Chapter 889 Keep Going, but Don't Shoot.

On the way back to Venice, Franz prepared to take a nap, after all, there were still many troublesome things to deal with later.

According to the news from Berlin, the situation in Prussia was not much better than that in Austria.

The wave of revolution also swept Berlin, and Frederick William IV learned the lesson of the previous zoo tragedy.

This time he mobilized 30,000 troops to Berlin, bringing the total number of troops that William IV could dispatch to 50,000.

But Metternich's early resignation and the chaos in Vienna made William IV feel insecure.

He originally hoped that the Austrians would help Prussia share the pressure, but Vienna fell first.

At the same time, serious differences arose between the two major factions within the Prussian government. The representative of the hard-line faction was Army Minister Kanitz, who insisted on suppressing the Berlin Revolution.

The reason was simple. The Austrians had already compromised, resulting in the resignation of the prime minister, frequent changes of government, domestic political chaos, and external forces coveting, or even directly competing.

"The blood of the zoo cannot be shed in vain! They must recognize their status! We must never let those with lowly blood ride on our heads!"

Although the Junker landlords have been transforming into bourgeois farmers over the years, and the power of the nobles has become smaller and smaller, they still don't want more people to threaten their status.

"Do you want the tragedy of France to happen in Prussia?"

Prime Minister Rudolf Camphausen asked back.

Generally speaking, the status of a country's prime minister is higher than that of the Minister of War, but Prussia is obviously an exception at this time.

Rudolf Camphausen, a Prussian banker, participated in the founding of the Rheinische Zeitung and was the founder of the German Steamship Company.

He made his fortune neither by his family's banking industry nor by freight, but by sending high-quality German immigrants to North America and British colonies.

Both countries pay him high agency fees every year, so Rudolf Camphausen is a typical pro-British faction.

Although under Franz's promotion, the German Confederation promulgated the "Anti-Human Trafficking Act" and the "Anti-Human Smuggling Agreement", and even sent warships directly to intercept smuggling ships.

However, these methods are useless for Rudolf Camphausen, who has an official background, and he can completely say that he is a job introduction or labor dispatch. In short, he is innocent.

Even if Franz wants to use tough measures, the Austrian Navy in the Mediterranean is powerless because they are taking the North Sea Passage. As for the navies of other states, they can only say that they are willing but unable to do so.

Rudolf Camphausen's goal is to emulate the United Kingdom and establish a constitutional monarchy, so he is more welcoming to the people's call for a constitution at this time.

"This is Berlin! Not Paris! I am not the weak Marquis de Lafayette!"

"Isn't the lesson of the Zoo Massacre enough?"

"Gerlach only had 1,000 people, and only rifles. Now we have 50,000 people, and cannons! There is no reason for those mobs to beat us!"

The hardliners and the capitulationists were arguing, and Frederick William IV had no idea. He didn't want to give up power, nor did he want to bear the infamy of massacring the people, and he was even more afraid of failure.

Such a debate would naturally not have any results. Suddenly, the Minister of Finance Friedrich List said.

"Marshal Kanitz, your army can indeed beat the people of Berlin, but what after winning? Are you going to kill them all?"

The Minister of War had to shut up, he knew that he couldn't really kill all the people.

Friedrich List then turned to Rudolf Camphausen.

"Mr. Prime Minister, if we are too weak, we will be dominated by nationalists like Bavaria and Baden.

My suggestion is to convene the Prussian United Provincial Parliament. We can give up some power, but they must also pay a certain price.

First of all, we must stop the civil strife and not let the Rhine region become independent from our country.

Secondly, they also need to agree to increase taxes so that we have enough power to deal with the current crisis."

Frederick William IV nodded after hearing this. Finally, one of his ministers started from the perspective of the country. He admired this Württemberg man more and more.

However, what Frederick William IV did not know was that Friedrich List was the biggest liberal in the Prussian government.

The Prussian United Provincial Parliament is theoretically a representative body of the people of Prussia, but several generations of Prussian kings have not fulfilled this promise.

At the same time, due to the relationship between the Archbishop of Cologne and the church, the situation in the Rhine region is indeed more serious at this time.

The result was obvious. King Frederick William IV was more inclined to Friedrich List's plan. Although Kanitz was dissatisfied, there was no point in arguing further.

The original intention of the Berlin government was to kick the ball back to the nationalists, but the nationalists in the Rhine region and the nationalists in East Prussia were not the same group of people at all.

Friedrich List also miscalculated on this point. He did not expect those people to give up the opportunity to establish a constitution for a mere religious conflict.

They directly rejected the proposal of the Berlin government, and then uprisings broke out in both places. In the end, Berlin still did not escape the disaster. The army and the people fought in the streets, and both sides suffered heavy casualties.

Barricades are a commonplace issue in this era, but the reality is that the weapons at this time really have no good way to deal with such simple fortifications.

The soldiers could only take down one position after another in hand-to-hand combat with huge casualties. These soldiers from the three new provinces in eastern Prussia did not have a good impression of the concept of Germans.

Coupled with the huge casualties at this time, they easily became bloodthirsty.

The soldiers fired cannons at the barricades, and the terrifying shells easily penetrated the barricades made of wooden furniture.

In order to suppress this rebellion, Kanitz also specially purchased special shotgun shells and even incendiary bombs from Austria.

The use of these killing weapons greatly reduced the casualties of the Prussian army, but the street fighting was still very cruel. Since it was impossible to distinguish between resisters and civilians, Kanitz's soldiers could only suppress them room by room.

A large number of accidental injuries and killings were inevitable, which aroused more people's resistance. The soldiers were demoralized and depressed, but there was no doubt that both sides were going crazy.

The streets were filled with corpses, and houses were on fire. The Berliners retreated in the face of this infernal scene. They did not have the courage of the Parisians. At the same time, the Prussian army emphasized discipline more. These troops from the east did not sympathize with the people and would not be directly instigated like the French army.

Berlin, Charlottenburg Palace.

Frederick William IV felt betrayed and muttered to himself.

"A bunch of damn traitors!"

But when Kanitz came to ask him to approve further actions, Frederick William IV said.

"Keep going! But don't shoot!"