Chapter 744

Without the obstacle created by Austria, the London Peace Conference developed in the Kingdom of Prussia's favor. On September 1, 1867, Prussia and Denmark signed an armistice treaty.

There was no way to cede territory. The Schleswig and Holstein duchies were eaten by Prussia, so it was impossible to give them up.

There was no need to think about reparations. The Kingdom of Denmark had a new backer – the Nordic Federation. This country, which was still in the process of being established, was not as strong as the Kingdom of Prussia, but it was not a problem for them to protect themselves.

The Swedes did not fight for the Schleswig and Holstein duchies, mainly because they were worried that Denmark's strength was too strong, which was not conducive to their control of the country.

In addition, Sweden's Carr XV wanted to annex Finland, which meant that they had to stand on the opposite side of Russia. If there was a conflict with Prussia, the pressure on the national defense would be too great.

Even so, Sweden still asked for a symbolic compensation for Denmark, which was about 2 million BND, to take care of the Danes' feelings.

This was a small amount of money, and no matter how poor the Kingdom of Prussia was, it did not lack funds. In order to settle the matter as soon as possible, the Government of Berlin readily agreed.

Because of the existence of a common enemy, Russia, Prussia and the Nordic Federation that was about to be established would have a lot of common topics. If it was not to get Denmark to join, the Swedish government would have hit the Russians when they were down.

In this regard, Prussia gave up the Jutland peninsula in exchange for an ally, which was a very worthwhile deal.

The Russian Empire's foundation was too strong. Even if it was weakened, no one dared to look down on them.

If they continued to decline, it would be fine. If Russia became strong again, the Kingdom of Prussia would be the first to bear the brunt.

It was necessary to prepare for a rainy day. With the Nordic Federation in the north to restrain Russia, the pressure on Prussia would be a lot less.

For this reason, the Skagerrak Strait (Jutland Strait) and the Kingdom of Prussia did not make any requests.

Of course, Prussia's pocket version of the navy was also one of the reasons that prompted the Government of Berlin to give up. With their current naval strength, it was useless to occupy it.

…

After the Prussian Armistice Treaty was signed, the Tsarist government also made concessions. On September 26, 1867, Prussia, Poland and Russia signed the Armistice Treaty.

The Polish region became independent, the Lithuanian region was lost, Latvian region was abandoned, Belarus region was lost, Belarus, and Ukraine region was also lost.

The Polish region became independent, the Lithuanian region was lost, the Latvian region was abandoned, the Belarusian region was lost, and a piece of Ukraine was cut off.

This had already exceeded the scope of Russian Poland. The total territory lost was close to 790,000 square kilometers, the total population lost was as high as 20 million, and the total industrial volume was suddenly reduced by nearly three times.

At the end of the 18th century, Poland was divided between Prussia, Russia and Austria. The Russians got the largest share, about 460,000 square kilometers. At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, they received part of the territory of Prussia as compensation. Warsaw region.

These territories added up to less than 600,000 square kilometers. Now that he had to pay them back with interest, it would be enough for Alexander II to feel heartache for a long time.

The Tsarist government naturally wouldn't give them any reparations after making concessions on the ceding of territory. Prussia and Poland, who wanted to rely on war reparations to get through the financial crisis, made a mistake.

The Tsarist government's money was used to suppress the rebellion. Alexander II Of Russia did not dare to relax his vigilance.

The threat from Prussia and Poland was only a small illness. The threat from the rebels was cancer. Although it was still in the early stage, if it was not treated in time, people would die.

Choosing the lesser of two evils, they could only compromise with Pu Bo first. The land would not run away. Even if it was ceded, they could get it back when they recovered.

Money was different. Without money, there was no way to suppress the rebellion. If the rebels were not killed, the rule of the Tsarist government would be threatened.

According to the treaty, the Kingdom of Prussia would get the areas of Lithuania, Latvia, and most of Belarus. The total area was 286,000 square kilometers, with a total population of about 4.7 million.

Poland would get the rest of the area, with a total area of about 504,000 square kilometers, including the core of Poland, parts of Belarus, and most of Western Ukraine. The border line extended to the Kiev region.

Obviously, Russia lost a lot this time. Even the Smolensk region was lost. It was only 360 kilometers away from Moscow.

In 1611, it was occupied by the Poles. In the negotiations, it was considered an old Polish territory, included in the Belarus region.

This was not the weakness of the Tsarist government, but the fact that it was actually occupied by the enemy. Unless they used force, they could not get it back.

Most of the ceded land was actually controlled by the enemy. Through negotiations, they recovered a lot of territory. In the winter battle, the Russian Army lost too much territory to the enemy, causing them to have no confidence in negotiations.

The newly independent Polish Kingdom inherited the legacy of Russia and became a new European power. The total population was more than 15 million, similar to the pre-war Kingdom of Prussia.

Although the industry was not good, the agricultural foundation was still good. The land was basically flat areas, and it was not a problem for them to be well-off.

However, this was not enough to satisfy the interim government. In the age of the sea, there was no sea, how could they call themselves a big country?

Well, they had just achieved independence, and the Poles were already dreaming of becoming a big country.

In theory, Poland still had the foundation to rise. Although the total population was not high, they had a high birth rate.

The scale of the industry was not large, but the Russians still left a lot of important industrial systems, and integrating them could save a lot of time.

The local resources were rich enough to meet the early needs of the industrial revolution. Some minerals were also abundant, such as: silver reserves were very rich, and there was no need to worry about currency.

There was a surplus of food production, and they could also export it for foreign exchange to develop the domestic economy.

This was only in theory. In fact, the biggest shortcoming was the lack of "talent." Don't expect the Tsarist government to leave them intellectuals. These people were basically on the road of revolution and were ready to show their hands in politics.

Many intellectuals only knew how to criticize the heavens, the earth, and the universe. Unfortunately, they did not cultivate practical ability.

Of course, there were occasionally exceptions, but they were too few. The second industrial revolution had begun, and a country needed a large number of knowledgeable and skilled engineers.

In terms of the quality of the population, the German Region currently had an advantage. At present, the countries that had completed compulsory education were all concentrated in the German Region.

England and France did not have universal compulsory education, let alone other countries. Reading was the privilege of the rich. Church schools occasionally taught commoners knowledge, but it was far from enough.

They had just achieved independence, and the Poles had not yet floated. Although they were dissatisfied with Prussia because of the problem of the sea, the two sides did not shed all pretenses.

The Kingdom of Poland still lacked a king, and everyone was still worried about the problem of the king.

According to Polish tradition, they had to find a king outside. The few major kings in the German Region were all candidates.

There were too many problems to consider, and there were diplomatic games between countries. The Polish parliament was currently in a fierce argument, and the Polish king might have a difficult birth.

At present, the clear competition for the throne was King William I of Prussia. Once Poland and Prussia became a common monarch, it would be possible for Prussia to merge.

In theory, the formation of a federal empire was in line with the interests of both countries. They faced a common threat — Russia and Austria.

These two enemies were too powerful, and they were no match for them in a one-on-one fight. Only by joining forces would they have the strength to fight against them.

Obviously, this was only in theory. Who would be the boss was a headache. Poland's glorious history had become the biggest obstacle to this alliance.

Before the threat of Russia disappeared, the Polish interim government needed the help of Prussia and almost compromised with the Government of Berlin. However, the international environment at that time did not allow it.

The Fao and the two countries did not want to see the merger of Poland and Poland, and gave a stern warning. At the critical moment of the war, the Government of Berlin did not dare to offend the Fao and the two countries, and the plan ended in vain.

At that time, it was very difficult. Now that the real threat no longer existed, the Poles were even more unwilling to be the younger brother.

Of course, the voices of the two countries' union had always been very high. Supporting William I as the Polish king had a high support rate in the Polish parliament.

However, the candidate with the highest support rate was kicked out from the beginning.

At the same time, it was strongly opposed by the Fao and Russia. Even if the Polish parliament unanimously supported it, William I did not dare to sit on the throne.

If it was a merger of the two countries, William I would dare to take the risk and try. Just being a king would be opposed by the three major powers, and William I was still very timid.

It was not only his problem, but the Polish parliament was even more timid. In the face of the intervention of the major powers, they did not dare to vote.

Of course, the Government of Berlin had not completely given up. Now, a large part of the reason for the endless dispute in the Polish parliament was caused by them.

In this joint war against Russia, the Kingdom of Prussia also took advantage of the opportunity to infiltrate Poland. Now, more than 80% of the officers and soldiers in the Polish army were trained by Prussia instructors.

The pro-Polish forces in Poland were also very strong. Although everyone was unwilling to be Prussia's younger brother, it did not mean that everyone rejected William I as the Polish king.

With such a big advantage, the people of Prussia naturally wanted to fight for it. It wasn't their style to admit defeat without putting in any effort.

The international opposition was strong, mainly because of the Fao and the two countries. The Russian Empire's attitude could almost be ignored now. Before they ended the civil war, they had no time to interfere with who the Polish throne would fall to.

The British did not clearly support or oppose it, and could be considered neutral. There were a lot of small European countries, and most of them opposed it, but their opinions were not important.

Getting the Polish throne was important for Prussia to annex Poland. If they could not get it, they would rather let the Polish throne be vacant.