Holy Roman Empire-Chapter 1103 - 117: Panicking

Chapter 1103 -117: Panicking

War was not something that could just be declared at a whim, especially within the political system of the United Kingdom, where the Cabinet Government had no authority to unilaterally start a war that gambled the nation’s fate.

Yet this kind of issue was also unsuitable for parliamentary discussion. If hundreds of Members of Parliament were informed, then so too would the enemy be.

By the time everyone finished their squabbling, to say nothing of striking first, it would be a blessing not to be attacked first by others.

Although the Royal Navy held an advantage, the Shinra Navy’s strength was not to be underestimated. If judged by a seventy percent standard of the original timeline, they could have already engaged in direct conflict.

After the new batch of battleships were commissioned, the gap in strength between the two would be even smaller. With the advantage of being commissioned first, they could definitely strike preemptively.

Such matters could not be expected to be shouldered by the king. Edward VII was not George V; he was not so easily tricked, nor would he be the scapegoat for them.

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The Royal Navy had dominated for too long, and the public had become accustomed to victory. Against this backdrop, winning a naval battle was expected, but losing was an unforgivable sin.

Frankly speaking, if it weren’t for the fact that his term still had a long way to go, Campbell would most likely have chosen to shirk the problem onto his successor.

It was no joke; people in the Cabinet were already restless, preparing to “retire due to illness.” Among them was the Army Minister, who had been the loudest in his clamoring.

Politics often played out this way; typically, the person who shouted slogans the loudest was the one who acted the most cowardly.

The reason couldn’t be more realistic: everyone had confidence in the Royal Navy, but who ever had confidence in the Lobster Soldiers?

Maybe the enemy couldn’t outmatch the Royal Navy in sea battles, but could they not win a land war?

The Army Minister, lacking confidence, naturally wanted to make his escape.

British politics was such that as long as there were no major political scandals, stepping down now meant a chance for a comeback in a few years.

On the other hand, diligent and hardworking individuals would be blamed for any mishaps on the battlefield, with the Army Minister being one of those accountable.

At this level of office, being able to pass the buck to a leader was a skill few in the world’s history possessed.

While others could retreat, Prime Minister Campbell had no way out. The interest groups behind him who had pushed him into power had paid a great price, and now was the time to reap the rewards—how could they let him back down?

When avoidance was not an option, the only choice left was to take a risk. Even the island nation had a heart for gambling; gambling the nation’s fate wasn’t the exclusive patent of the Japanese.

The British Navy had once challenged the Spanish Invincible Armada in a grand gamble. The only difference was that the British were better prepared, while the Spaniards acted hot-headed.

Shinra’s newly built warships were still in the docks, months away from launching, and they still needed time for armament installation and training to become combat-ready.

By the time all these tasks were completed, it would be another year or two before they could truly form a combat force. Such a lengthy period was ample to create friction and provoke conflicts.

On the contrary, how to coax the Shinra Navy into a decisive battle was a big problem. If the enemy stayed in the Mediterranean, consolidating a fleet of a hundred and eighty main ships before emerging, that would spell utter disaster.

Campbell had already personally experienced the gap in industrial capabilities. Competing in numbers, Britain could not keep up, even with the help of allies.

The manufacturing of the United States at the time was nothing but imitations upon imitations. To tackle the high technology of battleships, even if the complete shipbuilding equipment and design blueprints were handed over, it would take at least a decade to digest.

The United States in the original timeline was far more impressive, with the highest industrial and economic total output in the world.

Seeing the British develop Dreadnoughts, the Americans could not stand being left out and followed suit; they spent three years and one month to construct the 16,000-ton South Carolina-class battleship.

A look at the data would show that the Americans set global records include the smallest displacement, lowest power, slowest speed, and most…

Their performance was lagging, and so was the speed of shipbuilding. During the same period, the British built the world’s first Dreadnought in just 14 months.

The external explanation was that finalizing the design plan had delayed the process, but under normal circumstances, isn’t it typical to first finalize the design plan before starting construction?

Work had already started without a final design plan, leaving only one possibility, that the technology couldn’t keep up and the original design plan couldn’t be completed.

There was nothing surprising about this; the shipyard responsible for building the South Carolina-class battleships was simultaneously carrying out construction whilst recruiting staff and buying technology. It was understandable if the process was a bit slow.

Now the situation was even more dire. After the split, the industrial output of the United States was not even half of that in the original timeline, and the quality was even less reliable.

Beyond this barely industrialized ally, the United Kingdom had no other minor partners worthy of mention.

Let alone constructing Dreadnoughts, the number of those capable of building ironclad ships could be counted on one hand, with Japan, which was currently embroiled in war, being the most developed in shipbuilding.

It was even less realistic to expect that warships built by the Japanese would be used by anyone besides the Japanese Navy. The Royal Navy, with its particular standards, would certainly not be interested in them.

This wasn’t workable, and that wasn’t workable either. What lay before the British Government was, in fact, just one last option—strike first and wage war before the enemy completed its war preparations.

Of course, the prerequisite was that Britain itself must first be ready for war. It would be quite embarrassing to strike first without being prepared.

All of these equally depended on Parliament; without its approval, the British Government certainly didn’t have the authority to spend hundreds of millions of British Pounds on war preparations.

On June 1, 1904, the Campbell Government proposed to Parliament a plan to emulate the Holy Roman Empire in building a strategic supply system.

…

While the British Government was busy wrangling with Parliament, the transportation airship that Shinra had sold to the Tsarist Government had also arrived at the Far Eastern front from Europe.

You get what you pay for; although the airship was a bit expensive, the transportation speed was truly incomparable to manpower.

A few hundred kilometers could be covered in a round trip within the same day. Once put into use, the logistical pressure on the Russian Army was immediately significantly reduced.

Solitary forts, previously abandonded, could now be defended with deployed troops.

There was no fear of being cut off by the enemy thanks to the wireless telegraph, and should the situation become dire, troops could be transported for reinforcements via airship.

Was there a risk without training?

What a joke; regardless of how high the risk was, it was the common soldiers facing the danger, not the concerns of the nobility.

Once the logistical pressure on the Russian Army was alleviated, hard times descended upon the Japanese Army. There was no denying that the fighting capacity of the Russians was formidable.

Though they may not be at the very top on a global level, they were still more than capable of overwhelming the Japanese Army, which was not fully competent. Especially those units heavily influenced by the warrior code and valuing bravery suffered severe casualties.

Reality proved once again that individual strength was trivial in the face of modern weaponry. No matter how brave, flesh and blood could not withstand machine guns and artillery fire.

Not only did this halt the offensive of the Japanese Army, but the Russian Army, having temporarily escaped its logistical plight, even managed to organize several counterattacks, achieving significant victories.

In Tokyo, the defeats on the Far Eastern Battlefield immediately caused panic in the headquarters, with the shadow of failure looming over everyone’s heads.

This time the enemy was the Russians, and the Japanese Government would not have chosen to wage war against them at this time if not for dire necessity.

But there was no choice; the tensions between Japan and Russia were rooted not only in conflicting interests but also in personal vendettas.

At this point, even if they wanted to stop, the Russians would not let them.

Throwing down the military report in his hand, Emperor Meiji scolded angrily, “All of you look carefully, what kind of battle is this being fought?”

“The enemy’s Siberian Railway isn’t even operational yet, and the Russians have only committed a tenth or so of their strength. If we’re at a disadvantage even now, how will we manage the battles ahead?”

It was clear that Emperor Meiji was truly panicking now. The last time he had scolded the military on the spot was during the campaign in the Philippines.

However, his expression then wasn’t nearly as exaggerated as it was now. This, from another perspective, highlighted the seriousness of the problem.

Japan couldn’t afford to lose, and neither could Emperor Meiji. Defeat meant ruin, even for the Emperor of Japan; his future would be anything but bright.

He would either die or go into exile abroad. Once he fell into Russian hands, he would become just another canary in St. Petersburg.

Without any doubt, the cold climate of St. Petersburg wouldn’t accommodate canaries. After the Russians tired of their novelty, it would be time for him to collect his boxed lunch.

Even in the European world, where monarchs enjoy immunity, that applies only to European monarchs. One could hardly expect the Russians to recognize his status as the Emperor of Japan, could they?

The older one gets, the more one fears death. Emperor Meiji was no exception; he wasn’t ready to die so soon.

Going into exile abroad might seem not too bad, but it was also unsuitable for a monarch with few relatives.

A monarch in exile without a protective umbrella was like a child hugging a gold brick in a bustling market, who might get cleaned out any day and conveniently sold off to the Tsarist Government.

In the face of the infuriated Emperor, everyone tacitly lowered their heads. After all, Meiji was not Taisho; they couldn’t behave recklessly.

Perhaps it was because they had had enough here that during the Taisho era, everyone, either consciously or unconsciously, repressed him to the point of madness.

Especially the military leaders, who buried their heads as low as possible, trying to minimize their presence as if they were ostriches.

Under the urging glances of his colleagues, Katsura Taro, as Prime Minister, had no choice but to step up and face the music.

“Your Majesty, please calm your anger. The setback at the front is only temporary, and the overall situation on the battlefield is still in our favor. If we are united, we will certainly be able to…”

Before Katsura could finish, Emperor Meiji’s deadly glare cut him off, forcing him to swallow the rest of his sentence.

“I don’t want to hear these empty words. Go and boost morale for the troops at the front if you must; what I need now is a solution.

Don’t tell me you don’t understand what this means. Once the Russians rid themselves of logistical pressures, can the Imperial Army really achieve victory?”

It wasn’t that Emperor Meiji wanted to boost others’ morale while dampening his own. The truth was that the power gap between Japan and Russia was too great, whether it was in terms of quantity or quality, Japan couldn’t match Russia.

Japan’s only advantage was geographical; the Russians had to cross the vast snowy fields of Siberia to get to the Far East, while the Japanese Army was right at home.

Yamagata Aritomo spoke, “Your Majesty, the Russians’ logistical issues haven’t truly been resolved yet. For now, they’re mainly relying on airships to speed up transport.

But the capacity of airships is limited, they have high weather-dependent constraints, and the cost of transportation is extraordinarily high, nowhere near sufficient to meet the needs of the over four hundred thousand Russian troops at the front.

Moreover, we’re not without countermeasures. As early as during the wars in Europe, Shinra used airplanes to counter the French airships with great effect; we can emulate this now.

The real trouble is the Far Eastern Empire; if they hadn’t sold strategic materials to the Russians, their forces on the frontlines would have collapsed by now.

I suggest that the Imperial Navy makes a move to warn the Far Eastern Empire to behave and order them to stop selling materials to the Russians.”

Despite the reluctance to admit it, the one truly deciding the outcome of the war between Japan and Russia was that elusive Far Eastern Empire amidst the storm.

Without waiting for the Naval Ministry to respond, Foreign Minister Kaoru Inoue objected first: “No, this is not the right time for us to provoke the Far Eastern Empire.

If we push them too far and they turn directly to the Russians, the Empire would indeed be in danger.”

The military and the government view problems differently. Indeed, the threat of military force is the simplest and most effective way to solve problems, but there must be the right time for it.

At this time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is too late to woo the Far Eastern Empire, how can it tolerate the military pushing them into the arms of the enemy?

Ito Hirobumi, “Kaoru Inoue is right; we really mustn’t provoke the Far Eastern Empire now. Their neutrality is already the best outcome for the Empire.

Don’t forget they once had secret agreements with the Russians, and if not for the Russians’ excessive greed, which led them to plunder during 1901 instead of lending a hand to the Far Eastern Empire, the current Far Eastern power structure would be entirely different.

If we provoke them again, plus with Shinra mediating, it’s quite possible that the two countries might form an alliance again.

Our strength is limited; it’s impossible to face two major countries simultaneously. The Far Eastern Empire might be decadent, but its newly trained troops still possess some combat effectiveness.

One Russian had us running ragged; if two countries joined forces, the Empire would stand no chance at all.

As long as the Far Eastern Empire doesn’t openly support the Russians, our primary goal must be to win them over.

The aftermath of the old grudges from the Jiawu War hasn’t dissipated, and now there’s fresh resentment from 1901. To maintain their neutrality, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already made its best efforts.

The Far Eastern Empire’s government hasn’t made any moves right now; it’s just some civilian smuggling, and there’s no need to make a big fuss over it.

Whether we send troops to intercept or bribe mountain thieves for sabotage, both can solve the problem; why make a big deal out of it?”

A broader perspective has always been what the Japanese military lacks the most. Perhaps it’s the deep influence of the Bushido, or maybe their militarism is too extreme, but the Japanese Army top and bottom all like to rush into action at the drop of a hat.

If not for the Meiji Government being strong enough to keep the military’s arrogance in check, if the Japanese military were left to their own devices, Japan likely would have been ruined long ago.

However, this suppression, together with the outbreak of war, seems increasingly weak. It could be said that after each victory in foreign wars, the military’s influence has continued to expand.

In the original timeline, it was after these old ministers passed away that the Japanese military completely lost control. And it was not just the government that lost control over the military, but the military upper echelons also lost control over the radical faction among the officers and soldiers.

Signs of losing control have emerged, but everyone is so preoccupied with the war that they have not noticed this “small problem.”

Yamagata Aritomo, “Ito-kun, things aren’t that simple. The Imperial Army has long been taking action against smuggling.

Unlike the previous sporadic smuggling, the current smuggling activity has become organized.

The large and small merchant caravans have come together to form protective squads, and they’re even equipped with machine guns and mortars; their combat power surpasses that of the regular forces of the Far Eastern Empire.

Not to mention ordinary mountain bandits, even our Empire army cannot handle them if the number is less than a large unit.

Moreover, there are local snakes involved behind these merchant caravans, so every time we organize troops for a crackdown, the news leaks in advance.”

Interest is always the best catalyst. With Louis’ participation, even though kickbacks still had to be given, there were no more swindles by the Russian bureaucrats in the payment for goods.

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With their interests secured, everyone’s eagerness to participate has risen. Compared to crisp silver coins, mountain bandits are nothing at all.

Even the direct intervention of the Japanese Army is useless. Too few troops, and they will be counter-attacked by the merchant guards; too many, and the news leaks.

Fighting on someone else’s turf, it is simply not possible to mobilize a large force without leaving any traces.

With arms dealers involved, there surely won’t be a shortage of radios. It can be said that the merchant caravans’ message transmission is even more fluid and convenient than the command delivery of the Japanese Army.

If it were not really untouchable, Yamagata Aritomo wouldn’t have brought it up; after all, it’s quite embarrassing.

…