Chapter 412: Chapter 99: Radical Faction ≠ Suicidal Faction
Colonial localization is a long-term national policy that might last for a hundred years. The Vienna Government cannot directly incorporate the Austro-African colonies into the homeland; that would spell disaster.

Factors such as governance costs, long-term stability, culture, strategic layout, and others all require consideration.

In terms of cost, the local economy must first develop to a certain level, at least to the point where it no longer needs financial support from the central government.

After all, post-localization administrative costs would increase, and social welfare expenditures, such as healthcare, education, transportation…

All these require money. If the central government collects enough taxes from the local area, then everything is not a problem. “From the people, for the people” is one of the functions of a government.

On the contrary, if the local economy does not develop and the central government does not collect taxes, then allocating funds for these constructions becomes an issue.

Once the economic conditions are met, the next step is to look at the population composition. To ensure long-term stability, the number of people with Holy Roman Empire citizenship must not be less than eighty percent of the total population.

This restriction is not a problem for the Austro-African colonies. The majority there are local immigrants, followed by immigrants from the Northern Germany region, and the number of immigrants from other parts of Europe is not significant.

For these people, obtaining citizenship is easy, as doors are opened for them. As long as they have no criminal records and sufficient moral and ideological levels, it is not a problem.

Once the population structure is satisfactory, the next consideration is the number. The requirement is not high; the population density must not be less than 10 people per square kilometer.

Population numbers are not a mandatory requirement and can be compensated for with other conditions. The main purpose is to limit the administrative area after localization.

Otherwise, if millions of square kilometers of colonies are localized at once, and those areas develop in the future, it will result in the regions becoming too large.

With this threshold, there’s no need to worry. The entire Austro-African population does not exceed six million, so even if the nobility and bureaucrats want to expand their jurisdiction, it is not possible.

Incorporating the colonies into the homeland in a fragmented way is the best choice. This fragmentation is relative; units based on tens or hundreds of thousands of square kilometers as provinces are already large enough.

The cultural requirement is not about education but merely demands the use of the German language.

In most Austro-African colonies, there are no problems. The use of German is a baseline national policy; without German language skills, one cannot even obtain local residency and is not considered a citizen.

Even for the sake of localization, the local nobility would get rid of them. Don’t talk about cheap labor; are these people short of money?

If they want to make money, the best way is through perpetual colonial rule. It is only under colonial rule that they can act without restraint; once localized, they must consider what the law allows.

The localization of colonies is mainly because the old nobility want to advance further, the emerging nobility want to establish their family bases, the capitalists see this as their shortcut into the noble circles, and the colonial bureaucrats wish to…

This is where the interests of the ruling class converge. These restrictions all need to be scored in the end. The higher the total score, the higher the chance of obtaining approval from the Imperial Parliament for localization.

The prerequisites mentioned earlier are a must, while natural conditions, resources, and strategic positioning act as bonus points. If the initial score is not enough, they can be compensated with these additional points.

This is a practical need; otherwise, desert nations like Libya will never even dream of localization, as they will not meet the population requirement.

This is only the beginning, and fulfilling the conditions only means the matter can enter parliamentary discussion. Whether it will pass is still a consideration.

After all, no one has experience, and it is unclear how many loopholes there might be. Franz decided to keep the last ring open, ready to patch things up at any time, and not let anyone exploit the system.

Many things can be falsified, such as population and economy. With sufficient financial input, it is entirely possible to create a false prosperity in a region.

There is no doubt that the tycoons can do it. For political gains, what does a little investment count for?

If throwing in a large sum of money could turn tens of thousands of square kilometers of fertile land into one’s family fiefdom and join the empire as noble land, thus becoming a top noble overnight, it’s estimated that few magnates would refuse.

Clearly, such actions that break the game’s rules are not permitted by Franz.

What a joke, can kingship be so recklessly conferred? Tens or hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of fiefdoms, what’s the difference from being a king?

So enclosing so much land is fine, as long as you have the money to develop it; Franz does not mind agricultural corporate behemoths. To turn these lands into fiefdoms, where would one find such great merit?

Unless a world war suddenly breaks out, and one becomes a peerless hero, slaying gods and Buddhas alike, earning unmatched merit; or one is reborn directly into a major noble family, achieving their goals with the family’s power.

Otherwise, it’s better to fight your way up step by step! Meteoric rises are not good for anyone, and “unmerited positions” always end in tragedy.

This “virtue” is not just about a lack of “morality”, nor just about competence but also encompasses matching perspectives, life views, social views.

Additionally, it involves social interpersonal relationships. In an era where “the tree that stands out in the forest is the first to be brought down by the wind,” without sufficient risk resistance, it’s better not to stick out too much.

Chaotic times produce heroes. It’s not that chaotic times are the sole period for heroes, but that only chaotic times can accommodate these “heroes.”

Colonial localization did not shock the world as Franz had imagined; many countries were skeptical about this policy.

In many people’s eyes, the purpose of establishing colonies is to make money. Once they are localized, the relentless plundering of wealth is stopped, which seems like a loss.

This represents a difference in business philosophy. When Austria opened up overseas colonies, they started with agriculture, pursuing a sustainable development path; other colonial empires merely sought to plunder wealth in their overseas colonies.

The French are an exception; Napoleon III also intended to localize Africa, though he took smaller steps.

The methods of Franz are simply unlearnable by the French. Without sufficient population or a compulsory education system for assimilation, they are limited in their speed of assimilation.

This was apparent when the French government, after migrating from the Balkan Peninsula, found that these immigrants retained their original cultural traditions upon entering the French African colonies.

Due to a lack of sufficient language teachers and a supporting system, the spread of French has always been slow. With too few local immigrants, the difficulty of assimilation increased significantly.

This is an unsolvable problem. It’s easy for a hundred thousand to assimilate ten thousand; but for ten thousand to assimilate a hundred thousand, in the end, it’s a question of who really assimilates whom, and that’s a matter for caution.

…

In Berlin, since France and Austria compromised over the Italian issue, Wilhelm I became increasingly alarmed. He did not believe it was as simple as just a trade of surface interests.

France and Austria have always been rivals, clashing over the Italian Area for centuries—how could they give it up so easily?

To persuade the Vienna Government to relinquish the Italian Area, there must be a greater interest at stake. Undoubtedly, this interest could only be the yet-to-be-unified Northern Germany.

With the simple information in hand, Wilhelm I almost deduced the truth of the matter. This was not surprising, given that the Kingdom of Prussia had become the enemy of both France and Austria.

Of course, that was merely how the Prussian Government saw themselves. In reality, they did not qualify as a mortal enemy in the eyes of Paris and Vienna.

Understanding the enemy is an instinct, and the Berlin Government had never ceased to monitor the movements of France and Austria.

When the news of the Imperial Parliament passing the “colonization localization” reached him, Wilhelm I immediately concluded that “Austria’s national policy has changed.”

This conclusion contradicted the previous one; unification of the Germany Region and colonization localization were not aligned strategies, and pursuing both simultaneously was nearly impossible.

Wilhelm I eagerly asked, “What do you think the Vienna Government wants to do?”

Under the premise of a Franco-Austrian compromise, if Austria were to unify Northern Germany, the Kingdom of Prussia would be in trouble.

Uniquely among the Sub-States, the Kingdom of Prussia was a bit too strong. Although there was a large gap with Austria, preventing any threat to Austrian dominance, their prior actions had already aroused dissatisfaction from the Vienna Government.

This meant that the Kingdom of Prussia would face severe suppression. The Junker nobles’ reluctance to merge with Austria was partly due to this factor.

Prime Minister Frank said expressionlessly, “It doesn’t matter what the Vienna Government wants to do. What matters is what we want to do.”

It seemed like an opportunity now, but it could also be a trap.

If Austria decided to unify Northern Germany under a Franco-Austrian compromise, Prussia would be in a bad spot.

Minister Frank was at a loss of words at the end of his sentence.

He felt it was highly probable that this was a trap. With the Russo-Prussian war still ongoing, if Austria were to stab them in the back, it would spell their doom.

Who could guarantee that Austria, after commencing the Africa Strategy, would abandon the unification of the Germany Region?

If they guessed wrong, they would have delivered a pretext for war right to their doorstep. By the way, they would have helped the Vienna Government rid itself of the “Comedic Empire” problem.

Chief of General Staff Maoqi said with a sneer, “The change in Austria’s national policy is not incorrect. However, they have not announced the abandonment of the unification of Germany.

They haven’t taken action mainly because they are concerned about international influence and fear provoking interventions from other nations.

The situation is now different. We are still at war with the Russians, and they could concede Prussian Poland to the Tsarist Government, gaining quasi-approval from the Russians.

The French might have been bribed, or perhaps the bribery is still ongoing. The Austrians just need an excuse to act against us.”

The atmosphere suddenly grew chilly. Annexing the “Comedic Empire” was part of the Kingdom of Prussia’s long-term plan. They had not acted on it due to opposition from major European powers.

Now, with a chance to smooth things over with England and France, it was of no use, for Russia and Austria would never agree.

The Russians could still be dealt with. As long as the Russo-Prussian war ended, the position of the Tsarist Government might change, and Alexander II would not mind betraying an ally.

The ultimate obstacle remained Austria; the Vienna Government would not yield on this issue.

Attempting to use Austria’s organization of the French-Balkan Peninsula and the timing of the push for colonization localization to take action seemed wishful thinking to Maoqi.

He belonged to the Radical faction, but he was not suicidal. With the Russo-Prussian war still underway, splitting the “Comedic Empire” now would be creating an opportunity for Austria, wouldn’t it?

Although this action could potentially trigger a European war and cause Austria’s defeat and decline, Prussia would surely sink before them.

Besides, the “Comedic Empire” was not to be trifled with; in terms of overall strength, they ranked seventh in Europe, just after England, France, Austria, the West, Russia, and Prussia.

While their power did not match Prussia at its peak, they were not the least bit intimidated by Prussia embroiled in the Russo-Prussian war.

Diplomatic means? Sorry, that’s not within the purview of a military man, and Prussia is no diplomatic powerhouse.

Army and Navy Minister Loen tried to ease the tension, “These issues are better discussed after the war.

Our most pressing matter is to send the Revolutionaries back to the Russian Empire.”

This was not due to their lack of awareness; it was the British who had just sent the Revolutionaries over. Otherwise, with Prussia’s limited influence, few Russian revolutionary groups would have cared about them.

In this Russo-Prussian war, while Prussia and Russia were locked in a struggle on the battlefield, it was Britain and Russia who fought diplomatically. If not for John Bull’s substantial support, they would not have had the chance to hold this meeting.

Foreign Minister McKate concurred, “Exactly, the urgent task is to end this war as soon as possible. The European situation is changing too fast. With France and Austria drawing closer and the London Government’s foreign policy evolving,

the unification of the Nordic three countries imminent, if we delay too long, the British might give up on supporting us.”

This was not groundless speculation; the British had a notorious history of betraying allies. After the unification of the Nordic three countries, the British would have another pawn, reducing Prussia from being their only option.

Wilhelm I sighed deeply inside. Even if Austria’s national policy really had changed, Prussia lacked the strength to act.

It wasn’t that the British support was insufficient, but the gap in overall national strength could not be bridged by mere support.

The European Continent was too small, and there were slightly too many powerful nations. They left no resources for Prussia to rise, nor space to grow and strengthen.

Wilhelm I made his decision, “Let’s proceed with that. Once we’ve returned the Revolutionaries to Russia, it will be time for our decisive battle with the Russians.

With consecutive defeats, we should be able to lay the foundation for their uprising. Once the flames of war are lit in Russia, we will negotiate with the Tsarist Government.”

Defeating the Russians was easy, but conquering the Russian Empire was hard. This war had awoken the Prussian Government to the reality of the disparity in national power.