Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 1108: Chapter 122, The Final Preparation

The world is cruel, and in the fierce international competition, there is no room for even the slightest warmth.

In order to protect its own interests, the Tsarist Government resolutely chose to abandon the nations of Europe, and Madrid was suddenly swept up in turmoil.

Despite its decline, Spain, as the gatekeeper of the great powers in Europe, still held significant influence on the European Continent.

With Russia, the world’s number three, unwilling to take the lead, it naturally fell to Spain, who was number four.

Though Spain’s title as the fourth great power was somewhat nominal, the lack of strong competitors could not be ignored.

Among the shorter candidates, the once-glorious Kingdom of Spain still enjoyed greater recognition than Japan or the United States, who had never experienced such glory.

...

Not only were the countries of Europe urging Spain to lead the “non-alignment movement,” but even Britain and the United States were beating the drums from behind.

Overnight, the Spaniards seemed to have returned to a bygone era where they were the favorites of destiny, now the trendsetters of the age.

Unlike the deeply economically intertwined Russian Empire, Shinra’s infiltration into Spain was relatively limited, far from influencing the government’s decision-making.

As the international situation underwent dramatic changes, the British changed their strategy from recruiting allies to encouraging nations to maintain neutrality.

Now, the only ones who wanted them to choose a side were from the Holy Roman Empire. In theory, as long as they could resist the pressure from the Vienna Government, the non-alignment movement would be a success.

If the Spanish Government had ambition, now would be the best opportunity. With the right moves, Spain could potentially become the fourth pole of Europe with the support of other countries.

As a major country, Spain certainly had ambitions. Unfortunately, ambition needs strength to support it, and Spain lacked the strength to become the fourth pole, even with the support of other nations.

In fact, the Spanish Government couldn’t afford not to be clear-headed. While the nations of Europe were openly pushing them to lead the “neutrality movement,” behind the scenes, they were continuously liaising with the Vienna Government.

Setting aside other countries, Sardinia, Belgium, Tuscany… these vassals propped up by Shinra, running to join the “neutrality movement”—are they really not here to stir up trouble?

What if Spain took the lead only for its vassals to rally to another’s side, wouldn’t that be a tragedy?

Such a scenario was not impossible. Despite the “neutrality movement” making a lot of noise, very few were truly committed to it.

Many countries that had no choice but to choose a side were just joining in the commotion, to make themselves seen.

Jumping out now was mainly to make their presence known, to enhance their standing in the eyes of the great powers, in order to sell themselves at a higher price.

The countries that were genuinely eager for “neutrality” were mainly the Netherlands, the Nordic Federation, and some others near the North Sea, worried about becoming battlefields.

For many more countries, the war between Shinra and Britain did not have a major impact.

Although their overseas import and export trade would be affected, they were not maritime trading powers to begin with, so the impact was quite limited.

The most crucial factor was their geographical location, which from the start mandated their choice of alignment, and even whom to support was decided for them in advance.

Having determined the direction of their alignment, how they should position themselves was also a matter for deep reflection.

As the international situation ebbed and flowed, the diplomatic game continued, but this was no longer Franz’s focus.

At the heart of the struggle for hegemony between Anglo-Austria was the competition of comprehensive national power. If the gap in national power had not widened, Shinra would not have chosen this moment to challenge.

In the Vienna Palace, from the serious expression on Franz’s face, it was evident that the document in his hands was extraordinary.

After a long pause, having carefully read the document, Emperor Franz slowly said, “Since the third-generation large merchant ships have been completed, let them be handed over to the shipping companies for use as soon as possible.

With the current tensions and war on the brink of breaking out, we must strive to transport strategic materials to the colonies as much as possible before the outbreak.

The six now available shipyards should all start building Super Battleships. Once these materials reach the colonies, we can then announce the news.

Furthermore, the submarine squadrons can set off as well. Although we do not know when the war will break out, being prepared ahead of time is always the right decision.”

Without a doubt, the “third-generation large merchant ships” mentioned here are definitely not real large merchant ships.

If they were purely merchant ships, no matter how superior their performance, they wouldn’t cause Emperor Franz to be so anxious.

Especially at a critical moment like an arms race, it’s even more abnormal for merchant ships to compete with battleships for dock space.

Abnormal or not, however, these big guys were officially registered as merchant ships. Don’t believe it? Look, these merchant ships are even hauling cargo out.

Not to mention intelligence agents being confused about the situation, many people within the Vienna Government were also at a loss.

“Strategic deception,” clearly something was not right! With things having come to this point, not going all out to build warships could be a huge disadvantage if a real fight broke out.

If you can’t wrap your head around it, then so be it. After all, Franz wasn’t about to explain. To keep the secret, only a very limited number of people knew about the aircraft carriers being disguised as merchant ships.

Even the Cabinet members were not all informed, let alone everyone else.

From the beginning of the project, it followed the route of a state enterprise ordering merchant ships, without ever involving financial allocation from the treasury, and it had nothing to do with military expenditures.

Even the engineers at the shipyards didn’t know they were building aircraft carriers until the construction was complete. At most, they just thought the design of these merchant ships was somewhat unconventional.

In the history of shipbuilding, there have been many such unconventional designs, so adding one more didn’t raise any concerns.

In fact, the history of aircraft carrier development in the Holy Roman Empire went back quite a few years. It just never became mainstream.

Before this, the aircraft carriers that were built focused mainly on carrying planes for reconnaissance and gathering intelligence, and there was no consideration for using them in combat.

There were many reasons for this, mainly two major aspects. On one hand was the poor performance of the airplanes at the time, making it difficult to hit moving targets when bombing; on the other was the large waves at sea, which made it easy for the planes to collide.

With advancements in science and technology, airplanes overcame the technical difficulties of dive-bombing, and their hit rates saw a significant increase, as did their real combat attack power.

The issue of aircraft carrier wave resistance hasn’t been completely settled, but there has been a great improvement. A carrier might not withstand fourteen or fifteen-degree storms, but facing eight or nine-degree seas, at least it won’t sink.

Technology has advanced to this point, already fully equipped with practical combat value. Severe stormy weather is rare, and if it does occur, it’s just tough luck.

Most of the time, aircraft carriers are capable of unleashing their combat power. As long as they avoid areas with large waves, the combined combat strength of aircraft carriers and battleships should not be underestimated.

By comparison, submarines didn’t require such high secrecy. The whole world knew that Shinra had a submarine squadron, but no one has ever known its exact size.

As for this killer hidden in the deep sea, outsiders didn’t think much of it, or even ignored it entirely.

This was partly because submarines had limited endurance and didn’t participate in main naval battles, and partly because the complex underwater terrain naturally caused fear.

In the past, France and Austria spent a lot of money on submarine development. With France’s defeat, all these technologies landed in Shinra’s hands.

Fulfilling the principle of keeping a low profile, the submarine forces of Shinra rarely surfaced for a long time, leaving the impression of mystery to the outside world.

If it weren’t for the power system technological breakthrough in recent years, which greatly extended the submarine’s endurance, this mysterious force would likely continue to remain a mystery.

Needless to say about above-water endurance—they wouldn’t be worse than regular warships, the key was the underwater endurance.

The current Sea Wolf-class submarines equipped by the Shinra Navy can reach nearly a hundred nautical miles underwater and can lurk for up to a week.

Such data might seem insignificant compared to the near-infinite endurance of future nuclear submarines, which would only be limited by the psychological factors of the crew.

But for now, it represented a qualitative breakthrough. It already possessed practical combat functions, especially for attacking merchant ships where it was extremely advantageous.

“Good, I will take care of it right away.”

After a pause, Frederick asked, “But Father, are all these preparations really useful?”

No wonder Frederick had doubts. The aircraft carriers and submarines that Franz was investing heavily in were different from the contemporary naval mainstream.

There was no helping it; the combat strength of aircraft carriers and submarines hadn’t been proven in military terms, whereas battleships had been dominating the oceans for many years.

“`

If the money spent on developing aircraft carriers and submarines were to be channeled into battleships, the Shinra Navy could have added a dozen more capital ships.

Franz shook his head, “I don’t know! But being prepared is always better than not being prepared. With the Royal Navy’s advantage being so significant, how can we surpass it without coming up with something new?

You are not unaware of how closely the British are watching us; it can be said that every addition of a capital ship triggers controversy.”

This was not entirely a lie; Franz indeed did not know whether these preparations would be effective.

If the Shinra Navy were lucky enough to defeat the Royal Navy in one fell swoop in a decisive battle, these preparations would be for naught.

Only in the event of a defeat in the great battle would these preparations be of any use. They would serve to weaken Britannia’s war potential by targeting British maritime trade routes.

Of course, these words had a different interpretation in Frederick’s ears.

After all, other than transmigrators, who could accurately predict the future direction of naval development? Aircraft carriers and submarines that have not been proven in naval battles naturally cannot instill enough confidence.

…

London

Despite being mentally prepared, the atmosphere within the British Government still grew tense when news of the Tsarist Government’s decision to side with Shinra arrived.

At this moment, Prime Minister Campbell’s mood was just like the weather in London— “Looking out the window, all was covered in smog.”

Since ascending to the position of Prime Minister, Campbell had sighed more times than the total number he had in the past few decades.

“You don’t know the costs of household necessities until you run a home; you don’t realize how rotten the Great Britain Empire is until you become Prime Minister.”

In the eyes of the world, the Great Britain Empire seemed to be at its zenith, but to Campbell, only “rotten” remained.

There was no helping it; too many were concerned with Britain’s advantages; as Prime Minister, Campbell could only care for the nation’s shortcomings.

It was not that Campbell was biased; it was simply where his duties lay. “Identifying problems, then solving them,” was the very function of the government.

Thinking Britain “rotten” primarily stemmed from Campbell finding issues he yet was unable to resolve.

To avoid further deterioration of the situation, and to preserve Britannia’s global hegemony, he could only resort to the most extreme measure— war.

For a politician, making such a choice was undoubtedly a failure. But reality was before his eyes, leaving Campbell no room for hesitation.

The curtain on the arms race had been raised, and the longer it dragged on, the more detrimental it was to Britain.

“The situation in Europe has become clear, and with the Russians taking their stance, the neutrality efforts we’ve been fiddling with will soon collapse.

Next, we can only accelerate our pace; otherwise, once Vienna has settled matters with the other European nations, we’ll have to confront the entire European Continent.

How far has the Foreign Office gotten with its actions, and which countries will support us once the war breaks out?”

His grave voice spoke of the unease in Campbell’s heart.

The topic of war was gravely serious, especially a war against a major power—no one dared to take it lightly.

As the Foreign Minister, Adam looked even more distressed at this moment.

It was expected that Russia would take sides with Shinra, as their strategy to sow division was only halfway through, without having had the chance to drive a wedge between the Russian-Austrian relations.

Even if they were to assign blame, it logically should fall upon his predecessor or the predecessor before that. Due to their inaction, the Russian-Austrian Alliance had persisted.

However, politics was cruel. Whether it was his predecessor, the one before that, or even further back, they had all landed safely, and he was set to take the fall.

“`

If it had been just this blow, it would have been bearable, but the stance taken by the Russians led to a chain reaction that directly affected the position of other nations.

So many burdens coming down at once were too much for anyone to shoulder, and Adam could only feel his life was on a path with “no bright future.”

At this stage, the United Kingdom still had a hope of winning the war, but as the British Foreign Minister, Adam had no chance of turning his fortunes around.

Accidentally becoming the most wronged Foreign Minister of the Great Britain Empire, Adam now had nothing left but regret.

He had submitted his resignation letter long ago, but sadly, Parliament didn’t approve it, forcing him to carry the blame. Had he known it would come to this so quickly, he would have resorted to extreme measures.

Look at the previous Army Minister, who proposed the war; after falling from a horse during an inspection of the barracks a few days ago, he was already replaced by his deputy.

No matter how tragic he felt deep inside, work must go on. For the sake of a peaceful life in retirement, Adam had to go all out and earn achievements to clear his name.

Having adjusted his emotions, Adam slowly said, “The Foreign Office has already signed secret treaties with Japan, the United States of America, the Republic of Colombia, Chile… and seven other countries.

If necessary, we can form a Nine Nations Alliance Army to fight against the Austrians.

Besides, we have also made contact with the Russian Empire, Spain, the Netherlands, and the Nordic Federation, among others.

While we couldn’t draw them to our side, we did manage to sow discord between these countries and the Holy Roman Empire. At least we can ensure that when war breaks out, the countries won’t support the enemy with their full strength.”

Such an outcome, obviously, could not satisfy everyone. But to have reached this point, the Foreign Office had truly done its best.

No matter how persuasively you speak, when nations make strategic choices, they will always prioritize “interests” and “power.”

Britain holds naval superiority and naturally excels in diplomatic actions overseas. But overseas countries also have their contradictions, and attracting one means we cannot attract another.

Otherwise, even if an Alliance is formed, it would be one full of contradictions, busy with internal strife every day.

When it comes to Europe, let’s not mention the limited influence they have on the continent; just the mere number of enemies of Britain is too many to count.

Dragging an enemy to fight another enemy—such divine manipulation is not something anyone can achieve.

Especially now, facing an enemy which is also a diplomatic powerhouse with extensive experience in forming alliances, it becomes even harder to handle.

As someone in the know, Campbell would not deliberately make things difficult at this time and disrupt the unity of the leadership.

He spoke to lighten the mood, “The work of the Foreign Office is still commendable. To have achieved this much is sufficient.

Next, it depends on the performance on the battlefield. As long as the Royal Navy can strike an imposing figure in the early stages of the war, I believe the European nations will reconsider.

The Holy Roman Empire’s power-threats and its aggressive coercion of nations are unjust actions that will eventually be punished by God…”

“Ding ding ding…”

Before Campbell could finish speaking, the phone suddenly rang, drawing everyone’s attention.

It must be understood that the Cabinet meeting is strictly confidential, and any outside disturbances are prohibited during its duration.

Unless there is an extremely urgent matter that requires contact, can staff outside the room dial the dedicated phone on the desk.

Without a doubt, such coincidences rarely occur. Even in emergencies, they usually can’t wait an hour or so.

Thus, this dedicated phone line is practically ornamental and may not ring even once a year.

Precisely because this phone rarely rings, each time it does, it signals an earth-shattering event.

Taking the phone, Campbell’s cold voice resonated, “I’m Campbell, state your business.”

“Prime Minister, there has been an incident in the Region of Africa…”