In the Munich Palace, a meeting to decide the fate of the Kingdom of Bavaria had begun.
"Your Majesty, your decision is too hasty. If we move closer to Prussia at this time, we will inevitably suffer retaliation from the Austrians," Prime Minister Muertis said with a frown.
Not long ago, the Government of Prussia proposed to establish a responsible German cabinet composed of Austria, Prussia, and Bavaria to jointly rule the German Region.
This was what Maximilian I had dreamed of. Without the government's consent, he had privately formed an alliance with the people of Prussia.
On the surface, if this plan succeeded, the highest goal of the Kingdom of Bavaria would be achieved. After all, their strength was limited and it was impossible to unify the German Region.
But in reality, this bait was poisonous. Now that the Kingdom of Prussia's reputation in the German Region was greatly damaged, it urgently needed to restore it. It was obvious that this responsible cabinet plan came about because of this.
Now that Bavaria and the Kingdom of Prussia were together, it was undoubtedly a betrayal to Austria. It was inevitable that they would suffer retaliation.
As the leader of the German Region, without Austria's support, this so-called responsible cabinet obviously couldn't be established. Maximilian I's pursuit of dividing the world into three was like drawing water with a sieve — all in vain.
Not only did he not get any substantial benefits, but he was also involved with the disreputable Government of Prussia. Not to mention other things, once the news spread, the Bavarian people's support for the government would drop by a few percentage points.
Not all Bavarians had the idea of dividing Germany into three. In many people's view, the Kingdom of Bavaria was too weak. To achieve the unification of the German nation, cooperating with Austria was the best choice.
"Right now, Austria is powerful, and the Kingdom of Prussia has just suffered a Waterloo. If we don't support them, the balance in the German Region will be broken.
Right now, the Government of Vienna is carrying out social reforms. From the information we received, it is beginning to show results.
Whether it is population or territory, Austria exceeds the sum of all our remaining states. Once they turn this potential into national strength, who can stop them? "Maximilian I asked.
Prime Minister Muirdis thought so too, so he supported joining forces with Austria to unify the German Region and establish a Great German Empire.
Since they were working together, they could naturally split the cake. The Austrians could be the majority shareholder, and the Kingdom of Bavaria could also be the second largest shareholder. Naturally, they would occupy an important position on the board of directors in the future.
This was the best choice to guarantee their interests. Cooperating with the strong was the way for small countries to survive. Historically, Bavaria had joined the German and German empires in this way.
These words could only be thought about. Muerdis would not say it out loud. Otherwise, Maximi I would go crazy from anger. If even the Prime Minister lost confidence, what would happen?
"Your Majesty, this isn't the right time. The reputation of the Kingdom of Prussia is too bad. The people don't have a good impression of them. Even if we want to cooperate with them, we have to wait until this storm has passed.
The Government of Austria was busy with internal reforms and would not take any action in the next three to five years.
As long as our alliance hasn't ended, even if it was for the sake of reputation, the Government of Austria would not risk universal condemnation to make a move against us.
Right now, we and Prussia have already blocked Austria's steps to unify the German Region. Even if they want to unify the German Region, they will need our cooperation. "Muerdis said after thinking for a while.
Reputation was also a double-edged sword. Because of reputation, Austria became the leader of the German Confederation. At the same time, it was also restricted by reputation, which prevented Austria from unifying the German Region.
"Nationalism has already risen, and the idea of a grand unification has already spread in the German Region. If we don't take action in advance, it will be more disadvantageous for us in the future.
After the establishment of the Holy Roman Economic Alliance, the Government of Austria accelerated the pace of infiltration in the German Region. We can't even stop them on the surface.
In another three to five years, maybe Austria will be ready to directly unify the German Region by force.
Austria's influence in Bavaria is too great. Who knows how many people will become the leaders?
I don't think the Bavarian people will resist the Austrians like they resist foreign invasions. Judging from the situation among the people, the Greater German Unionists can't wait for the Austrian army to attack.
We all know that the main factor preventing the House of Habsburg from unifying the German Region isn't military. Austria has the strength. The key lies in diplomacy. "
When he said this, Maximilian I's heart was heavy.
The "Austrian threat" had existed for hundreds of years, but now there was no market. The Greater German Unionists wanted Austria to be stronger so that they could unify the country sooner.
Due to Franz's butterfly effect, the Government of Austria increased the influence of public opinion on the South German States. There were more and more people who identified with Austria. Maximilian I saw this and felt anxious.
Rather than saying that Maximilian I was close to Prussia, it would be better to say that he was forced by reality. In order to retain power, it was the best choice to unite with Prussia against Austria.
In history, he also thought the same way. He benefited from both sides of Prussia and Austria, but he didn't expect that after the Prussia war, the Government of Austria would directly withdraw from the German Region.
…
What was done could not be undone. Even if the Bavarian government had objections to the King's hasty decision, there was nothing they could do. They had already offended Austria, so they couldn't offend Prussia now.
On July 21, 1850, the Kingdom of Prussia united with Bavaria, Hanover, Brunswick, and other states to propose to the German Confederation to form a responsible cabinet.
History had changed. Because of the damage to their reputation, the people of Prussia changed their strategy. They didn't form the so-called "Three Kings Alliance" but chose to join forces with Bavaria.
The actions of the people of Prussia were to a certain extent tacitly approved by Austria. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy for them to connect.
At the end of the day, everyone was still furious about Bavaria's betrayal.
Once the "Three Giants" were established, Austria's influence in the German Region would be greatly damaged. Bavaria's betrayal was a slap in the face to the Government of Austria.
The conspiracy of the people of Prussia had to be stopped, and the betrayal of the Bavarian government had to be retaliated. Otherwise, how could Austria survive on the European continent?
Metternich suggested, "Your Majesty, in order to combat the ambitions of Prussia and Bavaria, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs suggests to rope in the small states of the German Region and form a responsible cabinet with all the states."
The small states didn't have much say, but they had a lot of countries. When the parliament quarreled, they would have an advantage. Once the responsible cabinet was formed by all the countries, it would be no different from the current Federal Parliament.
Just think about it, a cabinet with more than 30 people could play a big role if they quarreled whenever something happened.
On the principle of equality between the states, the authority of Prussia and Bavaria would be reduced to the same status as the small states. The role of Austria, the recognized first state of Germany, would be highlighted.
Prime Minister Felix thought for a moment and said, "I'm afraid it won't be that easy. The great powers don't want the German Region to be unified. It's simply a pipe dream to rely on a responsible cabinet to unify the whole country.
Even if the cabinet is established, who can it command? Whether it's us, Prussia, or that traitor in Bavaria, none of them will take the cabinet seriously. "
This was inevitable. How could an empty responsible cabinet order the whole country?
Minister of Finance Carr suggested, "In that case, let's just muddy the waters.
The German Confederation can't do without an emperor. At the same time as the responsible cabinet is formed, we might as well propose the election of an emperor and take the pace of the unification of Germany a big step forward. "
It was indeed a big step forward. A common emperor and cabinet had appeared. With righteousness and a name, the road to unification of the German Region would be easy.
Obviously, the Kingdom of Prussia would not agree unless they were willing to be Austria's underling. Otherwise, there would be no compromise on this issue.
The name and weapon could not be fake. It was universal in any country. In the German Region, there was no competition for the emperor election other than the House of Habsburg.
Influence was something that could not be seen or touched, but no one could ignore its existence. Jurisprudence was one of the absolute factors that determined the throne of Europe.
If the history of the German Region was opened, it would be found that those who were qualified to compete with the House of Habsburg had disappeared in the long river of history.
The remaining royal families, whether it was influence or jurisprudence, could not be compared to the House of Habsburg.
If the House of Habsburg was allowed to unify the German Region in name, wouldn't it be the resurrection of Shinra?
"If there was no intervention from the Great Powers, we might be able to force the people of Prussia to accept it, but it's impossible now.
I reckon that once this suggestion is put forward, it will be met with collective opposition. We can't withstand that much pressure. "Metternich shook her head and said.
It would be great if they could unify the German Region without bloodshed. Even if it was only in name, Austria could slowly turn the "name" into reality.
Obviously, the Great Powers would not agree. Even Russia, which was allied with Austria, would immediately turn hostile. This was a matter of bottom line.
It was not like the Middle Ages now. The German Region's nationalism had awakened. Once the German Region was unified, even if it was only in name, the great Central European Empire would be a terrifying existence.
Whether it was France in the west, Russia in the east, or Britannia in the distant overseas, they would all feel threatened.
Standing on the opposite side of the European countries, Austria was not Russia or Britannia. There was no geographical advantage, and there was no strait that could be used as a natural defense line.
Being in a war-torn region meant that the Austrian Empire had to have allies in international politics. Being isolated meant danger.
Carr explained calmly, "So, this proposal will only muddy the waters. We don't expect to unify the German Region with such simple political means.
The election of the German Emperor is just a test. It's not to test the attitude of the various governments, but the attitude of the people in the German Region.
The idea of a grand unification is widespread, but we only have a preliminary estimate of how high the people's acceptance of Austria is. For now, we can just treat it as a public opinion survey.
This data can be used as an important reference for us to formulate a strategy for the German Region, and we can avoid a lot of detours. "
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