The war was over. Once the news spread, all of Europe erupted. Over the past year, it was not only the British who had been scraping by on meager rations. Life had been hard for ordinary Europeans as well. Even if people were not starving, their wallets had taken a severe beating. War was the root of it all. With maritime routes cut off, many industrial raw materials could no longer be shipped in. Even when they could, they had to detour, driving costs sharply upward. Aside from the largely self-sufficient Holy Roman Empire and Russia, most European countries were strangled by shortages of raw materials. Factories were forced to cut production or lay off workers. Unemployment rose, prices climbed, and everyday life naturally became harder for ordinary people. Fortunately, Emperor Franz showed restraint. Not only did he refrain from exploiting the crisis, he instead opened the granaries and released massive quantities of grain into the European market, cutting off any attempt by capitalists to speculate and hoard. Governments across Europe followed suit, rolling out emergency measures and distributing relief grain to the unemployed, ensuring that people at least had food to eat. It was precisely because the food problem was solved that Britain’s schemes failed. Otherwise, if revolutionary groups had stirred things up, Europe might truly have been engulfed in flames. After enduring a year of hardship, finally winning the war just as Christmas arrived was enough to make anyone ecstatic. With the exception of the Russian Empire, mired in civil war, and defeated Britain, the entire European world was swept up in celebration. While the public rejoiced, governments were already hard at work. Winning the war did not mean everything was finished. One crucial step still remained: dividing the spoils. With Britain’s surrender, the international order was undergoing a complete reshuffle. Whenever an old hegemon falls and a new one rises, crisis and opportunity always go hand in hand. As members of the Continental Alliance, the European powers had clearly chosen the right side this time. Now it was time to share in the fruits of victory. Once concrete interests were involved, disputes were inevitable. The cake was only so big. If one took more, the others would inevitably get less. Former close allies were now turning into competitors. Fortunately, Russia had already been kicked out of the game ahead of time. Otherwise, the struggle would have been even more brutal. To ensure a smoother division of the spoils, representatives from all Continental Alliance countries had now gathered inside the Holy Roman Empire’s diplomatic headquarters. As for the latecomers, there was little to say. They had contributed too little to the war and could now only tag along as spectators, with almost no real voice. The true contest was still among the European powers. Scanning the room, Leo, the Holy Roman Foreign Minister, spoke with visible confidence, “Welcome to Vienna, gentlemen. I hope you all enjoy a pleasant Christmas here. Through our joint efforts over nearly a year, we have finally defeated the evil John Bull and restored peace to the human world. Every nation present here made its own contribution to this war. All of you are heroes of humanity. Britain has been defeated, but the mess it left behind still needs to be cleaned up by us. To restore international order as quickly as possible, we now need the collective effort of all nations. Today’s topic is the Indian subcontinent. Thanks to the British, South Asia has become a complete mess. Four hundred million people there urgently need our rescue. As responsible nations, I trust everyone here will be willing to contribute their share for the sake of world peace.” There was no doubt about it. What had been put on the table was meant for everyone to divide up. The territories that the Holy Roman government truly valued were never mentioned at all. Regions such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and British Africa were already firmly in the Holy Roman Empire’s pocket. Leo skipped over them entirely, and the other delegates all pretended not to notice. There was nothing to argue about. In pure economic terms, India alone was worth more than all those regions combined. With the most fertile land laid out for division, who could say the Holy Roman government was being stingy? Everyone present was sharp enough to catch the implication immediately. “The South Asian subcontinent” meant exactly that. No islands were included. India itself did not have many islands to begin with. Aside from Sri Lanka being somewhat sizable, the rest were tiny specks hardly worth mentioning. What was being offered now matched exactly what the Holy Roman government had promised in advance, so naturally the delegates had no objections. “Your Excellency, Spain is willing to contribute its share to bring peace in South Asia!” The Spanish representative, Román Riquelme, declared with enthusiasm. In the world war that had just ended, Spain had made quite a splash. Centuries of pent-up resentment had finally found an outlet, and it showed. In the Far East, Spain had successfully kicked Japan while it was down. In Europe, it not only took part in the bombing of London, but also seized control of the Strait of Gibraltar. For a moment, it was as if the once overbearing Spain had returned overnight. Even if much of it was an illusion, it did nothing to stop Spain from reentering the ranks of the great powers. With Russia knocked out of the game, Spain had effectively become the second most important member of the Continental Alliance, right behind the Holy Roman Empire. Granted, this “second place” came with a lot of water in it. The gap between Spain and the number one was enormous, and Spain had no real capital to show off. Still, that did nothing to dampen Román’s mood. Being weaker had its advantages. At the very least, Spain did not need to worry about pressure from the top dog. If Spain were truly strong, Román would instead be worrying about whether his country might follow the Russian Empire’s path. “The Nordic Federation is also willing to contribute to peace and stability on the South Asian subcontinent.” “Belgium is likewise willing to contribute to peace in South Asia…” … When it came to interests, no one was willing to step aside. The smaller powers could not compete with the Holy Roman Empire, but they were not afraid of Spain. After all, the new international order was about to be established. Once that happened, whoever dared to start a war or disrupt that order would become an enemy of the Holy Roman Empire. Any country with even a shred of strength to engage in colonial expansion rushed into the scramble, afraid of missing the chance to “maintain peace and stability” in South Asia. … St. Petersburg. Ever since news arrived that the other powers had abandoned Russia and begun carving up India, the atmosphere within the Russian court had turned tense. They had paid money, expended effort, shed blood and sweat, and even allowed the country to slide into paralysis because of this war, only to be told at the moment of dividing the spoils that Russia would get nothing. Anyone in their position would be furious. Anger aside, the civil war was still ongoing, and there was very little the Russian Empire could actually do. Nicholas II issued an order in fury, “Command all troops on the Indian front to abandon everything and return home immediately to suppress the rebellion.” Since there was no share of the spoils anyway, continuing to stay in India to maintain order would only be working for someone else’s benefit. Nicholas II had no intention of being that noble. He had no interest in unpaid labor. “Your Majesty, Afghanistan has already fallen. Most of Central Asia and the Caucasus are also in rebel hands. With the front lines in that state, recalling the troops may be…” Before Prime Minister Sergei Witte could finish, Nicholas II cut him off, “If the rebels block the road, then fight your way back! We’re suppressing rebellions anyway. It doesn’t matter where we start.” There was no doubt about it—this was spoken in anger. Fighting their way back sounded simple enough, but the real problem was logistics. If a withdrawal had been feasible, the military would have acted long ago. No matter how important India was, it still could not outweigh the homeland. The reason no withdrawal order had been issued was straightforward. Once separated from the allied forces, the hundreds of thousands of troops on the front line would immediately lose their supply lifeline. If Russia were a smaller country, it might still have been manageable. By tightening belts and scraping together provisions, they could perhaps hide away enough supplies for ten days or half a month. But the Russian Empire was vast. From India back to the homeland was a journey of thousands of kilometers, all while facing rebel blockades along the way. Without adequate supplies, how could such a retreat succeed? The Far Eastern army had already been all but wiped out. The Russian forces on the Indian front were now the empire’s last elite troops. If even these were lost, rebuilding the Russian army’s combat strength would no longer be a matter of months or years. To prevent such a catastrophe, the Minister of War, Yevgeny, had no choice but to steel himself and speak up. “Your Majesty, the enemy will not let us have our way. The frontline units have already been scattered. Even regrouping them is extremely difficult. At present, command authority over these troops lies with the Allied High Command. If we forcibly try to assemble our forces, the enemy may seize the opportunity to stir up trouble and simply label our troops as rebels.” There was some exaggeration in his words, but when it came to politics, nothing was impossible. As long as the stakes were great enough, anything could happen. Driven by self-interest, European powers were already backing Russian rebels. Who could guarantee they would not take the chance to eliminate Russia’s remaining elite forces outright? “Hmph!” “I’ll remember this debt. One day, I’ll settle accounts with them all!” Nicholas II roared in fury. It was obvious that his resentment toward the Holy Roman government had reached its peak. If circumstances allowed, he would have torn up the alliance on the spot. But that was impossible for now. Even with the alliance in place, Russia’s situation was already this dire. Without it, the attacks would no longer be limited to covert schemes. After a brief pause, Nicholas II added coldly, “Deploy all newly raised units at once. Time is not on our side. We must accelerate the suppression of the rebellion. Only by crushing the internal unrest before the new international order is established will this world still have room for our voice.” Reality was the harshest teacher. After repeated blows from society and history alike, Nicholas II had finally begun to grow in adversity. He now understood one truth with painful clarity: strength was the only real foundation of everything.
[Previous | Table of Contents | Next]
Comments
Post a Comment