On November 11, 1894, under the witness of the European powers, representatives of Japan and Spain signed a ceasefire agreement. The colonial struggle over the Philippine Islands officially drew to a close.
Franz could not even be bothered to read the treaty terms. The Spanish Government making concessions had been expected; when the barefoot met the well-shod, the ending had been decided from the very beginning.
When it came to gambling instincts, few modern nations could truly compare to Japan. There was no shortage of countries willing to sit at the gaming table, but very few managed to walk away safely.
It had to be admitted that the Japanese had excellent luck. In the original timeline, they had cheated their way through all the way to World War II, only crashing and burning when their ambitions finally swelled beyond control.
In fact, the Japanese were no less fortunate now.
Before the Continental War had even ended, they had gone south in cahoots with Britain and France; after going south, they had stabbed Britain and France in the back, abandoning the Austrian South Seas in favor of invading the Philippines.
That string of outrageous moves had offended Britain, France, Austria, and Spain in one sweep. Adding the Russians they had offended earlier, they had managed to antagonize all five great European powers.
Under normal circumstances, even if the Japanese Government did not have grass growing on its grave, it should at least have been gasping its last.
Yet the Japanese Government remained perfectly intact. Not only had it safely left the gaming table, it had even gained the prestige of having "fought the great powers to a draw," greatly raising its international standing.
But while reaping all this, Japan had also landed itself in an exceedingly awkward position.
Its big brother,