Chapter 424： Junker VS Civilian + Capital (1/2)

In March 1867, the Prussians were frightened by Austria's massive military exercise on the border between the Austrian and Austrian states.

Just after the Pu-Russian war, they were busy licking their wounds, but they did not have the courage to make another Pu-Ou war.

If a fight occurs at this time, not only will all the previous results be spit out, it will be difficult to even protect yourself.

In the Berlin Palace, Foreign Minister Mike Kate said: ”The Austrians are demonstrating. They will not provoke war during this period.

Once the war breaks out, the Russians will definitely continue the war. The tsarist government can take back Poland and the Baltic Sea region by just playing soy sauce.

This is not what the Vienna government wants to see, and a strong Russian empire is not in their interest. The Russo-Austrian alliance exists only temporarily because of their interests, and sooner or later they will fight for European hegemony.

There is also the current international situation, and it is impossible for the Vienna government to ignore it. No European country wants to see a hegemonic Austria. At this time, when they start a war, they will be isolated.

If the French attack the Rhineland region after the outbreak of war, will the Vienna government interfere or not interfere?

If they interfere, it is likely that a full-scale war between France and Austria will break out; if they do not interfere, how can they claim to be leaders of the German region? ”

Truly fearless, McKate didn't say. Definitely cannot win, the Kingdom of Prussia is now exhausted.

But as long as the Berlin government is shameless, there is still a chance to dig into Austria and reverse the current passive state.

Once the French invaded the Rhineland region, the Prussian government could directly concede and join the new Holy Roman Empire, asking Austria to defend the territorial integrity of the German region.

So the French-Austrian war detonated, and the situation changed. If the French have the upper hand, or if the war is deadlocked, they can fall back again.

Don't doubt the ethics of the politicians, as long as the benefits are large enough, nothing can be done.

The pillar of the Kingdom of Prussia is the Junker aristocracy. Even if the Vienna government of this class wanted to buy it, it could not afford it.

The two parties have been in private for a long time. If Franz is willing to compromise, the German region can be unified at any time.

Juncker aristocrats objected to joining the New Holy Roman Empire just for the benefit. If Prussia can achieve the same status as Austria and protect their interests, then everyone can merge at any time.

Obviously this is impossible, and if compromise is made, the new Holy Roman Empire will be divided again.

An empire can only have one core. If it becomes two, it becomes Prussia with a group of small states against Austria in the empire.

From the beginning, Franz made the decision that states' rights must be restrained.

After so many years of hard work, he recovered the diplomatic power, coinage power, military command power, and some financial power. How could it be surrendered again?

Secretary of the Army and Navy Ron questioned: ”This is just wishful thinking, and it does not represent the position of the Vienna government.

Moreover, Austria's leadership in Germany depends on strength, not so-called public opinion. They first gained strength and then won the support of the people.

Nationalism is indeed influential, but this is not enough to influence the decisions of the Vienna government. In exchange for the unification of Germany for the Rhineland region, isn't it a disadvantage for the Austrians?

You know, Austria has always been afraid of us. Of the many states in the German region, only we have threatened their strength. ”

As a military representative, Ron was an admirer of force. This is determined by the national conditions of the Kingdom of Prussia, and everyone has been the champion of force.

Ron does not value Austria's influence. In his opinion, strength comes first. Now that Austria has enough strength, everything else is nothing.

As long as the German region can be unified, it will be lost if the Rhineland region is lost. As long as they are collected in the future, these problems can be washed away.

Not only his personal views, many people have the same views. Some private groups are still advocating the theory of unity at a price, that is, paying a certain price in exchange for national unification.

These include ceding the territory west of the Rhine to the French, and ceding the Polish region to the Russians.

Some people also carried out an in-depth analysis, thinking that as a result, the Kingdom of Prussia would have shrunk by more than half, and the unified empire could become more stable.

This is what Junker aristocrats are most worried about. If Austria simply annexed a shrinking version of the Prussian kingdom, they would really lose a lot.

The kingdom of Prussia is larger than all states except Austria combined. The existence of such a big state will obviously weaken the authority of the central government.

If Austria wants to dominate the new Holy Roman Empire, it must suppress the Kingdom of Prussia and limit them to control. The two sides are naturally in opposition, and there is no possibility of compromise.

This view does not include savvy politicians, only they can see how bad the situation will be after Austria unifies the German region.

Politically, it is inevitable to be isolated. The Central European Empire is naturally hostile to Europe; militaryly, it is also universally enemy.

This enemy comes from both the continent and the ocean. I didn't have to say on land. Just look at the map and know that we must confront France and Russia at the same time.

The situation at sea is even worse. In the Mediterranean, the Austrian navy must confront Britain and France, in the Baltic Sea, it must compete with the Russians, and in the Atlantic, it must compete with Britain and France.

This is still the result of ignoring small countries. In fact, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and the Nordic Federation will all be the enemies of Austria, which is determined by geopolitics.

Except that Switzerland and Belgium are likely to be neutral, the European continent is an enemy at a glance, and even Montenegro and Greece, which are not worth mentioning, are no exception.