Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 446: The Path to Self-Destruction

Since the opening of the Suez Canal, Austria’s export trade to Asia has surged, accompanied by a sharp increase in the number of ship accidents.

To maintain smooth maritime trade routes, the Austrian navy has repeatedly deployed to eliminate multiple pirate strongholds.

The number of pirates hanged at ports has already exceeded three figures, with even more being directly shot dead.

The results of the anti-piracy efforts have been significant. Regardless of any potential covert support, no country publicly supports the pirates.

During the pirate eradication operations, navies from various countries participated. Recently, the probability of ships encountering accidents has approached one percent.

Rumors of sea monster incidents have also been frequently reported. Franz couldn’t ascertain the truth, but there have been over a thousand alleged eyewitnesses from various nations claiming to have seen these sea monsters.

Of course, these sea monsters aren’t that terrifying, as the eyewitnesses are still alive. These sea monsters still fall within scientific explanations; they are merely large in size and relatively formidable.

There are no fire-breathing sea monsters, but there are quite a few that spray water. They don’t have magical abilities and can’t fly or vanish; they just cause disturbances in the ocean.

Many sea monsters only have a peculiar appearance and appear briefly in people’s sight without attacking ships.

It’s unclear whether their temperaments are gentle or if ships simply aren’t on their menu. It makes sense, after all, who would be interested in lumps of wood or iron?

Saying they attack ships for human flesh is laughable—such a small amount of meat wouldn’t even fill the gap between the teeth of these behemoths. There’s simply no reason for them to attack ships for it.

Catching these sea monsters isn’t within the Austrian Navy’s responsibilities. Although biologists are eager, Franz has no intention of indulging them.

Meanwhile, whoever is behind the mischief, catching and eliminating pirates is always the right move. Even if mistakes are made, it doesn’t matter—pirates are never innocent.

Every cause has its effect. Choosing this path of no return means being prepared to be killed. Those who kill will, in turn, be killed.

The anti-piracy campaign continued until the end of 1869. First, Mediterranean pirates were severely beaten, then Indian Ocean pirates faced misfortune, and finally, Southeast Asian pirates didn’t escape scot-free either.

Protecting shipping lanes, training troops, and occasionally seizing some spoils made this meaningful activity increasingly beloved by the Austrian Navy.

Eliminating pawns of Britain, France, and other nations was just a bonus. Since no one would admit to having ties with pirates, there were no complaints about the thousands of pirates eradicated.

Each country’s media boasted about their anti-piracy achievements. If all the reported numbers were added up, the pirates would be numerous enough to encircle the globe hand in hand.

Whether there were actually that many pirates is unimportant. Ultimately, after the anti-piracy campaign, the thriving pirate groups were severely crippled.

With the increasing number of laborers at hand, Franz was considering whether to dig another large canal. In the original timeline, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had the Ubersichts-Karte canal plan, which was abandoned due to the World War.

Now, there’s a similar proposal to dig a canal from Vienna to Trieste. Along the route, there are several rivers that, in theory, only need to be connected.

However, Franz is uncertain. Would this large canal truly be useful once completed?

It’s important to note that the railroad from Vienna to Trieste has long been operational. If the canal’s capacity is insufficient, it would lose its economic value in competition with the railroad. But if the canal’s capacity is large enough, it might render the railroad economically unviable.

In any case, the end result would be that either the railroad or the canal would fail. The Suez Canal and the Suez Railway are clear examples of this, with the British Suez Railway Company now bankrupt.

From an investment perspective, it doesn’t seem very profitable. However, a country cannot focus solely on short-term gains. The operational cost of a canal is much lower than that of a railroad, and this canal could potentially become another major artery for Austria.

Given the involvement of tens of millions of guilders in investment, Franz is very cautious. The issue has been temporarily shelved, and to be safe, Franz has decided to organize several more field surveys.

As for the captured pirate prisoners, they will join the road construction army. The scale of the road construction army has drastically decreased. On the one hand, the world is relatively peaceful, so there aren’t as many “serious offenders” joining. On the other hand, casualties have been high, and the initial batches of road construction army members have been exhausted.

In this era, large-scale projects are often built on the backs of human lives. For example, each meter of the Suez Canal was dug at the cost of many lives.

While railway construction isn’t as extreme, it still averages a few casualties per kilometer, especially in cliffside areas where construction losses are more severe.

Partly, this is due to the construction teams’ lack of safety awareness and inadequate safety education. It’s also because these convicts were destined to be expendable from the start, and their casualties did not attract much attention from the railway companies.

By the time Franz realized the severity of this problem, it was already too late. He didn’t have the means to reform these people. And since they were destined to be enemies, it was naturally impossible to release them.

Filled with hatred and seeing no hope, these people were not easy to manage.

There were prisoner riots almost every month, and to guard these people, an entire division of troops was stationed nearby.

The internal situation didn’t need much description—overall, it was very dire. The capitalists’ management model was designed to minimize costs and maximize profits.

Franz was no saint; he never showed mercy to his enemies. For the long-term stability of Austria, he chose to turn a blind eye.

Because of this, Austria’s prisoner labor camps were widely criticized across the European continent, and Franz’s reputation suffered as a result.

If it weren’t for the fact that governments across Europe were firmly on the same page, Austria would have faced serious difficulties. Many people sympathized with the rebels, and many self-righteous individuals engaged in empty rhetoric.

Austria also had its fair share of these armchair critics. Franz didn’t hesitate to invite them to reform the prisoners directly.

Simply put, they were sent to live with the convicts and engage in ideological work. After experiencing it firsthand, these individuals often changed their stance upon leaving.

Of course, some never left at all. Those who believed they were dealing with good people paid for their naivete with their lives.

It was only normal—besides political prisoners, the camps were filled with hardened criminals. Many of them deserve the death penalty, and sending them here is just a way to make use of them, extracting their last bit of value.

If anyone wants to try reforming them with love, Franz won’t oppose it. Whoever wants to go can do so themselves.

Adults must be accountable for their words. They can’t just talk the talk; if they dare to preach in the newspapers, they must practice it in the prisons.

It may be very cruel, but the world is even more cruel. You can’t sacrifice the interests of millions for the sake of one fool.

Strict law enforcement brings social stability. Once someone has chosen the wrong path, they must pay the price, even if that price is extremely harsh.

…

In Mexico, Maximilian I showed a rare moment of wisdom by accepting Franz’s suggestion to contract the task of suppressing the rebels to the French.

The proud French were unaware that they were taking on a huge problem. As Maximilian I’s reform measures were implemented, the rebels’ strength continued to grow.

Not only was he imitating Austria, but many of his policies were even more thorough than Franz’s.

For instance, he legally established that: Laborers have the right to leave their place of employment freely, regardless of any debts owed to their employers. All debts over ten pesos are canceled. Working hours are limited, and the use of child labor is restricted. Corporal punishment of workers is prohibited.

At the same time, he restored the property rights of Native American communities and redistributed village lands to those without community land.

In simple terms, he freed the serfs, canceled the national debt, and redistributed land to the people.

Clearly, this aligns with the interests of the lower classes. In theory, such a land revolution should be very popular, and an emperor with the support of the people should be able to quickly quell the rebellion.

In reality, the opposite was true. The unorganized lower classes passively accepted the reforms without actively supporting the emperor, and many even sided against him.

The problem was that social power didn’t lie with the emperor or the lower classes. Without the cooperation of the ruling class, Maximilian I’s edicts didn’t extend beyond the palace.

Landowners and capitalists, whose interests were harmed by the reforms and who received no compensation, were naturally very dissatisfied. In addition to resisting the reforms, they tacitly supported the rebels.

These people held the social narrative, and soon Maximilian I became notorious in Mexico, labeled as greedy, ruthless, indifferent to human life, capricious, and autocratic…

All the terms used to describe a tyrant became his titles. The only supporters of the emperor were idealists, who were all talk and no action.

They seemingly lacked any real capability, otherwise, such policies that alienated the entire ruling class would never have been implemented.

Even if reforms were necessary, they should have been implemented gradually. Trying to achieve everything at once doesn’t lead to ascension to heaven but rather a fall into hell.

In the original timeline, Maximilian I met his end at the guillotine, having personally alienated the constitutionalists and the church who initially supported him.

Franz’s intervention hasn’t changed his self-destructive tendencies at all. Having just hoodwinked the French, he thought everything was fine and that he could continue his reckless actions without consequence.

The domestic turmoil was one thing, but this delusional emperor went on to make political statements about reclaiming lost territories. He truly believed the Americans could be easily pressured into returning what they had taken.

This move clearly angered the federal government. With Britain, France, and Austria pressing on, the U.S. wouldn’t dare act openly, but covert actions were another matter entirely.

And it didn’t stop there—another blood-boiling event for Franz occurred.

Since the emperor and empress had no children, they adopted the grandsons of former Mexican Emperor Agustín de Iturbide, young Agustín and Salvador, bestowing upon them the title of Prince of Iturbide and naming young Agustín as the heir to the Mexican throne.

Announcing an heir to the throne without a word meant directly declaring that the Mexican throne had nothing to do with the House of Habsburg anymore.

At this point, Franz really had nothing to say. Even if the Habsburgs weren’t interested in the Mexican throne, they should have at least been informed about appointing a new heir!

Did Maximilian truly believe he was the chosen one? In the original timeline, he was executed in 1867, but now he was alive, energetically stirring up trouble on the throne, thanks in large part to the efforts of the Habsburgs.

When the news came back, Franz was held accountable by a group of Habsburg archdukes who demanded an end to any support for Maximilian I. The argument was that the family’s resources were finite and shouldn’t be wasted on outsiders.

The opinions of family members had to be considered. Though they seemed to have little influence, they contributed significantly to the family through political marriages.

This is why European royal families are often considered one big family. The number of children produced by emperors and kings alone wouldn’t be sufficient for all the necessary political alliances.

Franz did not hesitate and immediately agreed. His support for his brother had already gone far enough. The resources spent on Maximilian were substantial, enough to provoke protests from other family members.

Given the age of Maximilian and his wife, Charlotte, they were far from being unable to have children. Charlotte was not even thirty yet and still had the potential to bear offspring.

Now, to gain the support of the previous regime, appointing young Agustín as the heir to the Mexican throne was an utterly foolish move.

Not to mention how to handle things if he had a biological son, just considering the reaction of the House of Habsburg alone should have made him think of his family members first.

Maximilian I had no son, but he had plenty of nephews, with more than a dozen having the appropriate status.

Even if the direct line wasn’t interested, weren’t there still the collateral lines? No matter how distant the blood relation, as long as they were still family members, there wouldn’t be such resistance.

Political resources have always been limited; the game has always been that if you take more, others get less.

In Franz’s generation, there were no ambitious individuals. Aside from the idealistic Maximilian I, his other two brothers were of average ability, as were several princes from the collateral lines.

Otherwise, they would have already jumped out to compete for resources. Don’t underestimate these political resources; invested in one person, they could now contend for the thrones of Spain or Poland.

Alternatively, they could go to South America, align with a constitutionalist faction in some country, and vie for a throne.

These are the legacies left by their ancestors. Many noble families in South America still have some ties to the Habsburgs.

This dates back a century when the Spanish Habsburg dynasty died out, and the crown passed to the House of Bourbon. The saying “new king, new officials” holds true everywhere.

Those nobles who were too close to the Habsburgs were gradually pushed out of the core of power, with many family members forced to join the colonial expansion movements.

Many of these people have now become rulers of various South American countries. The relationships among the nobility are always tangled, and covert connections still exist.

Especially after Austria’s rise, these potential networks were re-established, but it was impossible to expect their continued loyalty.

However, in some countries with severe internal strife, the constitutionalists still dream of restoration. After all, South America has only been independent for a few decades, the leading republic, the United States, has been beaten down, and monarchy remains the world’s mainstream.

A constitution naturally requires a king, and the House of Habsburg happens to be one of the options. With personal connections in place, everyone naturally prefers to support someone they know.

If there were an ambitious person in the family, Franz would not mind giving them a push. They could simply learn from Napoleon III, appear directly as a presidential candidate, and then transition from a republic to an empire.

Fortunately, there was no such person, otherwise Maximilian I would have truly been a tragedy. If his political resources were divided, he would be in danger, possibly ending up on the guillotine again.

There is a world of difference between a valued family member and an undervalued one.

In the original timeline, because Austria declined and the Habsburg dynasty was limited in power and unable to intervene in Mexico, Maximilian I ended up on the guillotine.

If an army had appeared right at their doorstep, the Mexican revolutionaries would have reconsidered. Even if they didn’t calm down on their own, the cannon fire would have made them rethink.

Sighing, Franz sent a letter to Maximilian I, directly conveying the House of Habsburg’s stance that from now on, they would go their separate ways.