Berlin

The arrival of Parmeston did not bring good news to Frederick William IV, and the British also stood opposite them this time.

"Your Majesty, the current situation is very unfavorable to us. European countries are standing opposite us. Austria, the only one among the great powers, is only forced by public opinion. They will not provide us with any substantial help." Prime Minister Joseph von Radovitz said with a frown.

In a single fight against Russia on land, no country in Europe had the courage to fight this way before the end of the Crimean War, and Prussia was no exception.

Meeting such a neighbor is the greatest misfortune of the Prussian Kingdom. Since you can't win, be friends. Prussian-Russian relations have always been the most important part of Prussian diplomacy.

"Does the bourgeois government still refuse to give in?" Frederick William IV asked with concern

Radovitz thought for a while and said, "Yes, Your Majesty. Now the morale among the people is rising. After Austria speaks out for us, all German states are waving flags and shouting for us. They are trying to use public opinion to force us to break out in war with Russia.

The bourgeois government believes that it cannot be hit by the morale of the people now. They want to wait for Austria to deal with internal conflicts and join forces with us to resist the pressure from Russia."

That's right, Russia, a European military policeman, is indeed terrible, and it is not comparable to Prussia. However, after the Prussia-Austrian teams up, this situation will reverse, and Russia cannot fight two with one.

But the question is, why should Austria stand opposite to the Russians in order to help Prussia expand its territory? Where is their interests?

Frederick William IV thought for a while and said, "We informed our people to take action to cool down domestic public opinion, and told me that Arnime stopped first. It is not the time to challenge the Russians."

No one expected that the liberal leaders were actually the king's. No wonder Prussia was able to reach internal compromise so quickly after the outbreak of the Great Revolution.

However, those who are familiar with history know that this Prussia War was just a war initiated by Prussia to divert domestic conflicts.

Through foreign wars, the people's attention was successfully diverted, creating favorable conditions for the counter-revolutionary group to counterattack.

If no one guides it, how could the bourgeois government provoke a conflict between Prat. and Russia before its rights and status is consolidated?

Whether planning the Polish independence movement or launching the Prussian War, they are challenging the Russians' bottom line. Once the gun goes off, the Kingdom of Prussia will not be able to bear it.

In order to avoid the situation from getting out of control, Frederick William IV stopped several times in the middle to ease the relationship. To some extent, this was also a test by the Prussians against the Russians.

In August 1848, under international pressure, the Kingdom of Prussia made concessions to the Russians. The Prussian War entered a half-time break and the two countries signed the "Malmo Armistice Agreement".

...

Vienna

After receiving the "Malmo Armistice Agreement", the Austrian government believed that the Prussian war was over. The Prussian compromise made nationalists in the German region very dissatisfied, and Austria's plan was successful.

Only Franz knew that things were not that simple. Through this temptation, the Prussians had already obtained the answer they wanted, and the Russians would not easily start a war against them.

The main reason is that the Tsarist government is relatively poor, and the Kingdom of Denmark is also unable to bear the war funds. Once a war breaks out with the Kingdom of Prussia, many of the Russians' plans must be stranded.

"This armistice agreement came too quickly, and the above terms were too inclined to the Danes. This is very wrong. Prussia has the upper hand on the battlefield, and there is no reason to suffer this loss.

Under normal circumstances, as long as the Prussian government insists on it, the Danes will make concessions. Maybe they can take advantage of it. How could they suffer this loss?"

Franz said.

Prussia is also a European power. Although it is only the bottom-ranked great power and is also a member of the great power club, how could it suffer such an obvious loss?

No matter how high diplomatic pressure is placed on various countries, everyone has not interfered with force. Why can they make such a big concession?

Metternich seemed to have thought of something, but was not sure, so he asked, "Your Highness, do you mean the Prussians have a conspiracy?"

"yes!"

"As the two largest states in the German region, we have always wanted to unify the German region. Don't the Prussians want to unify the German region?

After a series of failures, we found that in Austria, countries would not let us unify the German region, and finally gave up helplessly.

But once we have the opportunity to unify the German region, we will not give up.

Now the Prussians have launched nationalism, promoted the idea of ​​great unification, and proposed the small German plan that is not literate and illegitimate. What are these for?

There is no doubt that the Prussians knew that they did not have the strength to unify the German region, so they settled on the second best to kick us out and build a small German empire.

We only thwarted their conspiracy at the Frankfurt Conference not long ago, why did Frederick William IV refuse to admit that the Frankfurt Conference, which was obviously inclined toward Prussia?

Is it really because the crown is not orthodox enough? In my opinion, he dare not. Once he supports the Frankfurt Conference, they will stand opposite to the German state.

The Prussian Kingdom had limited strength and they could not disperse their power. Now they compromised in the Denmark war, mostly because they wanted to make trouble in the German region.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should keep in touch with the governments of various countries at any time, and do not let the Prussians take advantage of the loopholes. We can send troops to help them stabilize the situation when necessary."

Franz analyzed rationally that the advantages of foresight are reflected.

Historically, at this moment, the Prussians continued to engage with the states in the German region and established the "Three Kings Alliance", in an attempt to replace the Austrian-controlled German Federation and take the first step to unify the German region.

Although he was later slapped back by Austria and disbanded the Three Kings Alliance, the status of the Prussian Kingdom in the German region was greatly improved.

They even took advantage of this opportunity to deliberately show weakness and constantly promote the shame of the Ormuz Agreement on Prussia, which weakened the vigilance of the great powers towards them.

These are Franz's personal speculations. He admired the Prussian Kingdom for being able to unify the German region in the slit.

But now his identity determines his position. He is not a loyal fan of Peter III, so he cannot sit his butt in a wrong way.

We can only speculate on the actions of the Prussians with the greatest malicious intentions, so as to avoid leaving an opportunity for the enemy to take advantage of.

When Austria is prepared, it is not so easy for the Prussians to win allies. In terms of influence in the German region, Prussia has no way to compare with Austria.

If the fate was determined by referendum in this era, Franz could be prepared to be crowned the German emperor, and the Habsburg family had absolute advantages.

"Your Highness, the situation in many countries in Germany is unstable now. If the Prussians want to intervene, they will most likely help them stabilize the situation and win over some countries to form alliances with them.

Judging from strength, the Prussians would most likely win over North German states first and then infiltrate South German states.

As for unifying the German region, this is mostly just a cover. Unifying the North German region is the limit of tolerance for the Kingdom of Prussia." Metternich analyzed diplomatically

Judging from the current international situation, this is indeed the case, but the future is not certain. In history, the Prussian Kingdom took advantage of the contradictions between the great powers to defeat the enemy one by one, and unify the German region except Austria.

Because of geopolitics, religion and economy, Austria clearly has the greatest influence in the German region, but the bourgeoisie in the North German states generally tends to the Kingdom of Prussia, giving Prussia a mass base to unify the North German region.

But now Austria cannot tolerate Prussia's unification of North Germany so early, which means that the strength of both sides will be brought closer.

Franz has not completed domestic reforms yet, and the rise of a powerful Prussian kingdom will threaten the interests of Austria.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs finds ways to disrupt the Prussians' plans and strengthen relations with the South German states. The government prepares for negotiations with the Customs Union, and Austria will join.

If the Prussians obstruct, they will win over the South German states and reorganize the customs union. When necessary, we can split the German Federation!" Franz said seriously

In the North Germany, Austria only needs to delay the unification process of the Kingdom of Prussia and can also exchange interests when necessary. In the South Germany, Franz will not let go easily no matter what.

Even if these countries cannot be annexed, alliances must be established and infiltrated through politics, economy and culture.

Further deepening the current allied relationship is a good choice. When necessary, everyone can also jointly establish a loose federal empire.

For example, if the former Holy Roman Empire is unified in name only, it will gradually achieve merger in the future based on economic and cultural influence.

.m.
Chapter completed!