Chapter 1135: Chapter 144: France’s Probe
When Constantine passed away, the First Balkan War was essentially over. The Ottoman Empire perfectly demonstrated the "Sick Man of Western Asia" status, completely unable to resist the onslaught of the Balkan League. The Balkan League advanced triumphantly, while the Ottoman Empire retreated step by step. In this situation, the Ottoman Empire had to once again request mediation by other countries to avoid further losses.
In May, with the support of various countries, the Ottoman Empire finally chose to abandon almost all its European territories in exchange for peace.
However, the smoke of battle on the Balkan Peninsula did not disperse with the Ottoman Empire’s retreat. Due to unequal spoils, conflicts among the countries on the Balkan Peninsula quickly erupted, leading to the outbreak of the Second Balkan War.
One of the most notable features of the Second Balkan War is the different supporters behind Bulgaria and the Anti-Bulgarian Alliance. In this round of war, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and East Africa almost coincidentally supported Bulgaria, while other great powers supported Serbia and Greece, among others.
The entire Balkan Peninsula seemed to present a rivalry of two major camps: one is the Africa-Germanic States Alliance, and the other is the Anti-Bulgarian Alliance, as if Germany, Austria-Hungary, and East Africa had joined forces.
The similar political actions of the three German states inevitably aroused suspicions, even though Austria-Hungary is a dual structure, there is no doubt that Germans still hold major influence in national politics.
If Germany, Austria-Hungary, and East Africa unite, it is definitely not something that the rest of the world wants to see.
With Constantine’s death, some changes occurred openly in the East African government, further prompting other countries to probe the attitude of the "new" government leaders of East Africa.
Before the outbreak of the Second Balkan War, the French ambassador to East Africa, Tom, once again communicated with the East African government.
Rhine Palace.
Now three months have passed since Constantine’s passing. Ernst has temporarily emerged from the gloom and began dealing with state affairs as emperor. Ernst received Ambassador Tom at the Rhine Palace.
Tom directly asked: "Your esteemed Emperor, I wonder if your country intends to communicate with Germany in this round of Balkan conflict and what your attitude is towards Bulgaria and other Balkan countries?"
Although East Africa standing by Bulgaria’s side was not surprising, given Bulgaria had always cooperated militarily with East Africa and, apart from Romania, had the best relationship with East Africa among the Balkan countries, the alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and East Africa was still nerve-wracking for France.
Therefore, Tom’s main intention was to use rhetoric to test whether East Africa and Germany had conspired and colluded secretly.
After all, as a German country, East Africa is prone to misunderstandings. It can be said that without external situation involvement, East Africa and Germany have a natural basis for cooperation, with similar cultures, deep economic cooperation, and military similarities with Germany in many ways.
So if Germany forms an alliance secretly with East Africa, it seems quite reasonable in the eyes of other world countries.
Ernst said to Tom: "In this round of the Balkan War, East Africa has no clear political intentions. Our support for Bulgaria is entirely a continuation of pre-war relations between our two countries. You should also know we have deep military cooperation with Bulgaria, so our support for Bulgaria now doesn’t need to be over-interpreted. It’s purely a coincidence."
Tom detected the subtext of Ernst’s words, indicating that East Africa’s current actions on the Balkan Peninsula aren’t related to other countries, with "other countries" clearly referring to Germany.
Of course, as a seasoned diplomat, Tom would not believe that East Africa genuinely has no contact with Germany or Austria-Hungary just because Ernst said so.
Therefore, Tom continued to probe: "The main issue is that currently, the consistency in diplomatic actions of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and East Africa at this stage is quite concerning, and such coincidences can cause misunderstandings for many countries."
The three German states supporting Bulgaria simultaneously, each having its excuses yet easily leaving France feeling extremely wary.
Ernst explained: "I believe Ambassador Tom also knows that Austria-Hungary’s support for Bulgaria is entirely out of fear of Serbian extreme nationalism, so supporting Bulgaria is a decision Austria-Hungary made to secure its national security. As for East Africa, although we have some military cooperation with Bulgaria, this doesn’t indicate that East Africa can have too much influence on the Balkan Peninsula."
"Therefore, the support of East Africa and Austria-Hungary for Bulgaria has an element of coincidence, and as a country outside the region, East Africa has never had excessive ambitions."
Using Austria-Hungary as an example is because its support for Bulgaria clearly involves geopolitical considerations. Austria-Hungary needs Bulgaria to strike against Serbia to prevent the emergence of a "Greater Serbia."
Without Serbia’s existence, Austria-Hungary would most likely not support Bulgaria. In this light, Austria-Hungary’s support for Bulgaria is speculative, and so is East Africa, thus ruling out the possibility of an alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and East Africa.
Ernst continued: "Currently, East Africa still focuses on economic development, which is evident from the East African Navy. Our navy’s total tonnage is notably lower on a global scale. Since East Africa has no intention of joining naval arms races, naturally we don’t aim to expand our influence in other regions."
This rhetoric certainly reassures because if East Africa were truly allied with Germany, it would inevitably prepare for war, and a nation preparing for war wouldn’t advance military construction as slowly as East Africa is now.
This also reassured Tom, confirming that East Africa indeed has no apparent plans to intervene in European affairs.
East Africa evidently intends to remain aloof, as even its navy’s scale doesn’t match France’s current level, making it more concerning to worry about the U.S., which is actively expanding its military capabilities.
With Tom reassured, he began discussing other matters with Ernst. Although East Africa hasn’t showcased expansionist military tendencies, it remains an undisputed major military force globally.
Hence, France cannot tolerate East Africa joining the German camp, and to ensure East Africa remains detached from the rivalry between Germany and France, it’s clear that more enticing offers are needed to draw East Africa.
After all, even if East Africa doesn’t support Germany militarily, it can still economically and commercially aid Germany, because France knows very well that, as a non-colonial great power, a significant portion of Germany’s raw materials depend on East Africa.
East Africa certainly won’t cut off trade relations with Germany, allowing Germany to acquire the inexpensive raw materials it desires from East Africa to boost its industrial and military development.
For example, many weapons in Germany’s defense industry require special minerals that East Africa must import on a large scale, such as manganese, copper, chromium, rare earth, and so on.
Meanwhile, the only thing France can do is inflate market prices, making it not too easy for Germany to purchase raw materials from East Africa.
Thus, after confirming East Africa wouldn’t partake in the conflict between Germany and France, Tom, representing the French Government, negotiated several major contracts with East Africa, particularly importing resources that might originally have been intended for German defense industries.
Even though France might not have a use for them, at least the orders could raise the costs of Germany’s military development, which is a strategy that hurts Germany slightly less than it would France.
