Holy Roman Empire

On July 12, 1883, Russian Army captured the Ottoman Capital Ankara, apprehending Grand Vizier Midhat, and the Ottoman Empire officially declared its collapse.

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From Vienna to St. Petersburg, both cities were immersed in the joy of victory, with various celebration events being continuously staged.

To commemorate this great victory, Franz, who disliked banquets, even personally hosted a victory banquet and at one point considered holding an ancestor worship ceremony.

After all, traditions are meant to be broken, and in those days The Vatican had already declined, lacking the ability to meddle.

Just the thought of the Habsburg Family’s traditional funerary customs was enough to dispel Franz’s interest in ancestor worship.

After death, members of the Habsburg Dynasty are buried in three different places: the heart in the Augustinian Church, the entrails in St. Stephen’s Cathedral, and the body interred within the royal crypt beneath the Capuchin Church.

Not to mention anything else, just choosing which of the three churches was an issue. It is known that each of them carries different symbolic meanings, and any choice would be interpreted politically by outsiders.

Annoyed by the hassle, Franz directly abandoned this plan.

Overall, this Near East War had been a smooth one. The only regret was that Abdul Hamid II had vanished, making this victory seem less than perfect.

However, this was a minor issue. Even if Abdul Hamid II had escaped by a fluke, he was powerless to change anything and wouldn’t even dare to appear in public.

Not every monarch is cut out for exile, for the Ottoman Emperor was not just a secular ruler but also a religious leader.

Perhaps as a fellow monarch, Franz couldn’t bring himself to be utterly ruthless, but at a time like this, the Church certainly wouldn’t miss the opportunity to brandish its presence.

Under the influence of religious beliefs, even the British Government considering causing troubles would not be able to support Abdul Hamid II’s restoration.

No, that’s incorrect—it should be that there would be nowhere to restore him to. Once the population migration is completed, there will be no Ottomans on the land of the Ottoman Empire, but the places with Ottomans will not belong to the Ottoman Empire.

...

Foreign Minister Weisenberg handed Franz a document, saying, "Your Majesty, this is the proposal from the Tsarist Government regarding the division of the post-war spoils.

It is roughly the areas previously agreed upon before the war, and in addition, the Russians have proposed another plan: if we are willing to provide cash compensation, they are ready to give up part of the spoils of war."

Upon hearing this, Franz’s first reaction was disbelief—had the Tsarist Government actually given up their greed for land?

It was only after he had taken the document and seen similar clauses that he accepted this as fact.

Franz, who had weathered many storms, was naturally not dazed by this tempting offer, and after cooling down, he asked, "Do you know why?"

Finance Minister Carl responded, "Your Majesty, I believe this issue can be attributed to financial reasons.

According to agreement, the Russians can acquire almost half of the Asia Minor Peninsula, but because of the war, these areas have turned into ruins.

In the short term, there’s no visibility of return on these areas, which not only require a military presence to maintain stability but also substantial investment for post-war reconstruction.

If the Tsarist Government acquires these territories, they will face an additional annual cost of at least fifteen million Divine Shields, and it will be difficult to break even within ten years.

With the financial situation of the Tsarist Government, they simply cannot afford this expense, offering to sell to us out of necessity.

In order to obtain funds for immigrant settlement and alleviate their precarious finances, the Tsarist Government has also been eagerly taking in Ottomans from our controlled areas.

Up to now, we have paid the Russians 23.86 million Divine Shields for immigrant settlement fees, and these people have been settled in areas currently under Russian Army control.

If the territorial trade is successful, we will inevitably have to relocate all the Ottomans from the whole Asia Minor Peninsula.

The Russians will be able to get both the land transfer fee and substantial immigration settlement fees. Even the immigrants they have previously accepted could be subject to another settlement fee.

I am very suspicious that the Tsarist Government will propose additional conditions, undertaking the immigration settlement work directly. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

For them, this presents no great difficulty. Siberia and the Far East have vast lands for settling immigrants, and despite slightly harsher conditions, it still would not be a major issue."

Upon hearing this explanation, Franz couldn’t help but admire the Tsarist Government’s business acumen. According to the earlier agreement, the Russians had already completed one immigrant settlement.

Although the people were still on the Asia Minor Peninsula, the Vienna Government had only stipulated that they be sent out of Austria’s sphere of influence, and at the time there was no talk of territorial trading; the Russians had fulfilled the contract.

Knowing they were at a disadvantage but unable to complain, the Vienna Government had to play by the rules of international politics, akin to gambling, where once at the table, you must be prepared to lose with grace.

Franz smiled slightly, "If it’s because of finances, then we’ll negotiate the price with the Russians.

Bolstering Russian strength is already within our planned scope; it’s just that now the plan has been moved forward a bit."

The Asia Minor Peninsula represented a burden for the Tsarist Government, unable to shoulder the financial strain, yet the scenario was different for Austria.

Though there would be no immediate economic benefits and a significant amount of capital had to be invested, the strategic significance was extraordinary.

Securing this area meant not only merging with the Middle East Region but also having a stable rear.

As long as several million immigrants were moved there from the homeland to completely control the region, Franz would no longer have to worry about being blockaded by others.

"Enhancing power" and "strengthening national strength" were two different concepts. Franz was only preparing to enhance the power of the Tsarist Government, not the national strength of the Russian Empire.

So, this assistance would be a test of skill. Naturally, it was impossible to help the Tsarist Government achieve industrialization.

Even if help was offered, it would only be to assist them in achieving a form of industrialization similar to the model of Mexico in later times.

Simply put, it meant appearing impressive on the surface, seeming to have achieved industrialization, but in reality, it was just a large assembly plant wholly dependent on imported core components.

The Russians were not fools. How could they develop ambitions for the subcontinent if they didn’t appear strong?

Foreign Minister Weisenberg reminded, "Your Majesty, our negotiations with the British have also started. If news of the trade of the Asia Minor Peninsula leaks at this time, it might trigger another tempest."

The British stirrers were annoying, yet they couldn’t be dealt with in those times. Perhaps they couldn’t trouble Austria, but they were certainly strong when it came to being a nuisance.

Without mentioning anything else, once the stirrers got involved, this territorial trade would have difficulty proceeding smoothly. Even if an agreement was reached, the Vienna Government would incur additional costs.

After pondering for a moment, Franz made a decision, "Authorize the envoy stationed in Russia to negotiate with the Tsarist Government directly, speed is essential. We must strike a deal before the British can react.

In addition to financial compensation, we can also help the Russians rebuild their navy.

Tell the Russians that if the deal is reached within a week, we will gift them five additional battleships.

Furthermore, these warships need not be delivered immediately; they can inform us when they want them."

Franz didn’t plan on haggling. From the moment the emigration from the Asia Minor Peninsula began, the Tsarist Government knew of the Vienna Government’s emphasis on this region.

The Tsarist Government sold off these areas fundamentally to secure a good price to cover fiscal deficits; haggling was out of the question.

Gifting five battleships was essentially a disguised raise in price. Deliberately setting a time constraint was also a negotiating strategy.

However, the difference was that the Austrian pre-dreadnoughts were about to be launched, and these old battleships were soon to be decommissioned.

Five outdated, soon-to-be-phased-out battleships are an entirely different concept from eight of the most advanced ones.

Taking advantage of asymmetric information between the parties and exploiting differences in perceived value, they confused the Russians into overestimating the value of these warships to reduce land purchase costs.

Bear in mind, the Austrian Navy now boasted a full 36 battleships; heaven knows where to find so many buyers.

Without buyers, when a new round of naval arms race erupted, most of these ships would just have to be scrapped for iron.

...

The Russian-Austrian territorial trade was just one of the minor episodes following the end of the Near East war. The Vienna Government had more post-war issues to solve.

It was manageable internationally, as the Ottomans had attracted enough hatred; no one spoke on their behalf, so there was virtually no public pressure.

European citizens were celebrating this great victory, and even if some were discontent, they were just a small minority.

The trouble lay in post-war reconstruction. As the locals had moved out, someone needed to replace them. Without sufficient population, post-war reconstruction was a joke.

Franz’s desk was already piled with proposals: immigration relocation plans, Baghdad Railway plans, Dardanelles Strait Bridge plans...

Looking at the myriad of proposals, Franz felt overwhelmed. Every day immersed in documents, his hairline receded further. At this rate, he would go prematurely bald.

Being Emperor was no easy task. It wasn’t that Franz coveted power and prestige; some issues just required his personal attention.

People from different eras saw issues differently. What seemed like a beautiful plan at the time could potentially become a huge hidden danger in the future.

Take the Dardanelles Bridge, for example. If it were built according to the Railway Department’s plan, the bridge would serve only the railway and add just an extra lane for horse-drawn carriages.

It might suffice in the short term, but once cars became common, it would soon have to be scrapped and rebuilt.