The minor incident on the Persian front did not attract the attention of the Holy Roman government. Different positions naturally led to different perspectives. In Franz’s view, whether it was borrowing passage or drawing Russian forces into a joint offensive against Persia, none of it amounted to more than a minor issue. The Russians had been eyeing India for far longer than a day or two. Regardless of what the upper echelons of the Russian government might be thinking at the moment, the nobles and bureaucrats at home were already unable to restrain themselves. Even the constraints imposed by the Far Eastern battlefield could not extinguish Russia’s ambitions toward India. Especially after the Holy Roman navy achieved a decisive victory in the Battle of Malacca, Russian confidence in the Continental Alliance winning the war surged dramatically. Within the Russian Empire, the voices of the pro-war faction had already risen sky high. What Russian nobles feared most now was one thing only: arriving too late and finding that the British had already surrendered. This concern was not unfounded. In the previous continental war, the same thing had happened. Before Russia could even exert itself, the French had already capitulated. The British Empire was far wealthier than France had ever been, and India alone was enough to make the Russians unable to let go. If they acted too late and missed the opportunity to divide up India, there would be no remedy for regret. Against this broader backdrop, the Russian forces on the front line would not only refrain from obstructing matters, they might even go along with the situation and directly join in. After all, Russo-Austrian joint operations were nothing new. Based on past experience, fighting alongside Austrian forces not only guaranteed logistics, but even raised food standards by several levels. As for political concerns, opinions naturally differed depending on one’s stance. In the eyes of the hardliners, those who obstructed the launch of war might very well be branded as traitors. Once a fait accompli was created, given Nicholas II’s indecisive temperament, there would be little he could do beyond pinching his nose and accepting it. If the Russians were already participating in the war, was there really any need to worry about cannon fodder? At worst, a portion of India could be carved out after the war and handed over to the Russians. What truly held Franz’s attention at present was still the European theater. The military was no longer satisfied with merely bombing the British Isles. The army, navy, and air force had jointly formulated a grand strategy for landing on the British Isles. “Isn’t landing on the British Isles right now a bit too hasty?” It had to be admitted that air superiority was a powerful asset. With control of the skies, the Holy Roman Empire had stunned the British at the very start of the war. As a result, even without securing naval supremacy, the Holy Roman military was already preparing to force a landing. Once the landing succeeded, the war would enter its final countdown. A force made up largely of hastily mobilized militia simply lacked the capacity to stop the advance of the Holy Roman army. Yet amphibious landings were never easy. Although the British were currently performing poorly, that was only because they had yet to adapt to this war. Once they reacted, the British would not be so easy to deal with. Even if they could not reverse the situation, they would at least struggle fiercely. Chief of Staff Morkes said, “Your Majesty, this is the best option for ending the war in the shortest possible time. The British have not yet reacted. Their thinking is still stuck in the framework of continental warfare. This is our best opportunity. If we successfully complete the landing, we can defeat the British and win this war within three months. If we follow conventional methods, it will be very difficult to win the war in less than one to two years. In order to achieve victory as quickly as possible and minimize overall losses, taking a certain degree of risk is acceptable.” “Finishing a world war in three months” sounded exhilarating, almost like cheating the rules. If the war really could be concluded in such a short time, Britain’s allies would effectively have been found in vain. Franz did not believe that the countries of the Americas could complete mobilization and deploy forces to the European theater within just three months. Of course, this would also render the previously planned commerce raiding strategy meaningless. No matter how tight the blockade, the British Isles still possessed enough supplies to last three months. On this point, Franz had no particular objections. As long as the war could be won, he was willing to accept any method of fighting. After hesitating repeatedly, Franz finally spoke slowly, “Then let us try it first. However, the plan must be meticulous. We cannot give the enemy any openings that would cause excessive casualties among the assault forces.” Reality proved that no political figure lacked a taste for risk. The only difference was whether that impulse was overt or concealed. A forced landing on the British Isles appeared, on the surface, to pose no serious problems, yet in truth it was fraught with hidden dangers. The main force of the Royal Navy was still intact, and the British air force retained considerable strength. If they managed to seize an opportunity, the losses could be devastating. In the original timeline, the failure of “Operation Sea Lion” was the result of multiple factors acting together, with the seeds already sown during the Dunkirk campaign. Most crucially, a certain individual made a sudden and disastrous decision to shift the focus of air raids to the bombing of London. This gave the British air force a chance to recover, turning danger into safety. Franz was, of course, well aware of these historical lessons. Although the Holy Roman air force was also bombing London, its strategic objectives were fundamentally different. The Third Reich bombed London with the aim of crippling the command system, hoping that chaos in the capital would collapse British command and force Britain to surrender. The Holy Roman air force’s bombing was far more straightforward. Its target was the British air force itself, with the primary goal of luring out and annihilating the main British air formations. In essence, the bombing of London served as a smokescreen. The true targets were Britain’s heavy industrial system. In Franz’s view, destroying a large steel mill was no less valuable than wiping out an entire British division. Eliminating a shipyard was far more meaningful than sinking a single battleship. Without reliable logistical and industrial support, once Britain lost its capacity for sustained production, defeat would become only a matter of time. Given options with greater certainty, Franz would naturally avoid unnecessary risks. But the situation is different now. The risks had already been reduced to a controllable level. At worst, the losses would amount to a few ships and several tens of thousands of troops, a price that the Holy Roman Empire could fully afford at its current strength. … The Holy Roman version of “Operation Sea Lion” being launched did not mean that the previous strategies had been abandoned. There was no inherent contradiction between them, and it was entirely feasible to carry them out simultaneously. Arbitrarily changing strategic plans is an absolute taboo in military affairs. History offers many examples. Certain figures lost their entire realm precisely because they lurched from one idea to another, striking east one moment and west the next. Having learned from historical lessons, Franz had always maintained a cautious attitude when it came to strategy. On the surface, it appeared that the Holy Roman Empire possessed an abundance of strategic plans. It seemed as though every front was a priority, and yet none truly was. In reality, this impression was misleading. The strategic choices available to great powers and small states are fundamentally different. Small states, constrained by limited national strength, must select a single direction and commit to it fully. They cannot afford to turn back or change course midway. For small states, there is often only one chance. Failure means annihilation. Great powers operate under entirely different conditions. With ample national strength, they can sustain multiple strategies at the same time. Even if one or two of them fail, the overall situation remains unaffected. Compared with Britain, the Holy Roman Empire already held a clear advantage in national strength. As such, the simultaneous activation of multiple strategies was hardly surprising. A closer examination reveals that the series of strategic plans previously adopted by the Holy Roman military all shared a common feature. They were all aimed at weakening Britain’s capacity to wage war. … As the sun sank below the horizon, only the lingering glow of dusk remained. On the surface of the sea, two vessels flying the British flag were sailing toward Cam Ranh Bay, one following closely behind the other. Judging from the weathered artillery mounted on its deck, it was not difficult to tell that the vessel at the rear was a warship. A warship trailing so closely behind a merchant vessel looked distinctly unnatural. Closer, and closer still. The steel cables connecting the merchant ship and the warship gradually came into view. It turned out that the warship was being towed forward by the merchant vessel. At last, the warship entered the harbor. The surviving officers and sailors aboard let out a collective sigh of relief. As one of the few lucky ships to escape the Battle of Malacca, the Gale had nevertheless paid a heavy price. The dense pattern of shell impacts across its hull made it clear that the HMS Gale had endured severe punishment. Upon closer inspection, one would also notice that its draft was unusually deep, as if it were heavily overloaded. Overloading was impossible. In order to escape, everything that could be discarded had already been thrown overboard along the way. Since it was not overloaded, the conclusion was obvious. Fortunately, the HMS Gale employed a sealed compartment design. Otherwise, flooding alone would have been enough to claim lives. Perhaps because they had pushed the ship too hard while fleeing for their lives, once the Gale finally shook off the enemy pursuit, its propulsion system collapsed entirely. Had they not happened to encounter a British merchant vessel along the way, the Gale, despite surviving the battle, would likely have become a drifting ghost ship. No sooner had the warship docked than maintenance crews rushed aboard to begin repairs. Judging by their speed and efficiency, the engineers were clearly seasoned veterans and had encountered such situations more than once. News of the Battle of Malacca had already reached the area. After the initial chaos, the Royal Navy units left behind quickly regained their composure. No matter what, life had to go on. The outcome of the naval battle could not be changed, but the aftermath still had to be dealt with. With the main force of the Far Eastern Fleet virtually wiped out, it existed in name only. Reinforcements were no longer an option. The only thing that could be done was to carry out emergency repairs on the surviving warships as quickly as possible. There were no flowers, no applause, and no welcoming banquet. The tense atmosphere made it clear that the situation at Cam Ranh Bay was far from optimistic. For Colonel Nigel, who had just narrowly escaped death, these were all minor concerns. Being alive at all felt like divine mercy, and nothing else seemed worth worrying about. As for the future, that was something to consider only after returning to his quarters, getting a proper night’s sleep, and fully unwinding. … Colonel Nigel said expressionlessly, “Governor, that is the full account of the Battle of Malacca. This was not a battle at all. From beginning to end, we were completely on the defensive, unable to organize even a single effective counterattack. After Admiral Michel ordered a dispersed retreat, we were separated. None of the messages sent afterward received any reply. During the withdrawal, most of the enemy aircraft concentrated their attacks on the main force. The Elizabeth has most likely already been sunk.” It was obvious that Colonel Nigel had been dealt a heavy blow. Gone was his former confidence and high spirits. From head to toe, he radiated dejection, and even his tone was filled with a sense of despair. There was no helping it. The Royal Navy had suffered a devastating defeat in the Battle of Malacca. Not only had it shattered their former arrogance, it had also stripped away any confidence they had in the future. Colonel Nigel was one of them. In his view, with the powerful rise of air power, the room for naval forces to operate in future wars would only continue to shrink. Worse still, the Holy Roman Empire was the world’s foremost air power, far ahead of Britain in the field of aviation. In the battles to come, if there was no way to deal with the enemy’s air force, then no matter how strong the Royal Navy might be, it would be unable to exert its true strength. With no hope for the future, there was nothing left to desire. Having already lost confidence in what lay ahead, Colonel Nigel naturally adopted a detached attitude toward any accountability that might follow. After all, he had not fled the battlefield. He had withdrawn with the Gale only after receiving a retreat order. The fact that he had managed to bring the Gale back at all meant he had done his duty to the British Empire. To demand more than that would be unreasonable. However, someone always had to take the blame. The most obvious candidate was Fleet Commander Admiral Michel. Yet that man had most likely already met his God, and people tend to be lenient toward the dead. Since Michel had fallen in battle, even the gravest mistakes were written off entirely. Responsibility could only fall on those who were still alive. And among them, the officers with weaker backing and higher rank or position were the most likely to become scapegoats. Unfortunately, Colonel Nigel was one of the potential candidates. After all, most officers senior to him had been aboard the main force, and those main ships had sunk to the bottom of the sea. “Colonel Nigel, we will stop here for today. What you need now is to go back, take a hot bath, get a proper night’s sleep, or perhaps go out and relax for a while.” Having failed to obtain the information he wanted, Governor Evans showed no intention of making things difficult for Nigel. Accountability was a matter for the future. At present, there were far more urgent concerns. With the conclusion of the Battle of Malacca, the international balance of power in East Asia had been completely overturned, and Cam Ranh Bay was no longer safe. The enemy could strike at any moment, and given Britain’s limited strength in mainland Southeast Asia, there was virtually no chance of victory. Once mainland Southeast Asia fell, Sir Evans himself, as governor, would inevitably become one of the casualties of defeat. Both men were victims of the same misfortune. There was no need to make things harder for one another. One look at the dark circles under his eyes made it clear that Governor Evans had barely slept in recent days. The British Empire might still have a chance to turn the tide, but for the British colonies in mainland Southeast Asia, there was no possibility of a comeback. … The world does not bend to individual will, and for the British, the situation in East Asia continued to deteriorate. The once formidable British Far Eastern Fleet had been reduced to a band of fugitives, chased across the seas by the Continental Alliance. That was right. Spain and the Netherlands had also entered the war. Victory was the strongest stimulant of all. Once reluctant, both Spain and the Netherlands changed their stance. Since they were already on board, why not seek the greatest possible benefit for themselves? Opportunities to beat a drowning enemy were rare, and naturally, they could not afford to miss one.
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