While the Japanese government hesitated, the negotiations between Britain and France reached a critical stage. The French, now at a strategic disadvantage, no longer had the confidence to bargain and were forced to make major concessions to the British. The talks were progressing in a direction favorable to Britain, which should have been a cause for celebration. Yet Prime Minister Gladstone found himself unable to feel any joy. “Is there really no way to turn things around on the African front?” Having walked too many dark paths, Britain was finally beginning to face the consequences. Its long-standing policy of maintaining a balance of power in Europe was now showing a fatal flaw, and it looked like everything was about to fall crashing down. There was no denying it. The once-vaunted French forces had performed far below expectations on the battlefield, falling far short of the bluster they had been known for. This misled the British government into making a strategic misjudgment. Whether he liked it or not, Gladstone had to admit that the once-invincible French army was no more. Without Napoleon, France had lost the power to dominate the continent. As the war dragged on, French forces still had not broken through on the European mainland, and in Africa, they were being beaten soundly by the Austrians. The overall situation was growing increasingly unfavorable for France. “From a military perspective, the fall of French Africa is only a matter of time. The Austrians already hold the strategic initiative. If the situation were not truly beyond saving, the proud French would never have bowed to us so easily,” said Secretary of War Edward Stanhope with a mocking tone. Relations between Britain and France had never been harmonious. This was especially true for the British Army, which had long regarded France as a lingering source of pain. If the British had not been driven out of Europe by the French, they would never have become a purely naval power. They would not have ended up as nothing more than a supporting force to the Royal Navy. Looking at the gloating Secretary of War, Gladstone furrowed his brow. Watching the French fall into misfortune was certainly satisfying, but the price Britain had to pay was the rise of a dominant Austria, which was far from ideal. One glance at the map was enough to see that if Egypt fell into Austrian hands, a colossal power spanning Europe, Asia, and Africa would emerge. In this era of imperialism and survival of the fittest, such a giant would never simply lie down and sleep quietly. Austria was already the dominant power on the African continent. Only by combining the strength of Britain, France, Portugal, Spain, and other colonial empires could a rough balance be maintained against them. If France were pushed out, British Africa would undoubtedly become Austria’s next target. Losing British Africa would mean that Britain’s vital corridor to India would be completely blocked. What might happen after that was something Prime Minister Gladstone did not even dare to imagine. In any case, letting Austria gain hegemony in Europe while also holding sole dominance over Africa would be nothing short of a disaster for Britain. “The current situation is extremely dire. Those damned Gallic fools have lost the courage of their ancestors and are only good at bragging now. What’s worse is that we cannot just sit back and watch them fail. Once the Egyptian region falls into Austrian hands, the anti-French alliance will be able to use its overwhelming manpower and resources to exhaust the French completely. Even if Napoleon himself were to return, it would not change the outcome. France’s defeat is not the issue. What matters is that we cannot allow Austria to win so easily. If we don’t take this opportunity to wear down their strength, we’ll have no peace in the future.” From a personal standpoint, Gladstone had no desire to help the French. But there was no other choice. After all, the French forces in Egypt had failed again. Just two days ago, the Suez defense line, which the French had worked hard to build, was breached. The flames of war were now spreading deep into Egypt. If help did not arrive soon, French-controlled Egypt would be lost. Britain could not afford the consequences of Austria gaining control over Egypt. The British government had no choice but to lend the French a hand. Edward Stanhope disagreed saying, “Prime Minister, the current situation is indeed grim, but we also have to face reality. Austria’s advantage in Africa is simply too great. Unless the French can redeploy a main force of a million troops to the African front, there’s no way they can turn the tide. Of course, that’s speaking purely from a military standpoint. If unexpected events occur elsewhere, say, the Austrian African corps runs into supply issues, or a revolution breaks out, then the situation could look very different.” Colonial Secretary Primrose immediately rejected the idea saying, “Prime Minister, such disruptions are nearly impossible. According to intelligence gathered by the African colonial administration, the Austrian government shipped large quantities of strategic supplies to Austrian Africa before the war began. The exact amount is still unclear, but they certainly will not face any logistical issues anytime soon. If the French manage to hold out in the Egyptian region for one or two more years, then perhaps there is still a chance to see a shift in the situation. As for hoping that a revolution breaks out in Austrian Africa, that is even more unrealistic. It is important to remember that Austria’s colonial forces in Africa are mainly composed of nobles and landowners. They are not the same as the descendants of criminals who settled in the New World. Reports from Africa indicate that when an order came from the Hofburg Palace, these people joined the war effort with great enthusiasm. There was no sign of reluctance at all.” That was the reality. If it had been possible to incite Austrian Africa to rebel, the British would have already done so. More accurately, they had already tried, but ultimately failed. Rebellion requires the right conditions. Unlike exiled convicts, most Austrian settlers had migrated by choice and felt a much stronger sense of connection to their homeland. Austria had also been promoting African integration, which gave those with vested interests even fewer reasons to rebel. Trying to replicate an American-style independence movement in Africa was simply not feasible, as there was no popular support for it. In North America, the thirteen colonies appeared to be British possessions, but most of the settlers were from continental Europe so they had little loyalty to Britain. True English settlers were already a small group, making up less than one-tenth of the total population. Many of them were convicts. The fact that they did not actively hate England was already fortunate. Expecting them to defend British colonial rule was nothing more than wishful thinking. They were already detached from Britain in spirit. When conflicts of interest arose, the capitalists called for action, and the public responded quickly. Something like that could not happen in Austrian Africa. While dumping of industrial goods did occur, the local capitalists in Austrian Africa were too weak to resist. They had no influence at all. The ones in power were the nobles and plantation owners. Their focus was on mining and agriculture, and they did not care about industrial dumping. In fact, they might not have even viewed it as dumping in the first place. Industrial goods do not appear out of thin air. They also require the purchase of raw industrial materials, and conveniently, all these colonies happen to be producers of such resources. On one hand, they supply raw materials to the homeland. On the other hand, they enjoy cheap industrial and commercial goods produced domestically. Life is more than comfortable for them under this system. If independence were truly achieved and anti-dumping measures were introduced, they would become the biggest losers. Not only would they have to bear the full cost of industrialization, but the income from their cash crops would also decline significantly. One can look to the plantation owners of the Confederate States of America as an example. In their resistance to the North’s protectionist trade policies, they went as far as declaring independence. If the capitalists ever dared to stir up rebellion, they would not even need the Austrian government to intervene. The nobles and plantation owners who benefit most from the status quo would suppress the rebellion themselves. Foreign Secretary George agreed and said, “I can confirm that. The Foreign Office also tried to incite independence in Austrian Africa. We even supported a few separatist groups, but none of them gained any real traction. Austria’s development of a mining and plantation economy in Africa directly tied the local elites’ interests to the colony. Undermining Austrian Africa from within is simply unrealistic. Based on the current situation, unless the French win the continental war, the fall of Egypt is just a matter of time. Of course, we could intervene directly with military force and possibly slow down Austria’s advance, but the interests at stake are far too great.” Military intervention was, from the start, something of a joke. Britain’s small standing army still had its main force locked in a bitter fight with the Russians in Afghanistan. With only the limited colonial forces in British Africa available, any intervention would be symbolic at best. After a brief pause, Prime Minister Gladstone slowly spoke, “The international situation is on the verge of spinning out of control. We must end the war with Russia as soon as possible to prepare for what is to come. The Afghan war has gone on long enough. There is no point in continuing it. The Russians are also in a difficult position now. If we send a signal of peace, I believe the Russian government will not choose to fight to the bitter end. After all, the emergence of a power stretching across Europe, Asia, and Africa threatens more than just our interests. It threatens theirs as well.” In the early stages of the Anglo-Russian-Afghan War, it had indeed been about interests, and the fighting was fierce. Unfortunately, the harsh reality soon made it clear that this was a drawn-out war of attrition with no end in sight. If they truly fought to the bitter end, both sides would only suffer heavy losses. As the international situation shifted, both Britain and Russia, worn out by the prolonged conflict, tacitly agreed to reduce the intensity of the war and took on the role of spectators, watching the drama unfold between France and Austria. Perhaps to give France and Austria the confidence to fully commit to their struggle, the British and Russians, who should have stepped back, chose instead to continue their war in a coordinated display. Even if it was treated like a game, people were still dying. Both the British and Russian armies had not given up on killing each other. Any sign of weakness was quickly exploited by the enemy. In a sense, this war of attrition was also beneficial to Britain. The British government had the financial strength to wear down the Russians. Besides, only by making the Russian government truly feel the pain could British India remain secure. But there was no perfect outcome. To contain the rising power of Austria, Gladstone had no choice but to abandon his “bleed the Russians dry” plan. Foreign Secretary George offered a reminder: “Prime Minister, while a ceasefire with the Russians is not hard to achieve, getting them to agree to a truce on our terms will be extremely difficult. Right now, the Russian army controls three-quarters of Afghan territory. Given the greed of the Russian government, any land we failed to secure on the battlefield will almost certainly not be returned through negotiation. Our conflict with the Russians runs deep. And with the Austrians acting as spoilers, these ceasefire talks are unlikely to proceed smoothly. As things currently stand, French Egypt cannot hold out much longer. If the French military cannot achieve a breakthrough in Europe, Austrian control over Egypt will become an established fact. The Russians may not want Austria to become too powerful, but the two nations are traditional allies. The Russian government is unlikely to turn against Austria for no reason. When it comes to Egypt, they will probably remain neutral. From here on, if we want to force the Austrians to make concessions and give up Egypt, the only ones we can rely on are the French and ourselves. The problem is, we want to use the French, but also have to restrain them. We cannot let them grow too strong in the process. That will take a great deal of delicate work. To manage that, we will need more allies. Ideally, we should unite the other European countries and intervene together, using diplomacy to resolve the issue.” Because of the continental balance policy, the British government had been cautious throughout the European war, afraid that one wrong move would create a new continental hegemon. There was no alternative. The international situation was shifting too quickly. Britain's enemies kept changing. First the Russians, who made the first move, then the ambitious French, and before they could even react, Austria had emerged. Britain had to apply pressure, but not too much, maintaining a fragile balance. The British government was constantly struggling to keep up. In many ways, from the very beginning of the European war, Britain’s continental balance policy had already shown signs of failure. It could no longer keep pace with the rapidly changing world. Everyone could see the problem, but Britain was an island nation. By its very nature, it had no better choice. Only by preserving the balance of power in Europe could it maintain its global dominance. Gladstone nodded and looked out the window saying, “It is indeed troublesome, but no matter how difficult it is, we must do it. This is our responsibility. And while we maintain the European balance, we must also find ways to weaken both France and Austria. We cannot allow them to continue gaining strength.”
*** 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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