The government was taking action, and the public was not idle either. The capital market reacted first. Prices of strategic materials continued to rise in the futures market, and the stock market presented a stark contrast of gains and losses. Every company engaged in overseas trade suffered heavy declines, while the military industry sector surged sharply. To protect their own interests, capitalists involved in overseas trade moved quickly and launched a sweeping anti-war campaign across Europe. In the smaller European states in particular, almost the entire population took part, submitting petitions to the British and Austrian embassies abroad and urging both countries to calm down and resolve the issue through negotiation. Unfortunately, it had no real effect. The war machines of both Britain and the Holy Roman Empire were already rolling forward, and could not be stopped simply because someone wanted them to stop. Franz was not ignoring public opinion. On the contrary, it was public opinion that justified starting the war. Although anti-war voices among the people were loud, the pro-war voices were even louder. At home, aside from those whose interests were threatened and a handful of idealists, almost no one opposed the war. Compared with society as a whole, their voices were insignificant. There was no way around it. The British prey was simply too tempting. If the British Empire were still at its peak, others might have ambition but would have no choice but to suppress it. Reality was harsh. Britain had missed the Second Industrial Revolution, which placed it at a disadvantage in international competition. People had suspected Britain’s declining strength for some time, but the prestige of the Royal Navy still kept most from acting rashly. Everything changed when Britain announced its withdrawal from the free trade system. In doing so, it exposed its vulnerabilities. People suddenly realized that the former workshop of the world was already in decline. Once a soft spot is exposed, it is impossible to regain the same deterrent power. There were many clever people in the world. If Franz could see that Britain could be overwhelmed by sheer numbers, naturally others saw it as well. With its larger industrial capacity, the Holy Roman Empire could simply outbuild Britain where for every warship Britain produced, it could produce two. Naval forces are not only technical arms but technological arms. No matter how elite the Royal Navy might be, it is impossible to fight two opponents at once on the open sea. At least when the performance of both sides’ warships was roughly equal, defeating two with one was simply impossible. This raised an obvious question. Since their own overall national strength was superior, why should Britain remain the leader? This was not a contest over an empty title. Enormous interests were tied to it. The greatest prize was monetary hegemony, which was almost inseparable from global hegemony itself. In the past ten or twenty years, Britain’s dominant position had weakened, and this had eroded the global dominance of the pound as well. The Holy Roman Empire’s currency had carved away a significant share of that advantage. Still, sharing was never as profitable as having it all. If Britain could be eliminated, securing monetary hegemony alone was something no one would turn down. Beyond that, Britain possessed the most fertile colonies. These territories were an irresistible temptation to both nobles and commoners. The prospect of rising in status overnight was not an exaggeration. In line with Emperor Franz’s consistent approach, the most productive lands would be distributed as fiefs, making it impossible for people not to be enticed. Everyone had waited for years, hoping for Britain’s decline. Now that they finally saw the British Empire weakening, delaying action seemed dangerous. What if Britain recovered? There was precedent. The Holy Roman Empire itself had once been a fragmented old regime before rising again from the ashes. No one dared assume Britain could not do the same. By almost any measure, Britain at present was stronger than the divided Holy Roman Empire had been back then, and its path to recovery would be easier. With some internal adjustments and by catching up on what it had missed in the Second Industrial Revolution, Britain could still reclaim its place as a formidable global empire. It did not need to surpass the Holy Roman Empire completely. As long as their strength was close, the Holy Roman government would not launch a challenge that would guarantee mutual destruction. Britain might continue to decline in the future, but patience across the continent had already worn thin. People were no longer willing to wait. Moreover, Britain would not simply sit and await ruin. If reform were truly straightforward, Campbell would not have stopped midway. It was precisely because everything that could be reformed had been reformed, and just as they reached the point where true structural change was required, they found themselves stuck. With no alternative, Britain turned to suppressing its competitors in order to preserve its remaining power. Looking back, they found that their competitors had already grown into giants. Forget suppressing them, avoiding being suppressed by them would already be considered fortunate. Unwilling to surrender its hegemony, Britain was no exception. Driven by interests, the British Empire could not help but set its war machine in motion. In Saint Petersburg, ever since tensions between the Holy Roman Empire and Britain began to escalate, Nicholas II had sensed an ominous outcome. Although he dreamed of provoking a war between Britain and Austria so that he could act as the fisherman and reap the greatest benefit, the timing was entirely wrong. The Russian Empire was mired in the Far Eastern quagmire, and until the Japanese problem was resolved, it had no capacity to focus on anything else. Under these conditions, the idea of profiting from others’ conflict was impossible. Even maintaining the Far Eastern front required assistance from the Holy Roman government just to keep it from collapsing. Under these circumstances, the idea of profiting from others’ conflict was unrealistic. Even avoiding collateral damage would already be considered fortunate. If Britain and the Holy Roman Empire went to war, all of Europe’s foreign trade would be affected, and Russia would be no exception. If the impact was limited to trade losses, Nicholas II would gladly tolerate it in exchange for seeing Britain and the Holy Roman Empire tear each other apart. The real problem lay elsewhere. The Russian army’s logistics in the Far East depended entirely on transport from Europe. Aside from a small amount delivered via the Siberian route, most supplies were shipped by sea, routed through the Qing Dynasty, and then smuggled to frontline units. Once war broke out between the Holy Roman Empire and Britain, maritime transport would inevitably be disrupted. Ships carrying strategic materials would become priority targets for both sides. Accidental attacks were unavoidable. Encountering the Holy Roman Navy might still be manageable, since they would not seize Russian vessels. But encountering the Royal Navy would be disastrous. Nicholas II had no illusions that Britain would grant Russia any special concessions. Britain and Japan were allies, while Britain and Russia had only enmity between them. If British forces intercepted Russian supplies at sea, frontline troops would suffer immediately. Without adequate logistics and provisions, the Russian army would be unable to fight at all. Realizing this, Nicholas II issued his orders without the slightest hesitation, “Instruct the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to push our previous orders, and place additional orders with the major military factories of the Holy Roman Empire. No matter the cost, we must deliver at least one year’s worth of strategic supplies to the Far East before war breaks out.” There was no time to waste. Any delay could lead to defeat. Fortunately, the smuggling network was already established. As long as the supplies were delivered into the territory of the Qing Dynasty, handlers there would take over and transport everything to the front line. All the Russian government needed to do was pay. Foreign Minister Mikhailovich hesitated, “Your Majesty, is this not too rushed? Stockpiling such large quantities of strategic materials inside the Qing Dynasty, while still guarding against Japanese sabotage, may easily trigger unexpected developments.” His concern was understandable. They had offended too many people. For decades they had been exploiting the Qing Dynasty, and hatred had long taken root. The reason smuggling continued smoothly was not only because the Qing Dynasty’s leadership hoped Russia and Japan would bleed each other, but also because the shipments were handled by Shanxi merchants who cared only about money. If the goods were left in the hands of nationalists, even if they did not burn everything outright, there would be no guarantee that supplies would reach their destination safely. The Japanese were not idle either. They were conducting anti-Russian propaganda day and night, far outmatching Russia’s own propaganda efforts. Nicholas II shook his head and said, “We can no longer afford to weigh every risk. Delay will make it impossible to deliver the supplies in time. Send the materials to the Qing Dynasty and place them under the custody of the Austrians. Their relations with the Qing imperial government are strong, and to avoid damaging that relationship, the authorities there will not touch Austrian cargo. As long as the Holy Roman Empire does not lose the struggle for hegemony, no one will dare make a reckless move.” It was clear that Nicholas II was deeply conflicted. On the one hand, he needed the Holy Roman Empire’s support to win the ongoing war against Japan. On the other hand, he hoped the Holy Roman Empire would ultimately be defeated, because only if it collapsed could the Russian Empire return to the center of world affairs. Regardless of these internal contradictions, Russia still had to stand with the Holy Roman Empire politically. The prestige of the Russo-Austrian Alliance could not be thrown away. As for Britain’s attempts to court Russia, Nicholas II had never taken them seriously. The hostility between Britain and Russia ran too deep. Even the Tsar did not dare casually abandon such enmity. Forming an alliance with an old enemy and turning against an existing ally was completely unthinkable. Attempting such a move would require replacing the Tsar himself. There had only ever been one Peter III, and there would never be another. Russia would not repeat that mistake. At that moment, the Minister of War, Yevgeny, spoke, “Your Majesty, the enemy has increased aerial patrols. To ensure the safety of our airships, we must strengthen their escorts. The Ministry of War requests additional aircraft procurement so that we may seize air superiority on the Far Eastern front.”
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