Chapter 462: Chapter 35, Winning Over and Co-opting
 

The tripartite negotiations soon reached a deadlock, with the French demanding the annexation of the Italian Area, and Austria proposing to incorporate the German Federation, neither of which the British could accept.

As a result, this would essentially release two great empires into the world. Despite the fact that France and Austria were already major empires, the British still did not wish to see them continue to grow stronger.

If France and Austria both completed their respective strategic plans, Britannia’s position as the world’s dominant power would be unstable.

Keep in mind that France and Austria had never formally recognized the British dominion, and there had always been voices within both countries challenging British maritime supremacy.

Times were no longer what they were twenty years ago, when British industrial output surpassed the entire continent of Europe, allowing the British to claim supreme domination due to the sheer gap in national power.

However, as the industrial revolutions across nations neared completion, that gap began to close. Thanks to their advantage in human resources, Austria’s annual industrial output was now nearly on par with Britain’s.

The French were not far behind the British either, and it was estimated that within three to five years after annexing the Italian Area, France’s industrial output might even surpass that of the British.

This was the advantage of having larger domestic land and a bigger population. Although per capita they still fell short, their sheer numbers were overwhelming!

Austria’s domestic population had already reached 69.76 million, and it would soon cross the 70 million mark within the year; once France annexed the Italian Area, its total population would exceed 54 million.

As for the British Isles, the total population was only over 32 million, with a 3.5% birth rate, far exceeding that of France, yet still lower than Austria’s.

This disparity might not be noticeable in the short term, but over time, the consequences could be disastrous.

The world always has its fair share of intelligent people, and naturally, some had realized the impact of population on national strength.

However, many in the London Government had been misled by Malthus’s “Population Theory,” overlooking the progress in productive forces during the industrial era and the increase in population capacity that came with the colonial era.

The Irish Famine happened under this theory, with government bureaucrats believing that the population of the British Isles was large enough and intentionally turning a blind eye to the catastrophe.

This theory isn’t actually wrong; the population that land can sustain is indeed limited, but Malthus calculated this based on the standards of the feudal era.

The industrial age is different. According to Austrian demographers, the local population could potentially double, and the colonies could support two hundred million.

Whether this was scientifically accurate or not, Franz was not sure; he simply used these numbers as they were, otherwise how could he encourage population growth?

Of course, it is not that the British had a small population overall but rather that their domestic population was small. There were still a whole lot of English abroad; otherwise, the Colonial Empire couldn’t have been maintained.

Negotiations reaching a deadlock was expected. Alliances between great powers involve too many interests to sort out quickly, and it would be normal for them to take years to resolve.

The Franco-Austrian alliance had also been years in the making, with discussions beginning as far back as the 1848 French Revolution.

The alliance was interrupted due to a change in the French regime. Later in the late 1860s, with constant changes in the international situation, opportunities emerged for France and Austria to come together.

While negotiations were ongoing, each party still made their covert moves, albeit with a certain tacit restraint.

Franz abandoned his plan to occupy British-South Africa, and the British also gave up their strategy of collaborating with Portugal to expel Austria from South Africa.

The conflict surrounding the two Boer Republics, however, continued between both sides. It was no longer accurate to refer to them as Boer Republics, as German had unconsciously become the dominant language in the area.

There was no need to actively promote it, as it became mainstream simply by being widely spoken. The governments of the two Boer Republics were also helpless in this regard, as much as they did not wish for this to happen, they had no choice.

From its inception, the Boer nation was infused with a strong Teutonic flavor that they couldn’t wash away.

There was no helping it; even the Netherlands of that era was deeply influenced by German culture, to say nothing of this mixed-race nation.

In 1830, approximately 12,000 Dutch, unwilling to accept British rule, emigrated and established the two Boer Republics.

In a bid to increase their population, they welcomed immigrants from Europe. In a few decades, about 8,000 immigrants from the Germany Region arrived, along with some French missionaries, giving birth to the Boer nation.

By the mid-19th century, the combined population of the two Boer Republics had exceeded 30,000.

From 1856 onwards, the history of the Boer Republics changed with a massive influx of German immigrants altering the demographic makeup of the countries.

Rejecting these immigrants was out of the question, as by that time half of the Boers had German ancestry—a single misstep could have sparked a civil war.

So assimilation it was, although the governments of the two Boer Republics tried hard, they simply could not contend with the sheer volume of immigrants from the Germany Region.

Assimilation did ultimately succeed, just in the opposite direction of the initial plan. As the Anglo-Boer conflicts escalated, the two Boer Republics, needing to stand with a stronger power, had no choice but to draw closer to Austria.

Political shifts led the two Boer Republic Governments to abandon their original plans, and German became the predominant language.

With matters progressing to this point, the two Boer Republics had effectively become German states, and it was only a matter of time before they joined with Austria.

Franz placed great importance on the South African region. Aside from the fertile land there, the gold beneath the ground was a crucial part of Austria’s future strategic plans.

No one would give up currency hegemony. The British were tinkering with the “British Pound – Gold System,” the French were establishing the “Franc System,” and Austria was no exception, as it built the “Divine Shield – Gold System.”

Who would become the ultimate victor depended not only on industrial capacity but also on who had the most gold reserves. Without sufficient gold, what was there to fight for in terms of gold standard hegemony?

This had nothing to do with ambition. Initially, Franz had no intention of competing with the British for currency hegemony, but as Austria’s power grew, interest forced Austria to advance.

Even if the government remained inactive, the capital markets would stir on their own. The international struggle for currency hegemony wasn’t yet fully apparent, but the financial capitals of the three countries were nearly at each other’s throats.

Unlike the struggle for world dominance, the fight for currency supremacy is much more clandestine, and the battle had begun even before the public was aware.

In the original timeline during this round of struggle, the British used the opportunity of the Franco-Prussian war to severely damage France and emerged as the final victor.

Of course, as the losers, the French also got a piece of the pie; the Franc became the international hard currency second only to the British Pound, leaving the rest of the countries in a tough spot.

As an emerging power, the German Empire, when carrying out reforms to implement the gold standard, actually couldn’t obtain enough gold and was ultimately forced to compromise with the British.

In the struggle for monetary hegemony among England, France, Austria, the French, lacking gold, had already been eliminated from the competition. Despite aligning with Switzerland, Belgium, and the Italian countries to form the Latin Monetary Union, they still couldn’t change the outcome.

John Bull had already acquired the gold from Australia and Canada, while Austria had garnered most of the gold from the West Africa region. Without sufficient gold, the French were still adhering to a bimetallic standard.

If it were not for the fact that the French had nothing worth coveting for Franz, he would have considered revealing Alaska’s gold and then trading with Napoleon III.

After all, with South African gold in hand, Austria’s “Divine Shield – Gold System” was already stable. To enjoy monetary supremacy on their own, however, Austria’s strength was not enough.

No, to put it correctly, the French would not offer what Franz coveted; what France could offer, Franz did not value.

So, there was no way forward; the trade could not proceed. Any transmigrator looking at a map would discover that over half of the world’s top ten gold mines were within Austria’s control.

…

After the fresh rain, the air was exceptionally clean. However, the dark clouds over President Young Pretorius’s head had not dissipated, and his forehead had acquired a few more wrinkles.

He was also a prominent figure of his era in Africa; in 1857, he became President of the Transvaal Republic, and in 1859 was elected President of the Orange Free State, holding the presidency of two countries at once—a historical first.

Born in 1819, Young Pretorius had become president before the age of forty and reached the pinnacle of his career. This should have been his most vigorous time.

However, the opposite was true. Already in his third term, President Young Pretorius no longer possessed his original vigor but only a face full of worry.

The movement he led to merge the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State had failed once again. Unlike before, this failure was complete, with no chance for another attempt.

There was no choice, as the Vienna Government opposed the establishment of a South African Republic. The elites of the Boer Republic, who had become entangled with Austria, sold out their government without hesitation.

Now, as the two sides negotiated the price, the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State would soon become history, and his presidential term would end prematurely.

President Young Pretorius had planned for the Transvaal and the Orange Free State to merge, establishing the South African Republic, and then join the Shinra Empire as one nation.

Unfortunately, this plan met with opposition from the Vienna Government. The Emperor did not want to see a republic emerge; this rationale left him speechless.

If there are no surprises, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State will become part of Austro-Africa and then assimilate into the Empire through localization.

People always have their biases; the Transvaal and the Orange Free State were small countries without the power to haggle.

As emerging nations, they already lacked a strong sense of identity, especially the newly arrived Teutonic immigrants, who felt a greater allegiance to the Shinra Empire than to the Republic.

There were too many clever people; everyone understood it was better to fight for their own interests rather than those of a fledgling nation, as the direct benefits were greater.

Opportunities to step into the nobility were rare and not to be missed. As for the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, could these makeshift entities compare with the Shinra Empire?

Disagree? Then your consent isn’t needed. Someone else will simply take your place.

“Public opinion” is hardly an issue; the crowds outside petitioning and demonstrating prove that joining the Shinra is in line with the popular will.

The smart President Young Pretorius would not fight against the inevitable. Considering Austria’s influence in the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, changing presidents would be all too easy.

It’s not that he didn’t try hard enough. In order to reduce Austrian influence, President Young Pretorius had worked hard to bring in Dutch immigrants, only to face opposition from the Dutch Government.

The reason was simple. The Netherlands were a small country with limited population, currently busy expanding in Southeast Asia. If they couldn’t spare immigrants for Indonesia, how could they support them?

President Young Pretorius was powerless in this situation. Investing in them was clearly unprofitable. Trapped between England and Austria, the fate of the Boer Republic was determined from the start.

President Young Pretorius, evidently concerned, asked, “Karen, how is their negotiation with the Austrians coming along?”

For a president to be excluded from negotiations, it must be said, was quite a tragedy.

There was no option. President Young Pretorius had advocated that the Transvaal and the Orange Free State should first merge to form a South African Republic, and then negotiate with the Austrians.

The Vienna Government paid him no heed and simply bypassed the president to arrange negotiations directly with the influential figures inside the Boer Republic.

There was nothing to be done. Even the president’s confidants didn’t refuse Austria’s overtures.

In the face of interest, everyone’s integrity waned. Those who cooperated actively had the chance to become nobility and maintain their ruling status in the new era.

If they chose the wrong side, they would be marginalized in the next shuffle of power.

In this era of survival of the fittest, once eliminated, there was no need for outsiders to intervene; the sunset’s comrades would devour their interests.

Fortunately, President Young Pretorius was still the president, and as a figurehead, as long as he did not publicly oppose Vienna, he would be well taken care of – the very reason he could remain seated.

It should be known that President Young Pretorius had not become president solely because of his father’s political legacy. His own political ability was also a significant factor.

He understood the principle that one couldn’t twist an arm bigger than one’s thigh. Since he couldn’t prevent what was happening, he had to figure out a way to get involved and monitor the negotiation process.