Holy Roman Empire

After the news of the Warsaw battle’s conclusion spread, the whole of Europe was in an uproar. Newspapers were scrambling to allocate space for this news.

Prior to this, the Prussian Army had achieved the "Great Victory of Warsaw," and the public, unaware of the details, always assumed the Prussian Army was prevailing in the Warsaw region. Such a stunning turn of events was indeed hard to accept.

Especially for the speculators who had purchased the Prusso-Polish Federation’s war bonds, it was even harder to face this harsh reality.

Protesters had already appeared on the streets of London, and the stock exchange was surrounded by layers of enraged people, with no telling how many layers there were in between.

"We’ve been cheated," they naturally demanded justice. Only a small portion of these people had bought in from the start; most had been later lured into buying at high prices.

After the Prussian Army’s "Great Victory of Warsaw," the British media were unanimously optimistic about the Prusso-Polish Federation winning the war, resulting in a surge of war bonds issued by the Berlin Government.

As it turned out, capitalists’ bargains are not easily gained. If the Prusso-Polish Federation were about to win the war, why would they leave the market?

Other than a few front-line workers at "Karma Coffee Securities Company," the firm responsible for issuing the Prusso-Polish Federation bonds, the corporate executives had long since vanished.

"Trash it!"

No one knows who shouted first, but the speculators, blinded by rage, broke through the security staff’s blockade and vented their fury, leaving the few unfortunate workers behind as scapegoats, brutally mistreated by the crowd.

Fortunately, the stock exchange was a priority defense area for the London police. The violence at Karma Coffee Securities Company was quickly stopped by the police who arrived in response to the calls.

This was but a microcosm; with the exit of the big financial sharks, it wasn’t only the securities market that was hit hard. The stock market also couldn’t escape the disaster.

Undoubtedly, the banks that undertook the loans for the Prusso-Polish Federation became the epicenter of the crisis, with their share prices plummeting.

The Prusso-Polish Federation had not yet been defeated, but London was already in chaos. The British Government of those days was still very capable of taking action, and Prime Minister Benjamin promptly held a press conference to calm the public.

His general message was: The creditor is still here, don’t worry, the London Government will find a way to keep the Berlin Government afloat, and your bonds won’t turn into scrap paper.

If one were to delve deeper, it could also be interpreted as: The creditor is still around, but now they’re really poor, and when they’ll be able to repay the money is anybody’s guess.

As for war bonds, it’s certainly not possible to cash them immediately. The shortest time frame would be three to five years later, and it’s normal for it to be ten or even twenty years.

By that time, the British Government would have already changed hands; the worries would belong to the subsequent government, and Prime Minister Benjamin didn’t mind writing a post-dated check.

However, the UK Foreign Office did accelerate its pace, constantly persuading other European nations to intervene in this Prusso-Russian war. Up to now, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Belgium have echoed the London Government’s call for a ceasefire.

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Not long ago, the Austrian Government also received a mediation invitation from the Berlin Government. Franz had been hesitant, but with the end of the Warszawa battle, things couldn’t be delayed any longer.

"We can’t keep waiting like this; the Prusso-Russian war is about to end, and we must take action, or else the situation will spiral out of control," suggested Foreign Minister Weisenberg.

Indeed, things were almost out of control. If the Tsarist Government actually swallowed the Kingdom of Prussia, it would be difficult to make them regurgitate it.

Based on the current international situation, it was very likely that the Tsarist Government would use Austrian nationalism to settle its debts with the territory of the Kingdom of Prussia, putting the Vienna Government on the hot seat.

What’s more tragic was Russia doing so would not only force the Vienna Government to swallow the bitter pill but also compel them to thank them, at least outwardly.

What did the Kingdom of Prussia have now?

The answer is—debt!

If Austria were to take over the Kingdom of Prussia now, not only would the money lent to the Russians not be recovered, but it might also have to pay the Tsarist Government an additional sum.

It wasn’t just that; the Berlin Government had incurred a huge debt and definitely couldn’t repay it after the war. Taking over the Kingdom of Prussia now also meant taking on a massive debt.

Apart from the debt, the post-war economic reconstruction would also require a lot of money, which the Berlin Government definitely couldn’t afford. The Central Government must underwrite it.

And these were just the economic aspects; politically, there were even more troubles. If not handled well diplomatically, they could find themselves in a quagmire of blame.

Knowing it was a mess, and Austria wasn’t foolish enough to take over at this point.

Intervention became the best choice. As long as they prevented the Russians from occupying the Kingdom of Prussia, all these troubles would naturally cease to exist.

Regardless of the amount of debt or the magnitude of the difficulties, that was Berlin Government’s responsibility. Even if they really couldn’t repay the money, they could still default. After all, there was no unification yet, and it wouldn’t affect Austria’s credibility.

"It’s still too early, the strength of the Prusso Federation still exists, and we must wear it down with the help of the Russians, or it will become a big trouble in the future," Prime Minister Felix opposed.

As the leader of Greater German nationalism, Prime Minister Felix always prioritized the unification of the Germany Region. The Kingdom of Prussia, with its strong military capabilities, was obviously not conducive to national unity.

Foreign Minister Weisenberg reminded him, "Prime Minister, our primary national policy is the localization of Africa, and the unification of the Germany Region can only take second place.

Up to now, our Africa Strategy has been more than half completed, except for Egypt, which is occupied by the French, and there’s only the half-dead Ottoman Empire left.

The most urgent task is to stabilize the European Continent as soon as possible, establish a new international order, and look for opportunities to deal with the Ottoman Empire first."

In fact, Austria’s national policy involved many aspects, which changed over time, and now only these two remained.

For example, the original Near East strategy, with the decline of the Ottoman Empire, directly became part of the Africa Strategy.

This was also compelled; after localizing in Africa, maintaining connections with the homeland became of utmost importance. Sea routes are indeed convenient, but their security is not guaranteed during war times.

The Royal Navy’s advantages were too great; the Austrian Navy simply couldn’t compare. For the short term, not to mention catching up with the British, the French Navy even had an edge over the Austrian Navy.

Since the sea was not an option, the only possibility was to look to land. Most of the Middle East region had already fallen into Austrian hands, and the Vienna Government wanted to connect the homeland with Africa, with only French Egypt and the Ottoman Empire as obstacles in the center.

You have to eat your meals one bite at a time; the French are not weak, and the Vienna Government has no intention of targeting Egypt for now, but the weak Ottoman Empire is unfortunate.

Prime Minister Felix nodded and then shook his head, "Our core strategy of integrating Africa is correct, but this does not conflict with our plans for German unification.

We will have plenty of opportunities to deal with the Ottoman Empire, and after the Prusso-Russian war, the Tsarist Government will behave for a long time, lacking the energy to compete with us in the Near East.

One could say that for the next ten years, any actions against the Ottoman Empire will be led by us, and the Russians won’t prevent us from extending the railway to the Suez Canal.

On the other hand, the Kingdom of Prussia is more troublesome; we cannot act directly against them, and if we don’t deal with them now, it will be difficult to find an opportunity in the future."

Being the top dog is not easy, especially when you care about your image. Even if there is a split within the Germany Region, the reason for recognizing Austria’s leadership is due to the Vienna Government’s consistent management of its image over the decades.

Having painstakingly built a good reputation, it naturally cannot be destroyed in a civil war. Especially for Emperor Franz, he would rather let the Germany Region remain disunited than smash his own brand.

Otherwise, he would awkwardly find that after finally unifying the country, his own throne would be lost too.

There are plenty of similar cases, and Franz does not believe all his descendants will be strong leaders capable of controlling the situation.

Not wanting to draw hatred, the best way is to ensure as little bloodshed as possible in the German unification process, and even if bloodshed is necessary, finding a scapegoat to take the blame first.

In this respect, the Russians truly are Austria’s good allies. The southern nemesis, the Ottoman Empire, was knocked down by the Russian-Austrian forces together, and the ambitious Kingdom of Prussia in the north is being dealt with by the Tsarist Government.

Every time there is a conflict of interest between Russian-Austria, just thinking about the contributions of the Tsarist Government, Franz’s attitude immediately calms.

Money is trivial, the main thing is the friendship between Russia and Austria. Just look at the last time the Tsarist Government announced a debt default, the Austrian Government didn’t even burst out.

Franz interrupted the two’s argument, "Let’s slow down mediating the Prusso-Russian war, send someone to probe the Tsarist Government’s bottom line.

If they intend to use the Kingdom of Prussia as debt repayment and want to put us on the grill, immediately collaborate with the British and intervene in this war.

Under any other circumstances, it is negotiable. A weak or even fragmented Prussia is the best Prussia.

As long as it’s not too excessive, we can tacitly permit the Tsarist Government to annex some territory of the Kingdom of Prussia, as long as it doesn’t involve the Germany Region, everything else is negotiable." n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Even hitmen require an appearance fee, so what about the Russians? They fought hard all the way here, suffering casualties in the millions and amassing huge debts; they definitely deserve some reward.

In Franz’s view, the Kingdom of Prussia has had it too easy in the last few decades, becoming complacent and now even daring to create a system to rival Austria, which must be struck down.

If we do not strike one to warn the others, what will we do with the imitators among the other German Confederation Sub-States?

For example, the Kingdom of Hanover, which is dissatisfied with the current German Federation Empire and buoyed by British support, is clandestinely toying with nonsensical plans for North and South Germanic unity.

The Vienna Government hasn’t sought trouble with them because Hanover is still at the planning stage, having made many plans but not taken any substantive action.

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