Any grand strategy required long-term preparation; none could be completed overnight. Austria's foremost strategy now remained advancing the Second Industrial Revolution and developing the African Continent.
The Middle East could only rank second. As for the other strategies, they were merely a matter of raking the grass to flush out rabbits—success would be welcome, but failure would do no harm.
If they could just lie low for another few decades, the overall situation would be settled. This was learned from the United States; no matter what, the experience of the successful always had something worth adopting.
It would not be easy to lure the nations into the trap. This was an age brimming with heroes, and there were simply too many clever people.
In recent years, the French had been biding their time and consolidating their gains. Napoleon III's health had already begun to fail, and he was now busy paving the way for Napoleon IV.
Against that backdrop, the French clearly would not risk universal condemnation by coming out to stir up trouble. There was no way to scheme against them now.
Franz estimated that not only would Napoleon III pursue a conservative strategy in his final years, but France would also continue to do so for a long time after Napoleon IV succeeded to the throne.
Including Austria, every European country supported the Italian independence movement, yet it was all to no avail. At the height of its power, France easily suppressed these minor disturbances.
Just because Prussia won its gamble in the original timeline did not mean France was incapable of withstanding a single blow. In truth, the French army's combat strength remained among the best in the world. Had Napoleon III not gone off to command blindly, the final outcome might still have been uncertain.
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