Vienna Palace
Intelligence chief Tyrone reported, "Your Majesty, negotiations between Britain and France over the Suez Canal have failed. The Paris Government has decided to bypass the British and excavate the grand canal on its own."
This was only to be expected. The Suez Canal was not only of enormous importance to Austria; it also meant something extraordinary to the French. They had invested so much in the early stages that they naturally could not abandon it merely because of British opposition.
The gap in strength between Britain and France was not yet as vast as it would become by the end of the century. The French still harbored dreams of world hegemony.
And they possessed strength to match their ambitions.
The French Army's standing force numbered as many as four hundred thousand men, surpassed on the European Continent only by Russia and Austria; the French Navy's total tonnage stood at more than sixty percent of the Royal Navy's, nearing seventy percent.
Possessing both a world-class navy and army, France was the most balanced among the great powers in its development. Its overall national strength was no weaker than that of any other great power. With such formidable strength, it would have been difficult for them to behave themselves even if they had wanted to.
The only pity was that this was already the French peak. Their national strength could no longer support them in going any further.
To contend with Russia for hegemony on the European Continent, France simply had too small a population. In this age when human-wave tactics reigned supreme, its slow population growth rate had directly knocked France out of the running.
To contend with the United Kingdom for naval supremacy, meanwhile, the construction of its continental army diverted resources. It could not throw the strength