With the Austrians out of the way, the London Peace Conference turned in the favour of the Kingdom of Prussia. On September 1, 1867, Prussia and Denmark signed an armistice.
There was nothing they could do about it. The two duchies of Schleswig and Holstein had been eaten up by Prussia, so it was impossible for them to spit it out.
There was no need to think about reparations. The Kingdom of Denmark had a new backer — the Nordic Federation. Although it was not as powerful as the Kingdom of Prussia, it was not a problem for it to protect itself.
The Swedes did not fight for the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, mainly because they were worried that Denmark's strength would be too strong, which would be detrimental to their control over the country.
In addition, Sweden's Carr XV wanted to annex Finland, which meant that he would have to stand on the opposite side of Russia. If he were to clash with Prussia, the pressure on the national defense would be too great.
Even so, Sweden still asked for a symbolic compensation on Denmark's behalf, which was about two million DND. They took care of the Danes' feelings.
No matter how poor the Kingdom of Prussia was, it did not lack this bit of money. In order to settle the matter as soon as possible, the Government of Berlin readily agreed.
Because of the common enemy, the Russians, Prussia and the Nordic Federation that was about to be established would have many common topics to talk about. If it weren't for Denmark, the Swedish government would have kicked the Russians while they were down.
From this point of view, Prussia giving up the Jutland peninsula in exchange for an ally was a very worthwhile deal.
The foundation of the Russian Empire was too strong. Even though they were weakened, no one dared to look down on them.
It would be fine if they continued to decline, but if Russia became stronger, the Kingdom of Prussia would be the first to bear the brunt.
It was necessary to prepare for a rainy day. With the Nordic Federation in the north to restrain Russia, the pressure on Prussia would be much less.
For this reason, neither the Skagerrak (Jutland) nor the Kingdom of Prussia has made any claim.
Of course, Prussia's pocket-sized navy was also one of the reasons why the Government of Berlin gave up. With their current Marine strength, it would be useless to occupy it.
…
After the Pudan Armistice Treaty was signed, the Tsarist government also made concessions. On September 26, 1867, Prussia, Poland, and Russia signed an armistice.
This time, Russia was bleeding heavily. Recognizing Poland's independence was inevitable. The Tsarist government was also forced to accept almost all of the territorial demands of Poland and Poland.
The Polish region became independent, the Lithuanian region was lost, the Latvian region was abandoned, the Belarusian region was lost, and a piece of Ukraine was cut off.
This had already exceeded the scope of Russian Poland. The total territory lost was close to 790,000 square kilometers, the total population lost was as high as 20 million, and the total industrial volume was suddenly reduced by nearly three times.
At the end of the 18th century, Poland was divided between Prussia, Russia and Austria. The Russians got the largest share, about 460,000 square kilometers. At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, they were compensated with part of the territory of Prussia. (Warsaw region)
These territories added up to less than 600,000 square kilometers. Now that he had to pay them back with interest, it was enough for Alexander II Of Russia to feel heartache for a long time.
The Tsarist government naturally wouldn't give reparations after making concessions on the ceding of territory. Prussia and Poland, who wanted to rely on war reparations to overcome the financial crisis, made a mistake this time.
The Tsarist government's money still needed to be used to suppress the rebellion. In this regard, Alexander II Of Russia didn't dare to relax his vigilance.
The threat posed by Prussia and Poland was only a small illness, similar to a cold. The threat posed by the rebels was cancer. Although it was still in the early stages, if it wasn't treated in time, people would die.
Choosing the lesser of two evils, naturally, he could only compromise with Pu Bo first. The land wouldn't run away. Even if it was ceded, they could still get it back when they recovered.
Money was different. Without money, there was no way to suppress the rebellion. If the rebels weren't killed, the rule of the Tsarist government would be threatened.
According to the treaty, the Kingdom of Prussia would receive the regions of Lithuania, Latvia, and most of Belarus, with a total area of 286,000 square kilometers and a total population of about 4.7 million.
Poland would receive the remaining areas, with a total area of about 504,000 square kilometers, including the core Polish region of Warsaw, parts of Belarus, most of Western Ukraine, and the border line extended to the Kiev region.
Obviously, this time the Russians suffered a great loss. They even lost the Smolensk region, which was only 360 kilometers away from Moscow.
In 1611, it was occupied by the Poles. In the negotiations, it was considered an old Polish territory, included in the Belarus region.
This wasn't because the Tsarist government was weak, but because it was actually occupied by the enemy, which created an established fact. Unless they used force, they couldn't get it back.
Most of the ceded land was actually controlled by the enemy. Through negotiations, they recovered a lot of territory. In the winter battle, the Russian Army lost too much territory to the enemy, causing them to have no confidence in the negotiations.
The newly independent Polish Kingdom inherited the legacy left by Russia and became a rising European power. The total population was more than 15 million, similar to the pre-war Kingdom of Prussia.
Although the industry wasn't good, the agricultural foundation was still good. The land was basically flat areas, so it wasn't a problem for them to be well-off.
However, this wasn't enough to satisfy the interim government. In the age of the sea, there was no sea outlet, how could they call themselves a big country?
Well, they had just achieved independence, and the Poles were already dreaming of becoming a big country.
In theory, Poland still had the foundation to rise. Although the total population wasn't high, their birth rate was high.
The scale of the industry wasn't large, but the important industrial systems were left behind by the Russians, which could save a lot of time if they were consolidated.
The local resources were abundant and could meet the early needs of the industrial revolution. Some minerals were also abundant, such as silver reserves, so there was no need to worry about currency.
The surplus of food production could also be exported for foreign exchange to develop the domestic economy.
This was only in theory. In fact, the biggest shortcoming was the lack of "talent." Don't expect the Tsarist government to leave them with intellectuals. These people were basically on the revolutionary road and were ready to show their strength in politics.
Many intellectuals were crazy about the sky, the earth, and the universe, but they weren't trained to be practical.
Of course, there were occasionally exceptions, but they were too few. The second industrial revolution had begun, and a country needed a large number of knowledgeable and skilled engineers.
In terms of the quality of the population, the German Region currently had the advantage. At present, the countries that had completed compulsory education were all concentrated in the German Region.
England and France didn't have universal compulsory education, let alone other countries. Reading was the privilege of the rich. Church schools occasionally taught commoners knowledge, but it was far from enough.
They had just achieved independence, and the Poles hadn't floated yet. Although they were dissatisfied with Prussia because of the problem of the sea outlet, the two sides didn't have a falling out.
The Polish Kingdom still lacked a king, and everyone was still worried about the problem of the king.
According to Polish tradition, they had to find a king outside. Several major kings in the German Region were candidates.
There were too many problems to consider, and there were diplomatic games between countries. The Polish Parliament was currently in a fierce argument, and the Polish King might have a difficult birth.
At present, the clear fight for the throne was King William I of Prussia. Once Poland and Prussia had a common monarch, a merger between Poland and Poland would be possible.
In theory, the formation of a federal empire was in line with the interests of both countries. They faced a common threat — Russia and Austria.
These two enemies were too powerful. They were no match for them in a one-on-one fight. Only by joining forces would they have the strength to fight against them.
Obviously, this was only in theory. Who would be the boss was a headache. Poland's glorious history had become the biggest obstacle to this alliance.
Before the threat of Russia disappeared, the Polish interim government needed the help of Prussia and almost compromised with the Government of Berlin. However, the international environment at that time didn't allow it.
The Fao and the two countries didn't want to see the merger of Poland and Poland, so they gave a stern warning. At the critical moment of the war, the Government of Berlin didn't dare to offend the Fao and the two countries, so the plan ended in vain.
At that time, it was very difficult. Now that the real threat no longer existed, the Poles were even more unwilling to be the younger brother.
Of course, the voices of the two countries' union had always been very high. Supporting William I as the Polish King had a high support rate in the Polish Parliament.
However, the candidate with the highest support rate was kicked out from the beginning.
At the same time, it was strongly opposed by the Fao and Russia. Even if the Polish Parliament unanimously supported it, William I didn't dare to sit on the throne.
If it was a merger of the two countries, William I would dare to take the risk and try. Just being a king would be opposed by the three major powers. William I was still very timid.
It wasn't just his problem. The key was that the Polish Parliament was even more timid. In the face of the intervention of the major powers, they didn't dare to vote.
Of course, the Government of Berlin hadn't completely given up. Now, a large part of the reason for the endless dispute in the Polish Parliament was caused by them.
In this joint war against Russia, the Kingdom of Prussia also took advantage of the opportunity to infiltrate Poland. Now, more than 80% of the officers and soldiers in the Polish army were trained by Prussia instructors.
The pro-Polish forces in Poland were also very strong. Although everyone was unwilling to be Prussia's younger brother, it didn't mean that everyone rejected William I as the Polish King.
With such a big advantage, the people of Prussia naturally fought for it. It wasn't their style to admit defeat without putting in any effort.
The international opposition was strong, but it mainly depended on the Fao and Russia. The Russian Empire's attitude could almost be ignored now. Before they ended the civil war, they didn't have the time to interfere with who the Polish throne would fall to.
The British didn't clearly support or oppose it, so they could be considered neutral. There were a lot of small European countries, and most of them opposed it, but their opinions weren't important.
Getting the Polish throne was important for Prussia to annex Poland. If they couldn't get it, they would rather leave the Polish throne vacant.
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