Ottawa. The radio broadcast began. “Good afternoon, citizens. I am your Prime Minister, Mackenzie Powell. I sincerely apologize for disturbing you at this hour. Yes, today I bring grave news. The rumors that have been circulating are true. We have been defeated. The British government has signed an armistice with the Continental Alliance. Some of you may already know it by the name printed in the newspapers earlier, the Vienna Accord. Under overwhelming military pressure from the enemy, the British government was forced to abandon all overseas dominions and colonies. Canada is among them. I know this is a blow that no one wishes to accept. I do not wish to accept it either. But I ask everyone to listen patiently until I finish… Over the past two months, we have exhausted every effort to preserve Canada. Yet the outcome did not change. Some may believe that the homeland abandoned us. At first, I thought so as well. After all, in the eyes of those officials in Britain, we have always been treated as second class. But after receiving the materials sent from the homeland, I realized I was wrong. This time, we were not betrayed. The enemy was simply too powerful. I have already forwarded these materials to the newspapers, and everyone will be able to read them soon. What you will see is likely beyond anything you imagined. The situation at home is catastrophic. Our ports are burning in raging flames. Our factories are weeping under enemy shellfire. Even Downing Street and Buckingham Palace have been reduced to ruins. This was an unequal war. We dragged along a group of useless, obstructive allies and charged straight into a fight against the entire world. I will not go into further detail here. Please read the newspapers yourselves. The reality is far worse than what I have just described. What I must tell you now is this. Though we have been defeated, we will never submit. I believe that five million Canadians will never willingly accept enemy rule. Of course, I am not asking you to take up arms and defend Canada right now. If even the mighty British Empire could not withstand the enemy, it would be even more impossible for us. If there were even the slightest chance to preserve Canada, I would be the first to shoulder a rifle and march to the battlefield. Unfortunately, the disparity in strength between the two sides is simply too great. Armed resistance would bring nothing but pointless sacrifice and would have no meaning at all. As Prime Minister of Canada, my failure to preserve this country is already an unforgivable dereliction of duty. I cannot now lead five million Canadians to their deaths. The enemy seeks to seize Canada by force for one reason only: to impose colonial rule and plunder our wealth. Then we will deny them that prize. We will dismantle our factories, blow up our bridges, burn our homes and farms, and then leave this land together, leaving nothing but ruins behind for the enemy. Great Canadians will never submit to any foe. If they think they can enslave us, they are dreaming. Once we leave, we can return to Britain, or we can go to the nations of South America. Anywhere is acceptable, so long as we do not allow the enemy to stand over us and trample on our dignity. Parliament has already made its decision. The evacuation of the population from Canada will begin immediately. Not a single screw will be left behind for the enemy. We have reached agreements with multiple countries. Everyone may freely choose their destination for resettlement. This is everything your unworthy Prime Minister is still able to do. Wherever there are Canadians, there is Canada. I believe Canada will never truly perish. It will live on in our hearts…” The impassioned speech did not ignite any fervor. What followed was a chorus of curses and abuse. Talking about a so-called Canadian spirit in times like these was nothing more than a joke. After all, everyone here came from different corners of the world. More than half were first-generation immigrants. In the minds of most people, Canada was simply a colony, a place to make money. Even if the master were to change, what did that have to do with them? One had to remember that English immigrants themselves were only a minority here. Other ethnic groups had little to no emotional attachment to the British Empire. If the ruler changed, then so be it. Life would go on as usual. Canada might be British now, but flip back a few pages in the history books and it was clear that the British had taken it from someone else in the first place. Now, with a few shouted slogans, Mackenzie Powell expected everyone to abandon their livelihoods and flee together with him. The fact that there was no immediate uprising was already an act of courtesy. At the very least, the Indigenous peoples had no intention of leaving. Hispanics, Italians, Germans, and Irish were equally unwilling to buy into this idea. Most French and Scottish settlers did not want to run either. Even among immigrants from England itself, not everyone was willing to go. For the powerful, migration was a minor inconvenience. For ordinary families, however, being uprooted even once meant severe hardship. Even the middle class had to worry about slipping down the social ladder. When core interests were at stake, no matter how stirring the slogans sounded, they struggled to achieve their intended effect. If the call had been to rise up and resist, the results might actually have been better. Unfortunately, the script had already been written, and Mackenzie Powell could not add extra scenes for himself. Everyone knew that moving five million people was unrealistic. The dominion government simply did not have that level of organizational capacity. Mackenzie Powell had no such plan, and the Austrian government had no such intention either. These slogans were never meant to be fully realized. They were designed to deceive as many as possible. As long as these die hard elements could be driven away, the deal between the British and the Austrian governments would already be halfway complete. As for the other half, it was naturally to eliminate the local elites who held influence yet had no ties with the Holy Roman Empire. The charges had already been prepared in advance: collaboration with the enemy. This kind of reckless meddling was bound to provoke widespread resentment among the local population. That did not matter. Britain had already said farewell to Canada. As a British national, why should anyone still care about what happened here? Similar scenes were not limited to Canada. Australia and New Zealand were witnessing the same drama. Bureaucrats loudly chanted slogans like “not a single screw left for the enemy,” constantly coaxing and deceiving the public into leaving, all to prepare the ground for the upcoming handover. Even when some people attempted to organize armed resistance, they were swiftly suppressed by the dominion governments, under the noble pretext of “preventing meaningless sacrifice.” … Compared to Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, which had relatively small populations and a degree of local cooperation, the newly occupied regions of Persia and East Africa proved to be far more troublesome. As for the Indochinese Peninsula, the most populous and most developed region, Annam, had already been transferred to Portugal. What remained was no longer a serious concern. According to the prearranged plan, Persia and East Africa would eventually be localized. That meant all unstable elements had to be removed. Thus, the “empty the cage and replace the birds” plan in Frederick’s hands was unveiled. “The plan itself is indeed sound, but under what pretext do we carry it out? This involves the movement of tens of millions of people. Without a plausible justification, it will be difficult to explain,” someone asked. Even a prostitute knew to put up a facade. As the world’s hegemon, the Holy Roman government naturally had to be mindful of its image. Despite having endorsements from various countries, Frederick still felt it necessary to put on a show, to make his methods appear less crude. Chancellor Chandler spoke solemnly, “Your Highness, the countries of South America possess vast lands but sparse populations. Their severe labor shortages have hindered economic development. They have repeatedly submitted applications to us, hoping to introduce labor. In the spirit of promoting shared development and progress among nations, we have magnanimously set aside past grievances and approved their talent recruitment plans.” Everyone knew this was complete nonsense. Even when talent was imported, it came from Europe. No one had ever heard of importing talent from Africa. But that was beside the point. The Holy Roman government only needed a justification that could be presented in public. As for why the South American countries chose to import ‘talent’ from Persia and East Africa, that was their own problem and had absolutely nothing to do with the Holy Roman Empire. If anyone were to ask, the answer would be simple. The politicians of South America had their heads kicked by a donkey. Bureaucratic thinking had gone to their brains, and they made decisions by slapping the table without thinking. As for whether the South American governments would accept this explanation, such concerns were entirely unnecessary. Being a defeated nation was no easy matter. Just because they had not been openly settled with at the peace conference did not mean there was no price to pay. By taking over this troublesome burden for the Holy Roman Empire, past matters would be considered settled. If they refused to cooperate, then a more cooperative government could simply be installed in their place. As long as the Holy Roman Empire remained the world’s hegemon, this narrative would stand as the final verdict. Even if there were objections, they would have to be swallowed in silence. In any case, the ones being fleeced were all former members of the Oceanic Alliance. Other South American countries were merely filling the numbers and did not actually need to take in these problems. As if struck by sudden inspiration, Frederick added, “Perhaps we can also add the United States as a backup option. If they do not break apart, then we can stuff a few more people into them and intensify their internal ethnic tensions.” In truth, Frederick’s real target for dumping people was Britain. The British Isles were small to begin with. Adding several million more outsiders would make them completely unsustainable. Unfortunately, the upcoming colonial transfer still required full British cooperation. Things could not be pushed too far. “Understood, Your Highness,” Chancellor Chandler replied. … “Your Highness, new problems have emerged in India again. Disputes over boundary markers have erupted, and the various countries are arguing nonstop. We have attempted mediation many times, but the results have been minimal. Often, before an old issue is resolved, a new one arises.” From the exhaustion written all over Leo’s face, it was clear how uncomfortable it was to be caught between the European powers. Being a hegemon was no easy task. The foreign ministry of a hegemon was even worse. Endless affairs to handle every day, and frequent travel across the world. After a brief moment of thought, Frederick waved his hand and said, “Handle it as you see fit. As long as they do not start fighting, let them argue. A bit of chaos is not a bad thing. It keeps them from having too much idle time. When they have argued enough and can finally sit down calmly to talk, they will naturally know how to resolve the problem.” Life was like a play, and politics was an even grander one. Very often, what appeared before the eyes was not necessarily the truth. On the surface, it seemed as though the European powers had fallen into internal strife over the division of interests in India. But who could guarantee that this was not deliberately staged for the Holy Roman government to see?
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