Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 448: The Poorest Tsar

Time flew like an arrow; the days and months flashed by like a shuttle. After so many years of effort, Austria has risen to become the world’s second-largest colonial empire, with its influence spanning the six continents and the seven seas.

One has to be thankful that this era lacks satellite maps; otherwise, Austria’s strategic layout would immediately cause a huge uproar.

In the Americas, Austria occupies Central America, effectively dividing North and South America. The famous Panama Canal from the original timeline has now become a distant possibility.

Unless Austria becomes powerful enough to handle all challenges or the United States undergoes another split, rendering it no longer a threat, this canal will remain out of consideration.

The situation in Africa is even more alarming. If anyone pays attention, they will notice that Austria has divided other nations’ colonies, preventing them from forming contiguous territories.

Of course, the French have a large area in North Africa, but once the desert areas are considered, this perspective changes.

Having a large area is good, but if most of it is desert, the situation changes. Apart from the coastal regions, only a few oases in the vast desert hold any value.

There might be mineral resources, but in Africa, they are not very valuable. If they are beneath the sand, they are even less valuable.

The British territories in South Africa are actually in a precarious situation. Austria hasn’t seized them yet simply because Franz does not want to confront the British too early.

The French colony in Egypt looks good but is actually fraught with crisis. If they can’t quickly take over Sudan and connect the two territories, they will be surrounded by the British and Austrians.

Purely from a military perspective, it seems like a plan to monopolize the African continent.

In reality, this is just idealistic daydreaming. Currently, the forces of five nations—Britain, France, Austria, Spain, and Portugal—are converging on the African continent, so how could they be easily expelled?

Moreover, Austria doesn’t have the population to fill this massive pit. Franz is very wary of turning from an emperor into an African tribal chief.

TN: “非酋” is an internet slang term that literally translates to “African tribal chief.” It is often used by netizens to refer to the unluckiest person, someone who is so unlucky that they are considered to have the worst luck possible. It is mostly used for self-deprecating humor. (Double-meaning usage in this scenario. This is also used where they say you have European luck or African luck to indicate how lucky you are in gacha games.)

In the original timeline, many Africans claimed to be French, just darkened by the African sun, turning them black.

Whether true or not, the mere possibility makes Franz hesitant to take reckless actions.

Against the backdrop of the integration policy, if the African population were to exceed that of the homeland, people would cry and shout to move the capital, which would be a headache.

Well, these are minor issues that Franz is unlikely to encounter. The main concern is still the lack of strength as being too aggressive can lead to trouble.

On the European continent, it goes without saying that if it weren’t for the decisive creation of conflicts and the behind-the-scenes manipulation to instigate the Russo-Prussian War, Austria’s current national defense pressure would be enough to cause collapse.

There’s no way around it—Austria’s geographical location both blesses and limits it.

If not for Franz’s flexible diplomatic measures that divided the great powers, Austria would have long become the target of everyone’s hostility.

The current situation in Europe can be said to be largely engineered by Franz. There have been some unexpected changes, but overall, things are still within the planned scope.

Eastward, Austria faces Russia; to the west, it blocks France; and in the middle, it suppresses Prussia. While this strategy might seem satisfying, in practice, it would lead to a more thorough demise than that of the Second German Empire.

The “Austrian threat theory” hasn’t become mainstream in public discourse, but it has emerged in the minds of many politicians. The reason it hasn’t erupted yet is due to the overly active French.

After all, the Habsburg dynasty was once even more glorious than now, but even they failed to unify Germany. Additionally, Franz’s inability to realize this feat made them tolerable for everyone.

Many are likely calculating that another German regional conflict could pull the Habsburg dynasty down once again.

Perhaps the prestige earned during Napoleon’s era has fostered arrogance among the French, who now consider themselves as the best army in the world. They didn’t even fear the Russian Empire at its peak, so Austria was hardly a concern for them.

Although France attracted hatred from many, they have been fortunate. Spain has declined due to its own turmoil and is now on the brink of civil war over a succession dispute.

With no threats from the rear, France isn’t intimidated by any single country, giving Napoleon III the confidence to stir things up.

Of course, this is both an advantage and a disadvantage. France’s path to expansion is difficult, and the French people’s dreams of being a superpower are hard to fulfill.

Napoleon III is not young anymore, and his son is still a child. Accelerating the pace of expansion is a sign of Napoleon III’s urgency.

If Napoleon III doesn’t stay in power until his son is ready to take the throne, he must first create a Greater French Empire. Otherwise, France, or rather the House of Bonaparte’s throne, will be in jeopardy.

This is also why Austria and France can form an alliance. With Franz manipulating public opinion, the French people’s spirit has been kept highly enthusiastic.

The desire for greatness has deeply ingrained itself in the French psyche. While Napoleon III can still maintain control, the next generation might not be able to.

In this situation, they either achieve this goal or suppress it and change people’s mindsets.

Undoubtedly, the latter is impossible. Even if Napoleon III wanted to attempt it, the capitalists who would suffer from his reforms would not allow it.

If expansion succeeds, the increased market can satisfy the capitalists. If it fails, it will trigger political changes, and replacing the government with one of their own will still bring them significant benefits.

The danger of an overt plot compared to a conspiracy lies here. France’s internal conflicts are severe, and the best way to alleviate these internal conflicts is through expansion.

Using the wealth obtained through plunder can compensate those who suffer losses from the reforms. In modern times, successful reforms have almost always used this approach.

After the revolutions, Britain expanded its colonies and used the colonies to resolve its internal conflicts.

During Austria’s reforms, it also relied on external expansion to solve internal issues.

The Kingdom of Prussia did the same. It wasn’t until after the Russo-Prussian War that the conflicts between capitalists and Junker aristocrats were resolved.

France’s current stability is also built on external expansion. If the government hadn’t opened up so many colonies, the capitalists who suffered losses would have rebelled long ago.

Alexander II, who is currently undergoing reforms, is facing the same problem. The Russian Empire has plenty of land, but those who suffer from the reforms still need compensation.

Money is something Alexander II cannot afford to give. In the original timeline, many criticized Alexander II for not reforming thoroughly enough, leading to the fall of the Russian Empire. In reality, he had no choice; he really did his best.

As a representative of the noble class’ interests, cutting into his own class’ privileges meant that a thorough reform would have led to a change in tsars before it was even completed.

Even so, the Russians still expanded in Central Asia, the Far East, and the Near East, using external plunder to alleviate internal conflicts.

Now, with the Russian Empire losing its opportunities for expansion, internal conflicts have become even more intense. If not for a massive purge, Alexander II’s reforms wouldn’t have been possible at all.

In St. Petersburg, Alexander II has replaced the top levels of government once again. There’s no other choice. After three ministers were assassinated, the remaining officials became cowards, so he had to choose new people.

Every country always has passionate young men, and now the reformists in power are a group willing to shed blood for the Russian Empire.

Alexander II understood the art of compromise, and his reforms were not overly radical, with many policies taking into account the interests of the nobility.

In terms of land distribution, he made further concessions. Nobles who refused to sell their land were not forced, and the government funded the organization of peasants to clear new land.

The Russian Empire had plenty of land that was simply undeveloped. Not only was there undeveloped land in Europe, but even the Siberian Plain could theoretically accommodate millions of people. In later times, farms were established even in the Far East.

Peasants at the bottom of society did not mind remote areas. As long as the government was willing to fund their efforts to clear the land, they were willing to endure hardships.

This policy shift significantly reduced the nobility’s resistance. In the age of mechanized agriculture, the demand for labor was no longer as high.

As a consequence, the Russian government’s treasury quickly dried up. Government funding required real money, at least to provide tools, seeds, and food.

The newly liberated peasants were extremely poor, so the cost of land development had to be borne by the government. This money was considered an interest-free loan from the government to the people, to be repaid in the future, but that was a concern for later.

Currently, millions of people are relying on the Russian government for sustenance. Financial issues had become the biggest challenge for Alexander II’s administration.