Reichskanzlei, Berlin, German Empire

The entire Reichskanzlei in Berlin is filled with a lot of bureaucrats and government officials scrambling and meeting as the country is now facing a large crisis due to the invasion of their ally, the Ottoman Empire, to the small Balkan nation of the Principality of Montenegro.

Even if the German Empire is hundreds of miles away from the Balkan region, the waves of effects can still be felt in the German Empire, especially as the alliance with the Ottoman Empire is a product of decades of maintaining such cooperation with them that any sudden changes and movement of the other would also affect the other one.

And now that the Ottoman Empire, predominantly Muslim, has launched an invasion of another European country which is a Christian nation. Such actions have caused massive waves of protests and riots in the German Empire, a Christian-majority state.

“Sir Chancellor, the French Government is sending us a letter.”

Chancellor Hart’s secretary approached and informed the Chancellor of a telegram message from the French. The secretary is sweating profusely as the message came from a major world power. The Empire is now in a crisis due to its ally's reckless action and adding a major power to the equation would worsen the situation.

“What does it say?”

“Telling us to rein our allies from this aggressive incursion to a sovereign country. They said that the Ottoman attack on the Principality is unjustifiable and a violation of the rights of a sovereign nation to exist.”

“Is it an ultimatum?”

“No sir.”

Chancellor Hart contemplates while his index finger is tapping the table. He is sure that not only the French would send a protest to them but also the British, Russians, and Austrians. Even the German allies of the Nordic Union and the Spanish would also be troubled and will send protests to peacefully quell the protests of their people and ask them why the Ottomans invaded the Principality.

“Then don’t mind it. We had a lot of important things to do. As long it is not an ultimatum or anything that can cause to worsen the situation, don’t mind it as much even if it is from a major power.”

“Yes sir”

“And if I know, the French are having a good time in our misfortunes. They can have a moral high ground but I’m sure they would not act on it.” Chancellor Hart added. “Inform me if France and other European powers would send an ultimatum or direct involvement in the matter instead. We can’t waste more time.”

“Yes sir.”

Chancellor Hart thinks that the French would not involve directly in the conflict as there are not enough benefits and gain to be achieved in the Balkans. Also, the French are still busy with the problems with their colonies due to the fear of a revolt like the Cuban rebellion happening and the international crisis in the Qing Empire. Even the British would also not gamble in the conflict as it is also plagued with problems in its colonies and troubles in the far east.

The French and the British knows that escalating the chaos by directly intervening would be not worth sacrificing their country’s men for one small nation in the Balkans. It would only exacerbate the problem into much bigger and worse than it is now. Also, there are other nations that would be more troubled by the Ottoman invasion than them and it is much better if they would observe first before making a move.

“By the way, any news or movement from the Russians and Austrians?” Chancellor Hart asks the secretary, thinking it is weird that the secretary has no news from these two.

“No sir. Aside from the already increased concentration of troops in the borders for months. Nothing changed sir.”

“Hmmm…”

Chancellor Hart feels uneasy about the silence of the two powers that have influenced the region. Different from the French and British, the Russians and the Austrians have real stakes in the Balkan region as they are in immediate proximity to the region. These are the two only nations that would be likely to be involved in the conflict. So he must prioritize to keep these two out as much as possible and draw a resolution to this chaos.

“If there is any news from these two, tell me immediately. Even if the information is not that important and urgent. Forward it to me. I feel uneasy that these two nations are not doing anything aside from protesting verbally.”

“Yes sir. I will tell the people to prioritize gathering information from these two nations sir.”

The secretary can only obey the chancellor and prioritized more urgent matters and information, and hope that the German Empire would not become more involved as the situation is very precarious. The secretary, due to years of experience serving the Chancellor, can understand the pressure that the Chancellor is facing right now.

The alliance with the Ottomans has always brought more disadvantages than benefits to the German Empire throughout the century. As an empire built in conquest and expansion, the Ottomans have always tried to expand and gone to war with their neighbor to control its internal affair, and this has always brought trouble to the German Empire as it is allied with the Ottomans. The Muslim-dominant Ottoman Empire is also frowned upon by most Europeans who are predominantly Christian.

The cities of Constantinople and Jerusalem which Christians deem holy and important, are also under the rule of the Ottomans which fuel hatred and fear in the hearts of the Europeans. Even a lot of Germans find the alliance with the Ottomans horrible due to religion and cause a massive backlash on the government’s effort to further cement the relationship between the German and Ottoman Empires.

“Sir, the Austrian Crown Prince has arrived in Berlin.”

While the Chancellor and his men are continuing working on the clock to fix and save and plan the diplomatic channels and relationships with the other nations that have been affected by the Ottoman attack, a young employee entered the Chancellor’s office to inform him that the Austrian Crown Prince has arrived in Berlin.

“He’s here?”

“Yes sir, he is still a student of the Berlin International University.”

“Ohhh… right he is… you, go to the Austrian Embassy to schedule a visit to meet the Crown Prince, we need to negotiate with the Austrians.”

Chancellor Hart points to the young employee and orders him to go to the Austrian Embassy. He wants to meet the young Austrian Crown Prince who has enough influence and power in Austria to decide and make decisions and policies. If he can make a deal with one of the two nations, it is highly likely that the other one would back down and would not directly intervene in the conflict.

Keeping Austria away from the conflict can greatly lessen the pressure that the Chancellor and the German Empire are facing right now. In the German Empire, there are only a few people who are supporting the Ottomans like the German Crown Prince who has close ties with the Ottoman Empire and is also a believer of arm and military power than diplomacy to solve his country's problems.

“Go also to the imperial palace and ask the Emperor for sometime later this day for a meeting. We need to inform him of what is happening right now.”

The Chancellor also needs to go and meet Emperor Frederick Louie of Prussia to inform him of the latest information and news of the conflict. The Emperor can only be the one with the final say and decision in the actions that the Empire would do especially in foreign relations.

The Emperor is staying somewhere outside of Berlin in one of the imperial villas that have a hunting and resting place for the monarch and the imperial family to enjoy. As it is still a few days after the new year, the Emperor and his family are still enjoying their vacation and don’t want to be disturbed by such issues related to the empire.

But the problem right now is grave and the Emperor needed to make a decision whether how much support can the German Empire give to the Ottomans and what actions the German Empire should take regarding the reaction of the other European powers and nations. The Chancellor knows that it is highly unlikely that the Emperor would fully support the Ottomans in the action but he is scared that the Crown Prince was able to convince the Emperor to support the Ottomans more than expected.

Such a decision would ruin everything the Chancellor and his men are doing right now. The German Empire would be dragged into the conflict if ever the conflict would escalate and he knows that the German Empire is still not ready for a direct war with any European powers. Like the French and British, the German Empire is also facing troubles in its African and Asian colonies and the rebellion in the Qing Empire. The German Empire is already spread thin and is not ready for a war in the continent, not until the war is about uniting the German people under the German Empire. Until then, the German Empire should choose diplomacy and avoid being isolated by other European powers.