In Vienna, as a good neighbor, Franz had been paying close attention to the civil war in Russia. Looking at the information collected in his hands, he knew that the Tsarist government was going to give in.
In order to ensure domestic stability, Alexander II Of Russia had been holding back and not launching a war. As a result, the power of the rebels snowballed and threatened the rule of the Tsarist government.
At this point, any shrewd monarch would choose to protect his own rule first. Alexander II Of Russia had to end the war first before he could carry out internal clean-up and use political means to disintegrate the rebels.
A cornered dog would do something desperate. Before the war ended, these vermin colluded with the Kingdom of Prussia. It was estimated that St. Peter Castle would not be able to be kept.
In order to confuse these people, Alexander II Of Russia had already launched several scapegoats, making it seem like the matter was over.
This kind of method of smoothing things over had no effect other than delaying time. For a country, such a compromise was a slow suicide.
Franz had been in contact with Alexander II Of Russia, and he knew very well that this was not a mediocre monarch. As early as the era of Nicholas, Alexander II Of Russia proposed social system reform.
Unfortunately, Nicholas I Of Russia had already promoted a round of reform, but it still ended in failure. In his later years, Nicholas I Of Russia did not have the courage to burn the boats and did not dare to risk breaking with the domestic interest groups.
In the era of Alexander II Of Russia, the difficulty of reform was greatly increased. He did not have the prestige of Nicholas I Of Russia, and he could not suppress the big and small forces in the country.
Comprehensive social reform was reduced to limited social reform, taking the same path as the original time and space. Alexander II Of Russia adopted a gradual approach to promote social reform.
At the critical moment, the Polish Uprising broke out, followed by the outbreak of the Prussian War, and the hegemony of the Russian Empire was challenged.
In order to maintain the hegemony of the Empire, Alexander II Of Russia had to launch a war. The war was lost, and the social contradictions in the country intensified, resulting in the current situation.
Franz made a prompt decision. "Prime Minister, urge the Government of Berlin to fulfill the conditions. Otherwise, we won't let them get anything!"
This was political blackmail. The negotiations had reached an impasse, and the Government of Berlin was panicking. In the last few months, the Tsarist government has armed hundreds of thousands of troops.
Fight again? The people of Prussia panicked. They had suffered heavy losses from the start of the war. If they were to clash with the Russians again, they would lose even if they won.
If they were not strong enough, even if they ceded a large piece of land from Russia, they would not be able to swallow it!
The Juncker nobles were also knowledgeable, they knew that the current Kingdom of Prussia couldn't afford a single failure. The Fao and the other two countries were still watching covetously. They did not make a move because they still had the strength to fight.
No matter who made the first move, it would only benefit the other party. Coupled with the grim international situation, Fao was worried that they would be plotted against if they took the lead.
In the face of profit, the alliance was not much more useful than waste paper. If they were cheated, where would they go to cry?
This created an opportunity for Austria to blackmail Prussia. Prussia only knew that Russia's attitude was still unyielding, they did not know that the Tsarist government was about to compromise, and the Government of Berlin did not dare to let the war continue.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Prime Minister Felix replied.
…
Plans never change quickly. After receiving the diplomatic note from the Government of Vienna, the Government of Berlin did not panic at all.
Both sides directly discussed the conditions. The Foreign Minister of Prussia, Mckate, questioned, "Sir Robson, you know very well what is going on in Silesia and Prussian Saxony. How can they be bought for five million?
As far as I know, in Prussian Saxony alone, the treaty that you signed with the Russians agreed on fifty million. That was also a high-risk loan. It can't be lower than that now, right?
We are selling Prussian Saxony and Silesia at a fixed price of 120 million. This is definitely worth it. "
The Austrian Minister in Berlin, Robson, explained calmly, "Minister, you can't calculate it that way. First of all, Silesia was agreed upon before the war, there is no need to pay anymore.
This transaction is only with Prussian Saxony. You must know that in addition to money, our political contributions are also included in the scope of the transaction.
Your country wants to obtain the two duchies of Schleswig-Holstein, Lithuania, Latvia, and most of Belarus. With so many places added together, your country's territory will increase by three-quarters.
It won't be easy to achieve your goal. At least the French support the Poles in obtaining the estuary of Lithuania. The British are also very kind. If you don't want to take another enclave … "
Enclave. This was a sad problem. The Rhineland under the French's control was enough to make the Government of Berlin unable to sleep. Another enclave under the Russians' control would be impossible.
Once the Poles obtained the estuary of Lithuania, the Belarusian and Latvian regions that Prussia wanted would become enclaves. The pressure on their national defense would be enough to make them collapse.
Not only would they be threatened by the Russians, but even the Poles would have the power to threaten them. If they couldn't gather their strength, how could they annex Poland and establish a Great Prussia Empire?
Weakening Prussia and strengthening Poland was in the French's interest. It created the conditions for them to annex the Rhineland and supported a chess piece to contain Austria.
For the British, both were underlings. It wouldn't be good to lean towards either. John Bull, who was good at dancing, naturally wouldn't rashly express his opinion.
Prussia's Foreign Minister Mckate retorted, "Sir Robson, the emergence of a strong Poland isn't a good thing for your country. The Polish nationalism can't forget Austrian Poland!"
Minister Robson smiled and said, "Minister, you think too highly of the Poles. Austrian Poland has never existed. The local people don't think of them as Poles.
If the new Poland dares to challenge Austria, then it won't be long before they become history again. The gap in strength can't be made up with a few slogans. "
In this regard, the Government of Vienna had confidence. As early as 20 years ago, the Polish nobles in Galicia wanted to declare independence, but they were suppressed by the local people.
After so many years of assimilation, the traces of Poland had long been erased. The local people all called themselves Austrians.
The people who still retained the Polish tradition were already very few. Looking at the ethnic statistics of the Government of Vienna, the number of Poles in the country had fallen to less than a million.
The dwindling number of Poles did not disappear, they were mainly assimilated. The new generation didn't think of themselves as Poles, so the number of Poles naturally decreased sharply.
The Austrian ethnic division wasn't based on blood. After so many years of development, there were a lot of mixed-race people. It was impossible to figure it out.
Instead, it was based on language, traditional customs, and the people's self-identification with the ethnic group, and many other factors.
In this regard, the policies of Prussia and Austria were similar. They were both promoting Germanization. The results of both sides were very good, but Austria took it one step further. If you didn't learn the common language, you couldn't find a job.
Of course, the re-establishment of Poland's independence would still affect Austria's assimilation work, but the Government of Vienna was also prepared.
Franz also advocated freedom. If they wanted to be Polish, then go back to Poland. Austria didn't lack hundreds of thousands of people.
It was difficult to expel hundreds of thousands of people in other countries, but it wasn't a problem in Austria at all. If they protested and caused trouble, then they would be expelled together.
The threat of Poland was from within, not from outside. The strength of both sides determined that Poland couldn't threaten Austria militarily. As long as they dared to be ruthless about internal problems, threats would be nothing.
Austria could ignore it, but Mckate couldn't. Prussia was still very interested in Poland. Poland's independence didn't scare the Government of Berlin.
To a certain extent, the Juncker nobles were their nemesis. East Prussia and West Prussia were both examples. A group of Juncker nobles suppressed the place and did a very good job of ethnic integration.
The successful experience increased the confidence of the Government of Berlin. No matter how the outside world criticized the feudal aristocratic system as backward, this system was indeed very effective in stabilizing the place.
…
After some bargaining, on August 11, 1867, the Austrian Minister in Berlin, Robson, and the Foreign Minister of Prussia, Mckate, signed the "Land Deal between Prussia and Austria".
There was only one clause in the treaty: The Kingdom of Prussia would sell Silesia and Prussian Saxony to Austria for 38 million DER.
Note: After the treaty was signed, the Kingdom of Prussia would complete the transfer with Austria within two years after receiving the payment. Austria would need to pay an additional 10 million DER for the relocation fee.
There was no doubt that the other additional conditions were hidden. Both sides tacitly didn't mention it.
Vienna. Looking at the signed treaty, Franz couldn't believe it. It gave him the feeling that Prussia wanted to sign the treaty as soon as possible and didn't show any so-called resistance.
The only problem was that Prussia required a relatively long time for the handover. However, this wasn't a big problem. In a mere two years, the Kingdom of Prussia wouldn't be able to recover. Even if they wanted to renege on the debt, they didn't have the strength.
Moreover, the Government of Berlin gave a reasonable explanation that they needed time to withdraw their investment. Unless Austria bought the above property, they would have to leave a buffer of time.
Buying the property didn't exist. The Government of Vienna wasn't a spendthrift. If they really bought it according to the market value, Austria couldn't afford it either!
Bubble economies existed in every era. The combined area of Lower Saxony and Silesia was more than 30,000 square kilometers. The mines, land, factories, and real estate there were worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and the market value on the surface was several times higher.
Since the people of Prussia were willing to move, the Government of Vienna naturally didn't mind. Not all the factories were valuable. Austria itself had these industries. Other than intensifying market competition, there wasn't any real role for them to stay.
It was precisely because they didn't need it that the Government of Vienna decisively signed the treaty with the people of Prussia. Soon, the Government of Vienna discovered that something was wrong. The people of Prussia moved a little too thoroughly.
The factories moved, and they actually moved with the workers. The nobles and farm owners also moved with their families, including the farmers who farmed their land.
Of course, it was already half a year later when they discovered this problem. By that time, what was done could not be undone. Franz could only pinch his nose and accept it.
The treaty was already signed. They couldn't go back on their word, right? Moreover, not all the people left. The people who supported Austria still stayed. It was a consolation prize.
Now, the Government of Vienna was celebrating this great diplomatic victory. Austria took back Silesia, which everyone had been thinking about, and the Kingdom of Saxony also took back Prussian Saxony.
The reaction of the people was even more enthusiastic. Many people thought that this was a step forward in the unification of the German Region. The unified theory of distribution had become more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
The Vienna government, who took the money from others, also changed its stance on the London Peace Conference.
Many of the demands made by the Kingdom of Prussia had adopted a tacit attitude and no longer firmly opposed it at the beginning.
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