Chapter 381 Luxembourg Agreement (Part 1)

January 15, 1843.

In the Grand Duke's residence in Luxembourg City, Palmerston, who never felt lonely, suddenly realized that he had become an awkward outsider. Belgium had been divided up like a box of exquisite cakes on the table.

Not only was his existence worthless, but even Leopold I's objections were deliberately omitted by other participants.

The Dutch took away the Flemish region, but in their eyes it was regarded as due compensation. Another neighbor, France, obtained the right to protect the downgraded Duchy of Belgium, but it only had two provinces, Hainaut and Bratten.

Luxembourg regained its lost territory and took back West Luxembourg from Belgium and Limburg from the Netherlands, and became a constitutional monarchy; it was no longer controlled by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but its monarch William II still served as the Grand Duke.

Namur and Liege merged into the independent Duchy of Liege, with the Austrian Emperor serving as the Duke, and was incorporated into the German Confederation.

In a sense, this also means that Austria will return to the Netherlands again in a few decades.

As for the support from St. Petersburg that Palmerston had been looking forward to, it did not come as he wished. Tsar Nicholas I, who adhered to the orthodox principle, summoned the British ambassador and explained to the latter the decision to support the German Confederation in eliminating the products of the revolution and to provide military support.

Although Russia never sent troops to intervene, the German Confederation generously expressed its willingness to pay 10 million florins to make up for the loss of the Tsar's failure to participate in the war.

Of course, this was all negotiated with Franz in the name of Archduke Karl. The Tsar was naturally very willing to participate in this behavior that was both face-saving and substantive.

And as far as Nicholas I was concerned, compared with the Anglo-Saxons who put interests first, the unbreakable Holy Alliance was worthy of his trust, after all, this was the most beneficial to his country.

Palmerston and other Whitehall gentlemen believed that Britain had never encountered the situation today, but at this time the entire European continent seemed to have become an iron plate.

Even France, which did not benefit much, did not object to this distribution.

Not to mention the so-called allies, the Dutch. Although they did not recover all their homeland this time, the government leaders unanimously regarded it as a great victory.

(Dutch civilians have no feelings about the country and the war. The army and officials were very happy to extort the people's money when they took over the Flemish region.

However, a large number of Catholics made the people very dissatisfied, and they strongly demanded that the government drive out these guys who were stealing their jobs. The Dutch civilians at that time naively thought that as long as there were fewer people, they could get more.)

As for the German Confederation with many states, although it has always been a loose union, everyone is very tight on this matter. And thanks to the previous battle, Prussia's reputation has fallen to a low point, and it has confirmed the title of "shame of the great powers".

(Before the military reform, the combat effectiveness of the Prussian army was limited.)

In contrast, its competitors took over the entire Belgium in just one week and defeated the "main force" of the French army in one day. The record can be described as glorious.

At this time, Austria's reputation was at its peak. Palmerston knew that the whole situation was set up by the old fox Metternich, who was just waiting for Britain to get in.

"Why do you want to divide up innocent Belgium? You bunch of robbers."

The arrogant diplomat's provocative questioning was interrupted by others before it began. He looked around and saw the representatives of the German Confederation, while Prince Metternich looked calm and unmoved.

This has to start from the liberation of the entire Luxembourg. Those small states also have their own calculations. After all, the economic strength of the place is not weak.

Although the Netherlands is still its nominal sovereign at this time, anyone with a discerning eye can see that it is just a false name, and Luxembourg will definitely be incorporated into a certain country in the future, which will have a major impact on the situation of the German Confederation.

Therefore, all the states hope to show themselves, let the brothers of Luxembourg realize the benefits of joining the Confederation, and pave the way for future plans.

Prussia, Saxony, Bavaria, Hanover and other powerful states were almost fighting over the uneven distribution of spoils; at this time, the European chancellor, who had been staying out of the meeting since the beginning, took the initiative to propose to draw lots to decide the list of final signatories.

In the end, this right actually fell into the hands of the Kingdom of Hanover. The German Confederation was actually very dissatisfied with the result of the draw.

Because since the Hanoverian Elector George entered England in 1714, Hanover and Great Britain and Ireland have formed a personal union for more than a hundred years.

Although after the death of King William IV of England in 1837, the British throne was passed to her niece, Victoria, the Princess of Kent, who was closely related by blood.

Because the German region implemented the European continental Salisbury law that prohibited women from inheriting the throne, the throne of the Hanoverian monarch was passed to her fifth uncle, the Duke of Cumberland, known in history as Ernst August I.

Although it seems that they have separated on the surface, the trade between Hanover and Britain has never been cut off over the years, and the former even refused to join the German Customs Union because of this.

Whether the Hanoverians are reliable or not is still unknown within the Confederation. Moreover, the person who was to sign on such an important occasion was actually a blind man, which made the representatives of the German states even more indignant.

(Georg Friedrich Alexander Karl Ernst August is the current Crown Prince of Hanover, later known as Georg V, the famous blind king of Hanover)

Georg spent his childhood in Berlin and England. As a child, he lost the vision in one eye due to illness; after an accident in 1833, he lost the other eye and became a veritable blind man.

Will a blind prince be able to rule a kingdom in the future?

This was the question that Georg and his surrounding people thought about most, but his father Ernst August I insisted on establishing him as his heir and becoming a great king in the future.

Historically, Georg V sent troops to defeat the Prussian army during the Austro-Prussian War and achieved partial victory on the battlefield, but failed to expand the results.

With the defeat of Austria, Hanover had to choose to surrender, and Georg V could only go into exile overseas, and finally died in a foreign country.

Closer to home, in the venue at this moment, the "blind" crown prince made a shocking statement.

"The land in Belgium was originally taken from other countries, and now it is just returned to its original owner. As for banditry, I heard that your ancestors, Lord Palmerston, were engaged in this industry, right?"

Although Georg's above words are true, they are indeed hurtful. They directly eliminate the legitimacy of the Kingdom of Belgium, and at the same time draw a clear line with its long-term ally, the United Kingdom.

Palmerston was not angry because he had no hope for this peace conference; because every country seemed to have received benefits, even Prussia, which had made a big mistake this time.

Luxembourg directly borders it, and has been stationed by Prussian troops for a long time. It is very likely to merge or join the Prussian side in the future. This will undoubtedly actually enhance the strength of the Prussians.

The benefits obtained by Diou are the simplest, but they are more practical. Ten million florins may be looked down upon by other countries, but for the impoverished bear, it is a long-lost rain.

France, the Netherlands and Austria are also very satisfied with this. If they threaten war at this time, it will only have the opposite effect and make the three countries form an offensive and defensive alliance with the same hatred.

But Palmerston was worthy of being one of the most powerful diplomats of the nineteenth century. He understood that "there are no eternal friends and no eternal enemies, only eternal interests."

He believed that time would change everything, and he made a brief speech at the end of the peace meeting

"The British Empire refused to sign this contract and history will prove that today was a mistake."

This was a nail planted by Palmerston, and it was also a curse on the peace conference. He believed that interests would lead to changing situations, and one day the Luxembourg Agreement would be broken by the people who made it.