Holy Roman Empire

With public opinion increasingly hostile towards the Prussia and Germany, massive civilian protests and demonstrations erupted.

From Paris to Rome, any French city with a population over fifty thousand experienced protest activities.

A variety of slogans could be heard incessantly, against coal profiteering, unemployment, demands for higher wages and better treatment, demands for the government to further liberalize the right to vote... and so on, with social groups, relevant or not, all coming forward.

For a moment, the whole of Europe heard the voices of the French people, although these voices were somewhat chaotic and confusing to comprehend.

In the Palace of Versailles, hearing the heart-wrenching cries of the people outside, Napoleon IV was enraged.

Public opinion?

In those days without the internet, if no one were pulling the strings, relying on the natural spread of news, it could take three to five months to reach the entire country, let alone provoke simultaneous protests in all major cities.

"Have the police investigate and see who is behind this mischief!"

No emperor likes to be manipulated, and Napoleon IV was no exception. Even if it was to implement the Central Europe strategy, it should be under his direction, not forced upon him by others.

Minister of Police Adonis nervously replied, "Your Majesty, a large number of people are involved this time, including capitalists, students, nobility, military personnel, and government officials.

According to the intelligence held by the police, the action was first taken by the domestic commercial sector, after which it rapidly spread."

As for who the ultimate mastermind was, the police had no idea, but such surface-level information could still be traced.

Adonis had a sharp political mind, and from the outbreak of public opinion, he had been considering countermeasures, which now came readily to hand.

There is no accountability for what the masses do; this is the greatest characteristic of France. Even the participants of the last revolution, Napoleon IV couldn't settle accounts with everyone, not to mention now.

Knowing the commercial sector was behind it was useless; without being able to pinpoint the initial culprits, Napoleon IV had no one to hold accountable.

Slamming the table fiercely, Napoleon IV said viciously, "Damn finance groups, don't think you can get away with this."

Since the commercial sector was in charge, it naturally involved the finance groups putting forth effort; laying the blame on them was without error.

In fact, the relationship between the Bonaparte family and the French finance group had never been good, and conflicts were not uncommon due to interests.

Especially during the Paris Revolution, the finance groups' act of fanning the flames and looting amidst chaos further intensified their conflicts.

Although Napoleon IV had compromised and conceded, the resentment in his heart had built up. To contain the expansion of the finance groups, Napoleon IV had spared no effort.

From a developmental perspective, this was an inevitable outcome. With the finance group's power continually expanding and France's cake not getting bigger, the emerging forces were bound to collide with the established interest groups.

The Bonaparte family was able to restore power with the support of the peasant and nobility classes, and Napoleon IV had to represent the interests of these two classes.

The French finance group held strong finances and influence, but politically and militarily, they were weak compared to the nobility, which held political power and was clearly not their match.

If they wanted to continue to grow, they could only find ways to make the cake bigger.

Promoting the Central Europe strategy was the best way, not only resolving the shortcoming in domestic commercial development but also promoting the development of capitalist economy and further empowering the finance groups.

Foreign Minister Karl Chardlets reminded him, "Your Majesty, we can take our time investigating the mastermind behind the scenes.

Recently, European countries have been constantly inquiring about our Central Europe strategy, and the domestic turmoil has alerted all sides.

Just last week, the Belgian government decided to expand another reserve force. Once the plan is completed, Belgium's total military strength will reach 154,000.

The German Federation also held a Sub-State conference, where George I proposed to emulate Austria by implementing a universal reserve duty system and train another one and a half million reservists.
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Additionally, with the existing main force unchanged, they planned to add three hundred thousand reservists to the standing army; they are now busy discussing the troop distribution among each Sub-State.

If the Germans' plan is completed, their actual standing army will exceed five hundred thousand. Under extreme mobilization, the combined forces of Prussia and Germany will surpass two million."

Without a doubt, Prussia and Germany were frightened by France's internal turmoil and were making all efforts to expand their armaments.

If the two countries were to complete their plans and arm all their young and able-bodied citizens, whether France's Central Europe strategy could still be implemented would be a matter for debate.

"They openly want to tear up the arms agreement; are they not afraid of international sanctions?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Napoleon IV realized his lapse. With war on the horizon, who would care about such concerns?

Given Europe's cautious attitude towards France, most likely they would turn a blind eye to the armament actions of Prussia and Germany, and might even welcome them.

This blatant favoritism was extremely unfriendly to France.

After a pause, Napoleon IV slowly continued, "The Foreign Ministry must find a way to disrupt Prussia and Germany's armament actions, promising security guarantees if necessary."

Regardless of whether the Central Europe strategy was to be implemented, the French government had to thwart Prussia and Germany's armament plans, or else France would not threaten others but be threatened instead.

There was no choice, for they had numerous enemies! What if one day Austria convinced Prussia and Germany, and then pulled in Switzerland and Spain to besiege France? What then?

It's not to say it's impossible, anti-French wars have happened in history. It's just as likely to occur now, after all those neighboring countries have been beaten down by them, with both conflicts of interest and bases for enmity in place.

Karel Kadelitz replied with a wry smile, "The Foreign Ministry has already taken action, but Prussia and Germany simply don't trust us.

Moreover, with the Austrians causing trouble, Franz even sent an open letter to the governments of Prussia and Germany yesterday morning, highly praising their efforts to maintain European stability."

Causing chaos was what Franz did best. Encouraging Prussia and Germany to expand their military benefitted Austria in every way and harmed them in none.

Should a war erupt in Europe, Prussia and Germany, who would bear the brunt, were Austria's natural shields, whether they liked it or not, blocking the French's eastward advance.

If a European war did not break out now, Austria would win more time to till their lands. After all, their plate was big enough already, and once the Near East was developed, they could crush their enemies simply by their comprehensive national power.

Army Minister Luskinia Hafiz said, "If we can't dissuade Prussia and Germany from the idea of military expansion, we will have to initiate our Central Europe strategy ahead of time.

Otherwise, if we let them complete their militarization plan, we will lose the initiative, and implementing the Central Europe strategy will then become difficult."

Prime Minister Terence Burkin shook his head, "The crux of the problem isn't Prussia and Germany. Their expansion plans may sound formidable, but in reality, they are impossible to complete.

The expansion plan of Belgium, theoretically, is feasible, but can they afford such a large army?

Not to mention the German Federation, with its many Sub-States; not all have conflicts of interest with us.

If a war were to break out, just coordinating the armies of the various Sub-States would be a major problem.

Bear in mind, for the Rulers of the Sub-States, the Central Government in Hanover is an enemy too; no one is willing to easily hand over their troops.

What's truly troublesome is Austria. Once we implement the Central Europe strategy, Austria's chances of intervening are over ninety percent.

Looking at the current international situation, I believe that if we want to implement the Central Europe strategy, we must deliver a heavy blow to Austria and render them incapable of interfering with our actions."

If France invaded Prussia and Germany, Austria's participation in the war is almost certain; yet, if a war broke out between France and Austria, Prussia and Germany are likely to remain neutral.

It's not about being shortsighted. If they help Austria defeat the French, the unification of the Germany Region becomes a foregone conclusion, and this leaves Emperor George I in an embarrassing spot.

Such a self-harming, other-benefiting action is not something George I would do. If the Central Government takes the lead, the smaller Sub-States below are happy to be at ease. Being pro-Austria is motivated by self-interest, not the same as being willing to die for Austria.

Without the German Federation, Belgium is even less likely to get involved. Even with secret treaties, it's impossible; the Kingdom of Belgium has limited power and simply cannot stir things up.

Army Minister Luskinia Hafiz objected, "Prime Minister, that is the most ideal state, but it lacks any practicality in reality.

The relationship we've maintained with Austria for so many years is not due to friendly ties between the two nations, nor is it because the conflicts of interest are minor, but because neither can do anything about the other.

This is determined by geography; the Alps are a natural boundary. Even if we could defeat the Austrians, we would still stop at Veneto.

Austria is no small country; losing Lombardy and Venice wouldn't greatly affect them.

The Vienna Government would not simply admit defeat, and then we would have to face a continuous stream of Austrian troops, one million, two million, three million... dragging on the fight with us indefinitely.

If it were just Austria alone, we still have the confidence to win the final victory.

But the problem is that there are other countries on the European Continent, such as Spain, the German Federation, Belgium, Switzerland, etc., that might all potentially sway toward Austria at the crucial moment.

Especially Britain and Russia. Despite their intense conflicts, the terrain in Afghanistan limits their engagement, which is hardly their best effort.

Unless we can ensure that Britain and Russia both suffer heavy losses and drag out the war in the Afghan Region until both nations are gravely weakened, there's a chance to avoid interference from Britain and Russia."

The classic example of the Prusso-Russian war has made it clear to the European world that one should not start a war lightly with a major country, especially one with a large population.

In the absence of a quick resolution, a war between two major countries is a suicidal battle, where the loser will certainly be devastated, but the winner will equally suffer severe losses.

From a purely military standpoint, if France and Austria were to go to war, it would be best to fight in the Central European Region, with the victor marching from Belgium all the way through.

If they were to fight in the Italian Area, at most there would be a partial victory. Both sides are protected by the Alps, and cannot penetrate into the core territories of the two countries.

In the face of Napoleon IV's expectant gaze, Karl Chardlets shook his head, "If war with Austria breaks out, before a victor is decided, the Foreign Ministry still has some confidence in maintaining the neutrality of European countries.

But once we gain the upper hand on the battlefield, European countries will inevitably get involved, and most will stand against us.

Even our ally, the British, will be no exception. To the British Government, anything that disrupts the balance of Europe is not allowed to happen."

There was no way around it, the historical French Empire was simply too powerful, so much so that it had no friends.

All European countries have been exceedingly vigilant against the Bonaparte Dynasty, and even after the Paris Revolution, with heavy losses for France, this perception has not changed.

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