Holy Roman Empire

The establishment of the North German Empire provoked a storm of public opinion across Europe, and within the ranks of German nationalist partisans, a stark polarization emerged.

Optimists believed this was a further step towards the unification of the German Region, signifying a transition from a three-way split to a duel of titans, with true unification being only one step away.

Pessimists, on the other hand, saw this as the beginning of a disaster: with the amalgamation of Prussia and Germany, their combined strength had grown even greater, and due to the interference of the European powers, unification had become an "illusory flower reflected in the mirror, a moon’s reflection on the water," visible but untouchable.

In an effort to calm the troubled hearts of the populace, Franz personally sent a congratulatory telegram to George I and casually penned an article titled "The Road to Unification."

He clearly stated that the merger of Prussia and Germany was a small step in the unification process of the German Region, and the next step would be for North Germany to return to the embrace of the Shinra Empire.

Naturally, the article did not lack expressions of gratitude towards the British, praising substantially the contribution of the London Government to the merger of Prussia and Germany, and Franz encouraged them to continue their efforts.

What the British thought upon reading it, Franz did not know—but in the German Region, anti-British sentiment was on the rise.

To further stir the pot, George I’s coronation ceremony took on an extra air of chill, as most monarchs from European countries merely sent representatives as a token gesture, and the monarchs from the German Region were conspicuously absent en masse.

Even Frederick III, the King of Prussia, excused himself due to health issues; the only ones who attended to show support were his own kin from the House of Gotha.

There was no choice; the atmosphere was too strange. France and Russia expressed outright opposition; Franz did send his sincere blessings, though it seemed they had the opposite effect.

The European Continent was still under the dominion of the French-Russian-Austrian alliance, and the British, mighty as they might be at sea, could not affect much even with the newly established North German Empire in their account.

At such a sensitive time, any action could be subject to political interpretation.

Monarchs with acumen in politics naturally knew on which side to align themselves. Besides, everyone envied and resented the two crowns atop George I’s head.

Thus far, the majority of the nobility in the European world did not recognize the legitimacy of George I’s reign. There was no legal rationale to be found.

Looking back in history?

Franz was the legitimate ruler of the Shinra Empire. If Hanover wanted to gain legitimacy from Shinra, they’d have to topple Austria first.

Elective legitimacy?

The elective legitimacy of the German Region was based on the "Golden Bull," and Hanover was not even among the electorates.

Even getting one for the sake of fulfilling numbers wouldn’t work; according to this law, one must be crowned "King of Germany" by the Pope before one could succeed as Emperor.

That was even more tragic as, unless The Vatican had gone mad, they would never acknowledge a Protestant Emperor.

In the original timeline, Prussia’s ascension by force was deemed illegitimate, preventing universal recognition, and even Wilhelm I had to make do with a shoddy imperial title.

George I’s crown was even more questionable, with its value perhaps only providing a more honorable title in social settings, as official documents of various countries basically did not acknowledge it.

But a shoddy imperial title was still an imperial title, and for the vanity-minded nobility, that was reason enough for envy.

Franz’s meddling made the British Government’s position awkward.

European media praised the clever maneuvers of the London Government, saying the North German Empire they crafted achieved a grand strategy of ’killing three birds with one stone.’

That sounded good—a great diplomatic victory. Yet, inadvertently, they had offended too many, leaving the British Government diplomatically isolated.

An alliance with France?

That was out of the question; having just been duped, Napoleon IV wouldn’t ally with the British if he had sense—after all, he had water on the brain.

After this lesson, Napoleon IV fully understood why his father, who was traditionally pro-British and anti-Austria, would rather ally with Austria, his despised enemy, than team up with the closer British.

Regardless of what the London Government thought, the French government had already labeled them as "untrustworthy and betraying allies."

Each time Prime Minister Gladstone saw a newspaper extolling the British Government’s diplomatic prowess, he felt a headache coming on.

It was a fact what they wrote about, but some things should not be aired—having already provoked the situation, what would their potential French allies think?

With each report, it was akin to rubbing salt in the wounds. The more the media praised, the more the French government could not afford to lose face.

Gladstone: "The North German Empire is established, but the situation has somewhat spiraled out of control.

I have thwarted the Austrian efforts to unify the German Region, but it’s been misinterpreted abroad. Both France and Russia feel we targeted them. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

This has put us in an incredibly awkward international position. If it’s not resolved soon, we are at risk of diplomatic isolation once again."

The British Government had experienced being isolated by the nations of Europe before, but the present circumstances were different.

In years past, isolation was willingly accepted by the British Government as they were focused on developing overseas colonies and had little interest in involving themselves in Europe’s affairs.

With the situation on the European Continent stable, it was natural for the London Government to avoid unnecessary complications.

The current situation was markedly different. The balance of power among the nations of the European Continent was lost, and the downtrodden France, still lost in its past glories, could not extricate itself.

The situation was made worse by the fact that both France and Austria were colonial powers, with numerous areas of interest conflicting with those of Britannia. Meanwhile, the Tsarist Government couldn’t stop yearning for the Central Asia region.

While being isolated in Europe, Britannia might also face retaliation from the tripartite alliance. Standing alone against the three, let alone the army, even the Royal Navy might not be able to cover all bases.

The Foreign Minister George responded with a wry smile, "This was an oversight on our part, neglecting the sensitivity of the French-Russian towards the establishment of the North German Empire.

The Foreign Office will try to mend relations with various countries as soon as possible, but this will take some time.

In addition, through these events, we have also discovered that the contradictions between Austria and the French-Russian are not as significant as we imagined. Enjoy exclusive content from empire

The French-Russian-Austrian alliance are indeed contenders for dominance on the European Continent, each being the greatest competitor to the others, but competitors do not necessarily mean immediate enemies.

The Russian Empire is still recuperating and will be powerless to vie for supremacy for a long time to come.

To secure its own interests, the Tsarist Government will likely follow Austria’s lead in diplomacy in the short term.

The Near East War was a divvying up feast for the Russian-Austrian, with the Vienna Government binding the Russians with the interests of the Ottomans, making it very difficult to drive a wedge between Russia and Austria.

The relationship between France and Austria is incomprehensible. Logically, both emperors of France should have been anti-Austrian, and relations between France and Austria might have been expected to be very poor.

However, the reality is quite the opposite. Two countries with significant competing interests and a long history of animosity mostly appear as allies.

Including the recent internal strife in France, the Austrians did not kick them while down but instead started the Near East War.

If the Vienna Government had sent troops to strike at the French back then, the Italian Area would have likely become independent by now.

By missing the chance to finish off the French, the Vienna Government did not lose out; its old enemy, the Ottoman Empire, is about to fall, and a thaw has emerged in France-Austria relations.

Various signs indicate that Napoleon IV’s anti-Austrian inclination is no longer so apparent, and the sentiment within the French government that antagonizes Austria is not as strong as before.

This is a dangerous sign. If relations between France and Austria continue to warm up, the Vienna Government might very well push for a French-Russian-Austrian alliance, jointly dominating the European Continent as an alliance."

Is it really just about "dominating the European Continent"?

The impact of a French-Russian-Austrian alliance is not much less than the previous British-French-Austrian tripartite alliance.

Alliances are made for one of two reasons: either there is a common interest, or there is a common enemy.

The world has almost been entirely divided up, and the leftover spoils are certainly not enough to satisfy the appetites of the three powers; therefore, they would have to snatch from a fourth party.

Under these circumstances, Britannia, who reaped the greatest rewards of the colonial era, has naturally become the target of many arrows.

Beyond interests, Britannia also qualifies as the common enemy of the three countries, to some extent. In a way, the French-Russian-Austrian friendship entirely depends on Britannia.

Gladstone nodded gravely, "We cannot ignore this situation; Russia and Austria have already drawn close, and we must not allow the French to pull Austria over as well.

Our next diplomatic efforts must undergo a comprehensive adjustment. It’s not to say that our previous strategy was wrong, but rather the international situation has changed, making many tactics outdated.

The balance in Europe is not an issue, but there was a problem with the setting of the hypothetical enemy. Suppression of the powerful was indeed effective, but it also had serious consequences, directly leading to the deterioration of our relations with the great nations of Europe.

The Anglo-French relations, England-Russia relations have worsened under this context, and now it’s the turn of the Anglo-Austria relations.

The Habsburg dynasty is best at diplomacy and enjoys high prestige in the European world, always having more allies than enemies.

Especially after Franz took the throne, he improved France-Austria relations, and with the impending fall of the Ottoman Empire, Austria will have no mortal enemies on the European Continent.

To negotiate with such an adversary, we must be doubly careful and absolutely cannot allow them to form an Anti-British Alliance."

There is no problem in suppressing competitors, but we must be careful about the means. Strategies that kill several birds with one stone must be considered for their potential to provoke widespread indignation.

Finance Minister George Childs added, "Actually, if we look at it from a different angle, things aren’t that bad.

Austria isn’t as bellicose as Russia, nor as capable in war as France. Their strengths lie in domestic and diplomatic affairs.

The German Empire has already been established, and its power is nearly catching up to the previous Prusso-Polish federation. As long as we are vigilant against Austria’s peaceful evolution, a military unification of the Germany Region is simply unrealistic.

Without unifying the Germany Region, Austria won’t be able to establish absolute advantage over France and Russia. Moreover, Austria is strategically restricted by being sandwiched between France and Russia.

To avoid being targeted together, the Vienna Government can only replicate the Vienna System established after 1815, maintaining a balance among all parties through diplomatic means.

With stability on the European Continent, even if we are excluded, Britannia’s core interests will remain unharmed."

Everything is relative, and compared to France and Russia, who brandish their weapons forcefully, Austria does indeed pose the least risk in becoming powerful through diplomacy.

Image is once again proven important; looking at the reactions from European countries, it is evident that there is much more vigilance towards France and Russia than towards Austria.

The Vienna Government is indeed acting according to its reputation, conquering the European Continent solely through diplomacy, with military force applied overseas.

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