Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 350: A Premeditated Uprising (Bonus Chapter)

After Alexander II ascended the throne, he initiated reforms domestically to gain the support of the Polish people. His governments ruling approach in the Polish region became more lenient.

The Russian government pardoned political prisoners in Poland and allowed the establishment of Polish medical schools and agricultural associations in Warsaw.

In 1863, Alexander II reinstated the Council on Religion and Public Education, which had been abolished twenty years earlier. Additionally, the Russian government permitted the convening of the State Council (in an advisory capacity).

(Authors Note: The timing of Alexander IIs accession and reforms has been delayed, with many dates differing from actual history.)

These concessions by the Russian government satisfied the Polish bourgeoisie and nobles. The convening of the State Council gave them a channel to influence domestic politics.

Happiness always comes from comparison. Compared to the Austrian reforms over a decade earlier, the Tsars reforms made the Poles much happier than their counterparts in Galicia.

During the 1848 European revolutions, half of the nobles and capitalists in Galicia were killed by rebelling peasants for being too active. The remaining few involved in the uprising were dealt with by the Austrian government.

Those who survived were either cautious or loyal supporters of the Habsburgs, firmly standing by the emperors side.

With this precedent in mind, the expectations of the nobles and capitalists in Russian-ruled Poland were lowered. They believed that if the Russian government decided to take action, the consequences would be far worse.

At least the Austrian government would find a reasonable excuse to act within the rules, while the Russian government might not need to do so.

Franz was a master of bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Those who were personally dealt with were mostly capitalists with no foundation and bad reputations.

As for the nobles, he typically only forced land redemption, stripping titles in severe cases but never personally wiping out entire families.

The compromise between the Russian government and the Polish people caught the attention of the governments in Berlin and Vienna, with many worrying that this was a prelude to Russian expansion in Europe.

The Austrian government, however, was not as concerned, given Austrias increased strength and the existence of the Austro-Russian alliance, making the likelihood of Russian aggression against Austria almost negligible.

The Prussian government, on the other hand, could not be as complacent. To the anti-Russian faction, the compromise between Russia and Poland was closely linked to the Russian governments plan to seize Prussian-ruled Polish territory.

It is uncertain when this plan was originally formulated. During the First Schleswig War, intentionally or not, the Russian government leaked the plan to seize Prussian Poland.

Because of the existence of this plan, Prussia hesitated to take action even after Austria launched the war of unification, missing the opportunity to annex the northern German territories.

At that time, the Russian government deployed two hundred thousand troops along the two countries borders, and Nicholas I even sent envoys to encourage Prussia to take action. However, the more the Russian government encouraged action, the more hesitant Frederick William IV became.

Unfortunately, the Russian Bears reputation is too poor. With the Russo-Austrian alliance in place, the Prussian government was concerned that if its main forces were deployed, it would face a joint attack from Austria and Russia.

Austria also had a plan for Russia and Austria to carve up Prussia, although it was just a smokescreen released by Franz, Prussia dared not gamble.

Fighting on home soil, whether facing an Austrian invasion or a Russian one, Prussia could endure for a long time while awaiting intervention from other European powers.

However, in cross-border warfare, Prussia has not yet displayed the invincible aura of later eras. Its performance in the First Prusso-Danish War has left the Prussian government uncertain.

Upon learning of the compromise between the Russian government and the Polish people, the Prussian government immediately began public relations efforts, hoping to change the Russian governments stance towards the Poles.

Prime Minister Franck privately said: I sympathize with the plight of the Polish people, but we also need to survive. Unfortunately, we can only let them perish.

His attitude also reflected the stance of the Prussian government, which spared no effort to sabotage the compromise between the Russian government and the Polish people, becoming the state policy of the Prussian government.

In the mid-1860s, the Polish society in the Congress Kingdom of Poland faced two options:

One was to cooperate with the Russian government, which could alleviate some national oppression and bring about incomplete social reforms.

The other was to cooperate with revolutionary organizations in Russia, striving together to overthrow the rule of the Russian government.

Obviously, although choosing the second option could attract support from various European countries, the success rate of rebellion has never been high, and the likelihood of becoming a martyr is much greater than that of becoming a hero, which is not the choice of the bourgeoisie.

Unable to gain support from nobles and capitalists, the Polish independence movement turned to workers and peasants instead.

Under the manipulation of the British, as early as the end of 1862, the Polish independence movement had signed an agreement with revolutionary organizations in Russia to jointly oppose the rule of the Russian government.

The agreement stipulated that once the Polish independence movement launched an uprising, the Russian revolutionary organizations would provide them with support, and at the appropriate time, would also launch uprisings domestically.

After the Russian governments compromise with Poland in 1863, the Kingdom of Prussia also joined the ranks of supporting the Polish independence movement. They secretly helped train military forces for the Polish independence movement and allowed Prussian Poles to renounce their nationality and join the revolutionary organizations.

As for another supporter of the Polish revolutionary organizations, the French, they had been in cahoots since 1848. The internationally-minded French even considered organizing an expeditionary force to help Polish independence.

Alexander IIs reforms also aroused concern in Britain and France. Under the butterfly effect of Franzs actions, the Russian government won the Near East War and captured Constantinople, elevating the threat posed by the Russians by more than one level compared to history.

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If even the still-feudal Russian Empire was so formidable, what would happen if they completed capitalist reforms?

The British were concerned that if Russia continued to grow stronger, it would threaten their position as world hegemon, especially with the constant threat posed to India by the Russians.

The French regarded Russia as the primary obstacle to achieving continental hegemony in Europe, considering that Austria next door was nothing compared to Russia.

This was an experience passed down from their ancestors; no matter how powerful the Habsburg dynasty became, the French always ended up victorious. The sense of superiority cultivated over centuries led Napoleon III to decide to deal with the Russians first.

Britain, France, and Prussia all wanted to deal with Russia, preferably by disrupting Alexander IIs reforms and dividing the Russian Empire.

It was the consensus of all Europeans except Russians that a divided and weak Russia was the best kind of Russia.

With the support of Britain, France, and Prussia, the Polish independence movement rapidly grew in strength starting in 1863. Eventually, when everyone felt sufficiently prepared, the Polish War of Independence broke out.

This time, the Polish people were exceptionally confident, backed by what could be described as the most luxurious lineup in history.

Apart from Britain, France, and Prussia, the vast majority of European countries sympathized with or supported Polish independence. Even Russias allies expressed sympathy for Poland.

A concrete example is that the Polish independence movement managed to raise one million guilders in donations in Austria, without facing any obstruction from the Austrian government.

Franz had no interest in knowing who were the backers behind the Polish independence movement. As far as he was concerned, it was just trouble for the Russians, no need for him to care.

Franz was completely unaware of the plans of the Junker nobility. It wasnt due to the incompetence of the intelligence agencies but rather because such matters, unrelated to Austrian interests, werent deemed worthy of deploying the spies carefully planted within the Prussian government.

Due to the Russo-Austrian alliance, when conspiring, all countries unanimously avoided Austrias overt intelligence assets.

The undercover agents placed in secret were hard-won assets. Naturally, it was impossible to relay such intelligence as every transmission posed a risk.

From start to finish, Franz treated this Polish uprising as just an ordinary independence movement.

Foreign support was inevitable; in this era, any uprising within the Russian Empire wouldnt lack international backers offering selfless assistance.

Franz was unaware, and similarly, Alexander II in St. Petersburg remained oblivious. Having just eased tensions with influential figures in Poland, and having won over the capitalists and nobles, the outbreak of rebellion naturally didnt attract the attention of the Russian government.

Rebellions in Poland erupted almost periodically, and the Russians had long grown accustomed to them. If several years passed without an uprising, they would be on alert indicating that the Poles were planning something significant.

Under this habit, the Russian government simply ordered the local authorities to suppress the rebellion.

Alexander IIs reforms had already achieved interim results after abolishing serfdom, Russian industry and commerce achieved rapid development.

However, this rapid development mainly referred to quantity; industrial production capacity increased significantly. Yet despite the increase in industrial output, there was little quality improvement, leaving Russian products at a disadvantage in the market.

Russians would rather use expensive imported goods than domestic products. During this period, Russian industrial products suffered from the common problem of being crude, bulky, and difficult to use. They were not only poor in quality but prices were not cheap either.

Due to issues with domestic transportation, the cost of transporting raw materials in Russia remained high, leading to high production costs.

The trouble was that industrial products were being manufactured but were not selling in the market. This was particularly true for machinery and equipment, which remained unsold.

No matter how much the Russian government raised tariffs, it had no effect. Some even mocked that Russian industrial equipment could not even compete with handicrafts.

This is an exaggeration, as machinery is inherently more efficient than pure manual labor. However, considering Russias low labor costs and the high rate of defects in machinery equipment, the ultimate cost comparison between manual and mechanical production remains uncertain.

In Chekhovs literary works, its mentioned that screws produced by Russian machine tools often require manual polishing before use.

This might not be an exaggeration; during the Russo-Japanese War, certain artillery shells had size discrepancies, requiring soldiers to manually polish them before they could be loaded and fired.

If weapons in the military are made to such standards, civilian products are even more subpar. In short, Russian goods in the 19th century were synonymous with shoddy craftsmanship.

Unable to sell domestically and ignored in the international market, against this backdrop, the Russian government decided to use its military might to seek export markets for industrial products.

In the summer of 1864, Alexander II approved the Armys plan to expand into Central Asia, disregarding the newly erupted Polish uprising.