Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 399: The Art of Politics

As the anti-Semitic movement began, the atmosphere on the European continent became increasingly oppressive, with anti-Semitic activities emerging one after another in various countries.

This was just among the common people. At the government’s highest levels, the focus was not on anti-Semitism but on the Russian government taking advantage of the situation to escape from the financial crisis. With money, the Russian Empire could truly be called an empire.

In the Berlin Palace, William I expressed his anxiety. However, William I, who managed to become “William the Great” in the original timeline, naturally had great political acumen. Though anxious inside, he maintained an appearance of being completely in control.

The king’s composure reassured the Prussian government. This time, they weren’t fighting alone in this war. They had a large group of supporters behind them. As long as the backers behind the scenes were willing to increase their investment, victory was not impossible.

At William I’s signal, Foreign Minister Mackeit said, “Through our diplomatic efforts, the Swedes are already showing signs of interest. As long as we achieve another major victory in next year’s war, they are likely to stand on our side.

Currently, the Foreign Ministry is working hard on public relations with the Ottoman Empire. Both London and Paris have given clear responses that they will push for the Ottoman Empire to join the war.

The British have also promised that they would create trouble for the Russians in Central Asia and the Far East.

We are also lobbying the British Parliament to have the Royal Navy blockade the Baltic Sea, cutting off the Russians’ maritime supply routes…”

It sounds good, but when you interpret it from a workplace jargon perspective, it’s pretty much the truth.

The Swedes are indeed showing signs of interest, but it’s only among ordinary Swedish citizens. King Charles XV has shown no inclination to join the war.

Of course, if the Kingdom of Prussia wins against the Russian Empire, then when it’s time to kick someone when they’re down, the Swedish government wouldn’t mind joining in.

“Working hard on public relations with the Ottoman Empire,” in other words, means that the Foreign Ministry has tried its best, but has not achieved any results.

Britain and France are indeed pushing for the Ottomans to join the war, but the Ottoman government remains unresponsive and continues to watch the situation.

“The promises of the British,” have always been just empty words, so they can just let that go. They shouldn’t hold too much hope, this war still relies on Prussia itself.

“Lobbying the British Parliament,” is a monumental task, and it’s unclear when the members will pass the proposal.

In summary: they have many allies, and as long as their military defeats the Russians on the battlefield, these allies will come to help divide the spoils of war.

Those present at the meeting are all elite members of the Kingdom of Prussia, naturally understanding the implications behind the scenes, but everyone tacitly chose to play dumb.

If even the higher-ups lack confidence in winning the war, then what are the lower ranks supposed to do? Whether it’s for reassuring morale or for taking a gamble, morale cannot be allowed to falter.

Minister of the Army and the Navy Roon spoke up, “There’s no rush in wooing Sweden and the Ottoman Empire. As long as we keep winning, they will eventually join us.

The only thing that must be done immediately is to have the Royal Navy blockade the Baltic Sea. Only by cutting off the Russian’s maritime supply lines do we stand a chance.”

Compared to rallying allies to share the pressure, cutting off the Russian maritime supply lines is the most likely to be accomplished. On the matter of dealing a blow to the Russians, the British stance has always been very firm.

By severing the maritime supply lines, even if the Russian government has money, it will be difficult to obtain enough strategic supplies.

Through land transport, Russia’s transportation would become Prussia’s best ally, constraining the number of troops the Russian government could deploy.

In this era, the total length of railways in the Russian Empire is just over three thousand kilometers, while Spain, the German Federal Empire, and Prussia have more.

In the original timeline of World War I, Russia’s more than 70,000 kilometers of railways were still unable to support the logistical needs of the millions of troops at the front lines, not to mention the present situation.

The Junker nobles dared to challenge the Russians because they saw that Russia’s deployment capabilities were limited. If the Russian government could deploy millions of troops on the front lines, apart from France and Austria, no country in the world could withstand it.

Foreign Minister Mackeit explained, “This will take time. The British are still hesitating. They are concerned that blocking the Baltic Sea will…”

Roon interrupted without hesitation, saying, “Regardless of what may happen, the sooner we cut off the Russian maritime supply lines, the better our chances in next year’s war.

The British have been dragging their feet. Are those capitalists still itching for war profits? There’s no need for further discussion. We’ll just take all the orders placed by the Russians.

Let’s be frank with the British government. If they want us to win the war, they should immediately blockade the Baltic Sea.

If they don’t want us to win this war, well, we can’t win against the Russians on our own anyway. It’s better to compromise with the Russians and call it quits.

We can just sell out the Poles, restore the pre-war borders, and surrender to the Russians. Whatever the British want to do, let them do it.”

Roon was confident because the Kingdom of Prussia already owed the British tens of millions of pounds. They could only afford to repay this debt if they won the war.

If they lost the war, the very existence of the Kingdom of Prussia would be an issue. Who would they turn to to collect money at that time?

If the British didn’t want their investment to go down the drain, then cutting off the Russian maritime supply lines was the only option.

The European political system dictated that these people have to take a gamble. Win, and they would advance further. Lose, and they would still be wealthy aristocrats.

“Let’s do it this way!”

William I decisively made the decision. Once at the gambling table, one must gamble. If you want to keep looking back, it’s better to give up early. War was not a game, and every chance of winning was crucial.

……

In London, Prime Minister John Russell awkwardly discovered that, inadvertently, they had become entangled with the Prussians.

Originally intending to wage a proxy war, as time went on, they found themselves increasingly committed to the conflict.

Especially after the conclusion of the Battle of East Prussia, they sold 30 million pounds of war bonds on behalf of the Prussian government. Now, the total amount of debt between Britain and Prussia exceeded 100 million pounds.

Most of the bondholders were ordinary citizens, and if they didn’t want to lose the next election, it was better not to let this debt become a bad debt.

Despite Prussia using tariffs, railways, and mines as collateral, if the Kingdom of Prussia ceased to exist, would these assets still hold value?

John Russell doubted whether the Russians, French, or Austrians would recognize these debts. Even for their own interests, their Prussian pawn had to be preserved.

“Sir Edward, is there any difficulty in blockading the Baltic Sea?” asked John Russell.

Sir Edward, First Lord of the Admiralty, confidently replied, “No, the Royal Navy has ample capability to accomplish this task.”

Blockading the Baltic Sea is one thing, it’s not as if they’re asking them to charge into the Baltic Sea and take out the Russian navy. For the Royal Navy, there is indeed no difficulty.

Foreign Secretary Raistlin said discontentedly, “Of course, you wouldn’t have any problems. The Royal Navy could take on the Russians ten times over. But our problem is much larger.

As a neutral country, if we rashly involve ourselves in this war, we will inevitably face enormous diplomatic and public pressure.”

Interests make the world go round, and once the Baltic Sea is blockaded, the trade of many countries will be affected. Diplomatically, they will inevitably face pressure from various European countries.

While the Prussians may be able to take on orders between England and Russia, it does not mean they still have the capacity to fulfill orders placed by the Russians in other countries.

Not all countries are easy to bully, and offending them now will surely invite retaliation in the future. This will bring significant trouble to their future diplomatic efforts, with the Foreign Office naturally becoming the scapegoat.

Prime Minister John Russell smiled reassuringly and said, “Sir Raistlin, this is just a minor issue. I believe you can handle it. As long as we accomplish the great strategy of weakening the Russians, the cost we’re paying now is worth it. At least it’s much lower compared to the recent Near East War.”

Everyone exchanged smiles; no comparison, no harm done. In the recent Near East War, the British government not only spent over a hundred million pounds on military expenses but also suffered significant troop losses. Most crucially, they damn well lost the war.

A war that leaves both sides wounded is a failure for the British. The current situation is much better. It’s the Prussians who are fighting desperately on the front lines, and the money lent out will eventually be repaid.

As long as a result of mutual destruction is achieved in the war, it is considered a great victory for the British. If Prussia wins the war, then they stand to profit even more.

Foreign Secretary Raistlin hesitated and said, “The envoy stationed in the Ottoman Empire has relayed a message. The Austrians are up to something over there again. They seem intent on provoking a war between the Ottomans and the Russians.

We’ve conducted a thorough analysis and haven’t found any benefits Austria could gain from a war breaking out between the two countries.

If they aim to weaken the Russians, simply delaying the transportation of supplies would be enough to inflict heavy losses on the Russian army.”

In this era, the Arabian Peninsula was just a desert, inhabited at most by a group of camels, hardly worth the attention of a major power.

Finance Secretary Agarwal speculated, “Perhaps it’s related to the Suez Canal. The Austrians may want to take control of the Suez Canal and have started to lay the groundwork early.”

First Lord of the Admiralty Edward questioned, “But that seems unreasonable. Many experts at home believe the Suez Canal is impassable. Even if it were dug through, it would only allow small boats to pass through in the end, with no strategic value whatsoever.”

It’s all the fault of the experts. The British had already organized experts to conduct surveys, and they concluded that the Suez Canal was impassable.

This erroneous conclusion directly affected the decisions of the British government. When France and Austria began digging the Suez Canal, the British threw themselves into the Suez Railway project.

Just like in history, until the Suez Canal became navigable, the British would not believe the Suez Canal had any value.

Finance Secretary Agarwal said indifferently, “Who knows what the Austrian government is thinking? They dare to invest heavily in the canal, yet they’re worried it won’t be navigable.

Of course, it might not necessarily be about the canal. Franz is the King of Jerusalem; perhaps they’re aiming to reclaim the Holy Land.”

The latter explanation is obviously more plausible than the former. Austria already holds the Sinai Peninsula, so half of the control over the Suez Canal is already in hand. Even if they control the Red Sea, it wouldn’t significantly increase their influence.

In comparison, taking advantage of the opportunity presented by the war between the Ottomans and the Russians to reclaim Jerusalem seems more convincing.

Colonial Secretary Steve proposed, “In recent years, the expansion of France and Austria on the African continent has been very rapid. We need to contain their actions.

In the colonial office’s African strategy, there is also a plan to occupy Ethiopia, and conveniently, the gateway to the Red Sea, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, is right there.

We can take the initiative and occupy Ethiopia, while also disrupting the Austrian’s East African strategy.”

The “East African strategy” is just smoke and mirrors released by Austria. To cause trouble for Austria, the British have been selling weapons to the indigenous countries in East Africa in recent years.

However, plans can’t keep up with the rapid changes. Austria’s colonial progress slowed down, and they didn’t rashly enter East Africa but instead focused on consolidating their existing gains.

The world has been almost completely divided up, and naturally, the British Colonial Office doesn’t want to sit idle, so the African colonial plan has been unveiled.

Foreign Secretary Raistlin objected, “Blocking the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait may be easy, but if we really do it, be prepared to face an alliance between Austria and France!

They spared no expense to dig the Suez Canal just to break free from our control over the Strait of Gibraltar. Interfering rashly will inevitably provoke a strong backlash from France and Austria.

It’s not in our interest to confront France and Austria prematurely before we’re certain about the strategic value of the Suez Canal.”

The butterfly effect is powerful. In the original timeline, the Mediterranean Sea only had France as a naval power, and the Royal Navy didn’t gain control of the Suez Canal until after the Franco-Prussian War.

The situation is different now. The combined navies of France and Austria could challenge the Royal Navy, at least diminishing its dominance in the Mediterranean.

Moreover, straits and canals are two different concepts; the difficulty of control is on a different level. At the very least, it’s several tens of kilometers wide, making it a necessity for the navy to blockade it.

While the idea of trapping France and Austria in the big bathtub in the Mediterranean seems tempting, any misstep could jeopardize Britain’s maritime supremacy.

Colonial Secretary Steve countered, “Such a scenario is indeed possible, but if it is done well, it’s not necessarily a confrontation with France and Austria. We’re just laying the groundwork in advance, being proactive. When necessary, we can always compromise.”