Holy Roman Empire

Under Franz's intervention, the all-heavy artillery battleship plan of the naval department naturally passed approval.

There was neither grandiose publicity nor deliberate secrecy.

After all, it was just a trial ship, and no one could guarantee certain success. In the journey of naval technology exploration, the Vienna government had already encountered too many pitfalls.

Without exception, each failure attracted a band of "armchair strategists" who criticized post factum. It made the naval department seem like a wastrel, squandering taxpayers' money.

In fact, the failure of new technology trials was not the point. The key issue was that the navy lacked convincing combat achievements. If it had been the army with its impressive record, they certainly wouldn't have faced such criticism.

"Burned once, twice shy."

With prior lessons learned, the naval department approached new technology and concepts with a cool head.

If successful, they would publicize it and bask in applause. And if it failed, they would swallow the bitter pill in silence.

This was the price to pay for being at the forefront of an era. In the field of research and development, there was never such a thing as unbeaten success. Behind every triumph lay countless prior failures.

Of course, there were differences between failures. Performance falling short of design expectations, or a lack of combat capability, could be forgiven, but the basic principles of mechanics still had to be followed.

If a ship sank before even leaving port, someone would be held accountable.

Non-publicity was fine, but "secrecy" was unnecessary. In fact, once a ship began construction on the slipway, it couldn't be kept secret.

Battleships of the 19th century represented the pinnacle of a nation's industrial level. Constructing a qualified battleship required the cooperation of at least a hundred related enterprises.

Such a big commotion could not possibly go unnoticed. The only concealable aspects were the performance parameters of the ship; the construction of the battleship was never a secret.

Even within the Holy Roman Empire, the shipyards capable of building battleships were limited and had long been marked by international spies. Once materials started arriving, it was clear a ship was being built.

Of course, if the Vienna government wished, it could engage in strategic deception. Placing merchant ships within battleship docks could cheat observers.

But there was no need for that. If it weren't for the fear of being overly deliberate and raising British suspicions, Franz would have leaked the full parameters of the all-heavy artillery battleship.

An arms race naturally required participants. If the British didn't know, how could the game be played?

"Secrecy," and the notion of using technological advantages to launch a surprise attack on the enemy, existed only in theory.

The most crucial point was the uncertainty surrounding "Dreadnoughts." Before a ship was launched, no one could dare guarantee its success.

If there were a hundred percent certainty of success, Franz wouldn't mind starting construction on a dozen or more at once and catching the British completely off guard once they were commissioned.

In fact, the birth of the original Dreadnoughts was fraught with setbacks. Everyone saw only the success of the British, unconcerned with the trials they faced.

Time shifted forward by ten years, and Franz couldn't guarantee that the naval department's "Dreadnought" project would be flawless.

Should there be design flaws resulting in a fleet of useless toys without combat value, it would be quite embarrassing. The Emperor couldn't bear such political risk either.

Gambling was a taboo for monarchs. The people needed a stable Emperor.

Small nations, lacking options, needed to take risks; great powers had more options and a higher tolerance for errors, making conservatism the supreme strategy. Read latest chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

As the battleship's specifications weren't leaked, the outside world took it for a typical battleship, something Shinra constructed almost every year, and it naturally didn't cause any waves.

For all this, Franz was not in the least bit anxious. Once the warships were launched, the British would know. At that time, the stimulation the London Government received would be even greater.

According to the plan, Holy Rome's first "All Heavy Artillery Battleship" would begin construction in early February 1898. If nothing unexpected happened, it could be launched by 1899.

The timing was perfect, as the Central Asia Railway would also be opening around the same time. With both the sea hegemony and India facing threats, it was estimated that the British Government would be driven mad, if not hopping mad.

...

As evening fell, the Spanish Embassy in Vienna was brightly lit, with bursts of music wafting through the air, signaling the start of a diplomatic ball.

"Your Excellency, the Envoy, we really have no covetous intentions towards your colonies; aren't you tired of probing us every other day?"

Invited to the banquet, Holy Roman Minister of Foreign Affairs Weisenberg now had quite a headache. For some reason, the Spaniards had gotten wind of Holy Rome's supposed designs on Morocco, and recently Minister Brad had been doggedly pestering him.

To verify the veracity of the information, Weisenberg had not only consulted the military and the Colonial Department but even sent telegrams to inquire with the Algeria Province, all of which claimed there were "no recent" plans of that nature.

However, no matter how Weisenberg tried to explain, the Spanish Envoy Brad before him did not believe it.

Well, this wasn't surprising. Just because there were no current plans for Morocco did not mean there never had been, nor did it imply there never would be.

On the issue of overseas colonization, the Vienna Government granted considerable autonomy.

Not only could the military and the Colonial Department lead the way in opening up colonies, but the colonial governments overseas, the nobility, and civilian groups could also establish colonies.

Generally speaking, before initiating colonial activities, it was sufficient to report to the nearest government, with no compulsory demands.

After all, whoever led the initiative was responsible for it, and the Vienna Government would retroactively recognize any successful colony establishment. Non-government planned colonial activities that failed took their own consequences.

In recent decades, the Vienna Government had issued tens of thousands, if not a hundred thousand, colonial licenses. The groups and individuals eligible for colonization were as numerous as hairs on an ox.

In a large forest, there are all kinds of birds. Of so many colonial groups, those with designs on Morocco were definitely not in short supply.

Among them were a few simpletons who had leaked their colonial plans to the Spanish Government, which was only too normal.

Weisenberg had encountered many such protests before. It wasn't just about the Spaniards' colonies; even the British colonies weren't free from covetous eyes.

Typically, these plans stayed on paper. Without the support of the Vienna Government, there were still only a few who dared to take actual action.

Weisenberg could only guarantee that official Holy Rome had no intentions towards Morocco; as for whether private citizens were causing trouble, that was none of his business.

Regardless, Spain was still a medium-sized country, not one that could be provoked by a few civilian colonial groups.

To Weisenberg, Minister Brad's current apprehension was making a mountain out of a molehill.

As if a tail had been stepped on, Brad vehemently denied, "Your Excellency, the Minister, I truly was not probing.

You know that in recent years, we have suffered greatly from war, and the government's financial pressure is immense.

Although we recently suppressed a colonial uprising, it will take a long time for the local economy to return to normal.

For the next few years, our colonies will not only be unable to create wealth but will also require government subsidies.

In order to reduce expenditures, after careful consideration domestically, we are prepared to sell the Moroccan Area. Considering the traditional friendship between our two nations, I decided to contact you first."

Evidently, Weisenberg's denial not only failed to clear the suspicions, but it also cemented Minister Brad's belief in his own government's judgment.

Since the Spanish Government was powerless to resist Shinra's scheming over the Moroccan Area, it naturally had to find a way to minimize its losses.

Since it couldn't be kept anyway, the idea was to sell it for a good price. Unfortunately, buyers were hard to come by these days, and while many nations coveted the Moroccan Area, none dared to snatch food from the tiger's mouth.

Even the British weren't inclined to border Shinra just for Morocco.

For the British Government, the longer the land border with Shinra, the more pressure they would have to endure.

Buying the Moroccan Area was easy, but what to do after the occupation? It's not like they could deploy hundreds of thousands of troops to confront Shinra just for Morocco, right?

For a maritime nation to go on land and confront a continental power is definitely an act of folly.

To put it bluntly, the Spanish Government only had nominal sovereignty over the area. It was obtained by illicit means, and the Moroccans did not recognize it at all.

If Spain had completely occupied the Moroccan Area and established a complete order, perhaps someone would have dared to take the risk.

After all, by this point, the Vienna Government had started to care about its image and wouldn't just arbitrarily seize colonies without a reason.

Regrettably, all the Spanish Government could sell was the name. At most, it could add control over the northern region, but that control was not only limited in area but also severely lacking in power, often facing threats from native tribes.

Under these circumstances, spending a lot of money to buy Morocco, which could not only offend the Vienna Government but also require one to send their own troops to war with Morocco, was clearly a losing deal.

With no one willing to pay a high price, the Spanish Government could only turn their attention to the Vienna Government.

With prolonged contact and understanding, the Spanish Government discovered that the Holy Roman Empire was unlike previous European hegemons, they were a nation that cared about appearance and image.

For the Spanish Government, that the Vienna Government cared about their image was the biggest "positive." Since the big powers paid attention to their own image, they couldn't take advantage of a crisis.

Even for the purpose of "purchasing loyalty with gold," the Vienna Government, not wishing to tarnish its reputation with the infamy of bullying a younger brother, had to offer a high price.

Colonial territories, as a form of wealth, are inherently tradable. The Spanish Government of the original timeline even nearly sold Cuba, but the Americans played a bit dirty.

Although they proposed to buy, the conditions they offered were full of traps and were basically worthless promises. Keep in mind that the US dollar was not an international currency back then, and the US Government only agreed to pay in US dollars, and not even in a lump sum.

Had they offered one billion US dollars in exchange for one billion in British Pounds paid up front, perhaps there would have been no subsequent Spanish-American War.

With things at this point, Weisenberg couldn't be bothered to explain further. Let there be misunderstandings; aspiring to dominance while fearing others' misconceptions isn't realistic.

Since the Spanish Government dared to sell, the Vienna Government dared to buy. In any case, Morocco was a rare gem in Africa.

Not only did it have fertile land, but it also enjoyed reputations such as "the cool land under the scorching sun" and "the garden of North Africa." More importantly, it controlled the gateway from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean.

In the hands of the Spanish Government, Morocco's strategic value was virtually zero. Once in the hands of Shinra, it could lock the western door of the Mediterranean.

The domestic media could then boast: "The Mediterranean is our inland sea."

Though such arrogance might seem dismissive, considering the same Mediterranean nations—Spain, France, Greece, Montenegro, Sardinia, and others—it likely wouldn't be a big deal.

Military and political gains aside, even mere nominal sovereignty wouldn't come cheap.

After a brief pause, Weisenberg slowly said, "Well then, since your country is in financial difficulty, we can understand selling the Moroccan Area.

However, since your country does not have full control over the Moroccan Area and the Kingdom of Morocco still retains a degree of power, the price will have to be discounted."

"If your government really wants to sell for a good price," Franz suggested, "it would be best for your country to deploy troops and occupy the Moroccan Area before negotiating with us.

"In that case, we will definitely offer a price that satisfies your country, and your country won't suffer a loss."

Knowing that "encouraging Spain to send troops to Morocco" was unrealistic, Weisenberg still didn't mind throwing the idea out there.

It wasn't to lower the price, but mainly to let Minister Brad see the reality and not think that the Vienna Government needed to be concerned about appearances, allowing them to treat Shinra as an easy mark.

As soon as Weisenberg finished speaking, Minister Brad's expression became very animated. If Spain had the strength to destroy the Kingdom of Morocco, they wouldn't have waited until now.

As the country closest to the European powers, Morocco's ability to maintain its independence for so many years was not only due to the mutual constraints among the powers, but also an important factor was their own strength.

Consider that, to deal with a few Native Tribes in the north, the Spanish Government had made several attempts back and forth without completely solving the problem.

Wiping out the Kingdom of Morocco with troops is easy to say but not to implement. Who knows how much military expenditure it would require?

Regarding the "satisfactory price" mentioned by Weisenberg, Brad chose to ignore it. Such words were only worth listening to—if taken seriously, that would be stupid.

"Your Excellency, the Minister, given our current situation, we are no longer suited to wage another war. For Spain, what's most important right now is to recuperate.

As for the Kingdom of Morocco you mentioned, in truth, there's no need to care about it at all. It's merely a Native Kingdom, and for your country, they could be wiped out without a puff of dust.

Even the army need not be mobilized, as long as your government signals, merely civil armed forces could destroy Morocco ten times over.

Such a trivial matter, it doesn't affect this transaction at all."

Flattery, shameless flattery. To sell the Moroccan Area at a high price, Minister Brad clearly abandoned any pretense of integrity.

Knowing full well that Brad was flattering him, Weisenberg gladly accepted the praise. A hegemon must have the demeanor of one—if there's no confidence in one's own strength, how else to succeed?

Moreover, Brad's flattery was not excessive. The Kingdom of Morocco really wasn't a problem for Shinra; when it comes to expanding colonial territories, Shinra's civil armed forces are extremely enthusiastic.

If Shinra were to assemble all its civil armed forces, not to mention annihilating the Kingdom of Morocco, even destroying Spain wouldn't be an issue.

If one were to rank the world's land armies, it would be:

First, Holy Roman Empire;

Second, Russian Empire;

Third, Holy Roman Empire's Aristocratic Private Army;

...

There's no way around it, these fellows' status had been fought for on the battlefield, weapon by weapon. They might be no good at other things, but when it comes to war, they certainly don't shirk.

Before these military powerhouses met their maker, the Nobility's Private Army of Shinra was an important military force.

"Minister Brad, discussing all this is pointless. Since your country is sincere about selling the Moroccan Area, why not start by naming a price?"

One could see that Weisenberg was in a very good mood. It seemed that Brad's flattery had its effect, or perhaps he was very pleased with this deal.

Minister Brad spoke, "Alright, Your Excellency, the Minister. The Moroccan Area has considerable economic, military, and political value, and I believe 300 million Divine Shield is a reasonable figure."