Chapter 228 Dark Days
The changes at the Paris Conference were passed on to Franz, Metternich explained his views, and the high-level government in Vienna also put forward suggestions.
In general, it’s a good deal. According to Austria’s original plan, it was to annex the South German region. Now Baden can’t keep it, but there is one more Saxony.
In terms of territorial size, the two are similar. Obviously, the Saxony region is more important to Austria. Apart from industry, at least the population is hundreds of thousands more than the Principality of Baden.
The three-point German plan is part of the Austrian unification plan. It was first proposed by Metternich and started to be arranged a few years ago.
It's just that the original ideal plan was to integrate the small states of North Germany and establish a new country to prevent Prussia from unifying North Germany.
There is no doubt that this plan, if proposed by Austria, would fail 100 percent. The Prussian government probably didn't even have to think about it, it just rolled up its sleeves and went ahead.
Therefore, this task can only be left to the British. In the early stage, the Austrian government had to be cowardly enough to make the Prussian government think that under international pressure, Austria would concede defeat and withdraw from the German region.
Once Austria is out, there will be no suspense in the unification of the German region by the Kingdom of Prussia. Under this temptation, Frederick William IV did not hold back and missed the opportunity of two points of Germany.
Franz was incapable of commanding the British, so he could only convince the British that a third of Germany was in their best interests, or to be precise, to make the capitalists in London think that a third of Germany could keep their market.
Austria does not have the ability to interfere in the resolutions of the London government.
It can't even have a relationship with Austria. From beginning to end, it was done by the Bavarian government, and it was Maximilian II who contributed money.
The third German theory, the first to be fooled was Maximilian II. Historically, the Kingdom of Bavaria proposed the three German concept, but it was not successful due to lack of strength.
On the surface, the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs seems to have done nothing, but in fact Metternich has done a lot.
In order to convince the Bavarian government that as long as the powers support, three-point Germany can succeed. The Austrian government spends millions of guilders on propaganda every year.
Austria controls the beginning, but not the end. Manipulating the decision-making of a country's government is inherently unreliable, and trying to control the rhythm is simply a dream.
Franz made a decision without hesitation: "To generate electricity for the Vienna government, you can make concessions, but don't make it too obvious. We also need to use the pressure of various countries to force the Prussian government to give up the Rhineland region."
A new country was originally established to contain the Kingdom of Prussia, but now the British have put forward a strategic buffer in a whimsical way, allowing the Kingdom of Prussia to exchange land with this new country.
This must be supported. Throughout history, most of the famous diplomatic allusions started from the whims. If there are no surprises, is this still a classic?
The Rhineland doesn't seem to be very famous. Change the name of the Ruhr area, or the Rhine Ruhr area, everyone knows it.
There are 80% of Germany's hard coal, 90% of coke, and 60% of steel. It is also the most important machinery manufacturing center in Germany, known as the "heart of German industry".
Without the Rhineland's Kingdom of Prussia, is it still possible to rise as it did in history?
Obviously not possible.
Of course, the importance of the Rhineland in this era was not as great as that of later generations, and the local industry was just beginning in the mid-19th century.
Otherwise, when Austria invaded the southern German region, Napoleon III would have been reckless.
Even if the proposal failed, the Kingdom of Prussia refused to exchange land. It doesn't matter. When France is short of coal in the future, Napoleon III will definitely provoke the Franco-Prussian War.
Even if he doesn't want to fight, the French capitalists will find a way to start a war. If it's not enough, Austria can still add fire.
If the Prussians win, Austria will divide this new country with them; if the French win, then it would be better for Austria to annex this new country in one go, just to balance the French who engulfed the Rhineland industrial area!
...
Berlin
As soon as the British proposal came out, the Prussian government was frying. Frederick William IV yelled angrily, no one is a fool, they mixed with the British, isn't the main purpose for profit?
Well now, Austria has been kicked out, but they have also taken away a large amount of inheritance. Not only did the Kingdom of Prussia get nothing, but it was also kicked out of the German region.
The reason is that there is no need to think about it, he also knows-interest.
The new regime will definitely be pro-British in the future. After Belgium, the London government has put a nail in the European continent.
Euphemistically called a strategic buffer, in fact, this buffer not only restricted Austria, but also cut off the road to great power of the Kingdom of Prussia.
Frederick William IV asked angrily: "What about Austria, how did they react? Do they allow the British to do anything wrong?"
Foreign Minister Andrea replied: "Your Majesty, Austria's attitude is very contradictory, it seems that they are hesitating, they neither want to give up the Principality of Baden, nor do they want to cause the negotiations to break down.
Now the pressure is all on us, whether we agree to the land exchange or not, this new nation will be born. "
Simply put, this country that is in the interests of the great powers
A family would be born, but the Kingdom of Prussia could refuse a land exchange proposal, the countries did not force them to agree.
"If we join forces with Austria now, how high is the success rate of carving up the German region?" Frederick William IV asked concernedly
What Britain is not Britain, in the face of interests, Frederick William IV still raised the courage and wanted to give it a shot.
"Your Majesty, the premise is that the Austrians are willing to join forces with us. Now the situation has changed. Except for the Duchy of Baden, Austria has almost got everything it wants this time.
What are their interests in joining forces with us at this time? Unless we make major concessions in the distribution of benefits! ' replied Foreign Secretary Andrea
Frederick William IV was silent. If he made concessions, once Austria annexed the central German region, the basic plate of the Kingdom of Prussia would be too small.
The small site and small population mean limited development potential. The dream of a great country must first be big enough!
According to the original Austrian proposal, the Prussian Kingdom, which annexed the North German region, had a population of more than 20 million and a territory area of nearly 380,000 square kilometers. The price was to offend Britain and France.
Provoking war now is also an offense to Britain and France, but the benefits are much smaller, and Frederick William IV is naturally unwilling.
"Your Majesty, now the time has passed, why don't you wait for the next opportunity! The European continent cannot be balanced forever. As long as Britain, Russia, France and Austria are out of balance, war is inevitable." Joseph von Radowitz thought for a while Say
After wandering around for a while, Frederick William IV said, "Then what about the land exchange, should we refuse it?"
"Your Majesty, from a strategic point of view, after we exchange the Rhineland region, we can make the country more concentrated, the national defense and security are more guaranteed, and we can avoid bordering with the French.
However, the resources of the Rhineland region are also very important to us. Even if we switch to the economically developed Hamburg region, we will suffer. ' replied Prime Minister Josef von Radowitz
It's a dilemma, and Joseph von Radowitz suspects the British proposal was well-intentioned. Of course, it may not be aimed at the Kingdom of Prussia, and it is more likely to provoke a contradiction between Fao.
Once the Rhineland falls into the hands of this new country, Austria will definitely not accept the idea of the French in the future, and the British will fight harder.
If the Prussian government refuses to exchange land, then the situation will change, and it may not be Austria, but the Kingdom of Prussia.
This is just his intuitive guess, and reason tells him that it is not reliable. Thanks to the prestige of Napoleon the Great, as long as the French expand to the outside world, they will cause a strong reaction from everyone. Napoleon III will not be so unwise.
...
While the Prussians were hesitating, Metternich also had a headache. Many states in the German region are waiting for Austria's answer.
In theory, the German Confederation has not been dissolved yet, and the governments of the various states are waiting for Austria's position on whether to dissolve the Federal Parliament.
The British proposal for a third of Germany, which was not kept secret, is now almost public knowledge. For these state governments, their interests are naturally more secure when they form a new state.
But everyone is old fritters, and will not show any surprise expressions at this time. Instead, one face is gloomy and gloomy, as if they are all opposed to the dissolution of the German Confederation.
In the face of a group of acting schools, Metternich only felt a big head. Knowing that they were doing a show, Metternich also had to cooperate with them.
If you don’t do enough tricks, how can you explain it to the people in the country?
The reunification of Germany was aborted, but we did our best. If you don't believe me, you see that we are harassing every day, or visiting dignitaries from various countries, although we can't see anyone.
No one else can see these people, but Metternich can't hide from them. We can only bite the bullet and receive it, everyone sighs together, the hardships of German unification, and then scolded these interfering countries, and then went back to their respective homes.
In short, here are all supporters of German regional unity, absolutely no selfish people, at least it seems so.
Under such circumstances, Metternich also had to visit the representatives of various countries every day and try to get everyone's support.
So far, Austria has gained understanding and support from Naples, the Papal States, Tuscany and other countries.
Even the attitudes of Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and other countries have also changed. Taking into account the relationship between religious beliefs, everyone recognizes the merger of Austria and the states of the South German region.
As the so-called one-shot, and then decline, three and exhausted. The intervening coalition that has not yet been established has been divided and disintegrated without everyone noticing.
On October 1, 1853, the Paris Conference, which lasted for more than a month, came to an end. Under Metternich's insistence, Austria successfully annexed Bavaria, Saxony, Württemberg, Frankfurt, Hessen-Darmstadt and other regions.
The land area was increased by about 122,000 square kilometers, and the population was increased by about 9.5 million, marking the first step on the road to German unification.
Under the principle of the unity of the great powers, the remaining German regional states, except the Kingdom of Prussia, were merged into the German Federal Empire, restoring the ancient traditional electoral system.
The issue of the territorial exchange between the Kingdom of Prussia and the German Federal Empire is currently in a stalemate. The Prussian government has too much appetite and has been boycotted by many states, especially the governments of the states in the exchanged regions.
if only
If only the government opposes it, then countries can also force it. The problem is that the response from the people is more intense. Most of the embassies of the Kingdom of Prussia in Germany were besieged by the people.
This fierce reaction directly shook the Prussian government's determination to exchange land. Frederick William IV did not want to rule a mob himself, and he had not forgotten the lessons of the Berlin Revolution.
Compared with the stability of the rule, the national strategy can be backward. Moreover, the development potential of the Rhineland region is really great, and the Prussian government is reluctant to throw it away.
If the benefits are really too great, then it can’t be exchanged. Obviously, it’s impossible now. The German federal government only agreed to exchange the same area, and the Prussian government certainly refused.
If everyone hadn't taken into account the face of the foreign powers, perhaps the negotiations would be over now.
After receiving the final resolution of the Paris Conference, Franz breathed a deep sigh of relief. Of course, his joy was not expressed.
From the outside world, Franz the Great is now angry. In order to protest the unfair treatment of the Paris Conference, he also wrote an essay "Dark Days" very pretending to be.
"Today is the darkest day of my life, Germany was forcibly divided by a group of shameless robbers and a national thief.
God frowned, and the sun's rays hit the ground, leaving only a few thin and weak rays of light.
The wind is howling, the storm is coming, is the great Germany ready?
Get ready for this wind and rain, for this dark hour.
This is a world of the strong, my people, you must be strong. The wind cannot blow us down, and the torrential rain cannot overwhelm us.
The only one who can knock us down is always ourselves! Only by being strong and facing all this bravely, the dark days will always pass, and the rainbow will always be seen after the storm.
…”
Before he returned to Vienna, Franz's article was first delivered to the German region. Even though the telegraph fee in this era was a sky-high price, he was not stingy.
Public opinion propaganda naturally has to seize the opportunity, and Franz is very experienced in this regard. At this time, it is estimated that there are not many people in the German region who are in a good mood, and Franz will naturally stand with the people.
In order to plan for the future, he must also call on everyone to persevere at this time, and absolutely cannot surrender to reality. The division is only temporary, and the reunification of the German region is only a matter of time.
Fudge one counts as one, as long as the unified flag does not fall, it is equivalent to opening a back door for the future expansion of Austria.
Under the influence of Franz, the Vienna government also canceled the celebrations it had planned. The whole government seemed to be mourning the division of the German region.