Chapter 351: Dream of a Great Nation
Chapter 341 The Dream of a Great Nation
The bad day is not only William I, more tragic is the German Federal Empire Emperor George I, this is really bad.
Because he is the British support him to the throne, itself and the identity of the British Duke of Cumberland, but also by the folk theater: Cumberland I. The British people are not only the British, but also the Duke of Cumberland, the Duke of Cumberland, the Duke of Cumberland.
From the beginning of George I’s throne is not stable, the following a bunch of large and small vassals, simply do not care about him. Even with the support of the British, he could not do anything about these vassals.
The elected emperor had as much power as the Holy Roman Emperor in the Middle Ages. Apart from being a nominal co-ruler, he probably had only the right to preside over the Federal Assembly.
That was even if he was able to govern Hanover anyway. George I did not expect the following states to obey him.
As a buffer between the great powers, the German Federal Reich was safe as long as the situation in Europe was not broken.
What bothered him most was the low popularity of the monarchs. Many people called the Bundesrepublik Deutschland the “Comedy Reich”, and regarded the empire imposed on them by all the countries as a disgrace.
After all these years and all the efforts made by George I, nothing had changed.
The people didn’t even recognize the empire, and naturally they didn’t recognize him as emperor.
The states within the empire feared that George I would learn from Franz and use the pressure of civil opinion to collect the power in their hands, and they all tacitly suppressed his popularity.
George I was very wronged, but he did not do anything, he was scolded by the public, so that the rule of Hanover is not so stable.
If he knew that being this emperor had such serious after-effects, he would rather not have this crown.
Now it’s too late, he had already become a laughing stock, and if he abdicates again, the family reputation will be all riding on it.
In order to salvage the reputation, these years George I also in the inspirational governance, the Hanover governance is still very good.
Unfortunately, there was no way to compare. The new Holy Roman Empire is also in the ascendancy these years, every now and then out to brush the existence of the two comparisons of his achievements will be ignored.
In the end, Hanover is only a small country, the governance is good, but only economic achievements, politically he can not satisfy the desire of the people of the big country.
Even if the integration of the German Federal Empire, it is only a medium-sized country with a population of more than ten million, the dream of a great power is really dreaming.
Of course, George I’s goal is not so high, can integrate a bunch of domestic small states, the German Federal Empire into a medium power, like next door to the Kingdom of Prussia, he will be satisfied.
It was very difficult to achieve this, Europe was a society of legalism. Aristocrats and capitalists relied on the law to defend their interests, and an existence that broke the rules would be ostracized by everyone.
This eliminates the way of George I to solve the domestic state by force, even if the Kingdom of Hanover has this child strength, he did not dare to take action by force.
He did not really want to participate in the Vienna government’s invitation to colonize the South Seas. George I but have the background, as the British Empire on the European continent pawn, to open up colonies is not necessary to follow the Austrian mix.
The power of the British was not unlimited, so they became picky eaters. Places with low economic value and not much strategic value, John Bull has long disdained.
All of these areas can be divided to the little brother, you can refer to the Netherlands, Portugal, just share a part of the territory that John Bull is not interested in.
Unfortunately, the German Federal Reich was not at the behest of George I. Numerous states and free cities within the country were interested in opening up overseas colonies in the South Seas region.
“Paul, do you think it’s necessary for us to go through that muddy water in the South Seas region again?”
As George I’s chief of staff, Paul pondered for a while before answering, “Your Majesty, it depends on what you want.
The Vienna government is using a Yang strategy, by now, the world’s fertile land has basically been divided up, such as the South Seas region of the rich land, there are too few unowned.
While the Austrians are certainly trying to bring together domestic interests in preparation for the unification of the German region, this is equally an opportunity for us.
Although the number of domestic states is large, but their strength is very limited, to open up overseas colonies everyone can only embrace the warmth.
To open up colonies you can’t do it without a navy, and with everyone joining together to form a navy, we have a good chance of dominating as the central government.”
George I was moved, can control the navy then the central government is no longer a name, he the emperor also got rid of the rubber stamp of the dilemma.
If in overseas colonization activities can get a huge return, his emperor’s reputation will certainly rise dramatically.
Regardless of whether or not he could integrate the empire in the end, he would at least not have to be scolded every day. Obviously splitting the German region, everyone had a part to play, why should he take the blame alone?
If the states were determined to merge with Austria, even Britain and France could not stop them.
George I said with some hesitation, “I’m afraid this won’t be easy, even if we succeed in opening up the colonies, the distribution of the benefits in the back will be a trouble.”
Paul said with confidence, “Your Majesty, there is trouble before there is opportunity. When the states create conflicts, only then will they not join hands to work against you.
Only by dividing and disintegrating the alliance of the states will you be able to truly control this empire.”
The word “empire” always sounded harsh in George I’s mind, but as an emperor, he was still eager to be in power.
As for the threat of Austria, the two men did not mention it from the beginning to the end. Unlike William I, George I never expected to confront Austria by force.
The German Federal Empire was originally a country in need, its own strength is limited, the best way to survive is to act as a buffer between the big powers. As long as the European continent was not dominated by a single power, they were safe.
Under this philosophy, the armament of the Kingdom of Hanover barely developed, but the economy instead came to the forefront of Europe, and the Kingdom of Prussia became a set of stark contrasts.
……
Vienna Palace
Foreign Minister Weissenberg said, “Your Majesty, both Prussia and the German Confederation have accepted our invitation and can begin the next step of our program.”
Hearing this news, Franz directly took out a pair of maps of the South Seas region, on which the spheres of influence of each country were clearly labeled.
“What do you guys think is suitable for them?”
Since it was a bait, naturally it couldn’t be without oil and water. Otherwise the ambitions that people had managed to drum up would just fold away.
As long as the first colony was earned, there would be no need for Franz to continue interfering later, and under the effect of profit, they would go further and further down the colonization path.
Foreign Minister Weissenberg proposed, “Your Majesty, letting the German Confederation colonize Malaysia, and letting the Kingdom of Prussia colonize Sumatra or the Central and Southern Peninsula, should be good choices.”
There is no doubt that this arrangement also has deep meaning. Don’t look at the fact that these regions are still unclaimed, in fact, the British have already set their eyes on Malaysia, only that they don’t have the effort to eat it at the moment.
If Austria occupies Malaysia, it threatens the security of Singapore, for the sake of the Malacca Straits John Bull will certainly not agree, change the German Federal Empire is different.
Small countries have no threat, while still the British little brother. John Bull has a high probability of letting it go, after all, they have too many colonies, really can not take care of.
Even if Britain interfered, Austria would have nothing to lose. Instead, they could use the conflict to alienate the British from the German Federal Empire.
Having the Prussians pick Sumatra or the Central South Peninsula served the same political purpose.
The former the Dutch were already eyeing, as early as a decade ago the British and Dutch made an agreement that Sumatra would go to the Dutch, as compensation for them giving up the Malacca Strait.
Once the Prussians grabbed Sumatra, the Prussian-Dutch relationship was definitely over. For the sake of Sumatra, the Dutch had already launched several wars and had occupied part of the island’s territory.
The Central and Southern Peninsula seemed to be unoccupied, but in fact the French were already eyeing it, although the Parisian government was now too busy annexing the Kingdom of Sardinia to take action yet.
Once the Prussians entered the south-central peninsula, they planted another nail in the coffin of future Franco-Prussian conflict. Unless the Prussians opened up and could claim all of the Central South Peninsula before the French made their move.
Franz nodded with satisfaction, then asked, “The bait is well placed, but they can see these problems, so how can we get them to fall for it?”
Foreign Minister Weissenberg explained, “Your Majesty, this is supposed to be a phallic plot. There are British and French tentacles all over the world, so we can’t let everyone give up just because they might be interested, right?
Now that Britain and France are busy, it’s a good opportunity to make a move. As long as we do a good job of keeping it a secret, when they find out it has created an established fact.
Interest moves people, we can arrange for someone to advocate for it, letting them know that it’s a risk they have to take for overseas colonization.”
Franz nodded in agreement.
Overseas colonies of various countries are often in conflict with each other, for example: the Anglo-Portuguese South Africa conflict, the Anglo-French Dutch South Seas conflict, the Anglo-French Australia conflict, the Anglo-French Austrian West Africa conflict ……
There are a whole lot of ready-made examples, and in these conflicts, the one who wins in the end is not necessarily the powerful country, at least the one who dominates the South Ocean area is the Dutch.
Besides, it’s not like these conflicts were going to break out anytime soon. The French were still making their final push to annex the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the British were plotting to split the United States.
Only when they were done would they have the energy to consider the South Seas region. This long period of time was long enough for Prussia and the German Confederation to open their first colonies.
After eating the first piece of meat, the capitalists and aristocrats who gained profits would push the two countries to run wildly on the road to colonial empire.
However, they would soon realize that the world had already been pretty much carved up, and all that was left were the leftovers.
They didn’t have the strength to seize these leftovers. Under the stimulation of interests, the dream of a great power will once again become the mainstream of society.
(End of chapter)