Greed moves hearts. While the British were eyeing the French warships, the Austrian Naval Ministry was also thinking about getting their hands on the French navy. What seemed like an ordinary struggle over warships had in fact evolved into a struggle for maritime hegemony. The final ownership of the French warships would directly influence the world order that followed. At the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, facing the anxious crowd, Franz calmly asked, “Do you think the French will obediently hand over their warships to us?” Frankly, Franz had also considered getting his hands on the French warships. To directly inherit the French naval legacy and, with the combined power of two nations’ navies, to surpass the British in one fell swoop… That was a truly beautiful picture. However, the cruel reality told him that this was impossible. Both the French and Austrian navies were self-contained systems. Just the process of integration couldn’t be completed overnight. If it were just a matter of time, it wouldn’t be insurmountable. The trouble was, under Franz’s butterfly effect, naval technology had developed far beyond the original timeline, and they were just one concept away from the birth of the dreadnought. If Austria were to get the French warships, the British would certainly increase their investment in the navy to maintain their maritime hegemony. Once the dreadnoughts appeared, these ironclads acquired at great cost would be swept into the dustbin of history. There was no doubt that when dreadnoughts were born, Austria would follow suit. At that point, what would they do with these useless ironclads? They certainly couldn’t be sold. Even if they were given away for free, no one could afford to maintain them. The burden of the world’s second-largest navy would be a struggle even for Britain and Austria combined. All the remaining nations put together wouldn’t be able to manage it. What remained in hand, apart from looking good on the surface, was worth practically nothing. They could hardly stage a grand naval showdown to wipe out the British before they rolled out their dreadnoughts. It was not that Franz was being timid, he genuinely lacked confidence. On paper, the combined tonnage of the French and Austrian navies exceeded that of the British by a ratio of 1.5 to 1, which seemed like an advantage, but if it came to a fight, who would win was anyone’s guess. The Royal Navy of this era was truly formidable. Franz was not entirely sure about the internal state of the French navy, but he knew full well that Austria’s navy was heavily inflated on paper. As one of the earliest countries to enter the ironclad era, the Austrian navy was now in a special period of fleet ageing, badly in need of large-scale replacement. Apart from the main battleships keeping pace with the times, most auxiliary warships were outdated, and there were still quite a few sailing ships in service. The reason was simple: to save money. Only those who had personally experienced the burden of developing both sea power and land power at the same time knew how hard it was. By analogy, Franz had every reason to believe that the French navy also had serious paper strength inflation. Nominally, the world’s three great naval powers were in the same league, but in reality that applied only to comparisons among other major naval powers. In essence, the Royal Navy stood a tier above. The three navies were lumped together for comparison purely out of interest. Without rivals, how would there be military funding? The slogan of “three great naval powers” had originally been coined by the British navy itself to put pressure on Parliament. Compared with the French and Austrian navies, which had many obsolete warships, the Royal Navy was in far better shape. As the undisputed king of the international warship trade market, the British could sell off a batch of second-hand warships every few years. The funds recouped from the arms trade, combined with the fact that their naval budget was already the highest, meant the Royal Navy could replace and modernise its ships far faster than France or Austria. Navy Minister Castagni explained, “Your Majesty, France has erupted into civil strife and the Bonaparte dynasty is on the verge of collapse. As long as we are willing to help them keep their regime, Napoleon IV will compromise.” After a brief moment of thought, Franz rejected the idea and said “No!” “Intervening in France’s change of regime may seem like a clever move, but in fact it would be more trouble than it is worth. This is no longer the Middle Ages. The French, brimming with nationalism, would never accept a government propped up by foreign powers. The war has already shattered the foundation of the Bonaparte dynasty. Unless we hold back our blows, the postwar mess will be impossible to clean up no matter who takes power. That is impossible. Even if we were willing to stop suppressing France, our allies would never agree. If France is not weakened, how can everyone else sleep peacefully at night? Napoleon IV is not a fool. Even if he is blinded by his position, someone will remind him. The best thing for the Bonaparte dynasty right now is to step down quickly and find a scapegoat to bear the anger of the people.” Times have changed, and at present relations between France and Austria are at their most hostile. Supporting a pro-Austrian government in France would clearly be thankless work. If Austria truly wanted to help the Bonaparte dynasty, the best approach would be to openly support their rivals, and then the enraged French public would take care of everything. “But this opportunity is far too rare. If we miss it, surpassing the Royal Navy will not be something that can be achieved overnight,” Navy Minister Castagni argued. Foreign Minister Wessenberg said, “Calm down, Your Excellency. Getting warships from the French is not impossible. The key is whether the price we pay matches the benefits we gain. In this war we have also paid a heavy price. In the short term we simply do not have the financial strength to compete with the British for control of the seas. After the war, restoring the economy should come first. Even if we acquire French warships, we cannot afford to maintain them. Besides, there are plenty of others eyeing those French ships. If we try to swallow them all ourselves, it will look far too greedy. The Foreign Ministry suggests selecting a few main battleships from them, and giving the rest to our allies, to avoid unnecessary trouble.” In theory, this was the most sensible course of action. If Austria tried to take all the French warships, it would be choking on the haul, but if the entire anti-French alliance divided them together, there would be no such problem. By pulling everyone into sharing the spoils, any international pressure would vanish into thin air. In any case, the cream of the crop of the French navy was in those main battleships. Austria had no shortage of auxiliary vessels and the like. Navy Minister Castagni hurriedly objected, “Your Excellency, do not do this. The French navy uses different technical standards from ours. If we cannot take all of them, then it is better not to take a single one. For the sake of a few French warships, we would have to build dedicated supporting facilities, which would be a complete waste.” Ever since Austria completed its military reforms, standardization had been ingrained in everyone’s mind. From warships and ports down to a single screw, everything had its own specific standard. If Austria could not take all of France’s main battleships, then once the strategic value of surpassing the Royal Navy was lost, a mere few warships would be meaningless to the Austrian navy. “Since the navy does not want them, then let us simply give up. After the war, we will hold a large auction of warships, invite countries from around the world to participate, and use the funds raised as part of the war reparations,” Franz decided on the spot. This decision left Castagni on the verge of tears. For just a few French ships, the added logistical burden was indeed not worth it, but if it had been dozens of ships, that would have been another matter entirely. As the world’s second-largest naval power, France possessed more than a hundred ironclads. Even if Austria had taken dozens, there would still be enough left for others to share, so the issue of distribution would not have existed at all. What had begun as a bargaining tactic ended up collapsing entirely, so naturally Castagni was in no good mood. Franz, clearly not a leader concerned about the feelings of his subordinates, moved on to the next topic as soon as he made his decision, without giving Castagni any time to recover. … While the Austrian government was considering postwar arrangements, the situation on the battlefield changed once again. First, the French forces on the southern front could no longer withstand the pressure and voluntarily abandoned the Italian region. Then the French forces in Central Europe once again suffered defeat, forced to retreat back to their homeland. Even in the east, in the Franche-Comté region, more than half the territory was lost. The only front still holding out was in the west, where a group of second-rate French troops, relying on sheer courage and bloodlust, managed to resist the Spanish offensive. Of course, this could not prove that they were especially formidable in battle. It was more because the Spanish were unreliable, striking at France while hesitating at the same time. Now Napoleon IV had only two paths before him: either flee into exile abroad of his own accord, or be exiled overseas by the anti-French alliance. Whichever choice he made, his personal safety would be guaranteed. Compared with Napoleon I, who made enemies everywhere, Napoleon IV had not actually offended that many people. Apart from the domestic capitalists, he had very few mortal enemies. If the House of Bonaparte were skilled at public relations, they might not even have to face exile. Whether to go abroad and raise the banner of resistance or to concede defeat and withdraw from politics entirely had become Napoleon IV’s most agonising dilemma. At the Palace of Versailles, the increasingly gaunt Napoleon IV asked, “The war is already doomed to be lost. What do you think we should do now?” Everyone present was a staunch supporter of the Bonaparte dynasty. Since Napoleon IV had not committed acts of tyranny, there was naturally no talk of universal betrayal. Moreover, the forces advancing against them were from the anti-French alliance, and even if someone wanted to defect, there was no one who would take them in. Prime Minister Terence Bourquin was the first to speak: “Your Majesty, the situation can no longer be salvaged. We can only withdraw temporarily and wait for the right moment to return. However, we must not shoulder the blame for the defeat, and we certainly must not sign any harsh peace terms. This war was instigated by the financial consortiums to begin with, and it was because of them that we failed. They must be the ones to bear responsibility. According to the latest investigation, among the suspects we have arrested, 485 have already confessed to treason and collusion with the enemy. Unfortunately, the mastermind behind this plot escaped. From their testimony, we know that everything from instigating this war, to inflating prices during the fighting, to deliberately creating social unrest, was done under the direction of international forces.” It was obvious that Terence Burkin was preparing to shift the blame before fleeing, doing his best to preserve the reputation of the Bonaparte dynasty in order to lay the groundwork for a future restoration. Whether the capitalists had colluded with international forces no longer mattered. In any case, the charges laid against them were backed by solid evidence, and putting them forward as scapegoats to draw public anger was perfectly convenient. Even if the truth were exposed, it would not matter. Given what those men had done, their reputations were already ruined, and there would be no shortage of enthusiastic citizens willing to testify against them. Competition within the bourgeoisie was just as ruthless, and no one would show mercy when it came to eliminating rivals. Even if someone wanted to clear their names, it would only be possible after those men were dead. Napoleon IV asked uncertainly, “You mean to hand Paris over to the revolutionaries and let them deal with the anti-French alliance?” At this point Paris was a hot potato. Whoever took it on would be faced with a crushing problem: how to get the anti-French coalition to leave. As the loser of the war, France could not hope to get by without paying a painful price. Territorial concessions and indemnities were unavoidable. However, neither concessions nor reparations would be accepted by the French people. Such a treaty would ruin whoever signed it. Yet refusing to sign was impossible too, for the millions of coalition soldiers were hardly going to show mercy. France might try to expel the population from the occupied zones, but the coalition could do the same. The Ottoman Empire had already served as a warning, and no one could guarantee that France would not become a second Ottoman Empire. International pressure was irrelevant. In this age of the strong preying on the weak, the coalition with the biggest fists defined international order. Terence Bourquin nodded and replied, “Yes, Your Majesty. Since the revolutionaries chose to rise up at this time, then they must also have the ability to bear the consequences.”
*** https://postimg.cc/gallery/PwXsBkC (Maps of the current territories of the countries in this novel made by ScH)
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