Holy Roman Empire

The news of the French Army’s defeat in Egypt quickly caused an uproar on the European continent. Many people’s first reaction upon reading the newspaper was — is it April Fool’s Day?

In the original timeline, Italy’s defeat in Africa was mocked by the European world for over a century; now, the French have received the same treatment.

Due to their high level of animosity, the fire directed at the French was even more intense than that aimed at Italy in the original timeline.

As the official media of the Austrian Government, the Vienna Daily published the news of the French army’s defeat with an extremely exaggerated headline — The Decline of the Empire Français.

This was part of a series of reports that could be traced back to the Roman Empire, including all the countries of major influence in European history.

To enhance credibility, the Habsburg dynasty was also listed, with a pompous title — The First Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets.

Since it involved our own history, we naturally couldn’t be careless. Some degree of artistic embellishment was inevitable, and the summary was: The French were too despicable, actually conspiring with infidels.

This was Français most scandalous history, an indelible stain no matter how hard they tried to wash it away.

As Catholic countries, they had the gall to join the Protestant Alliance; after all, they shared a belief in God, which was reluctantly acceptable.

But when they colluded with the Ottoman, the common enemy of Europe, that was intolerable. As a result, naturally, the Habsburg dynasty went into decline.

The victorious French did not bask in their triumph for long, as they were soon isolated by everyone on the European continent.

Catholic countries saw them as traitors, and Protestant countries were unwilling to accept them as "heretics." It wasn’t until the decline of religion that this situation gradually improved.

If this was the old grudge, then the new hatred would be the anti-French wars.

Emperor Napoleon used the countries of Europe as steppingstones to build his supreme reputation, and as his descendant, he had to inherit these enmities.

Especially after Napoleon III annexed the Italian area, the level of hatred skyrocketed, plunging him into isolation.

Yet this wasn’t the worst; at least Napoleon III had signed a treaty with the Anglo-Austrian two countries.

Although it was unreliable and did not obligate military alliance on the European continent, a flaky ally was still better than none.

By the time of Napoleon IV, the situation had changed. After the expiry of the Tripartite Alliance without renewal, once released from the constraints of the treaty, the Anglo-Austria no longer hesitated to stir up trouble.

The incident in Egypt is just one such case in point; without the support of both the Anglo-Austrian countries, the rebel army would have probably been doomed long ago, and where would the ambition to liberate Egypt come from?

It should be noted that the rebel army’s program of insurrection was all masterminded by the proficient British. The Aswan disaster was also John Bull’s doing.

The underhanded tactics of Austria were still brewing and had yet to explode.

...

No matter how impartial the media claims to be, there’s always a bias. Their own scandalous history was published, so naturally, Français was painted black as coal.

Of course, this was an empire series created after the revival of the Habsburg dynasty. Otherwise, Franz wouldn’t have had the confidence to face this period in history.

In this context, "The Decline of the Empire Français" could only spell bad news. The world-class French Army was, after all, a matter of subjective judgment.

Beyond the impeccable military training of the French forces, there was more to it — a psychological factor.

To dispel the fear of the French within their own troops, denigrating the combat effectiveness of the French Army became politically correct across the European continent.

The earlier setback in Annan was nothing, as the French Army didn’t suffer significant casualties. At most, the media across Europe made fun of them for a bit, and everyone tacitly kept quiet upon the signing of the treaty.

But the Battle of Egypt was different — forty thousand French soldiers couldn’t even beat the African natives, losing face all the way to grandma’s house.

Without fault, rounding up, the Colonial troops could also be considered part of the main force of the French Army.

European citizens just needed to know that the French had suffered a defeat in Egypt; details weren’t important at all.

First, there was a financial storm, an economic crisis, a great depression, all capped off with a Parisian revolution that left the domestic economy in shambles.

Without having a moment to recover, they then suffered a great defeat in Egypt. Franz almost believed that Français was in decline.

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Times have changed; present-day Austria no longer needs Français to attract the attention of the British.

Talking down Français has become a key policy of the Vienna Government going forward.

Not every European needs to be convinced, as long as the Germans and Italians believe it, that would be enough.

It’s not only Austria giving the French government trouble; almost every European nation is adding fuel to the fire, mainly through ridicule.

Watching the French be the butt of jokes has been a welcome entertainment for European citizens. As the mastermind behind the Battle of Aswan, General Jeret also became famous overnight.

It’s worth mentioning that it was the French newspapers who spread the word about General Jeret.

It wasn’t that the French wanted to promote their enemy; they were reluctantly compelled. Losing to the British was far more acceptable than losing to African natives.

Not only was the British support for the rebel army exposed, but Austria’s involvement couldn’t stay hidden either, and the Vienna Government duly received a protest from the French government.

The famed writer Victor Hugo even penned an article himself, exposing the despicable deeds of the Anglo-Austrian two countries — "The Two Empires’ Conspiracy Against Français."

...

In Paris, the angry French public had already taken to the streets to protest against the government. Adolf, the Governor of Egypt, had now become synonymous with idiocy and ineffectiveness.

Facing the public’s outrage, Napoleon IV also had a headache. No matter how the government tried to explain, the protesting crowd refused to disperse.

Even with Anglo-Austria brought to the fore, the French public stubbornly believed it was a government hiring error, and many began to question the French government’s personnel selection system.

Adolf, whose ancestry was scrutinized up to eight generations, eventually concluded that being connected to the nobility equaled being incompetent and useless.

If it weren’t for being beyond his reach, Napoleon IV would have liked to drag Adolf back to soothe the anger of the people.

Of course, such thoughts were just wishful thinking. There were rules to follow, and even an emperor could not act recklessly.

Even if a defeat had occurred, to hold Adolf personally accountable, it would first require a military tribunal.

Public protests were only child’s play; having seen them often, Napoleon IV had grown accustomed to them.

Not long ago, a similar debacle had happened in Annan, and after the treaty was sent back, all issues were resolved.

The urgent task at hand was still to suppress the rebellion. Once the rebel army had been vanquished, the matter would soon fade away.

Napoleon IV asked, "You all are aware of the domestic situation, when can the Army Department send out troops?"

Army Minister Luskinia Hafiz replied, "Your Majesty, a long-distance campaign requires extensive preparations, the soonest we could dispatch is in a week.

Moreover, after arriving in Egypt, the troops will need to rest and reorganize for at least another week before they can be committed to the battlefield.

Including time to march, launching an assault on the rebel army will take at least a month."

In a sense, Napoleon IV’s urgency was one of the reasons for Adolf’s defeat. If it hadn’t been for the emperor’s pressure, he wouldn’t have hastily engaged the rebel army in battle.

However, such a matter naturally could not be attributed to the emperor, so Adolf had to accept his misfortune.

With the precedent in mind, Luskinia Hafiz was much more cautious. This time, the Army Department had chosen the personnel, and should there be another defeat, he, as the Army Minister, could not shirk responsibility.

Napoleon IV frowned, "With the situation in Egypt hanging by a thread and the mounting domestic pressures, can’t the Army Department act faster?"

Army Minister Luskinia Hafiz: "Your Majesty, this is already the fastest we can proceed. To reinforce Egypt, we need to travel by sea; we must first weed out any soldiers prone to seasickness.

Upon arrival, we also have to consider acclimatization issues. Generally, such overseas operations usually require preparation time of half a year, or even longer."

This was not an exaggeration, as sending troops blindly, even if the Mediterranean was calm, would result in a significant number of non-combat casualties.

Especially after arriving at the destination, if the troops did not get necessary rest and directly entered combat, even the most formidable army would become crippled.

Faced with the tough stance of the Army Minister, Napoleon IV was at a loss for words. After all, he was a military academy graduate; such basic knowledge was not unknown to him, right?

It was just the internal and external pressures were overwhelming, causing him to panic for a moment. He harbored an unrealistic fantasy of quickly quelling the unrest.

After sighing, Napoleon IV waved his hand and said, "Very well, proceed according to your plan.

However, do hurry and try to suppress this rebellion as soon as possible to minimize our losses."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Luskinia Hafiz replied.

Staring at the map on the wall, after contemplating for a while, it seemed he thought of something.

Suddenly, Napoleon IV slapped the table and said emphatically, "Anglo-Austrian two countries have been causing us trouble one after another, now we must strike back."

When the word "retaliate" appeared, everyone fell into confusion.

The French government had long wanted to retaliate against the successive actions of the Anglo-Austrian two countries, but they did not know where to start.

Counterattack the financial systems of the Anglo-Austrian two countries?

Just thinking about it was enough; the Anglo-Austrian two countries were not short of gold reserves, and the value of British Pounds and the Divine Shield were stable as Mount Tai.

Support the Revolutionary Party and national separatist forces?

The Paris Government was already doing so, yet the outcome was moving. Except for a few splashes made by the Irish Independence Organization, the other organizations were all investment with no action.

There was even an organization posing as the Hungarian Independence Organization that scammed 5 million Francs from the French government.

Return blood for blood, stir trouble in their colonies?

The French government had been doing it all along, but to little effect. The British employed indirect rule, so any rebellion would first lead to the locals killing each other.

Although Austria ruled directly, their control over the colonies was clearly much stronger.

Especially neighboring Austro-Africa, trying to instigate a colonial uprising was a question of whom to even approach.

Local strongmen certainly existed, but they had all become Austrian Nobility. As beneficiaries, it made no sense for them to rebel against themselves.

If these strategies were ineffective, surely they couldn’t add diplomatic hurdles for the two countries, right?

The French government still had self-awareness. It wasn’t that their diplomatic abilities were rubbish, but rather that France’s notoriety in the European Continent was so high that they faced ostracism from European countries.

To engage in diplomatic struggles with Anglo-Austria was simply self-humiliation. It might even be more likely to succeed by launching a military invasion directly. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

After much deliberation, the French government helplessly concluded: to retaliate against Anglo-Austria, it was necessary to have favorable timing, geographical, and human conditions. Rashly charging ahead was pointless.

Foreign Minister Terence Burke advised, "Your Majesty, Anglo-Austria is in collusion; a hasty move might provoke greater chaos, we must act prudently."

"In collusion" was definitely an exaggeration, as aside from previously joining forces to short the Franc, Anglo-Austria had not really cooperated against France.

However, there was no need to delve into these details. The French government also needed to save face. If they didn’t exaggerate the strength of their enemies, they would appear too incapable.

After all, from an external perspective, Anglo-Austria was supporting the Egyptian rebel army, so claiming the two were jointly suppressing France was not too far of a stretch.

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