Holy Roman Empire

Prime Minister Moltke said in surprise: "Your Majesty, this is an excellent opportunity. The conflict between Britain and Austria broke out, and the French focused their attention on the Italian region.

At this time, no one can limit our chance to attack the German Federal Empire and unify the North German region. "

The unification of North Germany is very important to Prussia. Once the German Federal Empire is annexed, it will not be the three major powers that dominate the European continent, but the four major powers.

Although Prussia has now defeated the Russian Empire, in everyone's mind, they are still ranked after the Russian Empire.

It is recognized as a member of the Great Powers Club, but it is only a second-rate power. It has a certain right to speak, but it does not have the influence to dominate the European situation.

This is not a matter of vanity, but of strength.Whether it is economic strength or military strength, the Kingdom of Prussia is still unable to match Britain, France and Austria.

After defeating the Russians, the Junker nobles' self-confidence burst.If they hadn't lost too much in the war and hadn't recovered their vitality so far, they wouldn't be so peaceful.

To change this situation, unifying the North German region is the best choice.Of course, it would be even more perfect to annex Poland.

Prime Minister Moltke still has an online IQ, and he is not foolish enough to want to do both.Prussia's strength is limited, and the consequences of taking both at the same time must be a chicken-and-egg fight.

William I asked directly: "My Prime Minister, do you think the South African region is important to Austria, or the German region is important to Austria?"

Don't think about this issue. Obviously, the German region is more important.Even if the gold mines in South Africa have been discovered, they are still not as important to Austria as the German region.

Politically, Franz has decided that it is impossible for Franz to give up the German region. Even if the German region cannot be unified, the slogan of unification must still be shouted.

This is related to the legitimacy of the Shenluo Empire. The Vienna government cannot let go easily, otherwise it will not be able to explain to the people in the country.

Moltke replied: "Naturally, the German region is important, but judging from the performance of the Vienna government, their interest in the German Federation is not too strong.

If they really want to annex the German Federal Empire, they don't have to wait until now, as early as a few years ago when we were fighting hard with the Russians, we could do it. "

This is a fact. At that time, Prussia contained the Russians, Austria attacked the Federal Empire of Germany, and the only ones capable of intervening were the French.

The French also focused on the Italian region, and France and Austria exchanged interests, and the success rate of annexing the German Federation was very high.

William I picked up the baton, pointed to the map of Europe on the wall and said: "The fact that the Vienna government does not do anything does not mean that we will let us do it.

Your Excellency Marshal, you are also a military master.You must be aware of the strategic situation that Austria will face when it annexes the German Federation.

Purely from the perspective of national defense, the current situation is the most beneficial to Austria.The Russians in the east are licking their wounds, the Ottoman Empire in the south is dying, and we in the north cannot threaten them.

With the Alps Mountains blocking it, it is difficult for the French in the west to fight through.In addition to attacking Austria from the Italian region, the French had to borrow from Belgium and the Rhineland region.

The French are still busy annexing the Italian region. It can be said that the local situation will not be stable in the next 20 years.Attacking Austria from the Italian area, the French wanted to consider the partisans in the territory.

As for borrowing from others, that is even more impossible.At least we don't have the guts to let the French in, and it's impossible for the French to trust us. They would rather fight all the way through.

The possibility of a war between France and Austria has been reduced to the lowest, which is lower than the probability of a war between us and the French.

Once the German Federal Empire is occupied, this strategic advantage will disappear in an instant.Not only the threat of the French, but also the threat of the sea from the British.

Putting aside the military threat, do the Austrians really need the German Confederation now?

There are more than 20 large and small states in the German Federal Empire, and they have been annexed. Isn't the Vienna government afraid that the Imperial Parliament will be too lively? "

The last reason is the crux of the problem.With so many states joining the Shenluo Empire, the number of votes they have in the Imperial Parliament exceeds that of Austria, which will weaken the central government's control over the states.

Don't say that the strategy is not allowed. Even if there is no strategic issue, no one dares to do it due to the political impact.

There was no way for Franz to reorganize Shinra back then.Austria's strength is insufficient, and the number of major nationalities in the country is seriously insufficient, so it can only choose to compromise.

So many years have passed, after a series of measures such as compulsory education, planned cross-immigration, and assimilation, the internal ethnic conflicts have almost been resolved.

At this time, the Vienna government is naturally unwilling to add a bunch of states.Otherwise, there is no need to use force at all, and the German Federation will take the initiative to come over.

According to the principle of at least one vote for each state, so many small states in the German Federal Empire can directly become the masters of the empire by virtue of the advantage in the number of votes.

How is such a good thing possible?Not only does Austria not agree, but even several states in the country will not agree.

Everyone has contributed to the development of the empire to this point.It is not easy to be willing to share these benefits.You have to hand over the rights, no matter who it is, it is impossible to agree!

The Vienna government was scruples about eating, and it was impossible to blatantly violate the promise of the year, so the matter was delayed.But if they don't do it, they won't let others do it either.

William I estimated that as soon as they started their forefoot, Austria jumped out to pick peaches.It just so happened that they killed the governments of these states, and Austria could directly turn these areas into provinces and cities directly under the Central Government.

The current Kingdom of Prussia does not have the power to fight. Even if you have the courage to challenge Austria, you must first consider whether the Russians behind you will stab the knife, and you must also worry about whether France in the west will fall into trouble.

In the era without Bismarck, these troubles caused William I a headache and had to go into battle himself.

The power struggle is cruel, and the military is too powerful. Now even the king, William I, cannot make a promise.

The Kingdom of Prussia is not without talents, but it is very difficult to promote these people, and many people have become the king's staff.

Not long ago, William I wanted to promote a foreign minister who was born as a civilian, but he was opposed by the Junker nobles. The reason was very simple: no credit for the country.

William I could not refute this reason.The merit-based appointment system, which the Junkers copied from Austria and then changed.

Austria assesses officials’ political performance, while Prussia directly looks at merit. Political achievements are credit, and military merit is also credit.Under this rule of the game, a large number of Junker nobles occupy high positions.

Having just won the battle against the Russians, the Junker nobles had a lot of military merits, and most of the government's power fell into their hands.

The prime minister and ministers were all Junker nobles, and William I's rights were inevitably weakened.

If it hadn't been for William I who took the lead and split the Junker nobles, splitting the group into several waves, he would be a rubber stamp now.

They are all the elites of this era. Although the political sense is not very good, once the problem was brought to the surface, Marshal Moltke quickly reacted.

Seeing Moltke's face changed drastically, King William I was very satisfied.It was precisely because Moltke's talents were limited in military and political aspects that he made Moltke the prime minister.

Otherwise, how to divide the Junker nobles?Now there is a strange circle in Prussia, and many people with full military capabilities are serving in the government.

Of course, people with full political ability did not serve in the army, and William I would not do the thing of self-destructing the Great Wall.

After a moment of silence, William I added: "Now the government's focus is on economic development, Prussia has just come out of the war, the country is waiting for Baidu, and the people need to rest.

In recent years, the Russians have also carried out social reforms.In order to raise funds, Alexander II even did not hesitate to renege on his debts.

This enemy is so terrifying that we cannot let our guard down for a moment.Up to 20 years, there will be a war between Prussia and Russia. "

The topic transfer was very successful, and the Russians made outstanding contributions to the unity and stability of the Kingdom of Prussia.Only in the face of this great enemy can all sectors of Prussian society be united as never before.

The conflict between Prussia and Russia has been inextricably resolved, and William I is not prepared to reconcile with the Russians, so it is right to throw problems at them.

For this reason, everyone in the cabinet has no opinion.When Russia is an enemy, to provoke Austria and offend England is simply courting death.

That's right, the British now also oppose Prussia's annexation of the German Federal Empire.The presence of France and Austria is enough for the London government to keep busy, and the British can't stand a strong Prussia.

Moreover, the British still have considerable interests in the German Federation, and they are happy to keep this little brother if they are not interested in doing anything in Austria.

In fact, any annexation in continental Europe is a threat to the British.Limited by its small size, the London government had to prevent any possible European unification.

In order to ease the atmosphere, Minister of Finance Ron suggested: "Your Majesty is right, our finances are not optimistic, and we are only one step away from bankruptcy.

The Russians reneged on their debts this time, not only because of the loss of international credibility, but also because they lost almost all of the international market.

This kind of price is not something we can afford. Now that economic development is very important, it is necessary for the government to formulate a more active economic policy. "

Regardless of the fact that they are all from the army and are not very familiar with political business, the situation in the Kingdom of Prussia is actually very stable.

They directly brought the mode of managing the army to the management of the country. The consequences are still unknown, but at least in a short period of time, they have achieved positive results.

Less than three years after the end of the war, the Kingdom of Prussia was out of the woods.Of course, the loot is also an important motivating factor, otherwise they would not have recovered so quickly.

Up to now, the Kingdom of Prussia has not only got rid of the food crisis, but also changed from a food importing country to an exporting country.

Remarkable results have also been achieved in industry, especially in the military industry. Stimulated by the war, the Prussian military industry system has been upgraded and is among the top in the world.

Economically, the Kingdom of Prussia also maintained rapid growth during the post-war recovery period.However, with the passage of time, the economic growth rate is now slowing down.

The huge debt has become an important factor restricting the continued development of the Kingdom of Prussia.Every year, more than half of the Berlin government's fiscal revenue is used to repay foreign debts.

Although this ratio is constantly decreasing, it still puts Prussian finances on the verge of bankruptcy.If it weren't for the consequences of not being able to afford to renege on their debts, they would have followed the example of the Russians.

Of course, behind this, the Poles also contributed a lot.Selflessly contributed industrial raw materials, as well as product sales market.

Otherwise, Prussia's economic recovery would not have been so fast.

Chapter 41 The Boer Republic

In South Africa, the British army that swept all the way finally ran into trouble.After going deep into the Transvaal region, they were attacked head-on by the Austrian aristocratic private army that had been prepared for a long time, and the forward troops suffered heavy losses.

This is also the arrogance of the British, and their consecutive victories made them proud, ignoring that the early victories were carried out with the help of the leading party, otherwise they would not divide their troops and advance rashly.

In fact, some people provided news to the British after the outbreak of the war, but they did not attract the attention of the British.

What is a mere caravan? Who doesn’t have a few lives in their hands when running business in Africa these days?In the British concept, the noble private army is the caravan guard.

After hearing that there were only two to 3000 people, and they were divided into more than a dozen families, I was completely relieved.From their point of view, when encountering such a thing, of course they ran away immediately.

This news was not reported at all. Although the Boers defected to the past, their status was not high and they were not qualified to contact the British high-level.

Governor Delphi has not received relevant information from beginning to end.Of course, if you receive it, you may not pay attention to it. After all, the difference in numbers between the two sides is too large to pose a threat.

Governor Delphi did not receive the intelligence until the front line was defeated.At this time, there are no longer two to three thousand people.

Under the threat of the British, Viscount Fickney successfully took over the military and political power of the Boer Republic, and by the way sent the top leaders of the Boer Republic to the rear Central South African region (Zimbabwe region).

After taking over the power, the first thing to do was to expand the army.In the Boer Republic, all people are soldiers. Although the training has been neglected in recent years, the militia system is still there.

When the British fought all the way, the number of troops in the hands of Viscount Ficney had exceeded 1.5. Although the gap between the two sides was still huge, the balance of strength had changed.

Playing forward with [-] British troops became the first victims of information asymmetry.Governor Delphi didn't care about these losses, and most of the deaths were native cannon fodder.

What gave him a headache was how to fight the next battle. With the participation of the Austrian nobles, the enemy he had to face was no longer the Tuboer Republic, but Austria, the European army powerhouse.

The high-spirited Major General Friedman now lowered his proud head.Don't look at his nearly 2.6 troops. In fact, there are less than [-] white soldiers, and the rest are indigenous troops.

The original purpose of training these indigenous troops was to prepare to make trouble for the Austrians, avenging their expulsion of the indigenous tribes into South Africa.

We must know that the South African colony has not been able to expand for so many years. Apart from the fact that the London government has not paid enough attention to investment, the most important thing is the indigenous tribes expelled by the Austrians.

In the middle of the 19th century, the number of whites in Cape Town exceeded [-]. However, until now, the number of whites in Cape Town is still so large, with little growth.

In addition to the opening of the Suez Canal, which weakened the economic value of the port of the Cape of Good Hope, it was the loss caused by the influx of indigenous tribes back then.

In order to stabilize the situation, the colonial government of Cape Town has been provoking the civil war of the indigenous tribes, and occasionally took action to suppress the big tribes in person, and it took several years to solve the problem.

This is also the reason why the South African colonists hated Austria. The big event at the beginning directly caused them heavy losses, and many colonial teams were forced to shift their development direction.

Madagascar fell into the hands of the British against this background, and this can be regarded as one of the few achievements of the British on the African continent in recent years.

However, this achievement has nothing to do with the Governor of Cape Town. The British also established a colonial government on Madagascar, which was not incorporated into the Cape Town colony.

Governor Delphi said with a gloomy face: "Major General, I want to know if you will fight a war? If not, I can apply to the London government for someone capable to take over your command."

Don't blame him for getting angry, but this battle was fought in a muddle.Without even knowing the enemy's situation, they divided up their troops and launched an attack.It doesn't matter if you win, but you still lose.

Major General Friedman did not speak, and it was wrong to say anything after losing the battle.Purely from the perspective of military deployment, his performance is quite satisfactory.

The failures encountered on the front line are not only a matter of command, but more of a lack of combat effectiveness of the troops.

After all, Viscount Fickney now has a majority of recruits and is in the running-in period.If the fighting power of the British army is strong enough, it may still be a big victory.

After venting his depressed mood, Governor Delphi eased his tone: "Major General Friedman, what are you going to do next?

The enemy is not the natives encountered in the past, this war will be very difficult to fight.It can be said to be the most difficult battle since the opening of the Cape Colony, but you must win! "

Governor Delphi really wanted to change people. He had long been unhappy with Major General Friedman.

However, a replacement must also be found. The combat effectiveness of the colonial troops is not strong, and most of the colonial officers are defective.

The kind of super capable officers who offended people because of their rebelliousness and were exiled to the colonies only existed in novels.

In reality, if you really offend people and rush home, how can you give you a chance to make a comeback.

Although the conditions in the colony are not good, it is a good place to seek military exploits.There are quite a few aristocratic children who come here for gilding, so how could they give the opportunity to the enemy?

In the original time and space, Napoleon IV married the British royal family. Before the marriage, he ran to the colony for gilding and received a lunch box due to bad luck.

Those who are capable of commanding an army of tens of thousands are high-level talents, and they are treasures in Britain. No matter how poor they are, it is impossible to condescend to serve in Cape Town as a colony.

There is no dazzling aura in South Africa right now.Before the gold mine was discovered, it was just an ordinary colony.

Although Major General Friedman is a bit annoying, his ability is still passing, at least better than others.It is impossible for the governor of Delphi to change a wine bag and a rice bag, that is cheating himself.

Regardless of the ability to send people from China, the time alone is too late.This war is fought over time. If it drags on for three to five months, it will eventually become a war of attrition.

At that time, the two sides will have to fight for manpower and financial resources. Perhaps the British will not be afraid to fight for financial resources, but it will be hard to say if they are fighting for manpower.

As long as tens of thousands of people die, he has no way to explain to the people in the country.You must know that their enemy is the "Boer Republic", and it is difficult to pay such a price for attacking a small country, and it is difficult not to go to a military court.

Major General Friedman hurriedly replied: "Your Excellency, the situation has exceeded expectations. I didn't expect the Austrians to be so shameless and pretend to be the army of the Boer Republic to fight against us.

No one knows how much they invested. There are [-] enemies in front of us. It is not easy for us to defeat them.If the enemy continues to increase its troops, I am afraid the final outcome will be unpredictable. "

This answer to shirk responsibility made Governor Delphi very dissatisfied.But he didn't say anything, everyone is on the same boat now.

It is always right to exaggerate the enemy's strength first. If you win, everyone's military achievements will be more prominent. If you lose, it is because the enemy is too strong, and it is not a crime of war.