Holy Roman Empire

The Austrian ambassador to Berlin, Robson, explained calmly: "Your Excellency, the account cannot be settled that way. First of all, the Silesia region was agreed before the war, and there is no need to pay any more.

This time the transaction is only for the Prussian-Saxon region. You must know that in addition to money, our political contributions should also be included in the scope of the transaction.

Your country wants to acquire the two principalities of Schleswig-Holstein, Lithuania, Latvia, and most of Belarus. With so many places added up, your country's territory has increased by three-quarters.

It is not so easy to achieve the goal, at least the French support the Poles in obtaining access to the sea in Lithuania, and the attitude of the British is also very warm, if you do not want to take another enclave..."

Enclaves This is a sad issue. A Rhineland under the noses of the French will make the Berlin government sleepless, and an enclave under the noses of the Russians will make life impossible.

Once the Poles obtained access to the sea from the Lithuanian region, the Belarusian and Latvian regions that Prussia wanted became enclaves, and the national defense pressure was enough to collapse.

Not only were they threatened by the Russians, but even the Poles had the strength to threaten them.If the power cannot be gathered, what else can be used to annex Poland and establish a Great Prussian Empire?

It was in the French interest to weaken Prussia and strengthen Poland.It not only created conditions for them to annex the Rhineland region, but also supported a pawn to contain Austria.

For the British, the two are younger brothers, and it is not good to lean towards either one. John Bull, who is good at dancing sleeves, of course will not take his position rashly.

Prussian Foreign Minister McCarter retorted: "Sir Robson, the emergence of a powerful Poland is not a good thing for your country. Polish nationalism is always in Austrian Poland!"

Minister Robson smiled slightly and said, "Your Excellency, you think highly of the Poles. Austrian Poland never existed, and the local people don't think they are Poles.

If the newborn Poland dares to challenge Austria, it won't be long before they will become history again. The gap in strength cannot be made up by a few slogans. "

In this regard, the Vienna government is confident. As early as 20 years ago, the Polish nobles in Galicia fought for independence and were suppressed by the local people.

After so many years of assimilation, the traces of Poland have long been touched, and the locals regard themselves as Austrians.

Those who still retain the Polish tradition have become a very small minority. Looking at the ethnic statistics table of the Vienna government, we can see that the number of Polish ethnic groups in the country has dropped to less than one million.

The reduced Poles did not disappear, but were mainly assimilated.The new generation did not consider themselves Poles, and the number of Polish nationalities naturally decreased dramatically.

The division of Austrian ethnic groups is not based on blood. After so many years of development, there are a lot of mixed races, and it is not clear at all.

Instead, it is carried out according to various factors such as language, traditional customs, and people's self-identity to the nation.

In this regard, the policies of the two countries are similar, and both are promoting Germanization.Both sides have achieved good results, but Austria has gone one step further. If you don't learn the common language well, you can't find a job.

Of course, Poland's re-independence will still affect Austria's assimilation work, but the Vienna government is also prepared.

Franz also advocates freedom. Since he wants to be a Pole, he should go back to Poland. Austria has a population of 10.

It is very difficult to deport tens of thousands of people in other countries, but it is not a problem at all in Austria.Protest and cause trouble, then we will expel them together.

The threat to Poland lies within, not without.The strength of the two sides determines that Poland cannot threaten Austria militarily.As long as one dares to act harshly on internal issues, threats will be the same.

Austria can take it lightly, but not McCarthy.Prussia is still very interested in Poland, and Polish national independence cannot scare the Berlin government.

To some extent, the Junker nobles are their nemesis.East Prussia and West Prussia are both examples. A group of Junker nobles suppressed the region and did a very good job of integrating nationalities.

The successful experience has increased the confidence of the Berlin government.Regardless of how the outside world criticizes the system of enfeoffment and aristocracy as backward, this system is indeed very effective in stabilizing places.

……

After some bargaining, on August 1867, 8, the Austrian Minister to Berlin Robson and the Prussian Foreign Minister McCarter signed the "Prussian and Austrian Land Transaction Case".

The content of the treaty is only one: the Kingdom of Prussia sells Silesia and Prussian Saxony to Austria at a price of 800 million Aegis.

Remarks: After the signing of the treaty, the Kingdom of Prussia will complete the handover with Austria within two years after receiving the payment. Austria needs to pay an additional 1000 million Aegis for the relocation fee.

Undoubtedly, other additional conditions were hidden, and both parties tacitly did not mention them.

Vienna, looking at the signed treaty, was in disbelief to Franz.It seemed to him that Prussia wanted to sign the treaty as soon as possible, and there was no so-called resistance.

The only problem is that the Prussians require a relatively long handover time, but this is not a big problem. The Kingdom of Prussia will not be able to recover in just two years, and it will not have the strength to renege on its debts.

Moreover, the Berlin government gave a reasonable explanation that it will take time for them to withdraw funds.Unless Austria pays to buy the above industry again, it will leave them with a time buffer.

There is no such thing as buying property with capital, and the Vienna government is not being taken advantage of.If you really buy it according to the market value, Austria can't afford it!

The bubble economy existed in every era. The Prussia and Silesia regions together cover more than 3 square kilometers. The mines, land, factories, and real estate on it are worth hundreds of millions, and the market value on the surface will double. several times.

Since the Prussians are willing to move, the Vienna government will naturally not mind.Not all factories are valuable, and these industries exist in Austria itself, and they have no real effect except to intensify market competition.

It was precisely because it was unnecessary that the Vienna government decisively signed a treaty with the Prussians.Soon the Vienna government found out that something was wrong, and the Prussians had moved too thoroughly.

The factory moved out, and they took the workers with them.Nobles and farmers moved with their families along with them, and packed them away with the farmers who cultivated their land.

Of course, it was already half a year later when this problem was discovered. At that time, the deal was done, and Franz could only pinch his nose and admit it.

The treaty has been signed, so you can't go back on your word, right?Moreover, the people did not leave, and the people who supported Austria stayed, which was regarded as a consolation prize.

Now the Vienna government is celebrating this great diplomatic victory. Austria has taken back the Silesia region that everyone has never forgotten, and the Kingdom of Saxony has also taken back the Prussian Saxony region.

The response from the people was even more enthusiastic. Many people believed that this was a further step towards the unification of the German region, and the unified theory of distribution became more popular.

The Vienna government, which took people's money to eliminate disasters and benefits, also changed its position at the London Peace Conference.

Many of the demands put forward by the Kingdom of Prussia have adopted a tacit attitude, instead of resolute opposition at the beginning.

Chapter 114 The Dying King

Without the obstacles created by Austria, the peace in London will develop in favor of the Kingdom of Prussia. On September 1867, 9, Prussia and Denmark signed an armistice treaty.

There is no way to cede the land. The two duchies of Schleswig-Holstein were eaten by Prussia, so it is naturally impossible to spit them out.

There is no need to think about reparations, and the Kingdom of Denmark has a new backing-the Nordic Federation.Although this country that is still being formed is not as powerful as the Kingdom of Prussia, there is still no problem in self-protection.

The Swedes did not fight for the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein, mainly because they were worried that Denmark's strength would be too strong, which would not be conducive to their control of the country.

In addition, Karl XV of Sweden wanted to annex Finland, so he had to stand on the opposite side with the Russians, and then had a conflict with Prussia. The pressure on national defense was too great.

Even so, Sweden still asked for a symbolic compensation for Denmark, which is about 200 million Aegis, taking care of the emotions of the Danes.

This is all small money, no matter how poor the Kingdom of Prussia is, there is no shortage of such funds.In order to settle the matter as soon as possible, the Berlin government readily agreed.

Because there is a common enemy, the Russians, the Nordic Federation that Prussia is about to establish will have many common topics.If it wasn't for the purpose of bringing Denmark into the gang, the Swedish government would have made trouble for the Russians long ago.

From this point of view, Prussia gave up the Jutland Peninsula in exchange for an ally, and this deal is still very cost-effective.

The foundation of the Russian Empire is too strong, even if it is weakened, no one dares to despise them.

If they continue to decline, that's all. If the Russians become stronger again, the Kingdom of Prussia will bear the brunt again.

It is necessary to plan ahead. With one more Nordic Federation to restrict the Russians in the north, the pressure on Prussia will be much less.

For this, neither the Skagerrak (Strait of Jutland) Kingdom of Prussia made a claim.

Of course, Prussia's pocket-sized navy was also one of the reasons that prompted the Berlin government to give up.With their current naval strength, it is useless to occupy them.

……

After the signing of the Putan Armistice Treaty, the tsarist government also made concessions. On September 1867, 9, Prussia, Poland, and Russia signed an armistice treaty.

This time the Russians were bleeding heavily. It was inevitable to recognize Poland's independence, and the Tsarist government was forced to accept almost all the territorial claims of the two countries.

The Polish region was independent, the Lithuanian region was lost, the Latvian region was abandoned, the Belarusian region was not kept, and a piece of Ukraine was also cut off.

This has gone beyond the scope of Russian Poland. The total area of ​​​​the loss of territory is close to 79 square kilometers, the total loss of the population is as high as 2000 million, and the total amount of industry has dropped by nearly three layers.

At the end of the 18th century, the three countries of Prussia, Russia and Austria divided up Poland, and the Russians got the largest share of about 46 square kilometers. At the Vienna Conference in 1815, they obtained part of the territorial compensation of Prussia. (Warsaw area)

These territories add up to less than 60 square kilometers, and now they have lost even the capital with interest, which is enough for Alexander II to feel pain for a long time.

Concessions were made on the ceded land, and the tsarist government would naturally not pay the reparations.Prussia and Poland, which wanted to rely on war reparations to survive the financial crisis, made a wrong calculation this time.

The money of the tsarist government will also be used to suppress the rebellion, and Alexander II dare not relax his vigilance in this regard.

The threat posed by Prussia and Poland is just a minor ailment, similar to a cold; the threat posed by the rebellious party is cancer, although it is still in its early stages, and it will kill people if it is not treated in time.

The two powers harm each other whichever is the lesser, so naturally they can only compromise with Pubo first.The land will not run away, even if it is ceded, it can be taken back when they recover from illness.

Money is different. Without money, there is no way to suppress the rebellion. If the rebellious party is not eliminated, the rule of the tsarist government will be threatened.

According to the provisions of the treaty: The Kingdom of Prussia will acquire Lithuania, Latvia, and most of Belarus, with a total area of ​​28.6 square kilometers and a total population of about 470 million.

Poland gets the remaining area, with a total area of ​​about 50.4 square kilometers, including the core Warsaw area of ​​Poland, parts of Belarus, most of Western Ukraine, and the border extends to the Kyiv area.

Obviously, the Russians lost a lot this time, even the Smolensk area, which is only 360 kilometers away from Moscow.

It was occupied by the Poles in 1611, and it was considered to be the old land of Poland in the negotiations, which was included in the Belarusian region.

This is not because the tsarist government is weak, but because it is actually occupied by the enemy, which has created an established fact.Unless you use force, you can't get it back at all.

Most of the land ceded was the actual control area of ​​the enemy. Through negotiations, they took back a lot of territory. During the winter battle, the Russian army lost too much territory to the enemy, which caused them to have no confidence in the negotiations.

The newly independent Kingdom of Poland inherited the legacy left by Russia and became a newly rising European power with a total population of more than 500 million, which was about the same as that of the Kingdom of Prussia before the war.

Although the industry is not very good, the agricultural foundation is still good.The land is basically a plain area, so it is not a problem to cultivate the land for a well-off life.

However, this did not satisfy the interim government.In the age of the ocean, how could it be ashamed to call itself a big country without an outlet to the sea?

Well, independence has just been achieved, and the Poles have begun to dream of a great power.

In theory, Poland still has a basis for its rise.Although the total population is not high, their birth rate is high.

The scale of the industry is small, but it is an important industrial system. The Russians still have a lot of them. Integration can save a lot of time.

Local resources are abundant, which can meet the early needs of the industrial revolution.Some minerals are still more than abundant, for example: silver reserves are very abundant, so there is no need to worry about currency issues.

If there is a surplus of grain production, it can also be exported for foreign exchange to develop the domestic economy.

This is only in theory. In fact, the biggest flaw is the lack of "talent".Don't count on the intellectuals left behind by the tsarist government. These people basically took the road of revolution and were ready to flex their muscles in politics.

Many intellectuals are spraying the sky, the earth, and the universe, and I am sorry that the practical ability has not been cultivated.

Of course, there are occasional exceptions, but they are too few.The second industrial revolution has begun, and what a country needs is a large number of knowledgeable and skilled engineers.

In terms of population quality, the German region currently has an advantage.At present, the countries that have completed compulsory education are all concentrated in the German region.

Neither Britain nor France has universal compulsory education, let alone other countries.Reading is the monopoly of the rich, and church schools occasionally teach common people knowledge, but this is far from enough.

Only after national independence was achieved, the Poles have not yet floated up.Although they were dissatisfied with Prussia because of the problem of estuary, the two sides did not tear their faces apart.

The Kingdom of Poland still lacks a king, and everyone is still worried about the king.

According to the Polish tradition, it is definitely necessary to find the king outside, and several major king professional households in the German region are candidates.

There are too many issues to consider, as well as the diplomatic game of various countries. The Polish parliament is currently in the middle of a fierce quarrel, and the Polish king may have a difficult childbirth.

At present, it is King William I of Prussia who has clearly added the battle for the throne. Once Poland and Prussia share the monarchy, the merger of Pupo and Poland will become possible.

In theory, forming a federal empire is in the interests of both Phuket and Poland.They face a common threat - Russia and Austria.

These two enemies are too powerful, and they are no match for them alone, and only by uniting can they have the strength to fight against them.

Obviously, this is only theoretical.Who is the boss is a headache. Poland's glorious history has become the biggest obstacle in this alliance.

Before the threat of the Russians disappeared, the Polish provisional government needed the help of the Prussians and almost compromised with the Berlin government, but the international environment at the time did not allow it.

France and Austria did not want to see the merger of Pubo and issued stern warnings.At the critical moment of the war, the Berlin government did not dare to offend France and Austria, and this plan came to an end.

It was very reluctant at the time, but now that the real threat does not exist, the Poles are even more unwilling to be younger brothers.

Of course, the voice for the union of the two countries has always been very high. Supporting William I as the king of Poland, the support rate in the Polish parliament is still not low.

The candidate with the most support, however, was kicked out from the start.

At the same time, it was strongly opposed by France, Austria and Russia. Even if the Polish Parliament voted unanimously, William I would not dare to sit on the king.

If the two countries merged, William I would dare to take the risk.It is only the co-lord who will be opposed by the three major powers, and William I is still very cowardly.

It's not just his problem, the key is that the Polish Parliament is even more cowardly.Facing the intervention of the great powers, they dared not hold a vote.

Of course, the Berlin government has not completely given up. The current disputes in the Polish Parliament are largely caused by them.

In this Prussian joint anti-Russian war, the Kingdom of Prussia also completed its penetration of Poland. Now there are more than eight officers and soldiers in the Polish army, all trained by Prussian instructors.

The pro-Prussian forces in Poland are also very strong. Although everyone is unwilling to be the younger brother of Prussia, it does not mean that everyone rejects William I as the king of Poland.

With such a big advantage, the Prussians naturally wanted to fight for it.It's not their style to declare defeat without trying.

The international opposition is strong, mainly because of Austria and Austria.The attitude of the Russian Empire can be almost ignored now. Before they end the civil war, they have no time to interfere with who gets the Polish throne.

The British have no clear support and opposition, so it can be regarded as neutral.There are a lot of small European countries, and most of them are against it, but their opinions are not important.

Obtaining the Polish throne is crucial to Prussia's annexation of Poland.If they can't get it, they would rather leave the Polish throne vacant.

Volume Five The Age of Imperialism

Chapter 1 Godchild

With the end of the London Peace Conference, the European continent finally ushered in a short-lived peace.Those who have not experienced war will never know the horror of war.