Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 532: Inherent Ambition

A notice on the Austrian government’s bulletin board surprised many people. While it’s not unusual for the colonial government to recruit public officials—something that happens every year—the content of this announcement was unexpected.

Curiosity is a fundamental human trait, and every update to the bulletin board attracts a crowd. In this era with few entertainment options, discussing the latest news is one of the few available pastimes.

Despite the large crowd, the scene remained orderly, with everyone respecting the rules, and avoiding pushing or shoving.

Given the number of people, it was impossible for everyone to read the notice at once, so those closer to the board began reading it aloud to everyone.

“Notice: The South African colonial government has entrusted the Austrian Ministry of Personnel to recruit public officials. A total of 4,800 positions are available, including 1,000 government employees and 3,800 police officers.

Requirements:

1. Must be an Austrian citizen, physically healthy, with no criminal record.

2. Must have completed compulsory education with passing grades in all subjects.

3. Must be able to endure hardship, with a minimum service period of eight years.

Note: Candidates for police positions must have some military training, at least reserve training, with preference given to veterans. The age limit is 30 years for civilians and up to 40 years for officers.

Compensation: Salaries will be double the domestic average for similar positions, with benefits aligned with Austria’s standards.”

Setting aside the salary and benefits, which are understandably higher due to the harsh and dangerous conditions of the colonies, the issue lies in the eligibility requirements. It’s not that the standards are too high, but rather that they are too low. Based on these criteria, over 90% of Austrian youths of eligible age would qualify.

If this were a domestic recruitment, with the offered compensation mentioned above, the final eligibility criteria would likely start at a university degree, military honors, or noble status, with any one of these usually being sufficient.

In the colonies, such high standards can’t be expected, but typically a high school education or being an exceptional retired officer would be the baseline requirement.

This time, however, there are almost no restrictions. Of course, this isn’t necessarily something to celebrate. The fewer the restrictions, the more applicants there will be, which only increases the competition.

Worried that no one will go because of the harsh conditions? That just means you’re not offering enough money. If the price is right, how could there be a shortage of applicants?

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With these standards, recruiting 4,800 people is a breeze for Austria. Even if it were 4.8 million, Austria could easily gather enough applicants.

Of course, not everyone is willing to go to the African continent. The South African colonial government lowered the recruitment standards mainly due to the impact of the gold rush.

To ensure the stability of the administrative system, certain restrictions were set. Once a contract is signed, it’s considered a form of compulsory service, and one cannot leave the position before the term is completed.

This will certainly deter many. Africa is not like the homeland. If one is assigned to a region with harsh conditions and can’t leave early, most people won’t be able to handle it.

After hearing about the restrictions, discussions began to arise among the crowd. Most were just curious and had little interest in the recruitment. However, there were a few whose eyes lit up, seeing this as a chance worth taking. In this era, the harsher the conditions, the greater the opportunities.

The colonial government wasn’t foolish. They wouldn’t establish administrative institutions in places without value. In recent years, Austrian Africa has been developing rapidly, with many remote areas suddenly becoming emerging cities.

With each wave of development, there were always a few lucky ones who rose to prominence. Opportunities for ordinary people to enter the ruling class were rare, and in domestic civil service exams, a high school diploma was just the minimum requirement.

For most who had only completed compulsory education, this was still out of reach. Geniuses were always in the minority, and for ordinary people to advance, they not only needed to work hard but also had to rely on a bit of luck.

Stevie was one such person, the kind you could lose in a crowd. Coming from an ordinary working-class family, he had done well in school but didn’t manage to get into high school. After finishing his compulsory education, he started working in a factory.

The repetitive daily work was something young Stevie found difficult to adjust to. However, reality didn’t allow for any whims, and he dutifully went to and from work every day.

When Stevie heard about the recruitment conditions, his eyes lit up. However, he didn’t rush to push his way in. The discipline ingrained in him over time meant that Austrians were accustomed to queuing.

Those who had finished reading the notice stepped aside, and the next ones moved up in an orderly manner, keeping everything well-organized.

This was one of the results of compulsory education. From the first day of school, they learned to follow rules, and over the years, everyone had developed a good habit of maintaining order.

Time passed quickly, and soon it was Stevie’s turn. After carefully reading the notice to ensure he hadn’t missed anything, Stevie felt a surge of emotion.

Dislike the harsh conditions in Africa? Sorry, Stevie wasn’t in a position to be choosy. As an ordinary person, getting any opportunity wasn’t easy—what right did he have to be picky?

Indeed, the conditions at home were better, but for someone as ordinary as Stevie, there were no advantages. The best path available to him domestically was to hone his skills and move up from a regular worker to a skilled one, but advancing into management was nearly impossible.

The best opportunity to make a name for himself had already passed him by. From the moment he failed to advance in his education, Stevie was destined to struggle just to put food on the table.

Every day was a fight for survival, and talking about personal development was just empty talk. Although the world was in the midst of the Second Industrial Revolution, it had nothing to do with Stevie.

With no capital, no connections, and no abilities, even if he saw opportunities, he had no way to seize and make use of them.

Every year, a few lucky people rose to prominence through inventions or innovations, but when you looked at the whole of Austria, those odds were one in millions.

Many restless young people chose to take the biggest gamble of their lives by venturing to the colonies.

Stevie also planned to do so, but his parents opposed it. Life at home wasn’t prosperous, but it was manageable, so his parents naturally didn’t want him to take the risk.

These days, simply moving to the colonies for a better life wasn’t as dangerous, but if you wanted to strike it rich, you still had to risk everything.

The mortality rate among adventurers had never been low. Every year, countless Austrian adventurers fell halfway to their fortunes, and very few actually became rich overnight. Most just earned more than the average person.

It was inevitable. The golden age of colonization had ended. Nowadays, claiming a piece of new land is far more difficult than before.

Unless it was in some remote backwater, most of the valuable land was already taken. Those lands that couldn’t even cover the costs of governance, even if turned into colonies, wouldn’t yield any returns. The harsh reality was just that unforgiving.

Stevie saw this recruitment as a chance to turn his life around. Even if the conditions were harsh and the opportunities for advancement were limited, it was still better than continuing to work in the factory—at least in terms of salary.

Many people harbored dreams, but only a few succeeded. For ordinary people, in any era, seizing an opportunity is always incredibly difficult.

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In the Vienna Palace, the Habsburgs, still immersed in joy, were hosting a banquet. Perhaps because he’s about to become a father, Maximilian’s mental state has improved a lot.

Franz was absent, as the Russians, eager to act in concert with Austria, required his attention on many pressing matters.

War was never a trivial matter. Those who underestimated it never met with a favorable outcome.

The Russians had many enemies, stretching from the West to the East. If they wanted to ally with Austria, the target was obvious—Prussia, Poland, or the Ottoman Empire.

This choice was not easy to make, as it required careful consideration of the pros and cons, and a comprehensive analysis of the potential impact on the international situation.

Franz immediately ruled out the Kingdom of Prussia—he had his pride. After all, the Kingdom of Prussia was still part of the Germanic nation. Colluding with foreigners to strike at fellow countrymen would not sit well with public opinion.

If he were to pursue this path, Franz’s reputation in the German-speaking world would be ruined. Nationalists would not support such a government, and the Prussians would not accept defeat.

This was a side effect of nationalism. While Franz had leveraged nationalism to establish the new Holy Roman Empire, he now had to bear the consequences.

Moreover, Prussia’s strategic position was too precarious—surrounded by enemies on all sides, with no natural defenses. To occupy the Kingdom of Prussia would require being prepared to face the enmity of the entire world.

Unfortunately, Franz was not ready to take on the world. As a beneficiary of the current world order, Austria had no need to challenge it.

That left Poland and the Ottoman Empire, requiring careful weighing of the pros and cons. Franz had to be wary of being dragged into a conflict by the Russians that could escalate into a continental war.

Given the limitations of national power and transportation, while major powers in this era might not wage wars of annihilation, it was still possible for a nation to decline as a result of prolonged conflict.

In the conference room, Franz stared at the world map on the wall, his back to the others, and asked, “The Russians want to ally with us. What do you all think?”

Austria and Russia are indeed allies, but this alliance does not extend to joint expansion. The previous strategic transactions between the two have been completed.

To continue cooperation, communication is essential. Otherwise, it could end up like during the Russo-Prussian War when Russia initiated the conflict while Austria sat idly by.

Foreign Minister Wessenberg spoke, “Your Majesty, now that the situation in Europe has finally stabilized, once war is ignited, it will be very difficult for us to control its scale.

From the perspective of our interests, whether we strike against the Ottoman Empire or Poland, the returns we can expect are very limited.

If we attack the Kingdom of Poland, the Prussians will inevitably get involved. Should Britain and France decide to support Poland, we could find ourselves facing a coalition of Britain, France, and Prussia.

Even if the French are preoccupied with consolidating their hold over Italy and refraining from military action, the outcome will likely just be a repeat of the Prussian-Russian partition of Poland.

Frankly, I don’t see much in the Kingdom of Poland that is worth our attention. Even if we gain something, it would only be icing on the cake. Its primary value might be in exacerbating tensions between Prussia and Russia.

As for taking action against the Ottoman Empire, the benefits are also limited. Unless we and the Russians jointly crush them once and for all, the spoils of any partition would be meager.

Achieving this is nearly impossible, as the Ottoman Empire remains a significant power, and the European nations would not stand idly by while we carve it up.

The Russian Empire no longer has the dominance it once did, and if faced with European intervention, the burden of opposition would likely fall on us.”

It’s clear that Wessenberg is opposed to sparking a war at this time. He isn’t alone—many in the Austrian government, including Franz himself, do not wish to initiate conflict right now.

But many situations cannot be resolved simply by wishing them away. If Austria remains inactive, many will feel uneasy.

It’s not enough to say, “The Austrian government is peace-loving and has no ambitions in Europe, everyone can sleep soundly.”

Even Franz doesn’t believe that. The definition of “ambition” is very vague. Often, power itself is seen as ambition. Once you have power, the outside world perceives you as having ambition, regardless of your intentions.