In the Austrian embassy, a staff member in his thirties reported, "Your Excellency, this is the latest intelligence we have collected.
It is worth noting that at the same time as Marquis Maclean's visit, Deputy Foreign Minister Crow also entered the French embassy at the same time.
The two talked in a secret room, and no one knew the specifics. Judging from their conversation, it should be related to the war in the Near East, and there is a 50% chance it is related to the unification of Germany. "
Roping in Austria to balance France, and then roping in France to balance Austria. Using the Anglo-French Tripartite Alliance to maintain the stability of the European continent and consolidate their position as the world's hegemon, that was the British foreign policy.
Hummel wasn't surprised that the British and French were in contact. The British wanted to keep the Osman Empire, and the Government of Vienna was prepared to keep the decaying empire to slowly shear its sheep.
If the Osman Empire was destroyed, Austria wouldn't be able to swallow this piece of meat. At that time, the European countries would divide it together, not only destroying the Government of Vienna's deceptive strategy, but also putting Britain and France in their backyard.
"Unify the German Region" was just a slogan. If it was taken seriously, they would lose. As a senior government official, Hummel knew very well that the Government of Vienna wasn't ready to unify the German Region.
Hummel nodded. "Put the document here. I'll take time to look at it. Now keep an eye on the British. I have a feeling things aren't so simple. "
Things were going too smoothly, so smoothly that Hummel didn't need to do anything and could get the results he wanted.
If it was something else, it could be celebrated in advance. But in international diplomacy, it was more necessary to be vigilant at times like this.
No one could guarantee that this wouldn't be a smokescreen put out by the competitors. Britain and Austria had only reached a verbal agreement, which wasn't binding at all. It was too easy to go back on it.
…
In the Prime Minister's official residence on Downing Street, the British cabinet gathered.
Prime Minister Gelston said, "How is the plan going? Have the Fao and Austria taken the bait?"
Foreign Minister Macklin said, "It's going very well. The Fao and Austria are very wary of each other. As long as we control the time, follow the plan step by step, and don't give them time to make private deals, the overall situation will be set.
Compared to the Fao and Germany, I was more worried about the German Federal Empire. There were too many states in the German Region, and Austria had too much influence in the German Region. The local nationalism had been awakened.
I'm worried that even with our support, they might not follow our plan. If they don't hold on, our investment will be for naught.
It was important to note that Hanover had yet to truly take control of the country. Their Empire's parliament still follows the traditional model, where each country has one vote. This is very troublesome. "
"One state, one vote." This was the precondition for the establishment of the German Federal Empire. Otherwise, why would so many German states follow Hanover?
Behind the voting rights, there was also Austria's hand. This political structure was created to prevent the German Federation from being integrated from the very beginning.
The current effect was very good. After so many years, the German Federal Empire was still that "comedy empire" that would quarrel whenever something happened.
Logically speaking, such a political structure would affect the development of the country, but the opposite was true. The local economy was developing very well.
These states had a high degree of autonomy and could flexibly formulate economic policies. There was no need for the central government led by Hanover to intervene.
The economic foundation determined the political structure. Affected by many factors such as geography, culture, politics, and diplomacy, it was inevitable that the many states of the German Confederation tied their economies to Austria.
Not every small state had ambition. For many small states, developing their economy was enough. After all, no matter who was the boss, it was not their turn to be the boss. As long as it was their own people, they could accept it.
Many states at the level of villages and towns had even abolished their armies. For them, it made no difference whether they raised an army or not.
Duels were no longer popular these days. An army of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands was more than their total population. If they encountered an invasion, they would not be able to win. It was more reliable to rely on someone powerful to ensure their own safety.
According to the British plan, the German Federal Empire would later separate from Austria and completely break away from Austria's influence to become a truly independent country.
The highest authority of the German Federal Empire was the Reichstag. Under the basic system of one state, one vote, if these inconspicuous small states united, they could veto any decision made by the central government.
Macklin's worry was reasonable. If the German Federal Empire's parliament stood up and disagreed, it would be a joke.
Prime Minister Gelston frowned. "This is indeed a problem, but we can let the German Confederation government deal with it themselves.
If we can't convince these states, we can just ask the emperor to order the closure of the Reichstag. This may cause some minor chaos, but I believe they can still overcome it.
After the German Federal Empire annexed the Rhineland region, their strength would have a qualitative breakthrough. Their total economic output and industrial output would be among the top five in Europe.
If Austria annexed the German Confederation, then the European continent would really be dominated by one country. This was something that the European countries did not want to see.
Now, it was already inevitable that the German Confederation and Austria would be further separated and completely cut off the possibility of German unification. No matter how angry the Government of Vienna was, there was no way to resist the common will of the European countries. "
The German Federal Empire was originally the most prosperous region in the German Region, and with the addition of the Rhineland region, it was even more powerful.
Opening the map, one could see that the essence of the original German and Space-Time Empires were here. Looking at the industry and economy alone, it was equivalent to the strength of half of the original German and Space-Time Empires.
This was not a small size. The total economic output exceeded that of Spain, and the per capita income exceeded that of the current Fao and German countries.
The only shortcoming was that there were many internal states, which scattered the country's strength, and especially pulled down the military strength. Otherwise, the German Confederation could join the club of the great powers.
If only the total economic output was calculated, now the Fao and German countries had surpassed Britannia, and Austria was already the world's largest economy.
The economic structure determined the superstructure. When the size was large to a certain extent, it was actually not impossible to develop sea and land power at the same time.
Once Austria annexed the German Federal Empire, it would have the strength to develop land and sea power at the same time, which had already seriously threatened Britannia's hegemony.
Minister of Finance Laruke Lloyd said, "We seem to have overlooked something. Just changing the name of the country may not be able to achieve the goal.
Don't forget, the German Federal Empire has long been an independent country, and has nothing to do with the Shinra Empire that the Austrians created. However, the Government of Vienna still holds the flag of unification of the German Region, and the people of the German Region also buy it.
The nationalism that the French created has now been carried forward in the German Region, and it is not restricted by the previous rules of the game at all.
If we can't make the people cut off, the actual effect of changing the country's name is very limited, and it may even further stimulate nationalism. "
From a legal point of view, Austria and the German Confederation had nothing to do with each other. It was reasonable to say that the people of the German Federal Empire would not buy Austria's words.
Unfortunately, the situation changed when it came to nationalism. The nationalists insisted that the German Region was a whole, and they recognized the new Shinra Empire as the successor of the fallen Shinra Empire, but they did not recognize the current German Federal Empire.
This made things complicated. It was true that the German Federal Empire was independent, but Austria still had the foundation of a unified German Region.
The British wanted the German Federal Empire to change its name, which was in fact a further political cut to lay the foundation for diluting the theory of German Grand Unification.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Macklin shook his head. "The cultural traditions of Germany and Austria are of the same origin, and it is very difficult to separate the people.
Even among the independent countries that broke away from the Shinra Empire, only the Netherlands did a better job, and basically completed the de-Germanization.
Belgium and Switzerland were deeply influenced by German culture, but they had already been cut off from Austria. The Government of Vienna's strategy of German Unification didn't include the two countries.
The Kingdom of Prussia also did a good job, and in a few years, it would be able to get rid of the influence of German Grand Unification.
Because of internal problems, the German Federal Empire lacks a strong government, so it has been slow to take action.
Now we must give it a push, or else one day, the German Region might be unified while we are napping. "
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