Holy Roman Empire

St. Petersburg, having received a positive response from the Vienna Government, Alexander III still could not feel happy.

"Franz has always been cautious, not acting until he sees his prey. This time he agreed so readily, without setting any conditions. Do you think there might be some sort of plot behind this?"

It was no wonder Alexander III was suspicious. In recent decades, the Russian Empire had suffered in silence too much, which had created a psychological shadow for him.

Foreign Minister Oscar Hemenes replied, "Your Majesty, you are overthinking it. It seems as though the Austrian Government is helping us, but in reality, they are also helping themselves.

The British want a military arms race, which is really aimed at France and Austria. Now England, France, and Austria are all in a situation where it's hard to back out without a clear victory, and they simply cannot stop.

Regardless of the Afghan issue, the Austrian Government would have to join this arms race involuntarily.

By supporting us now, they not only create trouble for their competitors but also do us a favor at a convenient time."

There's nothing wrong with that. The Vienna Government's agreement to help restrain the British is correct. In fact, aside from shouting a few slogans, they don't need to do anything else.

The arms race is already underway, and many warships have already been commissioned; they surely cannot stop the construction and let it idle, can they?

Even if the British were to divert their strength due to the Central Asia issue and wanted to pause this game, France and Austria, who have already joined, would not agree.

England, France, and Austria have been competing for decades. No one believes they are inferior to the others. If you say stop, where does that leave everyone's face?

An enemy of an enemy is a friend. This saying might not be entirely applicable, but there is no obstacle to Russian-Austrian cooperation in striking at the British.

Having heard this sensible explanation, Alexander III's unease eased slightly, but then he started to feel a headache again.

"Alas! Even with the support of the Austrian Government, our competition with the British in the Central Asia region is at a disadvantage. Discover more stories at empire

Afghanistan is divided by the Central Asian Khanate, and because of the wars in Europe, we have reduced our attention to Afghanistan in recent years.

It is only because of the lingering hatred from the last Anglo-Afghan War that Afghanistan has not turned towards the British.

If the British adopt a conciliatory approach, the Afghan Government might not resist; after all, the support we can give them is too little."

Hearing the Tsar's complaints, Oscar Hemenes secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that the Tsar could be rational. If he acted recklessly and went for a direct confrontation, that would be a real problem.

The Russian Empire truly did not have the capacity to engage in a fight with the British in the Afghan region right now. Seeking Austrian support was essentially trying to resolve the issue through negotiation.

"Your Majesty, rest assured. The Foreign Ministry is making diplomatic efforts. If we can gain the support of France as well, maintaining stability in Central Asia won't be a big problem.

What we need now is time. Just a few more years, and the situation will be entirely different."

It's been some years since the end of the Prusso-Russian War, and the Russian Empire has regained some of its vitality. The most critical moment has passed.

The current issue is not wanting to fight, rather than "unable to fight."

Perhaps we are no match for the British in the Afghan region, but we are still capable of dealing with the small states they have propped up.

Not taking military action is critical mainly because the treasury is not full enough. As a rationalist, Alexander III naturally would not blindly confront the British without being fully prepared.

...

With the whirring of machinery and the rising dust, a group of lifeless laborers started another day of work under the prod of the whip.

Suddenly, a large group of guards appeared, and after a brief exchange with the managers, they mercifully ordered the laborers to rest for the time being.

The guards fulfilled their duty by inspecting the worksite, confiscating "weapons" like shovels, and herding the laborers to an empty area.

Undoubtedly, an important person was coming, and it was necessary to remove any risks.

Even the flying dust was a potential hazard, as it could dirty the clothing of the VIPs, so it had to be allowed to settle first.

Time hurried on, and soon it was midday. The thundering sound of galloping could be heard, and looking into the distance, one could faintly see the dust kicked up by the charging cavalry.

As they drew closer, Aringlen, the person in charge on-site, became excited. Pointing ahead, he quietly asked the captain of the guards, "Your Majesty, is he among them?"

The response he got was an indifferent three words: "Don't know!"

This was the truth; the exact timing of the Emperor's travels was not something for them to know.

Especially such inspections, many were confirmed and notified on short notice, and whether or not he would actually visit was still uncertain.

Watching the large troops approaching, Aringlen let out a sigh of relief. Judging by the situation, even if it was not the Emperor himself, it had to be a high-ranking person accompanying him.

...

An elderly gentleman with golden hair, pointing at the construction site, said, "Your Majesty, this is the Sherif River Dam currently under construction."

Once the project is completed, more than one hundred and fifty thousand hectares of land downstream will be effectively irrigated, freeing them from the plight of relying solely on the weather for sustenance."

It will also ensure that the towns and farmlands downriver are safe from the threat of floods, as it is one of the key projects within the agricultural plans."

Napoleon IV nodded slightly, glancing at the great river that flowed to the sea never to return, and then observed a group in the distance, clad in ragged attire but still somewhat orderly.

Frowning, he inquired, "What's going on here? Why has the work suddenly halted? Surely there isn't a strike happening, is there?"

Seeing the Emperor's displeasure, the elderly man responsible for introductions hurriedly explained, "No, there couldn't possibly be a strike here. They should be taking a midday break.

Your Majesty, look at this freshly dug earth, they were still hard at work just a moment ago. Perhaps we should call the project manager over..."

Napoleon IV gestured dismissively and interrupted, "I've said before that I don't want any of this unnecessary ceremoniousness.

The farm plans are critical to the future of France. If my inspection hinders their work, it would be counterproductive.

The site is right here, and the progress can be seen at a glance. I am not familiar with construction, so I won't interfere.

Have them resume work immediately, and let's proceed to the next location."

After speaking, Napoleon IV turned, mounted his horse, and left, causing Aringlen, who had been desperately waiting, to silently lament.

The chance to engage with the Emperor up close had slipped away.

Once the Guard had departed, Aringlen immediately cracked his whip, walking among the laborers and scolded fiercely, "You wretches, get up and get back to work immediately!"

It seemed that in order to vent his frustration, Aringlen lashed out viciously with his whip at a few of the workers who were slow to respond.

Seeing the boss take action, the surrounding overseers joined in, and the worksite quickly returned to its usual hustle and bustle.

Inspecting Algeria had been a sudden whim of Napoleon IV.

The main cause was his distrust of the bureaucrats under him, fearing some might embezzle public funds from the project, causing the great farming plan to fail.

His judgment proved correct. The progress of the great farm plan fell far short of what the officials had reported.

Take this Sherif River Dam, for example, work had only just begun, yet the reports claimed the project was close to completion.

There were many such cases; theoretically, by 1887, the state farms would be able to contribute 1.2 million tons of wheat and 580,000 tons of corn to the domestic market...

With the arrival of these crops, the grain deficit in France would be cut by one-third, significantly reducing national foreign exchange expenditures.

The reality was that the output from state farms was indeed met—and even exceeded—thanks to a bountiful harvest that year. However, the reduction in the country's foreign exchange expenditures was hardly noticeable, in fact, it even increased slightly.

The problem, needless to say, was clear. Grain smuggled internationally back to the country was entering the food market under the guise of being produced by state farms.

Due to the trade barriers, such an import-export process meant that the officials in charge profited immensely, far more than what they would earn from honestly managing the farms.

Driven by greed, such corrupt practices only continued to grow. Nearly all projects associated with the farms unfolded with alarming speed.

The most egregious was a farm named Talos; from initiation to bountiful harvest, it took less than half a year to develop fifty thousand hectares of land and achieve a grand yield of a thousand catties per mu in the same year.

Greed is the devil. In pursuit of greater profits, officials involved became so careless with data falsification that they weren't even professional about it.

It seems they believed that as long as the money was in place, the people above would turn a blind eye along with them.

Needless to say, these reports full of holes and treating the higher-ups as fools were naturally exposed by the French government.

Napoleon IV had always deeply detested such actions that undermined the country's foundation.

The state farms, created at great expense, were intended to achieve self-sufficiency in food production and reduce foreign exchange outflows to balance the trade deficit.

Now they had unexpectedly become a means for bureaucrats to line their pockets, which infuriated Napoleon IV so much that he personally made his way to Algeria.

No matter the deception, they couldn't out of thin air produce so much work overnight.

Then, one after another, projects like the Sherif River Dam that had inflated their progress fell apart under Napoleon IV's scrutiny.

As one lie after another was uncovered, even Napoleon IV felt like breaking down.

That he had managed to hold back and not immediately arrest those bureaucrats was a sign of great restraint; one should not even think about seeing him in good spirits.

...