Vienna, Austria.
Franz received the news on the seventh day that the Suez Canal was opened. For him, this was even worse news after his army suffered a major setback in France. This meant that the Empire’s warships would appear directly at his doorstep via this canal. At the same time, to protect its canal, the Empire would inevitably increase its presence in the Mediterranean.
“Your Majesty, we must stop the war against France. It is clear that we all fell into the Empire’s trap. Using the opportunity of the European civil unrest, they successfully opened up the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, which will shorten the Empire’s journey to Europe by nearly half. From now on, the Empire’s expedition to Europe will bee possible. If this continues, the Europeans will be massacred just like the Indians in North America,” Delais said to his king, Franz, full of worry.
He had opposed this decision from the beginning of the war against France. Unlike other short-sighted nobles, Delais had set his sights on the increasingly powerful Empire from the start. After years of analysis, he was more and more convinced that the Empire would eventually colonize Europe just as the Europeans had colonized the backward civilizations.
“Your Majesty, the rise of a powerful country is inevitably acpanied by a desire for resources and markets. Now that the Empire controls most of the resource-rich regions, the only thing they lack is a huge market, and Europe now perfectly fits this condition.”
After a pause, he continued, “When the technology is equal, civilizations will open their markets to each other. But when the technological gap expands infinitely, opening up the other side’s market by force yields the greatest benefit.”
Just like all monarchs’ desire for land, Franz quickly agreed to Catherine’s plan to partition Poland. At the same time, his desire for French land also gnawed at his heart. He ultimately decided to send troops to France, but the defeat on the battlefield gradually brought him to his senses. Unknowingly, Austria’s weapons had fallen behind France, Tsarist Russia, and Prussia. When the war ended, Austria, with its strength diminished, would likely bee Prussia’s target.
This was because Prussia and Austria had once both belonged to the Holy Roman Empire, and both Prussia and Austria claimed to be the pure successors of the Empire and both harbored the idea of unifying the other.
“Delais, maybe your idea is right. We should stop the war against France and let that ambitious Frederick II continue to fight Henry. Isn’t it a very interesting thing for two ambitious people to fight each other?” Franz said with a smile.
Delais was stunned for a moment. He said, “Your Majesty, I meant that Europe should unite against the Eastern Empire’s invasion of Europe.”
“You are right. In that case, since it is a joint effort to fight the Eastern Empire, shouldn’t they share their advanced weapon technology? Why don’t you try to persuade Frederick and Catherine to share their technology with us?” Franz’s expression was a little frightening.
Delais opened his mouth, and finally, he sighed. The current Europe was just a loose group, fighting for their own interests. Each country was attacking other countries for its own benefit, and no one would respond to the idea he proposed.
“I am afraid that I cannot persuade Tsarist Russia, Britain, and Prussia to share their technology,” Delais said.
“That’s right. So, what you said is useless. But one thing is correct. We must withdraw our troops from that damned France. I don’t want my army to be pletely annihilated,” Franz said.
Delais said, “Are we just going to do nothing about the Suez Canal?”
Franz said lazily, “Who can stop the Imperial navy from sailing in the Mediterranean now? So, does it make a difference? Instead of that, you should think about how to benefit from this canal. For example, building a port and being a transit station for the Empire to get to Europe. At least we can still earn a little profit.”
Delais sighed deeply. It was clear that his persuasion had pletely failed. The current Europe would not be united before the crisis of its demise.
…
Paris.
Henry also received the news that the Suez Canal had been opened. Without a doubt, the opening of this canal was a good thing for him, because it meant that the Empire could provide him with supplies in a shorter time and would no longer have to detour around Africa to get to the southwestern coast of France. In the future, the Empire would directly provide supplies on the southeastern coast of France.
But now, the Austrian army was still in a standoff with him in the southeast, but in the recent fighting, he had already seen the weakness of the Austrian army. While resisting the Prussian attack in the north, he planned to pletely defeat the Austrian army. But to his surprise, his plan had not yet been implemented when he received the news that the Austrian army had withdrawn to its country on the fifth day. His pressure was greatly reduced for a time. So he immediately ordered the construction of a port in Rodan, a southeastern coastal city, and at the same time, he transferred the army from the southeast to the north to fight against the Prussian army’s attack.
In the next month, the news of the opening of the Suez Canal reached Spain, Portugal, Prussia, and Britain in succession. For a time, the entire Europe was filled with pessimism. After plundering the world for two hundred years, they had weled an extremely powerful enemy, an enemy that made them feel helpless.
Königsberg.
Frederick II was having dinner with Queen Victoria. His mood was very bad today. The Austrian army’s withdrawal had greatly reduced the pressure on the collapsing Henry, and now the European battlefield had bee a war between France and Prussia. This change made him very angry.
Sensing Frederick II’s emotions, Queen Victoria said, “Your Majesty, the war with France is no longer meaningful. Prussia cannot defeat France in a short time. In my opinion, it would be better to have a truce and formally recognize Henry’s rule over France.”
Frederick II looked at the down-and-out Queen Victoria. She was the British Queen, but also the wife of his second son. He said, “We have already sacrificed 30,000 soldiers in this war. Are these soldiers just going to die for nothing?”
Queen Victoria smiled and said, “Of course not. Through this war, at least we have seen Austria’s weakness. Now that Austria has chosen to betray us, perhaps Your Majesty can launch a punitive war against Austria with Henry. He will definitely agree to it.”
A strange look flashed in Frederick II’s eyes. He said, “Queen Victoria, you are a very clever woman. pared to France, I am more interested in Austria.”
Queen Victoria smiled bitterly. Her purpose in doing this was just to make Henry break with the Empire as soon as possible. Once Henry ruled France, he would no longer need the Empire’s help. At that time, Henry would remember the French colonies that the Empire had taken during the French civil war.
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