Chapter 355

"Why don't we also convene a German Region Federal Parliament and invite all the governments to participate to discuss the issue of integration in the German Region?

I believe that the influence of a government-level conference is definitely not something a bunch of capitalists can compare to! "Grand Duke Louis suggested.

"But such a conference won't produce any results. Every country's interests are different, and it's almost impossible to reach an agreement!" Prime Minister Felix said with a frown.

There was another way that everyone tacitly didn't mention, and that was to exert diplomatic pressure and forcefully dissolve the capitalists' parliament.

The possibility of success was too low. Currently, many states in the German Region were in revolution, and the Frankfurt area was practically controlled by the capitalists unless they sent an army there.

This was obviously impossible. If they had the energy, Franz might as well suppress the rebellion in the country earlier and restore the country's strength.

"We can contact all the states in the German Region and directly declare the Frankfurt Conference illegal and refuse to recognize any agreement they reached!" Metternich said after some thought.

Historically, Austria also did this, but that was in 1849 when the Frankfurt Conference formulated a constitution, causing all the monarchies to avoid it. In the end, Austria, Prussia, Bavaria, and other countries denied their legitimacy together.

However, there were still 29 German states that were forced to accept this constitution due to public opinion. This was also the legal basis for Prussia to be able to unify Germany later on.

This wasn't contradictory. Even though Prussia was behind this conference, it didn't represent the position of the royal family. Prussia wasn't a monolithic block, and there were all kinds of internal forces that intertwined.

"How about this, send a bunch of capitalists in to cause trouble and raise a bunch of complicated issues. Delay as much time as possible and don't let them reach an agreement. Wait until we solve the internal conflicts, then we'll go find them! "

Franz finally came up with a bad idea. This Frankfurt Conference was originally full of internal conflicts, and they argued non-stop every day.

If the Austrian representative deliberately delayed time, then it would be even more difficult to reach an agreement. Historically, the draft constitution was only produced in March of 1849.

If they delayed time a little more, then it should be enough to deal with the internal conflicts. The current Government of Austria was much stronger than it was at the same time in history.

"Your Highness, in fact, we can still fight a public opinion war with them. The organizers of this conference are the capitalists, and they can't represent the German people.

Right now, they are just using the resources in their hands to create momentum, and most of the so-called representatives aren't even personally elected by the people.

We can expose the capitalists' atrocities and announce to the people that this is a conspiracy by the capitalists to turn everyone into slave workers, "Metternich added.

Franz smiled and thought, "Metternich is indeed a powerful man who has dominated the situation in Europe for more than 30 years. Metternich was indeed the right choice!"

Was there a need to say what kind of people were capitalists? He didn't need too much black history, he could easily collect a large pile of it.

If they were to expose the scandals of the representatives attending the conference, their reputations would definitely be tarnished.

When the time came, the decision made by the Frankfurt Conference could be used to pick holes in it, exposing the sinister intentions of the capitalists, and then everything would be different.

Anyone who dared to suggest that Austria should be excluded from Germany was guilty of attempting to divide Germany. Whatever other people thought, the advocates of greater Germany would certainly think so.

They could create a scandal even if there was no scandal. For example, they could propose to pass some bills that favored the capitalists. They were not afraid that the conference wouldn't pass, and they could turn the Frankfurt Conference into a joke.

The background of this conference was that some state governments were unable to suppress the domestic revolutionary movement, so they allowed the conference to be held. Even if they didn't want to fight, the Austrian representatives could still stir up trouble.

The background of this conference was that some state governments were unable to suppress the domestic revolutionary movement, so they allowed the conference to be held. The main purpose was to divert attention.

When the revolution was in full swing, a large group of capitalists didn't cause trouble at home, but went to Frankfurt to hold a conference. This made people think.

Don't look at the fact that their representatives were democratically elected on the surface. In fact, it was all nonsense.

It wasn't that simple to hold a national election this year. As long as the governments weren't fools, they would stop it. Most of the elections couldn't be carried out smoothly.

So, from the beginning, this conference had nothing to do with the general public. They only represented the interests of the capitalists.

…

Just as everyone was discussing how to mess up the Frankfurt Conference, a middle-aged military officer rushed in and said in surprise, "What's going on?

"Your Highness, urgent military news!"

Franz frowned and said, "Bring in the battle report!"

Cabinet meetings were not to be barged in. There were exceptions in case of urgent military news, but they still needed Franz's approval.

After receiving the battle report, Franz read it seriously. Milan had fallen, and almost all of Lombardy had fallen. Now, the flames of war had spread to Venice.

After reading the battle report, Franz directly handed it to the prime minister for the cabinet members to read.

The content of the battle report was very vague, and many things were not explained clearly.

Other than stating that the Austrian army had lost cities and suffered heavy losses under the Italians' attacks from both inside and outside, it didn't even explain the specific losses and the reason for the failure.

Franz knew that this wasn't Marshal Radiski's style. Even if the frontline was defeated, he wouldn't be so unclear as to not write a battle report.

Under normal circumstances, there would be a request for help after a defeat. Marshal Radiski also asked for help in the battle report, but he didn't request for reinforcements to be sent immediately. This meant that he would let the country decide!

There was only one explanation. He was planning something. In order to keep it a secret, many key points were hidden.

"Your Highness, this battle wasn't lost at the right time!" Foreign Affairs Minister Metternich said with a frown.

Indeed, it wasn't the right time. They were preparing to disrupt the Frankfurt Conference. A defeat would cause Austria's reputation to drop a few points.

Austria would also be at a disadvantage in the upcoming diplomatic negotiations with the other countries.

Looking at the map and combining what happened in history, Franz seemed to understand Marshal Radiski's plan.

All the European politicians knew that the current situation at home and abroad wouldn't allow Austria to lose in the Italian battlefield.

Under these circumstances, Marshal Radski's decision to go in the opposite direction and lure the enemy in was highly feasible in terms of military strategy.