I have to say that the Russians are very good at choosing the time. As soon as the ultimatum expires, it happens to be December 24, and the next day is Christmas.
Whether it is to die to the end, or choose to compromise. The Prussians did not have to spend this Christmas, and it took a few days to issue an ultimatum to the Prussian government, and there was no lack of intentional disgust for Frederick William IV.
Berlin
After receiving the ultimatum from the Russians, the Kingdom of Prussia exploded. The main war faction, the main war faction and the main peace faction were arguing endlessly, and the plan to instigate Poland's independence was proposed again.
Prime Minister Joseph von Radowitz said excitedly: "No, Poland will not become a climate at all, even if we give up the general Poland and let them become an independent state, they will not be able to stop the Russian troops.
On the contrary, doing so will anger the Russians. They will attack us together with Austria and France. It is impossible for the Kingdom of Prussia to win this war! "
The new foreign secretary, Alpha, said with disdain: "Prime Minister, don't be so alarmist, at most you are fighting the Russians.
The French are fighting fiercely. The parliament supported by the president opposes the bill passed by the parliament, and the president vetoes the bill passed by the parliament. How can they participate in this war
Austria is supporting us this time. Even if the Austrian government has ulterior motives, the Austrian people are our staunch allies.
If the Austrian government dared to join forces with the Russians to attack us, the revolution would break out in the country before the operation began, and they would not be able to take the risk. "
After a pause, he instigated again: "The Russian Empire is already rotten, and this great empire can be destroyed with a stab. Since it stands on the opposite side of us, why not stab him
As long as we stand up this time, all the people in the German region will become our loyal supporters, and the great cause of unifying Germany will be accomplished in our hands. "
It is a pity that the top level of the Prussian government is not in the middle school. The Russian Empire is rotten, but this rotten empire is not something that Prussia can challenge.
The power of allies? Don't make fun of it, it's okay to fool the second-year junior high school boy, where did Prussia come from as an ally
Many German states are watching the fun and don’t think it’s a big deal, and the slogans shouting are earth-shattering. If it really matches Russia, it will be another explanation.
If you analyze it carefully, you will find that the so-called defense of the territorial integrity of the German Commonwealth does not include parts of Universal Poland and East Prussia.
This is a dazzling giant pit. Once you jump into the Kingdom of Prussia, you will be due to the Russians. Of course, there is still support, but there are many countries that see the Russians unhappy.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Holder said coldly: "Mr. Alpha, unless all German states declare war on the Russians at the same time, it is impossible for us alone to win this war.
Maybe you haven’t noticed, for the Pudan War, we spent the last gold coin in the treasury ourselves. As early as half a year ago, government officials could not receive full salaries, and in the last three months, not even a penny. Did not send.
In the case of national mobilization, our strategic materials can support up to half a month of combat time. Unless our army can win the war within half a month, there is no need to launch this war. "
Lack of money is one of the biggest problems. The Pudan War broke out in March last year. There was a truce in the middle, but the armies of the two countries were still in confrontation.
The finances of the Kingdom of Prussia are perennial deficits, in order to support the war, they have tried every means to raise military spending.
There is really no way to do it now. International loans cannot be borrowed, and government-issued bonds are ignored in the financial market. In order to support the war, the domestic people have made donations many times, and they have also spent their money.
Even in order to raise money, they did not hesitate to put down their face and ask the people of the German region for help. They got a lot of money, but the problem is that when the Prussian government is in the hands, there is not much left.
No money is only one aspect, and there is really no way to win. In the era of platooning guns, crowd tactics are one of the most effective tactics.
The border between Prussia and Russia is safe. Once the war broke out and the main force of the Prussian army was dragged down, the Cossack cavalry killed the hinterland of the Kingdom of Prussia, and they would be cold.
"The Russians intervened, and the Pudan War could not go on. At this time, the most important thing was to find a way to persuade the people in the country to explain the predicament we are facing to the people, so that they can understand the difficulties of the government.
This issue was resolved by the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dispatched and communicated with the Russians, restarted negotiations with the Kingdom of Denmark, and invited Austria to join in mediating the war.
As a sign of our sincerity, the Kingdom of Prussia will lift the national mobilization as soon as negotiations begin. ” Frederick William IV said calmly.
…
On December 23, 1849, under the armed mediation of the Russians, the Prussian government announced that it would accept the Russians' proposal, restart the Purdan negotiations, and at the same time lift the national mobilization.
As soon as the news came out, the German region was in a frenzy, anti-Russian sentiment among the people began to rise, and the Prussian government became disappointed.
When the Kingdom of Prussia was mobilizing across the country, everyone was very moved. There were not a few people who donated money and materials. Now the Prussian government is suddenly cowardly. Isn't this a waste of everyone's feelings
The Prussian government is cowardly, but what should the Schleswig-Holstein duchies do? In the eyes of the public, this is a matter of principle and cannot be given up.
Everyone's eyes turned to Vienna. As the boss of the German state, the Austrian government must show a clear attitude at this time.
Metternich is a diplomatic veteran, how could he jump in and help Prussia top the tank
On Christmas Day, the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced: “The Austrian government will convene a federal session in the near future, and a delegation from the Bundestag will be involved in the negotiations.
Prior to this, the Austrian government hoped that the Kingdom of Prussia could assume the responsibility of a great power and defend the two duchies of Schleswig-Holstein. "
At this time, everyone remembered that it seems that there is still a federal parliament in the German region.
However, for the Prussian government, the emergence of the Federal Parliament at this time is to cause trouble for them.
Of course, it is impossible to compromise in the Federal Parliament, and everyone wants to save face.
Even if the Federal Parliament decides to declare war with the Russians, it is only a matter of Austria and Prussia. The countries in the rear cannot reach them. What are they afraid of
Don't even think about getting the Federal Parliament to agree to give up the duchy of Schleswig-Holstein.
If Prussia renounced the duchies of Schleswig-Holstein, all the responsibility would fall on them.
At this time, there were already rumors that the Prussian government used everyone's patriotic enthusiasm to provoke this war in order to divert domestic conflicts. Public opinion was very unfavorable to the Prussian government.
On Christmas Day in 1849, the people of the whole German region had a bad time. The newspapers were full of news of the Pudan War, and the festive atmosphere was diluted.
In order to express his dissatisfaction with the retreat of the Prussian government, Franz ordered the cancellation of Christmas celebrations, court banquets, and government celebrations.
The attitude of the Russians was very tough. Within a month, the border between the two countries was not restored to the pre-war level, and the Tsar's army was about to enter the Kingdom of Prussia, which directly ruined the possibility of the Prussian government making a fortune.
The Prussian government is not a fool either. It knows that the longer this kind of thing drags on, it will be troublesome. Before the negotiations have started, the Prussian army has already begun to withdraw its troops from Jutland.
One of the factors is that there is no money. The hundreds of thousands of troops have penetrated into the enemy's territory. This logistical pressure is not small. Anyway, they have decided to give in. It is better to return early to save money.
…
Vienna Schönbrunn Palace
Franz was in a very bad mood. The Prussian government was cowardly too fast, and it was impossible to use the negotiation to delay time.
He finally understood now why so many people were caught embezzling public funds. There were too many accidents and it was difficult to control them effectively.
Investing in the food processing industry, the factory has just been established, if you want to make money, you must at least wait for the factory to run, right
The mines invested are not much better, the time is too short, and basically no effective development has been carried out.
The only mining going on is the sand and gravel mine, but the construction of the railway has just begun, and the profits are good, but unfortunately this is only a drop in the bucket.
The total savings of the Royal Bank has reached 2.7689 million rupiah, and the bank's monthly administrative expenses are 18,000 rupiah, which must be deducted, and a part of the funds must be reserved for the bank's operation, and there is not much money to fill the hole.
In theory, 3 million dong will be turned into bank deposits. In fact, this is also an unknown number, and Franz dare not take this limit.
By the end of the year, the assets of the Habsburg family will be quite large, but it is easy to cause internal conflicts if they recklessly misappropriate them to fill their own holes.
In fact, these industries already have a mature management mechanism. In addition to supervising operations, Franz just takes his share every year.
Since his uncle is still alive, he, the patriarch of the Habsburg family, can naturally get a huge discount, and only 300,000 rupiah of profits will be distributed.
If it weren't for the end of the year, the royal annuity would come down, and Franz really didn't know how to fill this hole, so he couldn't have the cheek to borrow money
Or withhold donations from the government? I believe that the Ministry of Finance would not be so contemptuous, running over to urge His Majesty the Emperor to pay back the money.
Since the royal annuity was to be used to fill the hole, the Vienna court naturally had to cut unnecessary expenses, and the reduction of court banquets was one of them. The Prussian affair only provided him with an excuse.
Franz sent someone to accurately calculate that the annual expenses of various banquets in the Austrian court would not be less than 500,000 dongs, and a million dongs would not be enough if they were extravagant.
"Your Majesty, the Purdun War is about to end. For the credit of the bank, we are going to return the donation." John Stewart reminded
For a bank, the most important thing is credibility. For the credit of Royal Bank, Franz even gave up the opportunity to embezzle huge donations.
Otherwise, the donations that entered the Royal Bank would have been lost for a long time. Directly insisted that all were handed over to the Prussian government, and it became a headless koan.
Franz thought for a while and said: "Hold a press conference to explain what happened, and invite Prussian representatives and notaries to the scene to check the accounts.
Announcement to the public: If the negotiation goes well, the unused portion of the donation will be refunded after the end, and everyone should bring the receipt issued by the bank and refund the same proportion to the business office of the original donation.
This year's royal annuity will be directly deposited into the Royal Bank, and the dividends of royal assets will also be put into the bank, so the funding gap is not a problem.
Also, settle the previous matters as soon as possible, and complete the commercial loan procedures, so as not to leave any clues. "
"Yes, Your Majesty," John Stewart replied
As long as you have money, many problems are easy to deal with, the capital hole is filled, and the loan procedures are filled, and the matter is over.
After such a wave of operations was completed, Franz’s misappropriation of donations became a legal commercial loan from the bank. The money that was invested in the first place was simply laundered.