Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 973: Chapter 236, Detaining a Warship

To the Austrian Empire, the greatest significance of the signing of the Vienna Treaty was not to limit France, but to clear the last obstacle for the unification of the Germany Region.

Russia and Spain among others had been bought off, and remaining countries like the Netherlands and Portugal, Nordic Federation, even if they wanted to oppose, had to consider whether they could withstand the retaliation.

With European countries not objecting, overseas nations were even less concerned. In those days, only European powers interfered with overseas affairs; there were no instances of overseas countries meddling in European matters.

Unable to find supporters with shared ideals, the British were helpless. Diplomatic protests were ineffective; they surely couldn’t intervene militarily, could they?

With no other option, the British Government had to choose to compromise, exchanging recognition of Austria’s annexation of the German Federation for the Vienna Government’s recognition of their annexation of French Indochina Peninsula.

Clearly everyone knew that such recognition made little difference. Britannia couldn’t stop the German-Austrian merger, and Vienna couldn’t intervene in the British annexation of French Indochina Peninsula; mutual recognition was merely for appearances.

On June 12, 1892, under the witness of the international community, the Austrian Empire and each German Nation jointly signed the “Holy Roman Treaty.”

Almost simultaneously, the German Federal Parliament announced the dissolution of the North German Empire. In the afternoon, George I issued a declaration of abdication.

As witnesses to history, the collapse of one country and the rebirth of another in one day no doubt had a huge impact on the people.

Anyone with a bit of political sense knew that the times had changed; Europe had once again returned to the era of the Holy Roman Empire, and the international situation had changed from three giants to two strong powers co-existing.

Fortunately, the Anglo-Austrian conflict had not escalated; otherwise, just taking sides would have been exasperating. But everyone was clear that this stability was only temporary, and for the sake of global hegemony, an Anglo-Austrian face-off was just a matter of time.

…

As night fell, sighs echoed through the Japanese embassy in Vienna.

“If you don’t go out and take a look around, you won’t know how fast the world is changing. There’s an old Chinese saying that puts it well: ‘Thirty years on the east bank of the river, thirty years on the west bank.’

It hasn’t been long, and the once invincible French Empire has fallen. We thought our development was fast enough, but compared to the great powers, we are still far behind.

It seems that reforms cannot stop. Once this war is over, we must continue to deepen systemic reforms and strive to catch up as soon as possible.”

After all, it was Ito Hirobumi, who quickly regained his confidence after the contemplation. However, the worry between his brows lingered and would not dissipate easily.

Political speculations have always been high reward, high risk ventures. The Japanese Government made an error in previous maneuvers, failing to switch sides in time, and now had to pay the price for it.

Thankfully, they were cautious in their speculation and didn’t directly jump onto the French ship, or else they would be sinking with it now.

“Reform? Isn’t Austria the most conservative country in Europe? Apart from the Russian Empire, they are the most conservative,” Saigo Tsugumichi asked with doubt.

This was also the impression of outsiders; compared to the “liberal” France, Austria indeed qualified as “conservative.”

Now “liberal” had lost to “conservative,” and many were reflecting whether France had been too “liberal.” The causes and consequences of the European wars had been disclosed by the newspapers, and everyone knew that France was steered into war by capital and “public opinion,” eventually leading to a one-way path to destruction.

Ito Hirobumi shook his head: “Where do you see conservatism in Austria? Aside from lacking a bunch of blabbermouths, the absence of ubiquitous strike and protest crowds, election manifestoes plastered everywhere else, what do they lack?”

Thanks to the strict implementation of the press laws, the press had to be accountable for the authenticity of their newspaper content, and the social climate captivated by money was being turned around.

In this context, it did not matter if people vented, but they had to adhere to reality; articles that ranted without basis simply would not be published in newspapers.

Strikes and protests still occurred but not as often as in France, especially not in Vienna. After all, with factories relocated, where would the labor movement come from?

Due to the long-term recruitment of immigrants in the colonies, Austro capital owners also had to compete with the colonies for people and dared not overly exploit the workers.

There were also negative examples. Like that certain… factory, due to severe labor disputes, the workers collectively up and left, and with no one to fulfill orders, the owner was nearly driven mad by breach of contract penalties.

As for “election manifestos” flying everywhere, there was even less need to talk about it. Such actions were explicitly prohibited by Austrian law. If you put up a small advertisement, you’d pin yourself in with it, naturally no one would do it.

In Ito Hirobumi’s eyes, this was a display of order. With Eastern and Western cultures differing, Japan especially valued regulations.

Especially when paired with Austria’s current prosperity and bloom, these advantages were further amplified. Ito Hirobumi, adept at learning, naturally wanted to emulate.

After contemplating for a while, Saigo Tsugumichi gave a thoughtful nod.

Austria was now vast in territory, rich in resources, industrially developed, economically prosperous, militarily strong, and politically stable. Specifically, what did they “lack”?

This question, probably not many could answer. If one must point out a deficiency, it would only be that their navy was not the first in the world.

However, this could not be considered a shortcoming, for Austria did not lack the ability to develop a navy; compared to the Royal Navy, they lacked only in terms of quantity and experience.

These issues could be resolved, quantity with money and experience with time. There was no qualitative difference between the two parties; this second place was not far off from first place.

For Japan, the prospect of having the world’s second navy was unimaginable. No matter what, Austria’s navy could not be considered lacking.

After some time, Saigo Tsugumichi slowly said, “Ito-kun, are you planning to restart the Vienna route?”

In the early stages of the Meiji Restoration, Japan surveyed various European countries and thus developed several reform routes; the Vienna route, emulating Austria, was among them.

However, due to various factors, the Vienna route was rejected in the end, and the Meiji Restoration was mainly based on the model of England, France, and Prussia combined with real conditions to establish its own development route.

The reform route of the original time-space Japanese, except for politics, was basically considered successful. Now it was different; with the successive failures of Prussia and France, doubts had arisen within Japan about this reform route.

Ito Hirobumi waved his hand: “No! Austria’s development route cannot be replicated; we don’t have their profound foundation, and even if we wanted to learn, we couldn’t!

You must know that even at their weakest, they were one of the four great powers of the world. After Emperor Franz ascended to the throne and resolved internal problems, he immediately joined the colonial surge.

Consecutively opening up Austro-Africa, Austro-American, and Austrian Nanyang, their strength grew and blossomed, then turned to annex the Ottoman Empire, resulting in today’s Austrian Empire.”

In a certain sense, the Japanese Government’s strategy also imitated Austria, but unfortunately, they had bad luck, running into tough opposition as soon as they stepped out of their country.

In the past, when European nations competed for colonies and secured territories, as long as they displayed sufficient strength and made their opponents realize the cost was not worth the gain, issues could be resolved at the negotiation table, rarely resulting in fighting to the bitter end.

From the current situation, even if the Spaniards were able to recapture the Philippine Islands, the price they’d pay would be grievous. The risk involved was tremendous, with the return on investment not proportional to the costs.

Logically, it was now time for negotiations. As long as the Japanese Government paid a certain price, the matter could be settled.

Unfortunately, these experiences were now completely inapplicable. Losing to European countries was one thing, but losing to the Japanese—what was that? Spain could not afford to lose face.

Especially after defeating France, Spanish nationalism surged, and the cries for revenge reached the heavens.

Leveraging their gains from the war against France, the Spaniards quickly assembled an expeditionary fleet, acquiring the means to seek revenge.

This first step had met with a hard barrier, dealing an unprecedented blow to the Japanese Government. Continuing to emulate Austria’s colonial strategy was something Ito Hirobumi dared not even think about.

If possible, he would rather pack his bags and head home now, cease the strides of expansion, and slowly accumulate wealth through farming.

Japan lacked resources; relying solely on farming would mean very slow development, but it was safe!

Aggressive development was indeed fast, but so was the death rate. Recent years had seen Prussia and now France as cautionary tales, falling on the path of expansion.

Saigo Tsugumichi said, “Indeed, we can’t learn from them; our foundation is too weak. If it were our old neighboring country, there might be some chance of success.

Let’s not talk about this anymore. We need to focus on the present. The Anti-French Alliance proposed to conduct maintenance on the warships before delivery, which will take a month.

If nothing unexpected happens, the Spanish expeditionary fleet will also set off within a month. Hoping to have the warships returned before the war breaks out is looking hopeless.”

Ito Hirobumi replied, “It’s as expected. As a member of the Anti-French Alliance, the Spaniards still have that bit of prestige. Even if the Anti-French Alliance doesn’t detain them, we would still find it hard to send these warships back home before anyone else.

Here’s today’s newspaper; the Suez Canal has resumed navigation. With the demise of the French, all rights to the canal have fallen into Austria’s hands.

Based on the Austro-Western Port Agreement over thirty years ago, Spanish warships could dock in Austrian ports and pass through the Suez Canal without an issue.

We can forget about it. Let alone our previous inclination towards the French, even if we go back a few more decades, our relationship with Austria has always been cold.

The matter with the warships can now only be hoped for from the British. Happily, they have disputes with the Spaniards and would love to see them in misfortune.”

The cold relations between Austria and Japan were mainly for two reasons: Firstly, Japan’s reforms mainly emulated those of England, France, and Prussia, with trade orders also flowing to these three countries, making trade with Austria negligible.

Secondly, Franz’s inability to perfectly control his emotions at the beginning of his reign had him showing indifference towards the Japanese.

Without sufficient economic interest, the relationship between the two nations naturally could not deepen. Coupled with the emperor’s cool attitude, bureaucrats would naturally not bother with a dispensable Japan.

At that time, Austria was not nearly as formidable as it is now, and after the cold reception, the Japanese Government no longer made efforts to improve bilateral relations.

Without worshipping regularly, it’s not so easy to suddenly seek Buddha’s help when you’re in trouble. @@novelbin@@

Were it not for the British’s concern about Spain recovering the Ruseiyong region and threatening the safety of the Strait of Gibraltar, Japan would truly be in a tragedy now.

Upon hearing that the warships had a chance, Saigo Tsugumichi relaxed the anxiety he had been holding, uncontrollably saying, “That’s great, with the support of the British, defeating Spain will not be difficult.”

With experience in one engagement, the Japanese Navy did have a psychological advantage over the Spaniards; the only concern was the vast difference in the strength of both fleets.

Ito Hirobumi replied with a bitter face, “It’s not that simple. Spain is a member of the Anti-French Alliance, and even after the war is over, the harmony remains.

If the British get involved in the war, the Anti-French Alliance would not sit idly by, and it’s even less likely for the British to turn against the Alliance for our sake.

In order not to provoke the Anti-French Alliance, the level of support the British can offer us will certainly not be significant. If we want to win this war, we’ll still have to rely on ourselves.”

Once again, the fact was proven: for a country seeking success, finding allies is very crucial.

The British clearly represent the unreliable kind. Ito Hirobumi had not forgotten how the French were sold out in the recently concluded European war.

Keep in mind that at the onset of the war, Anglo-France were allies; while the British Government indeed stood on the side of France, they never gave up any opportunity to profit from the situation.

They seemed to be supporting France but were actually striving to maintain the balance of power between the combatants, wishing for France and Austria to both suffer heavy losses.

Unfortunately, plans cannot keep up with changes. The London Government did not expect Austria to hide its strength and deal a fatal blow to France at the critical moment.

As France’s situation deteriorated, Britain’s first reaction was not to assist its ally but to unilaterally tear up the alliance and kick them while they were down.

There are many similar cases, such as Belgium, which initially was with the British but turned to Austria after being betrayed.

If allies can be betrayed, then Japan, which hardly qualifies as an ally, would be even less stressful for the British to betray.

Knowing this, Ito Hirobumi still had no choice, or rather, the Japanese Government had no choice. Although Spain has always been the bottom line for the powers, a great power is a great power, and their international influence is extraordinary.

Apart from the British, there was virtually no country willing to risk offending the Spaniards by selling warships to them at this time.

What’s more tragic is that if they can’t get a batch of warships back from the British, the upcoming battles can’t even be fought.

Saigo Tsugumichi pondered and after a while spoke slowly, “No matter what, the British being willing to provide support is better than nothing.

As long as we can win the war, we can agree to any conditions for now; everything can be discussed after the war is over.”

The two exchanged a look and ended this heavy topic. The content that followed was too startling; if any word leaked, Japan would be doomed, so they had to keep everything unspoken.