Holy Roman Empire

From time immemorial interests have been the best bridge to friendship, and when interests are in place, friendship is created. It wasn't that Governor Chandler liked to play tricks, it was really forced out by reality.

As the greatest victor of the European War, the seemingly bullish Holy Roman Empire was essentially in its weakest period.

The established policy of the Vienna government was to keep the country intact, and expansion was simply not a consideration. The Philippine Islands were certainly fertile, but that still wasn't enough for the Vienna government to change its policy.

As a colonial governor, Chandler could likewise not ignore the interests of the colonial bloc while balancing national strategy. In this context, operational skills would be tested.

The original peach-picking plan, that was based on the defeat of Spain and the weakness of Japan. It was now very clear that Spain was indeed having a hard time winning the war, but the Japanese were also surprisingly strong.

They may not be fighting well, but people are willing to fight to the death! With the Empire's power in the South Pacific alone, even if it could defeat the Japanese, it would still lose heavily itself.

To the Holy Roman Empire, Japan was never worth mentioning, and the British, who were hiding behind the curtain and eyeing it, were the real threat.

One bad operation and it becomes a proxy war where the British send arms and the Japanese send troops.

How screwed up proxy wars are, think of the First Near East War, the two Russo-Prussian wars, and most recently the Anglo-Russian war in Afghanistan.

One rival after another, all were pitted to death and crippled, and the ones that survived were also metastasized.

The core reason why Britain and Russia didn't screw things up when the Holy Roman Empire was at its weakest is not that the two governments were profoundly righteous, and it's not that there were no conflicts between the three countries, it's that they were also out of touch.

A war in Afghanistan, Britain and Russia each lost hundreds of thousands of troops, gaining nothing, while also carrying a heavy financial pressure. Against this backdrop, restraint must be exercised even if they want to make things happen.

In a sense, the Holy Roman Empire was able to be restored, and a proxy war secretly manipulated by the Vienna government also made an important contribution.

Perhaps when he had just crossed over, it was still possible for Franz to have a stroke and take the opportunity to hang the Japanese to take out his anger, but now it was no longer possible. As a mature politician, any military action must be profit-driven.

The Japanese these days are so poor that even if they were to push through with the wind and water, they would not be able to recover their war funds; if a change of heart occurs midway through the campaign, it would be a blood loss.

Spain's value to the Japanese was evident in the fact that she did not want to fight the war herself and coveted the fertile Philippine Islands.

Britain supported the Japanese, Vienna supported Spain, and no matter who won or lost, it was all a matter of profit.

From the standpoint of the Viennese government, the more support the British government gave to the Japanese, the better, and the only way to escalate the Anglo-Spanish conflict.

A Spain that was simultaneously feuding with Britain and France and had some power was undoubtedly the best ally for the Holy Roman Empire.

It doesn't matter if Spain is on the decline, as long as it doesn't fall too fast. If Spain was really on the upswing, this little brother Franz wouldn't dare to take it.

The benefits of the Philippine Islands had become worthless again compared to the strategic gains they would bring. If the Spaniards hadn't sent them to us, Governor Chandler wouldn't have been able to do anything.

"Your Excellency the Commander is overly worried, with the friendship between us and your country, no shipyard would dare to risk the world's disorder.

The only difference is that the South Pacific is different from Europe, all the tools, equipment and spare parts of the maintenance yard are shipped over from the mainland, especially since the specifications of your country's warships are not the same as ours, and many parts have to be specially ordered, so the cost is a little higher.

It's not that we're taking advantage of the fire. You are aware that stocking spare parts in advance is a big risk, the capitalists must be doing this to make money, so this price well ......"

At this explanation, Admiral Valkenhayn was all but speechless. Proprietary spare parts, maintenance tools and equipment were all available, it would be a hell of a thing if it wasn't to take advantage of a fire.

Valkenhayn wouldn't mind paying a little more if the repair costs were just a little higher. After all, time was life on the battlefield, and the more spare parts the shipyard had in stock, the faster the repair progress of the warship would be, so it was also worthwhile to earn a little more money.

Now it was obviously not a matter of money, just the high cost of repair was not enough to make Admiral Valkenhayn beg.

Seeing that Governor Chandler wouldn't say it outright, Valkenhayn understood that it was to save face. As the boss of the European Union, plotting against the colony of his little brother, if word got out that the Vienna government couldn't even behave.

The best way was undoubtedly for them to send it up of their own accord. Then, the Vienna government will give a relatively "reasonable price", so that everyone can look good.

Forced to endure his dissatisfaction, Admiral Valkenhayn said in good conscience: "Your Excellency Governor, for the sake of the friendship between our two countries and to thank your government for its strong support, we are willing to open the market of the Philippine Islands.

As your Excellency knows, our finances have been in dire straits. We are willing to sell some of the islands if your country can help."

"Your Excellency misunderstands, we have no desire to pry into your country's colonies, nor does the Holy Roman Empire pry into the colonies of any of its allies.

If your country is truly in financial trouble, we are also happy to help. For the sake of world peace and stability, the empire is launching a globalization strategy, and if your country doesn't mind, you can lease a few military ports to us.

Your Excellency can rest assured that our garrison is only to maintain regional peace and stability, and will not interfere with your country's management of the colony."

The fat meat sent to his door could not be eaten, Governor Chandler's heart was bleeding. But there was no way around it, the Holy Roman Empire had to be careful what it ate or it would cause panic in the European world.

The Spaniards would be able to answer to the colonial groups if they opened their markets, and it would be impossible to take advantage of the opportunity to annex the Philippine Islands.

Even if the Spaniards gave it away for nothing, the Holy Roman Empire couldn't take it now. Buying the islands is even less so, and even if they did, they couldn't buy them now.

Don't forget, the Philippine Islands are still in the hands of the Japanese! Once the sovereignty of the islands was bought, the Holy Roman Empire was dragged down by the Spanish.

Just because the Viceroyalty of the South Pacific couldn't gain much, doesn't mean that the Holy Roman Empire didn't gain either. In any case, Spain was also an old-school colonial country, and even though it had fallen, there were still many islands with strategic value in its hands.

Many of the islands were already dispensable in the hands of the Spanish due to their strength, but they became valuable again in the hands of the Holy Roman Empire.

Since the end of the European War, the strategy of globalization has been on the agenda. It has not yet been implemented, mainly due to financial constraints, but after a few years of digesting the spoils of this war, a full-scale globalization strategy can be said to be imperative.

......

O'Shea was making deals, and Britain and Japan were not idle. The Japanese, who had proved their strength, had significantly elevated their status in the eyes of the British government.

Downing Street.

Foreign Minister George: "With the strength shown by the Japanese in the Philippine naval battle, checking the Spaniards they have done it.

Even because of the strong Japanese insertion, the Holy Roman Empire's supremacy in the South Seas has been impacted.

The Vienna government will not let this situation continue, and if we do not intervene, it is only a matter of time before the Japanese are forced out of the South Seas.

Once the South Pacific strategy fails, the Japanese will be left with only one route to the north, which will inevitably lead to war with the Qing, and then we will have to make a choice again.

For the sake of the empire, the best choice is to support the Qing State to contain the Russians in the Far East, and the Japanese to contain Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire in the South Seas."

This was, without doubt, the most optimistic scenario. Getting Britain out of its present awkward situation by supporting two little brothers was undoubtedly the ideal situation.

However, a plan is always just a plan, and it is not so simple to put it into practice.

Spain, despite its decline, was not without a fight. Even though people's bureaucracies were decaying, their overall national strength was still above Japan's.

Especially since Spain belonged to a European country and had a European Union behind it, once the Spanish government did the diplomatic work of the countries and gained the support of the entire Union, the Japanese plan to move south was doomed to bankruptcy.

It must be remembered that the London government at the moment was still trying to join the alliance and had already achieved some results, it was impossible to go directly against the alliance just for the sake of the Japanese.

The plan in the south was full of uncertainty, and the plan in the north was even more tragic. The greatest characteristic of the Far Eastern Empire was wimpy, and they were contented if the Russians did not come to trouble, and it was too difficult to take the initiative to seek the bad luck of the Russians.

Watching the British and Russians dog-eat-dog in India, people are not even happy enough, how can they actively get involved?

With all these problems, this "plan" is still intact as the diplomatic strategy of the London Government. Why not use a plan that succeeds in making a profit and does not lose if it fails?

Said to be support, but in fact all the weapons and equipment are people with real money to buy, the British government really pay is also diplomatic verbal support.

The reaction of the stock market will know, since the London government to implement the strategic plan, the domestic military industry stocks rose 18 percent, even machinery and equipment export industry share price also rose nine points.

Prime Minister Gladstone nodded: "agree to the Japanese request, since the Holy Roman Empire can help the Spanish repair warships, then our shipyard in the Far East can also help the Japanese repair warships, but to grasp the limits, the empire can not directly intervene in the war.

At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to speed up its placement in the Far East and provoke as much as possible a Ching-Russian conflict in order to reduce our pressure in India.

Order the Viceroy of India to increase his support for the guerrillas of the Central Asian countries and increase the cost of Russian domination.

If necessary, issue a loan to the Japanese Government to a certain amount, or issue war bonds on their behalf, tentatively up to £20,000,000. It should not be too risky to let them take tariffs as collateral."

Not to be nervous, the Russians had already started work on the Central Asian Railway. It was still the Austrian Railway Company that was in charge of the construction, and as long as there were no major changes, it was only a matter of time before it was opened to traffic.

Everyone knew that once the Central Asian Railway was completed, it was time for the Russians to go south again. Although the railway would not be completed during Gladstone's term of office, if something was not done, they would be politically tainted if something went wrong in the future.

Gladstone's cabinet has been working harder than ever in recent times to make a name for itself. A seemingly perfect strategic plan was constantly being introduced.

As for whether or not it could succeed, it was not their concern for the time being, but as long as it seemed feasible anyway, it was done. If it fails in the future, it will be the incoming government's failure and it is none of their business.

Foreign Secretary George: "According to the information gathered from all sides, the Vienna government is busy with domestic affairs and has no plans to get directly involved in this war.

Now that the naval battle is at a stalemate, the ensuing battle will immediately move to land. The Japanese are willing to fight to the death, and as long as Vienna stays out of trouble, the laboring Spaniards will not be able to wear them out.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is looking for a suitable opportunity to mediate this war so that the Japanese will see fit to avoid widening the war."

Compared to Spain, Japan's greatest asset was its large number of men. If it wasn't for the facts in front of their eyes, no one could have imagined that Spain, whose population had reached eight million in the 16th century, now had a total population of less than eighteen million.

Looking at the population, you can see that the decline of Spain is not without reason. In the middle of it, let's not talk about it, anyway, it's all tricks to die, so that once the total population of Britain was less than half of theirs, now it's almost twice theirs.

In contrast, Japan's situation is much better, with a population of more than 40 million, already meeting the population needs of the modern powers.

It could be argued that the naval battle had not been fully fought and the Spanish had already lost half of this war. In the next battle, the Japanese government would certainly play to its advantage to lure the Spaniards to land for a decisive battle.

After all, compared with the valuable navy, cheap land forces that is how much it takes, the Japanese government can afford to die.

......