Holy Roman Empire

If you join forces with the Austrian government to carve up the German region, you can also get the rich North German region, and at the same time increase the population of the Kingdom of Prussia by half.

These gains can also allow the Kingdom of Prussia to take a step forward and gain a firm foothold among the great powers, instead of being so embarrassingly stuck.

Franz thought for a while and said, "Then first contact the Prussian government in secret, they still don't know about the Russian-Austrian secret agreement.

Even if the news about the division of the German region leaks out, as long as we refuse to admit it, Britain and France will not be able to do anything to us. "

Grand Duke Louis suggested: "Your Majesty, if we do something now and use the hands of the British to kick the Kingdom of Prussia out, will it be more beneficial to us?"

You can eat alone, why take it out and divide it?

If Britain and France join forces to persecute, Austria is playing tricks, and with Bavaria as a young man, the Kingdom of Prussia may really not be able to withstand the pressure.

The Russians will certainly not support Prussia this time, for no other reason, His Majesty the Great Tsar holds a grudge.

With the flattering nature of Russian bureaucrats, most of them will get things done first, and then report the victory to Nicholas I.

For the specific situation, you can refer to the last Christmas gift. The Russian representative forced the Prussian government to withdraw its troops before Christmas.

It's good to eat alone, but you have to be prepared to be stabbed in the back by the Kingdom of Prussia.If Prussia can be suppressed, of course it can be done.

As long as the Austrian Empire is one or two points stronger, and the Russian Empire has not really fallen, then Franz doesn't mind having a solo meal.

Franz shook his head and said, "It's not that easy. At this critical moment, it's better to have one more friend than one more enemy.

After Austria annexed the southern German region, our strategic goal has been achieved, and the northern German states gave up, so they gave up.

Too greedy and easy to choke.Our hole card is Russia's secret treaty, but the Russians may not be so reliable.

In case they fail to work hard and fail to suppress the Kingdom of Prussia, we will fight on two fronts. "

Under normal circumstances, the Prussian government would not agree to Austria's distribution plan, but once the news of the Russian-Austrian secret treaty is revealed, the Prussian government will definitely compromise.

This is the reality, no matter how many promises Britain and France make, it will have no effect.

Who made the Kingdom of Prussia and Russia and Austria get too close?If they dare to mess with Britain and France, they will end the curtain early without waiting for reinforcements from Britain and France.

The alliance of the three courts in Northern Europe is actually determined by geopolitics. Austria and Russia have joined forces. The Kingdom of Prussia does not want to be in danger, so it can only join this alliance.

Otherwise, after the conclusion of the Russia-Austria Secret Treaty, Nicholas I's first reaction would not be that the Kingdom of La Prussia joined the alliance. This is not because everyone's relationship is good, but the possibility of the Kingdom of Prussia joining is very high.

Because of the Pudan War, the Tsarist government had to temporarily abandon this tempting plan, and the Russians were still worried that the Prussian government would leak the news.

If Britain and France cannot be caught off guard, the Russian strategy will hardly succeed.If there is blood transfusion from Britain and France, the fighting power that the Ottoman Empire can explode cannot be underestimated.

This is also the key to the success of the Austrian government's westward strategy. After all, they are following the Russians. Austria will not act until the British and French team up and start a PK with the Russians.

Benefiting from the Vienna system, the military strength of the French has been greatly weakened. Now they have a lot of troops, but the mobilization mechanism has been broken.

In order to avoid the suppression of European countries, Emperor Philip did not have many troops on the mainland, let alone reserve a large number of reserves.

The active army of the French is only more than 30. Once 10,000+ are sent to fight against the Russians, there will not be many of them who can intervene in the Austrian army.

Mass production has caused a qualitative change. As long as Austria has prepared enough and mobilized enough troops, if the French intervene, they can just beat them back.

The French are basically defeated once, and Napoleon III will have no time to put out the fire in the country, so how can he care about Austria?

As for the Kingdom of Prussia, Franz is ready to start the operation, first place 50 troops on the Prussian border, and then use strategic materials to lure the Russians, and concentrate the troops on the eastern front to the Prussian border.

If Austria eats alone, maybe the Kingdom of Prussia will go on a military adventure and come to a standstill.But now that Franz has also left them a benefit, the Prussian government can only compromise.

Everyone has a family and a business, and the person in charge of the Prussian government is not a sophomore, so how could he take risks blindly?

Even if it is a radical, it is estimated that they will choose to eat the North German region first.As long as this bait is eaten, the Kingdom of Prussia can only stop and digest the results of the battle.

……

The Prussian government, which originally intended to unite with Austria, naturally would not reject the olive branch thrown by the Austrian government.

Facts have proved that the Austrian government's judgment on the Kingdom of Prussia was wrong. After the failure of the Pudan War, many people in the Prussian government lost confidence in the strategy of unifying Germany.

This is the sad part of a small country, which cannot afford to fail.After the failure, everyone's confidence is gone.

You must know that as soon as the armistice treaty between the two countries was signed, the internal conflicts in the Kingdom of Prussia broke out, and the revolutionaries launched an uprising again, but the uprising was quickly suppressed by the army.

Against this background, it was too late for Frederick William IV to stabilize his regime, and the strategic plan to unify the German region had long been thrown out of the sky by them.

Historically, after the Kingdom of Prussia's plan was frustrated, it also fell into a low ebb.It wasn't until the iron-blooded prime minister came to power that he won the second Danish war through a series of vertical and horizontal alliances, and his morale was restored.

With the efforts of Bismarck, the Prussians mustered up the courage to challenge Austria. After winning the Prussian-Prussian War, the Prussian army completed its transformation.

Many experts and scholars believe that after Prussia won the war, it was a diplomatic arrangement for the Prussian government to let go of Austria, so as to avoid stabbing Austria in the back in the future Franco-Prussian war.

And Bismarck worried that after the annexation of Austria, the number of Catholics in the nascent German Empire would increase, causing domestic religious conflicts.

Franz didn't think so. Even if Austria could not be annexed, wouldn't it be okay to cede land and pay compensation?

We must know that in the historical Prussian-Austrian War, Austria lost the war, and the main loss was reflected in politics. In fact, the price paid was not large.

In this era, Franz knew how bad the financial situation of the Kingdom of Prussia was.Combined with the situation at the time, Austria was not without the power to fight.

After the failure of the decisive battle, the mobilization of the reserve forces in Austria is about to be completed. If the Kingdom of Prussia is closed without any good results, it will become a protracted war.

After looking at the shriveled wallet, Bismarck naturally decisively chose to accept it as soon as it was good.

The interests are all won by strength. Since Austria's strength still exists, the price to be paid is naturally not high.

If the Austrian government broke the pot and chose to fight the Kingdom of Prussia to the end, they might not have to pay anything, and they would naturally withdraw when the Kingdom of Prussia ran out of money.

Chapter 45 Marriage or not?

Undoubtedly, the lack of confidence in the Prussian government made it more urgent for Prussia to join forces, and the two sides soon reached an agreement on the issue of fighting foreign interference.

On November 1850, 11, Prussian and Austrian countries signed the "German Treaty" in Vienna. The treaty stipulates that the two countries join hands to oppose foreign forces' interference in German regional affairs...

What is interesting is that this treaty did not include the two principalities of Schleswig-Holstein occupied by the Danes.

Obviously, after experiencing a failure, the confidence within the Prussian government was severely lacking. While opposing the British, it did not dare to offend the Russians.

Since the Prussian government does not require it, Austria will naturally not be troubled.Regardless of whether these two principalities can return to the embrace of Germany, they will not have a share in Austria.

Franz didn't know how to learn from the Austrian government in history, and he was fooled by the Prussians to send troops together.

What's the use of an enclave?Do you think Austria's national defense pressure is not strong enough?

Vienna Palace

Metternich said: "Your Majesty, the Prussian government has applied for a loan from us. It seems that their financial crisis is greater than we expected."

Franz said without hesitation: "This is good news. Now that they have asked us for help, it means that they have encountered difficulties in seeking loans in other financial markets.

Find a reason to reject their loan application. Everyone is not optimistic about them as a customer. Why should we go to this muddy water? "

If it doesn't exist, Austria doesn't have so much capital to export, and Franz won't cultivate competitors for himself.

If there were national credit ratings in this day and age, they would be the lowest grade of C.

Just look at the debts. Now the total external debt of the Kingdom of Prussia is as high as 3.7 million marks, and the annual fiscal revenue is only more than 4000 million marks.

In 1847, Engels published an article in the Polaris newspaper, pointing out the financial difficulties of the Prussian government. The general meaning was: I would not be surprised if the Prussian government declared bankruptcy tomorrow.

What if the Prussian government has no money?

The answer is very simple - cut expenses and find ways to increase income.

Whether it is cutting military spending or reducing investment in industry or domestic infrastructure, it is a good thing for Austria.

As for increasing income, this cannot be accomplished in a short period of time.They have just experienced a revolution, so they dare not extort money?

"Yes, Your Majesty." Metternich replied

Carve up the German region?It is a pity that this issue is not suitable for discussion now. If the radicals in Prussia know about it and start the war in advance, Austria will not be pitted to cry.

Don't doubt this possibility, the following gram is not only capable of the Japanese, but also the army of the Kingdom of Prussia in this era.

It's just that their officers are basically aristocrats, and their knowledge is a little bit higher. They have families and businesses and are not barefoot, and they usually don't act blindly.

……

The most embarrassing thing about the recovery of the relationship between the two countries is the Kingdom of Bavaria. Facts have once again proved that walking a tightrope is easy to fall, and now Maximilian I has realized it.

Easing the relationship with Austria has become the top priority before him.

In the Palace of Munich

Maximilian I asked expectantly: "What can you do to get rid of our current diplomatic dilemma?"

In this era, with the support of Britain, France and Russia at the same time, it is actually worrying about diplomatic difficulties.If this is said, it is estimated that many people will take it as a joke.

Now this joke has become a reality in the Kingdom of Bavaria, so what if it has the support of the great powers?

People only pay lip service, but you actually take it seriously, so get ready to cry!

The suggestion was first put forward by the British, but now that the Kingdom of Bavaria needs their actual support, John Bull began to pretend to be confused.

"Your Majesty, let's get married!" the prime minister said decisively

There is a tradition of marriage between the Bavarian royal family and Austria. Franz's mother came from the Bavarian royal family, and the relationship between the royal families of the two countries is still good.

Now if you want to ease the relationship with Austria, the least expensive way is marriage.Marry a princess and become the queen of the Austrian Empire, and the Wittelsbach family will not suffer.

Maximilian I thought for a while and said, "Well, Franz needs a queen now, and Helen is just right."

It is not so simple to promote the continued marriage of the two royal families.There are many nobles who are interested in the position of Queen of Austria, and it is difficult to achieve their goals.

But Princess Helen has an advantage-the Empress Dowager of Austria is her aunt, and this alone can defeat many opponents.

Of course, there are also shortcomings. Her background is too low, she is not a direct line of the Bavarian royal family, and her relationship with the king is a bit far away.

Maximilian I also wanted to find a close princess, but it was really unfortunate that the age gap was too large and inappropriate.You can't tell Franz to wait, your wife is still breastfeeding in the arms of her mother-in-law.

……

Vienna

The news that the Bavarian royal family wanted to marry again came, and the Empress Dowager Sophie immediately welcomed it, and the two hit it off.

It's a pity that Franz is not the Franz in history now, and Empress Dowager Sophie's influence is much smaller than in history.

In history, Franz was able to succeed to the throne early, and Empress Dowager Sophie made great efforts, and for this reason, she even recruited a queen dowager party.

It was different now, Franz seized power by suppressing the rebellion in Vienna, so she, the Empress Dowager, naturally had no chance to perform.

If the opportunity is missed and the party members are not established, it will be impossible to interfere in politics any more.

If there is no opportunity, there will be no opportunity, and human ambition is not born with it.After Franz succeeded to the throne, Empress Dowager Sophie lived her own happy life, and had no intention of seizing power with her son at all.

Of course, it is also possible to seize power.The empress dowager's status is indeed very high, but it is a pity that she will not be able to be the empress dowager Cixi when she meets the powerful Franz.

She didn't care about other things. In Franz's marriage, as a mother, she thought she had to take care of it herself.

In this era, Europe also has arranged marriages and free love. Is this a godsend?Not to mention the nobles, even the children of common people are rarely able to freely decide on marriage.

Franz's treatment is pretty good, and as the emperor, his opinions must also be taken into account. If he himself firmly opposes, no one can force him.

After receiving this news, Franz was perplexed. Why was it so much earlier? Could it be that the two royal families had already started preparing for this marriage?

Then I thought of the current international situation, and it turned out to be a political marriage. This is entirely because the Kingdom of Bavaria needs to ease its relationship with Austria.

Franz said straight to the point: "Mother, in the current international situation, it is not suitable for Austria to marry Bavaria."

Upon hearing this news, Empress Dowager Sophie's expression darkened suddenly, but she did not object.

There are no fools in the royal family, and Empress Dowager Sophie did not reprimand Franz despite her reluctance.

From her standpoint, the interests of the Austrian royal family are obviously higher than those of the Bavarian royal family. There are husbands and sons here. It is impossible for her to let Franz sacrifice the interests of the royal family to promote this marriage.

This is different from Napoleon’s war with Austria while marrying the princess of the Habsburg family in history. Napoleon’s background was not enough, and this marriage was urgently needed to improve the recognition of the nobles.

But now that Austria and Bavaria are married, Franz only married the princess of the offshoot of the Wittelsbach family, which was originally a low marriage, and it would not be worthwhile to pay for political benefits.

Empress Dowager Sophie thought for a while and asked, "Has the relationship between Austria and Bavaria deteriorated to this point?"

She has not cared about politics for a long time, and she does not know that the Austrian government is deliberately distanced from the Kingdom of Bavaria, and at this time, the Kingdom of Bavaria happened to be a traitor, so the relationship between the two parties will naturally not get better.

Franz said calmly: "That's right. Not long ago, the Bavarian government reneged on the covenant between the two countries and turned to the Kingdom of Prussia. Now that the relationship between Prussia and Austria has eased, the Kingdom of Bavaria will naturally have to pay the price."

Empress Dowager Sophie's expression darkened. She was really embarrassed to be caught in this situation.

Looking at his mother who was in a dilemma, Franz comforted him: "Don't worry, mother. This is just a normal conflict of interests between countries and will not affect the relationship between the royal families of the two countries.

It's just that at the moment of conflict, if there is news of the marriage, it will have a very bad influence among the people. "

After hearing this explanation, Empress Dowager Sophie relaxed slightly.At the same time, there was also a bit of dissatisfaction with the remarriage proposed by the family this time.

No matter how much she wants her niece to become a queen, it is impossible to sacrifice her son's reputation. All parents are the same on this issue.