Holy Roman Empire

The casualty report from the Prusso-Russian War, publicly disclosed by Austria, quickly ignited public opinion; the figure "eight million" was so shocking that it instantly captured everyone’s attention.

Countless people marveled at what seemed like another "Thirty Years’ War," but unlike the last time, the Prusso-Russian War lasted less than two years.

Was there a victor?

Perhaps the uninformed common folk would say Russia won the victory, but those who truly understood the Prusso-Russian War knew that it was a battle where both sides suffered great losses.

Both Prussia and Russia were losers, and the victors were the three fishermen – England, France, and Austria – whose status solidified even further in the aftermath of the war.

As the nominal victor, the Russian Empire was touted by the media as "the fourth largest country in Europe," but in reality, it had gained nothing more than a title.

The political shift from three to four great powers was easy to talk about, but anyone who took it seriously was fooling themselves.

What the Russian Empire possessed was only the potential to become the fourth great power, not the actual strength. If future developments went smoothly and its national power caught up, there might be an opportunity to reestablish the structure of the four great powers in Europe.

Before the commencement of the first Prusso-Russian War, the Russian Empire was indeed one of the four great powers in Europe and even considered the top contender in the struggle for world supremacy with the British.

After much turmoil and enduring two Prusso-Russian Wars, it had lost millions of troops, spent hundreds of billions of rubles in military expenses, depleted the accumulations of past tsars, and accumulated a huge debt.

Its ultimate gain was a tumble from the hegemon of continental Europe to the fourth in Europe, along with some unwanted territorial expansion.

"Reflection" is perhaps the greatest strength of the European people. Looking at the list of losses suffered by both Prussia and Russia in the newspapers, everyone subconsciously concluded: War is damn terrifying!

It wasn’t just the ordinary people who were frightened; the politicians were also scared by the sets of data. As a result, the influence of hawkish factions in various countries greatly diminished, and the anti-war sentiment began to spread worldwide.

In the Palace of Versailles, the chilling casualty numbers from the Prusso-Russian War struck a heavy blow to Napoleon IV, who was full of ambition.

Regarding the combat effectiveness of the French Army, Napoleon IV was very confident, and so were the French people; everyone believed that the French Army was the best in the world and that the hegemony of continental Europe would eventually belong to France.

As for the Austrian Empire, which stood in the way of France’s road to supremacy, it would have already been attacked if the international situation had allowed it.

Well, that was just talk. War is not a joke, and France had been busy integrating the Italian area these years.

Now that the Italian area had stabilized, the Paris Government finally had the energy to consider expansion, but they were still not prepared for war with Austria.

Continental hegemony was important, but the prerequisite was that one’s own power was strong enough to protect the fruits of victory. After annexing the Italian area, France began its long career of development.

The original plan was to expand into Central Europe after Prussia and Russia had both been weakened, seizing the coal mines that France needed most.

Napoleon IV believed that, after Prussia and Russia were both weakened, Austria would not have the strength to stop them from making this move; otherwise, France would not have had the chance to annex the Italian area.

The plan was to use the Rhine River as a boundary, with France annexing areas such as Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Rhineland, and using the remaining territories of the German Federation Empire to appease Austria.

It was not out of fear of Austria; it was a tactic. In military terms, this is called "clipping the enemy’s wings."

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Without Belgium and the German Federation Empire, once the war between France and Austria broke out, Austria would be short of two allies, increasing the odds of victory for France.

Having absorbed these regions, France would have shored up its weaknesses and then defeating Austria to take control of Europe would be a perfect strategy.

On the military front, Napoleon IV felt a psychological advantage, his ancestor Napoleon was exceptional, having beaten up the entire European Continent, and he nearly won; there was no reason why it shouldn’t be the same for him.

The current situation was much better than before: the Italian Area had been occupied, Spain was an ally, and both Prussia and Russia were severely weakened by the war. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

There were hardly any independent countries left, except for Austria; none were worth considering; there was no reason he couldn’t win a one-on-one fight.

However, plans change faster than the situation, and the casualty figures from the Prusso-Russian war shook Napoleon IV’s dream of dominance for the first time.

There was no helping it, as the French government, an old rival, knew Austria very well, and those large numbers in the reserve force couldn’t escape their notice.

Initially, Napoleon IV didn’t take the reserves seriously; no matter how numerous, they were nothing but ragtags easy to defeat before the French Army.

The Prusso-Russian war changed his perspective. The Paris Government had also sent a Military Observation Group, and the brutal reality showed them that the reserves were indeed capable of fighting.

With proper officers, the reserves could quickly be put into order, and their combat effectiveness was only slightly less than that of regular troops, with quality deficiencies completely compensable by quantity.

Considering the number of France’s standing army, Napoleon IV thought it might not be sufficient. In a war with Austria, their cherished forces would likely be overwhelmed by the enemy’s numbers.

If they expanded the army, the superiority in combat effectiveness of the French troops would no longer exist.

If the war couldn’t be quick and decisive, the meddlers from across the Channel would intervene; even if France emerged as the reluctant victor, it would not have the power to dominate Europe.

It was clear, in their strategic planning, both France and Austria considered the British as their enemy, because the risks of having them as allies were equally significant.

The original plan fell apart, and Napoleon IV hesitated whether he should continue to implement "the strategy of cutting off the enemy’s wings" or make some changes.

As for promising the British to support the establishment of the North German Empire, that was a joke. How else could he placate them without showing good faith?

It was known that the majority of the German Federation Empire’s forces were used to guard against France, with almost no defenses in other areas, practically signaling that besides France, no one would invade them.

As it turned out, this judgment seemed to be quite accurate. Neither Prussia-Austria would invade the German Federation, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland couldn’t defeat them, so indeed the only threat was France.

Before Napoleon IV could make a decision, the French public made the choice for him. The anti-war sentiment erupted again, and it started in Paris, spreading across the world.

It was all due to inexperience; otherwise, Napoleon IV should have anticipated this. Various ideologies, new thoughts, and movements in Europe... It’s not for nothing that they often start in Paris, the "Holy Land."

Napoleon IV should be grateful he didn’t act prematurely, for if the anti-war sentiment had erupted, the French public would have taught him a lesson.

In some sense, Austria also missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; the dominance of Europe had never been so close to their grasp.

If Franz had known of the French’s plans, he would certainly have tried to delay the disclosure of the Prusso-Russian casualty data until the French initiated military action.

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Everyone knows that the combat effectiveness of an army is closely related to the thoughts of its people; the combat effectiveness of the French Army in the anti-war wave is undoubtedly the lowest.

When the French Army invaded the Germany Region, only the French Army was affected by the anti-war sentiment. The armies of the German Federation, defending their homeland, certainly wouldn’t clamor against war.

The Austrian Army could also remain unaffected; defending the territorial integrity of the Germany Region is a matter of national importance. No matter how strong the anti-war sentiment, there would be a response if the enemy attacked.

Anyone who has studied French history knows that times of ideological surges often coincide with periods of rapid spread of revolutionary thought.

Against the backdrop of widespread anti-war sentiment, if the French forces at the front were to suffer another major defeat, it’s possible that another revolution could occur.

The outcome of the revolution is not important; what matters is that revolutionary thought is contagious. As long as a revolution breaks out internally, the boastful Greater French Empire would be doomed.

Italians’ passion for independence was equally high. If a revolution broke out within France, coinciding with a war between France and Austria, it would be hard for the Italian Independence Organization not to erupt.

With so many pulling at its legs, it wouldn’t matter if it was Napoleon IV or even Napoleon himself in charge; the situation would be beyond salvation.

Winning the war against France and Austria would make it difficult for the Germany Region not to unify. At that point, no one could stop it, except for God.

Once the Germany Region was unified, becoming the dominant power on the European Continent would be a certainty. Even if France and Russia could recover, that would be a matter of ten or twenty years later.

In such a long time, a lot could happen, such as: securing the independence of the Italian Area, bringing Spain over to one’s side, or establishing a league to tie the likes of Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the Nordic Federation to one’s cause.

Reality has no place for "if’s", and Napoleon IV, still brooding, was unaware that the very anti-war wave that troubled him would save his dynasty.

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Minister of Foreign Affairs Dumbledore reported, "Your Majesty, the Vienna Government has sent us a diplomatic note, proposing that we jointly lead the establishment of a ’European Army Armament Convention’ to prevent another great war on the European Continent."

It must be said that it was a good time to restrict military armaments. The Prusso-Russian War had just ended, and everyone was still grappling with the staggering loss figures that ran into the millions.

The anti-war wave continued to spread, and whether it was the public or politicians, everyone’s fear of war had reached a peak state.

Hearing this news, Napoleon IV’s sullen mood was somewhat alleviated. He disdainfully said, "The Austrians are scared already, it seems they really don’t have much backbone!"

Everyone was an old hand at the game and could see through Napoleon IV’s insincerity. Anyone who had witnessed the brutality of the Prusso-Russian War would be afraid.

The most typical example was members of the Military Observation Group; many from the War Party, having personally experienced the atrocities of war, became fervent advocates of the anti-war movement.

It wasn’t that they feared the war; rather, they had matured, become more rational, and learned to weigh the pros and cons.

After easing his repressed emotions, Napoleon IV continued to ask, "What else is there? Austria isn’t short of money right now; surely, they’re not only interested in limiting armaments for world peace, are they?"

In mentioning "not lacking money," Napoleon IV showed a hint of unease. He was envious, as the Anglo-Austrian two countries were currently the wealthiest in the world.

Although France was one of the three great powers, it was lagging behind in terms of financial strength. It might seem like France’s fiscal revenue wasn’t less than that of the Anglo-Austrian countries, but that’s because they calculated it differently.

Take the Austrian Empire as an example, the finances of the Central Government and the finances of the Sub-State Governments are separate, with only a few types of taxes included in the financial revenue, and the majority of fiscal income remains in the hands of the Sub-State Governments.

The same is true for Britannia, where the tax revenues of the London Government are also divided. Otherwise, with only seventy to eighty million British Pounds of income per year, the navy would take half of it, and the remaining might not even be enough to pay the public officials’ salaries.

Not to mention, the Indian Colony alone costs tens of millions of British Pounds in maintenance each year; the colonial expenditures of the Great Britain Empire are astronomical.

On the surface, France’s financial income is the highest, almost equal to the total of England and Austria combined, but in reality, they are the poorest.

The high fiscal income is the result of unified entry into the Central Government’s financial settlement. All expenses need to be appropriated by the Central Government; it seems like the government has a lot of money, but in reality, it’s just passing through one more set of hands.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dumbledore, responded, "The Vienna Embassy has passed on news that the Austrian Navy recently submitted a naval expansion plan to the government, which has entered the stage of governmental discussion.

Perhaps stimulated by the Prusso-Russian War, the Austrians have abandoned the ambition of dominance on the European Continent; proposing restrictions on land forces at this time might be a precursor to shifting their strategic focus toward the sea."

Napoleon IV was not surprised by the shift in Austrian strategic focus to the exterior; in fact, the Paris Government was in agreement that someone had proposed abandoning the struggle for dominance over the European Continent, focusing the strategic attention toward the ocean.

"Do you think we need to follow suit?"

Without a doubt, to follow suit would mean agreeing to Austria’s proposition, for everyone to limit the size of their land forces together, and to invest the money saved into the navy.

Minister of the Navy, Hamdi Halbavi, replied first, "Your Majesty, the European Continent is too small indeed. A mere corner of the world contains over a dozen nations, where the strongest countries in the whole world converge.

It’s too difficult to make a mark on the European Continent. With the same resources, we could reap ten to a hundred times the benefits overseas.

It has already been proven that the future of the world lies in the ocean. Whoever controls the sea holds the world in their hands."

"If by benefits, Your Excellency means territory, then I have nothing to say. The cost required for expansion on the European Continent is sufficient to acquire ten times the amount of land in overseas colonies.

But there is also a difference between lands. Can the land of the colonies compare to that of the European Continent?" Minister of War, Patrice MacMahon, countered

The value theory is the most common view. Almost all Europeans believe that land in Europe is more valuable.

Minister of the Navy, Hamdi Halbavi, shook his head, "The land overseas is not inferior to Europe, it is just undeveloped. All the resources we need can be obtained from overseas, which is impossible on the European Continent.

Even if it’s difficult to develop, which reduces the value of overseas colonies, a quantitative change can lead to a qualitative change. With the same investment, the return from overseas colonies will definitely exceed the expansion on the European Continent."

This is a fact—the investments on the European Continent do not necessarily yield returns, whereas overseas colonial expansion almost always does.

In Europe, France must tread carefully, at risk of being collectively attacked in the slightest misstep, and the Paris Government dares not even take a bigger step.

Overseas is different. France’s power overseas is sweeping, hardly meeting any decent opponents, with only a few Colonial Empires as competitors.

Compared to the cautiousness on the European Continent, overseas conflicts can break out without much provocation. After all, colonial conflicts are plentiful; as long as the territorial ambitions are not too overplayed, they won’t lead to a major war.

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