Holy Roman Empire

Just when everyone thought the Prusso-Russian War had reached a stalemate, on November 2nd, 1879, a Prussian division suddenly bypassed Camian and headed straight for Pinsk.

Since the outbreak of the Prusso-Russian War, Franz had always been paying close attention and occasionally deployed high-altitude airship reconnaissance.

Austria possessed the most advanced airship technology, and their most advanced reconnaissance airships could operate at altitudes as high as 8000 meters.

In these days, anti-aircraft weapons were not well-developed; as long as they were above 3000 meters, neither anti-aircraft machine guns nor artillery posed any threat.

With no safety threats, Austrian airships naturally often penetrated into other countries’ airspace. At first, Franz was not accustomed to this domineering style, but as his neighbors showed little reaction, he gradually got used to it.

At several kilometers in the sky, if one doesn’t use a telescope, many could mistake it for just a bird, so the chances of being spotted were quite low.

Even if they were discovered, they could claim that the pilot had gotten lost. After all, such incidents happened frequently, especially with the airships of small European countries, which often strayed beyond their national borders.

The unusual movements of the Prussian Army drew the attention of the pilots and, after being reported, caught the idle Franz’s interest, who immediately convened a meeting with the duty staff officers.

"Everyone has seen the intelligence; what do you think Mörck’s objective is?"

No matter for what reason Franz was interested in this issue, the opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities in front of the Emperor excited everyone greatly.

General Mörck, the Deputy Chief of Staff: "Your Majesty, the Prussian Army’s true target is likely not Pinsk; this may be a diversion to distract the Russians.

Pinsk is situated on a vital river route approximately 180 kilometers from Brest and can be considered the rear area. Such a deep advance of an isolated unit would be a very poor choice militarily.

Even if they managed to evade Russian detection and not be discovered in advance, Pinsk has a regiment stationed for defense, and even if it can’t stop the Prussian offensive, delaying them for a few days should not be a problem.

Once the nearby Russian forces react, that Prussian force is doomed. Unless they can seize Pinsk within one day and then hold out using the local fortifications for over a month, there would be strategic value.

The risks involved are too great; as a renowned European general, Mörck surely understands this, so his real target could only be Brest."

A staff officer argued: "It’s not necessarily Brest; maybe Mörck’s aim is simply the Pripyat River. Of course, this probability is very small, as it’s now the dry season, and even if they block the river, the damage would not be significant.

I think a more likely possibility is just a feint, deliberately drawing Russian attention to cover the Prussian Army’s real strategy.

As for inserting to the rear of Brest, it seems like a good move, but what use is merely one infantry division?"

...

The staff officers had indeed great imaginations; in a short time, they analyzed more than a dozen possibilities, leaving Franz utterly confused.

Helplessly, Franz was just an ordinary person; asking him to understand the strategic deployments of military experts was really asking too much of him.

However, it was his son, Frederick, who was enthusiastically discussing with the staff officers. Perhaps his son had a talent for becoming a military strategist, Franz thought to himself.

Of course, that was all he could do, think. As the Austrian Crown Prince, Frederick had no chance of becoming a military strategist.

The era in which Emperors led troops into battle had ended; it was no longer the Middle Ages. As the Crown Prince, even if he went to battle, it would be purely ceremonial, with no real opportunity to prove himself.

Franz frankly thought that listening to the staff officers’ discussion was much more interesting than reading newspapers; it was as exciting as a novel.

They all spoke with such confidence, whether it could work would only be known after trying; after all, in theory, it was all feasible.

The more Franz learned, the more he came to believe that luck played a significant role and didn’t blindly believe in the so-called aura of great generals. Just like adding up the legendary twenty-eight generals doesn’t compare to the power of a meteor from the heavens.

...

While the Prusso-Russian War was still in a deadlock, the battlefield in South America had already taken a turn. Ever since the British Navy got involved, Bolivia and Peru began to face tragedy.

With the sea passages gone, supplies could only be transported from neighboring countries. Usually, that wouldn’t be an issue since everyone likes wartime profits, but unfortunately, relations were not good!

The South American countries had been fraught with conflicts since their establishment. If France and Austria intervened to mediate and warn the careerists to behave, it’s likely that these countries would be more than happy to kick their neighbors while they were down.

Foreign Minister Weisenberg: "Your Majesty, as of three days ago, the British have detained more than two hundred ships bound for Peru and Bolivia, forty-five of which were registered in our country. Read exclusive chapters at NovelBin.Côm

To break the British blockade, the Foreign Ministry recommends that we join forces with the nations these ships belong to and collectively pressure the British."

What was inevitable would still arrive; relying on Chile’s strength alone to take on two was difficult.

If the sea lanes to Bolivia and Peru were not cut off, the continuous influx of supplies would enable both countries to arm far more troops than Chile could.

When the quality gap is negligible, the number of troops will determine the outcome of a war. In the initial battles, Chile was actually at a disadvantage.

After pondering for a moment, Franz made a decision, "Not only must we order the British to open the shipping lanes, but we must also make them compensate for the losses. If they don’t agree, we’ll incite various countries to make a fuss together.

If the conditions are ripe, we can even pull in the French to make a show of imposing trade sanctions on the British, draw in more countries to boost our presence, and really give the British a hard time."

That’s right, giving the British a hard time. Wanting to impose trade sanctions on the British is simply impossible.

In those days, John Bull was still the boss of international import and export trade, accounting for nearly half of the global trade volume. What could you use to sanction them?

Sanctioning them is impossible, but adding to their troubles is doable. Having suffered such a grievance, Austria cannot stand it, and Franz didn’t believe the proud French could either.

If you can’t beat the British at sea, you can always fight a war of words. Stir up public opinion, and the British will have no choice but to comply. You couldn’t afford to offend all the countries just for Chile.

...

In fact, before the Vienna Government even took action, the capitalists whose ships had been detained took the initiative.

This time, the media on the European Continent had a surprisingly unified stance, all condemning the British for their shameless acts and accusing the British Government of disrupting the normal course of free trade.

It wasn’t just the continental newspapers that were criticizing; British newspapers were also blasting the government. The Opposition Party had already organized public marches and demonstrations condemning the London Government for its unilateral intervention in the South American war.

The capitalists used practical actions to explain what it means for capital to have no borders and for only interests to last forever.

Outside Downing Street Prime Minister’s Office, there were already crowds of protesting citizens, waving the flag of free trade, demanding that the London Government lift the blockade.

A perplexed Prime Minister Benjamin slammed his hand on the table, "Sir John, I need an explanation now, one that can be accounted for to the public."

Navy Secretary John Vassil looked worried, "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, we reached an agreement with the Chilean, with them funding the purchase of the goods on these ships.

It went very smoothly at first; the Chilean Government and the capitalists reached an agreement to stop transporting goods to Peru and Bolivia for one year.

But after they received compensation, they immediately organized another shipment of goods, the capitalists broke the agreement, and naturally, the Chilean Government refused to continue funding the purchase, leading to the detention of the ships."

Hearing this explanation, Prime Minister Benjamin felt like cursing. Relying on capitalists to honor an agreement? Wasn’t that a joke?

Just change a legal entity, and the previous contract becomes invalid. Legally, there was no way to hold them accountable, and these people clearly wanted to profit from the crisis.

Benjamin was also feeling a headache. Allowing these ships to pass was definitely not an option; if Chile lost the war, the control over the nitrate trade would fall into the hands of France and Austria.

Also, allowing the Chilean Government to continue buying these goods wasn’t viable; with the nature of the capitalists, as soon as they made a huge profit, it wouldn’t take long for an even larger fleet to come.

You couldn’t expect the Chilean Government to keep buying indefinitely; even if the nitrate trade was lucrative, Chile wasn’t so wealthy!

Benjamin rubbed his forehead and said, "First, send someone to explain to the public outside that it’s the Chilean Government detaining the ships, and we are just conducting military exercises in South America.

No matter what, first find a way to disperse the public outside. Continuing like this is having a really bad effect."

Foreign Minister Edward: "It’s not just the protesting citizens outside that need to be dispersed; we are also facing significant international pressure. Up to now, we have received diplomatic notes of protest from twenty-two countries, including France and Austria.

One individual country doesn’t matter, but if they band together, then it becomes difficult to handle.

Especially France and Austria; the Prusso-Russian war has tied up their resources, but that’s more in terms of military affairs, with their foreign departments still quite idle."

Bolivia and Peru are small countries; during ordinary times, the countries with which they trade probably don’t even number twenty-two, and now so many protest notes have emerged—there must be something fishy behind this.

Edward didn’t say it explicitly because he knew very well that it would be better not to uncover this lid.

Apart from the possibility of manipulation by France and Austria behind the scenes, a greater likelihood is the handiwork of the capitalists. The demonstrators outside prove it, definitely orchestrated by domestic shipping companies.

In that era, there was no internet, and communication between countries was inconvenient, making it very difficult to verify the nationalities of ships.

For convenience, many ships were registered in multiple countries at the same time, deciding which nationality to use based on actual needs.

To enhance their influence and force the London Government to concede, so as not to block everyone’s war profiteering, naturally, the more countries involved, the better.

Small countries also need to make their presence felt, and now is a good opportunity. When ships registered in their country are unjustly detained, they have every reason to protest.

With so many countries involved, even if the British want to settle accounts after the fall, France and Austria will come forward to bear the brunt, otherwise they won’t be able to muster support next time.

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