Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 1069: Chapter 83: Panama Canal
 

The British Government was engaged in internal reforms, and the Vienna Government was also busy with domestic construction, but international conflicts did not stop because of this.

Driven by the belief that preventing the enemy from accomplishing what they wished to accomplish was a victory, the two great BOSSes once again initiated their mutual sabotage mode.

Sabotage was not easy to perform, and in the field of duping others, London and Vienna were both grandmaster level players, unable to bury anyone with ordinary pits.

Due to the reforms, the British Government was experiencing intense infighting at the moment, but this did not mean that the Vienna Government could do much about it.

Britain and Shinra had been in a standoff for many years, and both nations had long ago unified their thoughts internally, labeling the other as “the enemy.”

To this day, there was no Pro-British Faction to be found within Vienna, nor a Pro-Austrian Faction within the British Government. Traditional friendships and such had long since been exhausted in repeated conflicts of interest.

If the Vienna Government were to foolishly intervene, it might even force the British Government to reach a compromise sooner due to the external threat.

But to do nothing and waste this rare opportunity was something Frederick was not willing to accept.

You see, the Vienna Government had not made any moves against the British; however, the British Government’s little maneuvers against Shinra had never ceased.

“Shinra Threat Theory,” “Anti-Dumping Theory,” “Freedom and Security Theory”… A series of international hot topics were all concocted by the British.

Gossip and rumors were purely a case of “a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth.” Once enough people talked about it, it couldn’t be cleansed away.

Frankly speaking, Frederick was not afraid of rumors; to a great power, international public opinion was just so much noise.

The crux of the problem was that the British were not simply spreading rumors; many things indeed existed, albeit somewhat exaggerated.

Take “the issue of product dumping,” for example—it was a real problem. In a free trade system, the Holy Roman Empire, with its strong industrial power, did indeed take advantage of certain areas by dumping products.

The earliest large-scale product dumping was actually led by the British, who even did it more excessively than Shinra.

Back then, the British used cotton as a weapon to dump on the whole world, crushing the textile industries of various countries, making a fortune from it, and unsatisfied, they went on to engage in the opium trade.

In a sense, Britain’s splendor was built on “colonialism,” “dumping,” and “drugs.”

Now that this lid had been lifted, it was not because the British had a sudden crisis of conscience but rather because in the harsh market competition, they had shifted from being the dumpers to the dumped.

You reap what you sow. Britain had fallen behind in the second industrial revolution; they were completely outplayed by Shinra in emerging industrial sectors, and some areas were simply left void.

The previously dominant cotton textile industry had also been struck by nationalist capital from various countries, and it had developed very unfavorably in recent years.

There was no choice, seeing as the first step in industrialization for all countries was the textile industry.

It was less to say that Shinra was competing with Britain, and more that every industrialized country was competing with Britain.

By comparison, Shinra’s situation was much better.

Whether it was electricity, the internal combustion engine automobile industry, or the petroleum chemical, pharmaceutical biotechnology, or various machinery equipment manufacturing sectors, all were fields supported by technology, inherently with higher entry barriers than the textile industry.

Nations just starting to industrialize had no capacity to deeply develop in these areas, thus there was no talk of impact.

Since they could not partake in this feast, the British, playing the role of troublemakers, naturally wanted to upset the table.

It seemed like the British were “opposing product dumping,” but in reality, they were laying the groundwork for the “dissolution of the free trade system.”

The act of sabotage, harmful to oneself as well as to others, wasn’t exclusive to the British; the Vienna Government had partaken in such measures too.

It was Franz who first publicly demanded the ban on opium and did so while rallying the support of countries around the world in the fight against drug abuse.

As a result, the imminent collapse of the British drug empire was directly caused. Otherwise, the trade deficit of the United Kingdom wouldn’t have been as severe as it is now.

According to the original timeline, the British drug empire only started to crumble gradually after other countries developed their opium cultivation, using poison to counter poison and diluting profits.

The tables have turned; now it’s the Vienna Government’s turn to worry. As the world’s largest industrial nation, the demand for product sales markets goes without saying.

Once the free trade system collapses and the era of trade barriers begins, international trade will inevitably be severely affected, delivering a major blow to Shinra’s economy.

In comparison, other rumors hardly seemed worth mentioning. In this age of survival of the fittest, the “Shinra Threat Theory” inspired more than just suspicion among nations; it also incited deep fear.

If they couldn’t be made to obey, instilling fear in them was just as effective. In a way, this shameless mentality was also something learned from the British.

It could be said that times change people, just as they can change a nation. As a dominant power of an era, there is always something worth learning.

No matter how deep the conflicts and contradictions between Shinra and Britain, it wouldn’t affect the Vienna Government’s intention to learn from the British about how to be a good hegemon.

To be precise, it was Crown Prince Frederick who had to learn from the British, as for Emperor Franz, who was now semi-retired, he had passed the age for learning.

Once the Holy Roman Empire had completely secured dominance, Franz would retire officially. The question of how to be a good hegemon was something for Frederick to consider.

“When you encounter a matter and don’t know how to commence, then just hold off.”

Crown Prince Frederick was instilled with this principle from a young age, so he wasn’t lacking in patience. In fact, any prince who had been an heir apparent for over forty years wouldn’t lack patience.

One need only flip through the history books to see that heirs with a poor mindset often die young. In comparison to many of his contemporaries, Frederick was fortunate, having assumed power early.

Take, for example, Edward VII, who, also as an heir apparent, had to wait until he was over fifty before being allowed to engage in politics.

As for the future Prince Charles, known for the ‘Perhaps someday’ series, it was uncertain whether he could outlast the Queen with her remarkably long reign.

Of course, even more tragic was this prince, who had no chance of wielding power; all he awaited was merely a rubber-stamped crown.

…

Vienna Palace

Foreign Minister Frankel: “Your Highness, the United States of America has sent a diplomatic note, hoping to acquire the digging rights for the Panama Canal.”

The “Panama Canal” had already been attempted by the French decades ago. Unfortunately, during Napoleon III’s busy expansion into the Italian Area, the Panama area fell into Austria’s hands.

With an uncooperative colonial government, the excavation of the Panama Canal was inevitably difficult. After years of intermittent efforts, it ultimately ended with the Canal Company going bankrupt.

The French had left, but that didn’t mean the end for the Panama Canal. In fact, many within the Roman Empire also wished to construct this Golden Waterway.

Unfortunately, no matter the plan to start excavation, they were ultimately vetoed once they reached the hands of the Vienna Government.

It was clear to the discerning that it was a political issue. The capitalists of Shinra, having been roughed up by society, lacked the courage to oppose the government.

In the days that followed, the Panama Canal seemed to be forgotten, not being mentioned again.

This state of affairs lasted until recent years, with the rapid development of the capitalist world’s economy, transportation had become a significant factor restricting the development of the western states of the United States.

Rail transportation could not meet the demand, and ocean shipping required traveling halfway around the globe, so the United States urgently needed to dig a canal that would shorten the distance between the east and west coasts.

Hearing this unsurprising news, Frederick laughed, “What conditions did the Americans offer? They can’t just expect to come and get something for nothing, can they?”

Negotiating conditions was a necessity, suppressing the development of the Panama Canal was a method employed by Shinra to hinder the Americans’ development.

Now that the United States Government had opened its mouth, even if it was just a probe, it was impossible that they had no conditions to offer.

Snatching something for nothing could be done to small nations, but playing such a trick on a hegemon was akin to masochism. It wouldn’t be effective and would only worsen the diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Foreign Minister Frankel smiled slightly and said, “The Americans haven’t offered explicit conditions, but during the negotiations, their Secretary of State made some implications.

As long as we are willing to give up the Panama area, they would support us in the upcoming supremacy battles.

Of course, this should be just a part of the conditions; they probably want more.

After all, a struggle for great power is not a common occurrence, and the Americans likely think they are very important and want to seize the opportunity to carve out a chunk for themselves.”

Presenting such conditions, the United States of America naturally did not do so without aim.

In terms of total economic output, the United States of America was already the world’s fourth strongest nation, only behind Shinra, Britain, and the Russian Empire.

Their industrial output was even higher than the Russians, second only to Shinra and Britain. Because of contending with the Southern Federation, the United States also maintained a large Continental Army.

According to the current internationally recognized view, the United States of America was the fifth greatest power in the world, just behind Spain, and even many people believe the United States was somewhat stronger than Spain.

With such a solid foundation, in the upcoming struggle between Shinra and Britain, the United States naturally had the confidence to choose sides.

At least in the American region, whichever side the United States supported would have an advantage in the competition in the Americas.

Especially in recent years, with the continuous wooing by the London Government, the Americans had begun to recognize their importance and wanted to take the opportunity to gain something.

Without a doubt, for those selling goods, the more buyers, the better. An offer from just the British clearly cannot compare to Shinra and Britain bidding together.

Frederick nodded, “The Americans’ appetite isn’t too big; they aren’t demanding that we support their annexation of the United States. That should be considered restrained.

It’s just a pity we don’t need them right now, nor do we have any interest in carrying their palanquin to ask for favors from their British masters.”

It was evident that Frederick had no affection for such double-dealers. As he drew closer to world supremacy, Frederick studied it more thoroughly.

When it came to choosing allies, Frederick still preferred nations that could form long-term alliances rather than those destined to turn against him.

The Vienna Government had not wooed the United States, not because the United States lacked strength, but because there were serious conflicts of interest between the two countries.

The reason was simple: once the Holy Roman Empire became the world’s hegemon, its control over the world would be far stronger than that of the British.

After all, the British were a maritime power, while Shinra was developing both maritime and land powers. Not only was its military strength stronger, but Shinra’s comprehensive national power was greater.

For small and weak countries, this was not a bad thing. At least the Vienna Government’s decorum was much better than the British, and they didn’t like to cause trouble, so life for everyone would likely be somewhat better.

For a regional hegemon like the United States of America, things were not so wonderful.

“America’s America,” go back to sleep, and when you’re asleep, you have everything.

Not to mention anything else, at least reunification was out of reach.

The British wanted to prevent America from reuniting, at most they would impose economic sanctions and support the South with weapons; but, if it were the Holy Roman Empire, they would send their own troops.

Facing an opponent like Britannia, with lesser potential, you could rely on farming to catch up slowly; but against a behemoth like Shinra, you would always be suppressed.

The facts were right in front of everyone, which is why the Vienna Government was rather laissez-faire in courting overseas allies.

In general terms, it was like waiting for the British Government to gather their allies first, and then the Vienna Government would simply take on their enemies.

Take, for example, the time when the United States had been wooed by the British Government, and the United States in turn reached out to Shinra, even saving the cost of courting allies.

Although they were slightly weaker in strength, the Vienna Government did not intend to rely on allies’ power in this struggle for hegemony; having people to cheer them on was enough.

Prime Minister Chandler reminded, “Your Highness, we should still make contact with the United States. At the very least, we need to appear very sincere, to put pressure on the United States.

I know that lately, the United States have not been behaving, extending their reach into northern Mexico. If we don’t give them a warning, one day they might invade Mexico again.”

“Ambition” is something every country has; it’s just a matter of degree.

The United States wanted to reunify, and the United States as well wanted to strengthen their own power. Especially in recent years, as the land of the United States had been largely developed, the landowners had turned their gaze overseas.

Just look at the map to see that there are only a few neighbors next to the United States; they really had no choice.

Frankly speaking, landowners’ desire for land is far stronger than that of capitalists. For landowners, land is wealth.

By contrast, capitalists have less need for land; they are more interested in economic benefits.

Of course, this is directly related to military strength. Generally speaking, capitalists are usually more averse to death, asking them to take up arms and go to battle is asking for too much.

After some contemplation, Crown Prince Frederick slowly said, “If that’s the case, then we may as well grant the Americans the rights to excavate the Panama Canal.

After all, the Canal wasn’t something that could be dug in a day or two, we could also impose some restrictive conditions to delay the project’s progress.

By the time the Canal was navigable, the game between us and the British would most likely have drawn to a close.

If the United States truly leaned toward us, then well and good, but if they flirted with the British, then as punishment for picking the wrong side, it would be only logical for us to take back the Panama Canal.”

All these were predicated on Shinra winning this hegemonic struggle, as the victor would have the final say. But if they truly lost in the game, even the Panama area could not be kept.

As for stiffing the Canal, it wasn’t the first time the Vienna Government had done such a thing. Originally, the Suez Canal was shared between France and Austria, and after a European war, the Canal was no longer related to the French.

In the long run, the Panama Canal was bound to be opened. Once the hegemony of the Holy Roman Empire stabilized, the Vienna Government would also excavate the Canal.

It was a matter of interest; the Golden Waterway carried not only gold but also the lifeline of the American economy.

With control over this lifeline, combined with Shinra’s formidable power, the Americans would have no choice but to comply.