Although both Japan and Spain had the support of major powers, repairing warships still required time. The naval battle had come to a temporary halt, while the curtain on land warfare had only just begun to rise. It was unclear whether the Spaniards were driven by eagerness to win or simply by stubbornness. In any case, the expeditionary force launched a full-scale counteroffensive, carrying out amphibious landings on multiple islands. The specific results were not made public, but the Spanish expeditionary army was advancing triumphantly. Aside from a few large islands still in Japanese hands, the rest had been retaken by the expeditionary force. How this came about, and whether the Japanese were plotting something, Franz did not care. All he wanted was for the Philippine campaign to drag on, and the longer it dragged on the better. The purpose was not to profit from war. Both Japan and Spain were poor, and there was little to extract from them. The real reason was that healing the wounds of war required time, and the longer the conflict lasted, the greater the Austrian government’s influence would be. What worried Franz most at the moment was not the situation in the East Indies but the question of France’s restoration. Because of disputes over succession, the three great royalist factions had almost regressed from human reason to monkey instincts, allowing the new government to grow stronger right under their noses. By the time the nobles realized the danger, they were shocked to find that the enemy had already reached into the army. They might not have been able to win over the senior officers, but the rank-and-file soldiers were another matter. Sensing the threat, the royalists finally knew they had to put aside their differences, but it was too late. The revolutionaries acted first, and several senior royalist leaders met with unexpected deaths, leaving the royalist camp headless. Aside from cursing these idiotic teammates, Franz had no choice but to step in and clean up the mess. In other words, he gathered the representatives of the three dynasties to discuss who would take responsibility for the situation. Even the exiled Napoleon IV appeared in Vienna openly as an emperor to attend the conference, something an ordinary person would never have imagined. Yet it truly happened. In order to restore order in France as quickly as possible, the Austrian government was forced to make concessions. For example, the role of the Bonaparte dynasty in the Continental War was redefined. Originally, Napoleon IV was regarded as the main person responsible for the war, but because of his status as monarch he had not been held accountable. Now he was recast as a pure and innocent figure. Responsibility for the war ? It did not exist. Clearly, it was the capitalists who had coerced the emperor into making decisions, so how could the emperor himself be held responsible? Napoleon IV’s greatest fault was incompetence. As a monarch, to be manipulated by capitalists was truly disgraceful. Yet since he had ascended the throne as a child, and the regents had been bought off by financial interests, imperial power had slipped from his hands, leading to what followed. Out of a sense of monarchical duty, His Majesty Napoleon IV accepted responsibility and had already decided to abdicate in the near future. To prevent a recurrence of the problem where weak sovereigns were dominated by their ministers, the Bonaparte dynasty, because its next heir was still a child, voluntarily renounced its claim this time. No matter how absurd this explanation sounded, Franz chose to believe it. Of course, this belief required a few more cups of wine, otherwise his conscience would not be at ease. As for how many people outside would believe it, that was none of his concern. In any case, the outcome was that the Bonaparte dynasty abandoned the banner of opposing Austria, while the Austrian government acknowledged their right of succession to the French throne. Yes, it was the “throne,” not the “imperial throne.” France had always been a kingdom, and proclaiming an empire had been plainly unlawful. Now that the illegitimate regime had been overthrown, restoring the legitimate order was only natural. This contradictory explanation was certainly “unreasonable,” but politics had never been about reason. To stabilize the situation in France, the new king could not do without the support of the Bonapartist faction, so making compromises was inevitable. As a result, the son of Napoleon IV became the third heir to the French throne. If the heirs put forward by the Bourbon and Orléans dynasties were to meet with misfortune or die without issue, the succession would fall to him, and no other members of the two dynasties would be able to claim it. Funny, is it not? But that is politics! What seemed like a struggle for the throne was in fact a redistribution of interests. The throne would rotate among them, amounting to a compromise between the three royalist factions. On the surface, this line of succession put the Bonaparte dynasty at a clear disadvantage, leaving open the possibility that they would never again come near the throne. Yet the reality was otherwise. An exiled monarch could live quite comfortably, but once a government-in-exile was added to the equation, things changed. A whole host of followers had to be supported, and even the greatest fortune could not last forever. When Napoleon IV fled he took a great deal of money with him, but no amount of money could withstand being consumed without replenishment. Especially after the unrest in Paris, people flocked to his side in large numbers, old and young alike, until their numbers approached ten thousand. Refusing them would have disheartened his loyal Bonapartist supporters, yet taking everyone in was something Napoleon IV simply could not afford. In such circumstances, if he wished to avoid bankruptcy, compromise was the only option. Only if the new government restored these supporters’ estates and ceased persecuting them could this burden be lifted. As a clever man, Napoleon IV understood well that with the emergence of the Continental Alliance, the European political order had become solidified, and the Bonaparte dynasty had no real chance of restoration in the short term. At least until the stain of being marked as enemies was removed, no opportunity, however promising, had anything to do with them. Rather than exhausting the last of his strength by stubbornly resisting to the end, it was better to seize the chance to strike a good bargain. By reaching a political compromise, he not only rid himself of a crushing financial burden but also removed the stigma that hung over his head, while at the same time winning over a wave of support. For an emperor who abdicated in order to allow his followers to return home and preserve their estates, how could he not win their loyalty? It is easy to imagine that after this move, the cohesion of the Bonapartist faction would rise to a new level, especially among those returning from exile, who would remember this act of loyalty. Even for the sake of family honor, these people would support the Bonaparte dynasty for a long time to come. Though the throne had been lost and their place in the line of succession pushed to the end, the strength of the Bonapartist faction was restored. If this political cleansing succeeded, the Bonapartists would remain the most powerful political force in France for a long time. Yet with every advantage comes a drawback. While winning the hearts of many, Napoleon IV also lost some of them. From the very moment the compromise was made, the Bonaparte dynasty placed itself in opposition to the radical revanchists. No matter how well justified, in the eyes of the radicals this was betrayal. And traitors are far more despised than enemies. At this moment, many of them must have wished nothing more than to eliminate Napoleon IV. This was exactly what the Austrian government wanted to see. The French were too restless, and if they were not fighting among themselves they would look for enemies abroad. Franz was already satisfied with the political order on the continent and had no desire to see another Continental War. It was better to keep French hatred locked within their own cage. After a round of bargaining, Carlos, the Bourbon claimant who received Austrian support, became the first in line to the throne, while the Orléanist faction put forward Philippe as the second. On the surface it appeared that the Bourbons had gained greatly, holding both the Spanish and French crowns and seemingly restoring their fortunes overnight. Unfortunately, this was only the appearance. Not only had the Carlists and the Spanish royal house long been bitter enemies, but France itself was a complete mess. The times had changed. If the royalists had united a few months earlier and gained the endorsement of the Anti-French Alliance, restoration might have been accomplished immediately. Sadly, that golden opportunity had passed. Now, attempting a restoration might well spark a civil war. … “Kill!” “Charge!” “Ratatat…” With shouts and the roar of gunfire, Paris once again plunged into chaos. After it became clear that the royalists had united and were preparing for restoration, the new government immediately moved to purge the nobles inside the city. “Damn it, the telephone lines are down too. The enemy clearly planned this in advance and wants to defeat us one by one!” Count Adrien knew what was happening, yet he was powerless to change it. Private noble armies in Paris were not few, and if they had united, the revolutionaries’ meager forces would never have stood a chance. But reality has no “ifs.” United, the nobles’ forces would indeed have been formidable. Scattered, they were another matter entirely. After a period of preparation, the ragtag revolutionary army had been reforged. Absorbing released prisoners, their fighting power had undergone a transformation. The new government struck first, relying on its numerical advantage, and caught the noble militias off guard. If that were all, the nobles could still have turned the tables. After all, the revolutionaries lacked both heavy weapons and competent officers. Even if the quality of the soldiers had improved, their true fighting capacity was at best half of what it should have been. But human nature is complicated, and nobles were no exception. Everyone worried that if they took the initiative and others failed to respond, they might end up annihilated. “My lord, perhaps we should retreat first? With the limited forces we have, continuing to hold out will only bring needless casualties.” The butler’s advice was undoubtedly the most practical. Nobles living inside the city were only a minority. Most preferred to live in their country estates. The revolutionary government might have the ability to cleanse Paris, but not the whole nation. Once free of this cage, the nobles could spread their wings and soar. With the strength of the noble class combined with support from other European powers, restoration was only a matter of time. Whatever the revolutionaries did would be nothing more than a dying struggle. Count Adrien shook his head and said, “Now is not the time. With just a few hundred men and our families in tow, we won’t get far. Send someone through the secret passage to contact nearby Marquis Anderson and Count Gottren. At dusk, we’ll break out together.” Unlike in later times, the European nobility of this era were still expected to take the battlefield. With the Continental War raging so fiercely, nearly every French noble of age had seen combat, and Count Adrien was no exception. Having battle experience, Adrien knew how to make the best choice. Though communications were down and they could not gather all the noble forces in the city, that did not prevent nearby military nobles from banding together. “Yes, my lord!” Just as the butler was about to leave, Count Adrien quickly stopped him and added, “Wait. Don’t send anyone. Their situation is probably no better than ours. Even if we sent men, they might not be able to reach them, and it could expose the secret passage to the enemy. Better to wait until dusk and make contact during the breakout.” It was a gamble, but Adrien had no choice. Without artillery, the revolutionaries could not storm his position. Theoretically, holding out until relief arrived was the best option. The problem was that the nobles themselves were just as divided. Those with influence were either dead or in Vienna for the conference, and no one left had the authority to command the others. The battle had been raging for hours, yet the noble-controlled army had not appeared on the field. This gave Count Adrien reason to worry. If reinforcements never came, they were finished. Since the second revolution, more than a thousand people had already been executed publicly by the new government, with even more killed in secret. True, no nobles had yet been executed openly, but many had already “met with accidents,” including men of higher rank than him. If not for the tense situation, the royalists would never have compromised so quickly.
*** https://postimg.cc/gallery/PwXsBkC (Maps of the current territories of the countries in this novel made by ScH)
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