Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 168

Chapter 168: Chapter 55, The Disappearing Tribe

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Constantinople

The Russian representative, Alexander Menshikov, who had lost face at the negotiating table, quickly reclaimed it, though by rather disgraceful means.

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On April 2, 1851, Menshikov visited the Sultan and, in a very domineering tone, ordered the Sultan Government to dismiss the pro-British and French Foreign Minister Fuad and replace him with the pro-Russian Rifat.

It turned out that brute force was often the most direct and effective way, and under the pressure of the Russians, the Sultan Government compromised.

Menshikov’s actions told the world who was the boss in the Near East. Politicians from various countries were collectively dumbfounded, as dealing with a player who didn’t play by the rules gave everyone a headache.

The United Kingdom and France, having been slapped in the face, were naturally unwilling to accept defeat, but in the Near East, their influence simply couldn’t compare with Russia’s, and it was even less than Austria’s.

Without waiting for them to take action, Menshikov delivered another diplomatic note to the Ottoman Government, accusing it of unfair treatment toward the Orthodox Church and demanding that the two nations sign an agreement allowing the Russian Government to manage the Orthodox believers, without interference from the Ottoman Government in matters of the Orthodox Church.

Unfair treatment was inevitable; in fact, the Sultan Government had already relaxed its religious policies, attempting to use this to eliminate the religious conflicts within the country.

Unfortunately, such conflicts had persisted since the establishment of the Ottoman Empire. They could not be resolved by a mere government edict, and the meddling of the Russians only made the situation more chaotic.

…(Detailed religious issues are omitted here with ten thousand words)

The Russian demands had touched the bottom line of the Ottoman Empire. If they agreed to these terms, it would mean handing over the management of more than one-third of the population to the Russians.

England and France could not tolerate the Russians expanding their influence like this, and at this point, the British had already come to realize that war was inevitable.

London

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After the details of the Constantinople negotiations had been relayed back, the British Government began to consider its options in the upcoming Russo-Turkish War.

The Foreign Minister, Palmerston, thought for a moment and said, “Prime Minister, to curb Russian ambitions, it’s not enough to just draw in the French. We must gain the support of Austria.

When necessary, we can organize a European alliance to jointly contain the ambitions of the Russians.”

John Russell shook his head and said, “Mr. Palmerston, the issue of organizing an allied force can be set aside for now, as we both know things are not that simple.

On the Russian issue, European countries have differing stances, and many countries, without a direct stake, are nearly impossible to muster for a joint effort to strike at the Russians.

Let us talk about how to win over Austria. If we can pull them to our side, by combining the strength of three countries, we can suppress the Russians in the Near East.”

Palmerston analyzed, “According to the intelligence from Constantinople, the Russians and Austria have reached a compromise, though the specific terms are not yet clear to us.

The Russians have now recognized Austria’s sphere of influence in the Balkan Peninsula, and in return, Austria also supports Russian ambitions towards the Ottoman Empire.

This compromise does not mean that the conflicts over the Balkans between the two countries have disappeared; they have simply been subdued temporarily by mutual interests.

Given the Russians’ appetites, even if the two countries have reached an agreement, they will eventually part ways due to conflicting interests. These issues cannot be unknown to the Austrian Government.

The old fox Metternich standing on the side of the Russians this time also signifies a change in the national policy of the Austrian Government.

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It seems that the collapse of the Vienna System has dealt a big blow to the Austrians, and they are no longer seeking balance in Europe. In this respect, we have lost an ally in European policy.

We all know that living next to Russia requires constant vigilance; even a slight moment of dozing off could spell danger. Now, the Austrian Government is preparing to divert trouble eastward.

The partition of the Balkan Peninsula is just a superficial reason. More so, the Austrian Government feels threatened and is unwilling to continue bearing the responsibility of blocking the Russians.

They want to tie down the Russians by sparking a Russo-Turkish war, in order to gain time for domestic development. The expansion in the Balkan Peninsula is merely incidental.

At this time, the London Government is already regretting the collapse of the Vienna System. After the collapse of the Vienna System, they could indeed intervene in European affairs without restrictions, but the outcome was not ideal.

Starting from supporting the Kingdom of Sardinia to the current Near East crisis, the London Government has hardly achieved any substantial diplomatic success.

The European situation has now become even more complicated and entangled, which is draining their resources. It was better during the era of the Vienna System when Europe was balanced and stable, and they could confidently and boldly expand their influence overseas.

In this aspect, the Vienna System also contributed to the supremacy of the Great Britain Empire.

The Minister of State asked with doubt, “Mr. Palmerston, according to your judgment, is it impossible for us to win over Austria now?”

The Austrian Empire has always been at the forefront in resisting Russia, and it is remarkable that the two countries have not become enemies, which speaks volumes about the diplomatic ability of the Habsburg Family.

Such confrontation is clearly not conducive to the growth and development of Austria. When a government’s energy is exhausted by its neighbors, how can it have the capacity to develop itself?

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Before the collapse of the Vienna System, the Austrian Government had sought help from the British, asking the London Government to fund the maintenance of the system, but was rejected by the government at the time.

The British initially suggested that the Austrian Government carry out social reforms. After completing the social reforms, they would have money.

It has been proven that completing social reforms can indeed reverse a financial crisis. However, the current Austrian Government is no longer interested in the Vienna System.

Working hard for the balance of Europe, while the biggest beneficiary of the system remains silent and profits greatly, would leave anyone feeling unbalanced.

After some thought, Palmerston replied, “That depends on the Russians. If they can make the Austrian Government feel threatened, then we can draw Austria to our side.”

This was also the case historically: Austria’s defection was not due to the temptations of English and French interests or conflicts of interest in the Russian-Austrian Danube region, but rather due to feeling threatened by the Russians.

For their own strategic security, abandoning allies is nothing out of the ordinary. Even if Franz were in charge, when faced with the expansive power of the Russians that threatened Austria’s existence, he too would choose to strike at the Russians.

The Russians would do the same. If Austria were too powerful and posed a threat to them, they would stab them in the back just the same.

Since the passage of the military expansion act, Austria has seen a surge in recruitment. The lure of land is great, especially for those war heroes from the last conflict who received land and became role models.

The soldiers who enlisted last time were quite lucky, as they fought in winning battles from start to finish and did not experience the brutality of war. Even if there was brutality, it was towards the enemy.

This time the military buildup is almost an open declaration of war against the Ottoman Empire. Two hundred years ago, the first reaction to an attack on the Ottoman Empire would have been fear. Now, all anyone sees is military glory.

Who can blame them when the Ottoman Empire is in decline? Austria and Russia combined couldn’t defeat the Ottomans?

With low risk and high rewards, it naturally attracts many.

It’s not just the common people, even the nobility are trying every means to enlist in the army. In a war destined for victory, everyone wants to grab a piece of the glory.

This kind of opportunity doesn’t come by easily; if they miss this chance, who knows when the next foreign war will be.

In front of the recruitment station, a long line had already formed. The idea of “achieving fame and honor on horseback” was very popular on the European Continent.

In this era, if one wanted to stand out, earning military honors on the battlefield was the fastest shortcut. Especially for the lower class, it was almost their only way to climb to the upper echelons of society.

In the last war, many reservists also shone brightly, and in the eyes of many, even if they couldn’t enter the regular army, joining the reserves was still a decent option.

The status of military personnel in the Austrian Empire was very high, even reservists were highly respected.

A young officer looked at the long queue and sighed, “There are so many people today, it seems our recruitment standards could be raised.”

The middle-aged officer beside him gave him a displeased look and spoke up, “Welston, stop your pointless musings and get on with organizing the tests.

Remember, this time we’re giving priority to those who speak Austrian; I don’t want to have to train them myself once they’re in the unit.”

“Yes, Major!” Welston immediately responded.

The Austrian Empire had never issued any clear language exclusion laws, but the government, military, and corporate institutions all silently agreed to give priority to those who could speak Austrian.

In the words of the locals: “If you don’t even speak the common language, do you expect me to assign a translator for you?”

This was a very real issue; without common language skills, communication became a problem, and upon entering society finding employment became the number one challenge.

Even nationalists had no choice but to accept this social reality. Without learning Austrian, it was almost impossible to find a job.

Expecting preferential treatment? Sorry, in the Austrian Empire, employers had the freedom to choose the talent they needed, and the government could not intervene arbitrarily.

After three years of promotion, while Austrian had not achieved universal prevalence, most people in cities had mastered the common language.

This scene was now commonplace in many parts of Austria. To achieve this, the Austrian Government had paid a considerable price.

Especially in the early stages of promotion, it faced resistance from many nationalists. Unfortunately for them, their luck was poor; they happened to coincide with the great revolution, and the dissenters were harmonized away.

What angered them the most was that, after the Austrian Government’s counterproductive actions, not only did it not incite public outrage, but the domestic situation actually improved rapidly.

Now, all schools in Austria taught in Austrian as the main language; other languages were treated almost like foreign languages, as electives, and paid electives at that.

People are pragmatic; if it’s not required for college entrance exams or jobs and costs extra money to learn, over time, everyone naturally pays less attention. Concepts like nationality and independence also faded from their lives.

Not long ago, Franz even ordered the ban of all non-Austrian language books and newspapers within the country.

Many thought this would cause social unrest, but reality proved them wrong. Aside from some experts and scholars making noise, the general public didn’t care at all.

Nationalism also needs to be propagated and without channels of dissemination, how would the common people even know what it is?

Under the pressure of the government, it quickly became an underground ideology. Spreading it depended on the realities, and since the educational reform, young students have stopped entertaining these ideas.

Without the Death Squad, the combat effectiveness of these people significantly decreased. Stand up against the government? Those daring to do so had long been imprisoned; how could they possibly still have the opportunity to make waves until now?

Fickvena, a Hungarian writer, is one of the representatives of Hungarian nationalism.

However, he belonged to the moderate faction, opposed all violent revolutions, did not follow Kossuth in making the independence movement, and even published numerous articles denouncing the atrocities of the Revolutionaries.

This non-threatening presence was naturally not purged. Lately, he has been very distressed, more so than when the Kingdom of Hungary was dismantled.

For a nationalist, the loss of Hungary could be accepted, as he was not opposed to becoming Austrian; however, without the Hungarian national language and script, he could not bear it.

Just recently, the Hungarian Forward, the newspaper he ran, was suspended. Even though this small, insignificant paper’s sales did not exceed a thousand copies per issue, it was still a cause he fought for.

What he found even harder to accept was that the Hungarian National School, established by Count István Széchenyi, had listed the Hungarian language as a paid elective, no longer the language of instruction.

Now, he had to struggle with school leadership, to not let the Count’s efforts go down the drain. At this moment, he harbored an intense hatred for Kossuth and the head Revolutionary Party members.

If it weren’t for the rebellion that took place in 1848, the Kingdom of Hungary would still be the Kingdom of Hungary, and under the leadership of Count István Széchenyi, they could still carry out social reforms to build an ideal Hungarian society.

History has no ifs. After losing their leader, these Hungarian reformists had become disunited, with many being co-opted by the Austrian Government.

If nothing unexpected happened, it wouldn’t be long before Fickvena too would accept the goodwill of the Austrian Government, but now he still wanted to strive for his once dream one more time.

“Principal Funges, why cancel Hungarian language classes?” Fickvena demanded.

Funges explained, “Mr. Fickvena, you should know that since the Hungarian National School was established, it has relied on external donations to operate, and we only charge a small amount of tuition.

Over the past two years, the donations we have received have greatly decreased, and the school’s finances have fallen into difficulty. Since a year ago, the salaries of teaching staff could not be paid on time.

To keep the school afloat, we had no choice but to accept educational grants from the Austrian Government.

According to the regulations of the Austrian Ministry of Education: Any school that receives government funding must use only the Austrian language as the exclusive language of instruction in its primary and secondary education.”

Such explanations had already been given to many by Funges. The actual situation of the school was even worse than he described.

Learning an additional language undoubtedly takes up a considerable amount of study time and negatively impacts other subjects’ grades; many parents have suggested to the school to cancel Hungarian language classes.

They don’t care for all these high-minded reasons; they’re only concerned with entrance exams. The chances of attending university were already low in this era; for the sake of their children’s future, many people couldn’t afford to care about that anymore.

“Is there really no other way?” Fickvena asked, frowning.

Funges sighed and said, “Mr. Fickvena, the arm cannot twist the thigh. After the events of 1848, the Austrian Government has become very vigilant against nationalism. In the cultural and educational fields, a unified education is comprehensively promoted.

This is a national policy set by the government. Unless they can once again trust us, this suppression will not end, and you know that’s impossible.”

Rebellion, revolution? These were not foreign to them, but this was not their forte. Everyone had a family to support; who would risk that?

Moreover, times have changed. With the rapid economic growth and stable social order within the country, there was simply no impetus for revolution.