At Vienna Palace, Franz was quite interested in the Tsarist Government's proposal for smuggling.
Money delivered to his doorstep was money not to be refused. Though most of it had originally been lent out by them, every additional Divine Shield earned now meant one less Divine Shield lost in the future.
If they wanted the Russians to "honor their debts," the Tsarist Government needed to have money first. The Russo-Japanese War, that money-devouring beast, was one matter; more crucially, there was the revolutionary tide brewing at home.
Due to the population decline, the Russian Empire's social tensions were now somewhat milder than in the original timeline.
But that easing was limited to its traditional territories. In newly occupied regions such as Poland, Bulgaria, Afghanistan, and the Central Asian khanates, there had not been a single day of peace.
Nicholas II had inherited a colossal mess to begin with. For a long time, Russian rule over those regions had followed the traditional feudal model, relying purely on military force to suppress the locals' resistance.
A century ago, such rule would naturally have posed no problem. Given enough time, everyone would slowly grow accustomed to it.
In this respect, the Tsarist Government had abundant experience. The Russian Empire's vast territory had all been acquired this way.
Unfortunately, this was already the twentieth century. Nationalism was sweeping across the globe, and the traditional feudal model of rule was increasingly unable to keep pace with the times.
If the Russians could win the Russo-Japanese War, that would be one thing. Victory could suppress domestic social tensions. But if they suffered defeat, that was another matter altogether.
Especially with an unseen hand behind the scenes remotely steering things, constantly leading the Russian Empire into one pit after another, as if afraid it might fail to