Holy Roman Empire

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Mountains of corpses and seas of blood, this was the true depiction of the Near East battlefield at the moment. The war had escalated to the point where both sides were seeing red.

Everyone had only one goal—to kill the enemy. All sides had forsaken their bottom line, and various cruel acts were continually staged to push the limits.

Religion combined with warfare released a terrifying power. Suicide bombers had become standard weapons, and some even used seven or eight-year-old children as launchers.

They strapped bombs onto their bodies and drove them forward with whips. Cries and explosions sounded at the same time; there was nothing more hellish than this on Earth.

When sympathy was exhausted, the result was naturally disastrous. The bloodiest areas of the war became uninhabitable in its aftermath.

Looking at the returned information, even Franz, who was worldly and well-informed, fell silent. His only reaction was that the Ottomans had "gone mad."

Defeat isn’t terrible, for there is always hope for a comeback as long as people are alive, but all is lost if there are no people left.

Now that it was the 19th century, international public opinion could wield some influence. Everyone knew that Austria, a government that cared about its image, could not possibly engage in ethnic cleansing.

Before this, the Vienna Government had already devised an immigration relocation plan and even chosen the location.

An island in the Arctic Ocean with beautiful scenery, a mild climate, abundant sunshine, little rain, and an excellent living environment—perfect for tourism.

For this island, the Vienna Government even compensated the British-Canadian colonial government with a hefty sum of 15,000 British Pounds to obtain sovereignty.

Given the current situation, Franz felt that the Vienna Government would save a large sum of money on immigration relocation expenses.

According to data sent back by the Allied Command, by Christmas Eve, the number of Allied Forces fatalities had exceeded 117,000; the number of casualties had reached a staggering 547,000.

The Austrian army alone had suffered 59,000 fatalities and 287,000 casualties. The first wave of cannon fodder troops had been almost wiped out, and the second wave had also suffered heavy losses.

With such significant losses for the Allied Forces, as the side being attacked, the Ottoman Empire’s troop losses were naturally even more severe.

According to incomplete statistics, as of now, the permanent loss of Ottoman troops had exceeded one million.

There was no way around it, as the Ottoman Empire still had not established a comprehensive war-zone medical rescue system, and there were too few medical personnel. Field hospitals couldn’t fully guarantee even officers’ safety, leaving ordinary soldiers with minor injuries to pray for survival, and those with serious injuries to be euthanized by their comrades.

With such massive losses to the military, civilian casualties were uncountable, but it was certain the number of civilian deaths was higher than military ones.

The cruelty of the Near East war had indeed caused an uproar on the European Continent, with anti-war sentiment once again becoming a popular topic.

Even Austria saw the rise of anti-war sentiment, though the dominant view was still that of the War Party, mainly because beating the Ottomans was too satisfying.

One just had to open a history book to feel the impetus for annihilating the Ottomans. The Anti-war faction was only against the war, not the destruction of the Ottomans.

While the onlookers were commenting on the state of affairs, on a bright and sunny day, the Kingdom of Prussia and the Kingdom of Hanover completed their alliance.

It was extremely low-key, even though everyone knew Prussia and Hanover had long been collaborating. Still, no one expected them to establish a Federal Empire.

On February 14, 1883, George I of the German Federation Empire was crowned Emperor of the Hampton United Empire, adding another crown to the European world.

With the formation of a dualistic empire by Prussia and Hanover, Northern Germany had in essence achieved unification.

Several small Sub-States in the Imperial Parliament had resisted the troublesome inclusion of Prussia, to no avail in the end.

By law, Prussia and Hanover shared a Sub-State quota, which was an imperial prerogative that no one could oppose.

This was a precedent set by the Habsburg dynasty; with regions like the Hungarian Region and the Balkan region becoming territories of the Shinra Empire as parts of Austria, George I was simply following suit.

With Northern Germany united, the German Federation Empire could now assert itself as the "North German Empire", theoretically on equal footing with the Habsburg dynasty’s New Roman Empire.

In St. Petersburg, Alexander III slammed his hand on the table and demanded, "Didn’t you swear you would assure me that the Vienna Government would absolutely not allow the Prussian-German unification?">

"Now, as you wished, it has indeed happened. But where is the promised intervention by Austria?"

Many European countries promoted the Prusso-German unification to counterbalance Austria, but this certainly did not include the Russian Empire.

The Prusso-Russian war had been so bloody that the two sides were deep-seated enemies, with no chance of reconciliation.

After the unification of Northern Germany, it would indeed increase the difficulty for Austria to unify the Germany Region, but Russia would also gain a tough opponent on its western front.

This was determined by sheer volume. Despite the fact that the Kingdom of Prussia had been divided and many regions had joined Hanover, weakening the anti-Russian faction by placing it as the second in the new empire, should not be mistaken for a decrease in anti-Russian power.

No matter how the land was divided, the populace remained unchanged, and the power of hatred would position these people against Russia.

Based on population, those who despised Russia made up more than half of this new empire, and the remaining people were mostly not fond of Russians either.

Without a doubt, hostility towards Russia was the mainstream sentiment in the new empire. Until this generation died off, there was no hope of reconciliation between the two sides.

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If it were just about gaining another hostile country, the Tsarist Government wouldn’t care. There are plenty of countries in the world that loathe Russia, and life goes on as usual.

But North Germany is different; it’s a strong fellow. If it weren’t for the heavy losses of Prussia’s young and able, the merger of Prussia and Teuton would be no weaker than the former Prusso Federation.

Even with Prussia’s vitality wounded, the nascent North German Empire still retains seven or eight out of ten of the former federation’s strength, which is enough to exert pressure on an already tremendously weakened Russia.

The Vienna Government’s inaction baffled the Tsarist Government.

Stared at by Alexander III with a murderous gaze that sent shivers down the spine, Oscar Ximenes, the immediately responsible Foreign Minister, could only stiffly respond.

"Austria has focused all its attention on the Near East Battlefield, neglecting the changes in Central Europe, allowing the British to exploit the opportunity.

Possibly the Vienna Government hasn’t come to grips with the sudden changes, which is why they have delayed taking action."

The more he spoke, the lower his voice became, and cold sweat started beading on Oscar Ximenes’s forehead. He had no choice; he couldn’t fabricate any more explanations.

He was Russia’s Foreign Minister, not Austria’s; it would only be normal if he didn’t know the real situation. If he did, he’d be the most brilliant foreign strategy master of the century.

Analyzing the overt situation, any explanation seemed irrational, leaving Oscar Ximenes at a loss for words.

Alexander III scoffed, "Nonsense! You’re telling me this after the fact; what were you doing earlier?

Do you actually believe yourself when you say that the Vienna Government would overlook Central Europe?"

No wonder Alexander III was so indignant; two Prusso-Russian wars had cost the Tsarist Government dearly, and he truly did not want to instigate a third.

...

It wasn’t just the Russians who didn’t want to see the unification of Prussia and Teuton; Napoleon IV in Paris was also fuming. Stay tuned for updates on empire

With no further excuse than being a roadblock, the birth of the North German Empire had increased the difficulty of France’s strategy to expand eastwards.

The recent French Revolution was triggered by multiple factors, one of which was the energy crisis.

Afterwards, all of French society concluded that a stable coal field was essential to secure the domestic energy supply.

Without finding a new coal field, the strategy to expand eastward was irreplaceable.

If it weren’t for France still recuperating with the wave of anti-war sentiment not yet subsided, domestic interest groups would have taken action long ago.

After blowing off steam, Napoleon IV calmed down, "What are the odds that we can interrupt the unification of Prussia and Teuton if we intervene now?" n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Foreign Minister Terence Burke answered in a panic, "That’s absolutely out of the question!"

"Your Majesty, the Anti-French Alliance seems to be dissolved, but the force of Europe against us is still formidable. One false move could lead to disaster..."

Napoleon IV waved his hand impatiently, "Don’t alarmist talk here. Of the Anti-French Alliance, only England, Russia, and Austria are of any concern.

Now that the Russians have made clear their opposition to the union of Prussia and Teuton, and although Austria has not declared a stance, I do not believe they are ready to give up on unifying the Germany Region.

By intervening alongside Russia and Austria, even if the rest of the European countries oppose us, they won’t be able to do anything."

Indeed, France-Russia-Austrian make up the world’s top three land powers; if these three joined forces, they could sweep the world.

Terence Burke, the Foreign Minister, explained with a bitter smile, "Your Majesty, Russia and Austria will not join us.

Austria must care about their reputation if they want to unify the Germany Region. When it comes to internal German affairs, they won’t collaborate with anyone.

The Tsarist Government might want to intervene, but their finances are in such a dire state; they simply cannot afford the military expenses required for intervention."

Upon hearing this explanation, Napoleon IV instantly relented.

The situation in France wasn’t great either; if it were before the great revolution, Napoleon IV could have generously funded the Tsarist Government, which now lacked money. But the Paris Government’s coffers were not bulging.

Napoleon IV did not dare to act alone without allies, for fear of sparking widespread outrage with consequences no one could bear.

After contemplating for a moment, Napoleon IV slowly asked, "Do we know why the Austrians are not taking action?"

The more irrational the situation, the more it sparked suspicion. With the Vienna Government showing no reaction to the unification of Northern Germany, Napoleon IV couldn’t help but suspect a conspiracy.

Seeing everyone deep in thought, Army Minister Luskinia Hafiz speculated, "Could it be that Austria has refrained from intervening in the unification of Northern Germany out of fear of us?"

Though a bit narcissistic, no one objected to the suggestion. Even after an internal chaos, France was still seen as the most fearsome monster in everyone’s eyes.