Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 307

Chapter 307: Chapter 56: The Pitfalls We Must Jump
The combat power that a strong government can unleash is often beyond imagination. With Franz’s order, trade between the Austro-African Colonies and American countries suddenly became active.

Numerous labor export companies settled in the Austrian colonies, exporting the surplus labor force to America and the Arab World.

Thanks to everyone’s joint efforts, the dire shortage of labor in various countries greatly improved. Under the new labor export model, international slave prices began to fall.

Labor export companies were essentially forced into existence, adhering to the old adage: where there’s a policy from above, there’s a countermeasure from below.

The Vienna Government prohibited the slave trade, and to circumvent legal stipulations, quick-witted slave traders immediately adopted a new guise.

Appearing in the Austrian colonies as labor export companies, they boldly continued their operations. After all, once they left the Austrian colonies, they were free to do as they pleased.

Whether these immigrants became slaves or indentured laborers depended on which country they ended up in.

These matters were not within the considerations of the colonial government bureaucrats; their significant task was to reduce the indigenous population by three layers within five years—effort was mandatory.

Especially as the colonies continued to expand, the pressure only mounted. The Colonial Department assigned tasks to each colonial government, and the Finance Department allocated an annual immigration fund of two million Divine Shields.

All proceeds from immigration work belonged to individuals. Officials who excelled in immigration operations were promoted directly, while those who failed were dismissed.

As everyone’s livelihood was at stake, no one dared to take it lightly. Moreover, there were substantial benefits involved—how much one could grab depended on individual ability.

From 1859, the Austrian colonies began a frenzied export of immigrants to the outside world.

Taking the United States as an example: in 1858, it received 183,000 immigrants from the Austrian colonies; in 1859, this number skyrocketed to 346,000; and in 1860, it rose further to 378,000…

The direct consequence of this policy was that when the American Civil War broke out, the number of white people in the country fell by over five hundred thousand from history, while the black population increased by over a million.

Interest is always the best catalyst. Obtaining black slaves from other colonial countries involved paying heavy taxes, and even bribing colonial officials, but working in labor export in the Austrian colonies, one could receive subsidies.

The colonial military also frequently launched attacks on Native Kingdoms.

At the end of 1859, József Jellacic even issued the infamous Border Relocation Act.

The law stipulated: if immigrants, the military, or government civil servants were attacked by locals, all Native Tribes within fifty kilometers would be forcibly relocated.

This directly led to strong protests from labor export companies. How could they expel good labor, wasn’t that cutting off one’s source of income?

When the colonial government executed the law, inevitable changes occurred. Since they were all going to be relocated anyway, where they ended up didn’t matter—it was the same if they were handed over to labor export companies.

There’s not much to say, no colonial government of any country was clean in that era. Not committing genocide was considered harmonious.

…

With Russian support, the Indian Rebels at one point broke through two million, occupying more than half of the Indian region.

Undoubtedly, this was a ragtag army. Their numbers alone were high, but their combat effectiveness was ridiculously poor, with weapons and equipment being outdated Russian cast-offs, averaging one rifle for every three people.

After gaining the upper hand, the British employed their best tactic of divide and conquer. Several mutually independent rebel forces soon fell into internal power struggles, missing the best opportunity to drive the British out of the Indian region.

The British, once they reacted, continuously reinforced their presence in the Indian region, and the strategic advantage gained by the rebels was wasted in internal strife.

It was then time to show comprehensive national strength. By 1859, the British had deployed 350,000 troops to the Indian region, gradually gaining the upper hand on the battlefield.

Upon receiving the intelligence, Franz could only lament the formidable strength of John Bull. Despite the long-distance campaign, they were able to deploy such a large force.

Without a doubt, such grand moves could only be made by the British. Clearly, the actions of the Tsarist Government had agitated the sensitive nerves of the London Government.

It was a direct action that told the Russians to consider how many troops they could commit to the region if they wanted to snatch India.

Thinking of this, Franz just smirked coldly. The British might have made a miscalculation this time.

Nicholas I was no pushover, and his successor, Alexander II, was equally formidable. If they thought to intimidate them with this, they were surely dreaming.

Historically, due to the defeat in the Crimea, the Russians were licking their wounds and their support for the Indian rebellion was limited, which allowed the British to quickly suppress the rebellion.

Now, the Tsarist Government was likewise licking its wounds, but Nicholas I, who had captured Constantinople, was at the height of his power, suppressing internal strife.

With financial support provided by Austria, the finances of the Tsarist Government weren’t as dire as in history, and they could afford to allocate some money to support the Rebel Army.

Moreover, the Indian region was far from poor. The Rebel Army had many spoils of war in hand that could be used to buy weapons and ammunition.

If the Indians could show some mettle, they still had a chance of winning the war. After all, they had the numbers and could afford to lose men; they just needed to organize enough cannon fodder to wear down the British.

Regardless, with the support of the Tsarist Government, the Indians could hold on for some more time.

Thinking this, Franz found himself conflicted. On one hand, he wanted to drain the strength of the British and shake their hegemony; on the other hand, he did not wish for their decline, for then the main force interfering in the American Civil War would be gone.

With this dilemma in mind, the Vienna Government adhered to the principle of neutrality, not supporting either side, and instead played the role of a spectator.

He sighed, lit the report in his hands with the candle flame, and then said, “Let the Indian issue rest for now. Just maintain regular intelligence transmission.

The next task is America. If conditions allow, we can add some chaos; for now, we might as well be considered supporters of the Southern plantation owners.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Tyren replied.

This task was extremely troublesome. With transatlantic telegraphs not yet connected, communication became the biggest issue for intelligence transmission.

By the time ships brought news from America back home, it would be outdated. Franz could only delegate authority. Whether any success could be achieved was entirely up to fate.

In the short term, supporting the capitalists in the North might be more beneficial; if they won, exports of American cotton, tobacco, and grain would drastically decrease.

As competitors, Austria could gain huge economic benefits.

But in the long run, a unified America was too formidable. The Chosen Country was not praised in vain; they truly occupied the world’s most fertile lands.

Even if the entire Germany Region was united and Austria developed without interruption, it would be impossible to match their potential, as this was determined by nature.

Even without war breaking out on the European Continent and continuing stable development, being surpassed by America was only a matter of time.

Unless Austria could swallow half of the African Continent and perfectly assimilate it. At this point, Franz felt it would be better for America to be divided.

Even a divided America would still possess the potential to become the world’s superpower. There was no way around it; America’s natural conditions were simply too favorable.

Even if America was divided, the relative power of the North and South would gradually widen over time. To expect the South to balance out the Northern government after independence was purely a fantasy.

Even how long such independence could be sustained was a serious question. In terms of development potential, the North’s capitalist economy far exceeded the South’s plantation economy.

When the balance of power became severely skewed, a strong leader’s rise in the North could reignite a unification war.

At this, Franz felt like weeping. It seemed that intervening in the American Civil War could be not just a one-time affair, but potentially an endless quagmire.

At that moment, Franz somewhat understood the actions of Napoleon III in history. Perhaps recognizing the terrifying nature of this pit, he chose to pick on the easier target of Mexico.

When France suddenly withdrew, England and Spain immediately expressed dissatisfaction. The plan was to jointly intervene in the American Civil War, and here France was attacking Mexico instead, disregarding collective interests.

With France, a main force out, England and Spain also started to back out, and the tripartite intervention Allied Forces dissolved before even entering the fray.

Then, the countries of Europe stood by and watched the Americans wage civil war. The London Government attempted to intervene several times, but internal debates caused delays. By the time they were resolved, the war had already ended.

“Those who fear for their lives while pursuing great ambitions, and those who forget righteousness for the sake of modest gain.”

This described Napoleon III, who wanted only benefits without risks, which was impossible.

Knowing full well there was a pitfall ahead, Franz still decided to jump. There was no choice; between dual detriments, one must pick the lesser.

Whether the intervention succeeded or not, it would bring greater losses to America and delay their development.

If by chance it was successful, it would be a major victory. As a nation of immigrants, America’s internal unity was inherently weak. The war of unification couldn’t go on indefinitely, and after two or three failures, the populace would lose the will to wage more warfare.