Iron Dynasty

“That’s excellent. We must make sure that Britain can never rise again, so that the centipede will not die and stiffen.” Following Pang Yukun, Zhan Xingchang said in a deep voice. For the current Empire, the only threat in the world was Europe, so when the Empire officially declared war on Britain, everyone in the Empire focused their attention on Britain.

Li Kaiyuan, who was in charge of the Empire’s economy, said, “Technology is one thing, but to shear the wool, we must make a killing in finance, occupy the British market, order Britain to allow the Empire to open banks in its territory, crush the British pound, and make the Imperial Dragon Coin its circulating currency. That is the real killer move.”

“These two policies are very clever, but I believe the Empire should really be manipulating the British parliament. We should put obedient people in power and keep disobedient people in opposition. By exploiting the loopholes of so-called Western democracy, the Empire can achieve great things,” Fei Ji said thoughtfully.

“Grand Secretary Fei’s move is truly brilliant.”

Xiao Ming could not help but laugh upon hearing this. Britain would probably never have thought that from now on, who becomes prime minister of their country would be decided by the Empire.

After a pause, he said, “Before Britain surrenders, you should compile these plans into a booklet, and once Britain surrenders, immediately implement these plans.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Everyone responded loudly.

…

Moscow.

Queen Victoria was walking in the garden of the Kremlin with Empress Catherine. The news that Britain’s ports had been attacked and its sea lanes blockaded had reached Moscow. Upon hearing the news, she was anxious and had to come here again to ask Catherine to send troops to Central Asia.

“We in Britain have fulfilled our promise. Is Tsarist Russia going to betray its promise?” Queen Victoria was very dissatisfied with Catherine’s procrastination.

With a smile, Catherine said, “Queen Victoria, war is a very serious matter, especially when facing a behemoth like the Empire. How can you ask me to send my soldiers to the battlefield without being fully prepared? When breech-loading guns are widely equipped in my army, I will definitely teach the Eastern Empire a lesson.”

Looking in the direction of the Ottoman Empire, she continued, “Furthermore, to drive the Eastern Empire out of our sphere of influence, we must have enough allies. We are currently in communication with other countries. If more and more countries join our camp, the Empire will not be able to advance an inch in the future.”

“Hmph, are you counting on those cowards to fight the Empire? The Netherlands and Spain are probably so scared that they’ve wet their pants,” Queen Victoria said in a slightly sarcastic tone. At the same time, she gave Catherine a strange look. She found that she seemed to have fallen into the scheme of this Russian Empress. In Europe, Britain had always been the leader, but now the roles seemed to have been swapped, and Tsarist Russia had become the leader of Europe overnight.

“These few countries are not strong enough to make a difference. The main powers in Europe are currently France, Austria, and Prussia. Unfortunately, France’s Henry is now a force to be reckoned with. It won’t be long before this person named Henry becomes the Emperor of France,” Catherine said worriedly.

“This Henry is supported by the Empire. The purpose is for him to cause chaos in Europe. This Henry is extremely ambitious, and once he unifies France, he will try to realize his dream of unifying Europe.” Queen Victoria had been paying attention to the civil war in France and had learned a lot of information.

Catherine said, “But will the Eastern Empire allow Henry to unify Europe? In my opinion, the Empire just wants to cause internal strife in Europe and take advantage of it. So, to unite Europe now, the most important issue is to solve the problem of Henry. As long as France turns to us, I think other European countries will make their choice again.”

“That’s not an easy thing to do. This Henry is originally a tool for the Empire to prevent Europe from forming an alliance.” Queen Victoria shook her head gently.

“That’s precisely why we must stop Henry from taking control of France, defeat him in a short period of time, and let Andre regain power. At that time, an angry Andre will naturally stand with us,” Catherine said in a deep voice. After thinking about it for a while, she always felt that it was a foolish move for her country to fight the Empire alone. Instead of doing so, she might as well take the opportunity to expand her territory in Europe and unite Europe against the Empire.

“That is indeed a good idea, but Tsarist Russia does not border France. How will you get your army into France?” Queen Victoria said.

Catherine laughed. “That’s where I need your help. Don’t forget that your husband is the Prince of Prussia. Prussia refuses to fight the Empire, but will it refuse to fight France? At that time, as long as they allow us to pass through, that will be enough.”

“Even so, there’s still Poland in between you,” Queen Victoria said in confusion. A strange look flashed in Catherine’s eyes, and she said, “If Poland prevents Europe’s plan to fight the Empire, we in Tsarist Russia will definitely teach them a good lesson.”

Queen Victoria’s expression became vigilant. She finally understood Catherine’s plan. In the history of Europe, Tsarist Russia had always tried to move south. But under the obstruction of the European nations, Tsarist Russia not only did not occupy any extra territory but also often suffered losses. Because of this, Tsarist Russia had to push toward the Far East.

Now, Catherine had obviously realized that the best time had arrived. Britain was besieged, France was in civil strife, and Prussia was integrating the German federal states. Under these circumstances, it would be easy for Tsarist Russia to annex Poland.

But even though she saw through Catherine’s plan, Queen Victoria was helpless. Britain could not even protect itself now, so how could it care about the European continent? She said, “Now I only care about Britain’s interests. As long as you can help Britain, I will go to Prussia to lobby. Of course, if you can share Poland with Prussia, the chances of success will be greater.”

Catherine showed a knowing smile. After her eastward strategy was blocked, she finally saw the hope of Tsarist Russia’s expansion. She said, “Of course, if they are willing, they can come to Moscow to sign an agreement to partition Poland.”

Upon hearing this, Queen Victoria’s smile carried a hint of bitterness. For Britain, France, Prussia, and Tsarist Russia all had ambitions to dominate Europe. This time, they could finally fulfill their wishes and partition Europe.

However, in her opinion, Tsarist Russia and Prussia would not have an easy time, because there was another powerful country in Europe, the Austro-Hungarian Empire. She thought that Austria would certainly not sit by and watch Poland be partitioned by Prussia and Tsarist Russia. Instead of partitioning Poland into two, it was better to partition it into three.