Holy Roman Empire

Limiting land armaments isn’t exactly a secret affair. Aside from the isolated British, all other European states benefit from it.

The Prusso-Russian War affected not only the two belligerent nations but also prompted their neighbors to expand their armaments, inflating the size of their armies to varying degrees.

It was Austria that set this unfortunate precedent. To ensure its security and maintain the capability to intervene in wars at will, the Vienna Government was the first to expand its army, triggering a chain reaction.

As of now, Austria’s land force has inflated to 947,000; to call it an army of a million wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

While expanding active troops, the Vienna Government also mobilized a large number of reservists under the guise of training.

If Franz wished, he could assemble an army of two to three million within a week, sufficient to deal with a variety of emergencies.

There’s no way around it, in these times, trust between people no longer exists, so one must prepare for the worst.

If one side in the Prusso-Russian War were to win too easily, no one could guarantee that they wouldn’t become inflated with victory and make the foolish move of attacking Austria.

Franz dislikes entrusting his safety to others, so naturally seeks to expand his power.

Beyond security considerations, there’s also the issue of debts. Collecting debts isn’t easy work nowadays—who would recognize you without strength?

Now that both Prussia and Russia are injured, the victorious Mao Xiong has no capital to default on debts, and the Tsarist Government appears quite compliant, thus eliminating the need for forceful debt collection.

In an era where anti-war sentiment is prevailing, the Vienna Government’s proposal for disarmament aligns perfectly with the mainstream of the times.

The only ones likely unhappy are the British, as a reduction in land military spending, without a corresponding cut in naval spending, means the navy can secure more funds.

Considering the current international situation, if the London Government does not understand Austria’s intent, it might as well disband.

Knowing is one thing, but at this moment, the London Government would find it difficult to interfere. Disarmament is widely supported and aligns with the interests of all parties; it’s not something a few words could convince them to abandon.

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Downing Street Prime Minister’s Office

Foreign Minister Edward: "The Prusso-Russian War was too brutal; with the rise of anti-war sentiment across Europe, there’s an extreme lack of security among the European populace.

The Austrians have chosen a good time. Now they propose disarmament, which probably isn’t just about downsizing the military. Various signs indicate that Austria is preparing to establish a new international order.

Disarmament is just an excuse to convene an international conference. In the process of restricting the size of land forces, they will likely also sign a security guarantee treaty with the European states.

Most European countries lack a sense of security, and no nation could refuse such a treaty. The only one with the power to obstruct it would be France.

However, European states have always been very wary of the French, with most considering them the source of European turmoil; at this juncture, the French Government likely lacks the courage to step out and oppose.

The news from Paris suggests that the French have already agreed to Austria’s disarmament plan. It’s estimated that once the Prusso-Russian negotiations conclude, Austria will hold an international conference to establish a new balance of power system in Europe.

Normally, stabilization of the European Continent would be welcome, but the current situation is different; the strategic focus of France and Austria may have shifted externally.

If our conjecture is correct, it won’t be long before a new round of naval arms race begins, and Britannia will face its most brutal challenge."

The French have attracted a high amount of enmity; it’s not something that can be easily mitigated over a short period. This inevitably means that in the new balance system of Europe, they can only be participants, not leaders.

Everyone knows that after the Prusso-Russian War, Europe’s political landscape will be reshuffled, and the London Government must be prepared.

The original plan was to coax France into establishing a new European order after the birth of the North German Empire, but they were a step too late—Austria had already made its move.

Prime Minister Benjamin nodded: "If the Austrians’ plan works out, this will be the third Vienna System.

If we start to interfere now and court the French, is there a chance to build a Europe-centered system around Britannia?"

Minister Edward shook his head: "That’s extremely difficult. Not to mention that we haven’t yet won over the French, even with the support of the Paris Government, the success rate wouldn’t exceed one-third.

In recent years, our influence on the European Continent has declined significantly. Especially after the Prusso-Russian War, with the collapse of Prussia, which we supported, our say diminished even further.

The French are worse off. Their strength isn’t weaker than Austria’s, and neither is their influence inferior to that of the Vienna Government, but most of their influence is negative.

Partly this is a legacy of Napoleon’s time, and the rest is the price they paid for annexing the Italian Area. Apart from Spain, the French can no longer find an ally on the European Continent.

According to the intelligence we’ve received, Franco-Spanish relations are gradually cooling. If a new international order is to be established, it’s doubtful the Spaniards would support them."

Politics is a practical matter. With Britain’s pawns on the European Continent discarded, the ability to interfere in European matters significantly weakened, and naturally, others stopped taking heed.

Even if we manage to win over the French, while increasing our influence, we also have to deal with the negative repercussions that come with siding with France.

For instance, Belgium, Switzerland, and the German Federation—nations threatened by France—would instinctively stand on the opposite side.

Even if Britain could somehow coerce them to join, one should not expect much effort from them.

Promising benefits is useless as long as France does not cease its coveting gaze upon them; the issues remain unresolved.

As for France letting go?

Just think about it, without having suffered a brutal societal beating and having successfully annexed the Italian Area, it was when the French were at their most swollen with arrogance. Why would they listen to the United Kingdom?

The honeymoon period in England and France relations had already ended, and the ancient rivalry between the two countries, once obscured by time, kept reemerging in their respective newspapers; it was enough to make many things clear.

Expecting the French to give up their own strategies and keep being their little brother is simply impossible.

No matter who becomes Emperor, England and France relations must turn cold, otherwise the explosive nationalism will bring down the Paris Government.

In the original timeline, after the Prusso-French War, England and France opposed each other for many years. It was only due to the German Empire’s consecutive blunders that England and France could come together.

Now, as France doesn’t feel threatened, the relationship with England must deteriorate. When it comes to politics, interests dictate everything.

After quietly calculating for a while, Prime Minister Benjamin let out a resigned sigh, "Ah well, establishing the international order as soon as possible is also good for Britannia. If Austria wants to lead, let them lead!

With the treaty to restrain us, our upcoming plan for North Germany will proceed more smoothly. The Vienna Government can’t slap its own face just after establishing the international order!"

Dominating the new European order will bring in benefits that are not only about prestige but, more importantly, about promoting one’s own ideas.

Everyone needs packaging. A good packaging makes it easier to succeed in society, and countries are no exception.

Competition among major powers is multifaceted, involving politics, economy, military, culture, and ideas — none can be missing. Leading the establishment of an international system is undoubtedly the fastest way to spread one’s influence.

In this regard, the Vienna Government has rich experience with two successful precedents, and Franz naturally aims to replicate a third.

...

The blood in St. Petersburg hadn’t dried yet; just recently, a great purge had occurred here, with thousands of important figures losing their heads.

All suspected of involvement in the monarch assassination attempt were thrown into prison by Crown Prince Alexandrovich, and of course, this included the purge of political opponents.

How the list came about is another unsolved mystery in the history of the Russian Empire.

Arresting people before investigating certainly speeds up the case’s progress. It’s inevitable that a lot of dirty laundry gets aired; everyone had it coming. Basically, there were hardly any injustices with those executed.

With such a large number involved, it was impossible to kill them all. Lighter sentences were inevitable; as long as they were not involved in the monarch assassination attempt, other issues were negotiable.

Even though, still, thousands were ordered to be ’snapped’ by Crown Prince Alexandrovich; after all, with the number of times Alexander II was targeted, the participants were far from few.

With over a hundred assassination attempts, being involved in any of them meant only one thing—death.

Apart from the Revolutionaries, many capitalists and Nobility were implicated and sent to meet their maker.

The tradition of not killing Nobility doesn’t apply here; no one dared to plead for clemency on this matter.

Normally, such a large number of executions, including over a hundred Nobles, would have tarnished Alexandrovich’s reputation, but this time was an exception.

The mainstream European media largely praised his just actions, while the most powerful Aristocratic Group in Europe collectively lost their voice.

Even the Nobility within the Russian Empire unusually kept their silence. No matter what they thought internally, they absolutely could not publicly criticize Alexandrovich’s actions.

Regicide is an absolute taboo; success or failure, it’s an enormous sin. Anyone who makes noise at this time must first consider their own Monarch’s reaction.

Even though Crown Prince Alexandrovich had many beheaded, the real culprit remained unidentified.

However, those hindering the investigation were rooted out. Regrettably, these individuals were not the conspirators.

The hindrance mainly came from the sheer number of assassination attempts on Alexander II; whether willingly or otherwise, they got involved and feared deeper investigations might implicate them.

Looking at the investigation report in his hands, Crown Prince Alexandrovich acted strangely, showing no reaction as if nothing had happened.

While thousands lost their heads, appearing mighty, those of significant weight were few, with the majority being commoners.

Many who weren’t deeply involved were either dismissed by Crown Prince Alexandrovich or exiled; only those who truly participated in the regicide were executed.

If it had been an ordinary murder case, his handling would be considered excessively harsh. But for "regicide," Alexandrovich’s handling was perhaps too lenient.

Though Europe does not practice the execution of nine kinships, for involvement in regicide, executing the whole family is not considered excessive.

Those who got implicated by relatives or friends or inadvertently aided the assassination attempt, even if their heads were not chopped off, at the very least, should have their Nobility titles stripped.

None of that happened. The hundred or so Nobility executed were mostly those involved in planning or conspiring and acting upon it, as well as those who helped to silence and hinder the investigation.

The actual number of Nobility ’snapped’ was not even a tenth of those Franz eliminated during the Vienna revolution.

Of course, this is not the same concept. Murdering by proxy and doing it oneself certainly have different impacts.

However, in comparison to a regicidal assassination, it was still too light. Just like in the original timeline, Crown Prince Alexandrovich "raised it high and gently let it down," without a nationwide purge.

Putting down the material in his hands, Alexandrovich said indifferently, "Let this be the end of it. Announce it was the People’s Party, and continue the investigation secretly."

...