Holy Roman Empire-Chapter 1016 - 30: Only Care About the Railways Once Had

Chapter 1016: Chapter 30: Only Care About the Railways Once Had

On November 11, 1894, representatives from Japan and Spain signed a ceasefire agreement, witnessed by the European nations, officially concluding the colonial struggle over the Philippine Islands.

Franz had grown too lazy to even look at the contents of the treaty. It was expected that the Spanish Government would make concessions; after all, when the shoeless face those with shoes, the outcome is predestined from the start.

When it comes to gambling, few modern nations could compare to Japan. There were many who dared to gamble, but few came away unscathed.

One must admit that the Japanese had been very lucky, hacking their way through to World War II, only to crash when their ambitions overreached.

In fact, the Japanese were not faring much worse in their current fortunes.

With the Continental War not yet concluded, they went off to collude with England and France in the South; after heading South, they tricked England and France, avoiding Austrian Nanyang and instead invading the Philippines.

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Following this series of crafty moves, they managed to offend all four countries, including the UK, France, Austria, and Spain. And with Russia previously alienated, they had the displeasure of all five European powers.

Under normal circumstances, the Japanese Government should be on its deathbed if not already having grass growing over its grave.

However, the Japanese Government was still very much alive and well. They not only walked away safely from the gambling table but also gained prestige by drawing even with the great powers, greatly enhancing their international status.

Yet, in reaping all of these gains, Japan also found itself in an extremely awkward position.

Due to the support offered during this mediation, Old Britain had almost entirely expended its goodwill.

The Anglo-Japanese Alliance could be said to be at an end, and any future attempts to rely on this connection would depend on the mood of the London Government.

Shinra didn’t even need to be mentioned, as it was estimated that relations wouldn’t improve before Franz abdicated.

Of course, the two countries’ interests overlapped little, and given the Japanese Government’s tendency to bully the weak but fear the strong, the likelihood of conflict was minimal, keeping diplomatic relations from being too affected.

Spain, without a doubt, was Japan’s archenemy. With the enmity fostered during the battle in the Philippines, Spain would certainly not hesitate to kick Japan while it was down should Japan ever fall into crisis.

It could be said that Japanese merchant ships would have to be cautious running to Southeast Asia in the future, better to sail under a different flag, lest they encounter a higher chance of storms or pirates.

With enemies to the South, the North was equally uneasy. Just ten days ago, Alexander III had gone to meet God, and the Russian Empire formally entered the Nicholas II era.

With those two scars alone, Nicholas II had a motive to destroy Japan.

The only good news was that the Tsarist Government’s strategic focus remained on India and it was unlikely to advance eastward soon, sparing Japan from confrontation in the short term.

Luckily, France was finished, or else Japan would have another enemy on their hands. After all, the French government had invested heavily to entice Japan to move south.

In the end, France was not only tricked by the Japanese “ally” they wooed but also hastened Spain’s entry into the war, truly exemplifying how to cheat one’s teammates.

Given these adversaries to the north and south, if Japan couldn’t develop quickly, its end was inevitable.

Even if Ito Hirobumi had a talent for diplomacy at max level, repairing Anglo-Japanese relations was beyond hope.

The current international situation was quite clear. Because of the contest for naval supremacy, Britain and Shinra would be constraining each other for a long time to come.

Franz looked forward to seeing whether Japan could continue its good fortune and realize its imperial dream of “punching the ducks in the South Mountain and kicking the Mao Xiong in the North Sea.”

Even a boring Emperor’s life needed some entertainment, and at some point, watching nations squabble had become one of Franz’s hobbies.

Take this time, for example, a simple dig here and there shattered Spain’s “great nation dream” conglomerated during the anti-France war while also giving the Japanese a heavy blow on the back of the head.

The so-called “Plan to Support Spain to Contain Shinra” looked destined to sleep in the British archives until the day it would be disposed of with the rest of the waste paper.

What mattered most was that Franz had done so much and reaped so much. He hadn’t attracted enmity; on the contrary, he had established a good international image among the juniors.

A boss who looks after the interests of the juniors and can take the heat at critical times is always easier to win support from.

As for the tragedy of Spain, it was their own lack of strength that led to it. The Vienna Government did everything they could.

Unable to defeat the Japanese, Spain hardly had the right to consider themselves a great power.

Even with Spanish poor performance on the battlefield, the Vienna Government had stepped in at the end, tidying up after them.

First with mercenaries, and then dragging the Continental Alliance into interference, they forced the Japanese Government to cough up the Philippine Islands.

A boss that could manage such a feat was a rarity in human history, providing no opportunity for criticism.

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As for offending the Japanese, that was hardly an issue. It was common knowledge that the Vienna Government sought to retaliate against Japan for its actions in the Continental War and its collusion with France.

Having gotten off so lightly already, without any fundamental change in the balance of power, the Japanese had no choice but to be grateful.

Compared to the concluded Philippine War, Franz was more concerned about the political changes in Russia. Yet, from a historical evaluation in the original timeline, Nicholas II was simply a blockhead.

An Emperor who, during his “coronation” event, caused the deaths and injuries of thousands due to a stampede, is something almost unheard of throughout human history.

After such a significant event, instead of immediately holding the responsible parties accountable, he chose to continue with the celebration banquet. One had to admit, Nicholas II’s inner strength was indeed formidable.

However, the event hadn’t occurred yet, and given the powerful Butterfly Effect he had wrought, who knew whether Nicholas II might change?

From the current situation, friendly relations with Russian-Austrian prevailed as the main trend of the era.

No sooner had he ascended the throne, that Nicholas II married the daughter of the Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt—Ludwig IV, Alix.

(After the marriage, she changed her name to Alexandra Fedorovna.)

Hence, the historically renowned “four princesses of Hesse” had all stepped onto the historical stage.

If things proceeded as they had in the original timeline, the Tsarist Government under Nicholas II would mismanage the economy internally and waver strategically on the international field, ultimately leading to their own downfall.

The Russian Army was currently stationed on the outskirts of Paris, garnering hatred for the Tsarist Government from the French, and naturally, the French-Russian pact wouldn’t come about.

But whether the Tsarist Government’s southern strategy could be sustained was a question no one could answer.

If the Russians didn’t prodd at the British in India, then Shinra would inevitably have to step up in the contention for dominance.

Obviously, this wasn’t what Franz wanted to see. Why risk becoming personally involved in conflicts when there were ready pawns to be used? That would be madness.

According to the previous plan, all that was needed was to support Russia’s expansion toward India and provoke an England-Russia war every so often, to continuously drain the strength of the British.

It was much easier to face the British Army on land than to confront the Royal Navy at sea.

As for the issue of Russia getting too big for its boots in India, Franz just quietly smiled. Making false promises was just that, did they really think the British would be pushovers?

One look at the original timeline revealed that in desperation, the British could muster millions of soldiers.

It wasn’t that Franz looked down on the Russians, but the Tsarist Government’s limited transportation meant it had no capacity to deploy millions of troops to India.

Even if the Central Asia Railway were completed, its transportation capacity was limited, and it would be quite a challenge to support an army of one to two million soldiers logistically.

Without the numerical advantage, the grey beasts would lose much of their effectiveness. Centered around the British Army, augmented by countless Indian cannon fodder—anyone would feel daunted by the prospect.

Failure didn’t matter; the greatest attribute of the Russians was their toughness and resilience. As long as there was some gain and a glimmer of hope, it was enough.

It wasn’t certain for the distant future, but the Russian Army certainly had the strength to seize the remaining areas of Afghanistan from the British.

The current problem was that the Central Asia Railway wasn’t complete, and Nicholas II didn’t seem patient. If someone swayed him, he might stir up trouble.

After much contemplation, Franz slowly said, “Accelerate the construction of the Central Asia Railway, it must be open by 1900.

If necessary, allow an increase in construction costs, even at the expense of the railway’s lifespan, with the bottom line being no major issues for ten years, and that it can be maintained and kept functional for twenty.”

There was no precise definition for the lifespan of a railway; some 18th-century railways could still function normally well into the 21st century after repeated maintenance.

Under normal circumstances, the theoretical lifespan of railway design starts at a hundred years. Of course, maintenance and renovation along the way are inevitable.

However, this technical standard was for building one’s own railways; it wasn’t necessary for the Central Asia Railway.

Don’t ask why there would be issues; blame it on poor maintenance later on.

This explanation held a lot of weight, as railways within the Russian territory often underwent major repairs. Compared to these, the Central Asia Railway, with no significant problems for ten years and maintainable for twenty, was undoubtedly a project done with integrity.

In truth, the issue of life expectancy mainly centered around bridges and tunnels. Ordinary sections rarely had big problems; at most, there were occasional landslides, but those were acts of nature.

To ensure the Tsarist Government’s southern strategy remained unchanged, Franz had to order expedited construction, sacrificing “integrity” if necessary.

A ten to twenty-year lifespan was estimated to be sufficient. He wasn’t truly letting the Russians annex India; such a time span was enough to instigate two or three Anglo-Russian wars.

Britain, caught in both maritime and colonial struggles, wouldn’t last long. Such a length of time was enough for Shinra to take their place.

“It’s not about lasting forever, but about having had once.”

It fit perfectly here.

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