Chapter 717 Feasibility of North Germany

St. Petersburg, looking at the battle report in his hand, Alexander II's face vanished with joy, leaving only a deep sadness.

The Russian army has won a big victory on the front line, and the enemy has been overwhelmed strategically, and the victory of the war is getting closer and closer.

However, behind these victories, Russian soldiers piled up with white bones. Watching the increasing number of casualties, Alexander II admitted that he was afraid.

There are not only two countries in this world, Prussia and Russia. The Russian Empire has many enemies. In order to win this war, they have lost all their wealth. What should they do next?

...

Foreign Minister Gerardo Jesserot: "Your Majesty, the Austrian Minister in St. Petersburg sent us a diplomatic note this morning, and the Vienna government has proposed an international conference to mediate this war."

Alexander II nodded: "It's finally here."

It seemed to be a sigh of relief, mixed with a bit of anxiety.

After a pause, Alexander II asked, "What conditions did the Austrians give?"

Foreign Minister Gerardo Jesserot shook his head: "Just an ordinary diplomatic note, the Austrians did not take a stand.

Judging from the current situation, the Vienna government may not take its position lightly. "

It's a fact that the Vienna government is really having a hard time choosing right now. One side is interests, the other side is public opinion, no matter what choice is made, it is wrong.

Since there is no choice, don't state your position first, and wait for the situation to develop further before stating your position.

At this time, Austria does not need to rely on standing in line to live, and its own profit is indispensable earlier and later.

After hesitating for a moment, Alexander II made a decision: "Speak to Austria, and we agree to mediate.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is ready to negotiate, and there is a tough battle to be fought next. The blood of the soldiers must not be shed in vain, and they must not be allowed to get things on the battlefield and spit them out at the negotiating table. "

The diplomatic game, although there is no smoke of gunpowder, is no less intense than the battlefield.

After Britain, France and Austria established a new international system, the outcome of the European War was no longer determined by the battlefield.

Winning militarily is just the beginning; the ultimate ownership of interests still has to be determined at the negotiating table.

Of course, Russia is also a big country, and it still has the right to speak, and will not be slaughtered. Victory on the battlefield, the absolute upper hand at the negotiating table, the difference is only the size of the benefits.

...

The Tsarist government agreed, and the Berlin government had no reason to disagree. It is them who can't hold on now. Even the radicals in the army know that the tide is over, and if they don't negotiate, they won't have the money to negotiate.

Since the war has been going on till now, more than 400,000 people have been killed in the Kingdom of Prussia alone. If you add those who died of illness and serious injuries, the number may increase by 200,000 to 300,000.

There are 600,000 to 700,000 people who have died alone, and there are also some who are disabled. It is not an exaggeration to permanently reduce the number of people by more than one million.

For Prussia, which has a population of only more than 10 million, everyone has been wearing filial piety and everyone is crying. Except for a few people whose poisoning is too deep, most people have already woken up from their dreams.

Fortunately, the population structure is younger these days, and the proportion of young adults is relatively high. If we catch up with the aging society, the casualties will collapse so early.

From the Prussian army headquarters, the news of the negotiation came. Mao Qi seemed to have aged ten years overnight. This war hit him too hard.

The gap in strength cannot be filled by individual strength. All the way to victory, but in the end the war ended in defeat in victory.

After losing this war, Mao Qi's aura of famous general did not fall, but became louder and louder. I have to say that this is an irony.

Resisting the grief in his heart, Mao Qi continued to perform his duties: "Order the troops to strengthen their vigilance and strictly prevent the Russians from attacking."

Different from the failure of previous wars, the failure of this war has not made much criticism of the commander-in-chief in China.

Maybe everyone has been hit too hard and hasn't recovered yet. No one was shouting about changing generals, and no one was shouting at him.

"Yes, Marshal."

"Yes, Marshal."

...

The reply in twos and threes made Mao Qi's face even more ugly: "Have you not eaten, all of you are weak, look at yourself, do you still look like a soldier now?

Isn't it just that we lost a war, and it's not that we haven't lost, the ancestors were able to survive, why can't we do it! "

No one answered. Judging from their expressions, most people were ashamed, and only a few were indifferent.

th. The more you know, the less confident you are in Prussia.

The current European situation has basically stabilized. It is too difficult for Prussia to turn around, and many people are already desperate.

Seeing that the effect was not good, Mao Qi sighed helplessly. A few words may be able to wake up a confused person, but it will not have such a big effect on a person who is already sober.

"Okay, I don't care what you are thinking. As long as you put on this military uniform, you must perform your duties.

At this time, I don't expect you to be brave and good at fighting and turn defeat into victory on the battlefield.

As long as you do your job well and don't give the enemy an opportunity to keep Prussia's last capital, it is the best return for the country that gave birth to you. "

...

London, Prussian accept Austria-mediated settlement

When the news came, the British government seemed to be caught in a dark cloud over the city.

Prime Minister Benjamin: "The Austrians want to convene the Vienna Peace Conference, and both Prussia and Russia have accepted the invitation. The hegemony of Britain is being provoked, and we must act."

Although the three countries of Britain, France and Austria stand side by side, the default leader is Britain. This Vienna Peace Conference apparently broke this convention.

The London government failed to mediate the Russian-Prussian war, but instead let the Austrians do it, which meant that Britain's influence on the European continent was lagging behind.

It doesn't matter if it is another region, the world hegemony of the British Empire has not been able to penetrate into every region, and it does not matter if it loses regional hegemony in one or two places.

But not in Europe, the center of the world is in Europe these days. There is only a thin line between continental hegemony and world hegemony.

Both economically and militarily, the European continent exceeds the rest of the world combined. With the hegemony of the European continent, the world hegemony is actually almost certain.

The British government could not tolerate such a thing. Although Austria's convening the Vienna Peace Conference did not mean gaining hegemony on the European continent, it still broke Britain's implicit hegemony on the European continent.

Destruction is always easier than construction. Britain's position in Europe was established through hundreds of years of hard work. Now that it has been hit, it is almost impossible to recover.

As the world hegemon, the British took too much of the benefits. It's not just Austria that is greedy for their interests, but because of the prestige of the British, no one dares to do anything.

Austria has started. If the London government does not respond in time and dispel the delusions of other countries, they will fall into endless temptations and provocations, and there will be no peace.

Foreign Secretary Edward: "We can't influence the Russians, the Berlin government really can't hold on now, and it's impossible for them to reject the Austrian proposal.

It is no longer realistic to start the plan to disintegrate Austria directly from the Hehui Conference, and it can only counterattack from other aspects.

Perhaps we can increase our investment to get the North German Empire established as soon as possible. Severing Austria's dream of a Central European Empire should be a shock to European countries. "

Before that, the London government was also planning the North German Empire, but because of fear of Austria's reaction, it had been behind the scenes. Now that I have torn my face, of course you are welcome.

Garfield, the chancellor of the exchequer, objected: "It is not easy to build the North German Empire, most German states have limited interest, and the Austrians may destroy it, the probability of success is too low.

To stand up and promote directly, if it succeeds, it will be fine. If the plan fails, it will be another blow to our reputation.

Consecutive defeats will shake our allies. For now, we should keep Prussia first and then consider how to retaliate against Austria. "

How did Britain get revenge on Austria?

The answer is: a lot.

Either the influence is too small to achieve the goal; or there are future problems, and a bad one will backfire on itself.

For example: doing things in the colony.

It's just that all they can succeed are the remote areas. Even if they succeed, the influence they will cause is very small, and they will not be able to cause quiet in the European world.

Interception at sea to obstruct shipping is also a method.

Unfortunately, it is not clear that the Royal Navy can pretend to be a pirate, and the Austrian Navy can also follow suit. This thing is a lose-lose.

The most effective way is to do things on the European continent. This is very challenging for the London government, whose influence on the European continent has suffered since British-French relations have cooled.

If there are still French thugs, Franz will not be doing anything at this time.

Foreign Secretary Edward shook his head: "Sir, do we still have a choice?

If Austria is not pressed down, more countries will emerge in the future. At that time, we will be too busy to take care of ourselves, and there will be no energy to take revenge on Austria.

The establishment of North Germany had been planned in advance, and with the fiasco of the Kingdom of Prussia, the odds of success were already high. "

After the fiasco of the Kingdom of Prussia, European countries' fear of the North German Empire has been reduced to a minimum, and many countries that were originally opposed may turn to support.

This is determined by interests. It is not without benefits for the Berlin government to borrow money everywhere. At least now, when creditors consider international issues, they must take into account their own money bags.

For example: France, although not much has been lent in this war, but a lot of money has been released in the past, both from Prussia and Poland.

Poland is gone, and no one can make the Russians spit it out. All these debts fell to the Berlin government, and the Berlin government would certainly not be able to repay it under normal circumstances.

If you want these debts to be fulfilled, you must also help Prussia to restore the economy, which requires investment, and the French are definitely not willing to continue to pay.

At this time, the importance of the North German Empire is reflected. As the central government, it must not watch the collapse of the following states. Even if they do not directly repay the debts for Prussia, they will also provide money to help the kingdom of Prussia recover its economy.

A loose alliance of German states could not threaten the interests of France at all, and could hinder Austria's unification of Central Europe. The possibility of the Paris government's support is very high.

Including the Russian Empire can also be bought, regardless of the bloodshed between Prussia and Russia, as long as the interests are in place, many things can be discussed.

The kingdom of Prussia, which was severely damaged, has lost its strength to threaten Russia after the war, even if it is allied with the Germans

The same goes for the formation of the North German Empire.

Population and territorial area determine the upper limit of this new country, and no matter what, it will not be able to catch up with the previous Commonwealth. Not to mention that the many states in the country are independent and unable to integrate their forces.

The tsarist government was so poor that it finally won the war, and it must have wanted to extort a war reparation.

It is easy to get the Berlin government to sign an indemnity treaty, but the problem arises if you want the Kingdom of Prussia to pay the indemnity.

No one kept Prussia alive, not to mention paying the war reparations, the post-war pensions alone could overwhelm the country.

In addition, this also involves Russia-Austria relations. It is impossible to say that the tsarist government did not fear Austria at all.

It's just that the two sides didn't turn their backs because they couldn't leave Austria. After the war, Russia's demand for Austria will gradually decrease, and the relationship between the two sides will also change. It is only a matter of time before it goes from ally to rival.

The Tsarist government has no reason to refuse to be able to restrict Austria without making a move on its own.