Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 421
Chapter 421: Chapter 108: Junker VS Government Official + Capital
In March 1867, Austria conducted a massive military exercise on the Prussia-Austria Border, which alarmed the Prussians.
Having just finished the Prusso-Russian War, they were busy licking their wounds and did not have the courage to face another war with Austria.
If war were to break out at this time, not only would all previous victories have to be regurgitated, but self-preservation would be difficult to achieve.
In the Berlin Palace, Foreign Minister McKate said, “The Austrians are making a show of force; they won’t start a war at this time.
Once war breaks out, the Russians will definitely continue the conflict. The Tsarist Government only needs to follow behind, doing the minimum, and they can take back Poland and the Baltic region.
This is not what the Vienna Government wants to see. A powerful Russian Empire does not serve their interests. The Russian-Austrian Alliance exists only because of temporary interests, and sooner or later they will clash over European hegemony.”
Furthermore, the current international situation is something that the Vienna Government cannot ignore. No European country wants to see an overbearing Austria, and starting a war now would isolate them.
If war breaks out and the French move on the Rhineland region, will the Vienna Government intervene or not?
If they intervene, it could very well lead to a full-scale war between France and Austria; if they don’t, how can they continue to claim leadership in the Germany Region?”
McKate did not voice the real reason for being unafraid. A fight would definitely be lost; the Kingdom of Prussia was now exhausted.
But as long as the Berlin Government is shameless enough, there’s still an opportunity to trip up Austria and reverse the current passive situation.
If the French invade the Rhineland region, the Prussian Government can simply admit defeat, and then join the New Holy Roman Empire, demanding that Austria protect the territorial integrity of the Germany Region.
Thus the France-Austrian war would be detonated, and the situation would change. If the French gain the upper hand, or the war reaches a stalemate, they could switch sides again.
Do not doubt the integrity of politicians; when the stakes are high enough, there is nothing they won’t do.
The support of the Kingdom of Prussia lies in the Junker aristocracy, and even if the Vienna Government wants to buy them off, they can’t afford the price.
Behind the scenes, there had already been contact between the two sides. If Franz is willing to compromise, the Germany Region could unite at any time.
The Junker nobles’ opposition to joining the New Holy Roman Empire is only for their interests. If Prussia could achieve the same status as Austria and secure their interests, then they would be ready to merge at any time.
Obviously, that’s impossible. If there were a compromise, the New Holy Roman Empire would split again.
An empire can only have one core; if it becomes two, it would result in Prussia leading a group of Sub-States within the Empire to counter Austria.
From the beginning, Franz had made a decision—the rights of the Sub-States must be constrained.
After years of effort, he had just reclaimed diplomatic rights, the right to mint currency, military command, and partial financial rights; how could he possibly give them up again?
Army and Navy Minister Roon questioned, “This is just your wishful thinking and does not represent the Vienna Government’s stance.
Besides, Austria became the leader of the Germany Region through strength, not so-called popular will. They gained strength first, and then they won the support of the public.
While nationalism is indeed influential, it is not enough to sway the decisions of the Vienna Government. Trading the Rhineland region for the unification of Germany would be a fair deal for the Austrians, wouldn’t it?
You must understand that Austria has always been wary of us among the many Sub-States of the Germany Region, only we also have the power to threaten them.”
As the military’s representative, Roon was a proponent of military might. This was determined by the national condition of the Kingdom of Prussia, where everyone became champions of military supremacy.
Roon did not place much value on Austrian influence. In his view, strength was paramount. With sufficient strength now, other issues were insignificant for Austria.
If they could unify the Germany Region, even if the Rhineland region was lost, it wouldn’t matter; at worst, they would be criticized by the public. As long as it is retaken in the future, these issues can be whitewashed away.
It wasn’t just his personal view, many shared the same opinion. Some groups were even advocating for a Unification at a Price—accepting a certain cost in exchange for national unity.
This included ceding the territory west of the Rhine River to the French and the Prussian Poland region to the Russians.
Some went further, analyzing that by doing so, the Kingdom of Prussia would be significantly reduced, leading to a more stable empire after unification.
This was what the Junker aristocracy feared the most. If Austria annexed a downsized Kingdom of Prussia, they would indeed suffer a heavy loss.
The Kingdom of Prussia was larger than all the other Sub-States combined, except for Austria. Such a large Sub-State would obviously weaken the authority of the Central Government.
If Austria wants to lead the New Holy Roman Empire, they must suppress the Kingdom of Prussia and keep them within a controllable range. The two sides are naturally at odds, leaving no possibility for compromise.
This view does not include astute politicians, who alone understand how terrible the situation would be after Austria unifies the Germany Region.
Politically, isolation is inevitable, as a Central European empire would naturally face hostility from Europe; militarily, it would be against the whole world.
This enemy would come from both the continent and the sea. On land, it needs not be said—looking at a map is sufficient to know they must confront French-Russian. The naval situation would be even worse, with the Austrian Navy having to oppose Britain and France in the Mediterranean, compete with the Russians in the Baltic Sea, and challenge both Britain and France in the Atlantic Ocean.
This is still neglecting the smaller countries; in reality, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, and the Nordic Federation, would all be enemies of Austria, determined by geopolitics.
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Apart from the high likelihood that Switzerland and Belgium would remain neutral, a glance at the European Continent revealed enemies everywhere, including inconsequential Montenegro and Greece.
No, Greece and Montenegro had already taken a stand against Austria. Their dreams of becoming a great power had been blocked by Austria.
If it weren’t for the multitude of external enemies, why would Franz have suppressed the Russians only to let Great France emerge? It was all to alleviate pressure and divert everyone’s attention.
Only with the decline of Russia could Austria break free from the predicament of fighting a war on two fronts. Even if it was an operational error that led to a full-scale war in Europe, it could resolve the Eastern Front in the shortest time possible.
The idea of inciting the ambition of the French and deliberately allowing the rise of Great France goes without saying.
They were also the public enemy of Europe, and with two behemoths appearing simultaneously, the governments of European countries would be utterly confused, struggling to devise countermeasures in the short term.
In a face-off between two powers, the fall of one would make the other the dominator of Europe. Faced with such a dilemma, who knew what to do?
This moment of hesitation would change the situation.
Simply put, this was a gamble. Franz was betting that after the unification of the Germany Region, it could first complete internal consolidation. Then, by diplomatic means, it would provoke internal conflicts within Great France, and finally, overpower France with national strength.
The French, on the other hand, were betting that their army was superior and could directly defeat Austria after the establishment of Great France and the unification of the Germany Region.
The existence of the France-Austrian Alliance, apart from mutual interests, also implied a joint effort to clear the field. Without first dealing with other competitors, neither party would feel at ease to engage in a decisive battle.
Europe may not have the proverb “When the snipe and the clam grapple, the Fisherman profits,” but everyone understood the principle.
Clearly, the Berlin Government was oblivious to this. Had they known about the Franco-Austrian alliance, they probably would have given up on any “Great Prussia” plan and instead urgently sought alliances for warmth.
Foreign Minister McKate scoffed, “What you’re saying is to just hand over the Silesia region? Don’t forget, the Austrians also proposed purchasing the Prussian Saxon area.
Such compromises only lead to further demands from them. How far can we allow them to encroach? If we really compromised, how would the government explain to the people?”
Chief of General Staff Maoqi countered, “Of course it’s not about making concessions for nothing. We could engage in an exchange of interests with Austria. Right now, we need Vienna’s support, or at the very least, its tacit consent…”
…
Watching the never-ending disputes among the people, the scene was very discordant. The military advocated compromise, while the government insisted on a tough stance, which seemed completely out of order.
Indeed, it was the reverse. Initially, it was the government officials who advocated for compromise, and the military called for a tough response. However, as the situation changed, this stance was reversed.
In reality, this was just a continuation of the power struggle within the Berlin Government. Now, the Civil Official Faction was at an absolute disadvantage in this struggle for power, and decision-making had fallen into the hands of the military. Naturally, they were not willing to accept defeat and were stirring up trouble.
Before power, many bottom lines ceased to exist. The Civil Official Faction was at a critical juncture for survival; once the negotiations in London concluded, with the military’s victory over Russia, their influence within the government would increase further.
The military, with the upper hand, naturally advocated stability. As for the repercussions of ceding territory, it wasn’t as severe as it seemed.
Ceding land depends on how it’s managed; the losses can be controlled with the right handling. What the Kingdom of Prussia currently lacked was not land but population, especially Germans.
East Prussia was now empty and in urgent need of people to populate it. The newly occupied areas also needed settlers to stabilize the region. Taking away all the population and finances from the ceded lands before handing over the empty lands to Austria would suffice.
This would still fulfill the agreement, leaving the Vienna Government with nothing to complain about. The original deal was only to cede the Silesia area; it didn’t include the population and their properties.
If intended mischief, they could leave behind a portion of the population, transfer all local industries into their name, and then engage in nonviolent non-cooperation.
In a society where private property is sacred and inviolable, if people legally refuse to cooperate, there’s nothing the Vienna Government can do about it.
Of course, this powerlessness is only temporary. Solutions are always found by people, and once integrity is discarded, many problems can be solved.
Another unspoken reason for the changing stance of the military was that the Junker aristocracy needed labor to work their lands. In this era, mechanization was not highly advanced, and agriculture demanded a significant labor force.
The East Prussia region was the stronghold of the Junker aristocracy, and now devoid of people, they were struggling to find enough workers to restore production.
Moreover, in the newly occupied territories, many lands would be awarded to the Junker nobles after the war; these lands also required workers.
If there were no locals from the homeland, using only the indigenous people for cultivation would be problematic, not least due to language barriers.
Moreover, the nobles needed a base to rule the areas. If the locals rebelled, repression was necessary, and how could that be managed without their own people?
The Silesian region was taken from Austria and dominated by industry, with capitalists holding more power. Even if lost, it wouldn’t be a loss for the Junker aristocracy.
The Prussian Saxon area was not much different. Its economy was thriving, but as it had joined the Kingdom of Prussia only recently, it wasn’t the bastion of the Junker aristocracy.
The situation was different for the Civil Official Faction. To counterbalance the military, they had to form an alliance with domestic capitalists. As the mouthpiece for the bourgeoisie in the government, they naturally had to protect the bourgeoisie’s interests now.
Theoretically, by transferring the population and finances, the Kingdom of Prussia’s losses could be minimized. Ordinary citizens could receive government compensation, which seemed somewhat decent.
Only the interests of the capitalists could not be guaranteed. Factories can’t be built just anywhere, and even if all conditions were met, they’d have to rebuild their business networks and sales channels in a new area.
Government compensation could not cover these costs, and during this change of events, they risked being replaced by others.
