Chapter 109
Chapter 109
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: First War of the Austrian Succession Crisis (4)
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Bartolt Douma van Burmania, the Dutch Republic's special envoy plenipotentiary.
Before being dispatched to Vienna this year, he had desperately analyzed Austria's current political structure.
But the more he studied, the more serious doubts arose about the power dynamics in Austria.
And even now, while staying in Vienna, nothing had changed.
Franz Stefan von Lothringen had summoned him, claiming his home country's position was now settled.
The man promised to be the next emperor and King of Germany.
A comet-like figure who had risen in the imperial family, expected to make Austria even stronger.
And the person who practically held the Dutch Republic's lifeline in his hands.
What exact position did this man hold in Austria?
Without knowing the precise power hierarchy between Emperor Charles VI and Franz, he had to tread carefully in every action.
"First, I want to express my deepest gratitude for your swift decision."
"No need. I wanted to reach a conclusion even faster, but His Majesty's Privy Council meeting dragged on, so we've only now set a direction."
From the conversation alone, Franz seemed to be thoroughly the emperor's agent.
He always consulted with the emperor or the Privy Council before pushing any policy, and he'd never taken any extreme steps.
In the Netherlands, the prevailing view was that Austria's top power was naturally the emperor, with Franz as his loyal right hand.
But was that really the case?
While the emperor lay bedridden, Maria Theresa had ruled Austria as regent, and there hadn't been any issues then.
The citizens of Vienna actually believed there would be no major problems even if the emperor stepped back from state affairs.
So, couldn't that mean the power transition was already complete?
The emperor had retreated to a symbolic role, and Franz, as King of Germany, wielded full authority.
Or, in the extreme, Maria Theresa might be the real power behind the throne, with Franz—being a man—simply executing her will.
He thought this because, while the emperor and Franz were away from Vienna, Maria Theresa had handled her regency duties with remarkable skill, implementing various policies.
'Damn... there are too many possibilities. I can't draw a conclusion.'
Identifying the true power holder was the absolute basics of diplomacy and negotiation.
In other words, failing to do so severely limited his room to maneuver.
He could unwittingly poke at the other's sore spot.
So, he had to be as meticulous as possible. Gauge the other's exact intentions, clarify his precise position, and determine if he was an asset or a liability to the Republic.
Bartolt focused all his senses on reading the man's intentions, hiding his emotions as best he could.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The Dutch Republic.
Until the 17th century, it had been the undisputed world's greatest maritime power, but its glory had faded in recent years.
Still, as the saying goes, wealth endures for three generations.
The Netherlands still boasted an undeniable presence in international trade and possessed much that Austria lacked.
"First off, Britain and Prussia both agree to end the war. However, Prussia keeps insisting on a sincere apology from our side."
"What do we have to apologize for... No, go on. I'll hear you out."
"Please appreciate that I'm conveying Prussia's unreasonable demands after whittling them down as much as possible. They want us to remove the tariff barriers against them. Of course, eliminating them entirely is impossible, so how about halving them for now?"
"Half... We'll review it."
"And they say we need to compensate for the costs of their military mobilization. They originally demanded reparations on top of that, but I persuaded them that reparations are excessive since a full war never broke out."
Prussia's goal was just to flaunt their presence with a show of force using the rifles I'd made them.
Dumping those costs on the Netherlands side would make it a tidy profit for them, so they had nothing to lose.
"If it's that much... But we must make it clear this is absolutely not war reparations for defeat."
"Of course. There was no war—how could there be winners and losers?"
As I gently soothed the Netherlands, a staffer poured wine into my glass.
"Have a glass. It's the finest Burgundy airlifted in."
"Haha, this is a serious negotiation, so just one glass it is."
At my overtly friendly response, the ambassador's face brightened, and the atmosphere noticeably relaxed.
But there are no fools in this world who mediate for free.
"What we want isn't much. If anything, we yearn to expand toward the sea, but as you know, our country isn't exactly on friendly terms with the ocean."
"Yes... that's true."
This wasn't humility—it was harsh reality.
We operated the Ostend Company through the Austrian Netherlands and had invested heavily in transoceanic trade, but we still lagged far behind not just England, but even the Netherlands and Spain.
In this situation, properly building up a navy was little more than a pipe dream.
France was right over the border, so we could pound them like a sandbag, but going hard against England was tough for this reason.
We could smash their army, but we couldn't drop troops on pirate central.
The reason we couldn't aggressively expand trade volume was that the pirates could block our trade routes anytime they felt threatened.
Damn those pirates.
If we had even France-level naval power, we could manage something, but unfortunately, ours was practically nonexistent.
England had over 120 ships of the line, France over 55, while Austria had a measly three.
Three—not thirty.
Even Admiral Yi Sun-sin would need at least a dozen; with just three, no one could make it work.
No matter my future knowledge, building a navy from scratch took time, so until then, we'd have to piggyback on other nations' infrastructure.
"So, here's the thing: cannon and musket performance keeps improving, and gunpowder demand is rising accordingly. We'd like to build a stable supply chain from India. How about cooperating with your East India Company?"
"You want to acquire shares in the East India Company?"
"Of course not. We have no designs on your company. We're just so weak at sea that we want to learn from the world's best—the Dutch East India Company."
Why would I take over a zombie company on a downward spiral?
What I aimed for was simply riding the infrastructure the Netherlands and France had built, cherry-picking the profitable goods and foundations.
Bringing them in via those countries would make it hard for England to regulate directly.
"Understood... We'll convey Your Highness's requests to the homeland and get a reply as quickly as possible."
"Good. I'll speak to His Majesty as well and keep Prussia in check as much as I can."
To the end, I reinforced the impression that I was merely the emperor's agent, sent Bartolt off on friendly terms, and then summoned the Spanish ambassador.
"Talks with England went well. Spain acknowledges the punishment of Captain Jenkins was somewhat excessive, and as long as recurrence is prevented, they'll agree to an armistice."
"So no reparations payment?"
"Exactly. Honestly, wasn't England the one who overreacted this time?"
The more money England wasted in vain, the better for me—why would I patch that up?
England wanted reparations from Spain, but I'd made clear that if they did, Prussia wouldn't stop their war with the Netherlands.
With the Netherlands facing bankruptcy-level financial damage, any reparations from Spain would be meaningless, and they couldn't keep pushing.
Naturally, England replied they'd swallow it if they got an apology to save face.
Thanks to that, I could take full credit in front of Spain.
Honestly, I was the benefactor who halted the rampage of those English pirate scum, wasn't I?
Time to collect my service fee.
"As Your Excellency knows, with the Adriatic now under our influence, His Majesty wishes to increase the share of Mediterranean and Black Sea trade. For that, Sicily and Naples are crucial. We'd like free use of ports we designate, along with tax benefits."
"...Sicily and Naples."
"Yes. We ask for nothing more. After all, all we want is to expand our Mediterranean trade."
With northern Italy in our hands, Naples and Sicily would inevitably return in the long term.
In the last war, we'd handed them to Spain temporarily due to circumstances, but wasn't the consensus in academia that the Italian peninsula was Rome's domain?
They needed to return to the bosom of us true Romans.
Of course, saying that outright would have Spain foaming at the mouth, so we'd infiltrate slowly over about ten years, then seize the decisive opportunity and swallow them whole.
"Understood. However, full tax exemptions or treating them like our own ports is out of the question. Let's make that clear."
"Of course."
Once we gobbled up Venice, Naples and Sicily were on borrowed time anyway—what was the rush?
What I was doing now was securing a bridgehead for that moment.
I took what I could without seeming too greedy, then gathered the ambassadors from England, Prussia, the Netherlands, and Spain to draft a rough agreement outline.
"...Then, let's hold the treaty in Vienna. The details will be handled by Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz, Vice-Chancellor of the Court Chancellery, as proxy for His Majesty and myself."
"Understood."
"Indeed... No matter where we hold it, some country would complain, so Vienna is the most fitting."
Since I'd already aligned conditions individually, all that remained was some token tug-of-war before stamping the agreement.
I leaned back leisurely in my chair, surveying the ambassadors lost in their own thoughts with complex expressions.
Profits gained without spilling a drop of blood or spending a single coin—somehow, they tasted especially sweet.
That's why brokerage is so terrifying.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Even after the other ambassadors left, the English ambassador Robinson lingered, steadily sipping his black tea.
"Are the terms to your liking?"
"...There are losses, but the consensus back home is that it's unavoidable."
"Right. This is the best outcome. But what about you, Your Excellency? Do you truly believe this is the best?"
"Pardon? What do you...?"
"Why did Prussia's threats work on England? Because of Hanover. Do you really think there are no Commons MPs who see through this injustice? You know it yourself."
Why would England, with the world's strongest navy, feel chills from Prussia's thuggery?
Normally, no matter how strong Prussia's army was, they couldn't touch England—but Hanover changed that.
"...You're right. Without Hanover, Prussia couldn't threaten us at all. We could've blockaded their ports without a second thought and pressured them to stop the war."
"Exactly. So, I'd like to ask a favor of you, and I trust you'll grant it."
"After all the grace you've shown so far, it's only human to repay it. What is it?"
"Compile a list of promising Commons politicians who share your views and send it over. I'd like to build good relations."
In unifying the Holy Roman Empire, my deadliest obstacle wasn't Prussia or the other electorates—it was the Electorate of Hanover.
The others I could just pressure alongside Prussia, but Hanover was one body with England, making forced suppression risky.
So, I needed this incident to make England perceive Hanover as a weakness.
The current power elite was glued to the king, so they couldn't voice it, but what about the young politicians rising now?
"It's for our two countries to evolve into a more constructive partnership long-term. I'd greatly appreciate your help."
Until now, our circumstances made striking England nearly impossible, but if England suffered no losses, wouldn't the balance of the stalemate break?
After all, balance of power must always be maintained for the world to know peace.
Except for us.
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