Chapter 649

Austria and Bavaria were at war. When the news spread, the entire European continent was shocked.

Although everyone knew that the relationship between the two countries had broken down, the accumulated contradictions were not enough to break out into a war. There was only one explanation left — Austria wanted to unify Germany by force.

The excuse for the war could be seen. Many people imagined that Austria's strategy to rebuild Shinra had been ruined by Bavaria, so they decided to tear off all pretenses.

London

After receiving the request for help from the Bavarian government, the Government of the United Kingdom was first shocked, then — they had to intervene, and then they had a headache.

"Austria is trying to unify the German Region by force. Now that they have taken the first step, we must stop them. The balance in Europe cannot be broken!" Prime Minister George Hamilton Gordon said sternly.

Foreign Affairs Minister Thomas analyzed, "Prime Minister, the situation now is very troublesome. I have to say that Austria has chosen a good time. The Russians have pinned down the French and our main forces.

Even if we want to intervene, we can only do so verbally for a long time to come.

If Austria dares to attack Bavaria now, they are likely to have reached an agreement with the Russians. It will be difficult to make them give up by diplomatic pressure. "

A truce between England, France, and Russia? This possibility did exist, but it was based on the fact that Austria had unified the German Region. Just attacking Bavaria now was not enough to make the three parties reach an immediate compromise.

Interior Minister Henry John Temple suggested, "There are many states in Germany, and these small states are not weak once they unite. Together with the Kingdom of Prussia, once these forces are mobilized, Austria will not be able to destroy them in a short period of time.

Interfering in the German Region does not necessarily require us to send troops. As long as these states unite and hold Austria back, it will be fine.

It will not be too late to mediate after the war in the Near East ends. Perhaps using this opportunity to kick Austria out of the German Region is a good choice. "

War Minister Stanley objected, "It will be difficult. Just by forming an alliance with France and the Osman, a lot of bad things have happened.

There were so many states in the German region, and they were all in conflict with each other. It was not an easy task to unite them.

The war in the Balkans proved that if there is no sincere cooperation, it is easy to be defeated by the enemy.

Austria's influence in the German Region is too great. Now that they are attacking Bavaria for national unity, they have the support of nationalists in the German Region.

In this case, even if the states in the German Region can unite, their fighting power will be greatly reduced. "

This was an unsolvable problem. As long as the soldiers did not want to fight, they could not fight on the battlefield.

Prime Minister George Hamilton Gordon said, "Whether they can fight or not, we should organize them first. As long as they can hold the Austrians back, it will be fine.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should communicate with the European countries as soon as possible. I'm sure no one wants to see Austria unify the German region. Let's work together to intervene and force Austria to stop the war that destabilizes Europe. "

…

Paris

Napoleon III reacted even more violently to the Austrian action, and would have intervened had it not been for the fact that he was now short of forces.

Interior Minister Persini suggested, "Your Majesty, the German Region is not so easy to unify. The Austrians do not have the strength to do so. It will be a good opportunity for us to take action when both sides are injured.

We can also take the opportunity to annex the territory west of the Rhine River. We should not stop the Austrians now. Instead, we should encourage them to continue fighting. "

Napoleon Napoleon III did not hesitate for long before he made up his mind.

"That's right. This war cannot be stopped immediately. Send someone to negotiate with the Austrians in secret and let them fight with confidence.

On the surface, we should keep in line with other countries and exert diplomatic pressure on the Government of Austria. We should do our best to encourage the German states to fight to the death with Austria. "

Interests were always the theme between countries. It was necessary to intervene in this war, but when to intervene would depend on interests.

The French were different from the British. The British's strategy meant that they could not expand on the European continent. Their goal was to maintain the image of the European countries.

The French wanted to dominate the European continent and had been eyeing the territories of the German Region for a long time. Now that the opportunity had presented itself, how could they let it go?

Although the states of the German Region were small, their combined strength was not weak. If they did not let them and Austria consume each other's strength, where would France stand a chance?

Napoleon Napoleon III wanted to be the fisherman. From the perspective of interests, the positions of Britain and France were opposite. Close cooperation did not exist.

…

Frankfurt.

Whether to send troops or not was a difficult problem.

Who to send troops to help was another difficult problem.

Prime Minister Felix's deception was not meaningless. At least the capitalists in Frankfurt thought that a unified Germany was more in line with everyone's interests.

A dragon could not be raised in shallow water. If the capitalists in Frankfurt wanted to go further, they must have a bigger market.

Benefits would always be the best catalyst. They did not have any opinions about rebuilding Shenluo. They were all free cities anyway. It did not matter if they became autonomous cities.

Not only them, but most of the free cities in Germany were hesitant. The blueprint described by Prime Minister Felix was so wonderful that the capitalists could not stop.

Of course, there were voices of opposition. The reason was very realistic. The status of the capitalists in Austria was too low and did not meet their expectations.

Many people were skeptical about Felix's promise. After the establishment of Holy Rome, these conditions could not be fulfilled.

"Cherish your body when doing big things, forget righteousness when seeing small benefits."

This was the most appropriate word to describe them.

…

Baden

As one of Bavaria's strongest allies, the Kingdom of Bavaria almost annexed the Grand Duchy of Baden after the extinction of the Baden royal family in 1830. Unfortunately, the plan could not keep up with the changes and failed under the intervention of the great powers.

This little episode did not affect the relationship between the two countries. At most, there was a little dissatisfaction between the royal families.

Whether or not to send troops to help Bavaria became a problem for Ludwig II, or rather his brother, Prince Friedrich.

It could not be helped. In modern times, the European royal families seemed to be cursed. There were a lot of messy things. Ludwig II suffered from a mild mental illness.

Needless to say, as long as he suffered from this illness, no matter how serious, no one dared to let him continue to rule. No one could guarantee that when he made decisions, his thoughts were normal.

"The Bavarians have asked for help. Should we send troops to help immediately?" Prince Friedrich asked.

"Your Highness, now is not a good time to send troops. The Austrians came prepared. With our strength alone, we cannot save Bavaria.

It is best to act jointly with other countries. If we rush into the war, we may suffer heavy losses, "Prime Minister Volz replied.

The Kingdom of Bavaria must be saved. They understood the principle that the lips were cold and the teeth were cold. However, how to save them needed to pay attention to technique. If the operation was not good, it would be a big loss.

Home Minister Johannes added, "Not only that, but we also have to consider the attitude of the people in the country. Most people do not have a good impression of Bavaria.

Ever since the Bavarian government proposed the three cabinet plan, many civil radical groups have asked the government to break off relations with them.

The news has not spread yet. Once the news spreads, the possibility of the people opposing the government to send troops is very high. "

Austria's plan to rebuild Shinra was very deceptive. Not to mention the people, even the governments of many states were deceived. The Baden government was no exception.

Now the dagger was revealed. The top government could quickly change their minds, but the ordinary people could not. Many people would have a preconceived idea that Austria started this war in the name of justice.

Discrediting the Bavarian government was not only the work of Austria, but more of the people's initiative. Who asked the Bavarian government to propose a plan for the unification of Germany?

In the eyes of many nationalists, the unification of Germany was inevitable. The Bavarian government was a cancer against national unification. Getting rid of them was the first step to national unification.

This idea that Franz deliberately guided was already fermenting at this time. The Baden government could not say to the people that the lips were cold and the teeth were cold. It was useless to say it.

Most people wanted the unification of Germany, and the Baden government was not that popular. During the Great Revolution, the Grand Duchy of Baden even established a republican government, but it was suppressed with the help of Prussia.

Of course, now that they had carried out social reforms, no one knew whether the status of the government in the eyes of the people was more important than the unification of Germany.

The Foreign Affairs Minister Nicholas suggested, "Your Highness, the Austrian plan to unify Germany will not succeed. Once the Great Powers intervene, it will be over. There is no need for us to take the millet out of the fire."

Prince Friedrich nodded in agreement. The Grand Duchy of Baden did not have a strong foundation. If they went to war with Austria, they would be greatly weakened, and the worst case scenario, they would be completely wiped out.

Once this happened, the foundation of the government's rule would be shaken. Without this standing army, how could they suppress the revolutionary forces in the country?

Anyway, in the end, the Great Powers would intervene. What were they afraid of? The life and death of the Bavarian government was not within their consideration.

…

Berlin

Frederick William IV Of Denmark was excited to hear the news of Austria's military unification of Germany. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity had appeared.

With Austria taking the lead, the difficulty of the Kingdom of Prussia unifying the German Region would be greatly reduced.

"Everyone, the Austrians can't take it anymore. Now that they have broken the situation, should we send troops to help Bavaria?" Frederick William IV Of Denmark asked.

Prime Minister Josef von Radowitz said cautiously, "Your Majesty, we must not send troops at this time. Before we form a coalition with the German State, or before the intervention of the Great Powers, we must try our best to avoid fighting with the Austrians.

In recent years, the domestic economic conditions have not been good, and the development of our army has also been limited. If we fight with the Austrians now, our chances of winning are too low.

Even if we win, we will still be the losers. If we fight with Austria rashly and waste our strength, it will only benefit the other states.

Once we suffer heavy losses in the war, we will lose the chance to unify the German Region. The Great Powers will not give us time. They are opposed to the Austrians unifying Germany, and they are also opposed to Prussia unifying Germany.

At this time, the best choice is to encourage the other small states to send troops and use the war to waste their strength, reducing the difficulty of unifying Germany.

As for the Austrians, let England and France deal with them! They think they have chosen a good time, and the other countries are powerless to interfere with their military operations.

But they have forgotten that Europe does not only have England, France, and Russia. Even if the three of them are at war, with their influence, they can rope in other countries to form an intervention army. "

In this era, the influence of England, France, and Russia was too great, especially the two hegemons of England and Russia. It was normal for Josef von Radowitz to have confidence in them. Although Austria was also one of the four major powers, there was no way they could be compared to England and Russia.

The Foreign Affairs Minister Rudolf said, "Prime Minister, if we do not send troops, I am afraid that the small states in the German Region will not dare to send troops. With their strength, they have no right to intervene.

If everyone does not intervene, the Kingdom of Bavaria will be finished. By the time England, France, and Russia react, Austria will have already established a fact.

Now, England, France, and Russia are fighting in the Near East. Austria and Russia have always had a good relationship. It is not impossible for the two countries to reach a secret agreement. "

Rudolf's worry was not without reason. Germany had a large number of states, but there were very few large states. These small states could only send eight or ten thousand troops at most, and they would not be able to do anything on the battlefield.

Austria's strength was not weak. Once an established fact was established and Russia acquiesced, the pressure from England and France would not be enough to make them give in.

"Mr. Rudolf, this situation may indeed happen, so we must act. At the very least, we must organize the armies of the German states. Only then can we destroy Austria's plot without paying a heavy price, "Prime Minister Josef von Radowitz replied.

In short, it was impossible to fight Austria recklessly. If the Kingdom of Prussia wanted to be the fisherman in the end, they could not fight to the death with Austria and lose valuable troops.

…

England and France hoped that the German states would send troops to stop Austria. The small German states also hoped that the Great Powers would intervene.

Everyone wanted to be the fisherman in the end, and then the tragedy of the Kingdom of Bavaria would be that they could only fight alone at the beginning of the war.

While the countries were debating, the war had already begun.

The Bavarian government, who did not know that it had been sold, was mobilizing its troops confidently after receiving the affirmation from the other countries. It was preparing to fight a war to defend its territory.