Holy Roman Empire

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There was no alternative. The strategic position of Egypt Area was simply too important. As long as France wished to win the war, it had to prevent the emergence of a colossal power spanning Asia, Africa, and Europe.

After pondering for a moment, Napoleon IV sighed and said, "Let the Army Department come up with a plan to immediately send troops to reinforce the Egyptian battlefield. We don't need to defeat the enemy, just to stabilize the frontline."

Reinforcing Egypt might sound easy, but it was anything but simple in practice. Not only did troops need to be mobilized, but the expanding scale of the Egyptian front also meant that the consumption of strategic materials would increase accordingly.

It was without question that French Egypt alone could not bear such excessive consumption.

The Paris Government had originally planned for the Algerian Colonial Government to bear a portion of these costs, but that was no longer possible.

At the same time as they were detaining reinforcements, the Algeria Region's demand for strategic materials also increased. Instead of supporting the Egypt Area, it was estimated that they would have to reach out to the homeland for help.

Times had changed; the war had progressed to the point where France was no longer flush with cash. A sudden increase in material consumption was also a test for the French government.

After briefly calculating, Prime Minister Terence Burkin's forehead began to sweat.

"Your Majesty, sending reinforcements is easy. The newly mobilized domestic troops are about to complete basic training. It's not a big issue to deploy twenty to thirty divisions. The trouble lies in the logistics and supply.

As of now, not only are we responsible for the logistics of nearly five million soldiers in Europe, but we also have to support the colonial battlefield with a substantial amount of materials. Our domestic industrial output has long been unable to keep up.

Now with the reinforcement of the Egyptian battlefield, a large amount of strategic materials will be consumed. In the short term, it is very difficult for us to gather such a large quantity of materials.

Unless we have the full support of the British, we cannot complete the support for the Egyptian battlefield within half a year."

Warfare demands swift action; if we wait half a year, we won't even arrive in time to claim the bodies. Yet the logistics involving tens of thousands of tons of materials for the relocation of hundreds of thousands of troops simply can't be prepared overnight.

Dont be fooled by the mountains of strategic materials in France; they all have destinations. Whether it's the Central European Battlefield or the Southern European Battlefield, both are absolutely crucial, leaving no possibility for reallocation.

Of course, what can't be produced can be purchased, but even procuring strategic materials takes time.

Production timelines aside, France had long placed multiple orders, and most European countries' enterprises were effectively France's armament factories.

The real trouble stemmed from politics: while countries profited, they didn't forget to sabotage France.

More often than not, France's import of strategic materials was delayed. Endless customs inspections and messy bureaucratic procedures were all methods to limit France.

To break these restrictions, the French Foreign Ministry had not spared any effort. However, no matter how hard the Foreign Ministry tried, it could not keep up with France's ability to alienate others.

"It's not difficult to persuade the British to support us; nobody wants to see the rise of a behemoth that spans Asia, Africa, and Europe. If Austria connects its homeland with Africa, it would be a fatal blow to Britain, too.

But seeking help from the British at this time will surely lead them to ask for much in return, and we will inevitably pay a heavy price," said Foreign Minister Karl Chardlets with difficulty.

As historical rivals, the French were all too aware of the British way of cashing in on such opportunities. This kind of chance to benefit from someone else's crisis is precisely what you'd expect from John Bull.

The whole point of France starting this war in Europe was for profit. If they allowed the British to rob them halfway through, the final gain would be questionable.

Anyone who reads history knows how many allies have been swindled into ruin by cooperating with the British, France included.

Now seeking help from the British could go well but making the slightest error in handling could lead to France working for nothing in this European war.

At a crucial moment, the young Napoleon IV displayed the decisiveness expected of a monarch: "Start talks with the British immediately. No matter the cost, we must win this war."

One had to admit, Napoleon IV was quite rational at this moment. All considerations of profit were predicated on winning the war. If the war was lost, then everything would be forfeited.

The essence of international politics lies in power. As long as France's power was strong enough, the profits promised now could all be retracted later, as they have not hesitated to break promises before.

...

While England and France were locked in urgent negotiations, the Far Eastern region was also restless. As the four major European powers were engulfed in the flames of war, the recently reformed Japanese Government could no longer contain its ambition.

After more than twenty years of reform and development, Japan had become a regional power in the Far Eastern region, second in comprehensive national power in East Asia.

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Certainly, this ranking is meaningless. Almost all of Asia has been carved up, with only a few independent countries left in the East Asian region.

The olive branch extended by the French still impacted this nascent nation, whether to head south to seize Southeast Asia, or to head north to strategize the conquest of Korea, became a hot topic in Japan.

As the leader of this militaristic country, Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi had not had an easy time recently. Calls for war from the people were growing louder, and the situation was on the verge of spiraling out of control.

Yet at this time, there was a split in the opinions of the Japanese government's upper echelons. Some advocated for the northern advance to take Korea, while others advocated for seizing the opportunity to move south to conquer Southeast Asia.

Those advocating for the conquest of Southeast Asia even proposed three plans, targeting the French Indochina Peninsula, the Spanish Philippines, and the Austrian Nanyang and German Malay Peninsula.

There's nothing surprising about this. Although it was only the French who invited Japan to attack the Austrian Nanyang, there was a big wave of Austria supporters in the Japanese government who were not optimistic about France's chances of winning the war.

Regardless of how high the bellicose sentiment among the people was, the Japanese elite had not lost their heads; they were well aware that their limited resources only allowed them to go with the flow and they had no ability to change the outcome of the war in Europe.

In such times, the fleet was crucial. If one ended up allying with the losers, then there would be no question that they would be held to account after the war; the vast oceans would not shield them from the spearheads of the great powers.

One could look at the naval strength of each country in Asia for specifics. The British Far Eastern Fleet was naturally the leader, followed by the fleets that France and Austria deployed in Asia, which were quite equivalent in strength. Along with a few ships from the German Federation, the Anti-French Alliance still had a slight advantage.

After the three great powers came the Far Eastern Empire and Japan, then Spain, the Netherlands, with Portugal bringing up the rear.

A single division of their fleets surpassed the entire assets of the Japanese Navy. When calculating naval strength, the gap between them was even more pronounced, measured in tenfold increments.

This was determined by comprehensive national power and not something Japan could catch up to in a short time. Faced with the Pre-Dreadnoughts, their purchased ironclad ships had no chance but to suffer defeat.

Against such a backdrop, it was only natural for opportunistic politicians to have differing opinions. Even Ito Hirobumi himself wanted to take a gamble, but ultimately, reason prevailed.

On the surface, Japan's government could tilt the balance of power in Asia in favor of either France or the Anti-French Alliance at this moment, and it would seem that France and Austria should be racing to win Japan over.

In theory, as long as the Japanese government maintained a balance, they could profit from both France and Austria and then bet on the winner at the last moment.

Regrettably, while the French extended an olive branch, Austria remained indifferent to them. Even when some Japanese officials took the initiative to clarify the issues, they did not receive the desired response.

Such a disregard not only embarrassed the Japanese government but also made them realize Austria's assertiveness.

Human psychology is complex; sometimes the more one is ignored, the more one tends to think far ahead.

Many saw the terms offered by the French as tempting, but France was isolated in its struggle in Europe, whereas Austria had gathered a group of allies.

With the multitude capable of overwhelming the giant, the Napoleonic Era failed to achieve the feat of sweeping across Europe; could the current French Empire accomplish it? There was no certainty.

Unable to determine who would ultimately emerge victorious between France and Austria, the southward faction threw out a strategic plan to seize the Philippines.

A glance at the map of Asia would show that Japan could not bypass the Philippines if it wished to move southward; otherwise, their retreat could be cut off at any time. It could be said that if the southern strategy were initiated, Japan and Spain would be destined for conflict.

Most crucially, compared to the two titans of France and Austria, the declining Spain was undoubtedly a softer target.

Of course, even this softer target was still a bit too strong for the Japanese Empire at the time. To wrest the Philippines from the Spaniards' hands entailed a substantial risk.

However, compared to the risk of participating in the Franco-Austrian war, bullying the Spaniards was a much safer option; even in the event of failure, Spain did not have the power to pursue retribution.

Before the outbreak of the European war, with the conflicts among the great powers not yet intensified, the Japanese government would never dare to entertain such thoughts.

After all, in those days, the fear of the West prevailed; facing European nations, everyone lacked confidence. Seeing the envoys of various countries often act together in public, many even believed that the European nations were in league.

In the Imperial Palace, Emperor Meiji, looking somewhat weary, asked, "Ito-kun, these are the strategic plans reported from below, what do you think?"

It was evident that Emperor Meiji, too, had been affected by external influences and was in a quandary over strategic decisions. A step forward could mean the difference between heaven and hell, and it was not something that Emperor Meiji could take lightly.

Emperor Meiji had ascended to the throne with the support of the military, and the military's influence in the Meiji Government was significant. To limit the power of the military, upon assuming power, Emperor Meiji instinctively chose to rely on the Cultural-Initiates Faction, led by Ito Hirobumi.

Especially at such a time involving national destiny, Emperor Meiji was even more reluctant to let the military, known for their single-mindedness, make decisions.