There was no other choice. Egypt’s strategic position was simply too important. As long as France still wanted to win the war, it had to prevent the emergence of a transcontinental behemoth spanning Europe, Asia, and Africa. After a brief moment of contemplation, Napoleon IV sighed and said, “Have the Ministry of War come up with a plan. Deploy reinforcements to the Egyptian front as soon as possible. We are not aiming to defeat the enemy, we only need to stabilize the front lines.” Sending reinforcements to Egypt sounded easy, but it was far from simple in practice. Not only did they have to free up troops, the more pressing issue was the expanded scale of the Egyptian front, which would inevitably increase the consumption of strategic supplies. There was no doubt that French Egypt alone could not bear such heavy costs. Originally, the French government had planned for the Algerian colonial government to share part of the burden, but that was no longer possible. While withholding reinforcements, the Algerian region had also increased its demand for strategic supplies. Let alone supporting the Egyptian front, they would probably need to request help from the mainland themselves. Times had changed. With the war dragging on, France was no longer flush with resources. A sudden surge in supply consumption was now a serious test for the French government. After doing some quick calculations, Prime Minister Terence Bourquin began to sweat. “Your Majesty, sending troops is the easy part. The newly mobilized domestic units are nearly finished with basic training, and pulling out 20 to 30 divisions is manageable. The real problem is logistics. So far, we are not only handling the logistics for nearly five million troops in Europe, but also supplying large quantities of materials to the colonial fronts. Our domestic industrial production has long failed to keep pace. Now, reinforcing the Egyptian front will require another large batch of strategic supplies. In the short term, it will be extremely difficult for us to gather the needed resources. Unless we can gain the full support of the British, we will not be able to sustain the Egyptian front for at least the next six months.” War demands swift action. If they waited half a year, they might not even make it in time to collect the corpses. The problem, however, was that sending several hundred thousand troops on a distant campaign required logistical supplies amounting to tens of thousands of tons. This simply could not be prepared within just one or two months. Though France had stockpiles of strategic materials towering like mountains, every bit of it was already designated for use. Whether on the Central European or Southern European fronts, both were crucial and nothing could be diverted. Of course, if domestic production was lacking, they could still purchase supplies. But even buying strategic materials took time. The time required for production was one thing. France had already placed numerous orders long ago, and the factories of most European countries had effectively become France’s own military workshops. The real difficulty stemmed from the political situation. While these countries were happy to make money, they never forgot to trip France up along the way. Most of the time, France’s strategic imports were delayed. Endless rounds of checkpoint inspections and a mess of bureaucratic procedures were all designed to hinder France. To break through these constraints, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs had made every effort. But no matter how hard they tried, they could not keep up with the speed at which France was making enemies. “Convincing the British to support us is not difficult. No one wants to see a colossal empire that spans Europe, Asia, and Africa. If Austria truly connects its homeland with Africa, the blow to Britain would be just as fatal. But if we approach the British now, they will certainly ask for an outrageous price. We will undoubtedly have to pay a heavy cost.” Foreign Minister Émile Flourens spoke with difficulty. As age-old rivals, the French knew all too well how the British operated. Presented with such an opportunity, if they did not exploit it to the fullest, then they would not be worthy of the name John Bull. France’s initiation of this continental war was, at its core, for profit. If the British managed to rob them midway, how much benefit France could still reap by the end of it was anyone’s guess. One only had to open a history book to see how many allies had cooperated with Britain only to be ruined. France itself had suffered that fate before. Now, seeking help from Britain might go well, or it might go horribly wrong. If it went wrong, France could end up once again fighting this European war for nothing. At this critical moment, the young Napoleon IV showed the decisiveness expected of a monarch and said, “Begin talks with the British at once. No matter the price, we must win this war.” It had to be admitted that Napoleon IV was remarkably clear-headed at this point. All interests were based on the premise of winning the war. If they lost, then everything would be gone. The essence of international politics lay in strength. As long as France’s strength remained, any promises made now could later be dismissed. After all, it would not be the first time they broke a promise. … While Britain and France were engaged in intense negotiations, the Far East was also far from peaceful. Seeing the four major European powers all engulfed in war, the Japanese government, having just completed the Meiji Restoration, was no longer able to contain its ambitions. After more than twenty years of reform and development, Japan had become a regional power in the Far East, second only to one other in overall national strength in East Asia. Of course, that ranking meant little. Most of Asia had already been carved up, and there were only a few independent states left in East Asia. Still, the olive branch extended by the French did influence this emerging nation. Whether to move southward to seize Southeast Asia or advance northward to attack Korea became a hotly debated topic within Japan. As the leader of this militarist country, Prime Minister Itō Hirobumi had not had an easy time lately. The public’s calls for war were growing louder, and the situation was close to spiraling out of control. At this very moment, differences also emerged among the Japanese government’s top officials. Some advocated advancing north to seize Korea, while others pushed for a southern campaign into Southeast Asia. Those in favor of southern expansion even proposed three plans, with respective targets being: French Indochina, the Spanish Philippines, and Austrian Southeast Asia along with the German-held Malay Peninsula. This was hardly surprising. Even though it was only the French who invited Japan to attack the Austrian-held Southeast Asia, many within the Japanese government still admired Austria and doubted France’s ability to win the war. Regardless of how intense the public’s warmongering became, Japan’s leadership remained grounded. They were fully aware that their limited strength could only be used to take advantage of the situation and had no power to influence the outcome of the war in Europe. In such circumstances, choosing the right side became crucial. If they happened to side with the losing party, they would certainly face punishment after the war. Even the vast oceans could not shield them from the might of the great powers. One need only look at the naval power of each country in Asia. The British Far East Fleet was unquestionably the strongest. The French and Austrian fleets stationed in Asia were evenly matched, and with a few ships from the German Federation, the anti-French alliance held a slight advantage. Following these three great powers came the Great Qing (Far East Empire) and Japan, then Spain and the Netherlands, with Portugal at the very bottom. Even a single detached squadron from one of the great powers surpassed the entire Japanese navy. In terms of overall naval strength, the disparity between Japan and the Western powers was tenfold or more. This was the result of overall national strength and not something Japan could quickly overcome. With only a few ironclads purchased from abroad, they stood no chance against dreadnoughts and would simply be offering themselves up as targets. Given this background, it was only natural for opportunistic politicians to have differing opinions. Even Itō Hirobumi himself considered taking a gamble, though in the end, reason prevailed. On the surface, at this point in time, whether the Japanese government sided with the French or the anti-French alliance could decisively shift the balance of power in Asia. Logically, both France and Austria should be trying to win Japan over. In theory, if Japan maintained a neutral stance, it could benefit from both sides and then bet on the eventual winner. Unfortunately, while the French extended an olive branch, Austria paid them no attention. Even when Japanese officials directly raised the issue, they received no response. Such disregard not only embarrassed the Japanese government but also made them realize how assertive Austria was. Human psychology is complicated. At times, being ignored only fuels deeper reflection. To many, France’s offer was tempting, but in Europe, France was fighting alone, while Austria had allies. There’s an old saying that enough ants can kill an elephant. Even Napoleon failed to conquer the entire continent. Could the current French Empire really succeed where he did not? No one was confident in the answer. With no clear sign of who would win between France and Austria, the Southern Expansion faction in Japan proposed a new strategy: seizing the Philippines. A glance at the map of Asia shows that any southward push by Japan cannot avoid the Philippines. Otherwise, their supply lines could be easily cut off. In short, once the southern strategy begins, war between Japan and Spain becomes inevitable. Most importantly, compared to the two European giants, the declining Spain was undoubtedly the easier target. Of course, this “easier target” was still too strong for the current Japanese Empire. Trying to take the Philippines from the Spanish also involved significant risk. However, compared to the risk of participating in the war between France and Austria, bullying Spain was considered much safer. Even if the plan failed, Spain lacked the strength to retaliate effectively. Before the European war broke out, the major powers had not yet reached the point of open conflict. The Japanese government would never have dared to entertain such a thought. After all, “white fear” was widespread at the time. When dealing with European powers, few felt confident. The fact that foreign envoys from various countries often acted in unison led many to believe that the European nations were all on the same side. Inside the imperial palace, Emperor Meiji, looking somewhat tired, asked, “Itō-kun, these are the strategic plans submitted from below. What do you think?” It was clear that Emperor Meiji was also affected by outside pressures and had fallen into uncertainty regarding Japan’s strategic direction. One wrong step could lead to either glory or ruin, so he had no choice but to proceed with extreme caution. Emperor Meiji had risen to power with the support of the military, and the armed forces held great influence within the Meiji government. To keep their power in check, the emperor instinctively chose to rely on the civil faction led by Itō Hirobumi. This was especially true in matters concerning the nation’s fate. Emperor Meiji was even more unwilling to let the inflexible military make such decisions.
*** https://postimg.cc/gallery/PwXsBkC (Maps of the current territories of the countries in this novel made by ScH) Support the translation and read more chapters at https://ko-fi.com/dragonlegion
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