Holy Roman Empire

The next day, Franz received mixed news. Prime Minister Felix had awakened the previous night, but the cause of his coma had yet to be found.

There was no choice, medical care in the 19th century was only so advanced. Without the aid of instruments for diagnostic testing, doctors could only make judgments based on past experience.

If it had been an ordinary person, with only one doctor in attendance, there would have been fewer worries; one could simply rely on God's blessing.

If the guess was right, the appropriate medicine would be given; if wrong, one could only pray for better luck.

But it was different for Prime Minister Felix; after he fell ill, all of Austria's top doctors came.

Consequently, they reached different conclusions. When professionals could not agree, it only confused everyone else even more.

In such a situation, Franz was powerless. As someone with little medical knowledge, his only option was to wait.

Before Prime Minister Felix's condition was diagnosed, international trouble arose.

Influenced by the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the British Government began to accelerate its invasion of Persia.

On February 16, 1885, under the threat of British military force, they obtained the telegraph rights from British-India passing through Kerman, Persia, Tehran, to Bushehr.

Forcing the installation of telegraph lines in Persia was one thing; the key was that the Persian Government had to foot the bill for these construction costs.

The Persian Empire, which had become a semi-colony, was naturally impoverished and had to take out loans from the British to pay for the expensive telegraph construction.

Foreign Minister Weisenberg handed Franz a document, saying, "Your Majesty, the British are too ugly in their greed.

The Foreign Ministry just received news; three days ago, the British secretly signed a loan-for-rental agreement with the Persian Government.

This agreement could be described as all-encompassing, involving tariffs, minerals, railways, factories, water conservancy projects, and many other areas.

Once the content of the agreement becomes reality, Persia will turn into a personal estate for the British, and we will basically lose all our commercial markets in the Persian region."

After taking the document, Franz started flipping through it immediately, his brows furrowing tighter the more he read.

The butterfly effect was still unable to change the history of Persia becoming a British colony.

Agreements regarding minerals, resources, and factories had little impact on Austria, which could be set aside for now. According to the treaty: the British obtained 25 years of Persian tariff rights with just 20,000 British Pounds.

No wonder Minister Weisenberg said the British were excessive; it was not just excessive, it was clear they wanted a monopoly.

In the last Anglo-Persian War, because of Russia's intervention, the British failed to achieve their strategic expectations. Discover hidden content at empire

Persia had a more relaxed international environment than in the same historical period, and after the war, England, Russia and Austria all extended their influence into the Persian region, forming a new balance.

Since the Vienna Government had not prepared to expand into the Persian region and had invested little there, the main commercial interests were limited; the primary disputes were between Britain and Russia.

Because of the Prusso-Russian War, the Russians were busy licking their wounds and had reduced their resource investment in the Persian region, whereas the British took advantage of the void to increase their presence.

This all-encompassing rental agreement was the product that emerged after the balance had been disrupted.

After finishing reading, Franz took a deep breath, "The British want to extend the railway to the Caspian Sea; surely the Russians won't just watch, right?"

The British gained control over Persian railways, and the extension of the railway to the Caspian Sea also meant that the British influence had penetrated the Caspian Sea, which severely affected Russian interests.

Minister Weisenberg replied, "Of course! However, right now the Tsarist Government is most upset not about the railway.

The Russians controlled nearly a third of Persian tobacco trade, and the British have also secured Persian tobacco monopoly rights for just 15,000 British Pounds, which will directly reduce the Tsarist Government's fiscal revenue.

Besides that, there's also the tariff issue. Persia is one of the few countries that import Russian industrial and commercial products, and with the British holding the tariffs rights, they can practically declare Russian industrial and commercial products ousted from the Persian market."

Leaving aside tobacco, Franz very nearly forgot. The tobacco industry's immense profits had already become evident by this time.

Persia was a major producer of tobacco leaves, which were its largest export commodity before the discovery of oil.

During his reform, Alexander II, taking a cue from Austria, introduced tobacco and alcohol monopolies, and the Tsarist Government imported a large amount of tobacco leaves from Persia each year.

After processing, a portion was kept for domestic sales, while the rest was sold back to the Persian Empire.

The Tsarist Government earned significant revenues from this, accounting for 1–2 percent of the government's fiscal income."

In comparison, the export of industrial and commercial products isn't much to speak of. After all, Russian industrial products are just as they are, with their only advantage being durability, and lacking in all other respects.

Even if such products could be sold, the sales volume wouldn't be high. But having some exports is better than none, and for the Russians, the meaning of export is different.

It's often said that "cutting off one's means of livelihood is akin to killing one's parents." Franz could already imagine the reaction of the Tsarist Government upon learning of the British's monopolistic practices.

After pondering for a moment, Franz asked doubtfully, "Do you know the reason the British are doing this?"

The more he thought about it, the more puzzling he found the British's actions. A monopoly is undoubtedly good, but one must also consider the consequences.

Russia and Austria are not soft persimmons; if pushed too far, they could entirely upset the table, leaving no one better off.

The British Government surely knows this, yet they still went ahead. It couldn't possibly be that they're intentionally creating conflicts, luring Russia and Austria into attacking Persia, could it?

Foreign Minister Weisenberg explained, "It's likely related to the conflict in Central Asia. The British Government protested to the Russians several times without success and took retaliatory measures.

As for us being involved, it's mostly because the British Government thinks we are inciting the Russians to stir up the conflict in Central Asia, and they want to teach us a lesson."

Upon hearing this answer, Franz was speechless.

Where is the trust between people?

A pure disaster, even if he wanted to encourage the Russians to cause trouble in Central Asia, he wouldn't choose to act now!

The Russians are belligerent, but they're not fools. They're at a critical moment of recovery; how could they possibly start a war at this time?

An explanation is but a cover-up; even if Franz knew he was being framed, he was powerless to refute it.

In international politics, evidence is not needed; as long as it is believed to be so, targeted actions can be taken.

"How is the foreign ministry planning to respond?" Franz asked.

Minister Weisenberg replied, "The secret treaty between Britain and Persia is still just a secret agreement; there's a distance before it becomes reality, and it's not worth our direct confrontation with the British yet.

The foreign ministry plans to first leak the secret treaty, encourage Persian citizens to oppose this traitorous contract, and then join forces with the Russians to put pressure on Persia to abandon the agreement."

Austria couldn't do anything to the British, and the Russians couldn't either, but that did not mean that both could do nothing to the Persian Empire.

Frankly speaking, Franz somewhat couldn't understand the reckless moves of the Persian Government. Was it "ignorance is bliss," or had the bureaucrats of the Persian Government lost their minds.

With the influence of England, Russia, and Austria already deeply involved here, any single power attempting to dominate would face joint resistance from the others.

This stable structure meant that as long as the Persian Government didn't act foolishly, maintaining sovereignty by playing off the conflicts between the powers should not be a problem.

Such a good hand, yet played so poorly. Now, they are naively signing a treasonous treaty with the British.

The power and threats of the British?

Worst comes to worst, a war breaks out, which wouldn't be the first time. With the support of Russia and Austria at the back, the nation wasn't going to perish anyway.

If lucky, they might even use this opportunity to train an elite force, allowing the Persian Empire to be reborn from the ashes.

Without a doubt, the chance for revival had been perfectly missed. From the moment the treaty was signed, the Persian Government was not far from being abandoned by all.

The public cannot tolerate such a treacherous government; even without rebellion, the prestige of the Persian Government would plummet to rock bottom amongst the people.

Due to the subsequent impact of the secret treaty, relations with Russia and Austria would also drop to freezing point.

As for the British, just the content of the treaty alone made it clear that their aim was to annex Persia; any sensible person would recognize them as the enemy.

Indeed, the decay of an empire is not without reason. Setting aside the motley array of objective factors, the incompetence of its rulers is evident: there's no limit to foolishness.

With all sorts of absurd policies stemming not from accidents but genuine ineptitude.

In his heart, Franz deeply scorned the decayed Persian Government and then made his decision: "Let's proceed with the foreign ministry's plan!"

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