Chapter 424 Junkers vs Civilian + Capital
In March 1867, Austria conducted a massive military exercise on the Prussian border, which terrified Prussians.
They were busy licking their wounds just after the Prussian-Russian war, but they didn't have the courage to do another Prussian-Austrian war.
If there is a fight at this time, not only will all the previous victories be spit out, it will be difficult to even protect yourself.
"The Austrians are demonstrating, they are not going to start a war at this time," Foreign Minister Mike Kate said at the Berlin Palace.
Once the war breaks out, the Russians will definitely continue the war, and the tsarist government can take back Poland and the Baltic region as long as they follow behind and play soy sauce.
This is not what the Vienna government wants to see, a strong Russian Empire is not in their interest. The Russian-Austrian alliance exists only temporarily because of its interests, and sooner or later they will face each other for European hegemony.
There is also the current international situation, which the Vienna government cannot ignore. European countries do not want to see a domineering Austria, and they will fall into a state of isolation if a war is provoked at this time.
If the French attack the Rhineland after the outbreak of the war, will the Vienna government intervene or not?
If they intervene, it is very likely that a full-scale war between France and Austria will break out; if they do not intervene, how can they call themselves the leaders of the German region? "
The reason for being truly fearless, McKate didn't say. It is impossible to win by fighting, and the Kingdom of Prussia is now exhausted.
However, as long as the Berlin government is shameless enough, there is still a chance to cheat Austria and reverse its current passive state.
Once the French invaded the Rhineland, the Prussian government could simply concede defeat and join the New Holy Roman Empire, demanding that Austria defend the territorial integrity of the German region.
The Franco-Austrian War just detonated, and the situation changed. If the French had the upper hand, or the war had reached a stalemate, they could defect again.
Don't doubt the integrity of politicians, as long as the interests are large enough, there is nothing that cannot be done.
The backbone of the Kingdom of Prussia is the Junker aristocracy. Even if this class of Vienna government wants to buy it, it cannot afford to buy it.
Privately, the two sides have been in contact for a long time. If Franz is willing to compromise, the German region can be unified at any time.
Junkers aristocrats opposed joining the new Holy Roman Empire just for profit. If Prussia can achieve the same status as Austria, and protect their interests, then everyone can merge at any time.
Obviously this is impossible, and if compromise is made, the new Holy Roman Empire will be divided again.
An empire can only have one core. If it becomes two, then it becomes Prussia with a group of small states to confront Austria in the empire.
From the outset, Franz had decided that the rights of the state had to be restrained.
After so many years of hard work, he took back the diplomatic power, coinage power, military command power and part of the financial power. How could it be handed over again?
Ron, the Minister of the Army and Navy, questioned: "This is just your wishful thinking and does not represent the position of the Vienna government.
Moreover, Austria became the leader of the German region by its strength, not the so-called public opinion. They first gained strength and then gained the support of the people.
The influence of nationalism is indeed great, but it is not enough to sway the decision-making of the Vienna government. It is not a disadvantage for the Austrians to exchange the Rhineland for the unification of Germany, right?
You must know that Austria has always been afraid of us. Among the many states in the German region, we are the only one that threatens their strength. "
As a military representative, Ron is a proponent of the supremacy of force. This is determined by the national conditions of the Kingdom of Prussia, and everyone has become a supporter of the supremacy of force.
Ron does not value Austria's influence. For him, strength comes first. Now that Austria has enough strength, other problems are nothing.
As long as the German region can be unified, the Rhineland region will be lost if it is lost, and it is a big deal to be scolded by the people. As long as you take it back in the future, these problems can be washed away.
Not just his personal opinion, many people have the same opinion. Some civil groups are still advocating the theory of unification with a price, that is, paying a certain price in exchange for national unification.
Specifically: ceding territory west of the Rhine to the French, and ceding the territory of Universal Poland to the Russians.
Some people have also conducted in-depth analysis and believe that this way, the Kingdom of Prussia has shrunk by more than half, which can make the unified empire more stable.
This is what the Junkers aristocrats are most worried about. If Austria just annexes a shrunken version of the Kingdom of Prussia, they will really suffer heavy losses.
The Kingdom of Prussia is larger than all the states except Austria combined, and the existence of such a large state obviously weakens the authority of the central government.
If Austria wants to dominate the new Holy Roman Empire, it must suppress the Kingdom of Prussia and limit them to a controllable range. The two sides are naturally on opposite sides, and there is no possibility of compromise.
This view does not include shrewd politicians, only they can see how bad the situation will be when Austria unites the German region.
Politically, it is inevitable to fall into a state of isolation, and the Central European empire is naturally hostile to Europe; militarily, it is also an enemy all over the world.
This enemy comes from both the land and the sea. There is nothing to say on land, just look at the map and you will know that it is necessary to confront France and Russia at the same time.
The situation at sea was even worse, in the Mediterranean the Austrian navy had to confront Britain and France, and in the Baltic
The sea is to compete with the Russians, and in the Atlantic it is to compete with Britain and France at the same time.
This is still the result of ignoring small countries. In fact, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and the Nordic Federation will all be enemies of Austria. This is determined by geopolitics.
Except for Switzerland and Belgium, which are likely to be neutral, the European continent is an enemy at a glance, even Montenegro and Greece, which are not worth mentioning, are no exception.
No, Greece and Montenegro are already on the opposite side of Austria. Their dream of a great power was blocked by Austria.
If there are not too many external enemies, why would Franz end the suppression of the Russians and release another Grand France? Not to reduce stress and distract everyone.
With the decline of the Russians, Austria was able to escape the dilemma of fighting on two fronts. Even if an operational error detonated a full-scale war in Europe, the Eastern Front could be resolved in the shortest possible time.
Provoking the ambitions of the French and deliberately indulging in the appearance of Grand France, not to mention.
They are also public enemies of Europe. When two giants appear at the same time, European governments will be confused in an instant, and it will be difficult to come up with a response plan in a short period of time.
In a state of confrontation between the two powerhouses, no matter which one falls, the other will become the European hegemon. Who knows how to do such a multiple choice question?
With this hesitation, the situation will change.
To put it bluntly, this is a gamble. After Franz bet on the unification of the German region, the internal integration can be completed first. Then rely on diplomatic means to provoke internal contradictions in Greater France, and finally use national power to overwhelm France.
The French, on the other hand, were betting that the French army was more capable of fighting, and that they could directly defeat Austria, which had unified the German region, on the battlefield after the establishment of Greater France.
In addition to the needs of each, the existence of the Fao Alliance also means teaming up to clear the field. The two sides will not be assured of a decisive battle without first addressing other competitors.
Although Europe does not have the allusions of "the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman wins", but everyone still understands this truth.
Obviously, this is not known to the Berlin government. If they knew that Fao had formed an alliance, it is estimated that they would not have the heart to fiddle with the "Great Prussia" plan, but hurried to find someone to gather together for warmth.
Foreign Secretary Mike Kate sneered: "As you mean, just hand over the Silesia region? Don't forget, the Austrians also proposed to buy the Commonwealth of Saxony.
This kind of compromise will only allow them to gain an inch. Where can we let it go? If it really compromises, how will the government explain it to the people? "
Chief of General Staff Mao Qi retorted: "Of course it's not a ceded ceding in vain, we can exchange interests with Austria, and now we need Vienna's support, at least acquiescence..."
...
Looking at the people who are arguing endlessly, the style of painting is very discordant. The military advocates compromise and the government advocates toughness. No matter how you look at it, the order seems to be reversed.
It is indeed upside down. The government officials who initially advocated compromise were the government officials, and the military advocated a tough response. But as the situation changed, that reversed.
In fact, this is just a continuation of the power struggle of the Berlin government. Now the civilian faction is at an absolute disadvantage in the struggle for government power, and the decision-making power has fallen into the hands of the military.
In the face of rights, many bottom lines do not exist. The civilian faction has reached a critical moment of life and death. Once the London negotiation is over, the military will have a powerful victory over Russia, and its right to speak in the government will be further enhanced.
The military, which is in control of the victory, naturally advocates stability. As for the sequelae brought by the ceding of land, it is actually not that serious.
It also depends on the method of cutting the land, as long as the loss of the operation is within the control range. What the kingdom of Prussia lacked now was not land, but population, especially the lack of Germans.
The East Prussia region was empty and desperately in need of populating, and the newly occupied areas also needed to settle in. Pack and take away all the population and finances on the ceded land, and just throw away a piece of white land in Austria.
This also fulfilled the agreement and left the Vienna government speechless. The original agreement was only to cede the Silesia area, but there was no agreement to include the population and property above.
If you want to do things, you can also leave some people behind, transfer all the local industries to these people, and then come to a non-violent non-cooperation.
In this society where private property is sacred and inviolable, where the legal astronomy is written, people do not cooperate through legal means, and the Vienna government can do nothing.
Of course, this inability is only short-term. The solution is always thought up by people. Once the integrity is lost, there are many ways to solve the problem.
Another reason that cannot be said for the change in the military's position is that the Junker nobles need labor for them to cultivate the land. In this era, the degree of mechanization was not high, and the demand for labor in agriculture was not small at all.
The East Prussia region was the stronghold of the Junker aristocracy. Now that there are no people, they cannot find enough labor to resume production.
There are also newly occupied areas, and many lands will also fall into the hands of Junker nobles through post-war awards, and these lands also require labor to cultivate.
If there are no local people, and all farming is done by local people, language communication is a big problem.
Moreover, aristocrats need a foundation to rule a place. When the local people resist, they also need to suppress it. How can they do it without their own people?
The Silesia region was seized from Austria. It is dominated by industry, and the capitalists are more powerful. Even if the Junkers are lost, there is no loss.
The Prussian Saxony region is similar, and the economic development is very good, but joining Prussia
The kingdom's time is too short, and it is not the basic plan of the Junker nobles.
The civilian faction is different. In order to compete with the military, they have to form alliances with domestic capitalists. As the spokesman for the interests of the bourgeoisie in the government, it is now natural to protect the interests of the bourgeoisie.
In theory, the loss of the Kingdom of Prussia can be minimized by transferring the population and property. Ordinary people can also get government compensation, which seems pretty good.
Only the interests of the capitalists cannot be guaranteed. Factories cannot be built anywhere. Even if all the conditions are met, they will have to re-operate their personal connections and sales network after changing regions.
This is not something that the government's compensation can make up for. In the process of changing the situation, they are likely to be replaced by others.