Undercurrents Stirring

War was not something one could fight whenever one wished. "Before the troops move, provisions must go first; before war begins, diplomacy must go first."

The political landscape of multiple nations standing side by side on the European Continent determined the importance of diplomacy.

The Vienna Government did not yet have the confidence to confront every European country at once, making diplomacy all the more crucial.

They did not need every country to support Austria in launching this war; they merely needed to ensure that most countries did not oppose it.

The small countries were of little concern. Most of them were fence-sitters. To them, Austria was already powerful, and it made little difference if it grew a little stronger.

So long as their own interests were not harmed, even if they felt displeased, they would at most offer a few verbal condemnations.

The countries that truly had a say were still the three great ruffians—United Kingdom, France, and Russia. Spain, at the bottom among the great powers; the faraway Nordic Federation; and the neighboring German Federal Empire could barely be counted as one-third of a vote each.

How to win over these countries had become the Austrian Foreign Ministry's most pressing task.

Foreign Minister Wessenberg analyzed, "The turbulent situation on the European Continent is highly favorable to our next move.

"The French Government is beset by revolution and can barely look after itself.

"If we agree not to support the Italian independence movement and the French Revolutionary Party, there is a very high chance that the Paris Government will tacitly acquiesce to our operation.

"Spain has always followed the French in international affairs. So long as the French Government does not object, they will most likely not stick their heads out either.

"Even if the German Federal Empire does