Chapter 440: The King Who Had a Hard Time Delivering
Chapter 430 The Difficult King
Without Austria to create obstacles, the London Peace Conference went in the favor of the Kingdom of Prussia. on September 1, 1867, Prussia and Denmark signed an armistice treaty.
There was no way to cede the land, both duchies of Schleswig-Holstein were eaten into Prussia’s stomach, naturally it was impossible to spit them out.
There was no need to think about reparations, and the Kingdom of Denmark had a new backstage – the Nordic Confederation. This is still in the formation of the country, although not as strong as the Kingdom of Prussia, self-preservation is still no problem.
The Swedes did not fight for Schleswig – Holstein two duchies, mainly because of the fear that Denmark’s strength is too strong, not conducive to their control of the country.
In addition, Karl XV of Sweden wanted to annex Finland, which would have to be on the opposite side of the Russians, and then conflict with Prussia, the pressure of national defense is too great.
Even so, Sweden helped Denmark to claim a symbolic compensation payment of about 2 million guilders, taking care of the Danish sentiment.
This was small money, and the Kingdom of Prussia was no poorer than this amount of funds. In order to bag it as quickly as possible, the Berlin government readily agreed.
Because of the existence of a common enemy, the Russians, Prussia’s forthcoming Nordic Confederation would have a lot in common. If it had not been for the purpose of drawing Denmark into the fold, the Swedish government would have fallen on the Russians long ago.
In this respect, the business of Prussia giving up the Jutland Peninsula for an ally was still a good deal.
The Russian Empire was so thick at the bottom that even weakened, no one still dared to despise them.
If they continued to decline, it was only a matter of time, but if the Russians became powerful again, the Kingdom of Prussia would again bear the brunt of it.
It was necessary to save for a rainy day, and with the addition of the Nordic Confederation in the north to restrain the Russians, the pressure on Prussia would be much less.
For this reason, the Kingdom of Prussia did not even ask for the Skagerrak (Strait of Jutland).
Of course, Prussia’s pocket-sized navy was one of the reasons that prompted the Berlin government to give up. With their current naval strength, it would be of little use to occupy it.
……
On September 26, 1867, an armistice was signed between Prussia, Poland and Russia.
This time the Russians were hemorrhaging money, recognition of Polish independence was inevitable, and the Tsarist government was forced to accept nearly all the territorial claims of Prussia and Poland.
The Polish region became independent, the Lithuanian region was lost, the Latvian region was abandoned, the Belarusian region was not saved, and a piece of Ukraine was cut off.
This was beyond the scope of Russian Poland, the loss of territory totaling nearly 790,000 square kilometers, the loss of a total population of up to 20 million people, the total amount of industry at once nearly three levels less.
At the end of the 18th century, when Poland was divided between Prussia, Russia and Austria, the Russians got the largest share of about 460,000 square kilometers, and at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 they were compensated with part of the territory of Prussian Poland. (Warsaw area)
Together, these territories amounted to less than 600,000 square kilometers, and now that they had been compensated with interest, it was enough to make Alexander II feel bad for a long time.
Having made concessions on the cession, the Tsar’s government naturally would not pay the reparations. Prussia and Poland wanted to rely on war reparations to get through the financial crisis, this time is considered to be the wrong calculation.
The money of the Tsar’s government had to be used to suppress the rebellion, and Alexander II did not dare to relax his vigilance in this regard.
The threat posed by Prussia and Poland was only a minor ailment, similar to a cold or flu; while the threat posed by the rebels was a cancer, although it was still early, and would kill if not treated in time.
The lesser of two evils, naturally, had to compromise with Prussia and Poland first. The land is not going to run away, even if it is ceded out, when they get well they can get it back just the same.
Money is not the same, no money in the hand there is no way to suppress the rebellion, do not take out the chaos party tsarist government rule will be threatened.
According to the provisions of the treaty: the Kingdom of Prussia will get the Lithuanian region, Latvian region, most of Belarus, a total area of up to 286,000 square kilometers, the total population of about 4.7 million or so.
Poland, on the other hand, was to receive the remaining areas, totaling about 504,000 square kilometers, including the Warsaw region, the core of Poland, parts of Belarus, and most of Western Ukraine, with the border line extending to the Kiev region.
Apparently the Russians lost a lot this time, even the Smolensk region, which is only 360 kilometers from Moscow.
It was occupied by the Poles in 1611, and in the negotiations it was considered old Polish territory and included in the Belarusian region.
It was not the weakness of the Tsarist government, but the fact that it was physically occupied by the enemy created an established fact. There was no way to get it back unless force was used.
Most of the land ceded was in areas under the actual control of the enemy, and through negotiations they recovered quite a bit of territory, and in the Winter War the Russians lost too much ground to the enemy, causing them to have no ground to stand on in the negotiations.
The newly independent Kingdom of Poland inherited the legacy left by Russia and jumped to become a newly rising European power with a total population of more than 15 million, about the same as the pre-war Kingdom of Prussia.
Although the industry was not good, the agricultural base was still good. The land is basically a plain area, and it is not a problem to make a living by farming.
However, this did not satisfy the provisional government. In the age of the sea, without access to the sea how can we call ourselves a great nation?
Well, having just gained independence, the Poles were already dreaming of being a great power.
Theoretically, Poland still had the basis to rise. The total population is not high, but they have a high birth rate.
The industrial scale is small, but the Russians still left a lot of important industrial systems, and consolidation could save a lot of time.
Native resources were abundant, and could fulfill the needs of the early stages of the Industrial Revolution. Certain minerals are also abundant, for example: silver reserves are plentiful, so there is no need to worry about currency.
There is also an abundance of food, which can be exported for foreign exchange to develop the domestic economy.
This is only in theory, but in practice the biggest problem is the lack of “talent”. Don’t count on the intellectuals left behind by the Czarist government, who basically embarked on the path of revolution and were ready to make their mark in politics.
Many intellectuals are just spouting off about the sky, the earth and the universe, but their practical ability has not been cultivated.
Of course, there are occasional exceptions, but too few. The second industrial revolution has begun, and what a country needs is a large number of knowledgeable and skilled engineers.
In terms of the quality of the population, the German region currently has the upper hand. The countries that have now completed compulsory education are concentrated in the German region.
England and France do not have universal compulsory education, let alone other countries. Reading is the monopoly of the rich, and church schools occasionally teach the common people, but this is far from enough.
Having only just gained their independence, the Poles had not yet drifted. Despite the fact that they were not happy with Prussia because of the issue of access to the sea, the two sides did not tear each other apart.
The Kingdom of Poland still lacked a king, and everyone was still worried about the issue of the king.
According to the Polish tradition, it must be to look for a king outside, the German region of several major king professionals are alternative.
There are so many issues to consider, as well as the diplomatic games of various countries, the Polish parliament is currently in the middle of a heated argument, the king of Poland may be difficult to produce.
Currently the clear plus for the throne is King Wilhelm I of Prussia, and once Poland and Prussia share a king, a Prussian-Polish merger becomes possible.
In theory, it is in the interests of both Prussia and Poland to form a federal empire. They faced a common threat – Russia and Austria.
These two enemies were too powerful for them to fight alone, and only by joining forces could they stand a chance against them.
Obviously, this is only theoretical. Who will be the boss is a headache, and Poland’s glorious history has been the biggest obstacle to this alliance.
Before the Russian threat disappeared, the Polish Provisional Government needed the help of the Prussians and almost compromised with the Berlin government, however the international environment at the time did not allow it.
France and Austria did not want to see a Prussian-Polish merger and gave a stern warning. At the critical time of the war, the Berlin government did not dare to offend France and Austria, and the plan came to an end.
It was all very reluctant at the time, and now that the real threat no longer existed, the Poles were even more reluctant to be little brothers.
Of course the call for the union of the two countries had been very high, and the support for the installation of Wilhelm I as King of Poland was still not low in the Polish parliament.
However this candidate with the highest support was kicked out from the start.
It was also strongly opposed by France, Austria and Russia, and even if the Polish Parliament had voted unanimously in favor of it, William I would not have dared to sit as this king.
If it was a merger of the two countries, William I would have dared to take the risk of trying it. Just the co-ruler was to be jointly opposed by the three major powers, William I was still very wimpy.
It was not only his problem, but also the Polish Parliament. Faced with the intervention of the Great Powers, they did not dare to vote.
Of course, the Berlin government hadn’t completely given up yet, and a lot of the reason for the endless disputes in the Polish parliament now was caused by them.
This time the Prussian-Polish joint anti-Russian war, the Kingdom of Prussia also completed the infiltration of Poland in the process, now there are more than eight layers of officers and soldiers in the Polish army, are trained by Prussian instructors.
The pro-Prussian forces in Poland were also very strong, and although people did not want to be Prussia’s little brother, it was not the same as people rejecting William I to become the King of Poland.
Having such a great advantage, it was natural for the Prussians to fight for it. It was not their style to admit defeat without even trying.
International opposition was strong, mainly against France and Austria. The attitude of the Russian Empire can now be pretty much ignored, and until they end the civil war, there is no effort to interfere with who gets the Polish throne.
The British have no clear support or opposition and can be considered neutral. There are a whole bunch of small European countries, most of which are in opposition, but their opinions don’t matter.
Getting the Polish throne was crucial to Prussia’s annexation of Poland. If they couldn’t get it, they preferred to leave the Polish throne vacant for a while.
(End of chapter)