Between countries, interests are always the theme. While Franz was scheming against the Russians, the tsarist government was also scheming against Austria.
This calculation has nothing to do with alliances, and everyone is doing it within the scope of the rules. Before the interests outweigh the contradictions, the alliance between the two sides is still reliable.
After the establishment of the Russian-Austrian alliance, the tsarist government relaxed its suppression of Prussia.
Obviously, after the Austrian government exposed its ambitions for the southern German region, the tsarist government feared that Austria would unify the entire German region, threatening their continental hegemony, and was ready to allow the Prussians to counterbalance Austria.
The most intuitive manifestation is that Russia's diplomatic pressure on the Kingdom of Prussia is not as strong as before.
In a way, Franz also inadvertently helped the Prussians. Of course, this kind of help was not enough for the Russians to allow the Prussian Kingdom to annex the two principalities of Schleswig and Holstein.
The little brother of Denmark, the Russians still do not want to give up, the tsarist government needs a stable Northern Europe, and the expansion of the Kingdom of Prussia has broken the balance of Northern Europe.
The tsarist government was caught in a contradiction, and the best option was to let the Kingdom of Prussia develop to the center of Germany, delaying the time for Austria to unify the southern German state.
But the kingdom of Prussia could not be allowed to unify the German region, which was inconsistent with the Russian strategy. In the eyes of the tsarist government, the Austrian ally was the best choice.
There is a certain strength, but it does not threaten the strength of Russia. The most important thing is that the Habsburg dynasty is very old, and it is very difficult for any old empire to regenerate.
In contrast, the newly emerging young empire is even more daunting. Young means that it is still on the rise, and there are infinite possibilities in the future. Unfortunately, the Kingdom of Prussia is a kingdom that has the potential to become a young empire.
The Russians are very contradictory. On the one hand, they want the Kingdom of Prussia to check and balance Austria. On the other hand, they are worried that Prussia will be drawn over by Britain and France, and will stab Russia or Austria at a critical moment.
In Nicholas I's view, the best choice is for the Kingdom of Prussia to also draw over and return to the "Era of the Three Northern Courts", or the "Three Emperors Alliance".
easy to say, hard to do.
In the final analysis, it is still interests, and now the Russians cannot sacrifice the interests of the Danes, which will chill the hearts of allies.
Then, it would be difficult to let Pau and Austria join forces to divide up the German region. Obviously, it is difficult for a North German region to feed the Prussians.
If Prussia reaches out to the German region, let alone Austria can't stand it, even Nicholas I can't stand it, he can't stand the birth of a German Empire.
What's more serious is that after Puo and Austria divided the German area, the Kingdom of Prussia really became bigger, and the two joined forces to block their westward road.
Maybe after the "Three Emperors Alliance" in the future defeats the enemy, it will be Puo and Austria joining forces to fight against Russia and cultivate the feelings of the enemy for themselves, which is not always wonderful.
St. Petersburg
In order to solve this troublesome problem, Nicholas I specially convened the Imperial Council.
The Prime Minister was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, either try to win over the Kingdom of Prussia and continue the Berlin Convention; or jointly suppress the Kingdom of Prussia, so that they will not be able to cause us trouble!"
Everyone knows this multiple-choice question. How to suppress the Kingdom of Prussia is very simple. As long as you unite with Austria and beat him, Prussia will not be able to turn over for ten or twenty years.
But the problem is that when Prussia is defeated, Austria's goal may not be to annex the southern German region, but to unify the entire German region.
Suppression is not feasible, then instead, win over Prussia. There is a price to be paid to win over. The Russians will not pay this price. If they want to cut their flesh, they will have to kill them.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Karl Wortselrod analyzed: "Your Majesty, the Prussians have a great appetite, and now there are two unification ideas in the German region, one is to unify the German region by Austria to establish the Great German Empire, and the other is to create the Great German Empire by Prussia. People united the German states except Austria to establish Little Germany.
The latter was created by the Prussians, and their goal was very clear, that is, to unify Germany, and now they are working hard for this goal by launching the Danish War.
If we are willing to support Prussia to unify the German region, they will definitely join the alliance, but the Austrian side will certainly not agree. Maybe before our strategy started, Prussia and Austria would fight first. "
Nicholas I frowned and asked: "Why is the North German state still not enough to feed the Prussians?"
The Russians pursue the supremacy of strength, and share as much benefits as they have. Now the Kingdom of Prussia is the bottom of the powers, or just a quasi-power.
In later generations, everyone spoke highly of the Kingdom of Prussia, because they unified Germany and established the second German Empire, which elevated their status.
It's not that they are now a medium-sized country with a population of 13 million, and they have the strength to compete with the major powers.
"Your Majesty, we can try to use North Germany to win over the Prussians, and if that doesn't work, lure them into expanding into the Low Countries." Foreign Secretary Karl Wortselrod suggested
The 19th century was an era of expansion. All countries wanted to expand their power. Failure to expand in this era would be a chronic suicide.
Don't look at many countries in later generations, who have survived from this era. In fact, many people ignore the risks they have experienced.
Small countries like the Netherlands and Luxembourg are not to be mentioned, and even a big country like Spain has been beaten all the way.
Prussia, Austria, a country with a huge geographical location, if it does not expand and strengthen its strength, whether it is the Russians' westward march or the French's eastward expedition, it will be a tragedy.
Farming development is not impossible, but the speed of farming development is too slow. Without enough market and industrial raw materials, if you work hard for 20 to 30 years, it is not as good as what others have achieved in two or three years.
"No, it's already very dangerous to let the Prussians annex North Germany. If they get Belgium and the Netherlands, then it's another France." The Prime Minister objected excitedly.
"Your Excellency Prime Minister, our road to westward expansion has been blocked. Even if the Kingdom of Prussia grows bigger, it is impossible to counterattack Russia. As long as we provoke a conflict between Prussia and Austria, the western front will be stable. It is our national policy to fully manage the Mediterranean Sea. ” explains Karl Wortselrod
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The internal disputes among the Russians eased diplomatic pressure on Prussia, creating an illusion for the Prussians that as long as they conquered the Danes, it was a given that the Russians would compromise.
Affected by this, the Prussian army quickly defeated the Danes on the front line, and on April 9, 1849, the Prussian army entered Jutland again.
Unlike the previous restraint, this time the Prussians tried to force the Kingdom of Denmark to compromise.
If it wasn't for the foresight of the Danes to establish the capital on the island of Zealand, the Prussian navy would be a weak chicken, and it is estimated that the Prussian army would go straight to Huanglong.
Unable to bear it, he went to the boss, and Nicholas I was also provoked by the Prussian's approach.
Does it depend on the owner to beat the dog? He had already called it off again and again, yet he dared to continue taking military action, completely ignoring him.
The Russians acted immediately after seeing their dignity provoked.
On May 7, 1849, two Russian infantry divisions landed on Jutland, blocking the advance of the Prussian army.
It was impossible to fight, Frederick William IV was cowardly, and news from St. Petersburg showed that the Russians had reached the limit of their tolerance.
It is easy to start a war, but difficult to end it. Don't look at the fact that Frederick William IV has suppressed the revolutionary party in the country, but he is still not alone in Prussia.
It is not a good thing for the troops on the front line to fight too smoothly. Now the people's attention has been shifted to the Pudan war, and no one remembers that they suppressed the revolution.
However, the sequelae of nationalism have also come, and the people cannot tolerate failure, especially when the government has already won on the battlefield, and the government will make concessions.
A truce is okay, but it is not okay to give up the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. This is a matter of principle. Whoever dares to make concessions is a traitor.
It was not just Austria that helped the Prussians, all the states in the German region contributed, including the states in the North German region, which were inclined towards the Prussians.
It can be said that the entire German region now supports Prussia in spirit. If the spiritual support can be turned into substantive support, then Frederick William IV does not need to be counseled.
Vienna
"Your Majesty, the Prussian ambassador in Vienna asked us for help, and after the Foreign Office refused, they proposed to raise money for the war in Austria.
According to the information we have received, the Prussians have launched fundraising in the country, and now they are targeting the entire German region, their finances should be about to run out of money. "Metternich said with a smile.
Fundraising for the military? This is a coup that Franz came up with for the Prussian government, and the people's money is not easy to get.
If the money is taken and the final thing is not done, how enthusiastic these people are when they donate, how much resentment they will have in the future.
"In this case, we will cooperate with them. The government will send people to help them raise funds, and people will build momentum in the German region, and amplify the actual donations a little bit.
On behalf of the Austrian government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs donated 10 million guilders to Prussia to support their military campaign to retake the Schleswig-Holstein duchies for the German Confederation.
But don't rush to give the money to them first, just find a reason to delay it later, if it really can't be delayed, you will pay in installments on the grounds of financial difficulties. ' Franz said after thinking about it.
Fraudulent donations, everyone dares to play in the 21st century, and Franz naturally doesn't mind following suit.
No, he can't be considered a fraudulent donation, and it's not really not giving money.
As long as the Prussians can bring the two German principalities back into the arms of the German Confederation, the Austrian government will give money.
If the Prussians could not stand the pressure and gave up the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein, which they had already acquired, the money would naturally not have to be given.
By the way, the people of the German states will be mobilized to protest at the gate of the Prussian embassy and ask them to return their hard-earned money.
"Yes, Your Majesty," Metternich replied
I don't know how happy the Prussian representative will be when he hears this news, maybe he won't die of excitement