Holy Roman Empire

In order not to be taken advantage of, the Tsarist government did not want to start a war with Britain at this time. Not to mention Britain, which was at the center of the storm.

When has Britain ever been so brave as to go to war with a power on land for nothing?

Even if they did fight, it would be impossible to go it alone with a bunch of cannon fodder allies swarming around.

The Czarist government was afraid of the strength of Britain, and the London government was even more afraid of the strength of the Mao Bears. The most important thing was to go to war with the Russians, which had little to gain if they won, but might lose to India if they lost.

Having learned firsthand the power of the Afghan guerrillas, the British government no longer had any illusions about the Afghan region.

Unfortunately, these guys were also bullying and fearful, and when dealing with the British and Indian colonial forces, the Afghan guerrillas were two on top of each other; when they encountered the unreasonable Mao Bears, the Afghan guerrillas did not have an impressive record.

Not surprisingly, although the people of Afghanistan were tough, the resources were poor, the land suitable for agriculture was limited, and the population that could feed them was limited.

As a result of the war, the population was even smaller. The Czarist government deployed more than 200,000 Russian troops in Afghanistan, and the ratio of the local population to the military has reached 1:10.

One Russian soldier looking at ten Afghan people, even if he wanted to, could not make a scene! In any case, the gray cattle were much tougher than the Indian colonial army.

If the British army in Afghanistan had been the main force instead of the British and Indian corps, it would not have been so badly bullied by the guerrillas.

After all, international public opinion these days only focuses on Europe, and countries tacitly pretend to be blind to what is happening in their overseas colonies.

Of course, this is just a thought. The total strength of Britain's army is less than 200,000, so how can it send more than 200,000 troops to the Afghan region?

Although the army is a little cheaper than the navy, it still doesn't change the fact that the army is a beast that swallows gold.

With the exception of the Russians, in peacetime, even the major European military powers only maintain a standing army of 500,000 to 600,000 troops.

Sending more than 200,000 troops to a region at once would put pressure on even the Vienna government, let alone the British government.

It was precisely because they could not do so that the British government gave up most of Afghanistan, which was a burden, and made a temporary compromise with the Russians after the situation in Europe changed dramatically.

Had there been no such problems, the British government would have had to bite the bullet and hang on. With Britain's financial resources and the manpower in India, the Russians would have been the first to be dragged down.

War is the continuation of politics, and politics is the continuation of profit. Both the British and Russian governments believed that it would not be in their own interests for a war to break out now, and naturally the war could not be fought.

Provoking divisions could only worsen relations between Britain and Russia, and could not really influence the decisions of the two governments. Even though Shinra's influence in the Tsarist government was very strong, it did not go so far as to make decisions for them.

......

Frederick was not dismayed by the bankruptcy of the first wave of the international strategic plan, which he had personally organized and implemented, except for a slight disappointment.

Provoking an Anglo-Russian war would have been a small probability.

Even if the Vienna government had begun preparations nine years earlier to help the Russians build the Central Asian railroad, it would have only worsened Anglo-Russian relations and slightly increased the chances of success.

It even evacuated the Austrian Railways' technical staff as soon as the main line was opened, so as not to reveal its intentions too clearly.

However, this still didn't work. It was a conspiracy in itself, and no amount of concealment could change the fact that the Vienna government wanted to provoke an Anglo-Russian war.

In this context, failure was only natural. The present was only a beginning, a test at most.

Just because the Anglo-Russian War does not break out now does not mean that it will not break out in the future. The seeds of war have been planted and are now waiting to take root and sprout.

......

In July, through the blue sky, the sun shines like a ball of fire, evaporating the clouds and making the sky seem extremely high.

The port of Trieste, under the scorching sun, was particularly crowded today. Guards came from nowhere and surrounded the docks.

This did not affect the hearts of the local people to see the excitement, as if it was already commonplace, but only stunned the first arrival of merchants.

In the past few years, there have been a number of cases in which the company's employees have been involved in a number of different situations.

There's no way around it, the international environment these days is quite unfriendly to Chinese businessmen, so they have to be careful.

There is no country behind it, and it's the era of the worst racial discrimination. To engage in overseas trade is to risk one's life.

The emergence of the Lanfang Autonomous Province has only slightly changed the situation, but not really turned it around.

There is no way around it, rights are never earned. As a state under the rule of law, the acceptance of the Autonomous Province of Lanfang naturally required the recognition of the domicile of Lanfang.

This recognition, however, was limited to the Holy Roman Empire itself. At the international level, the recognition was still not high.

Or even if it were recognized, it would be difficult to pull the tiger skin off the Holy Roman Empire, but in the final analysis, it was the Chinese businessmen who encountered problems, and the first choice was to leave things alone.

On the one hand, it is very difficult to prove one's nationality because of the inconvenience in transmitting information these days; on the other hand, Chinese merchants do not want to deal with government officials because of years of oppression.

When problems arise, they do not seek the help of the embassies in the first place, but try to solve them themselves, which naturally does not deter wolves.

Against this background, more and more Chinese merchants engaged in overseas trade chose to do business within the Holy Roman Empire, or with Asian countries.

Anyway, the internal market of the Holy Roman Empire is big enough, plus everyone is familiar with the Asian region, which is also big enough for themselves.

Du Chengen was one of them, originally he was only active in the South Pacific and East Asia, shipping tea directly to Europe, which was the first time.

Despite the opening of new trade routes, it did not change Du Chengen's prudent nature. He would rather make a small profit than get himself into trouble.

After bringing the goods to the port of Trieste, he traded directly with the local tea merchants, with no intention of going deeper into the European market.

Seeing the increase in the number of soldiers outside, the prudent Du Chengen, naturally, did not want to stay.

"Dongjia, there are so many people watching outside, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"

Glaring at the young sailor, Du Chengen reprimanded: "Ah Fook, how many times have I told you, the most taboo thing when going out is to be curious.

Now there are so many soldiers on the street, who knows what will happen next. In case you roll in and get shot by someone with a gun, it's too late for you to cry," he said.

After listening to Du Chengen's words, the guide on the other side was not happy, and his country was described as a place of chaos and confusion.

But for the sake of his employer, Laurel restrained her emotions and reminded him slightly, "Du, you're overreacting.

This is the Holy Roman Empire, and as a country under the rule of law, our military won't just shoot civilians.

Unless you are going to hit a military blockade or approach with weapons, you will be warned to leave at the most.

It doesn't matter if you're just watching. If I'm not mistaken, the port was closed today because of the launch of another large warship.

If you want to see it, I can take you to the observation deck with binoculars, and you can see the ships launching.

As one of the shipbuilding centers of the Holy Roman Empire, warships were launched in Trieste almost every now and then, though not always with the docks closed.

Generally speaking, such a big noise would only happen when a large warship was launched and a big person in the country was personally present.

The details of which, the facetious Laurel naturally would not tell. Right now he just wanted to take his employers over there and put on a good show.

Realizing that he had made a slip of the tongue, the old and spirited Du Chengen immediately remedied the situation by saying, "I'm sorry, Mr. Lauchol. But we're really tired today, and now we just want to go back and rest.

Today's work is over, and you are free to do whatever you want for the rest of the day, as long as you come by before 9:30 tomorrow.

If possible, it would be better to take some pictures of the warship launching, so that we can see it as well."

When he heard that today's "work is over", Lauchol's dissatisfaction was swept away, and he immediately promised: "Don't worry, I am the most familiar with Trieste, and I can definitely take the best pictures.".

After saying that, without waiting for Du Chengen and the others to say goodbye, Lauchol disappeared in a puff of smoke. Apparently, it was more fun to watch than to work.

Back at the hotel, Du Chengen and the others happened to run into James, the boss, who was on his way out with his camera.

The old man warmly invited them: "Du, you're back just in time. Did you know that a super battleship is going to be launched today, and it is said to be an epoch-making warship?

I have to admit, you're lucky to have caught up with this historic moment. Now follow me and go over there and witness history!"

If it were an ordinary person, he would most likely be fooled. But Du Chengen knew clearly that the innkeeper, who resembled Grant's, would only be so enthusiastic when facing S.H.I.E.L.D., and refused immediately: "Sorry, Mr. James.

He immediately refused: "Sorry, Mr. James. We have been busy all morning and are now very tired, and we are not honored to witness history with you."

When he was rejected, James didn't dwell on the matter, but exclaimed, "That's a pity, because with only 5 Excalibur, we could have bought a good place to witness history."

Hearing James' sigh, Du Chengen finally understood why the previous guide, as well as the innkeeper in front of him, had invited him.

Don't look at James's easy way of saying that he only needed "5 S.H.I.E.L.D.", but in fact, this amount was already the monthly income of a low-level worker.

Even in the international trade business, the profit that Du Chengen made after deducting all the costs of running a ship was hardly more than a thousand Shen Shields.

There was no way around it. With the development of the times, the profiteering era of ocean trade was slowly disappearing. In particular, the emergence of large cargo ships has significantly squeezed the industry's profits.

Du Chengen abandoned his familiar Asian routes and risked coming to Europe to do trade, which was actually forced out by the cruel market competition.

In addition to trading, Du Chengen's more important purpose for coming to Trieste this time was to purchase a 10,000-ton cargo ship.

As a businessman, Du Chengen never lacked vision. Along with the continuous development of the economy, the demand for cargo capacity in maritime trade was also increasing.

But this demand is for large cargo ships with large capacities and low operating costs per unit, not for the small and medium-sized merchant ships that are about to be made obsolete.

If you don't want to be squeezed to death by your peers, you can only keep up with the trend of the times and purchase more advanced merchant ships in order to occupy an advantageous position in the market competition.

As for witnessing history, it's better to let others do it, and it's better for him, a little man, not to join in the fun.

Deep down inside, Du Chengen was actually a little surprised. He had never dreamed that the Holy Roman Empire would actually make a business out of launching warships.

Despite being the world's largest economy, the Holy Roman Navy's budget was still not sufficient.

The Ministry of the Navy also took great pains to raise money for the military. Selling tickets for sight-seeing is only one of them.

A single location was 5 God's shields, and if 10,000 locations were sold, it would be 50,000 God's shields. Over time, even for the Navy, it was not a small amount.

The more you don't guarantee, the more ticket revenue each year, the less problematic it will be to build a new warship.

As for secrecy, if you hold a telescope a few miles away, you will be able to let people discover the secrets contained in the warship, and the Shinra Navy will not have to mix.

......

With a salute of cannons, Franz, who seldom appeared in public, appeared on the ship's platform.

After all, the world's first dreadnought was launched. For any military enthusiast, it was a big temptation, and Franz was naturally no exception.

How could he be absent from the history he had created?

Besides, how could we put enough pressure on the British without making a little more noise.

The Emperor's presence on the scene was in itself a political statement. It was obvious to the discerning that in the coming days the Vienna government was going to develop the navy vigorously.

Minister of the Navy Castagni: "Your Majesty, everything is ready, do you think we should begin?"

Franz smiled slightly and said, "You go preside, I won't go up."

Witnessing history is witnessing history, and going on board to experience the launching ceremony in person is still too harsh for a seasick emperor.

Even if he wanted to satisfy his curiosity, he could wait until the supporting facilities were finished before going on board.

Castagni was relieved to hear that the emperor would not be on board. It was not a comfortable experience to ride on a warship that had just completed its main construction and had no interior decoration.

If something happened to the aging Emperor, it would be the end of the line. No matter how healthy Franz's body was, he was still almost 70 years old.

In this age when a cold could kill you, no one dared to let the Emperor experience the shock of a warship launch.

With a command from the emperor, the launching ceremony began. As the valves were opened, the sea continued to pour into the dock hitting the ship's hull, creating a raging sound.

The hearts of all the staff were lifted, fearing that if something happened to the hull at the last moment, there would be an international joke.

Franz the Great, who seemed to know nothing about the ship, asked with interest, "Frederick, what have you decided to name this warship?"

The name of the first dreadnought was the subject of much debate within the Vienna government. Initially plans were drawn up to name the ship after the Emperor, but this was decisively rejected by Franz.

For no other reason than the fear that it would be unlucky for the ship to be sunk in a naval battle one day. As the saying goes, the older one gets, the more one fears death, and Franz was no exception.

In addition to this popular name, the rest of the alternative list, is a variety of, just submitted to Franz no less than fifty.

With so many names to choose from, it was inevitable that one would be easily dazzled. At the moment, Franz also faced the difficulty of choosing, not knowing which one was the most suitable.

No matter how long it took, the warship was now being launched, and a name had to be chosen and announced to the outside world today.

Franz is to choose a name to scrap, Frederick is no better, directly out of the mouth: "How about the Holy Roman Empire?"

Hearing the result, Franz rolled his eyes and said, "It would have been better to name it after the empire than the Roman ship! At least it's shorter, so it's easier for people to call it everyday."

"Shorter" and "more convenient to call" became the ultimate criteria for naming, rather than political significance. It was estimated that no one would dare to believe it if it was spread out.

But since the emperor opened his mouth, people didn't bother to object. "Rome" is actually not bad, although not from a political point of view, but the outside world does not know ah!

With a little deeper reading from the propaganda department, one can come up with a whole bunch of reasons and implications that are certainly not clichéd.

......