Inside the Prime Minister’s Office on Downing Street, the atmosphere was unusually tense. Prime Minister Gladstone roared, “What is the Home Office doing? How could something like this happen?” There was no avoiding it. Just a few hours earlier, the Russian ambassador to Britain, Nicholas White, was attacked on his way to the British Foreign Office and had now met his maker. Even if Britain and Russia were officially at war, which they were not, at most the British government could expel the Russian ambassador. However, they would still be obligated to ensure his safety until his departure. According to the established rules, all governments are responsible for the personal safety of foreign envoys. Now that a Russian envoy had met with a fatal incident, the British government could not escape responsibility. Home Secretary Rogers replied bitterly, “This was a complete accident. Ambassador White encountered a group of protesters while heading to the Foreign Office. A reporter among the crowd approached for an interview. The envoy made some inflammatory remarks, which angered the public and led to a conflict. The police accompanying him did try to block the crowd, but someone, identity unknown, threw a piece of debris that struck Ambassador White on the head. Despite emergency treatment, he died on the spot.” An explanation is just a cover. The incident had already occurred. The failure of police security was a fact that no excuse could whitewash. While it seemed like an accidental conflict, was it really such a coincidence? Prime Minister Gladstone was deeply skeptical. He mocked, “So it was all just a coincidence, and the Home Office bears no responsibility. Then tell me, how did a rock appear on one of the busiest streets in London?” An accidental encounter and a verbal altercation were understandable given the differing positions of the two sides. But a rock being thrown? That raised serious questions. On one of London’s busiest streets, if there had been stones on the ground, sanitation workers would have cleaned them up long ago. Bringing bread to a protest might make sense. But who in their right mind would bring rocks? Even if a few individuals had strange habits, it was unlikely a whole group would share them. And while only one rock hit the vital spot, many were thrown at the envoy. Home Secretary Rogers explained, “According to suspects arrested by the police, the rocks were meant for smashing windows. We have verified that the protest group was heading toward the Russian embassy. Recently, this was the third time people had broken the embassy’s windows. Based on the collected information, we concluded this was an accident. The root cause was the Russian ambassador’s arrogance. According to witnesses, when asked by a reporter about Russia’s alleged sneak attack on our forces in Afghanistan, Ambassador White openly retorted, ‘So what if we did it? What can you do about it?’ That statement provoked public anger and led to the incident. The situation escalated too quickly for the police to disperse the crowd in time.” This was a deliberate soft-pedaling of the incident, a carefully crafted final answer. It was not that Rogers shirked responsibility, but that such an incident could not be probed too deeply. The best course of action was to close the case as soon as possible. The longer it dragged on, the more trouble it would cause. No matter what explanation the government offered, in the eyes of many citizens, the person who killed Ambassador White was a British hero. Prime Minister Gladstone hesitated. The public might not know the truth, but the planners behind the scenes certainly did. The claim that Russia ambushed British troops in Afghanistan was fabricated. Russia, having been falsely accused, was naturally unwilling to admit it. Russian Ambassador White was known for his straightforwardness. It was not unusual for him to say something reckless when provoked by a reporter. Sensing the tension, Foreign Secretary George spoke up, “At this point, it doesn’t matter how Ambassador White died. No explanation we give will satisfy the Russians. We must prepare for the worst.” The death of an envoy, without any form of compensation, would never be accepted by any nation. There was no doubt that Anglo-Russian relations had broken down, and the British government could not offer reparations to an adversary. “Sigh…” Prime Minister Gladstone let out a deep sigh. Initially, blaming the Russians was meant to deflect from British military setbacks in Afghanistan and avoid a political crisis. Given Britain’s geographic position, launching an attack on Russia was impossible, no matter how angry the public became. Though Parliament was prone to irrational decisions, they were clear on one point: they had no confidence in the British Army. They would never provoke a war, and the Russian government was not ready for a prolonged conflict. A war over a verbal clash was nearly unthinkable, and the situation was not expected to spiral out of control. Under the original plan, Anglo-Russian relations would simply continue to deteriorate, with drawn-out diplomatic sparring. But the plan could not keep up with changing circumstances. The Russian ambassador was killed in broad daylight in public, leaving both governments backed into a corner. The British government could not give a response that would satisfy the Russians. Due to political concerns, they could not even hand over the culprit. That the London police labeled it an accident showed that the force, under media pressure, had not put much effort into solving the case. The British government had its own difficulties, but so did the Russians. With British forces already suffering losses in Afghanistan, the pro-war faction in the Russian government had gained strength. Now with this new incident, without a satisfying explanation, no one—not even God—could stop a war from breaking out. After a brief moment of hesitation, Prime Minister Gladstone slowly said, “Order the Viceroy of India to prepare for war at full capacity. The homeland must also make preparations. India alone is no match for the Russians. If war breaks out, we must dispatch reinforcements to Afghanistan as quickly as possible. The Foreign Office must continue diplomatic efforts. If we can avoid war, we should do so.” Britain had already secured control of Afghanistan. The top priority for the government was to stabilize the region and reestablish order. Going to war with Russia at this time would be a losing proposition. Even if Britain won, it lacked the strength to push into Central Asia. If it lost, it would not only forfeit Afghanistan, but even India would be at risk from Russian threats. ... Despite the British government’s efforts to suppress the news, the assassination of the Russian ambassador spread like wildfire. By the time the news reached the Palace in Vienna, it was already the following afternoon. Franz’s first reaction was disbelief. “A foreign ambassador killed in broad daylight”—this was like a bad international joke. The British called it an “accident,” but who would believe that? Whether it was a stray rock or something else, the incident was linked to a conspiracy from the very beginning. As for who the mastermind was, that was hard to say. Not because it was difficult to guess, but because there were too many suspects. It could have been Britain’s enemies, Russia’s enemies, or even pro-war factions in either country. Dig deeper and one would find that Britain and Russia were both masters at making enemies. Together, their foes nearly added up to the whole world. Having too many potential culprits was not a good thing. For Franz, it meant staying on high alert against fellow players operating behind the scenes. “Based on the current international situation, who do you think is the most likely culprit?” The moment Franz finished asking, he realized it was a foolish question. By suspicion alone, Austria was near the top of the list. To provoke an Anglo-Russian war, the Austrian government had done plenty, some of which could not be kept secret. Foreign Minister Wessenberg replied, “By suspicion, we and the French are the prime suspects. If we rule ourselves out, the most likely candidate is France. However, this theory doesn’t hold much water. There are many ways to stir up an Anglo-Russian war. Under normal circumstances, the French government wouldn’t target an envoy directly.” Deep down, Franz felt a bit embarrassed. Better not to dwell on the unsavory past. Let that black history vanish into the mists of time. Still, Wessenberg’s reasoning was solid. Normally, politicians avoided extreme methods. Such high-risk actions could trigger disaster if exposed. Offending both Britain and Russia at once would be catastrophic. If action had to be taken, it was safer to use a proxy. At most, only a scapegoat would be exposed. Franz shook his head and said, “Forget it. Let Britain and Russia worry about it. Whoever the mastermind was, in the short term, this benefits us. At a moment like this, with such an incident, war between Britain and Russia is almost inevitable. We just need to stay out of it and leave the stage to them. All we have to do is watch the show.” The more critical the moment, the more Austria had to keep a low profile. If they were mistaken as the mastermind, that would be a grave injustice. There would be no clearing their name. Involvement would only lead to deeper suspicion.
*** https://postimg.cc/gallery/PwXsBkC (Maps of the current territories of the countries in this novel made by ScH)
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