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 ters.
In these days, anti-aircraft weapons were not well-developed; as long as they were above 3000 ters, 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 accustod to this domineering style, but as his neighbors showed little reaction, he gradually got used to it.
At several kiloters 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 movents of the Prussian Army drew the attention of the pilots and, after being reported, caught the idle Franz’s interest, who imdiately convened a eting 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 kiloters 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 regint 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 dood. 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 rely one infantry division?"
...
The staff officers had indeed great imaginations; in a short ti, they analyzed more than a dozen possibilities, leaving Franz utterly confused.
Helplessly, Franz was just an ordinary person; asking him to understand the strategic deploynts 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 ca 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 teor from the heavens.
...
While the Prusso-Russian War was still in a deadlock, the battlefield in South Arica 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 warti profits, but unfortunately, relations were not good!
The South Arican countries had been fraught with conflicts since their establishnt. If France and Austria intervened to diate 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 .Côm
To break the British blockade, the Foreign Ministry recomnds 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 outco of a war. In the initial battles, Chile was actually at a disadvantage.
After pondering for a mont, 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 ti."
That’s right, giving the British a hard ti. 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 volu. 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 Governnt even took action, the capitalists whose ships had been detained took the initiative.
This ti, the dia on the European Continent had a surprisingly unified stance, all condemning the British for their shaless acts and accusing the British Governnt of disrupting the normal course of free trade.
It wasn’t just the continental newspapers that were criticizing; British newspapers were also blasting the governnt. The Opposition Party had already organized public marches and demonstrations condemning the London Governnt for its unilateral intervention in the South Arican war.
The capitalists used practical actions to explain what it ans for capital to have no borders and for only interests to last forever.
Outside Downing Street Pri Minister’s Office, there were already crowds of protesting citizens, waving the flag of free trade, demanding that the London Governnt lift the blockade.
A perplexed Pri Minister Benjamin slamd 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, Pri Minister, we reached an agreent with the Chilean, with them funding the purchase of the goods on these ships.
It went very smoothly at first; the Chilean Governnt and the capitalists reached an agreent to stop transporting goods to Peru and Bolivia for one year.
But after they received compensation, they imdiately organized another shipnt of goods, the capitalists broke the agreent, and naturally, the Chilean Governnt refused to continue funding the purchase, leading to the detention of the ships."
Hearing this explanation, Pri Minister Benjamin felt like cursing. Relying on capitalists to honor an agreent? Wasn’t that a joke?
Just change a legal entity, and the previous contract becos 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 Governnt 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 co.
You couldn’t expect the Chilean Governnt to keep buying indefinitely; even if the nitrate trade was lucrative, Chile wasn’t so wealthy!
Benjamin rubbed his forehead and said, "First, send soone to explain to the public outside that it’s the Chilean Governnt detaining the ships, and we are just conducting military exercises in South Arica.
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 becos 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 departnts still quite idle."
Bolivia and Peru are small countries; during ordinary tis, the countries with which they trade probably don’t even number twenty-two, and now so many protest notes have erged—there must be sothing 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 dostic 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 sa ti, deciding which nationality to use based on actual needs.
To enhance their influence and force the London Governnt 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 co forward to bear the brunt, otherwise they won’t be able to muster support next ti.
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