The British government was already in complete disarray, and as for the French government, it was even worse. They had long since lost all sense of direction and had no idea how to bring the situation under control. As the main party involved, Napoleon IV received even more bad news. On the surface, the French army had regrouped after a major defeat, but the outside world had no idea of the terrible price they paid for it. Retreating after a rout is never easy. The enemy isn’t foolish, they would certainly seize the opportunity to expand their gains. If the retreat was to succeed, sacrifices had to be made. And the rear-guard couldn’t be just any unit. It had to be a loyal, elite force. If they left newly formed units with too many Italians behind to cover the retreat, there was a real risk they might switch sides the moment the Austrian army appeared. That would mean the loss of a million French troops. Between those killed, wounded, routed, or captured, the French army’s total strength dropped by over a million, including three hundred thousand elite soldiers. The losses in manpower were devastating. The lost supplies and equipment were beyond counting. To speed up the retreat, the French even had to destroy their own artillery positions. Supplies can be repurchased, weapons and equipment can be manufactured again, and troops can be replaced. But what they didn’t have was time. The battle had barely ended when the siege of Turin broke out, followed closely by the Battle of Luxembourg. The French army had no choice but to respond passively to each crisis. The Minister of War, Luscinia, reported, “Your Majesty, yesterday morning the Spanish launched an attack on the Roussillon region. After a day of fierce fighting by our frontline soldiers, we finally repelled the enemy by nightfall.” Though this was a rare piece of good news, Napoleon IV couldn’t feel happy about it. Clearly, the recent French defeat had emboldened the Spanish. No matter what the actual strength of the Spanish was, the fact remained that France now had yet another front to worry about, further increasing the military pressure. Seeing the Minister of War hesitate to continue, Napoleon IV felt a chill in his heart and forced a bitter smile, “Go on. Where else have we lost now? I can take it. At this point, how much worse can it get?” Despair, that was the most honest reflection of Napoleon IV’s state of mind at the moment. A string of defeats on the battlefield and complete failure in diplomacy had shaken his confidence to the core. He watched helplessly as the anti-French coalition grew stronger by the day, and at the same time, his only ally began to waver. This kind of despair was something no one else could truly understand. Luscinia spoke slowly, “Austria and Switzerland have formed a joint army and launched an offensive against us. Eastern regions such as Burgundy and Auvergne have become battlegrounds. The enemy’s momentum is overwhelming, and our troop deployment in the east is severely lacking…” Before Ruskinia could finish, Napoleon IV cut him off and said, “Understood. The Ministry of War can handle it yourselves!” Words like “difficulties” and “problems” were things Napoleon IV had heard too often lately. He was already sick of them. It would be fine if the problems could be solved, but what made things unbearable were those that couldn’t be resolved, yet still landed on his shoulders. Rather than give himself a headache by listening to them, he would rather not hear them at all. If an issue could be solved, his ministers would find a way and report only the solution. If it couldn’t be solved, then there was nothing he could do either. In a certain sense, Napoleon IV was a good leader. Despite defeats on both military and diplomatic fronts, he never tried to make scapegoats out of his subordinates. Of course, making scapegoats wouldn’t bring any real benefit. While it might ease political pressure for a short time, it would also cause fear and grief among his officials, potentially leading to instability within the government. Prime Minister Terence Bourquin said in a low voice, “Your Majesty, it is time to prepare for peace talks. At this point, we can no longer carry on with the war.” Peace talks depended on timing. Back when France had the upper hand, there had been room to negotiate from a position of strength. Now things were different. France was at a disadvantage both militarily and diplomatically. To propose peace talks now was essentially the same as admitting defeat. If it could be helped, Terence Bourquin would never choose to surrender to the enemy. But there was no other way as France truly could not continue the war. The flames of war had already reached French soil. With each passing day, the war brought tremendous losses to the country. If they didn’t enter negotiations with the anti-French coalition while they still held a few bargaining chips, then once the enemy advanced deeper into France, any negotiation would come at a far greater cost. After a brief moment of hesitation, Napoleon IV sighed and asked slowly, “How do we negotiate?” He had no objection to a ceasefire. If it were possible, Napoleon IV would not mind ending the war immediately. The problem was that starting a war was easy, but ending it was far more difficult. Some countries might be placated with a few concessions, but Germany, Belgium, and Austria would not let things go so easily. Rivers of blood had already been shed by both sides. To negotiate at this point would inevitably require a heavy price. Foreign Minister Émile Flourens replied, “The British have agreed to mediate. The British government has promised to do its best to ensure France’s territorial integrity. Based on the current international landscape, Austria is poised to grow too powerful once the continental war ends, and that does not align with the interests of the other European powers. In this regard, even the Russians are potential allies. The reason no one has taken action yet is because the situation has been shifting too quickly, and they still lack a proper justification for involvement.” Well, Émile Flourens felt he was running out of things to bring out from his ass. That the other European powers didn’t want to see Austria dominate the continent didn’t necessarily mean they were going to help France. These were two entirely different things. In real life, rationality often loses to emotion. After all, people are not machines, they are influenced by feelings. At the very least, France’s neighbors were ruled by emotion. For Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, and several of the Italian states, it didn’t matter whether Austria became too powerful. What mattered more was seizing the chance to crush France. All that talk about long-term interests was nonsense. History had already shown them that if they didn’t take this opportunity to destroy France, then they wouldn’t have peace in the future. No matter how great the benefits might be, nothing outweighed their own national security. For small nations, survival always came first. No matter who rose to power, they would still remain the underlings. In this context, as long as Austria did not try to take everything for itself, it would not be isolated. With so many enemies involved, France could not hope to escape without suffering greatly. Whether it was self-deception or mere wishful thinking, the French government now needed hope. They needed some kind of hope that they could still get out of this situation intact. “Tell the British that we agree to negotiate, and that we are willing to pay the price for this war. We can give up the colonies, but the homeland must remain whole. The government must carry out efforts to calm the public. Once news of the negotiations spreads, it will definitely cause an uproar. France cannot afford more unrest. If necessary, I will abdicate at the right time and take responsibility for this war.” After speaking, Napoleon IV seemed to have used up all his strength. He collapsed into his chair and ignored everyone else. According to the political customs of continental Europe, it was entirely normal for a defeated country to cede territory and pay reparations. Unfortunately, nationalism had already risen. Especially in France, the cradle of nationalism, the public’s tolerance for failure was even lower. In the general public’s view, colonies were considered property. Losing them was unfortunate but acceptable. The homeland, however, must never be divided or surrendered. The nationalist movement, which Napoleon had personally helped to build, had become a double-edged sword. Now, it had turned against him, and the Bonaparte dynasty was facing its greatest challenge. Only by preserving the integrity of the homeland and having Napoleon IV voluntarily abdicate to take responsibility could public anger be eased. This was the only chance the Bonaparte dynasty had to survive. … In Saint Petersburg, the shifting situation across the European continent had also begun to influence the position of the Russian government. There was no doubt that the Russian government would not extend a helping hand to the French at this time. Even if someone recognized the strategic importance of preserving France, this was not the moment to intervene. It was not about anything else, only about interests. If the mere excuse of “strategic necessity” could compel Russia to take chestnuts from the fire for France, then what was the point of diplomacy? Marshal Ivanov spoke with great enthusiasm: “Your Majesty, the situation in this war is already clear. The French have suffered defeats on both the Central and Southern European fronts. They are now past the point of recovery. Because of this, the Spanish have also launched probing attacks along the border. And with the Allied forces opening a new front in Switzerland, the French are effectively fighting on four fronts. Unless something unexpected happens, they will be defeated within the next six months. Now is the time for us to act.” Plans could never keep up with changes. The Russian government had originally intended to declare support without actually going to war, watching as France and Austria wore each other down. Unfortunately, the French proved ineffective and had already shown signs of collapse early on. Since the original plan of weakening Austria could no longer be achieved, the Russian government had to shift its focus toward maximizing its own gains. Picking the fruit of victory was now essential. Even if they could not claim the largest one, they must at least take the second best. If Russia did not send troops at all, then during the postwar division of spoils, the Russian Empire would have no say in anything. Austria might have promised that Russia would receive twenty percent of the war reparations, but promises were one thing and fulfilling them was another. A treaty alone would not be enough to make the French pay. That was wishful thinking. The Russian government had its own experience with defaulting. If one’s fists were strong enough, then refusing to pay was easy. Without the support of the anti-French coalition, the Russian Empire alone did not have the capability to collect reparations from France. And that was the best-case scenario. If Austria decided to act without restraint and brought along a few of its smaller allies to carve up France directly, then Russia might not even see a single coin in reparations. In that case, the Russian government would suffer a complete loss. In a sense, sending troops into the war at this point was not only about dealing a blow to France. It was also a way to protect France. Strength determined influence. Only if Russian troops were present on French soil would the Russian government have real influence when it came time to decide France’s fate after the war. Whether for strategic reasons or to ensure a substantial share of reparations, the Russian government needed France to remain at least partially intact. After all, only a major power had the capacity to pay. Alexander III hesitated. The situation had shifted so rapidly that it was hard to accept. Just last month, they had decided to sit back and watch. Now, they were preparing to go to war. He asked uncertainly, “Is France really at the end of its rope?” “Yes, Your Majesty,” Ivanov replied with certainty and then continued, “The actual situation might be even worse than we expected. Two new fronts have been added, and the Italian region is also becoming unstable. The French government no longer has enough troops to deal with the coming conflicts.” This conclusion came from careful analysis by the Russian military. Even the most optimistic observers no longer believed France could turn the tide. Foreign Minister Nikolay de Giers offered a proposal: “Your Majesty, if you are concerned about the potential losses from full-scale intervention, there is another route we can take. The British also want to preserve France. On this issue, we share the same position. We could work through them as intermediaries to make direct contact with the French, and then land our forces by sea. For Austria, the main priority now is the unification of the German states and the consolidation of their newly occupied territories in French Africa. They will not risk stirring up additional conflict at this moment. As long as we reach France first, we will have more leverage during postwar negotiations.” This was true. Austria’s strategic goals had already been made clear. If it could unify the German states and absorb French Africa, it would become the most powerful nation in the world. Compared to that, everything else was secondary, even weakening France further. After all, if Austria could defeat France at its peak, then a crippled France posed no real threat. After a long silence, Alexander III finally asked, “How can you guarantee that the French will trust us? Even if the British manage to convince the French government to agree, how can we be certain it is not a trap?” Trust was a major issue. At this point, France and Russia were still enemies. No reasonable government would hand over its lifeline to a former adversary based on a promise alone. If Russian troops entered France and the Russian government suddenly turned against them, the French government would not even have time to react, let alone resist. The same concern existed on the Russian side. No matter how well negotiations went, if the British suddenly betrayed them, the Royal Navy could trap the Russian army at sea and destroy it. In that case, the Russian government would become a laughingstock across the world. Given the longstanding tensions between Britain and Russia, the British government had every motive to do exactly that. Regardless of what others thought, Alexander III simply did not trust the British. Until he could be certain of the Russian army’s safety, he would not dare risk hundreds of thousands of his soldiers.
*** 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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