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.
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.
The Home Secretary, Henry John Temple, suggested, "There are many states in Germany, and once these small states unite, their strength will not be weak. 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 are so many states in the German Region, and there are many contradictions between them. It is not easy to unite them.
The war in the Balkans proved that if they did not cooperate wholeheartedly, they would be easily defeated by the enemy.
Austria's influence in the German Region was too great. Now that they were attacking Bavaria for the sake of national unity, they had gained the support of nationalists in the German Region.
Under such circumstances, even if the various states of the German Region could unite, the amount of power they could muster would be greatly reduced. "
This was an unsolvable problem. As long as the soldiers did not want to fight, they could not be expected to have any combat power 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 everyone doesn't want to see Austria unify the German Region. Let's work together to intervene and force Austria to stop the war that destabilizes Europe. "
…
Napoleon Iii's reaction to Austria's military action was even more intense. If it weren't for the fact that he didn't have enough troops at hand, he would have immediately sent troops to intervene.
Interior Minister Persini suggested, "Your Majesty, it's not that easy to unify the German Region. The Austrians don't have the strength to do so. It'll be a good opportunity for us to take action when both sides are badly injured.
We can also take the opportunity to annex the territories west of the Rhine River. Now, we shouldn't stop Austria's actions. Instead, we should encourage the Austrians to continue fighting. "
Without hesitating for long, Napoleon Iii made up his mind.
"Yes, this war can't be stopped immediately. Send someone to negotiate with Austria secretly so that they can rest assured and fight boldly.
On the surface, we still have to keep in line with the other countries, exert diplomatic pressure on the Government of Austria, and do our best to encourage the German states to fight to the death with Austria. "
Interests were always the eternal theme between countries. It was inevitable 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 couldn't expand on the European continent. Maintaining the opinion of the European countries was their goal.
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 wasn't weak. If they didn't let them and Austria consume each other's strength, where would France stand a chance?
Napoleon Iii wanted to be the fisherman. From the perspective of interests, the positions of Britain and France were opposite. Close cooperation was impossible.
…
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 wasn't meaningless. At least the capitalists in Frankfurt thought that a unified Germany was more in line with everyone's interests.
A dragon couldn't be raised in shallow water. If the capitalists in Frankfurt wanted to go further, they needed a bigger market.
Benefits would always be the best catalyst. They did not have any opinions about rebuilding Shenluo. Anyway, they were all free cities. It didn't matter if they became autonomous cities.
It wasn't just them. Most of the free cities in Germany were hesitant. The blueprint described by Prime Minister Felix was so wonderful that the capitalists couldn't stop.
Of course, there were voices of opposition. The reason was very realistic. The status of the Austrian capitalists was too low and didn't 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 great things, forget righteousness when seeing small benefits."
It was the most appropriate word to describe them.
…
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 couldn't keep up with the changes and failed under the intervention of the Great Powers.
This little episode didn't 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 couldn't 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 it was, no one dared to let him continue to rule. No one could guarantee that his thoughts were normal when he made decisions.
"The Bavarians are asking 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. We can't save Bavaria with our strength alone.
It's best to act jointly with other countries. If we rashly participate in the war, we might suffer heavy losses, "Prime Minister Volz replied.
The Kingdom of Bavaria had to be saved. They understood the principle that the lips were cold and the teeth were cold. However, how to save them needed to be done with skill. If they didn't do it well and put themselves in danger, 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 of the people don't 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 hasn't 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 government's top officials could quickly change their minds, but the ordinary people couldn't. Many people would have a preconceived notion that Austria started this war in the name of justice.
Discrediting the Bavarian government wasn't just the work of Austria. It was more of the people's own initiative. Who asked the Bavarian government to propose a plan to unify Germany that dissatisfied them?
In the eyes of many nationalists, the unification of Germany was inevitable. The Bavarian government was a cancer that opposed the unification of the country. Getting rid of them was the first step to the unification of the country.
This idea that Franz had deliberately guided was already fermenting at this time. The Baden government couldn't say to the people that the lips were cold and the teeth were cold.
Most people wanted the unification of Germany, and the Baden government wasn't 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 government's position 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 won't succeed. Once the Great Powers intervene, it will be over. There's no need for us to take the millet out of the fire."
Prince Friedrich nodded in agreement. The Grand Duchy of Baden didn't have a strong foundation. If they went to war with Austria, they would suffer heavy losses at the very least. In the worst case, 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?
In any case, the Great Powers would intervene in the end. What were they afraid of? The life and death of the Bavarian government wasn't within their consideration at all.
…
Frederick William IV Of Denmark was excited when he heard that Austria had unified Germany by force. 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've broken the situation, should we send troops to help Bavaria?" Frederick William IV Of Denmark asked.
Prime Minister Joseph von Radowitz said cautiously, "Your Majesty, we absolutely can't send troops at this time. Before we form a coalition with the German State, or before the Great Powers intervene, we have to avoid fighting with the Austrians as much as possible.
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'll 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'll lose the chance to unify the German Region. The Great Powers won't give us time. They're opposed to the Austrians unifying Germany, and they're 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 as an opportunity to waste their strength. This will reduce the difficulty of unifying Germany.
As for the Austrians, let England and France deal with them! They think they've chosen a good time, and the other countries are powerless to interfere with their military operations.
But they've forgotten that Europe doesn't only have England, France, and Russia. Even if the three of them are at war, with their influence, they can also 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 Joseph 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.
Foreign Minister Rudolf said, "Prime Minister, if we don't send troops, I'm afraid the small states in the German Region won't dare to send troops. With their strength, they don't have the right to interfere.
If everyone doesn't 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's not impossible for the two countries to reach a secret agreement. "
Rudolf's worry wasn't 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 wouldn't be able to make a splash on the battlefield.
Austria's strength wasn't weak. Once an established fact was established and Russia acquiesced, the pressure from England and France wouldn't be enough to make them give in.
"Mr. Rudolf, this situation can indeed happen, so we must act. At 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 Joseph 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 couldn't fight to the death with Austria and lose valuable troops.
…
England and France hoped that the German states would send troops to stop Austria, and the small states in Germany also hoped that the Great Powers would intervene.
Everyone wanted to be the fisherman in the end, and then the Kingdom of Bavaria would be a tragedy. At the beginning of the war, they could only fight alone.
While the countries were debating, the war had already begun.
The Bavarian government, who didn't know that it had been sold, was mobilizing its troops confidently after receiving the affirmation from the other countries, preparing to fight a war to defend its territory.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
