Chapter 1377: Transportation Route
After listening to some of their explanations, I understood many things. For example, the Hessen family, through marriage ties with Tsarist Russia, had a very close relationship and gained significant influence within the Holy Roman Empire, even becoming an Elector.
Although the overall strength of the Duchy of Hesse was far less than that of Prussia or Austria, comparable to Bohemia or Bavaria, their kinship with the Tsar meant that even the Holy Roman Emperor had to take the Hessian Grand Duke’s opinions seriously.
Therefore, to maintain this relationship with in-laws, Hessen would generally agree to whatever demands they made, as long as they weren’t excessively unreasonable.
Simultaneously, Tsarist Russia’s authority directly impacted the Duchy of Hesse’s influence. If Tsarist Russia was strong, Hesse would have greater leverage; conversely, if Tsarist Russia faltered, the Duchy would be unable to maintain such a high status.
The strategy of besieging the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was largely orchestrated by the Duchy of Hesse. They had signed an offensive and defensive alliance with Tsarist Russia, intending to jointly attack the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and divide its eastern and western territories along the Vistula River.
However, the war was an utter failure. They were soundly defeated on both fronts, losing a large swathe of territory. Tsarist Russia lost Latvia and the regions west of the Dnieper River, and several counties in the eastern Holy Roman Empire were occupied.
The counts who lost territory questioned the Hessian Grand Duke in the Empire’s supreme council. The Grand Duke was speechless and dared not retort. He could never have imagined that a two-on-one attack would result in defeat; ultimately, the two largest kingdoms, Austria and Prussia, had not committed their full efforts.
During that period, the Duchy of Hesse suffered immense humiliation, and its authority was severely undermined. It was only after Tsarist Russia’s victory in the Russo-Turkish War and their stalemate with Great Britain in the Crimean region that the Duchy of Hesse, which supported aid to Russia, regained some semblance of dignity.
Therefore, when Tsarist Russia once again proposed to procure large quantities of strategic resources, most of the courtiers agreed. Many of these courtiers were collateral relatives of the Hessen family, and their status was closely tied to the Hessen family’s standing.
“There is still one problem. Grain is manageable, but we are also short on coal. This winter is too cold, and the commoners are consuming more coal than in previous years. Several regions have already reported coal shortages and requested support from their Lords. We cannot procure enough coal,” the Minister of Resources stated.
“Indeed, there is not enough coal in the treasury, and we must also reserve some as strategic stockpiles in case of unforeseen circumstances,” the Treasury Department added.
Coal was the most crucial strategic resource. Factories required it for operation, Steam Tanks and Steam mecha needed it for warfare, and commoners needed it for heating. Without coal reserves in the treasury, production, military operations, and people’s livelihood could all face shortages in the event of an emergency, which was extremely dangerous.
“We can purchase it from other kingdoms and duchies. The Netherlands should be able to import coal from overseas, even at a higher price,” the Minister of Trade suggested.
If the previous discussion was about a mutually beneficial transaction, this now felt like a desperate attempt to appear generous. Even if they had to spend money to procure coal, they wished to maintain a good relationship with Tsarist Russia.
Their expressions grew somber. This felt like excessive flattery towards Tsarist Russia. They were not Tsarist Russia’s proxies or colonies within the Holy Roman Empire; why should they grovel so much?
“Let’s proceed with the final vote. Those in favor of this transaction, please raise your hands,” the Chancellor said. Most of those present raised their hands; ultimately, only a minority opposed the transaction with Tsarist Russia.
However, the Princess did not raise her hand. It seemed that besides inquiring about the situation earlier, the Princess had not expressed any further opinions. They had not sought her counsel.
“Eldest Miss does not support this transaction? Do you have any objections?” the Chancellor asked. After all, the Princess was the formal regent, and her opinion was of paramount importance.
“No, I just haven’t fully grasped the entire situation, so I’m unsure whether we should proceed,” the Princess shook her head. She felt completely clueless about these matters. She could barely understand their words, and the Saintess within her offered no guidance.
“If Eldest Miss has any unclear points, you may ask me, and we will explain them to you in detail,” the Minister of the Interior offered.
“Alright. I see the demands of the Tsarist Russian envoy here. After the transaction is concluded, they wish for us to transport the resources to their homeland as soon as possible. How shall we transport them?” the Princess asked while looking through the procurement terms.
Everyone was stunned. They had been so engrossed in contemplating the impact of this transaction on the relationship between the two countries that they hadn’t considered the practical aspects of its execution.
The Princess, having not understood the nuances of interstate relations, had raised a point that had been overlooked by everyone else.
“Generally speaking, there are three routes for us to transport bulk cargo into Russian territory,” the Minister of Trade said, pointing on a map.
“One is to go north, handed over to the Hanseatic League, taking the Baltic Sea route to Estonia. However, it’s easy to be plundered by Viking pirates along the way. It’s winter now, and the pirates of the North Sea Empire are fond of winter raids, making the Baltic Sea very dangerous.”
“The second route is eastward, using train transportation, directly to Saint Petersburg via the Trans-Eurasian Railway from Berlin. However, due to our previous war with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, this railway has been cut off.”
“The third route is southeastward, passing through the Byzantine Empire and transported via the Black Sea to Crimea. This route is the safest. Although there are Ottoman pirates who may plunder, the journey is short, and there is the support of the Byzantine and Tsarist Russian Black Sea fleets. The drawback is that the Byzantine Empire will levy a tax.”
“Finally, there is the airship transport route. However, it seems several countries along the way have imposed blockades on Tsarist Russia, and there are no safe flight paths. Therefore, I suggest using the third Black Sea route.”
Transporting via the Byzantine Empire and then across the Black Sea was the most expensive but safest route. However, adding further costs would mean that the Duchy of Hesse would earn almost no profit from this transaction.
Listening to this truly opened my eyes. They had trains here, and railways that could reach Saint Petersburg directly, as well as airship transport. No wonder people in Iberia said that the industrialization of the Holy Roman Empire was among the world’s leading.
However, Tsarist Russia’s diplomatic skills seemed utterly incompetence. Why did it seem like their relations with neighboring countries were not very good? Only the Byzantine Empire was an ally, and there were so many pirates! Every route was fraught with danger.
The Princess seemed to be seeking my opinion, but I remained silent. This was their internal and foreign policy. I could offer a few words on matters of people’s livelihood and governing territories, but interfering in another country’s foreign affairs was not something I should do.
“Then I have no objections. We shall proceed as you have suggested,” the Princess nodded.
“Very well, if everyone has no further objections, we will proceed with negotiations with the Russians based on this agreed-upon fundamental policy,” the Chancellor declared.
