Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 644 - 217: Preparing for Battle

The end of the Russian-Austrian Alliance, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, instantly shocked the world.

What Pacific War, disputes over the free trade system, secrets of Queen Victoria—all these hot news topics were pushed aside.

Anyone with even a slight political sense knew that the global political landscape was about to be reshuffled.

With the Russian-Austrian Alliance gone, the last barrier constraining the Prusso-Polish Federation no longer existed. The Berlin Government would not wait for the Russians to prepare before launching a war.

Over the years, both Prussia and Russia had been preparing for war, and both nations’ military industries and transport had achieved breakthrough developments.

Due to the Russian-Austrian Alliance, the Russians and Austria had conducted in-depth cooperation in the military industry. To save costs to the greatest extent, the Tsarist Government’s bureaucrats directly copied the Austrian military industry system.

In the long run, this complete replication would doom the independent R&D capability of Russia’s military industry, leading to disastrous consequences.

However, in the short term, it significantly enhanced Russia’s military industrial strength, advancing it directly to the world’s top level.

What does military industrial development rely on?

There are many integrated factors to consider, but to sum it up, it can be encapsulated in two words—spend money!

The Tsarist Government was self-aware, recognizing that its R&D capabilities were poor and the funding insufficient, so they simply cooperated with Austria.

The Prusso-Polish Federation was different; from the beginning, the Kingdom of Prussia had been on the path of independent R&D. Constrained by funding, Prussia’s domestic military industry had actually fallen behind.

The British couldn’t help them in this aspect; John Bull’s (England’s) army equipment was very mediocre. It wasn’t that their technology was lacking, but rather that the British Army was too small in number, and equipment procurement orders too few, so military enterprises naturally didn’t want to spend a lot on R&D.

This situation persisted until just before the Prussian territorial trade. With the change of ownership in the Rhineland region, the barrier between Prussia and France ceased to exist, and it was natural for the Berlin Government to cozy up to the French.

In recent years, military-technical trades between Prussia and France have become increasingly frequent.

Of course, Prussia and France were not allies, and the French had no need to care for the Prusso Federation, so the cooperation in military industry between the two countries was not as deep as that of the Russian-Austrians.

The cooperation was limited to technical exchanges, and going further was impossible. At least until Prussia and France unified their industrial standards, perfect integration could not be achieved.

Theoretically speaking, with unified Russian-Austrian industrial standards and the Tsarist Government’s direct copying of Austrian military industry, they should have had an advantage in the arms race.

Unfortunately, Russia’s industrial base was too weak and lacked a sufficient number of skilled industrial workers. With the same production equipment, the products made by Russians tended to have a higher defect rate.

This gap in quality brought the military industries of Prussia and Russia to the same level. Even if there were gaps, they were limited to individual pieces of military equipment and did not represent a generational difference.

Compared to the military industry, changes in transportation were even more apparent.

Just a few years after the establishment of the Prusso-Polish Federation, the Berlin Government began construction of 10,000 kilometers of railways in the Polish Region; one-third is already in operation, and the remaining segments are expected to be completed within the next two or three years.

It wasn’t just the Polish Region that was fervently building railways; other areas of Prussia were also active. For example, the Lithuanian Region had planned 2 main lines with auxiliary branches, totaling a staggering 4,000 kilometers.

As of now, the total operating rail mileage of the Prusso-Polish Federation has reached 26,000 kilometers. Once the Berlin Government’s plan is completed, the total rail mileage of the Federation will break through 37,000 kilometers.

This figure will allow the Prusso-Polish Federation’s total rail mileage to surpass that of France, becoming Europe’s third-largest railway power, second only to the Russian-Austrian.

While the Prusso-Polish Federation is striving to build roads, Alexander II, who has realized the importance of transportation, has not been idle either.

In just ten short years, the Tsarist Government has started work on 34,000 kilometers of railways, of which 26,000 kilometers are now operational. Adding the previous railways, the total rail mileage in operation by the Russian Empire is approaching 30,000 kilometers.

Looking at the numbers alone, the Russian Empire seems to have surpassed the Prusso-Polish Federation, but in reality, the situation is quite the opposite.

The territory of the Russian Empire is more than twenty times that of the Prusso-Polish Federation, yet the gap in total railway mileage between the two is less than 15%. The disparity in transportation between the two countries is evident.

Now, both are racing against time, and there’s no doubt that the Prusso-Polish Federation has the upper hand. Due to geographical constraints, Russians are inevitably at a disadvantage in railway construction.

Don’t be fooled by the larger total rail mileage of the Russian Empire; its transport capacity still can’t match that of the Prusso-Polish Federation. This is determined by the climate: as soon as winter comes, Russian railways cannot guarantee full-load operations.

In terms of transportation, for Russians to reach the current level of the Prusso-Polish Federation, they would have to build at least 150,000 kilometers of railways. This is only to connect the main cities in European Russia, considering Asia, not even double that would suffice.

Clearly, this is impossible. The Berlin Government will not give the Russians so much time. Should the Tsarist Government solve the transportation issue, they’d have to cheat somehow, otherwise, they’d stand no chance in a fight.

The whole world is focused on the news of the dissolution of the Russian-Austrian Alliance—aside from the political impact of this alliance, the key reason is that its dissolution is tantamount to declaring a countdown to the Prusso-Russian War.

The idle spectators can’t help but come out and pontificate. Obviously, the Tsarist Government, the main actor, goes without saying. As soon as the bad news came, Alexander II smashed countless artifacts in anger.

"Damn Habsburg scum, a bunch of treacherous traitors..."

Curses resounded in the Winter Palace. It’s no wonder Alexander II was so angry; to continue maintaining the Russian-Austrian Alliance, they had already made significant concessions and extended goodwill through various channels to the Vienna Government.

Nevertheless, it was all in vain. Not to mention a renewal for another thirty years, even extending the alliance until five years later was rejected by the Vienna Government.

Alexander II’s reforms are essentially complete. What is missing now is time to turn these reforms into national strength. It can be said that every day now is of vital importance to the Russian Empire.

The Russian-Austrian Alliance bought time for Austria to develop in peace, and now it is time to buy time for the Russian Empire. With Austria suddenly declaring its exit, how could Alexander II bear it?

They don’t need much, just to drag it out for five more years, and the Russian Empire will have the strength to easily defeat the Prusso-Polish Federation.

It is a disparity in scale, as well as potential for development. Although the development speed of both countries is very fast, the Prusso-Polish Federation has already reached its peak, while the Russian Empire is just getting started.

An angry Tsar is terrible, and none of the ministers wanted to provoke him. Seeing the adverse situation, Alexandrovich braced himself and persuaded:

"Father, now is not the time to be angry. Since the Russian-Austrian Alliance will no longer be renewed, the obstacle that restrained the Prusso-Polish Federation from waging war no longer exists."

"Hmph!" bellowed Alexander II. "What’s there to fear? Is the great Russian Empire incapable of defeating its enemies without Austria?"

Alexandrovich: "Of course not, it’s just that the current situation is very critical. We have made major concessions, and yet the Vienna Government still refuses to yield. There must be some secret deal behind this.

We can boldly speculate that there is a backdoor deal between Prussia and Austria. The Berlin Government’s chips are limited; the only thing that could tempt the Vienna Government is..."

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Having said all that in one breath, Alexandrovich himself almost believed it. Of course, at its core, it was just a stepping stone, and nobody would actually believe that Prussia and Austria had conspired together.

For political figures, controlling their emotions is the least they can do. It’s true that Alexander II was angry, but not to the point of losing control. His anger served to mask the diplomatic errors he’d made since taking power.

It couldn’t be helped—the man had taken a pro-Prussian stance at the start. With the legacy of a screw-up like Peter III, Russia’s tolerance for such matters had significantly decreased.

Even though Alexander II had made the right choice and sharply changed his political stance, the initial pro-Prussian and anti-Austrian diplomacy still faced internal criticism.

Now that the Russian-Austrian Alliance had been terminated, there was definitely a group within the country ready to place the blame on him. The nobility, whose interests had been hurt by the reforms, had been looking for an opportunity to cause trouble, and Alexander II had to prevent this from happening at all costs.

This was why Alexandrovich pinned the responsibility of ending the Russian-Austrian Alliance on the Prussia-Austria collusion.

The pride of the Russians still mattered. No matter what, the Russian Empire could not tolerate Austria uniting Central Europe, as it would mean the end of their dream to dominate Europe.

The Tsarist Government could not yield on the issue of Teuton unification. Thus, the fracture of the Russian-Austrian Alliance made sense. It merely suggested that the Berlin Government had a lower threshold for compromise on this matter.

Whether it was true didn’t matter, what counted was that it was politically viable.

After a brief silence, it seemed as if Alexander II was adjusting his emotions. "Alas!"

"Enough, what’s done is done. Let’s discuss how to deal with this situation instead!"

The rupture of the Russian-Austrian Alliance had been anticipated by the Tsarist Government. From the moment the government chose to join the British pound-gold standard, the split with Austria was inevitable.

Minister of Army Hellemed: "Your Majesty, without the Russian-Austrian Alliance, we no longer have exclusive control over the initiation of war.

Looking at the current situation, the Prusso-Polish Federation’s railway plan could be completed in three years at most, two at the earliest, while our railway plan will take at least five years.

We no longer hold the advantage in terms of time. The enemy won’t give us that much time. We now face two options.

Either initiate the war now while everyone is unprepared, or prepare our defenses and wait for the Prusso-Polish Federation to be ready to attack us."

"Five years’ time" is just a theoretical number; everyone knows that the Russian Empire’s transportation issues can’t be resolved in five years and at most could connect the main cities.

Of course, reaching this point would suffice. It would practically match the state of the Russian Empire’s European transportation before World War I.

We’re a bit behind, but at least we can support millions of soldiers on the front line. This number is enough to fight a war against the Prusso-Polish Federation.

The population of the Russian Empire is 2.8 times that of the Prusso-Polish Federation, and it has a much higher capacity for casualties. The odds are very good in a war of attrition.

It’s a shame they don’t have that much time and now must choose. This war is extraordinary. The Tsarist Government can’t afford to lose, as a defeat would mean the Russian Empire wouldn’t recover for decades.

The breathing of everyone present became heavy all at once, clearly indicating that this was a difficult decision.

Minister of Internal Affairs Mikhail: "We can’t wait for the enemy to complete their plans. Right now, they are busy building railways, and a large amount of capital is tied up. The resources they can allocate to war are limited.

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Once the enemy completes their plan, the situation will be different, and they will be able to focus all their financial resources on the war.

Times have changed. The international situation has undergone dramatic changes, and we are no longer enough to make England and France wary. The British will not support the Prusso-Polish Federation as they did in the last war.

As far as I know, the financial situation of the Prusso-Polish Federation is also very bad. If it weren’t for the sale of the Rhineland region, they would have gone bankrupt long ago.

Once war breaks out, the Berlin Government will quickly fall into financial distress. A government with limited repayment ability, faced with an uncertain war, will not find it easy to borrow from the outside world."

War is about money. After the Near East War and the last Prusso-Russian War, the Tsarist Government has sobered up, no longer believing that the second Prusso-Russian War could end quickly.

If the war continues, it will be a battle of financial resources. As for the military, the Tsarist Government is not short of troops; as long as there is money, there will be soldiers.

The poor finances of the Prusso-Polish Federation are mainly due to the financial issues of the Polish Government. After selling the land, Prussia averted a financial crisis.

It is obvious to anyone that the Polish region could become a battlefield at any time; naturally, no capitalists are willing to invest in railways there.

Currently, the railways being built by the Prusso-Polish Federation are almost entirely funded by the government. This is clearly not enough with just the government’s annual tax revenue; incurring debt is inevitable.

By comparison, the Russian Empire is in a slightly better situation. Its vast territory means that even if war breaks out, it will be at the borders, and investors are still willing to invest in the railways of the heartland areas.

For instance, the railway from St. Petersburg to Moscow is an investment project of the Austrian Railway Company.

This is normal; even those who are optimistic about the Prusso-Polish Federation do not believe they can march all the way to Moscow. Wilhelm I is not Napoleon; his combat strength is not that overpowering.

Finance Minister Coxsar shook his head, "Your Excellency, let’s not forget that our finances are not much better.

Despite being prepared in advance, the treasury still cannot produce enough war funds in a short period of time."

War is a gold-devouring monster; it is normal for a war to consume several years, or even more than a decade, of financial revenues. It can be said that a large-scale war is the greatest disaster for finance.

Unfortunately, the Russian Empire has experienced such a disaster twice in just thirty years, and now it is about to embark on a third.

The Russian Empire indeed has a large family business, but no matter how solid the foundation is, it cannot withstand such turmoil.

Financial revenues are obviously not sufficient; no matter how much the government extorts and plunders, it cannot gather enough war funds from taxes alone.

The best source of war funds is still to finance through the financial markets. Regrettably, the Tsarist Government does not have enough credibility; striving for international market financing might as well be a dream.

Minister of Internal Affairs Mikhail remained unmoved, "If there’s no money, go and raise it. If we can’t raise enough funds domestically, then look abroad.

London, Paris, Vienna; any one of these financial markets has the capacity to provide us with sufficient funds. As long as the benefits offered are large enough, do we still fear not being able to borrow money?

There is no need to consider the cost; this war is not something we can avoid just because we don’t want to fight.

The price we pay now, no matter how great, cannot compare to the losses we would incur if the war were lost."