Holy Roman Empire

Prime Minister Carl, "If we cannot retain them, then suppression is the only option.

Through the years of the Russian-Austrian Alliance, the Russians had already reaped too many benefits. If they are still not satisfied, there is no need to continue..."

It was just a matter of time before a conflict occurred within the Russian-Austrian Alliance because human desires are never fully satisfied, and Austria could not possibly continue to satisfy the desires of the Russians indefinitely.

Although Franz had been prepared, he had not expected it to come so soon.

Currently, it was only the French acting, and this was already troublesome; if the British also got involved later on, the situation would become even more difficult.

It was almost certain that as long as England and France were willing to spend the money, it was only a matter of time before the Russians would turn their backs, as Austria could no longer afford the price.

This was dictated by geographical location, Austria blocked the Russians' route westward, and the Vienna Government couldn't keep making concessions on this issue.

Once international conditions underwent significant changes, the massive debt between Russia and Austria was also one of the factors that could induce the two countries to turn against each other.

If they couldn't pay foreign debts, they might as well kill the creditor; such incidents had precedents on the European Continent. Franz wouldn't be surprised at all if the Russians did something like this given their moral fiber.

Foreign Minister Weisenberg shook his head and chuckled, "Things are not so bad yet. Right now, there are three main reasons preventing the Russians from turning against us:

First, England and France haven't yet given sufficient attention or offered a high enough price to bribe the Russians, and the incentives for betrayal aren't strong enough;

Second, since the anti-France wars, a friendship spanning three generations and involving six monarchs has persisted, with the Pro-Austrian Faction having the advantage from the public to the government;

Third, the economic and trade exchanges between the two countries, which, if turned adversarial, would deal a devastating blow to the fledgling Russian national industry.

Without resolving these three issues, at most they could only ease the relationship, and the Russian-Austrian Alliance could still continue.

From the current situation, the French only intend to drive a wedge in the Russian-Austrian Alliance and are not yet at the point of pulling the Russians into war with us.

Even if England and France took joint action, the Russians would not turn against us anytime soon. I can responsibly say that the Russians do not want to face us on the battlefield."

This explanation made many people breathe a sigh of relief, as resolving these three big issues at the same time was almost impossible.

Especially the last two points, which had been affirmed through the friendship of the Russian-Austrian relationship over three generations and six monarchs.

Politicians can change their stances at any time, but for the public to change their stance is not something that can be done in a day or two.

The "Pro-Austrian Faction" is not merely conjured up but rather is bound by tangible interests.

If Russia and Austria turn against each other, this group will become the biggest victim. Conversely, there is also a Pro-Russian Faction within Austria, who are the beneficiaries of the friendly Russian-Austrian relations.
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When it comes to interests, relying on mere words will definitely not persuade people. If the Tsarist Government wants to turn around, it must first suppress the Pro-Austrian Faction within its borders.

The industrial system issue is more troublesome; even with the help of England and France, it cannot be rectified in just a few years.

If Austria suddenly imposes a blockade on the Russians, within half a year, most of the factories in Russia would shut down due to issues with machinery and equipment.

Of course, many people are not aware of this. After all, there hasn't been a precedent in this area, and no one knows that controlling a country's industry could start from the mechanical components and spare parts.

On constructing a secure defense, Franz was satisfied, having so many layers of protection was much more reliable than the German Empire of the original timeline.

From the current situation, as long as Austria does not commit unforgivable acts, England, France, and Russia simply cannot come together.

The French feel threatened by Austria and need to woo the Russians to share the burden, but the problem is that the British are now feeling the pressure from the Russians, aren't they?

As for Austria, although slightly stronger and more active, it has not yet infringed on their core interests.

In the eyes of the majority of British people, the French are Britannia's greatest enemy, the Russians rank as the second enemy, and Austria is at best fourth or fifth, behind the disliked Americans.

This ranking has no substantial value and is too entangled with national sentiments.

On the eve of World War I in the original timeline, the greatest enemy in the eyes of the British public was France, so it's not without reason that John Bull hindered its allies during the war, and set traps and laid mines for them afterward.

After weighing the pros and cons, Franz slowly said, "Since the situation is still within a controllable range for the short term, let's wait a bit longer before making a move.

The Ministry of Agriculture should prepare in advance. Once the French's large farm plan yields results, promote the new potassium fertilizers, and strike at the root of the problem directly."

Since Austria can't make money from food production, might as well ensure no one else can either.

The large-scale production of synthetic ammonia still posed technical difficulties, while extracting potash buried in the ground barely involved any.

Phosphate fertilizers had already appeared, and adding potash fertilizers into the mix, it was easy enough to increase the existing yield by several percentage points without making any promises of excessive gains.

Promoting it worldwide was not yet feasible, but within three to five years, it was very likely that most of the European continent would see an increase in grain production.

There was no doubt that an agricultural crisis was imminent and it would be unprecedentedly severe.

The intellectually open French populace had always been at the forefront of global agriculture and was very enthusiastic about promoting fertilizers.

With agriculture in France itself increasing by several percentage points, along with contributions from colonial farms, the domestic grain supply was essentially sufficient. The Paris Government could hardly suppress its own agriculture to clear the market for the Russians, could it?

An agricultural crisis was about to erupt, international grain prices were about to plunge, and with the French defaulting, Franz wondered if the Tsarist Government could withstand this double blow. He had already silently mourned for Alexander III in advance.

Having been severely outmaneuvered, the Russians would undoubtedly hold a grudge. This was Austria's opportunity.

Be it interests or strategies, all such decisions were ultimately made by people. As long as humans are involved, they are inevitably influenced by personal perceptions and cannot always act rationally.

Playing a bit of a trick had no harm, how could one know whether it would work without trying? If it succeeded, it would be a windfall; if it failed, it would be as if nothing had happened, with no fear owing to a thick skin.

...

At Franz's command, the Ministry of Agriculture became very busy. "Potash" had been discovered not just recently, but Franz had kept the news under wraps.

Currently, only agricultural experts were researching it in experimental areas, and it had not been utilized in agricultural production. Minister Hols had also only heard of its name.

After receiving the report, Hols found out about its specific composition.

The agricultural demand for potash was vast. It was not something a small amount of wood ash could fulfill. It was clear they should quickly search for mines!

Thanks to the news forbidding the burning of wheat straw before his transmigration, which caused uproar, Franz knew that wood ash was equivalent to a weakened version of potash.

Thus, the task was to have scientists research the components beneficial to agriculture in wood ash and then compare and search in nature.

Franz didn't know what potash ore looked like, let alone its specific distribution areas.

However, these were minor issues. The Austrian Government had a habit of cataloging resources. As long as any minerals were discovered, they would be registered, useful or not.

Hols, now desperate, knocked on the door of the Mining Bureau. According to the data, Austria turned out to be a country poor in potash.

"Director Rogers, can't a vast Austria find even a few large potash mines?"

"Look at this data—it hasn't been updated for seven or eight years. Can't you guys..."

One rank higher in office can heavily suppress one. Although he wasn't a direct superior, facing the incessant Minister of Agriculture, even Rogers lost his temper.

Enduring, he explained, "Your Excellency, the Minister, potash is not considered an essential resource, thus the Mining Bureau has naturally not organized manpower specifically for its detection.

These discoveries are incidental by teams on exploratory missions. The reserves listed here are only preliminary estimates and do not represent the actual reserves.

If the Ministry of Agriculture needs it, we can dispatch personnel for detailed exploration to ascertain the final reserves."

This was unavoidable, considering the vast variety of minerals in nature. Even for the same mineral, different characteristics might appear due to varying concentrations.

Common minerals are naturally identifiable by prospecting teams; misjudgment of some minor minerals is common, and even in the archives, there are thousands of mines for which the types of minerals cannot be determined, simply marked as unknown.

Of course, these thousands of unknown mines do not mean thousands of unknown minerals.

For the Mining Bureau, sometimes having too large a territory is a burden. The number of mines recorded in Austria already amounted to hundreds of thousands.

With economically valuable mines unable to be fully developed, who would care about "potash," a mineral of little value? It was only natural for the Mining Bureau to be indifferent.

Hols nodded, "Then hasten the process. Regardless, you have to find enough potash mines for me within three years.

Don't make excuses. I refuse to believe that a vast Austrian Empire lacks even a few potash mines."

...