NOVPUBThe Prusso-Polish trade was completed, and the Russo-Polish War also came to a halt, with an armistice treaty signed under the coordination of England, France, and Austria.
It was merely an agreement to cease hostilities, without requiring the Russians to withdraw their forces, and the international community did not provide a clear statement regarding the territorial issues between Russia and Poland.
The wedge was driven deeper, and the animosity between Russia and Poland intensified. Under the power of this hostility, the Prusso-Polish convergence took another step forward.
The Berlin Government achieved its goals, and although it lost the Rhineland region, the annexation of the Kingdom of Poland had strategically reversed the unfavorable situation for the Kingdom of Prussia.
By consolidating their strength, they could deliver a more powerful punch. For the Berlin Government, the greatest challenge now was not the Polish debt crisis but the issue of immigrant resettlement.
Poland had not been restored for long and had yet to establish its credibility. Due to its geographical position, the nascent Kingdom of Poland faced military threats from the Russians and was at risk of collapse at any moment, hardly appealing to investors.
Under these circumstances, it was not so easy for the Polish Government to borrow foreign debt. Even their supporters, England and France, would not just throw money away to no avail.
Therefore, the majority of Poland’s debt was internal, while the external part mainly consisted of political loans granted by European nations to strike at the Russians when the country was newly restored, amounting to over twenty million British Pounds, a third of which was owed to Prussia.
The internal debt was much more difficult to sort out. Affected by the financial crisis, the Polish Government repeatedly devalued its currency to survive the fiscal emergency.
The aftermath resulted in a disastrous economy within Poland, worse than during the Tsarist Government’s time, with the industrial and commercial sectors emerging as the biggest victims.
This dire situation, however, proved advantageous for the Kingdom of Prussia, creating an opportunity for them to annex Poland.
If the Polish economy had not been in poor shape, the capitalists would not have sided with the Kingdom of Prussia. Without the support of the business community, Wilhelm I could not have been elected by a large majority.
Since the intention was to annex the Kingdom of Poland, the Berlin Government was prepared to clean up the mess.
In comparison, "immigrant resettlement" was the real trouble. Not everyone was willing to leave their hometowns, and for many ordinary people, being ruled by the German Federation wasn’t something unacceptable.
Immigration work initially faced resistance from the local population, or to put it more accurately, from the local capitalists. If everyone left, who would work for them?
It wasn’t just the capitalists causing trouble; the middle class was also unconvinced. Many resented the Berlin Government’s sale of the Rhineland region, considering it an abandonment, and subconsciously resisted this immigration. 𝑛𝘰𝑣𝑝𝑢𝑏.𝘤𝑜𝘮
Behind these issues, the main reason was still resettlement. Capitalists could relocate factories but couldn’t move mines; the Berlin Government simply could not find an industrial base to replace the Rhineland region.
The middle class felt the same way; a change of location would mean their whole network of connections was lost, necessitating a fresh start. Most would see their income and social status affected and might not even maintain their current standard of living.
Ironically, the most vocal workers and peasants were the easiest to deal with, as their demands were lowest and could be met as long as the government had money.
…
In the Vienna Palace, Franz was fretting over the war report from the Near East. It wasn’t that the frontlines were faring poorly, rather, they were doing too well.
According to the plans, the Russians were not supposed to break through the Black Sea Strait, and the war was to end with the mediation of European nations.
However, plans can’t keep up with changes, and the Ottoman Empire turned out to be even more pathetic than Franz had anticipated. It failed to hold out even for half a year and lost the lands along the Black Sea Strait.
How to cease hostilities became the Vienna Government’s biggest problem. Playing a role requires a full performance, and half-hearted efforts can’t deceive the eyes of politicians from other nations.
Given the current situation, the Ottoman Empire’s days were numbered. With the animosity between the Habsburg dynasty and the Ottoman Empire, Franz should be kicking the dog when it’s down, seizing the opportunity to eliminate this old foe.
In fact, the Vienna Government was doing just that. To buy time, Franz had rolled out the Imperial Parliament, an entity of little renown.
In reality, this was of little use; not only did Austria have a bone to pick with the Ottoman Empire, but other Sub-States of the Shinra Empire also had their own grievances against it.
Now the entire Empire was clamoring to take down the Ottoman Empire, with the voices of the anti-war faction almost silent, causing Franz much distress.
Given the current situation, it was almost certain that the Imperial Parliament would pass the reinforcement bill. Franz could not forcibly make his subordinates stand against the people and carry the stigma of being anti-war.
Even without Austrian troops on the Asia Minor Peninsula, the Ottoman Empire was being pounded by the Russian army. If Austria also sent troops, Franz did not think the grievously weakened Ottoman Empire could hold out much longer.
Without this unlucky entity, who would be targeted next time to divert attention? And how should the subsequent strategy unfold?
It should be noted that although the Ottoman Empire was declining, it was by no means small. With the current situation, both Austria and the Russian Empire dividing up the Ottoman Empire would be choked by the task.
European nations would not agree to this, and several more would inevitably expect a share of the spoils. This was very unfavorable for Austria, which desired to dominate the Eastern Mediterranean alone.
Franz asked, "How long will the Russian army need to recuperate before they can launch another attack?"
War necessitates deaths, and despite the Russian army’s seemingly unstoppable momentum on the battlefield, their losses were significant.
In just half a year, the Tsarist Government had reinforced its troops four times and was now due for a fifth. The total casualties had reached 240,000, with the death toll nearing a quarter of that number.
From the Tsarist Government’s perspective, these casualties were worthwhile. While replenishing forces, the Russians also took advantage of the respite to continuously rotate the troops on the frontline.
According to data compiled by the Allied Commander, a total of 650,000 Russian soldiers had passed through the battlefield. Even the bullets used during new recruit training exceeded 1,500 tons.
The Russians’ reasons were logical; the front-line troops had suffered too many casualties and needed to be pulled back for rest and recuperation.
With the casualty numbers laid out before them, Austria could not refuse, even though they knew full well the Tsarist Government was using this opportunity for troop training.
In just six months, the Russian Army had consumed materials worth over 65 million Divine Shield. Had it been the Tsarist Government’s own expense, they would definitely have been reluctant to proceed in this way.
This was just the cost for the Russian Army; if we included the expenditures of the Austrian Army, this figure would need to be increased by half.
Expenses for airship bombardment and naval artillery fire were also substantial. Fortunately, the Austrian forces in the Middle East Region were only besieging Jerusalem; had they fought all the way, the military expenditure would have been even higher.
Consumption of weapons, ammunition, and strategic materials was no big deal; the real biggest single expense in war was actually the compensation for casualties.
For example, in Austria, the minimum compensation for a fallen soldier was 600 Divine Shield. With various preferential policies and welfare benefits for the families of fallen heroes amounting to at least 10 Divine Shield per year, calculated over 30 years, that’s 300 Divine Shield.
This was just the most basic data in theory—the Austrian Army’s compensation also had to consider position, rank, years of service, and whether any honors had been awarded in combat, all of which were additional expenses.
Under normal circumstances, the government would not send inexperienced soldiers to the battlefield. This meant that in actual combat, the compensation paid would be more.
On average, for every Austrian soldier who fell in battle, the Vienna Government had to pay out 1,200 Divine Shield in compensation. If 10,000 soldiers were lost, that would equate to 12 million Divine Shield.
The cost of the dead was great, but the expense for the severely injured who survived was, in fact, even greater.
Not to mention, the government had to bear the subsequent medical costs and take responsibility for livelihood solutions due to loss of labor.
To ensure the combat effectiveness of the troops, these expenses could not be spared. In this regard, Franz was willing to invest heavily—Austria’s follow-up compensation work was the best.
It was fortunate that the Tsarist Government did not have to pay so much in compensation; otherwise, Alexander II would certainly be crying his eyes out now, as the compensation for casualties was even greater than the consumption on the battlefield.
With the development of industrial technology, the cost of industrial materials became lower and lower, while the cost of human life became higher and higher. Future generations of countries emphasizing soldier casualties were actually forced by the high compensation expenses.
Army Minister Albrecht said, "Following previous practice, the Russian Army would replace units that had suffered more than ten percent casualties.
"The Tsarist Government still has more than 200,000 new recruits in the Ukraine Region who could arrive at the front in as little as a week and no later than half a month.
"The time we promised to provide combat materials is fast approaching; the Russians will definitely race against time, and I think they will launch another offensive within no more than twenty days."
The Vienna Government originally promised to supply six months’ worth of combat materials for 150,000 Russian troops, but after subsequent negotiations for mutual benefits, this limit was raised to 200,000 Russian troops, and the time extended to the end of 1874.
Having just beaten the Polish soundly, despite achieving glorious victories, the Russian treasury had taken a hit. Under these circumstances, the Russians naturally wanted to save as much as possible.
Only by launching a major offensive before the final deadline could they get more materials from the Vienna Government to prepare for subsequent wars.
This was something the Russian Army had always been doing, such as overstating battle damages, hiding strategic materials.
The Austrian frontline officers had reported this long ago, but since they still needed the Russians to fight, Franz did not pursue it further.
Hiding strategic materials was not as easy as it sounded—at least it could not be caught red-handed by the Austrian frontline officers. Hiding a small amount of materials was easy, but it was not easy to conceal a large amount, and the accounts would not balance out either.
Austria had also sent officers to follow up; reporting excessive battle damages also had to pass inspection, and if any issues were discovered, there would be accountability.
The distribution of strategic materials by Austria was based on the numbers of Russian troops, but as people died on the battlefield every day, the consumption naturally decreased.
However, the supply officers could not immediately receive data feedback, so the amount of materials received by the Russian frontline forces did not decrease, resulting in a surplus of materials.
Inflation of battle damages and concealment of materials primarily concerned this surplus. As the saying goes, "Too clear a stream harbors no fish"; as long as the accounts were clear, Austria would not investigate further.
As for how much of this surplus eventually fell into the hands of the Tsarist Government, and how much was privately divided by the Russian officers, that was not Franz’s concern.
After a moment of deep thought, Franz made a decision, "Release the news that we are preparing to deploy half a million troops to annihilate the Ottoman Empire."
Many countries in Europe wished to see the misfortune of the Ottoman Empire, but they absolutely did not want to see its demise.
Without this bulkhead for restraint, Austria could put all its energy into the Central European Region, and the defense pressure for many countries would increase.
At the London Conference, England and France had already been mediating this Near East war. However, that was not enough—the diplomatic pressure applied by the European countries was still insufficient to make the Vienna Government back down.
Franz was now making a move to annihilate the Ottoman Empire, so as to fan the flames, attract England and France’s attention, and have them invest more effort into intervening in this war.
Finding trouble for oneself—such a ridiculous affair was actually happening; thinking about it, Franz found it amusing.
