Chapter Summaries

British leaders debated the threat posed by the Holy Roman Empire’s newly launched Roma battleship and a rumored mass-bomber plan, while the Navy and Air Force argued over priorities. Robert Cecil ordered them to prepare targeted plans and seek military funding from Parliament themselves.

• Robert Cecil asked Flora for intelligence on the Roma, and Flora reported that it appeared to carry twelve large guns, heavier armor, and possibly high speed.
• Weizsäcker warned the cabinet that the Vienna Government’s Terminator Plan could use more than a thousand bombers to strike British ports and the British Isles.
• Flora dismissed the bombing plan as difficult to coordinate and vulnerable to fighters and anti-aircraft defenses, and said the Roma’s true capability would soon be clear.
• Robert Cecil stopped the military chiefs’ argument and told them to prepare for the Holy Roman Empire’s actions and pursue funding through Parliament.
• Skybrew was left without a convincing case for Army funding because Parliament doubted Britain could defend British Africa and no longer feared a Russian advance on India.

The Army, Navy, and Air Force competed for increased military funding as each presented a plan to challenge British power. Franz ended the debate for the day and demanded more responsible proposals, leaving the Vienna Government to weigh costly strategies and the Army’s strong public support.

• The Admiralty proposed building twenty-five Rome-like super-battleships within five years, but the estimated cost of at least 100 million Divine Shield raised questions about the plan’s affordability.
• Castagni and Conrad argued that the Navy and Air Force needed more resources to confront Britain, while Feslav defended the Army’s share and proposed invading India through Persia.
• The chapter described France’s devastation after the war and argued that the Holy Roman Empire faced no serious land threat from either France or Russia.
• Franz let the military branches argue over new funding while the Army, Navy, and Air Force advanced their India Plan, Super Battleship Plan, and Terminator Plan.
• Franz ended the meeting and told the ministers to return with more thorough proposals, mindful that the Army had greater public support than the Navy or Air Force.
• Franz considered how control of the Mediterranean and the Strait of Gibraltar could shape a war with Britain, while the Army’s India strategy could involve Russia and a separate advance through Afghanistan.

Franz explained to Friedrich why the military’s rival proposals would have to be balanced rather than choosing a single winner, then contained the fallout from the Roma’s poor seaworthiness. The navy’s super battleship program was cut back, while the Roma began a Mediterranean publicity tour intended to spur British naval spending.

• Franz told Friedrich that the army’s influence meant it could not be defeated in the funding struggle, so the three services would have to compromise and cooperate.
• After the Roma’s poor ability to withstand wind and waves became known, Franz ordered its defects suppressed and restricted the ship to Mediterranean service.
• The Admiralty’s plan to build twenty-five super battleships in five years was reduced to five ships after officials refused to risk producing a fleet of flawed vessels.
• The Roma toured Mediterranean countries and took part in joint exercises, including displays alongside the newly independent Italian States’ small destroyers.
• Franz used the publicity surrounding the Roma to encourage British naval rearmament, expecting Britain’s larger fleet to make its modernization losses far greater.

Franz oversaw the Holy Roman Empire’s government transition while discussing the naval rivalry with Britain and the future of France with Friedrich. He left Friedrich to choose the new Cabinet and urged him to weaken France through political means rather than partitioning it again.

• Britain and the Holy Roman Empire announced restrained shipbuilding plans while other nations avoided joining their naval arms race.
• The aging Vienna Government cabinet prepared to step down, and Franz left Crown Prince Friedrich to select its replacement ministers.
• Franz warned Friedrich that Russia would likely withdraw its troops from France as the Siberian Railway gained enough laborers.
• Franz instructed Friedrich to spread anti-war sentiment in France and maintain restrictions so France could not rebuild its military strength.
• Friedrich asked whether they would partition France again, and Franz rejected the idea because it would unite French resentment against the Holy Roman Empire and weaken the Anti-French Alliance.

Franz sent his sons to govern overseas colonies, prompting Russian leaders to debate whether the appointments signaled an imperial power grab. Nicholas II decided Russia needed to obstruct the Holy Roman Empire, but his ministers disagreed over withdrawing troops from France and warned that doing so could ruin Russia’s diplomatic standing.

• Franz dispatched his two sons to overseas colonies as governors to build their political influence and secure local authority.
• Nicholas II and his ministers considered whether the appointments meant Franz planned to divide the empire, grant his sons fiefs, or strengthen control ahead of the rivalry with Britain.
• The Russian leaders concluded that the appointments could threaten Russia and Nicholas II asked how they could stop them without interfering in the Holy Roman Empire’s internal affairs.
• Sergei Witte proposed withdrawing Russian troops from France to create trouble for the Holy Roman Empire, while Mikhailovich warned that withdrawal would damage Russia’s standing in the Anti-French Alliance.
• Nicholas II recognized that Russia needed a valid reason to leave France or risk isolation and the loss of international trade.

The Russian Empire used the Far Eastern Empire’s bellicose declaration as a pretext to declare war and withdraw most of its troops from France. Britain hoped to exploit Russia’s eastward campaign to weaken the Russo-Austrian Alliance, while Franz rejected British involvement and sought to delay the Russian withdrawal long enough to organize a peacekeeping force.

• The Tsarist Government declared war on the Far Eastern Empire and announced that it would transfer 220,000 troops out of France.
• Franz rejected the invitation to join the war and ordered Leo Frankel to delay the Russian withdrawal from France by two months.
• Robert Cecil welcomed the crisis in the Far East as a chance to reduce pressure on Britain and eventually draw Russia away from the Holy Roman Empire.
• Cameron urged Britain to let Russia taste early success and involve Japan, while Pavel argued that Vienna would eventually suppress Russian expansion.
• Cameron told Robert Cecil that Britain’s possible American allies were too weak to provide major support and that the United States and Confederate States were too hostile to court together.

Prime Minister Campbell confronted Britain’s worsening trade deficit, declining industry, unemployment, and social unrest after taking office. His cabinet debated protectionism and reform, but the chapter left the government weighing how to protect the market without triggering damaging retaliation.

• Franz chose to watch Britain’s diplomatic maneuvering rather than compete for overseas allies, while the Holy Roman Empire’s economic rivalry with Britain intensified.
• Henry Campbell-Bannerman took office after the Conservatives lost the 1902 election and discovered that Britain’s economic and social problems were worse than he had expected.
• Lloyd George reported falling exports, a growing trade deficit, and the Pound Sterling’s declining role in international trade as Holy Roman goods outcompeted British products.
• Burns described rising unemployment, labor disputes, strikes, and protests as domestic industries struggled to survive.
• Herbert Henry Asquith argued that tax cuts and export subsidies could not solve Britain’s problems without innovation, while domestic capitalists demanded trade barriers.
• Campbell acknowledged that reform was unavoidable and began weighing market protection against the risk of retaliation and damage to trade.

Friedrich presented Franz with a plan to build a major steel center in the Ruhr, but Franz warned that Britain might soon withdraw from free trade and trigger an economic crisis. He approved the project only if it proceeded gradually and urged the cabinet to prepare for trade barriers within two years.

• Friedrich presented the cabinet’s economic plan to develop the Ruhr Industrial Region as a western industrial center.
• Franz warned that a ten-million-ton steel center could become dangerously oversized if Britain’s reforms led it to abandon free trade and provoke an economic crisis.
• Franz said Britain’s debates over free trade were intensifying and predicted that Campbell’s government might withdraw from the system within two years.
• Franz told Friedrich that the Ruhr project could proceed in phases and advised the government to prepare for British trade barriers.

Friedrich considered how to counter British efforts to undermine free trade while the Holy Roman Empire prepared for a struggle for hegemony. When the United States sought permission to excavate the Panama Canal in exchange for backing Vienna, he agreed to grant it under restrictive conditions, using the project to pressure the Confederate States and hedge against the Americans switching sides.

• Friedrich weighed the risks of intervening in Britain's internal conflict and recognized that British campaigns against dumping and the Holy Roman Empire threatened free trade.
• Frankel told Friedrich that the United States had requested the right to excavate the Panama Canal and hinted that it would support Vienna in the coming struggle for hegemony if granted the Canal Zone.
• Friedrich rejected the idea of paying the United States for its support, citing its conflicting interests and reputation as a potential turncoat.
• Chandler urged Friedrich to engage with the United States to pressure the Confederate States, which had expanded into northern Mexico.
• Friedrich agreed to let the United States excavate the canal under restrictive conditions and planned to reclaim it if the Americans backed Britain.

British manufacturers McCall and Byron struggled against Austrian competition and blamed free trade for their industries’ decline. At a banquet, they agreed that Britain should abandon the Free Trade Agreement and protect its market with tariffs.

• Britain’s reform stalled amid parliamentary conflict, while domestic machinery and automobile industries lost ground to foreign competitors.
• McCall sought government support for his machine-tool company and shifted from championing free trade to advocating trade barriers.
• At Petel Manor, McCall met automobile manufacturer Byron, who described layoffs and losses caused by Austrian cars.
• McCall urged Byron to blame the Free Trade Agreement and promote tariffs, and Byron agreed that Britain should end the treaty.

British Prime Minister Campbell faced domestic deadlock over economic and political reforms while weighing international crises, including tensions between Russia and Japan. In Vienna, Franz dismissed fears that the Siberian Railway would make Russia unstoppable and concluded that Britain was steering the conflict eastward.

• Campbell’s reform proposals met fierce conservative opposition, while industrial interests split over free trade and agricultural guilds began wavering toward tariff protection.
• Foreign Minister Adam Wingard briefed Campbell on setbacks in Venezuela, Washington’s agreement with Vienna over the Panama Canal, and rising Russo-Japanese tensions; Campbell ordered closer attention to Washington and said Britain would let Russia and Japan’s hostility deepen.
• Franz learned that the Siberian Railway was progressing quickly and that more than 250,000 French laborers had died building it.
• Friedrich warned that the railway could enable Russia’s eastward advance, but Franz argued its single-track capacity would hamper wartime logistics and suspected Britain had helped the Americans build it to provoke a conflict.

Nicholas II and his ministers debated how to respond to Japan and the risks surrounding Russia’s eastward expansion, while the Japanese Government feared a war with Russia. The chapter ended with Japan’s civilian leaders still firmly opposed to war in the near term.

• Nicholas II grew furious over the Russo-Japanese conflict, but Sergei Witte persuaded him to delay retaliation until the Siberian Railway opened.
• Sergei Witte proposed using Russia’s setback in the Far East to repair relations with Austria and mislead other countries about Russia’s ambitions.
• Mikhailovich told Nicholas II that Russia’s investigation had uncovered British involvement in the American-backed Siberian Railway project and suggested Britain had lured Russia east to ease pressure on India.
• Nicholas II suspected Britain had ulterior motives and ordered greater caution toward the Far East.
• The Japanese Government panicked over the prospect of facing Russia, while Hirobumi Ito’s civilian political bloc continued to oppose war in the near term.

Japanese officials debated whether the Russian Empire would risk war amid rising anti-Japanese sentiment, while Russia’s embassy in Japan faced an increasingly violent protest. As stones began flying at the embassy, an unseen gunman prepared to target a protest leader.

• Inoue Kaoru warned Emperor Meiji and the Japanese officials that Russian hostility was increasing and that Japan’s international position was weak.
• Hirobumi Ito argued that Russia had little strategic reason or logistical capacity to wage war, while Okuma Shigenobu cautioned that Russian rulers often made irrational decisions.
• The Japanese and Russian governments sought to avoid war, but anti-Russian protests in Japan and anti-Japanese sentiment in Russia continued to grow.
• Minister Vtoriak ordered the Russian Embassy staff to report the situation and press Japan to disperse the protesters, while stones began breaking the embassy’s windows.
• A hidden gunman aimed at the protesters and ordered someone holding a flag to be shot after their identity was confirmed.

A mob stormed the Russian Embassy district in Japan, triggering a diplomatic crisis that reached Franz and Nicholas II. While Franz suspected Japanese militarists had helped provoke the attack, the Russian leadership chose to delay retaliation until it could prepare for war.

• After a gunshot set off the crowd, protesters broke into the Russian Embassy district while nearby Japanese police avoided intervening.
• Prime Minister Okuma Shigenobu learned that the embassy had been stormed and feared casualties would provoke international condemnation and a Russian response.
• Franz received news of the assault and suggested that military budget cuts and the recent Far East conflict may have fueled Japanese extremists.
• Franz warned Friedrich that Japan might start a war before Russia completed the Siberian Railway, rather than wait for Russia to be ready.
• Nicholas II convened an overnight meeting after learning that the Russian Embassy in Tokyo had lost contact.
• Count Sergei Witte and Pobedonostsev urged Nicholas II to postpone military action and prepare thoroughly before striking Japan.

After the massacre at the Russian Embassy triggered international condemnation, Japan’s leaders debated how to contain the diplomatic crisis and whether to prepare for war with Russia. Emperor Meiji ordered an investigation into the hidden organizers, while suspicion increasingly fell on the military.

• Foreign diplomats condemned the embassy attack, pressed military police to open the sealed scene, and demanded an explanation from Japan.
• Emperor Meiji rebuked Kodama Gentaro’s proposed cover story and learned that the massacre had killed dozens of Russian embassy staff.
• Inoue Kaoru reported diplomatic notes from eleven countries, while Okuma Shigenobu and Kodama Gentaro acknowledged they had no evidence to identify the mastermind.
• Yamagata Aritomo urged Japan to prepare for war with Russia and accept possible sanctions, but Hirobumi Ito argued that Japan needed more time and must uncover the plotter.
• Emperor Meiji ordered arrests of the demonstration’s organizers, an investigation into their backers, tighter school controls, the outlawing of illegal groups, and stronger security around the embassy district.

After the Russian Embassy staff were reported dead, Jose and Enriques united the legations behind demands for a joint investigation and threatened intervention. Japan’s leaders faced a twenty-four-hour ultimatum and struggled to contain the crisis, with Hirobumi Ito warning that bribing ambassadors would not prevent devastating losses.

• Jose told the envoys that all forty-seven Russian Embassy staff had perished and presented a telegram reading “Murder.”
• Enriques abandoned his defense of Japan and backed a joint diplomatic response, while Jose demanded a full investigation and punishment for those responsible.
• The legations issued a joint note demanding access to the Russian personnel and control of the crime scene, warning that Britain and the Holy Roman Empire might intervene by force.
• In an Imperial Conference, Inoue Kaoru reported the ultimatum as the Holy Roman Empire Navy and Royal Navy moved toward Japan.
• Kodama Gentaro said more than two hundred people had confessed to the crime, but none could explain how it had been planned.
• Okuma Shigenobu proposed concessions and gifts to calm the ambassadors, but Hirobumi Ito warned that the crisis could not be settled by bribery and Japan would suffer heavy losses.

After the Russian Embassy massacre, Nicholas II restrained public demands for war and pursued diplomatic pressure on Japan while waiting for the Siberian Railway. Franz predicted that Japan might strike before the railway opened and discussed how a Russo-Japanese war could weaken Russia and eventually undermine the Russo-Austrian Alliance.

• Nicholas II asked his ministers how to contain public outrage, and Sergei Witte advised diplomatic pressure on Japan while resisting domestic and foreign pro-war agitation.
• Nicholas II ordered the Foreign Ministry to exploit European anger, target the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, and seek the Holy Roman Empire’s support.
• Friedrich told Franz that the Russian delegation had left Saint Petersburg, and Franz predicted Russia was waiting for the Siberian Railway while Japan might attack first.
• Franz explained that Britain could support Japan in a war that drained Russian strength and aggravated tensions within the Russo-Austrian Alliance.
• Friedrich proposed weakening Russia before it became a rival, and Franz said the Empire should still provide Russia loans, weapons, and supplies as the war unfolded.

Friedrich proposed exploiting Russian separatists and revolutionaries to weaken the Russian Empire, while Franz agreed only to covert pressure that preserved the Tsarist Government. In Tokyo, the Japanese Government faced mounting diplomatic and naval pressure over the Russian embassy killings, and newly arrived students learned why the city was in turmoil.

• Friedrich outlined how Japan, independence movements, and Russian revolutionaries could destabilize the Russian Empire, and Franz insisted the Holy Roman Empire leave no trace of involvement.
• British and Holy Roman fleets fired shells into Tokyo Bay, prompting Ito Sukeyuki to order Japanese naval officers back to barracks and warn Emperor Meiji about the danger.
• In a government meeting, Inoue Kaoru and Hirobumi Ito urged concessions to the diplomatic corps, while Okuma Shigenobu resisted surrendering Japan's investigative and judicial authority.
• Protests erupted across Tokyo after the diplomatic corps took charge of the Russian embassy case and Japan arrested members of anti-Russian groups.
• Bo'an warned newly arrived international students to avoid demonstrations and explained that marchers had killed the Russian embassy staff, foreign navies had pressured Japan, and the city remained unsettled.

Colonel Saito’s Fourth Division arrested student demonstrators while helping keep Japan stable as the army’s radical units were sent away. When the Russian Embassy Case Joint Investigation Team ordered him to hand over the detainees, Saito resisted and clashed with Okada, a Japanese collaborator eager to advance himself through the investigation.

• The Meiji Government sent the army’s radical units toward the tense border and left the Fourth Division to maintain order at home.
• Colonel Saito had Uemura take the arrested student demonstrators into custody and leave their cases to the government.
• The Russian Embassy Case Joint Investigation Team ordered Saito to deliver all his detainees to the East Gate the next morning.
• Saito warned the caller that the detainees were ordinary troublemakers, but Okada insisted that the investigation team would decide who was connected to the case.
• Saito accused Okada of betraying his country and warned him against inventing charges, while Okada suggested Saito might be implicated in the embassy case.

Li Bo'an and the other overseas students learned that Decheng had been arrested during a protest and discussed how to secure his release. They settled on seeking help from the Chinese Association and pooling money, while Li Bo'an urged everyone to use their connections.

• Colonel Saito handed over the man arrested in connection with the Russian Embassy case as the Japanese Government yielded to pressure from the investigation team.
• Wang Deran told Li Bo'an that Decheng had been arrested after troops clashed with protesters and mistook him for a member of the Ironblood Revenge Society.
• Li Bo'an argued that the Japanese authorities and the imperial court were unlikely to help, since control of the case had passed to the diplomatic corps.
• Brother Yaoyang proposed asking the Chinese Guildhall for assistance, and Li Bo'an agreed that the Chinese Association could use its connections to help Decheng.
• The students pooled money for the Chinese Association, and Li Bo'an called on them to mobilize their personal connections as well.