The World Art Capital, Paris.

A newspaper with the headline "Lone Wolf of America" made a sensational debut, delivering a shocking piece of news to the Parisians at a low price—the Frenchman’s nemesis, the English, had once again suffered a "Waterloo-like" defeat in America.

The newspaper concealed the fact that the Republic of Texas was established by the Basilicata Wolf Race, instead painting the image of a small American country that bravely resisted under the tyranny of Great Britain, refusing to submit.

Moreover, the president of that country, an old man appearing extremely frail, tearfully pleaded for France, as the beacon of civilization, to stand up for justice, and expel the evil Englishmen.

This, of course, wasn’t spontaneously reported by the French, but was the result of Juliano’s usage of covert operatives left in Europe, combined with a generous amount of monetary inducement.

The covert operatives, after completing the report, initially expected to be hunted down by the royal police, yet surprisingly, nothing happened.

It seemed as though the Paris Government had tacitly permitted the Texans to promote themselves as a small overseas country resisting British invasion.

Some second-rate poets even began to extensively denounce the shamelessness of the English, the massacre of Americans, the persecution of white immigrants, and even the concentration camps the British set up in South Africa during the last Boer War were brought up for discussion again.

The speed at which public opinion worsened was faster than anyone could have imagined, and the Parisians’ enthusiasm for world affairs far exceeded the understanding of Basilicata’s covert operatives.

To the extent that later on, the French government, which originally intended to tacitly permit the Texans to seek support from public opinion, found itself unable to stay calm in the face of protesting crowds, even forcing the King of France to declare that they would issue a diplomatic inquiry to the British.

...

New England, Rhode Island.

As one of the original thirteen states of the North American Colonies, Rhode Island’s industrial base was quite decent, with significant development in the textile industry, jewelry manufacturing, and shipbuilding, and as a port city suitable for "exile overseas," it became a stronghold for the independence movement in the North American Colonies.

At this time, in the traditionally defined Providence Manor, a man sat with his back to the door, frowning as he listened to his subordinate’s report.

"Those idiots back home, wielding the most advanced weapons, can’t even stand against a group of savages. The spark of civilization is extinguished before barbarism. It seems it’s time to take action."

The man reminded, "This time, our actions must be more cautious. The dog noses of Military Intelligence Six are incredibly sharp. The scale of the operation doesn’t need to be too large, just enough to show those homegrown elites our power."

"Yes, sir."

The man smiled, turned around, picked up the glass of red wine on the table, and raised it in a toast, "For Mr. Washington’s legacy, for America’s independence and freedom!"

The independence organization within the North American Colonies had long been infiltrated like a sieve.

Not only were there British secret agents and spies, but also many people who never intended to seek independence, just wanting to shout slogans to draw mainland attention to the interests of the colonies. If these people were reliable, Washington wouldn’t have been burned to death at the stake in Richmond.

...

Frankfurt.

As the northern capital of the German Federation, Franz spent two-thirds of each year residing here.

The people of Vienna had much to say about this, some even claimed, "We gained a federation but lost an empire."

Historically, the Southern German part of the Second German Empire only included a few small principalities like Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden, and Hesse, whereas the Northern German part dominantly centered on Prussia had an absolute advantage.

However, the South-North opposition remained severe, and in this era, the Southern German part not only added Austria but Bohemia had also joined the federation in recent years.

The South and North became more evenly matched, with neither able to suppress the other, which was not necessarily a good thing.

Approaching the twentieth century, this monarch who was crowned as the Emperor of the Austrian Empire at the age of eighteen had been on the throne for nearly fifty years.

These past few years, he felt his health deteriorating, and the expensive medicines prescribed by the Royal Mages barely helped him maintain it.

Royal Advisor Conrad hastily approached the Emperor’s side, "Your Majesty, an important message has arrived from America."

The old emperor’s eyes flashed with disdain, "I don’t want to hear anything about America."

Ever since his younger brother, the French puppet Emperor of Mexico, Maximilian I, was executed by the Mexicans, he grew increasing reluctant to hear any news about America, which had become a place of sorrow for the old emperor.

During the Austro-Italian War, no one was willing to send troops overseas for a "traitor" Mexican emperor, and the Austrian Empire’s navy was too weak, even if they wished to punish the Mexicans across the sea, they were unable to do so.

"Your Majesty, this time it’s good news."

"Another colonial rebellion of the English? That might be good news, but those cowardly rebels won’t succeed. America remains the dueling ground for England and France; there’s no need for us to get involved."

Franz shook his head.

He had no interest in American affairs, nor was he interested in the recent domestic buzz about "expanding under the sun."

The difficulty of overseas expansion nowadays kept increasing, all the soft targets and profitable harvests had been picked clean, what remained were either tough nuts or barren lands.

The existing German colonies—German Southwest Africa, German East Africa, and German Guinea—despite strong overseas support, were all in a state of loss and required government subsidies.

"Not that. The British suffered a devastating defeat in their war with Texas, losing at least ten thousand soldiers, and their proud airship fleet was over half destroyed!"

Franz’s previously narrowed eyes suddenly widened, and his whole languid demeanor instantly perked up.

"Texans? The nation formed by those Italian Wolf Race fugitives?"

Existing German colonies—German Southwest Africa, German East Africa, and German Guinea—despite strong overseas support, were all in a state of loss and required government subsidies.

"Not that. The British suffered a devastating defeat in their war with Texas, losing at least ten thousand soldiers, and their proud airship fleet was over half destroyed!"

Franz’s previously narrowed eyes suddenly widened, and his whole languid demeanor instantly perked up.

"Texans? The nation formed by those Italian Wolf Race fugitives?"