Words once spoken are like water once spilled. There is no taking them back. Especially not in matters as grave as the succession of the throne. This was no joke. Since he had already made up his mind, Franz had no intention of changing it, no matter how others tried to persuade him. Any profession grows tiresome if one does it long enough. Being emperor was no exception. Power was certainly tempting, but after holding supreme authority for more than fifty years, Franz had long since lost the passion he once had. Just look at his conduct over the past decade or two. He had pushed a huge portion of state affairs onto Frederick, under the pretext of “tempering the crown prince’s political abilities.” In reality, he simply wanted to slack off. Yet no matter how much he tried to slack, an emperor was still an emperor. He still had to bear responsibility for the country. Franz could leave day-to-day administration to others, but matters of long-term national development and grand strategy in diplomacy still had to be decided by him personally. In truth, Franz had already grown weary of the role. A man in his seventies or eighties still grinding away at his post could only be called a model worker. The main reason he had endured for so long was that, in earlier years, the world had been full of competing powers and the international situation was uncertain. Franz was not confident that Frederick alone could hold everything together. Now, with the dust finally settled, the era of conquering the world had ended. The Holy Roman Empire’s momentum was already unstoppable, and the demands placed on the personal abilities of the monarch had dropped dramatically. As a colossal empire, the Holy Roman Empire had an extremely high margin for error. As long as no one did anything foolish, and things proceeded step by step, its hegemony could easily last another hundred years. Franz was old, but Frederick was no longer young either. At fifty, he was well past the age of reckless ambition. Moreover, after more than twenty years of Franz’s tempering, he had seen every blade of political intrigue and every scheme of deception. His sharp edges had long been worn smooth. As a ruler tasked with preserving an existing order, he was perfectly suited. Abdication, however, was not something that could be done on a whim. The transfer of power required a process. Before that, Franz still needed to deal with several troublesome matters, so that Frederick would not find himself overwhelmed the moment he ascended the throne. For example, the enfeoffment of new states. Do not be fooled by how much territory the Holy Roman Empire now controlled. Even though the central government was already stretched to its limits, there were still many who firmly opposed any further division of the realm. Not everyone could see that the colonial system was bound to collapse. In the eyes of most people, colonial rule was still the most convenient option. After all, that was how things had always been done. Continuing along the same path did not seem problematic at all. Even the earlier push for localization in Africa would never have passed if Franz had not forced it through. Opposition to localization mainly stemmed from the fact that it sharply increased governance costs and made it impossible to continue plundering wealth without restraint. That said, localization strengthened the authority of the central government and increased the political influence of the enfeoffed nobility. Those who truly opposed it were primarily capitalists, which meant that, in practice, the resistance was manageable. The establishment of overseas states, however, was an entirely different matter. At its core, the creation of overseas fiefdom states benefited the royal family and the nobles granted overseas fiefs the most, followed by the settlers themselves. For the central government, this was anything but friendly. On the surface, those states remained part of the empire, the meat still in the pot. Yet in reality, they enjoyed extensive autonomy, carving up central authority and directly undermining the interests of the bureaucratic establishment. Once personal interests were involved, conflict was inevitable. Under the iron hand of Franz, even if these people wanted to stir up trouble, they would think twice. Under Frederick, however, that restraint was far from guaranteed. Human nature does not stand up well to temptation. Franz had no illusions that every official beneath him was a paragon of loyalty. Often, opposition did not require open rebellion. Simply making sure that nothing ever got done was enough. When it came to dragging their feet, bureaucrats everywhere were professionals. In Franz’s view, ministerial power and imperial authority were both complementary and fundamentally opposed. No monarch truly liked powerful ministers, just as no minister truly liked a powerful monarch. Taken to its most cynical extreme, one could even ask: if the emperor is already so capable, what are ministers needed for at all? During Franz’s reign, the throne was overwhelmingly strong. Even if officials harbored resentment, they could only swallow it in silence. Once Frederick took the throne, that balance would be far more fragile. One misstep, and the prestige of the monarchy itself could be damaged. Nicholas II was a ready-made cautionary example. The bureaucrats of the Holy Roman government might not be so reckless, but taking the opportunity to deliver a show of force was entirely possible. If a new monarch botched his very first major decision after ascending the throne, he could forget about commanding any real authority among his ministers thereafter. From that perspective, the old saying “for three years, do not alter your father’s way” made a great deal of sense. Make more moves and you make more mistakes. Make fewer moves and you make fewer mistakes. Make no moves and you make no mistakes. With a three-year buffer, once the political situation stabilized and royal authority had solidified, governing would become far easier. Franz handed day-to-day affairs over to Frederick and turned his attention to the map of the Holy Roman Empire, drawing circles across it. Enfeoffment was never a simple matter. The number of factors to consider was overwhelming. Politics, economics, and strategy all mattered, but so did local culture, social conditions, and the abilities and personal inclinations of the prospective rulers. They were all family. Franz had no desire to let this issue breed resentment. Absolute fairness was impossible. The fiefs were destined to vary in richness. … With the end of the World War, Lisbon gradually returned to its former prosperity. Only the damaged buildings left behind bore witness to the recent civil war. There was no doubt that the Portuguese republican faction had been thoroughly betrayed by the revolutionaries. Because they had been “rebelled against,” they were swept up and crushed together with the insurgents by the allied forces sent to suppress the unrest. Reality could be cruelly ironic. For years, King Carlos I had been constrained by domestic interest groups, unable to truly govern according to his own will. Yet after a brief exile and a subsequent restoration, those same interest groups were badly battered. Paradoxically, Carlos I now found himself in genuine control of the state. “Reform” returned to the agenda. This time, however, the model was no longer Britain or France, but the Holy Roman Empire, newly restored to the pinnacle of power. Before reforms could formally begin, the Portuguese government still had one critical problem to resolve. With the World War over, Africa had effectively become the Holy Roman Empire’s Africa. Overnight, Portugal’s African colonies were left in an awkward and precarious position. Living next to a superpower was never easy. With the entire African continent under Holy Roman control, who could guarantee that the Holy Roman government had no designs on Portuguese Africa? Even if they had no such intentions now, that did not mean they would never develop them. The moment the Holy Roman government took an interest in Portuguese Africa, it would spell disaster for Portugal. As a small country, Portugal’s survival in Europe had always depended on knowing when to yield. Rather than waiting to be stripped of its colonies later, it was better to put them on the table now in exchange for tangible benefits. After all, Portuguese Africa was hardly prime territory. It ran deficits year after year. King Carlos I asked, “How did the talks go? What price are the Austrians willing to offer?” Reform required money. Portugal might have been an old colonial empire, but for a long time its colonies had been controlled by entrenched interest groups. Not only did the government fail to profit from them, it had to keep subsidizing them year after year. In the past, Carlos would have worried about resistance from those vested interests. Now there was no need. Most of them had already met their end during the restoration war. The allied forces had acted with such decisiveness that there was clearly some exchange of interests behind the scenes. Just listen to the revolutionary propaganda and it was obvious. “The tyrant Carlos sold out national interests and colluded with foreign powers to suppress the republican government…” “Tyrant” was grossly unfair. Judging by Carlos I’s conduct, he had nothing to do with cruelty. At worst, he lacked ability. As for selling out national interests, that was nonsense. No king wanted to sell his country. It was simply that Portugal was too weak, leaving him no choice but to compromise abroad. Take the current situation as an example. Carlos I’s eagerness made it hard not to suspect that he had reached some under-the-table deal with the Holy Roman government. That said, everyone was smart enough to look the other way. Aside from the remaining revolutionaries and republicans, no one bothered to say it out loud. This was the helplessness of a small state. Faced with a world hegemon, Portugal was simply too weak. Whatever deals existed behind the scenes did not matter. Once an agreement was reached, it had to be honored. “The Holy Roman government has offered two options,” the minister reported. “The first is a one-time payment of fifty million guilders to buy out all our African colonies outright. The second is a colonial exchange. On this issue, they have shown considerable sincerity. They have put three territories on the table for us to choose from. Namely: Annam in the Indochinese Peninsula, the eastern regions of the former Persian Empire, and the southern territories of what was once Colombia in South America. According to the information provided by the Holy Roman government, each has its own advantages. Annam has the largest population and the strongest economy. The eastern Persian territories border our Indian possessions, while southern Colombia’s main advantage is its sheer size.” It was clear that Frank was extremely satisfied with this deal. No matter which option the king ultimately chose, the Foreign Ministry’s answer sheet was more than sufficient to explain things to the public. The people present were secretly startled. Almost at the same time, the same thought crossed their minds. This was actually an equal exchange. Had they misunderstood things earlier? Was Portuguese Africa really not the price paid in exchange for the Holy Roman government’s support for the restoration? Doubts aside, this was unquestionably good news. Since it was an equal transaction, there was no need to worry about being criticized later. For a small country to reach this point was already no easy feat. As for trying to take advantage of the situation, they might as well forget it. The world hegemon was not someone to be taken lightly. As if he had anticipated this reaction, Carlos I smiled faintly and said, “All of these options are acceptable. Let the parliament discuss it. That way, they will have one less reason to complain that we rule autocratically.” … Tokyo. Ever since news of the Vienna Accord arrived, Japan had erupted in a massive movement denouncing traitors to the nation. Territorial concessions and war reparations at the same time. For Japan’s fragile nationalist sentiment, this was simply intolerable. The delegation had yet to return home, so the Japanese government had to take the brunt of the anger first. In order to ease domestic tensions, the government led by Katsura Taro was forced to resign and accept responsibility. Even so, it was still not enough. Furious patriotic youths put forward the slogan, “Not an inch of land ceded, not a single yen paid.” If it had only been unrest among the public, that would have been manageable. After all, this was hardly the first time. The Japanese government had plenty of experience dealing with such situations. The real trouble was that the military joined in as well. The navy did not even need to be mentioned. Ever since its defeat in the Battle of Malacca, it had been branded a national disgrace and had virtually no political voice left. The real problem lay with the army overseas. It refused to withdraw, declaring that it would defend Japan’s colonies to the death and demanding that the government refuse to carry out the Vienna Accord. But international treaties were not child’s play. How could a country simply decide not to honor them? The smoke over Tokyo Bay had only just cleared. Less than a month had passed since the Holy Roman navy held its bonfire banquet in Tokyo. The people below might dare to treat this lightly, but those at the top of the government could not ignore the terrifying consequences of refusing to implement the treaty. Times had changed. The Russian Empire was bogged down in civil war and unable to free itself. The European world no longer needed Japan to contain Russia. A chess piece that had lost its value was no longer indispensable. It was only one step away from being discarded. The bonfire banquet in Tokyo had been a warning from the Holy Roman government. If Japan still refused to behave, the danger would be very real. For a time, Japan’s council of elder statesmen found itself trapped in a dilemma, unable to move forward or retreat.
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