Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 448

Chapter 448: Chapter 21, The Poorest Tsarist

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Time flies like an arrow, and days pass like a shuttle. After so many years of effort, Austria had leaped to become the second colonial empire in the world, with footprints spread across six continents and seven seas.

It was fortunate that this era lacked satellite maps, for if someone were to see Austria’s strategic layout, it would likely have caused an immense stir immediately.

In the American region, Austria occupied Central America, bisecting North and South America, and the renowned Panama Canal of the original timeline seemed indefinitely postponed.

Unless one day, Austria became strong enough to face all challenges, or the United States fractured again and no longer posed a threat, the canal need not be considered.

The African Continent was even more daunting—if one paid attention, they would realize that Austria had partitioned the colonies of various nations, making it impossible for them to merge into a contiguous block.

Of course, the area of North Africa under the French was still large, but after seeing the extent of the desert, this statement had to be revised.

Having a large area was a good thing, but the situation changed with a large desert area. Aside from the coastal regions suitable for habitation, only a few oases in the vast desert held any value.

Mineral resources might exist, but they were worthless on the African Continent, and if they were buried under the sand, they were even less valuable.

The British’s South African region was actually in jeopardy. That Franz had not seized it was only because he did not wish to confront the British so early on.

Another French colony, Egypt, seemed promising too, but it was also fraught with crises. If France could not quickly take control of the Sudan area and unite the two territories, it would be encircled by the Anglo-Austrian two countries.

Purely from a military perspective, this was tantamount to wanting to monopolize the African Continent.

In reality, it was a mere fantasy of idealism. The forces of England, France, Austria, Spain, and Portugal had converged on the African Continent—how could they be easily expelled?

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Moreover, Austria did not have the population to fill such a vast void. Franz was very wary of the possibility of an “Austrian King becoming a pauper.”

In the original timeline, there were many Africans who claimed to be French, only having darkened under the African sun to become “paupers.”

Whether true or not, just the possibility made Franz cautious.

Under the policy of localization, if the population on the African Continent surpassed that of the homeland and they clamored for a transfer of the capital, that would be a headache.

Well, these were minor issues; Franz was unlikely to encounter them. The main thing was that his power was not sufficient; being too bold could lead to trouble.

As for the European Continent, it need not be mentioned. If it hadn’t been for the decisive creation of conflict and the behind-the-scenes orchestration of the Prusso-Russian war, Austria’s national defense pressure would have been overwhelming.

There was no choice; geography had made Austria, but it also constrained Austria.

If Franz had not taken flexible diplomatic measures to divide the relations between the powers, Austria would have long become the target of many arrows.

The current situation in Europe could be said to have been stirred up by Franz himself. There were some unforeseen changes, but overall, things were still within the planned range.

Commanding the east by holding Russia, blocking France to the west, and suppressing Prussia in the middle—such a gratifying strategy would have assured a demise much more thorough than that of the German Empire if actually implemented.

Although “The Austrian Threat” did not become the mainstream narrative, it had nonetheless emerged in the minds of many politicians. The reason it hadn’t exploded yet was because the French were too active.

After all, the Habsburg dynasty’s ancestors had once been even more glorious, yet they had failed to unify Germany. Now, Franz had not unified Germany either, and this was still within everyone’s tolerance.

Many probably speculated that another chaotic conflict within Germany could bring down the Habsburg dynasty anew.

Perhaps it was the prestige forged during the Napoleonic Era that bred the prideful French, who saw themselves as the world’s foremost land army. They respected neither the full strength of the Russian Empire nor Austria.

The French may have attracted a lot of animosity, but they were lucky! Spain had fallen from grace due to its own troubles, and now it was about to plunge into civil war over the struggle for the throne.

With no threats at their backs, the French were fearless against any single country; Napoleon III had the confidence to stir the pot.

Of course, this was both an advantage and a disadvantage. The path of French expansion was hard to tread, and the grand dreams of the French populace were difficult to fulfill.

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Napoleon III was no longer young, but his son was still a child, and the acceleration of expansion showed Napoleon III’s urgency.

If he couldn’t sustain until his son took power, then it was imperative to create a Greater French Empire first, otherwise France would be in danger, or rather, the imperial throne of the Bonaparte family would be in danger.

This was also the reason why France and Austria could form an alliance. With Franz as a driving force stirring public opinion, the spirit of the French people was exceptionally high.

The desire of a major nation had deeply embedded itself in people’s hearts. Napoleon III might still control it, but the next generation might not.

In such a case, the goal must either be achieved or the popular belief must be suppressed and changed.

Without a doubt, the latter was impossible to achieve. Even if Napoleon III wished to do so, the capitalists whose interests had been harmed by his reforms would not agree.

If the expansion was successful, the enlarged market could satisfy the capitalists; if it failed, political changes would ensue, replacing the government with one of their own, which would also lead to vast benefits.

The terror of overt schemes over covert ones lies here, and with France facing severe internal conflicts, the best way to ease them was through expansion.

Using the wealth plundered from abroad, the government could compensate those who had lost out from the reforms. All the successful modern reforms have nearly followed the same method.

After the revolution, the British expanded their colonies and resolved internal conflicts using colonial wealth;

During Austria’s reforms, it similarly relied on external expansion to solve internal disputes;

The Kingdom of Prussia did the same until the end of the Prusso-Russian War, which eased the conflict between the capitalists and the Junker aristocracy.

The stability of France was similarly built upon external expansion. Without the opening of so many colonies, the aggrieved capitalists would have rebelled long ago.

Alexander II, who was in the midst of reforms, now also encountered the same problem. The Russian Empire was not lacking in land, but those who lost out from the reforms still needed compensation.

Money, was something Alexander II couldn’t provide anymore. In the original timeline, many criticized Alexander II for incomplete reforms that led to the demise of the Russian Empire, but in fact, there was no choice; he had already done his best.

As a spokesperson for the interests of the nobility, to take a knife to one’s own class was untenable. If the reforms were radical, there would be no need to worry about the future, as the Tsar would have been replaced before the reforms were even finished.

Even so, the Russians were expanding in Central Asia, the Far East, and the Near East regions, relieving internal conflicts through external plundering.

The Russian Empire, now deprived of expansion opportunities, faced even more intense internal conflicts. If not for a major purge, Alexander II’s reforms would have been impossible to proceed.

In St. Petersburg, Alexander II had to reshuffle the higher echelons of government again. With no choice, as three ministers had already been assassinated, and the rest had become cowards, he had to opt for replacements.

Every nation always has hot-blooded men, and the new reformists in power were a group willing to sacrifice their lives for the Russian Empire.

Alexander II understood the art of compromise, his reforms weren’t radical, and many policies had taken the nobility’s interests into account.

Regarding land distribution, he made further concessions. Nobles who refused land redemption were not coerced; the government paid to organize peasants to clear new lands.

The Russian Empire had plenty of lands but they remained undeveloped. It’s not just Europe’s lands that hadn’t been fully utilized; even the Siberian Plains could theoretically accommodate tens of millions of people, and in later times, farms were developed in the Far Eastern region.

As for the common peasants at the bottom, they did not mind the remoteness, as long as the government was willing to fund the land clearance, everyone was willing to endure the hardships.

This policy shift substantially weakened the opposition mood among the nobility. In an age of mechanized agriculture, the demand for labor wasn’t as high anymore.

As a result, the coffers of the Tsarist Government rapidly thinned out. State-funded support required real gold and silver, at least to provide farming tools, seeds, and to cover meals on top of everything else.

The newly freed peasants were too poor to jingle, so the costs of land clearing could only be covered by the government. This money was essentially an interest-free loan from the government to the people, which was to be repaid in the future, but that was a matter for later.

With millions now depending on the Tsarist Government for food, financial issues had become Alexander II’s greatest difficulty.