Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 445

Chapter 445: Chapter 18, Worried Sick

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Capital is always profit-driven. After the announcement of the heavy industry plan in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the number of people traveling to the area to explore opportunities surged, thanks to the preferential policies.

As for whether to invest or not, that still has to wait for the results to come out. Usually, a company will only commit to investment after purchasing a mine.

In this era, there was no talk of importing ores from overseas. Despite the abundance of mineral resources in Austria’s colonies, the cost of mining and transportation back was enough to bankrupt any enterprise.

Apart from minerals not found locally, there were few instances of importing ores during this period. Europe’s main industrial powers were mostly self-sufficient in industrial raw materials, with the colonies serving only as a supplemental source.

Franz believed capitalists were all shrewd; they would figure everything out themselves. Those who weren’t sharp were essentially out of the game.

Now, his attention was focused on the African battlefield. Following the British deployment of troops to Tunisia, the French followed suit.

The Anglo-French struggle over the Tunisian Strait intensified. As for the Tunisian Government, they could be ignored. With two creditors knocking at the door, they could only play the ostrich.

In the Red Sea, the Franco-Austrian and British competition also escalated. The successful navigation of the Suez Canal took the British by surprise, and the Franco-Austrian alliance squeezed them out of Egypt.

Now, the French Army occupied most of Egypt, and the Austro-Libyan region had pushed its borders forward by several kilometers, although exactly how much territory had been taken was somewhat unclear to Franz.

After all, only after the Egyptian Government surrendered and France and Austria negotiated could the matter be settled. By agreement, Egypt was to be given to the French, so taking advantage during a crisis was somewhat unjustifiable.

The colonial governments did not have high enough status to know about the France-Austria alliance. It was normal for such situations to arise, and they could be resolved through negotiation.

In any case, it was certain that the richest parts of Egypt were in French hands. Austria had not reached that far, having occupied only a few oases and vast stretches of desert.

These were minor issues. France and Austria would not become entrenched over this matter; preemptive occupation was pointless, as these regions would have no value for a hundred years.

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To counteract the impact of the British incursion into Ethiopia, Austria deployed troops to the Arabian Peninsula, or what would later be known as the Yemen region, in March 1869.

In short, the Red Sea region could not be entirely conceded to the British. Although the ports in the Yemen region were lackluster compared to Djibouti, they could still accommodate warships after some modifications.

England and France had not taken action because they still wanted to maintain appearances. The Ottoman Empire was, after all, their ally, and the Arabian Peninsula had always been tacitly recognized as within Ottoman influence.

Without sufficient interest, it was rare for allies to turn on each other. For the French, controlling the Suez Canal was enough, as Austria couldn’t possibly block it.

As for the British, faced with the exclusion by France and Austria, they couldn’t afford to appear obstructive; who knows what the aggravated France and Austria might do?

Pure profit-driven politics does not suit monarchies; often the emperor’s stance is the national stance. To provoke France and Austria together would leave the British with no time to even cry.

As for the affected Ottoman Empire, their Vienna Envoy protested daily. The Foreign Ministry was negotiating a price with them.

A fait accompli had been created, take it or leave it; Austria was not going to give it back. If the Ottomans had the ability to retake it by force, then they could, or instead they could discuss it at the negotiation table.

This was following the American playbook: occupy the land first and then discuss the purchase. Not only was the price offered not high, but legal issues did not need to be tangled with.

Not only towards the Ottoman Empire but for all of Africa’s colonies, Austria had legally purchased the land from local native tribes, with all the appropriate legal documentation.

As for who signed it and whether it carried any legal effect, that was a matter for study.

In any case, the colonial government had signed treaties with local native tribes, including their complete migration as part of the agreement.

The gist was that the living conditions in Africa were too harsh, and they requested Austria help them migrate to better living conditions in return for their land.

Without a doubt, the colonial governments were strictly adhering to the treaties, ensuring the full migration of the tribes, achieving their grand life goal of escaping Africa for the Americas.

Beyond international conflicts, changes on the African battlefield also caught Franz’s attention. Many African tribes came to possess smoothbore guns, clearly indicating that someone didn’t want Austria to complete its strategic plans smoothly.

The total population of Austro-Africa had already surpassed the seven million mark, a number that severely disrupted the balance. If this continued, the African Continent might become Austria’s personal estate.

The rapid growth in population was due to two factors: migration from the East Prussia region and migration due to the European economic crisis.

Because of the population, the development of Austro-Africa was relatively advanced compared to other European nations’ colonies in Africa, and its appeal to immigrants continued to grow.

This change naturally aroused the envy of other nations. A quantitative change was eventually going to lead to a qualitative change. Without Austria’s backing, those millions would perhaps not have been taken seriously by England and France.

Unfortunately, with a strong Austria prepared for domestication, alarm bells were ringing for everyone.

Had it not been for the Great France plan tying up the French, it would not have been France and Austria driving the British out of the Mediterranean, but instead England and France jointly containing Austria.

Fortunately, Napoleon III performed impressively enough, first annexing the Kingdom of Sardinia and then initiating the Egypt War. Now he is competing with the British for control of the Tunis Strait, which has drawn most of John Bull’s attention.

Even so, what goes around comes around. With Austria supporting Ethiopia’s resistance against the British Army from behind the scenes, the British naturally wouldn’t sit idle.

They not only sold weapons to native tribes but also dispatched a large number of military instructors to help train their armies. Luckily, those people were not up to snuff and did not make any significant achievements. Otherwise, Austria would have been in big trouble.

“Gentlemen, does anyone have a method to speed up the French? The progress of their Great French strategy is too slow; we must give them a push,” said Franz.

One must drive one’s enemy to madness to destroy them.

For the sake of France’s Great French strategy, Franz was also deeply concerned. As a long-standing rival, the Habsburg dynasty’s understanding of France far exceeded that of any other country, even surpassing their understanding of themselves.

In the original timeline, it was only World War I that finally broke the backbone of the French. The cost was the sinking of the German Empire and the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Franz certainly had no intention of following suit.

Even if Austria’s power seemed stronger, Franz still had no confidence in how much fighting force could actually erupt.

He wasn’t worried about the inability to integrate the strength of the several sub-states; in fact, there was no need to make an effort at all, as these states would go all out for the war.

The reason was clear just by looking at a map. Most of Austria’s national defense pressure was on these sub-states. They would be the first to suffer if war broke out.

Who would dare not cooperate? Wouldn’t that be suicidal?

The only problem was that no victor would emerge if war did break out. France had not yet declined, and Franz did not believe he would have the same luck as Prussia.

Napoleon III could afford to underestimate the Kingdom of Prussia of the original timeline, but facing the present Austria, unless a stupidity halo was bestowed upon him, the same event would not occur.

As long as no major mistakes were made, the competition would be one of sheer strength. After exhausting France, Austria would not have the power to dominate the European Continent either, and worse, could end up being attacked from all sides.

In that case, the only option was to let France fall into decline itself. To achieve this was extremely difficult; the best approach was to let the French dig their own grave.

Challenging Europe was impossible. The French had tried many times, with the closest to success being the Napoleonic Era. Certainly, they wouldn’t dare to do so again.

The Greater French Empire was a pie in the sky drawn by Napoleon III for his people. Now, Franz intended to use public opinion to force Napoleon III to turn that pie into reality.

The dream of a great nation is not only a driving force for a country to succeed but can also be a driving force for it to fall into the abyss.

Foreign Minister Weisenberg replied, “Your Majesty, this might be very difficult. It’s not that the French don’t want to carry out the Great French strategy, but rather, their strength is insufficient.

The struggle for overseas colonies has already tied up a great deal of French resources. They are deploying troops in three theaters: Egypt, Tunisia, and Mexico. Even the newly acquired Kingdom of Sardinia is not so stable.

For them to go further, those issues would need to be resolved first. Otherwise, they are powerless to annex the Italian Area at this time, let alone to act against Belgium.”

The Vienna Government had already studied the matter and concluded that the best way to make Belgium return to the Shinra Empire would be to have France absorb Belgium.

Only after experiencing hardship would they realize the Shinra Empire’s value. The same approach could work on Switzerland, except the French have no interest in Switzerland, making this method inapplicable there.

France was pushing its capacity to its limits, and Franz was, of course, aware of this. The three theaters of war all required long-distance expeditions. Not to mention anything else, just the military expenditure was a substantial sum.

Currently, there are 72,000 French troops in the Mexico region, 127,000 in Egypt, and 48,000 in Tunisia. Unnoticed, half the army was deployed abroad.

If it were not for geographical constraints, now would be an opportune time to strike at France; their domestic power has fallen to its lowest point.

Obviously, this is impossible. France and Austria do indeed share a border in Italy, yet neither is in a core area. To fight all the way through, the Alps are a hurdle, so better to rest instead!

Prime Minister Felix said thoughtfully, “Perhaps we could provoke them a bit. The French are not without strength, and their troop issue can be resolved by expanding the army.

As for financial issues, with the full support of the French populace, it is the least important concern. The Napoleon III government has also accumulated a considerable fortune; spending part of it is not a major problem.”

Provoking the French, or more appropriately stimulating civilian radical expansionist organizations, would be more suitable. Once the French expand their army, they will have the power to expand.

As for whether it would affect the economic development of France, the French radical groups don’t care, and Austria naturally cares even less.

The only issue is, if France expands its army, Austria must also expand its army to maintain the balance of power.

After pondering for a while, Franz said, “Provoking the French is not an issue, but we must ensure that the situation doesn’t spiral out of control, as we are not yet prepared for war.”

…