The British proposal caused a stir at the top of the German federal government. Although after purchasing the Rhineland region, it made up for the shortcomings in heavy industry, the comprehensive national strength of the "comedy empire" has increased significantly.

Unfortunately, the German Federal Empire was not a unified country after all, and the problem of states in the federal government being united against the central government has been delayed.

The Kingdom of Hanover had no overwhelming advantage, and George I was not the master of talent and strategy, so the problem was put on hold.

(Note: George I, the German Federal Empire, George V, the Kingdom of Hannover)

The German Federal Empire, which could not complete internal integration, naturally lags far behind the Popo Federation. Personally, George I had no interest in the British "Snake Swallowing Elephant" plan.

A group of small states in China can make him lose face. What's more, another Popo Federation?

Nowadays, if you have strength, you will have the right to speak. Once the Popo Federation joins the German Federation, it will immediately become the most influential state in the empire, and Hannover's status will inevitably be impacted.

George I: "Do you think there is a feasibility for the British proposal?"

It can be seen that he hesitated. The comedy empire also had to use the power of the British to fight against Austria and ensure its independence. It was obviously undesirable to directly reject the British.

However, the risk of accepting the Popo federal government is too great. Even if Queen Victoria made a guarantee, George I would not dare to believe it completely in the face of national interests.

Prime Minister Thorben Hoffman: "Your Majesty, the British proposal seems very attractive, but in fact it is full of crisis. If one is not good, we will fall into the target of public criticism.

Internationally, France and Austria do not want to see us merge with the Popo Federation. Rampant actions will definitely cause their dissatisfaction and may even lead to armed interference.

Many countries in China have their own plans. Joining this war will not do them any benefit, and the Imperial Parliament will not be passed.

In such a complex situation, if we bypass the Imperial Parliament and forcibly accept the Popo Federation, it is likely that the empire will fall into a state of division.

In addition to these risks, the more troublesome thing is the Popo Federation itself. Their size is too large, we do not have the ability and cannot digest the Popo Federation.

With their size advantage, it is a matter of time before they turn against each other. This cannot be solved by a guarantee, unless the Popo Federation can be split."

Foreign Secretary Steve Lee: "The risk is indeed great, but it is still an opportunity. Once we miss it, it will be difficult for us to go further.

Everyone knows the situation in Europe. The Prat. Russia War is a small episode, and the future will definitely be a game between Britain, France and the Austrians.

Other countries can choose to be neutral, but we cannot. Austria's ambitions have never been concealed. What's even more annoying is that many people in China are fooled by nationalism and want to join Austria immediately.

The only way to get rid of this crisis is to make the empire stronger. Only when the empire is strong can nationalism be proved wrong and dispel their unrealistic fantasies."

Thorben Hoffman shook his head: "Lee, you are still too idealistic.

I admit that it is really tempting to annex the Popo Federation. Frankly speaking, I was tempted. The problem now is that we can't do it at all.

Even if the British were able to convince the French and restrain Austria, we successfully convinced the states in the country to agree that the possibility of annexing the Popo Federation was less than 10%.

Don’t ignore the gap in strength. The Popo Federation seems miserable now, but their population is twice ours and their territory is five times ours.

After the two countries merge, it is very obvious who will merge whom.

Moreover, the cruelty of the Prudential-Russian War is also an urgent practical issue. If we accept the Ppu Federation, we must help them win this battle.

After the war, we have to spend a lot of money to pay off their debts and help them rebuild after the war. Our income is just an illusory dream of a great power.

If you really pay such a big price, just to gain status as a big country, it would be better to cooperate with the Austrians. At least our young men don’t need to go to the battlefield, and the government doesn’t need to tighten their belts to live.”

The person who speaks is unintentional, but listens intentional.

Deep in my heart, George I had planted the seeds of doubt. "Suspicious" is the instinct of the emperor, and it is not a derogatory term here.

No matter how suspicious it is, it seems that he doesn't care whether George I is or is not surprised when things change.

Foreign Minister Steve Lee: "You are right, Your Excellency Prime Minister. We really don't have the ability to swallow the Popo Federation, and the price it takes to participate in this war is indeed very high.

But this doesn't matter. The Popo Federation has never been a member of the German state. What do we want them to do?

We only need to absorb the Principality of Brandenburg, the Principality of Schleswig, and the Principality of Holstein. Other non-Germany territories can be completely abandoned.

Now we don’t need to do too much, just delay time and wait until the Russians win this war and take action.

Neither the United Kingdom, France nor the Austrians will allow the Russians to annex the Popo Federation. After they intervene, we will take the opportunity to take back the territory of the German region. Not only will we gain support from the British, but the French and Austrians will not be so fierce."

Steve Lee's proposal is obviously much more feasible than the British plan. After giving up the Popo Federation and only absorbing the German states, the comedy empire will not have to worry about being choked to death, and the risks to take are much lower.

When you open the history book, you will know that the Kingdom of Prussia was composed of the merger of the Principality of Brandenburg and the Principality of Prussia.

The Principality of Brandenburg was one of the German princes, and the predecessor of the Principality of Prussia was the Teutonic Knights. Because most of the nobles in the country were Germans, they were gradually assimilated.

No matter how it is assimilated, from a narrow sense of regional division, the Principality of Prussia does not belong to the German region, and it is reasonable to kick it out.

George I was tempted. Although the territory of these three German states was not large, they were the most elite areas of the Popo Federation.

If you can get it, both national strength and personal prestige will go further. And you don’t have to bear the risk of going to war with the Russians.

The Poland and Lithuania region were taken back and the Principality of Prussia was annexed. If the Tsarist government was not satisfied, the three countries of Britain, France and Austria would be furious.

George I really couldn't think of a reason to refuse without paying much.

After a little thought, George I said happily: "Lee, your plan is great, you will definitely be a great diplomat, just like Prince Metternich.

This matter is left to you and tell the British that we agree with their plan, but the specific details need to be negotiated.

Your work will be very heavy next. Not only will you delay the time until the end of the Plain-Russian War, but you will also gain support from Britain, France and the Austrians after the war.

Do you have a plan?"

It is not difficult to delay time, and it is easy to find excuses. The Imperial Parliament is the biggest scapegoat. If it really doesn't work, it can "leave out the news" and use the Austrians to terminate the plan.

The trouble is that after the war, Britain, France and the Austrians were not charitable, so it was impossible for them to work and work in vain, and it would cost them.

After hesitating for a while, Steve Lee replied: "This requires cooperation from the Russians. The more greedy the Tsarist government is, the more likely we are to succeed.

If the Russians stopped after recovering lost territory and left a complete Prussian kingdom, we naturally had no chance.

But this is impossible. The Tsarist government paid such a great price for this war. How could they make up for the losses without spoils?

As far as I know, the Tsarist government mortgaged a large amount of territory to Austria, and it was very difficult to repay the money with the Tsarist government's finances. After the war, they were likely to pay off the debts from the German region of the Federal Republic of Popo.

This is not what Britain and France want to see. Austria has taken the initiative in strategically after obtaining these territories, and no one can stop them from unifying the German region.

On this issue, European metropolises support Britain and France. The Russians only want to pay off their debts, not to see Austria unify the German region.

This is our opportunity. In order to hinder Austria from unifying the German region and strengthening our strength, it is also a good choice.

Of course, this is not enough. In order to gain everyone's support, there is also a need to exchange interests, such as: we can sign coal supply contracts with the French."

The value of land and land is also different. The value of the same piece of land is also completely different for different countries.

Steve Lee judged that after the Russians won the war, they would pay the debts from the German region, mainly because this part of the territory is politically significant to Austria and can be sold at a high price.

After all, after taking over the territory of the German region, the only way to unification of Germany is the "comedy empire", and public opinion will form a general trend of unification.

Once the idea of ​​great unification is deeply rooted in people's hearts, it will no longer be stopped. For Austria, the "general trend of unification" cannot be measured by simple money.

In contrast, the land in the Russian Balkans, Poland and Ukraine has no political bonus and is optional for Austria. It would be good if the Vienna government did not lower the price.

From the standpoint of the German Federal Empire, if you want to continue to maintain your current independent status, you must interrupt the general trend of Austria's unification.

To do this, we must annex the German regions, form a political pattern between the north and the south, and calm people's hearts.

This is also the reason why Steve Lee is confident of gaining support from European countries. Austria is already strong enough. If they allow them to unify the German region, they will be the European hegemon.
Chapter completed!