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Forming an alliance is not something you can simply decide on a whim; it requires careful consideration of the pros and cons, especially when the potential ally is the British.
England and France have allied before, and based on past experiences, the outcomes have always been less than satisfactory.
Napoleon IV was not beguiled by the British’s honeyed words. No matter how extravagant the promises, they had to be grounded in reality to count.
As long as England and France formed an alliance, Britannia would support France’s expansion into Central Europe. Such a tempting pie in the sky, Napoleon IV did not believe would just randomly fall on his head without reason.
Similarly, because the pie was drawn too big, Napoleon IV could hardly bring himself to discard it.
Prime Minister Terence Burkin said, "Your Majesty, the British proposal seems to be in our favor but is actually fraught with malicious intent.
On the surface, they support our expansion into the Central European Region, but in reality, they want us to restrain Austria for them.
From the current international situation, once we expand into Central Europe, we will face the united hostility of European countries, or even provoke a new European war."
That was the truth; the Anti-French Alliance existed in name only because it was predicated on France not posing a threat to everyone.
Once they showed their fangs, making European countries feel threatened, this nominal alliance would quickly become a real one.
To count on the British to challenge the European Continent with France was less reliable than taking on Europe all by ourselves; at least then there would be no worry of being stabbed in the back by an ally. Read latest chapters at freewebnovel
Army Minister Luskinia Hafiz said, "Prime Minister, every issue has two sides. It is true that England harbors ill intentions, but if we use them well, we can also seek great benefits for France.
Although there are many European countries, most are minor and few are worthy of our attention.
Besides giving high priority to the three major powers, Russia, Austria, and Britain, the combined strength of Spain, the Nordic Federation, and the German Federation is hardly half of that.
Spain, being our ally, will not hinder our eastward expansion; the Nordic Federation is far away in the Baltic Sea and has no conflicting interests, making them a potential ally we could win over.
The British can use this to their advantage to bind Austria, but why can’t we use them to restrain the Russians?
If Britain and Russia genuinely clash in Central Asia, Austria alone would be completely powerless to prevent our annexation of territories west of the Rhine River.
At worst, we could establish the Rhine as a boundary with Austria, and given the Habsburg dynasty’s tendencies, they are unlikely to engage in a bitter struggle with us.
By taking the Rhineland and Belgium, we would have compensated for one of our most critical resource shortages."
Ambition is, of course, present. It’s just that the War Party in France has not been fortunate with timing and has never had an opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities.
After a long wait, they finally see a turn of events. To the French military, this is not about Britain and Russia restraining each other but rather about creating an opportunity for a decisive battle between France and Austria.
With the Habsburg dynasty as an old nemesis, France’s hegemony over Europe could never be fully legitimate without a war to prove superiority.
Of course, now is not the time to talk about this. It would be bad to scare His Majesty the Emperor, as Austria still looks formidable and is good at rallying allies.
Immediate battle, although the military is confident, many in the government remain skeptical.
Luskinia Hafiz, politically savvy as he was, did not mention the decisive Franco-Austrian battle to reduce resistance.
He even switched the concept, transforming the Franco-Austrian battle into a campaign to divide German territories with Austria. This not only downplayed the risks but also gained the support of domestic capitalists.
Economic Minister Elsa objected, "No, now is not the time to move eastward. Our large-scale farming project is underway, and a war would disrupt it, nullifying all our previous investments.
The German Federation is not as weak as imagined; they have deployed seventy thousand troops in the Rhineland region and fifty thousand in Belgium, totaling one hundred and twenty thousand troops.
If the war drags on for a month or two, Austrian reinforcements will arrive. Everyone has seen the Prusso-Russian War; times have changed. Now, when two major countries go to war, they typically engage with armies numbering in the millions.
Once war breaks out, it will be impossible to determine a winner in a short time. Austria can share the burden with a bunch of allies, but we can only fight alone, and the British are unreliable. no𝚟𝚙u𝚋.c𝚘m
Hoping for the Austrian Government to compromise is wishful thinking. If they passively watch us annex the territories west of the Rhine River, what claim could the Habsburg dynasty have to rule the Germany Region?"
The concerns of the Economic Minister reflected the reasons for everyone’s hesitation. Relying on Austria’s compromise was inherently unreliable.
When facing any single enemy, everyone is confident in France, but the problem is that the enemy likes to gang up!
Nowadays, European nations are quite capable of warfare; even tiny Belgium can muster an army of over a hundred thousand.
Larger entities like North Germany, if they managed their internal affairs well, could muster a million troops.
Austria goes without saying, easily several millions. If other countries joined the fray, France would be facing astronomical numbers of enemies.
Even if the French Army is capable in combat, they cannot withstand being outnumbered by multitudes of adversaries.
Moreover, the French Army is not that formidable; its performance in overseas colonies has caused many in the government to doubt its combat effectiveness.
Victory in one-on-one combat is meaningless; once a European war erupts, they will face at least twice as many enemies, if not three or four times as many.
Foreign Minister Karl Chardlets interrupted, "Gentlemen, you’re getting ahead of yourselves. It’s as if you’re suggesting that if we allied with the British, we would certainly have to wage a European war.
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In fact, these are two separate issues. What we’re discussing now is merely whether to form an alliance with the British, whereas the expansion into Central Europe is a matter for the future.
Personally, I am in favor of forging an alliance with the British. France needs more allies to break free from isolation.
Perhaps the intentions of the British are dubious; they may seek an alliance with us at this time just to counter the pressure Russia and Austria exert in Central Asia.
But beyond the British, we have no better choices.
We don’t expect the British to truly support our expansion into Central Europe: as long as they don’t join the Anti-French Alliance as we advance eastward, that would suffice.
Besides, allying with the British doesn’t necessarily mean we have to coordinate with them.
Austria has no interests in Central Asia; their involvement is purely because of the Russian-Austrian Alliance, so they are unlikely to wage war against the British for the sake of the Russians.
If the British want us to contain Austria, then we’ll just make a symbolic gesture. After all, the Austrians also wish to provoke a war between Britain and Russia, so we can certainly collaborate."
Reality is harsh, but we must confront it. France is indeed powerful, and so powerful that it has no friends.
The promises of the British may not be fulfilled, but with them as an ally, the diplomatic environment for the French government will significantly improve.
Essentially, both parties are taking what they need; as long as nobody holds the other back, that alone justifies this alliance.
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Vienna Palace; ever since he received the news that Britain and France intended to form an alliance, Franz was not taking it well.
It seems like Europe is forming two major opposing blocs; in reality, however, geography dictates that Russia can hide in the rear, while Austria must bear the pressure of two great powers alone.
The threat on land is not yet clear, with the French Army being the main force to be reckoned with and the British negligible.
The sea is a different matter. As the Austrian Navy is close to possessing a strength that threatens the Royal Navy, it finds itself having to tread carefully again now that Britain and France are forming an alliance.
This means that in overseas competition, Austria will once again be at a disadvantage, unable to compete with Britain and France.
But Franz thought even further. As France and Austria continued to grow stronger, the British were beginning to feel the pressure.
Under these circumstances, it’s not out of the question that the British were scheming to provoke a war between France and Austria, hoping to weaken both adversaries through conflict.
Moreover, the rivalry and mutual restraint between Britain and Russia could provide the opportunity for France and Austria to fall out, couldn’t it?
Despite the severity of the Britain-Russia conflict, even if the two countries truly went to war, if the situation in Europe became uncontrollable, they might still join forces.
The British could instigate a war between France and Austria, and when both are weakened, they could then bring in the Russians to interfere, preventing either side from winning decisively.
If Franz were in the British position, he would make the same moves. Otherwise, how could Britannia find a chance to interfere in the European Continent once France and Austria continue to grow?
Speculation is just that: speculation. Before anything happens, Franz dares not jump to conclusions.
The French are not fools; confronting Austria with a Fisherman at the side doesn’t serve their interests.
It’s the same with Austria; unless they’ve lost their minds, the Vienna Government would not foolishly attack the French.
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Foreign Minister Weisenberg: "After numerous verifications, the Foreign Ministry has confirmed that Britain and France are engaged in negotiations to form an alliance.
The specifics of the negotiations are unknown, but one can be sure that they include elements targeting us.
The Foreign Ministry has made several attempts to disrupt the British-French alliance to little effect. We even proposed re-establishing the Tripartite Alliance, only to be rejected by both Britain and France."
If we can’t disrupt it, we think about ways to join and then fracture the alliance from within. This tried-and-true diplomatic strategy is no longer effective here.
However, this also corroborates the fact that the British-French alliance is aimed at Austria.
Prime Minister Carl: "Since we can’t prevent the British and French alliance, the importance of the Russian-Austrian Alliance has greatly increased.
From now on, not only do the Russians need us, but we also need the Russians.
In the upcoming wars in Central Asia, we will now be forced to vigorously support the Tsarist Government.
The four great powers of Europe have now divided into two major alliances in opposition to each other. I fear that for a long time to come, international affairs will remain turbulent.
If hostilities escalate and a spark ignites, it might even trigger a new round of wars on the European Continent. From now on, it is necessary for us to take precautions."
There’s no alternative; international affairs are not subject to one’s will. Even though Franz has always tried to avoid it, we’ve still ended up with two major alliances facing off against each other.
In a sense, this outcome isn’t too bad; two against two is better than one against three.
Now that Britain and France have formed an alliance, the first to be impacted will be the Russians. The deterioration of relations between Britain and Russia will further solidify the Russian-Austrian alliance, ensuring the security of Austria’s eastern front.
