Chapter 714 Contradictions

Compared with Austria's calm response, the Berlin government was in a hurry.

The brand of the Pubo Federation is still there. The refugees are all citizens of the Pubo Federation. It is obviously unreasonable to intercept their own nationals from entering.

However, there are also problems in not intercepting. Millions of refugees are pouring in, and there will definitely be no jobs. The Berlin government will not be able to settle them even if they try their best.

There is no need to worry about job placement, and it is easy to deal with living problems. Just set up a shed and become a family. Even if you become a refugee, you are not qualified to be picky, but you have to take care of your meals, right?

The stomach can't deceive people, and millions of mouths are waiting to be fed. As long as they are put in, the Berlin government must find a way to feed them.

Without a doubt, this is a bottomless pit. Perhaps the refugees could overwhelm the Kingdom of Prussia without the Russians attacking.

Since the beginning of the second Russian-Prussian War, William I's physical fitness has declined rapidly, and the unfavorable news on the battlefield has weighed down the old king in his old age.

Time has passed, and time has diluted William I's ambitions, and now he just wants a safe landing. However, this is already a luxury.

The unique system of the Kingdom of Prussia determines that once the chariot is started, it cannot be stopped. Anyone who tried to stand in the way of the chariot would be crushed to pieces.

This chariot without brakes can only stop when the horse is tired. As a coachman, William I can only adjust the direction of the carriage and choose a spacious road as much as possible.

William I dragged his old body and asked with concern, "What position do European countries hold?"

There is no doubt that millions of refugees have exceeded the limit that the Kingdom of Prussia can bear. The Berlin government cannot solve the refugee crisis and has to turn to the international community for help.

Foreign Secretary Jeffrey Friedman replied with a gloomy face: "The situation is very bad, all European countries have condemned the atrocities of the Russians, but few are willing to take actual action.

At present, it is mainly the countries in the German region that are providing substantial assistance to us.

Austria has promised to provide us with materials worth 5 million marks and 20,000 tons of food for disaster relief within one month, and other German states together have about 30 million marks in material assistance.

Our previous negotiation with Britain and Germany also changed, the position of the London government has changed again, and now their attitude is more inclined to Hannover.

If we want more support from them, we have to build North Germany with Hannover, and also sell part of the territory to Hannover in exchange for funds to pay off the debt. "

William I didn't have time to sigh that he was still reliable in times of crisis, and was stunned by the conditions behind it, which clearly convinced them.

It is possible to establish North Germany. Although it is difficult to accept that Hannover is the leader, who is the Kingdom of Prussia now in a state of decline, and the latter territory will be killed.

The huge debt owed by the Pope Federation will fall on the Berlin government in the future. To ease the debt crisis, the territory that needs to be sold is certainly not a tiny bit.

In order to gain dominance in North Germany, Hannover will also weaken the Kingdom of Prussia as much as possible, and being slaughtered is an inevitable result.

Frankly speaking, William I really didn't mind compromising with Hannover if he could get through the current stage safely by paying these prices.

The problem is that Prussia is not the only one who has the final say. The conditions put forward by Hanover have already broken through the bottom line of the Junkers aristocrats, and they are simply impossible to accept.

This aspect is somewhat similar to the Donglin Party in the late Ming Dynasty. They knew that the Ming Dynasty would be doomed if they didn't pay taxes. After the reshuffle, they, who were vested interests, would also be unlucky, but they were unwilling to give in half a step.

After Daming was finished, they found that the new master was not easy to serve, and it was too late to regret it. Under the butcher's knife, these people quickly chose to compromise.

The current Junker nobles are similar. It is possible to stop the war, but the premise is that their interests must be protected first.

However, reality cannot. No matter which one it is, it is impossible to sell this sky-high price.

Things got stuck here, and the Berlin government didn't dare to take action if it wanted to fix the aftermath. Because the first person to wake up and wake everyone up usually doesn't have any good results.

William I asked, "What do you think?"

The room was quiet, and no one answered this topic, not because everyone didn't know how to answer, but because they didn't dare to answer at all.

Politics is cruel. A lot of times if you say a wrong word, you will pay a heavy price. Especially at this sensitive time, you may become a "national thief" who will be punished.

Seeing that no one answered, William I sighed: "Today's words will be strictly kept secret, only a few of us will know. You can completely deny that you have said it when you go out here. If you have any ideas, feel free to say it!"

No way, this is the sadness of the "***ist" system. Especially after the First Russian-Prussian War, the Junkers aristocracy further expanded, and the Berlin government had to be influenced by it.

It is worth mentioning that, without exception, these cabinet members all have Junker aristocratic backgrounds. In theory, they are all spokespersons for the group's interests.

However, thanks to the intrigue of William I, the large group of Junker nobles also diverged from their respective interests.

Now, except for the radicals in the army, who are still thinking of turning defeat into victory, everyone else knows that the Federation of Popo is finished, and if they do not save themselves, the Kingdom of Prussia will be finished.

When disaster is imminent, they will fly separately. At this time, officials in politics must first protect their own interests. Of course, there are also patriotic festivals

Yes, but for most politicians, it comes after personal interests.

Seeing William I's scalp numb, Prime Minister Melanie Griffith replied uneasily: "Your Majesty, at this point, no matter how excessive the conditions are, we must talk.

It is not surprising that the British fell to Hanover. Since they want to support the chess pieces, they must choose the ones that are easy to control. Compared to us, the control of North Germany from Hanover is more inseparable from them.

In addition to this, debt is also an important factor. After the war, our fiscal revenue will definitely drop significantly, and our fiscal revenue will not necessarily have high interest in the next five years.

If the British want to recover their debts, the premise is that we must have money in our pockets first, so it is not surprising that we are forced to sell our land.

However, we owe too much debt, and if the Russians slaughter them again and sell all the remaining territories, they may not be able to pay off their debts.

If the British want us to continue to pay our debts, they must leave us enough capital.

Moreover, Hannover's size is limited, and they can't eat much. From this aspect, the price we need to pay should not be too great.

If the conditions with them are too much, we can also consider contact with the Austrians. Although the Vienna government may not welcome it now, we delivered it to our door, and they must not refuse. "

Melanie Griffiths, the prime minister, is the result of compromise by all parties. In normal times, he is an eraser and has little sense of existence. But being the Prime Minister is not as simple as it seems.

This answer made William I's eyes bright, not because he couldn't think of these questions, but mainly because he was too old and didn't have so much energy to think deeply.

That's right, the Berlin government still has a choice, and although neither path is easy, it's better to have a choice than no choice. One more choice, one more bargaining capital.

Foreign Secretary Jeffrey Friedman shook his head: "Austria doesn't have to think about it. At most, make a gesture of contact and ask Hannover for advice and bargaining. The military is unlikely to agree."

Joining the Austrian-led Shinra Empire, the biggest loss is not the government but the military. The Vienna government generally does not intervene, but the military must be in their hands.

Looking at several other states, we know that after the central government took over the state army and was responsible for military expenditure, the armed forces of the state governments were left with the police and militias.

Of course, the fact that the state government does not have soldiers does not mean that the king has no soldiers. In addition to the directly subordinate palace guards, the troops stationed in the locality also received the command of the king of the state.

This is also the reason why the Vienna government can easily get the command of the army. It only deprives the state government of the command of the army, and the king's rights are not lost.

From the king's standpoint, this is actually a strengthening of the king's power. If you have soldiers in your hands, you will be hard-hearted. Military spending is still allocated by the central government. It is difficult for the state government to have financial influence.

It's just that it's hard not impossible. If the state government is willing to spend money, it can still maintain a certain influence.

It's just that no state government is willing to do this, and no matter how the expansion of the army is in the hands of the king and the emperor, they can't get involved at all.

They are not ready to rebel, why do they maintain influence over the army?

In essence, the political structure of the new Shinra Empire was created by the emperor and the kings of various countries, and the core is to maintain their own power.

William I didn't mind, but the Prussian military didn't! In other countries, the government suffered a loss and lost control of the army; Prussia was the complete opposite, the army lost control of the government.

If it really merges, the first thing the Berlin government will do is to stop military funding and conduct large-scale disarmament.

Politicians can also apply to the central government to dissolve the army if conditions permit.

There is precedent for this, the Principality of Liechtenstein disbanded its army after joining Shinra. Don't ask why, people just don't want it.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Gorman laughed: "It's not completely impossible, if the military is defeated and suffered heavy losses on the battlefield, they have no capital to oppose.

From the current situation, the probability of this happening is very high. The only trouble is that the troops suffered heavy losses, and we lost the capital to negotiate with the Russians. "

Politics is cruel, and class interests do not equal personal interests. After the defeat, the Junkers aristocracy suffered heavy losses, but it was an opportunity for politicians to seize power.

If it wasn't for the fear of losing the capital to negotiate with the Russians after the defeat, everyone present really didn't care that the military suffered heavy losses.

William I was also very conflicted in his heart. On the one hand, he hoped that the army could win a few battles and obtain the capital to negotiate with the Russians so that the war could be ended in a decent manner.

On the other hand, he wants to use the war to attack the military forces and let the government take the lead, so as to end the war as soon as possible, get through the current crisis, and keep his throne.

After hesitating for a while, William I made a decision: "The two families will contact each other first, and finally decide according to the situation on the battlefield.

The general situation in Austria has become a reality, and the Vienna government does not want to go into this muddy water now, and it must not be able to talk about any results. It's the same when we've come to that point, and we're going to rely on it directly.

The focus now is to talk with Hannover. We must find out how much the British support them, which is related to our future position in Germany. "

This answer is not unexpected, the Prussian military is too strong, even the king is not able to fight against them.

unless

It was the Prussian army that suffered a crushing defeat on the battlefield, and the Russians directly occupied Berlin. Otherwise, the government must consider the interests of the military when making decisions.