Public opinion was already surging, and Franz naturally would not pass up such a perfect opportunity to boost his reputation. Cracking down on the drug trade was clearly a righteous cause. While others feared retaliation from opium traffickers and had to speak cautiously, he, as the emperor, had nothing to fear. On June 26, 1889, Franz issued the “Manifesto on the War Against Drugs”, calling on all countries around the world to take joint action to eradicate the drug trade. The primary target of criticism, of course, was the opium trade. Franz had no intention of saving face for the British and directly held the British government responsible for the rampant spread of opium. On the same day, the Austrian Foreign Ministry also sent diplomatic notes to countries around the world, inviting them to attend an International Anti-Drug Conference to be held in Vienna a year later. The long delay was unavoidable. In this era of slow communication, it would take several months for the message to reach the world. Once foreign representatives began traveling to Vienna, a full year was barely enough time. The main purpose of the international anti-drug conference was to create momentum and put pressure on the British government. Naturally, the more countries that participated, the better. Franz had always preferred to plan thoroughly before taking action. Since he had decided to strike at Britain’s opium trade, he was determined to achieve concrete results. Even if the British government would not compromise, he at least aimed to have international law explicitly ban the sale of opium, restricting its use solely to the medical field, rather than allowing it to be sold as a health supplement. Franz’s personal involvement greatly boosted the confidence of anti-opium activists. With the release of the manifesto, he became the de facto leader of the global anti-drug movement. No one contested this role. The opium traffickers were not to be trifled with. Over the past century, countless reformers who opposed the opium trade had been killed by them. Now that someone had emerged who could withstand the backlash, everyone naturally rallied behind him. For nations that had suffered greatly from the harms of opium, the impact was especially significant. After all these years, someone had finally appeared who could stand toe-to-toe with the British and take up the banner of anti-opium resistance. … Foreign Minister Wessenberg said, “Since His Majesty released the manifesto, we have already secured support from Russia, Greece, Montenegro, Switzerland, France, Spain, the Nordic Federation, and several German states. The situation is about as we expected. If nothing unexpected happens, once the news spreads, we should see several non-European countries also join our cause. The opium trade harms everyone. Most countries that have not voiced public support are mainly worried about British retaliation, though they likely still hope the anti-opium campaign succeeds. Once the international conference convenes, passing a bill to ban the circulation of opium should not be a problem.” Through the opium trade, the British had plundered the wealth of countries around the world, seriously damaging the interests of many nations. No one had dared expose this truth. In addition to fear of British retaliation, the main reason was the existence of powerful domestic interest groups that profited from the opium trade. These groups had long suppressed voices of opposition. But all that was swept away by Franz’s manifesto. Outspoken reformers emerged, revealing the devastating effects of opium, and it could no longer be concealed. While interest groups could influence governments, they could not make decisions in their place. When push came to shove, politicians would always discard these dirty rags. Apart from France, Spain, and the Nordic Federation, the countries that publicly supported the anti-opium movement all shared one common trait: they were heavily influenced by Austria and largely unaffected by Britain. Even if it meant offending the British, they didn’t care. John Bull’s reach could not extend that far, so there was little fear of retaliation. Frankly, Franz wasn’t surprised by Spain and the Nordic Federation’s support. They had suffered financially from Britain’s opium trade and naturally wanted to oppose it. What was truly odd was the stance of France. Let’s not forget that Britain and France were allies, and France’s relations with Austria had been extremely strained lately. From a political standpoint, the French government had no reason to support this initiative. Yet none of that seemed to matter. The French government not only voiced its support, but was also one of the first to take a clear stance, virtually tied with Russia for first place. Without French backing, Austria might not have secured so much support from many European countries so quickly. “Could something be going wrong in Anglo-French relations? The French government seems to be giving Britain a lot of trouble lately.” Franz wasn’t being paranoid. Since the alliance began, the French government had consistently caused problems for Britain, and Britain had likewise sabotaged France. Put aside the formal alliance for a moment. The relationship between Britain and France often resembled that of enemies more than allies. Foreign Minister Wessenberg explained, “Your Majesty, the Anglo-French relationship is highly complex and goes back to the Middle Ages. Over that long history, the two nations were more often at odds than in harmony. Even now that they are allies, there is a fundamental lack of trust between them. From our intelligence gathering, the alliance appears to be more of a farce. Neither government truly regards the other as a partner. At the first sign of conflicting interests or a shift in strategic value, the alliance would collapse immediately.” This answer was frustrating, but Franz understood after recalling the farcical beginning of the Anglo-French alliance in the original timeline. Two long-time rivals couldn’t become friends overnight. It would take a period of adjustment for either side to shift its mentality. Even now, if one stopped a random person on the streets of Paris and asked who France’s greatest enemy was, ninety-nine out of a hundred would still say: “The British.” Dig deeper, and besides centuries of animosity, another key reason was that the Austro-Russian alliance simply hadn’t exerted enough pressure. After so many years of alliance, Austria and Russia had mainly cooperated to destroy the Ottoman Empire, but had mostly acted separately otherwise. Now that Russia had shifted its strategic focus southward and Austria remained restrained in European affairs, France felt no real external threat. Without the pressure of survival, why should France lower itself to act as Britain’s minion? The alliance was driven purely by interest, with its greatest value being enhanced political clout. It wasn’t about joining forces to wage war against Austria and Russia. From that perspective, France’s support of the anti-opium campaign wasn’t that surprising. They even went so far as to issue bonds to fund Russia’s military, essentially aiding the enemy. Compared to that, simply voicing support was trivial! Franz nodded in agreement and chose not to dwell on the issue. The worse the Anglo-French relationship, the better for Austria. There was no need to worry about his enemies. After a pause, Franz continued, “How is the Ministry of Agriculture progressing with the promotion of potash fertilizer? Roughly how much can domestic grain production increase this year?” Minister of Agriculture Holz replied, “The promotion of potash fertilizer is going relatively smoothly. Most domestic farms have accepted it, and many have already begun trying it. Once the autumn harvest comes and people see the results, we’ll be able to roll it out on a large scale. A major increase in grain production will likely begin next year. This year, we may see only a slight increase.” This was the expected result. No matter how good a product was, people wouldn’t be convinced until they saw it in action. Especially when it concerned a family’s livelihood, no one would take risks without proof. The fact that farmers were willing to allocate a plot of land to test potash fertilizer showed the ministry had done a good job. Once the results were visible, word of mouth would do the rest, and widespread adoption would follow naturally. That was also a good thing. If grain output were to suddenly surge this year, the Russians would surely suffer. If agriculture in Russia was already devastated, who knew whether the Russian government would still have the courage to keep fighting Britain. If they suddenly backed down, all of Austria’s prior investments would have gone to waste.
*** https://postimg.cc/gallery/PwXsBkC (Maps of the current territories of the countries in this novel made by ScH)
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