian countries would be fine, but to annex them? No thank you, he doesn’t want to look for trouble.

“Rest assured, Prime Minister. The Austrians won’t get that chance. As soon as they dare to take the first step, the alliance will crumble,” Palmerston pondered aloud.

“However, the Prussia-Denmark war is a real trouble, with the Prussian Government still persisting under public pressure. I’m worried they’ll provoke the Russians, which could lead to a war between them.

If the Kingdom of Prussia is crippled by Russia, without the internal support, Austria might actually dare to unify the Germany Region,” Palmerston said after some thought.

Imperial nations often can’t be analyzed solely from an interest perspective; if the Tsar is provoked, he might indeed wage a war regardless of the consequences.

“Prepare for mediation. Once the situation spirals out of control, we’ll pressure the Prussian Government to force a compromise,” John Russell said fiercely.

There is no other way. Trying to exert diplomatic pressure on Russia is futile—they completely ignore it—thus, the softer target Prussia becomes the only option.

Although Britain has good relations with Prussia, that doesn’t mean the UK will support Prussia unconditionally. In matters of interest, connections with the British mean nothing.

Vienna

Since the establishment of the Holy Roman Alliance, Franz hadn’t slept well for several days; it had all gone too smoothly, which seemed very abnormal.

It was natural for Russia not to intervene; there was a secret treaty between them, and if not for the need to keep it secret, Russia could openly support Austria.

However, the reactions of other countries were surprising to Franz. Neutral small countries aside—since they had no say and were just onlookers—the response from England and France was unexpected.

The French government’s reaction he could barely understand: to quell internal unrest before dealing with external threats. Austria had not invaded France, so their reluctance to share a common enemy was understandable.

Aside from protestations, the British did nothing. According to earlier analysis, the British should have teamed up with France, along with a bunch of minions, to pressure Austria by now.

This unexpected move gave Franz a lot of headaches. Metternich, the Foreign Minister, was still overseeing work in Rome, and the Foreign Office came up with two answers:

The British were preoccupied with colonial expansion and could not attend to Austria;

The British wanted to provoke conflicts between Prussia and Austria, Russia and Austria, to dissolve the Prussian-Austrian-Russian Union.

Except for a few Cabinet members, others were unaware of the contents of Austria’s secret treaties with England, France, and Russia, thus unable to perform a comprehensive analysis.

At this time, Franz suddenly realized that, in just over a year, Austria had signed so many secret agreements, it was almost unthinkable.

If not for the oversight of Metternich as Foreign Minister, Franz suspected that the Austrian Government would have already collapsed.

Previously, Austria attempted to walk a tightrope between England, France, and Russia, but failing to maintain the balance, turned potential allies into enemies.

Just thinking about it made Franz shudder. No matter how much better Austria’s current situation was compared to history, if its foreign policy collapsed, they could instantly become isolated.

And the consequences? There’s no need to think twice about it.

Naturally, it meant keeping a low profile, quietly farming at home. Silently watching Prussia unify the Germany Region, then challenging the world order together.

In theory, the reformed Austrian Empire would be much stronger than the historical Austro-Hungarian Empire; perhaps a joint effort between Germany and Austria could lead to a counterattack.

But obviously, that was unlikely to happen. Franz was prepared; if the situation got out of control, then it would have to be a head-on confrontation with the British, French, and Prussians with Russian-Austrian support.

Purely from a military standpoint, the chances of failure weren’t high—the most likely outcome would be a mutually destructive fight until Russia and Austria ran out of money and ended the war.

In history, when Russia faced England and France alone, they lost the Crimean War not due to military failure but because the government ran out of funds. Had they had enough money, they could have continued fighting.

With a casualty count of just 300,000, it wasn’t much for the ‘Mao Xiong’ to bear; even if that figure increased tenfold, they would still have enough ‘gray livestock’ to spare.