The sudden turmoil in Paris turned the Bourbon restoration movement directly into a civil war, once again tightening the political situation across the continent. The tension did not stem from the French civil war itself. What truly concerned the other nations was the debt problem. Belgium, Spain, Russia, and the Italian states, all struggling with financial difficulties, paid close attention to every development. If not for the Bourbon dynasty’s firm opposition to foreign intervention, the Russian troops stationed outside Paris would have entered the city long ago. The refusal to intervene openly did not mean that covert interference was impossible. Each time the Parisian revolutionary army attempted to attack, they were blocked by Russian forces under the pretext of military exercises, giving the fleeing noble militias valuable support. It went further than that. Among the prisoners of war released by the Anti-French Alliance in batches, royalist supporters were always given priority. Those with political leanings toward the revolutionaries or the republican government were left to languish in prison, likely for years. The Alliance had no desire to see them return and disrupt the restoration, and the Bourbons had no intention of welcoming opponents back either. Perhaps, if stability returned in the future, there might be an opportunity for release, but in politics nothing was certain. The war itself was not entirely unwelcome. Since the defeat in the Continental War, resentment among the French people had been steadily building. A civil conflict would allow that anger to be released. From past experience, every time such emotions were exhausted, France would enter a period of relative calm, giving the Bourbons the chance to secure their rule. Everything remained under control. Franz paid little attention to the turmoil abroad. His focus was directed toward domestic affairs. After an initial period of adjustment, the Holy Roman Empire had finally achieved true unity. Though complete integration would take time, its current strength was already sufficient to intimidate others. On paper, the numbers were overwhelming. Including both its homeland and colonies, the empire’s economy accounted for 38.2% of global output. Its industry represented 54.8% of the world’s total. Its revenue surpassed the combined income of all other European nations. With the world’s strongest army and the second-largest navy, its power spoke for itself. In truth, Franz was stunned by the figures and for a moment thought it was April Fools’ Day. After he calmed down and studied them carefully, he realized the numbers were not exaggerated at all, and there was still plenty of potential to tap. The Continental War had ravaged France, Belgium, and the Italian regions, shrinking both global output and global industry. As the victor, the Holy Roman Empire not only completed national unification but also seized vast swaths of French colonial territory. The mines, railways, ports, and plantations the French had painstakingly built across Africa became the empire’s spoils. With wave after wave of immigrants pouring in, those assets turned into wealth on paper. Yes, only wealth on paper. Turning those holdings into real national power would still take a long time. The expected postwar depression did arrive, but its epicenter was not the Holy Roman Empire. The hardest hit were France, Belgium, and Sardinia, the countries most battered by the war. To ease the burden of demobilization and reduce financial pressure, Franz pulled out the grand policy of enfeoffment once more, enticing decorated officers and soldiers to emigrate to Africa. As a generous emperor, he put up land, mines, plantations, and lesser ports as fiefs. Some high-merit officers even received an entire city. Put simply, most of the colonies taken from France had now become private property. What remained under the crown was either sand or remote backwaters no one wanted. Since these were private holdings, local development ceased to be a problem. The newly minted military nobility rallied their own circles and went to develop the lands themselves. The government, for its part, only needed to collect some commercial taxes to keep local administration running. Everything else was no problem. So long as they did not stir up a major incident, Franz would simply turn a blind eye. In short, it was a system with a distinct Holy Roman flavor. If Franz could tolerate the great lords of Europe, then tolerating a bunch of petty lords in Africa was hardly a problem. Besides, with so much land under his name, how else could he govern it? It was impossible to copy Britain’s colonial rule. If they really tried that model, it would be less reliable than enfeoffment. At least with enfeoffment, the foundation of rule was more stable and there was no need to suppress native uprisings every few years. A glance at history was enough to see the pattern: territories governed by enfeoffed nobles almost never broke away, while those directly ruled by the central government often experienced rebellion and instability. As for the risk that regional nobles might grow too powerful, Franz had long stopped worrying. If they grew strong, so what? At worst, they became something like self-governing dominions, but the size of their fiefs naturally capped their development. Their own culture and class position guaranteed that they could never raise the slogan of “Why can’t nobles become kings and ministers?” let alone put an emperor on the guillotine. Their very survival as a class depended on being loyal monarchists. And even if the occasional dissenter appeared, the rest of the nobility would crush them. The ones most disadvantaged by this system were the central authorities, who found their power heavily constrained by the network of nobles beneath them. Of course, in the Holy Roman Empire this was never seen as a problem. The central government had never been strong to begin with. The Austrian administration under Franz was already the most powerful government the empire had ever seen. Strengthening it any further was something Franz would never allow, even if no one below objected. If the cabinet’s authority kept expanding, the balance would be overturned, and before long a single strong minister could turn the emperor into a rubber stamp. That was still the optimistic case. If the minister happened to be ruthless enough, he might not even leave the emperor that much, and instead flip the whole table to crown himself as the new master. Power without checks and balances was nothing but a devourer. History had proven again and again that human nature could not withstand temptation, and that loyalty was never as reliable as self-interest. Taking advantage of the victory in the Continental War, Franz directly gave the military nobility a great boost, planting their foundations firmly on the African continent. From this moment onward, the core that maintained the unity of the Holy Roman Empire became the Emperor himself. The states and nobles existed because they swore loyalty to the Emperor, and only then did the Holy Roman Empire exist. It was not that the Empire existed first and then produced an Emperor. If this approach were used in other countries, it would certainly stir up much dissatisfaction. However, the Holy Roman Empire was an exception. The states and nobles beneath it were all beneficiaries of this system, since the political framework had operated this way from the very beginning. What seemed like a trivial difference in definition was, in fact, the very source of legitimacy. Swearing loyalty to the Emperor meant that the princes stood on equal footing with the central government, possessing supreme autonomy. But if they were to swear loyalty to the government, it would mean the central authority could reclaim everything they possessed at any time. After decades of effort, the ideal political system in Franz’s mind was finally completed. The twists and turns along the way left him mentally and physically exhausted. As for the hidden dangers or future consequences, he no longer cared. After all, this world has never been perfect. Even the carefully managed Holy Roman Empire ultimately revolved around the Habsburg dynasty. If one day the Habsburg dynasty were to collapse, what did the Empire’s fate have to do with him? Franz was not noble enough to go through great effort only to benefit someone else and have nothing to show for it. According to the current political framework, as long as future generations did not recklessly bring ruin upon themselves, there would be no problem lasting for a hundred or even two hundred years. Beyond that, he was sorry, even a transmigrator was not omnipotent. With a stroke of his pen, the unique system of rule with “Holy Roman characteristics” was formally established. Not only in Africa, but in the future, colonies in the Americas and the East Indies would also follow this same model. The only difference lay in those distant regions: should he send one of his sons to become king there, or allow the nobles to practice local autonomy as they pleased? Franz had not yet made up his mind. Sometimes, having too much territory was nothing but trouble. For the first one or two generations, settlers still felt a sense of belonging to the mother country. But after three or five generations, speaking of loyalty or attachment was nothing more than nonsense. Other than cultural familiarity, what truly bound them together were shared interests. If their economies were closely connected and their strategic goals aligned, then they were like one family. But if core interests clashed, no matter how close they seemed, separation would be inevitable. Looking at the world map on the wall, Franz made up his mind that expansion could not continue. A rough calculation showed that the territories under the Holy Roman Empire’s control had already surpassed Britain’s, and were on the verge of exceeding forty million square kilometers. Judging from the current situation, if Franz did not step in to stop it, then in another ten years or so, the Empire’s dominion would definitely cross that mark. Yet such expansion was meaningless. The profits from colonial growth were not enough to offset the political problems that expansion brought. The world was no longer what it used to be. The days of seizing unclaimed land were long over as every inch of territory had already been divided. Any further expansion could only come from direct conflict with other powers, and the costs would far outweigh the benefits. “Prime Minister, tell the governors below that we need time to digest what we’ve already gained. In the years ahead, unless absolutely necessary, we must avoid military expansion. In recent times, the warlike atmosphere within the country has clearly gone too far. We are not warmongers, and we cannot keep shouting for war whenever there is nothing to do. The Cabinet must strengthen the ideological guidance of government officials, so that they learn to think first. Arrogance is the mark of poor upbringing. “The Foreign Ministry must also shift its perspective. From now on, we are no longer mere spectators in international affairs. You must be prepared to act as arbiters.” Franz was not overreacting. The truth was that the Austrian government was starting to drift. Victory had come too easily, blinding many and making them arrogant. Fine, it was acceptable for the great powers to strut a little. But the rulers themselves had to keep a clear head. Franz had noticed the problem long ago, but what unsettled him was that no one else in the government’s upper ranks had raised the issue. That, in itself, was abnormal. Even if those in power had become blind to the situation, surely their think tanks should have seen it. If none of them pointed it out, then what use were they? No, it was impossible. One or two people losing perspective was normal, but for everyone to be blinded was unthinkable. The only explanation was that they all saw it but chose not to take it seriously. Whatever the reason, the Emperor had recognized the problem, while the Cabinet still failed to grasp its seriousness. That was their mistake. Chancellor Karl gave a bitter reply, “Yes, Your Majesty!” For an Imperial Chancellor to be directly scolded by the Emperor was an enormous humiliation. In the entire history of the Holy Roman Empire, such occasions were few and far between. To have it happen now, just before retirement, dealt a heavy blow to Karl’s pride. Of course, that was all. Politicians were thick-skinned by nature. Even if someone pointed a finger at their nose and cursed them, they could still smile in return. A little embarrassment was hardly enough to crush Chancellor Karl. In a way, it even reflected the Emperor’s trust. In politics, only trusted subordinates were rebuked directly. If mistakes were made and the Emperor still smiled and said nothing, that would be the true political disaster.
*** https://postimg.cc/gallery/PwXsBkC (Maps of the current territories of the countries in this novel made by ScH)
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