Holy Roman Empire

Seeing the end of the "Guano War," the afflicted Colombian Government no longer wished to continue the fight.

While the British were kings at sea, once on land, they instantly dropped to bronze level. Under the command of British instructors, the Colombian Government forces were being defeated at every turn.

Counting the troops killed by "mistaken" identity, the war had claimed the lives of more than 43,000 Colombians by now.

It was clear to everyone that the Panama Independence Organization was merely a pawn pushed to the forefront; without settling matters with Austria behind the scenes, victory was impossible.

Without a doubt, this was unachievable. With Colombia’s limited strength, persisting in a stubborn fight would do nothing but increase casualties.

On April 7, 1883, the Colombian Government issued a call for peace to the outside world and invited the four great powers of England, France, and Spain, and Austria to mediate this "civil war."

Austria was also one of the mediators: such were the rules of the game.

Officially, Austria had not participated in this war. As the most powerful country along the Caribbean coast, Austria qualified to be a mediator.

If the United States had not split, they would have been among the mediators. Now, with the secession done, the Americans had yet to enter the club of great powers.

...

With the mediation invitation from Colombia at hand, whether to cease fire or not became a new topic of dispute for the Vienna Government.

Colonial Minister Stephen: "The situation in Colombia is highly favorable to us, as the Panama Independence Organization has been gaining upper hand on the battlefield.

The Rebel Army has taken all of Colombia’s coastal cities, controlling a quarter of the national territory, half of the population, and nearly 60% of the economy, less than 100 kilometers from the capital Bogota.

Taking over Colombia is just a matter of time; it would be a pity to give up now."

Foreign Minister Weisenberg countered, "It’s not that simple. If we were to occupy the Republic of Colombia, we would become the common enemy of South America.

That region isn’t our strategic core; there’s no need to get deeply involved. Since we’ve already secured the Panama area, it’s best to quit while we’re ahead."

Colonial Minister Stephen disagreed: "What is there to fear?

The South American countries are limited in strength and full of contradictions among themselves; they simply cannot unite over the issue of Colombia.

At most, we may face temporary isolation, but the South American nations won’t sincerely stick their necks out for Colombia. We just need to divide and conquer."

This was a fact. United South America could make Austria cautious, but a disunited South America could hardly bother Austria—it would be a blessing from God.

Even as the saying goes, ’the death of one is the mourning of another,’ no fox dares to provoke the tiger’s brow. Without their own interests involved, many choose to turn a deaf ear.

Weisenberg shook his head: "If it weren’t for the British, indeed we could do so.

Unfortunately, South America is the economic colony of the British, and the London Government won’t sit by and watch us expand there.

South American countries led by someone are not so easy to deal with as a scattering of sand.

Even if we could hold onto Colombia militarily, we would suffer severe losses politically and economically.

Greed is a sin. We are at a crucial moment in our global strategy; any rash action could have disastrous consequences."

Annexing Colombia was never in Franz’s plans from the beginning.

From the very banner that emerged, it’s clear that the "Panama Independence Organization" was specifically aimed at the Panama area.

It was just that plans could not keep up with the changes. It was uncertain whether the nobility was too powerful at war, or if the Colombian Government was too incompetent, but they had somehow ended up in the current situation.

Franz interjected, "Let’s start with negotiations. If the Colombian Government is willing to concede, then end this war as soon as possible.

The Near East is pressing at the moment. As long as we have the Panama area, a little more or a little less interest in other regions doesn’t matter."

The decision was driven by interests. The age of colonial expansion was over, and Austria’s strategic focus had returned to the World Island.

In Franz’s view, without Panama, Colombia was but a useless piece of rib.

Don’t talk about the future. States, like individuals, must live in the present.

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The prerequisite for chasing the future is to have a future to chase; if one falls halfway, then it’s all for naught.

One can look to Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty for reference, who sought "Achievements for the present, benefits for eternity" but ended up reaping the destruction of his country and family, along with the eternal infamy of a "tyrant."

The lessons learned from our predecessors must not be ignored. Great ambition for glory can lead to the downfall of a nation.

...

With the initiation of negotiations for the Colombian civil war, the international situation gradually began to relax.

Experience tales at empire

The British wanted to ease relations with other countries and temporarily gave up causing trouble; the French lacked the power, as Napoleon IV was still dealing with domestic rebels; both Russia and Austria were too busy pounding the Ottomans to be bothered with anything else.

Were it not for the ongoing war in the Near East, the world could almost declare peace.

...

Baghdad, this ancient city, once again faced the scourge of war. The sounds of artillery fire roared as countless shells rained down upon the city without any sign of dragging their feet.

At the Allied Command Middle East War Zone, General Mörck fretted over how to capture Baghdad with minimal losses.

There was no choice; ever since rejecting the enemy’s conditional surrender, the resistance had only grown fiercer.

Breaking through the city’s defenses was easy; Austria’s artillery could effortlessly complete the task. The trouble lay in the subsequent street fighting, which could easily lead to heavy losses if not handled with care.

The most effective traditional siege tactics involved cutting off water and food supplies.

Baghdad was a mere thirty kilometers from the Euphrates River; the city’s population was not as immense as in later times, and the need for water could be mostly satisfied by groundwater.

A prolonged siege might have been a good choice, but with the country worried about long-drawn-out issues, orders had been given to end the war quickly.

An eager young officer suggested, "Your Excellency, Commander, why don’t we poison the city?"

"Poison" here clearly didn’t refer to ordinary toxins; the chemical industry at the time was limited and couldn’t mass-produce highly lethal poisons.

The tactic of using poison in a siege usually meant spreading plague. This type of poison was easy to produce; the corpses of the dead were the best materials.

However, the aftermath was severe, harming both enemies and allies. Due to the war, the Middle East War Zone had already seen two small-scale outbreaks of plague.

The Ottomans had managed to hold on until now, and in actuality, the plague had played a role in their resistance.

After a moment of contemplation, General Mörck shook his head: "No, the aftermath is too severe. If it gets out of control, the consequences are unimaginable."

The young officer protested, "No, the consequences are within our control.

According to the government’s ’Land Fallow Law,’ keeping the entire area around Baghdad fallow for twenty years wouldn’t be excessive.

Even if the situation spirals out of control, at worst, after the war..."

Before he could finish, General Mörck interrupted, "Sammons, you’re obsessed.

Remember, soldiers must have boundaries; we absolutely cannot resort to such extreme measures unless it is a last resort. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Our personal reputations are trivial, but Austria is a civilized nation; we cannot risk the country’s reputation on such a gamble."

After a pause, as if he had thought of something, General Mörck ordered, "Instruct the troops to lift the siege; let airships drop leaflets over the city.

Tell the defending forces that I guarantee with my family’s honor: they may leave and take their weapons and personal belongings with them, but they only have three days.

Those who leave now can go wherever they wish; we will not stand in their way."

Sammons’ words inadvertently reminded Mörck that this was Baghdad, and the majority of the defending forces were Iraqis.

As a nation also oppressed within the Ottoman Empire, they would not accompany the Ottomans to their doom at such a critical moment of life and death.

The fact that the defending forces had sent envoys to negotiate was telling enough. It was only because of the Allied Command’s orders that General Mörck had overlooked this point.

Unable to negotiate with these people didn’t mean they couldn’t be allowed to leave. A small adjustment on the battlefield was still possible.

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