In the Berlin palace, the Juncker nobles had a showdown with the government. They still had brains. They knew to inform the government to cooperate with them before attacking Denmark. There was no point in playing around.
Prime Minister Frank was livid. He was also a Juncker nobleman, but they only informed him when the sword was already on the string. It was clear that they didn't treat him as one of their own.
This was a very serious point. At this time, the power of the Kingdom of Prussia had already fallen into the hands of the Juncker nobles. The parties and parliament controlled by the bourgeoisie had all been reduced to supporting roles.
If it was divided by shares, the Juncker nobles already controlled 65% of the shares of the Prussia company. They were the absolute majority shareholders.
This meant that Frank's position within the Juncker nobles had been shaken. This was a political signal that the Juncker nobles' support for him had decreased.
William I's face was also very ugly. As the king, he was also kept in the dark. He looked at the military representative with a murderous look. If they didn't give him a reasonable explanation, he wouldn't be polite anymore.
He couldn't do anything to the Juncker nobles, but that didn't mean he couldn't do anything to the military. Moreover, were the Juncker nobles still a monolithic block?
The birth of the Oceanic faction and the Continental faction was also due to William I's efforts. As a king, no one liked their subordinates to be a monolithic block. Dividing them was just an instinct.
Ron, who was also the minister of the Army and Navy, quickly explained: "Your Majesty, look at this map of Europe. This is the location of our Kingdom of Prussia.
Our mainland is divided into two by the German Federal Empire. The Rhineland region in the west is under the military threat of the French, Poland in the east is under the military threat of the Russia, and Silesia in the south is under the military threat of the Austrians.
No other country in the world is as bad as us in terms of strategy, being threatened by three powerful countries at the same time.
Under this situation, we don't have many options to break out of this situation. If we want to annex the German Federal Empire, we will definitely be opposed by other European countries.
The French covet the Rhineland and don't want us to be part of their own territory. The Austrians want to unify the German Region and don't want us to reach out to the German Confederation. The British don't want to give up this nail on the European continent, so they won't support us annexing the German Confederation.
Not to mention the Russians, whose ambitions for Poland are well known, and who will pounce on us at the first sign of weakness.
If we want to strengthen ourselves, our only choice now is to take back the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein from the hands of the Danes. If we are lucky, we can even bite the Danes.
The recovery of the duchies was of great importance to the German nation. Under the influence of national righteousness, Austria will not stand against us, and they will even support our actions diplomatically.
The Kingdom of Denmark is politically pro-Russian. The United Kingdom and France will not mind us attacking the Russians. They might even push us to stand against the Russians.
Now is the time when the Russians are at their weakest. Alexander II Of Russia's reforms have not yet ended, and they have also encountered the Polish uprising. The conservatives are bound to fight back.
The Russian Empire is troubled both internally and externally. Even if they want to intervene in this war, with the financial situation of the Tsarist government, the amount of power they can bring out is very limited.
Once the Russians send out their troops, we won't be fighting alone. The United Kingdom and France will definitely support us, and even the Austrians hope to see the Russians fail.
Our chances of winning are very high now. We only need a month to occupy the Kingdom of Denmark and catch the Russians off guard. Then, we can solve the following problems through negotiations. "
This is a gamble, a gamble on whether the Russians will send troops to intervene in this war. If we win, we will naturally take back the two duchies and bite a piece of meat from the Kingdom of Denmark.
If we lose, we will go to the United Kingdom and France and act as their agent. With the support of the two countries, we will fight against the Russians.
There is no doubt that the Prussia military is not confident in a full PK with the Russians, but it is different to fight a local war with the Russians with all the power of the country.
The Russian Empire is very powerful, but unfortunately, the Tsarist government is very poor. The Tsarist government in the reform is poorer than before.
Although the Government of Prussia is poor, the United Kingdom and France are very rich. Since they will be hired as fighters, naturally, the boss will pay.
This explanation only slightly reduced William I's anger, but it is obviously not enough for him to let this matter go.
William I sneered and said, "Is that so, my Minister of War, Minister of Navy, and Chief of the General Staff. Since when did you decide all the internal and foreign affairs of the Kingdom of Prussia? "
Minister of War and Navy Ron and Chief of the General Staff Mao Qi lowered their heads and pretended to be ostriches.
It is not that they want to act first and report later, but the problem is that if they report in advance, this plan will not pass.
On the surface, the risk of this gamble is within a controllable range. The most serious consequence is a local war with the Russians. With the support of the United Kingdom and France, the Prussia's chances of winning are not low.
In fact, this is only in theory. If there is a problem in one of the links, the Kingdom of Prussia may immediately face a disaster.
For example: The Tsarist government is muddled with anger and will fight to the death with them at all costs. Not to mention the support of the United Kingdom and France, even if the United Kingdom and France personally fight, they will still be finished.
In case the Russians and Austria reach a compromise and divide Prussia, Prussia will immediately have two enemies.
Don't think that this possibility does not exist. In this era, the Kingdom of Prussia has a total area of more than 300,000 square kilometers, and Prussian Poland occupies less than half of it.
Austria does not dare to give up the territory of the German Region of Prussia, but Prussian Poland is not in it, and the Government of Vienna does not have any pressure to give it up.
Under normal circumstances, the Tsarist government will not do this. That is because Austria will quickly expand after annexing these territories. Without the checks and balances of the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Federal Empire will not be able to hold on for long.
Another example: The British and French bureaucratic groups react a step too late, and by the time the help arrives, Prussia may already be half paralyzed.
Or: The attack on Denmark has an accident, and they did not win the war at the first opportunity. As a result, the Russians come to their door again, and they are forced to fight on two fronts.
…
With so many unexpected factors, any one of them is enough to cause the Kingdom of Prussia to be finished. If Prussia is finished, the domestic nobles and capitalists will not necessarily be finished, only William I is destined to be unlucky.
As a qualified king, why should he take the risk? Based on the current situation, isn't it better to continue developing step by step?
To put it bluntly, for the sake of their own interests, the Juncker nobles dragged the Kingdom of Prussia onto the gambling table, and under the circumstances where they are not fully prepared.
Frank advised: "Your Majesty, since things have come to this, let's put aside the matter of finding out who is responsible for it! The most important thing now is to immediately communicate with the various countries and seek diplomatic support.
The matter of recovering the Schleswig and Holstein duchies is a matter of great importance for the entire German nation, and we cannot let this pressure be borne by our family. "
Whether they are willing or not, this butt must be wiped by the Government of Prussia. If the military is allowed to do as they please, who knows what will happen in the end?
Prime Minister Frank does not dare to take this risk, and the Kingdom of Prussia cannot afford the consequences of failure. If he was the one who started the operation from the beginning, he will definitely not take this risk before dealing with the British Fao and the other three countries.
William I sighed and said: "I don't care what method you use, immediately order the troops to stop all actions.
We need a reasonable excuse, and we have already used it once to defend German sovereignty.
During the Paris Peace Conference, the German Region was split up, and the Kingdom of Prussia is no longer qualified to represent all the states in the German Region. This reason cannot be used as an excuse for war. "
In terms of boosting morale, defending German sovereignty is the best way to stimulate the patriotic passion of the soldiers, but politically, it is a failure.
During the first Prussian War, the Kingdom of Prussia was pressured by Russia to give up the Schleswig and Holstein duchies, and its reputation in the German Region was ruined.
If they use this excuse again, neither Austria nor the German Confederation will buy it.
Because the Paris Peace Conference was a resolution to split the German Region, and if they use this as an excuse for war, Britain and France will not accept it.
Ron replied with some hesitation: "Your Majesty, there is not enough time.
Although the plan is to attack on the morning of October 27th, the troops have already cut off all communication by telegraph. In such a short period of time, we simply cannot inform the troops.
You see, why don't we just find an excuse, such as saving the German compatriots who are oppressed by the Kingdom of Denmark? "
Obviously, the military was well prepared. Whether the Government of Berlin cooperated or not, the attack would still be launched on time. The time left for the government was to send the letter of challenge.
Delaying tactics, don't even dream about it. Everyone has been busy for so long, how can they just stop fighting?
Chief of the General Staff Mao Qi wanted to say something but stopped. He did not express his opinion from beginning to end.
This plan first came from the General Staff Headquarters, and the supporting battle plan was personally formulated by him. Because of this alone, he did not dare to speak rashly, lest he angered the King.
William I glared at Ron and said with a sneer: "Are you all ready? Then why did you tell me? Since you are so capable, do it yourselves! "
With that, he walked out of the door without looking back. The King left in a fit of pique, but things still had to be done. At the very least, the letter of challenge must be sent. The Kingdom of Prussia could not go to war without a declaration.
Prime Minister Frank said angrily: "Since your military has decided, then you can send anyone to hand the letter of challenge to the Danes!
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is very busy, and there is no need to trouble them to deal with the aftermath. "
If it was a normal time, whoever dared to steal the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Foreign Minister would have exploded. Naturally, this was an exception. The Prime Minister wanted to throw all the responsibility to the military, and he naturally would not object.
If they won, everything would be fine. If there was an accident and they lost the war, then the military would have to bear all the consequences.
Mao Qi and Ron looked at each other and smiled bitterly. Obviously, this practice had offended the King and the government, and they would not have a good life in the future.
If the war did not achieve satisfactory results, the two of them would definitely have to leave, and they might even have to go to military court.
Mobilizing the army without the approval of the King was already a big taboo. Now the government had added another crime, and the military had run to send a letter of challenge.
If they won, it would be decided by the government. If they lost the war, it was estimated that the letter of challenge would also become a forgery by the military.
More debts did not weigh on them. Anyway, all the problems would be written off if they won the war. If they lost the war, there was no difference between one more crime and one less crime.
In short, it was the military who broke the rules first, and naturally they had to bear the corresponding responsibility.
Mao Qi replied: "There is no problem. However, the government must cooperate in other aspects. If the war is lost because of some departments' slacking, then we will all go to hell together! "
This was Prussia, a world where the military had a country. As the chief of staff, Mao Qi only needed to be responsible to the King. He did not dare to act rashly in front of William the First, but it did not matter to the government officials.
Anyway, the relationship was already stiff, and it was more effective to use threats than to persuade.
Prime Minister Frank retorted: "Just do your own work, don't make a mess when the time comes. We don't have the time to deal with the aftermath for you every day.
Now we are holding a government meeting, and it is not appropriate for you to participate. Both of you, please! "
Slacking did not exist. If the war was lost, none of the senior government officials would be able to escape. Even if there was no responsibility, they would be implicated and forced to step down.
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