Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 974: Chapter 237: Treat the head when the head aches, treat the foot when the foot hurts

Recognizing the trend was one of the critical reasons Japan had succeeded.

Since the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese Government had been trying to cling to the British, even though John Bull did not take much notice of them and did not accept this eager junior partner.

But decades of consistent effort always earned some impression points. However, in international competition, impression points alone were not enough; what mattered more were opportunities.

For the Japanese, the current situation was undoubtedly the best opportunity. With the international situation changing rapidly, the British, isolated by European society, were in desperate need of allies.

A hegemon has the dignity of a hegemon; Britannia needed allies, not pets, and could not accept just any Tom, Dick, or Harry.

Originally, in the original timeline, Japan had proven its strength in the Jiawu War and was valued by the British, becoming the vanguard against Russia in the Far East.

Now was no exception. In the battle for the Philippine Islands, Japan had demonstrated its strength, which made the British take another look and opened the door for further contact.

…

From Downing Street, since the resolution of the European wars, Prime Minister Gladstone had not had a good night’s sleep, aging what seemed like ten years.

The recently concluded Vienna Peace Conference had dealt a fatal blow to Britain. The pompous French Empire was now crippled, having had its limbs cut off, and couldn’t be relied on in the short term.

Unsurprisingly, Britain’s biggest fear, the German-Austrian merger, still occurred, and the revived Holy Roman Empire had become the new hegemon on the continent.

And this hegemon was not like the inferior hegemons of the past; its strength was so formidable that challengers were deterred.

It proved true that there was nothing worse, only things more so. As a supporter of France, Britain had early on positioned itself on the opposing side of the Anti-French Alliance.

Even if they turned against it at the last moment, that didn’t mean things were over. Protected by the Channel, the Anti-French Alliance naturally didn’t have the capability to settle scores directly with them.

Not settling scores directly didn’t mean they had given up on retaliation. At the last moment of the Vienna Conference, the Anti-French Alliance pursued their goals relentlessly, and the “Continental Alliance,” centered around Austria, emerged.

As the name suggests, the “Continental Alliance” was naturally an alliance formed by the countries of the European Continent. Although Britain belonged to Europe, being a maritime nation meant the Continental Alliance was none of their business.

Simply put, Gladstone also understood that Austria’s gathering of countries to form the “Continental Alliance” was to seize the power of discourse.

Willingly or not, the excluded Britain lost its right to speak on the European Continent.

And that was not the worst part; worse yet, nobody said that the “Continental Alliance” could only handle matters on the Continent. If the Vienna Government wished, it could easily use this alliance to meddle in international affairs.

The strength of the Continental Alliance far exceeded the sum of the remaining countries; in this age where might makes right, the power of the word naturally became incomparable.

In other words, Britain’s hegemonic status was shaken, although they still possessed the world’s number one Royal Navy, facing this abnormality, the “Continental Alliance,” they still felt utterly unconfident.

What was originally thought to be an Anglo-Austrian hegemony unexpectedly turned into a script mix-up by the director, evolving into a struggle between Britain and the “Continental Alliance.” Fortunately, filming had not yet completed; otherwise, Britain would have been done for.

“The Foreign Ministry has been in contact with Russia, Spain, the Nordic Federation, and several other countries; overall, it is not optimistic. Everyone’s confidence in the Holy Roman Empire is much higher than we anticipated.

Now we can only wait for the enemy to make mistakes and then look for opportunities to divide the Continental Alliance. As long as this alliance does not disband, we will always be in a passive position and can do nothing about the Holy Roman Empire lurking behind.”

It was evident that George was in a very bad mood. As Britain’s Foreign Minister, with international dynamics having developed to this point, earning the title of “Britain’s Worst Foreign Minister” was almost guaranteed.

Political adversaries did not take advantage of§ this situation, not because they understood or because they had integrity, but because no one wanted to take over this mess. Once all settled, it would be his time to go.

In comparison, the other members of the Cabinet were in a much better situation. Regardless of how much the international situation deteriorated, Britain still reaped substantial benefits from the continental wars.

The wealth accumulated by the French flowed into Britain through trade, and the British Isles were now experiencing their most prosperous economic period.

Although in the long run, the poor decisions of the London Government had put Britain in an awkward position; in the short term, all social classes benefited significantly, and the public’s perception of the government was still relatively favorable.

In fact, George was overthinking it. The title of “the worst foreign minister in history” would only be bestowed by future generations; the British public currently had no idea what they had lost.

Since obtaining the French warships through diplomatic means, consolidating the position of the Royal Navy as the leader,

the voices criticizing the Foreign Ministry had significantly diminished.

Gladstone gestured, “Let’s take it slow; we are not in a hurry. The Holy Roman Empire has just been reestablished, and there are still many internal issues. For a long time to come, the Vienna Government will be busy tidying up internal affairs and won’t have time to focus on us.

The Anti-French Alliance is not monolithic; now, it is only because of the temporary union caused by the short-term threat of the French. France was significantly weakened at the Vienna Peace Conference, and the threat it poses to other countries has greatly reduced. Once others no longer feel threatened by the French, this alliance will meet its natural end.

Despite the Holy Roman Empire’s current impressive facade, the more they stir, the easier it is to provoke the apprehension of other countries; France is a lesson from the past.”

“I’m afraid what would happen if they don’t stir things up. If the Vienna Government continues to maintain their current international image and doesn’t cause trouble on the European Continent, that would really be troublesome.”

The defeat of France had a great impact on Britannia, both the public and the government were analyzing the reasons. The conclusion they finally arrived at startled them themselves.

There was no way around it, the reasons for France’s defeat applied to Britannia as well—”they had offended too many people.”

The French had offended many, and Britannia had also offended its fair share. Thankfully, the Channel provided protection; otherwise, whether Britannia would still exist was an unknown.

Despite the reflection, the London Government did nothing to turn this situation around. With the formation of the Continental Alliance, no country on the European Continent would ally with them anymore.

Including the recently defeated France. Nowadays, many French believe that their defeat was due to betrayal by the British, and the Paris Revolutionary Government was seen as a puppet supported by the British.

In a sense, it wasn’t an unfair accusation. The first destination of the French Revolutionary Party in their foreign exile was London, and without the protection of the British Government, they would have been eliminated by the Bonaparte Dynasty long ago.

On the surface, if the British Government had not stabbed them in the back at the last moment but had fully supported them, the French might have been able to end the war in a dignified manner.

After the defeat, many proud French still refused to admit that the defeat was due to their insufficient strength. They urgently needed an acceptable excuse.

Under the guidance of some, conspiracy theories began to flourish. Britannia just met all the criteria, becoming the focus of attention.

Of course, these were minor issues. Post-defeat France was no longer of concern to the British Government; other than making some noise, they couldn’t really do anything.

Foreign Minister George said, “There’s another issue: the Japanese want to buy warships from us to combat the Spanish expedition fleet.

The Foreign Office suggests we agree. With the European wars ending and the victorious Spaniards becoming restless, there have been calls in Madrid’s newspapers to reclaim the Strait of Gibraltar.

Although it’s not quite an immediate threat, we still have to be vigilant. If Vienna provokes them, the overconfident Spaniards might do something foolish.

To prevent the worst-case scenario, it would be best to find an opportunity to give the Spaniards a wake-up call.

Since the French Navy has effectively been obliterated, the burden on the Royal Navy has significantly decreased. Soon we will be acquiring a large number of French warships, and for a long time to come, the Royal Navy will face the problem of having too many ships.

Taking this opportunity to dispose of the surplus warships to the Japanese would not only use them to wear down the Spanish’s strength but also save a significant amount of funds.”

The trouble of having too many warships was a problem only the British were enjoying at the moment. The Royal Navy already had a plethora of ships, and now with the additional French ships, the next problem facing the Royal Navy was having ships with no one to man them.

Since there had just been a major auction of warships, the international arms market was saturated. Other than Japan, there was basically no other buyer.

The Minister of the Navy, Astley, cursed, “Don’t talk to me about French warships, damn Austrians just dumped a pile of junk on us, with nearly one-tenth of the ships nearing retirement.

And their promises of engineers and shipbuilding technology, all bullshit. Those so-called engineers were just manual laborers.

The transfer of shipbuilding technology was mixed up, most of them about sailing warships, even if there was core French technology, we couldn’t find it easily.”

As the world’s second-largest naval power, the French Navy had a very strong foundation; although generally not comparable to Britannia, they were still the best in certain areas.

No one would let a competitor grow unchecked, Austria included. To strike at a competitor, they would use every means possible.

From the start, the Royal Navy never expected to get the core technology from the French; even if the Austrians dared to give it, they wouldn’t dare to use it directly.

Though it was just a trick played on them, Astley still felt terrible. Especially after finding out they were the only ones who received special treatment, Astley felt even worse.

“The main warships are fine, we won’t mention the minor flaws. Whatever the case, these warships have solidified the dominant position of the Royal Navy.

In the long term, Austria might become our biggest enemy; but for the short term, it’s the Russians.

The Tsarist Government has already announced the initiation of the Central Asia Railway. After confirming that they couldn’t break through on the European Continent, the Russians have shifted their strategy towards India.

Merely being reactive isn’t enough; we must find a way to take the offensive. Everyone knows how complex the geography of Afghanistan is. To strike at the Russians, it would be best to open a new front.

We don’t have many options left, and we can’t count on the Nordic Federation. Apart from continuing to support the Persians, we should also find an enemy for the Russians in the Far Eastern region to keep the Tsarist Government on their toes.

Of course, we can’t give up on Southeast Asia. With the formation of the Continental Alliance, we’ve been put at a disadvantage in Southeast Asia. If the Spaniards regain the Philippine Islands, the situation will be even more unfavorable for us.

The Navy Department has sent people to assess the Japanese’s strength; if possible, we will make them a thorn in the side of Southeast Asia.”

Making such a decision was very reluctant for Gladstone. Knowing that it was treating the symptoms and not the cause, but having no choice, Britannia could only opt to treat the symptoms for now.@@novelbin@@