Chapter 419: Chapter 106: The Ambition of Prussia
 

The defeat in the winter battle made Alexander II resolute. If the war didn’t end soon, the Russian Empire would be doomed.

With rebel armies causing chaos within and formidable enemies eyeing from without, Alexander II had not forgotten that the real enemy behind this war was the Russian Empire’s true adversary.

If they did not quickly bring an end to this war, aside from the battlefield at Constantinople, where they could rely on Austria and procure strategic materials and supplies nearby, and thus had a better chance of winning, there was little hope in other areas.

Without the logistical support provided by the Moscow area, the complete fall of Central Asia was inevitable; without rear support, the Far Eastern battlefield couldn’t be counted on either.

Not to mention the Polish region—after this disastrous battle, Belarus and the Baltic region would become battlefields, and their fall was only a matter of time.

If Sweden were to stab them in the back, it was possible that even St. Petersburg would not be safe. Mobilizing troops also took time, and who knew if the British would kick them while they were down if the Russian Empire were gasping for breath?

Without having to pay much, as long as the Royal Navy broke into the Baltic Sea, the Russian Empire would truly be finished.

In this era, the Siberian Plains were undeveloped, and the core of the Russian Empire lay in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Now that Moscow was in the hands of the rebel army, if St. Petersburg were lost, the Tsar’s days would be numbered.

“Purge the side of the throne, execute the corrupt officials.” The emphasis was on executing the corrupt officials. If all the trusted officials around him were killed, would the Tsar still be the Tsar?

It was not daring to harm the Tsar openly, but was it difficult to attack him in secret? For example: an accidental drowning, or suddenly dying from illness.

In all of history, there were so many accidental deaths of emperors, were they really all accidents?

Then this occurrence rate was simply too high, it was a high-risk occupation, ranking at the top.

Alexander II wouldn’t put himself in jeopardy. As long as he survived this calamity, everything lost now could be reclaimed in the future.

“Have the Foreign Ministry issue a note to Austria, inviting them to mediate this war,” Alexander II decided and sighed. It wasn’t the best time for negotiations, but it was the time when negotiations were most needed.

Winter was the last line of defense for the Russian Empire; if they waited until the war erupted again the following year, the price they had to pay would only be higher.

Foreign Minister Clarence Ivanov asked with some trepidation, “Your Majesty, should we invite England and France to participate?”

There was no way around it; affairs on the European Continent simply couldn’t exclude England and France. If the Tsarist Government didn’t invite them, they would still appear at the negotiation table.

Alexander II replied helplessly, “Send out the invitation. At this point, we don’t have much choice.”

This was capitulating to England and France. After this war, the weakness of the Russian Empire had been exposed, and they no longer had the strength to contend with the British for world dominance.

From now on, they had to keep a low profile, reducing their presence as much as possible to avoid pressure from other countries.

Whether it would be effective or not was another matter, but taking action was better than doing nothing. Reducing hatred a little during a weakness was a good thing.

…

In Vienna, upon receiving the battle report of the Prusso-Russian winter campaign, Franz was dumbfounded. He hadn’t expected the Tsar’s bureaucrats to be suicidal to this extent.

Falsifying losses, embezzling military funds, inflating procurement prices—those were minor issues, just skimming a bit from the Tsarist Government.

Even if they were greedier and substituted inferior goods for quality ones, they should at least ensure that they met the basic needs, right? This was war, and any small oversight could cost lives.

Now, well, they had directly sabotaged the Russian Army at the front. Currently, Alexander II had no time to deal with their misdeeds, but once the situation stabilized, a great purge would surely follow.

Franz asked with concern, “How large are Russia’s losses?”

Austria had military observers sent to both sides, receiving first-hand battlefield reports, and it was possible to make a preliminary assessment of the losses.

Army Minister Albrecht answered, “The initial estimate is a troop loss of over three hundred thousand, with nearly two hundred thousand prisoners captured by the Prussians, and approximately forty to fifty thousand dead. The number of non-combat casualties is extremely high.

The Russian lines are now broken through; if it weren’t for logistical constraints, the Prussians would be occupying the Belarusian Region.”

Franz nodded. The Prussians had seized a big opportunity this time; otherwise, the war would’ve dragged on.

It could be said that Wilhelm I had won the jackpot—no one in the world expected their winter counterattack to succeed. Like Franz, everyone thought that the Kingdom of Prussia would win in next year’s fighting.

The self-righteousness of the Tsar’s bureaucrats had defied common sense, and it was likely that countries across Europe were still in shock and had not reacted.

“Have the Foreign Ministry issue notes to all parties mediating this war. Warn the Prussians not to go too far and also remind them it’s time to fulfill their promises.”

An ally should look like an ally, and Franz had always been very proper in that respect. He strictly adhered to the alliance, and even the anti-Austria faction within the Tsarist Government had never accused Austria on that point.

Minor conflicts did not matter; on major issues, one had to take a clear stance and resolutely stand with their allies. The Russians lost this war but saved the Russian-Austrian Alliance, allowing it to continue.

Saying a warning to the Kingdom of Prussia now would have a negligible effect. Whether or not Austria interfered, they couldn’t continue fighting.

This attitude was exactly what the Tsarist Government needed at the moment. Austria’s stance could help stabilize the morale and ensure they would not need to pay too high of a price in negotiations.

Due to geopolitical reasons, Vienna Government’s stance could be decisive on the Eastern Europe and Balkans battlefields.

The Kingdom of Prussia won the war, but that didn’t mean they were a world power. On the contrary, their strength had diminished, not increased.

To grow stronger, they needed to secure the spoils of this war and assimilate them first.

The Ottoman Empire goes without saying, their strength was limited, and completing reforms did not equate to a strong nation; it still needed time to develop.

In this war, they were essentially forced onto the battlefield by everyone and did not perform very actively. It could be said they just made a token effort and didn’t achieve any remarkable military exploits.

Berlin, Wilhelm I’s face had recently been full of smiles, overwhelmed by the windfall like a pie falling from the sky, hadn’t come out of his joy yet.

Because of the victory on the battlefield, what was once a pipe dream was now becoming feasible. The Kingdom of Prussia was setting sail on the road to Empire.

An abrupt warning from the Vienna Government interrupted his good mood, pulling Wilhelm I back to reality. His own people knew best that winning the war had come at a price.

The war had progressed to this point, and the Prussian Army had already lost 460,000 soldiers, including 176,000 killed in action and another 12,000 dead for other reasons.

Strategically, these losses were worthwhile. Not only had they eliminated the Prussian Kingdom’s threat from the east, they had also shown their might, making the world’s nations think twice before underestimating Prussia.

Beyond the loss of military forces, the losses in population and the economy were an even bigger headache for Wilhelm I.

The population loss had already exceeded one million, with the East Prussia region being the hardest hit, the local population reduced to barely a tenth.

Economically, aside from the Rhineland region which could still barely support itself, the other areas were pretty much in ruin.

This was the Russian navy’s doing, constantly causing destruction along the coastal areas, and with a large influx of refugees moving inland, the economy had been severely hit.

If it weren’t for financial backers, the Kingdom of Prussia would have collapsed long ago. Even now, things weren’t much better, the domestic economy was ruined, and recovery seemed off in the distant future.

Wilhelm I asked, “What do you think of the diplomatic note from the Vienna Government?”

Maoqi didn’t hesitate to speak up, “We’re at our limit now, continuing the fight would be more costly than beneficial. It’d be better to secure the advantages we’ve obtained on the negotiating table.”

Having won the war, the military’s political influence had increased even more. As the war’s commanding officer, Maoqi, was also in his heyday.

He would never have stated his position so clearly before, but now was different—as a victor, Maoqi’s say in matters had surpassed the Prime Minister’s.

Wilhelm I breathed a sigh of relief internally; it was best if the military were willing to stop the fight, otherwise, he’d only have to resort to the pressure of the great powers to make the military cease.

As for Maoqi’s attitude, that was a small issue. Wilhelm I didn’t lack magnanimity. In the original timeline, he even tolerated Bismarck, so why couldn’t he tolerate a Maoqi?

Aside from Roon, both Maoqi and Bismarck had flaws in character that most people wouldn’t be able to endure.

Prime Minister Frank said with a furrowed brow, “It won’t be that easy. Acquiring the Two Principalities and some Baltic regions shouldn’t be an issue, but getting our hands on the Polish Region will likely be very difficult.

Additionally, we’re faced with another dilemma right before us—’Silesia’. We promised it to the Austrians earlier, and now we must carefully consider whether to honor that commitment.”

The Schleswig-Holstein Duchies were the least controversial. The Tsarist Government would not fuss over this issue, and the Kingdom of Denmark lacked the clout to make an issue of it.

Securing the Baltic region was also relatively easy. The locals were staunchly anti-Russian and ready to discuss many issues as long as they could escape the rule of the Tsarist Government.

(Today: The Three Baltic Countries need to extend their area further inland.)

The most critical factor was British support for Prussia acquiring the Baltic region. In this matter, both France and Austria had an acquiescent attitude.

But annexing Poland was a real challenge. Firstly, the current Polish Provisional Government was the first obstacle.

Even though Maoqi had been using the opportune moments of fighting with the Russians to wear down the Polish strength, and the Provisional Government’s military power suffered heavy losses, they still aspired for independence!

Swallowing them whole wouldn’t be as simple as it sounds. If the Polish Provisional Government didn’t agree to merge, Prussia couldn’t just turn against an ally, could they?

If these factors could be overcome by force, the reaction of the great powers could lead to despair. After annexing the Polish Region, the Kingdom of Prussia’s territory would be second only to Russia and Austria, with a population on par with France.

A behemoth like this, France and Austria would absolutely not stand by and watch it emerge, and the freshly defeated Russians would not agree either.

Should the great powers intervene, it was predestined that the Kingdom of Prussia could not annex Poland. If they dared to force the issue, they needed to be prepared to be wiped out.

Army and Navy Minister Roon stated, “Annexing Poland isn’t something that can be done overnight; we could first allow the Polish Region to become independent and look for opportunities later.

The Silesia area absolutely must not be given up so readily. Austria did not maintain absolute neutrality in this war. If not for their support of the Russians, the war would have ended last year.”

The Silesia area was a bad debt, where the sides had only agreed verbally without putting it in writing. The Prussian Government could outright deny the debt.

The main problem is Austria is not an easy opponent. If we default now, we can expect retaliation.

Perhaps it won’t be enough to trigger a war between the two nations, but just the diplomatic difficulties alone would be enough to make the Kingdom of Prussia miserable.

The atmosphere in the meeting room grew tense. It was a choice between Scylla and Charybdis. No one wanted to cede territory, but at the same time, no one wanted to confront Austria at this juncture.

Especially with the upcoming Prusso-Russian negotiations, if the Vienna Government fully supported Russia, could they obtain everything they wanted?

No one could answer this question; no one knew where the bottom line of the Vienna Government lay!

After contemplating for a while, Wilhelm I solemnly stated, “Let’s just drag our feet on the Silesia issue for now; unless it’s absolutely necessary, we can’t give up any of our territory!”

The strategy of stalling wasn’t the best method, but it was the most effective one.