Chapter 356

In the Berlin Palace, the Junkers aristocrats had a showdown with the government. They still have brains. They know that they will notify the government to cooperate before attacking Denmark.

Prime Minister Frank's face was ashen with anger. He was also a Junker nobleman, and he had to be notified when the sword was on the string. This was clearly not treating him as one of his own.

This is very serious. During this period, the power of the Kingdom of Prussia has fallen into the hands of the Junker aristocracy, and the political parties and parliaments controlled by the bourgeoisie have all become supporting roles.

If it is divided by the shareholding system, the Juncker nobles already hold 65% of the shares of the Prussian company, which is an absolute major shareholder.

What happened means that Frank's position within the Junkers has been shaken. It was a political signal that the Junkers aristocracy had less support for him.

William I's face was also very ugly, and his king was also kept in the dark. Looking at the military representative with murderous intent, he would be rude if he didn't give a reasonable explanation.

The fact that there is no way to take the class of Junker aristocrats does not mean that he cannot move a few high-level military officials. Besides, are the Junkers aristocrats still monolithic?

The birth of the Ocean School and the Continental School is also attributed to William I. As a monarch, no one likes the monolithic subordinates, and dividing the subordinates is just an instinct.

Ron, who was stared at his scalp numb, was also the Minister of the Army and Navy, and quickly explained: "Your Majesty, look at this map of Europe, this is the location of our Kingdom of Prussia.

Our homeland is divided into two parts by the German Federal Empire, the Rhineland region in the west is under the military threat of the French, the general Poland in the east is under the military threat of the Russians, and the Silesia region in the south is under the military threat of the Austrian military .

There is no country in the world that is as bad as us in strategy, and is threatened by the three major powers at the same time.

In this case, we have few options to break the game. If you want to annex the German Federal Empire, it is bound to be opposed by European countries.

The French coveted the Rhineland and did not want our homeland to be united; the Austrians wanted to unify the German region, but it was impossible for us to reach out to the German Confederation; the British did not want to give up this nail on the European continent, and would not support us in annexing Germany. federal.

Not to mention the Russians, they are well aware of their ambitions in the Commonwealth of Poland, and as soon as we show any flaws, they will immediately pounce on us.

To grow ourselves, our only option now is to recapture the duchies of Schleswig-Holstein from the Danes, and if we're lucky, bite the Danes.

The recovery of the two principalities is of great significance to the German nation. Under the influence of national justice, Austria will not stand against us, and even diplomatically they will support our actions.

The Kingdom of Denmark is politically pro-Russian, and Britain and France will not mind our attack on the Russians, and they will even push us to stand against the Russians.

Now is the time when the Russians are at their weakest. The reforms of Alexander II are not over yet, and the Polish uprising is encountered again. Conservatives are bound to counterattack.

Even if the Russian Empire, with its internal and external troubles, wanted to intervene in this war, given the financial situation of the tsarist government, the power they could use was very limited.

Once the Russians send troops, we are not alone, Britain and France will certainly support us, and even Austria wants to see the Russians fail.

We have a very high chance of winning now. It only takes a month to occupy the Kingdom of Denmark, catch the Russians by surprise, and then solve the following problems through negotiation. "

It was a gamble on whether the Russians would send troops to intervene in the war. If the bet is won, of course, the two principalities will be taken back, and by the way, a piece of meat will be bitten off from the Kingdom of Denmark.

If they lost the bet, they defected to Britain and France, and acted as their agent to fight the Russians with the support of both countries.

There is no doubt that the Prussian military has no bottom line with the Russians, but fighting a local war with the Russians is different.

The Russian Empire is very strong, but unfortunately the Tsarist government is very poor. The reforming tsarist government was poorer than ever.

Although the Prussian government had no money, Britain and France were rich. Since he was a thug, the boss naturally paid for it.

This explanation only slightly reduced William I's anger, and it was obviously not enough to want him to expose the matter.

William I sneered and said: "Really, my Minister of War, Minister of the Navy, and my Chief of Staff. Since when did you decide all the internal and external affairs of the Kingdom of Prussia?"

Minister of the Army and Navy Ron and Chief of General Staff Mao Qi both lowered their heads and pretended to be ostriches.

It's not that they want to kill first and then file, the problem is that they have reported in advance, and this child's plan will not pass at all.

On the surface, the risk of this gamble is manageable. The most serious consequence is to fight a local war with the Russians, and the odds of having Britain and France supporting Prussia are not low.

Actually, this is only theoretical. If there is a problem in a certain link, the Kingdom of Prussia may face extinction immediately.

For example: the tsarist government was confused and fought with them at all costs. Not to mention the support of Britain and France, even if Britain and France go into battle in person, they will also be finished.

Should the Russians and Austria reach a compromise and divide up Prussia, Prussia's enemies would soon become two.

Don't think that this possibility does not exist. The total area of ​​the Kingdom of Prussia in this era was 305,000 square kilometers, and Universal Poland accounted for 141,100 square kilometers.

Oh

Geely did not dare to give up the territory of the Prussian-German region, but the 141,100 square kilometers of the Commonwealth of Poland, there is no pressure on the Vienna government to throw it out.

Normally, the tsarist government would not do this. That's because Austria's annexation of these territories will quickly expand. Without the checks and balances of the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Federal Empire will not be able to support it for long.

Another example: the British and French bureaucratic groups reacted a step slower, and when the aid came, maybe Prussia was already half paralyzed.

Or: there was an accident in the attack on Denmark, a war that was not won in the first place. As a result, the Russians came to the door again and were forced to fight on two fronts.

...

So many unexpected factors, any one of which was enough to bring the kingdom of Prussia to an end. Prussia is finished, and the domestic aristocrats and capitalists will not necessarily follow, but William I is doomed to bad luck.

As a qualified king, why take the risk? According to the current situation, is it not good to proceed step by step?

To put it bluntly, the Junkers aristocrats dragged the Kingdom of Prussia to the gaming table for their own interests, and they did so without sufficient preparation.

Prime Minister Frank persuaded: "Your Majesty, this is the end of the matter, let's put the matter of accountability later! The most important thing now is to communicate with all countries immediately and seek diplomatic support.

The recapture of the Schleswig-Holstein duchies is a major event shared by the entire German nation, and we cannot allow this pressure to be borne by our family. "

Like it or not, this ass will be wiped by the Prussian government. If the military is left to toss, who knows what will happen in the end?

Prime Minister Frank dared not take the risk, the Kingdom of Prussia could not afford to fail. If he operated from the beginning, he would never take this risk until the three kingdoms of England, France and Austria were settled.

William I sighed and said: "I don't care what you do, and immediately order the troops to stop all operations.

We need a plausible excuse, and defending German sovereignty has already been used once.

In the Paris Peace Conference, the German region was divided, and the Kingdom of Prussia was no longer qualified to represent all the states in the German region. This reason cannot be our excuse for war. "

In terms of morale, defending German sovereignty can best inspire the patriotic enthusiasm of the soldiers, but politically this is a failure.

In the first Purdan War, the Kingdom of Prussia, under the pressure of the Russians, gave up the two duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, which was notorious in the German region.

Using this reason again, neither Austria nor the German Confederation will buy their account.

Because of the international resolution of the Paris Conference to split the German region, and using this reason as a casus belli, Britain and France will not recognize it.

Ron replied hesitantly, "Your Majesty, it's too late.

Although the plan was to launch an attack the next morning, the troops have now cut off telegram communication. In such a short period of time, we could not inform the troops at all.

You see, why don't you just find an excuse to make do with it, for example: to save the German compatriots who were oppressed by the Kingdom of Denmark. "

Obviously, the military is well prepared. Regardless of whether the Berlin government cooperates or not, the attack will be launched on time. The time left for the government is used for writing the gauntlet.

Slow down, stop dreaming. Everyone has been busy for so long, how can they say that they will not fight?

Mao Qi, the chief of the general staff on the side, hesitated, but did not express his opinion from beginning to end.

This plan first came from the General Staff Department, and he personally presided over the formulation of the supporting battle plan. Based on this alone, he did not dare to open his mouth to avoid angering the king.

William I glared at Ron and said with a sneer: "Are you all ready, then tell me what to do? You are so capable, just do it yourself!"

After saying that, he went out without looking back. The king left in a fit of anger, and things had to continue. At least the gauntlet must be written, and the Kingdom of Prussia cannot do the undeclared war.

Prime Minister Frank said angrily: "Since your military has decided, then you can just send someone to hand the war book to the Danes!

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is very busy, and there is no need to trouble them. "

If it were normal times, who would dare to rob the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the job, the Foreign Minister would have erupted long ago. Now, of course, there is an exception. The Prime Minister wants to pass all the responsibilities to the military, and he will naturally not object.

If you win, everything is easy to say. If there is an accident and you lose this war, then the military will fight against all the lightning.

Mao Qi and Ron looked at each other and smiled wryly. Obviously this time the king and the government are evil, they don't want to have a better life in the future.

But if this war does not get everyone's satisfaction, the two of them will definitely get out of the way, or they will go to a military court.

It was a taboo to move the army without the approval of the king. Now the government has added another charge, and the military ran to send the gauntlet.

If you win, the government decides. If you lose the war, it is estimated that this gauntlet will also be forged by the military.

Debt is not too much. Anyway, if you win the war, all the problems will be wiped out. If you lose the war, there is no difference between one more crime and one less crime.

In short, all of this is because the military broke the rules first, and naturally has to bear the corresponding responsibility.

Mao Qi replied: "No problem. But in other areas, the government must do a good job of cooperating. If the war is lost due to the slowdown of some departments, then

Let's go to hell together! "

This is Prussia, a world where the army owns the country. As the chief of staff, Mao Qi only needs to be responsible to the king. In front of William I, he does not dare to make trouble, and it doesn't matter to government officials.

Anyway, the relationship is already dead, and it is more efficient to use threats directly than to persuade with good words.

Frank sneered at the head: "Just do your own work, don't make a bunch of troubles again, we don't have the time to deal with the aftermath for you every day.

Now we are going to hold a government meeting. You are not involved. Please, please! "

If there is no sabotage, once the war is defeated, not a single high-level government can escape. Even if there is no responsibility, he will be implicated and step down.