Chapter 429

Vienna, as a good neighbor Franz has always been paying close attention to the Russian civil war. Looking at the information collected in his hands, he knew that the tsarist government was about to give in.

In order to ensure domestic stability, Alexander II has been holding back and did not launch. As a result, the power of the rebels has grown like a snowball and has threatened the rule of the tsarist government.

At this point, any shrewd monarch will choose to maintain his own rule first. Alexander II had to end the war before he could clean up the interior and use political means to dismantle the rebels.

The dog will jump over the wall and start the war before the end of the war. If these worms collude with the Kingdom of Prussia, it is estimated that St. Petersburg will not be able to keep it.

To confuse these people, Alexander II has made several scapegoats, and it looks like things are over.

This kind of muddling practice, other than delaying time, actually has no effect. For a country, such compromise is slow suicide.

Franz had contacted Alexander II, and he knew very well that he was not a mediocre prince. As early as the Nicholas era, Alexander II proposed social reforms.

It is a pity that Nicholas I has already pushed for a round of reforms, which ended in failure. In his later years, Nicholas I did not have the courage to break the boat and did not dare to risk breaking with domestic interest groups.

In the era of Alexander II, the difficulty of reform increased greatly. He did not have the prestige of Nicholas I, and he could not conquer the big and small hills in the country.

The comprehensive social reform has shrunk to a limited social reform and embarked on the same path as the original time and space. Alexander II adopted a gradual approach to promote social reform.

At a critical moment, the Polish uprising broke out, followed by the Pudan War, and the hegemony of the Russian Empire was challenged.

In order to maintain imperial hegemony, Alexander II had to wage war. The defeat of the war and the intensification of domestic social contradictions led to the present situation.

Franz made a decisive decision: "Prime Minister, urge the Berlin government to fulfill the conditions, otherwise we will let them not want to get anything!"

It was political blackmail, the negotiations were deadlocked, and the Berlin government panicked. In these months, the tsarist government has armed with hundreds of thousands of troops.

play one more time? The Prussians expressed their panic. They have suffered a lot from the war so far. If they face the Russians again, even if they win, they will lose.

If their own strength is insufficient, even if they cede a large area of ​​land from the Russians, they cannot swallow it!

The Junkers nobles were also knowledgeable and knew that the current kingdom of Prussia could not withstand any failure. France and Austria are still staring at each other, and if they don't make a move, they still have the strength to fight.

Whoever does it first will be cheaper on the other. Coupled with the severe international situation, Fao was worried that the first admission would be plotted.

In the face of interests, the covenant is not much bigger than the role of waste paper. In case of being scammed, where do you go to cry?

This created an opportunity for Austria to blackmail Prussia. Prussia only knew that the attitude of the Russians was still tough. It did not know that the Tsarist government was about to compromise, and the Berlin government did not dare to let the war continue.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Prime Minister Felix replied

...

The plan never changes quickly, and the Berlin government did not panic at all after receiving the diplomatic note from the Vienna government.

The two sides discussed the conditions directly, and Prussian Foreign Minister Mike Kate questioned: "Sir Robson, how about Silesia and Prussian Saxony, you are clear, how could it be possible to buy five million Aegis?

As far as I know, Guangpu belongs to the Saxony region, and the treaty you signed with the Russians also stipulated 50 million Aegis. That's still a high-risk loan, and it can't be lower than this number now!

We sell Saxony and Silesia for 120 million Aegis, which is definitely worth the money. "

The Austrian ambassador to Berlin, Robson, explained calmly: "Your Excellency Minister, the account cannot be calculated like that. First of all, the Silesia region was agreed by us before the war, and we don't need to pay any more.

This transaction is only in the Commonwealth of Saxony. You must know that in addition to money, our political efforts are also included in the scope of the transaction.

Your country wants to acquire the duchies of Schleswig-Holstein, Lithuania, Latvia, and most of Belarus, all of which add up to three-quarters of your territory.

It's not so easy to achieve your goal, at least the French support the Poles to gain access to the Lithuanian region, and the British have a very warm attitude, if you don't want to take another enclave..."

The enclave is a sad problem, a Rhineland under the eyes of the French keeps the Berlin government awake, and another enclave under the nose of the Russians, it will be impossible.

Once the Poles gained access to the Lithuanian region, the Belarusian and Latvian regions that Prussia wanted were turned into enclaves, and the defense pressure was crushing enough.

Not only are they threatened by the Russians, but even the Poles have the strength to threaten them. If the power cannot be gathered, what else can be used to annex Poland and establish a Great Prussian Empire?

It was in the French interest to weaken Prussia and strengthen Poland. It not only created conditions for them to annex the Rhineland region, but also supported a chess piece to contain Austria.

For the British, both are younger brothers, and neither is good. John Bull, who is good at dancing sleeves, will of course not take a stand.

Prussian Foreign Minister Mike Kate retorted:

"Sir Robson, the appearance of a strong Poland is not a good thing for your country, and Polish nationalism has never forgotten Austrian Poland!"

Minister Robson smiled and said, "Your Excellency, you look down on Poles too much. Austrian Poland has never existed, and the local people don't think they are Poles.

The new Poland dares to challenge Austria, then they will become history again soon. The gap in strength cannot be made up by a few slogans. "

In this regard, the Vienna government is confident. As early as 20 years ago, the Polish nobles in Galicia were suppressed by the local people when they sought independence.

After so many years of assimilation, the traces of Poland have long since been touched, and the locals all call themselves Austrians.

Those who still retain the Polish tradition have become a very small number. Looking at the ethnic statistics table of the Vienna government, we know that the number of Polish ethnic groups in the country has dropped to less than one million.

The reduced Poles did not disappear, they were mainly assimilated. The new generation did not consider themselves Polish, and the number of Polish ethnic groups naturally decreased sharply.

Austrian nationality is not divided by blood. After so many years of development, there are a lot of mixed-race people, and it is not clear at all.

It is based on various factors such as language, traditional customs, and people's self-identification of the nation.

In this regard, Prussia and Austria have similar policies, both of which are promoting Germanization. The results were good on both sides, but Austria went a step further and couldn't get a job without learning the common language.

Of course, the re-independence of Poland will still affect the assimilation work of Austria, but the Vienna government is also prepared.

Franz also advocates freedom. Since he wants to be a Polish, he should go back to Poland. Austria has no shortage of hundreds of thousands of people.

Deporting hundreds of thousands of people, which is difficult in other countries, is not a problem at all in Austria. If you protest and make trouble, you will be expelled together.

The threat to Poland is internal, not external. The strength of the two sides determined that Poland could not threaten Austria militarily. As long as the internal problem dares to be ruthless, the threat will be the same.

Austria can take it lightly, but McKate can't. Prussia was still very interested in Poland, and Polish national independence could not frighten the Berlin government.

In a way, the Junkers are their nemesis. East Prussia and West Prussia are both examples. A group of Junker nobles suppressed the local area and did a very good job of national integration.

The successful experience has increased the confidence of the Berlin government. Regardless of how the outside world criticizes the backwardness of the system of enfeoffment and aristocracy, this system is indeed very effective in stabilizing localities.

...

After some bargaining, on August 11, 1867, the Austrian Minister in Berlin Robson and the Prussian Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Kate signed the "Prussian and Austrian Land Transaction Case".

There was only one treaty: the Kingdom of Prussia would sell Silesia and the Commonwealth of Saxony to Austria for 38 million Aegis.

Remarks: After the treaty is signed, the Kingdom of Prussia will complete the handover with Austria within two years after receiving the payment, and Austria needs to pay an additional 10 million Aegis for relocation.

Undoubtedly, other additional conditions were hidden, and both parties tacitly did not mention it.

Vienna, looking at the signed treaty, Franz couldn't believe it. It gave him the feeling that Prussia wanted to sign the treaty as soon as possible, and there was no so-called resistance.

The only problem is that the handover time required by the Prussians is relatively long, but this is not a big problem. The Kingdom of Prussia cannot recover in just two years, and it has no strength if it wants to default.

Moreover, the Berlin government has given a reasonable explanation that it will take time for them to divest. Unless Austria pays again to buy the above industries, it will give them a time buffer.

There is no such thing as investing in property, and the Vienna government is not taking advantage of it. If you really buy it at market value, Austria can't afford it!

There are bubble economies in any era. The combined area of ​​Saxony and Silesia is more than 30,000 square kilometers. The mines, land, factories, and real estate above are worth hundreds of millions. several times.

Since the Prussians were willing to move, the Vienna government would naturally not mind. Not all factories are valuable. Austria itself has these industries, and leaving them has no substantial effect except to intensify market competition.

Precisely because it was not needed, the Vienna government decisively signed a treaty with the Prussians. It soon became apparent to the Vienna government that something was wrong, that the Prussian relocation had gone too far.

The factory moved out, and actually took the workers along with it. Aristocrats and farmers who moved were also dragged along with their families, packing them away together with the peasants who cultivated their land.

Of course, it has been half a year since I found out about this problem. At that time, everything was done, and Franz could only recognize it by pinching his nose.

The treaty has been signed, so you can't go back on it, right? Moreover, the people did not disappear, and the people who supported Austria still stayed, which was regarded as a consolation prize.

Now the Vienna government is celebrating this great diplomatic victory, Austria has taken back the area of ​​Silesia that everyone remembers, and the Kingdom of Saxony has taken back the Prussian Saxony.

The response from the people was even more enthusiastic. Many people believed that this was a further step in the unification of the German region, and the unified theory of distribution has become more popular.

The Vienna government, which used people's money to eliminate disasters and benefits, also changed its position at the London Peace Conference.

Many of the demands made by the Kingdom of Prussia have taken a tacit attitude, and are no longer firmly opposed at the beginning.