Holy Roman Empire

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The situation fermented too quickly, and political leaders across Europe were stunned. The negotiations broke down so abruptly, which was completely out of the norm!

Usually, isn’t it standard to quarrel for months, prepare for war, stoke public sentiment, and only then officially turn hostile?

Mediation was a must, even if only for the sake of appearance, a stance had to be taken.

Before April had ended, the Vienna Government had received diplomatic missives from more than a dozen countries, all of them calling for calm and peace.

Perhaps moved by everyone’s sincerity, the Vienna Government made concessions and decided to restart the second round of negotiations on April 29, 1882, but international mediation was tactfully declined.

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Affected by the tense situation in the Near East, Sir Gladstone, heralded as one of Britain’s greatest Prime Ministers, could no longer keep his composure.

Gladstone: "Gentlemen, the situation has become quite clear. The Austrian Government is resolute in starting a war, and the slaughter was merely a pretext.

From Britain’s perspective, we do not wish to see anything that would disrupt the stability of the Near East. Sadly, with France embroiled in civil war, we are unable to intervene as we’d like.

Today, we need to discuss: should a major shift occur in the Near East situation, how can we ensure that Britain’s interests are not compromised."

Foreign Minister George: "Being impacted is inevitable, at the very least, our stakes in the Ottoman Empire are certain to suffer.

If we simply want to compensate for losses due to the war, we can still engage in an exchange of interests with Austria.

However, I don’t recommend doing so. Looking at the current situation, the Ottomans’ defeat is just a matter of time.

What happens next is hard to predict. If the Austrians only wish to punish the Ottomans to deflect domestic issues, that would still be manageable.

But if Austria were to absorb the Ottoman Empire entirely, the threat to us would be immense."

Having said this, George stood up and walked over to the hanging map, pointing with his smoking pipe: "Only Persia stands between us and India."

This was a harsh reality that had to be faced. The Ottoman Empire was in decline, and Persia was in an even worse state; it was impossible to expect Persia to stop Austria.

Claiming that "the Vienna Government has no interest in India" is probably something only Franz would believe—certainly, the London Government dared not. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

When Austria’s influence reached the Persian Gulf, it had already caused the London Government concern. Back then, there was a sea in between, and everyone had confidence in the Royal Navy.

But now things were different. If Austria were allowed to expand continuously, we would become neighbouring on land. Surely we can’t expect the Lobster Soldiers to spectacularly triumph and deter the enemy, can we?

Colonial Minister Primrose complained: "This is utterly disastrous. Looking at the current situation, the Vienna Government clearly aims to annex the Ottoman, and there’s no need to doubt their ambition.

If we don’t want to be fighting a battle to defend India, we must stop the Austrians outside Mesopotamia."

The harsh reality was akin to Primrose’s sentiment at that moment; as the Colonial Minister, any issue compromising India’s security could bring about an irreparable political catastrophe for him.

Foreign Minister George decisively followed up: "No, that’s not all, there are worse things yet to come!

If the Austrians don’t go it alone and decide to share the spoils of the Ottoman Empire with Russia, then we will face threats from two great powers at once.

Given the Vienna Government’s track record, the likelihood of such an event is quite high. They might even continue the Russian-Austrian Alliance with a plan to divide up India."

Being encircled on land by both Russia and Austria left nothing more to say.

No country in the world could withstand such a devastating blow, no matter how long they had operated in India.

Contemplating this dreadful outcome, Gladstone declared unequivocally: "Cease all support for the French Revolutionary Party immediately and help stabilize the domestic situation for Napoleon IV as soon as possible."

Britain needed allies, and never more so than now. Facing the potential Russian-Austrian combine, without a buffer, they truly couldn’t hold on.

Foreign Minister George added: "The French aren’t enough, we must find more allies. The Nordic Federation can also be brought over, perhaps it’s time we expedite the establishment of North Germany."

The aftermath of the Prusso-Russian War had erupted. Without Prussia, the golden enforcer, even France alone wasn’t sufficient to control the situation.

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Influenced by the revolutionary wave in Europe, Ottoman nationalism also became active. More and more Ottoman youths could no longer tolerate their government’s powerless performance in reforms.

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"After the ’massacre’ incident erupted, Ottoman nationalists felt insulted, believing that Austria was interfering with their internal affairs."

At the key moment when negotiations were to be restarted between the two Empires, the Ottoman Empire experienced a massive anti-imperialist movement.

Incited by patriotic youths, the people of Ankara held protests in the embassy district. These were minor issues; the mentality of the bullies was typically good, being protested against was part of their daily routine."

With frequent experiences, everyone became accustomed to it. However, during the protests, an unexpected incident occurred; the Greek Envoy, Sextus, was beaten to death by the protesting populace, and the matter escalated seriously.

Even Franz was baffled. What did the Greek people have to do with this?

It couldn’t possibly be claimed that Greek imperialism was invading the Ottoman, demanding a blood debt be repaid with blood?

With the utmost malice, Franz had sufficient reason to suspect that it was the work of Austrian agents, though there was no evidence.

More news came in, unraveling the mystery in everyone’s minds.

It is said that as the Greek Envoy was returning from an outing, his carriage hit and killed a child crossing the street, inciting the boiling blood of the Ottoman people, and the conflict erupted.

The great powers were untouchable, but was even small Greece not to be provoked?

By the time the Ottoman police arrived at the scene, Sextus, the unlucky Envoy, along with his coachman and guard, had all met their maker.

An Envoy beaten to death alive – no matter how the Ottoman Government attempted to explain, it was futile.

Originally, it was the Ottoman Government that sought to hold Sextus accountable for the carriage accident, but the person in question was already dead, and the dead need bear no responsibility.

At this point, the responsibility had shifted. Greece, now the victim, naturally would not admit to the carriage hitting someone.

The Greece Government insisted that the Ottomans barbarically and cruelly murdered Envoy Sextus and demanded that the Ottoman Government surrender all suspects for investigation by the Greece Government.

That’s right, "all." The Greece Government believed that everyone who participated in the protest that day was a suspect and demanded that the Ottoman Government hand them over for scrutiny by the Greece Government.

This was an impossibility. The number of civilians participating in the protest that day reached into the tens of thousands, and the Ottoman Government, even if it wanted to calm the situation, could not possibly hand over these individuals.

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Having understood the cause and effect, Franz laughed and said, "So, it seems the Greek people want to take advantage of the situation to pick up a bargain."

The ’Envoy assassination’ case provided the Greece Government with the perfect opportunity to intervene.

Austria needed a reasonable pretext for war, and tying Greece’s ’Envoy assassination’ case together with the ’massacre’ would undoubtedly enhance the persuasiveness of the latter.

The Ottoman Government could not possibly clear its reputation. There might have been exaggerations in the ’massacre’ case, but a real Envoy did die in the ’Envoy assassination’ case."

Minister Weisenberg replied, "Yes. Not long after the incident, the Greece Government contacted us, expressing willingness to jointly dispatch troops to combat the barbaric Ottoman Empire.

Although the attitude of the Greek people was quite agreeable, their appetites were not small. They were interested not only in the islands of the Aegean Sea, but they also wanted a share from the Asia Minor Peninsula."

For a country with a heavy historical burden like Greece, the dream of becoming a great power was indispensable.

Unfortunately, Greece’s luck was not very good, with any neighboring power having the capability to beat them, so even with great ambitions, they had to keep them in check.

The Ottomans represented their only chance for territorial expansion; if they missed this chance, they would truly have to return home and dream on."

Franz nonchalantly said, "The world is fair; what you reap and sow are equivalent.

If the Greek people want to take a share from the Asia Minor Peninsula, let them first prove their strength.

Tell the Greek people that we will distribute the spoils of war according to the contribution made in battle. If they want to take away land, they must make contributions on the battlefield."

Undoubtedly, ’distributing spoils according to contribution’ was a huge pitfall. Contributions on the battlefield had to rely on strength, and the Ottoman Empire, albeit weak, was not something Greece could rival.

With their meager resources, if they cannot contain their greed, they might well throw everything they have into it."

In this cruel world, strength always determined the distribution of interests. Hoping for fairness was less reliable than counting on the honor of the Vienna Government.