Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 20 I am also very embarrassed to do this

Berlin

Frederick William IV was thrilled to hear that a large donation had been raised in Austria.Yes, excited, definitely not angry.

Except for the Kingdom of Prussia, the donations raised in the entire German region, if converted into Austrian guilders, are about 300 million guilders, and Austria alone contributed more than 3000 million.

This amount of money is already equivalent to half a year's fiscal revenue of the Kingdom of Prussia. If all of it can be obtained, it will undoubtedly be a timely rain for the financially deficient Prussian government.

It's a pity that the great His Majesty Franz proposed a special fund for special use. As a result, many German states followed suit. Of course, they are not as cautious as His Majesty Franz.

So far, the Prussian government has received donations of more than 500 million guilders from the German region, and most of the rest have been intercepted by their respective governments.

How can bureaucrats do nothing for such a large benefit?Their donations were not as rigorous as Franz's, and they all had receipts, and they could be refunded if they were not used up.

It is conceivable that the remaining money is destined not to reach the hands of the Prussian government.

What made Frederick William IV even more depressed was that according to the media, the Kingdom of Prussia had received donations from the German region, and the total amount had exceeded [-] million guilders.

In this era, news transmission is not smooth, and there is no bank statement to check. Anyway, it is just a casual statement. The countries do not want to lose face, and each of them donates an astronomical sum.

True or false, is this important?

Anyway, it is all the data released by the media from all over the country, and it is not officially recognized. Even if it is found out in the future, it doesn't matter.

If you encounter a shameless government and insist that you gave the money to the Prussian government, no one can prove that you didn't.

For example, Franz allocated the first donation to the Prussian government, a total of 100 million guilders, all in cash, and was handed over to the Prussian embassy under the witness of the media.

Of course, maybe because 100 million is too little, the 100 million in Vienna newspapers has become 300 million.If Franz was unscrupulous and just swallowed the extra 200 million guilders, it would not be impossible.

Not everyone is as fastidious as Franz. False reporting of donation figures is only a small problem. Many places only gave 20 yuan, and Prussian officials insisted on signing the 50 yuan receipt.

Anyway, whether money is in the hands of others, whether they want it or not, in the face of interests, the fighting power of bureaucrats is overwhelmed.

Except for the states that were heavily influenced by Prussia, this phenomenon is relatively small, and the states in the South German region have become the hardest hit areas.

Prussian Prime Minister Joseph von Radowitz said worriedly: "Your Majesty, we can't ask for this money!"

"What's wrong?" Frederick William IV asked suspiciously

Dissatisfaction with the German states is dissatisfaction, but there is no need to have trouble with money?Even if a large part of it is embezzled by bureaucrats of various countries, it is not a small sum of money in the end.

Now the Prussian government is heavily indebted. If it weren't for the different times, Frederick William IV was ready to declare the government bankrupt and pay off all the debts.

"Your Majesty, these states are supporting us in fighting in name, but in fact they all harbor evil intentions.

Now that they hold us so high, if the Russians insist that we give up the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, how will we end up?

Now, except for the German region, all countries in Europe are on the opposite side of us. The Danes are confident and will not make concessions. ’ said Joseph von Radowitz with a wry smile

There is no doubt that the use of war to divert domestic conflicts has gone too far this time, and now the Prussian government is riding a tiger.If they can't take back the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, they will have no way to explain to the people.

This is not only the people in Prussia, but also the people in the German region.

They can still think of ways to guide domestic public opinion, but don't think about foreign public opinion. It's strange if they aren't hacked into militarism?

Frederick William IV also thought about this question, but he had no choice. Whether he accepted the money or not, the final result would not change.

If they successfully recovered the principalities of Schleswig and Holstein, they are the heroes of the German nation, and if they fail, they are the national thieves of the German nation.

Unless they dare to fight the Russians with real knives and guns, then no matter whether they win or lose, they can account for it.

In this era, Russia was the overlord of continental Europe, and it was normal for Prussia to be unable to defeat the Russians in a single-handed fight. The public could understand that they would transfer this anger to Austria and other states that did not participate in the war.

If the gun was not fired, the Prussian government would shrink back. How could nationalists and patriots accept it?

In the eyes of ordinary people, all the states in the German region are their backing, even if they are facing the Russians, shouldn't they be persuaded?

Public opinion is terrible, and the Russians are even more terrible!

If the Russo-Prussian War broke out, who would Austria help?

In Frederick William IV's view, it is unlikely that Austria will fall to Russia. Under the pressure of public opinion, most of them will support Prussia.

It is a pity that this kind of support is very limited, and it is impossible for Austria to really contribute.After all, the Kingdom of Prussia is finished, and the biggest obstacle for Austria to unify the German region is gone.

No matter how weak Austria's support was, it also offset the diplomatic pressure from France.A large group of German states waved their flags and shouted, which can be regarded as offsetting the diplomatic pressure of small European countries.

The diplomatic pressure the Kingdom of Prussia is now under is much smaller than it has been in history; but the pressure exerted on them by domestic patriots has surpassed that of the same period in history.

Neither Prime Minister Joseph von Radowi nor King Frederick William IV could make up their minds to abandon the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein.

There is too much investment, and the war funds paid by the Kingdom of Prussia for this war have exceeded Austria's expenditures in the Ossa War.

It has been more than a year since the outbreak of the war. Although the two sides really fought each other for a short time, the Prussian army also beat the Danes, but the military confrontation also costs money!

Military expenditures during wartime are often several times or even more than in peacetime, which is not easy for the militaristic Kingdom of Prussia.

The military expenditure of the Kingdom of Prussia has always remained high. Since Frederick II came to the throne in 1740, the number of Prussian troops has increased from 7 to 20, accounting for 9.4% of the country's population. Military expenditures are spent on the government every year. 4/5 of the full budget.

At that time, Prussia ranked only tenth in area in Europe and No. 13 in population, but its army was second only to Russia, France and Austria, and ranked fourth in Europe.

Moreover, this number was increased to 23.5 by William II, Frederick II's successor, and the Prussian Kingdom's army almost never fell below this number in the following days.

With such a large army in peacetime, the financial pressure on the Kingdom of Prussia, which has a small population and has not yet completed industrialization, can be imagined.

For this country, fiscal deficits are commonplace.Under such circumstances, it was very difficult for the Kingdom of Prussia to seek loans or issue bonds.

It was really that the government had no money, so Frederick William IV put down his face and asked the German states for help.Even though he knew that the money was not easy to get, he still accepted it.

"It's too late to say this now, let our people collect evidence first, and if something happens in the future, they can also be dragged into the water.

This is all a bad strategy. The last solution is to keep the two duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. At that time, these states will send the money obediently. said Frederick William IV sternly

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid things are not that simple. At that time, most of these states will ask for the independence of these two duchies." Joseph von Radowi thought for a while and said

"Don't worry, as long as the two duchies are successfully recovered, they will not be able to do anything if the established facts are established, and we are not without supporters." Frederick William IV said confidently

After so many years of propaganda, the idea of ​​Little Germany has surpassed the theory of Greater Germany in many areas, and there are not a few people who support the unification of Germany by the Kingdom of Prussia.

If Franz hadn't disrupted the Frankfurt Conference, the idea of ​​Little Germany would have become the mainstream in Germany.

……

The insistence of the Prussian government made the St. Petersburg government very embarrassed.

From the beginning they were on the side of Denmark, and the tsarist government had declared that if the Prussian government did not back down, it would use force.

What should we do now?If you do it, it will be cheap for the Austrians; if you don't do it, will the face of the Russian Empire be lost?

They can't even keep their little brother, and the tsarist government backtracked on what they promised. Do they still have the nerve to hang out on the international stage?

It can only be said that it is no longer what it used to be.

Back then, the Tsarist government could treat reputation like toilet paper and throw it away after use; now the Russian Empire is already vying for world hegemony, if you don’t pay attention to reputation, who will obey them?

The boss of the world, who is alone and alone, looks majestic, but in fact he is in danger.Unless the whole world can be unified by force, just refer to Napoleon.

St petersburg

Nicholas I asked with concern: "What does the Austrian government say, are they willing to mediate in the Pudan War?"

"Your Majesty, the Austrian government refuses to participate in this mediation. Metternich's old fox said that due to domestic public opinion, the Austrian government's participation in the mediation will only be on the side of Prussia." Foreign Minister Karl Wosselrod replied embarrassingly

The Russians did not want to go to war with the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Tsarist government was trying to avoid war. This is no secret, and it was naturally known by the Prussian government.

The tragedy is that after the Prussian government obtained this information, they directly made a strategic misjudgment, thinking that the Russians would not intervene by force, which increased their confidence.

"Damn it, the Austrians are probably still dreaming of us helping them remove obstacles to the unification of Germany. Aren't they afraid that we will leak the Russian-Austrian treaty?" Nicholas I said to himself.

Everyone is a winking person, and dare not answer foolishly: Not afraid.

Once the Russian secret treaty is leaked out, Austria's subsequent strategy will be in trouble, and Russia's subsequent strategy will be directly over.

The annexation of Austria, the southern German state, will make the British feel jealous, at most it will raise the level of danger to a level close to that of the French, but compared with the Russians who annexed the Ottoman Empire, it is not worth mentioning.

The former still has a lot of restrictions. Whether it is supporting the Kingdom of Prussia, provoking relations between France and Austria, or alienating relations between Russia and Austria, they can all play a check and balance role.

The latter is different. In the current Russian Empire, the British can only look at them in a daze. If they are allowed to annex the Ottoman Empire, the world hegemony will change hands sooner or later.

Even if it was Nicholas I who wanted Laprussia to board the ship very much, he did not dare to disclose any information to them. Even during the discussion, the confidentiality work was raised to the highest level.

……

Chapter 21 Tightrope Walking

Everyone was embarrassed, and Franz was relieved that the Pudan War would not end in a short time, which meant that he had enough time to fill the hole.

The fire cannot be contained in the paper, if the hole is not filled, even if the shit bowl is put on the head of the Prussian, it is not reliable!

In case one day it goes wrong, do you still want the face of Emperor Franz?

Misappropriation and embezzlement are completely two concepts. The former can explain the normal capital operation of the bank. Anyway, as long as the money is withdrawn on schedule, the latter is an eternal black history.

When Prussia and Russia were in a stalemate, the European powers were not idle.

Except for occasionally expressing their opinions on international issues and swearing their sense of existence, the French are mainly busy with internal struggles, and even overseas colonial expansion has been affected.

The British were very busy. On the one hand, they stepped up their aggression against India, on the other hand they colonized and expanded Southeast Asia, and at the same time launched an invasion of New Zealand...

The British colonial empire is about to take shape. Except for the absence of the African continent, other regions have basically been included or are being included in the British colonial empire.

Everyone is very busy, which creates opportunities for Austria.

When the eyes of the world were focused on the Pudan battlefield, on April 1849, 4, Austria, Naples, the Papal States, Tuscany, Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden, Hess-Darmstad and other states met in the Rome formed the Holy Roman Economic League.

European public opinion was in an uproar. Fortunately, Franz did not set up his headquarters in Vienna, otherwise the political influence would have been even greater.

The most violent reaction was Prussia. For the sake of the unification of Germany, they fought hard against the Russians in the front. Austria actually came to a bottom line.

Except for the Kingdom of Prussia, all major states in the German region have joined the Holy Roman Alliance led by Austria, which means that Prussia has been kicked out of the right to speak in the German region.

Affected by the establishment of the Holy Roman Alliance, the idea of ​​Greater Germany has risen again. In the eyes of many nationalists, economic unity will help the unification of the country.

Even some people in Prussia advocate joining the alliance established by Austria. As for the German customs union, the historical task has been completed and it can be put into the garbage dump.

This change made Frederick William IV very headache. Nationalism is a double-edged sword. They can support Prussia to unify Little Germany, and they can also support Austria to unify Greater Germany.

As for the addition of the Italian region, the nationalists don't care.In their view, as long as the German nation occupies a dominant position, the bigger the empire built, the better.

"Prime Minister, what is the attitude of all countries towards Austria's wolfish ambitions?" Frederick William IV asked expectantly.

Joseph von Radowitz thought for a while and replied: "The British issued a diplomatic note to Austria, opposing Austria's alliance and strongly condemning Austria for breaking the principle of free trade.

The French government has protested against Austria's establishment of an economic alliance that excludes third countries, and has so far taken no further action.

The Spaniards expressed that they would pay close attention to the follow-up development of the situation. Most European countries are neutral, and the Russians have not made a statement yet. "

There is no doubt that everyone is too busy now to bother with Austria.

The British did not intervene forcefully in the Pudan War, nor did they have the energy to interfere with Austria's alliance actions. Without the help of European powers, their right to speak on the European continent was limited.

The French wait until they have settled the factions in the country, otherwise the French government will not be able to do anything due to party struggles and opposition for the sake of opposition.

Frederick William IV was very depressed. In his opinion, the most capable Russians who interfered in Austria were restrained by their help. It was impossible for the tsarist government to interfere in Austria at the same time.

Can protests alone overwhelm Austria without the threat of force?Frederick William IV shook his head. Prussia faced even greater diplomatic pressure, didn't it also withstand it?

What Austria has established is only an economic alliance, and most European countries have nothing to do with themselves, and they have become melon-eating people on the sidelines.

"Did the British not take action?" Frederick William IV asked with concern

……

London

As the world's number one shit stirrer, how could the British watch Austria form an alliance?

You must know that the Holy Roman Economic Union is a monster with less than half of Germany + more than half of Italy + the Austrian Empire. In terms of economic size, this is the number one economy in Europe.

Although most of these places are still semi-feudal and semi-capitalist, and their own industries are not weak, the British do not have a large market share in the local area, and they do not lack markets.

But no matter how small a mosquito is, it is still meat. It is not John Bull's style to give up in vain.

"It's not right, why are the Russians so slow to react this time?" Prime Minister John Russell asked suspiciously

Palmerston thought for a while and said: "Maybe they are hesitating. The Pudan war has already tied up a lot of their energy. If they intervene in Austria at this time, they might join forces with Austria.

Nicholas I was not an idiot. Once that step was reached, the "Nordic Three Courts" system would collapse. As long as they did not want to be isolated in Europe, they would not take action against Austria. "

Since the "Berlin Convention", the European continent has entered the "Prussian, Austrian and Russian Three Kingdoms Era". The three countries joined forces to maintain the Vienna system, and even the British were excluded from the European continent.

Now because of the Pudan War, the relationship between Prussia and Russia has cracked, and the British will naturally find a way to split this alliance.

Whether it is encouraging Austria to expand to the Balkans, supporting Austria to occupy the Danube River Basin, or indulging Prussia in launching a war against Denmark, it is all part of this plan.