Chapter 736: It’s not money, it’s life.

  Chapter 719: It’s Not Money, It’s Life

The indulgence of the Vienna government undoubtedly fueled the flames of the North Germanist elements, and although the state governments did not take a stand, the civic outcry was on the rise.

For the smooth implementation of the plan, Kaiser George I also privately declared that the establishment of the North German Empire was a key step in the process of German unification.

On the surface there seemed to be nothing wrong with it, and from a three-legged state to a two-legged state, it was indeed a step closer to a united Germany.

Only when you think about it, there is a much bigger problem here. If the German-Prussian merger was considered the North German Empire, then the new Holy Roman Empire created by Franz became the South German Empire.

The question of who would unify whom further down the line would be a matter for discussion.

George I wanted to unify South Germany with North Germany?

Well, that’s something that probably wouldn’t be believed by anyone in their right mind.

If the Prussian-Polish Confederation at its peak had merged with Germany, there might have been a chance. The prerequisite for that slim chance would have been a collective siege of Austria by the nations of Europe.

At this point, that last chance is gone. The combined national power of the devastated Kingdom of Prussia is still no match for that of Bavaria, plus the Comedy Empire is at best comparable to the power of a few states within the Shinra.

The strength is not good internal problems a bunch of, not to mention the light army are not stroked. Each state’s army is independent, the central government does not have the right to command.

If this is not enough, more critical is that the vast majority of states, including Hanover, and Austria have a joint defense treaty.

Mainly against the French, but also against the Russians. According to the treaty, in the event of a foreign invasion, a coalition army would be formed with Austria at the center.

This was Metternich’s contribution, the international environment at that time was completely different from now, everyone was just worried about the French-Russian threat, and at that time Austria was still harmless, so they got on board with joy.

Now the treaty became a double-edged sword, protecting the security of the German Confederation while restraining the German central government from collecting the military power of the states.

The Vienna government can even pull everyone together for joint maneuvers, but the German central government can’t, they don’t have that power, and the state governments don’t have the righteousness to cooperate.

In order to unify the military and political problems in the country, George I repeatedly negotiated with the state governments, but all to no avail.

In the absence of external threats, no one is willing to give up the power in their hands. The insignificant joint defense treaty in the beginning had become one of the legal bases for the states to independently own their armies.

After many failures, George I had despaired. He was about to give up, yet at this time, the British also gave him new hope.

The establishment of the North German Empire was another round of political reshuffling. The original biggest rival, the Kingdom of Prussia, was already disqualified by the war to compete for the leadership of the empire.

Even for financial reasons, the Berlin government had to make a series of concessions in exchange for financial assistance from the central government.

This included the right to command the army, and there was nothing wrong with that, the Berlin government was not prepared to ask for the army.

It wasn’t that Wilhelm I didn’t want the army, the problem was that it really couldn’t afford to keep it now, and the Berlin government couldn’t even afford to pay out pensions at this time.

Taking an army that could not be raised in the first place, in exchange for financial assistance, is not a bad idea in any way.

Unlike Austria, Hanover was limited in size, and if the two armies were to merge, the Junker nobility, with its rich combat experience, would easily take the upper hand.

This is also William I’s military appeasement, through the exchange of benefits to ensure that the pension can be normally paid, the loss of part of the power is always easier to accept than to let everyone go back to farming, can be said to be the needs of each.

The concessions were not only military, but also financial. The Berlin government proposed that as long as Hanover was willing to take over the debt, all the revenue of the Kingdom of Prussia could be turned over to the central government for distribution.

Undoubtedly, this unreasonable demand was rightly rejected by George I. He was a greedy man. Is he a greedy person who wants the revenue of the state, he can’t ask for it!

Unlike the financial and military generosity, when it came to the territory, the Berlin government became petty, and the two sides were slow to reach an agreement.

……

Hanover Palace, George I angrily threw away the hands of the document, angrily cursed: “Damn Prussian barbarians, really think that we and they are the same, are all head a sinewy reckless it!

Just want to take the benefits, but refused to pay the price, the world where there is such a good thing?

All day long they just think about calculating, treating others as fools, not wanting to be German at all.

It seems that after spending so much time with the Poles, they’ve forgotten who they are and thrown away all our fine traditions.

……”

Although he did not know why George I was able to connect the words “headstrong” and the latter “calculating”, Prime Minister Philip still cooperated and said: “Your Majesty, don’t worry. The harsh reality will make the Prussian barbarians realize.

Right now they are still indulging in their past glories and have not realized their situation. When the Vienna Peace Conference is over, they will know what to choose.”

Frankly, George I was not wrong to scold. The Berlin government appeared to be making major concessions, but in reality it was all an exchange of favors.

If they wanted to take away the financial power, they had to take on the debt they left behind; if they wanted to take away the command of the army, they had to pay out money to pay them casualty pensions.

Debt is never to be touched, and if George I really dared to take it over in the name of the central government, the Reichstag wouldn’t mind changing the emperor along the way while vetoing it.

The army behind can still be negotiated, the Berlin government has already paid a lot of pensions, the rest of the part is also behind the need to pay in annual installments.

In this aspect of soldiers’ pensions, no country in the world dared to say that it could do better than the Kingdom of Prussia.

No matter how tight the finances were, Wilhelm I did not pay any attention to it. Even if there were occasional arrears, they were quickly made up.

Pensions also accounted for an important share of the Berlin government’s huge military expenditures.

George I looked a little softer: “Let us hope so! We cannot afford to make any concessions in this matter.

Although we do not know what price the Kingdom of Prussia will have to pay at the Congress of Vienna, it is absolutely possible to preserve the traditional territories of the German region.

This remaining territory, too, far exceeds Hanover. Without weakening the Kingdom of Prussia, we will not be able to retain dominance even if the North German Empire is established.

Taking the two duchies of Schleswig-Holstein and the territories west of the Elbe is our minimum requirement and the basis for being able to suppress Prussia in the future.

The Foreign Office continues to do the work of the government in London, they came up with the plan, now we need to get their support.”

Schleswig – the two duchies of Holstein + Prussia’s territory west of the Elbe actually exceeded the Kingdom of Hanover in terms of territory alone.

Of course, the Kingdom of Hanover had a more prosperous economy and a larger population. We all have the same cultural traditions and can still swallow this piece of fat meat.

The local people were even glad that they could avoid the huge post-war debts and the high taxes because they were separated from Prussia.

After digesting this piece of fat meat, together with the Rhineland region controlled by the Reichstag, the central government after the merger of Prussia and Germany possessed the strength to suppress the Kingdom of Prussia, and had an absolute advantage over other states.

Against this background, as long as the Kingdom of Prussia made concessions on military and political issues, the other small states would not be able to hold out for long.

The rest could only be grinded by time. Theoretically, after another 20 to 30 years, the North German Empire could be basically integrated by political means and cross into the ranks of the Great Powers.

If not this piece of cake is too tempting, no wonder George I not moved. Who would want to be a little brother to someone if he could stand on his own two feet?

Although the chances of failure were somewhat high, compared to joining the Shinra Empire, it was clear that the latter was more risky.

There was no way around it, when Austria unified the German region, it was when the Great War broke out in Europe. With enemies all over the world, George I had no confidence in Austria.

Instead of leaving its fate in the hands of others, it would be better for it to be mastered by itself.

Dare to jump out so early to participate in the Anglo-Austrian game, George I naturally ready to retreat. Now stand with the British, that is because with the British can get more benefits.

Failure is also no harm, the special system of the Shen Luo Empire decided, as long as it is not playing too high, pick Vienna government will not cut off all the people.

Successful, to create the foundation of the empire; failure, the big deal is to give up the throne, the Hanoverian throne can always be retained.

As long as there is no war on the battlefield, Austria has no reason to abolish his throne, the most serious consequence is to let him abdicate, the descendants continue to serve as king.

Low-risk, high-yield business is always fascinating.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” The Foreign Minister replied

“Your Majesty, although our financial income is not low, our expenses are also high, and we don’t have much money that can be used to buy land.

When negotiating, we must control the transaction price and not exceed the market price by too much.” Finance Minister Gomez Farias warned

“The market price is, in fact, what is happening now is that there is a market without a price. Not just now, I should say most of the time. Colonial deals don’t count, and few European countries are willing to sell their territories if they don’t have to.

The valuation of land is not high these days, but as long as the territory is in the European region, regardless of the value, the price will not be cheap.

The price of international territorial transactions can only be used as a reference basis. The specific price should be determined according to the needs of both parties, taking into account various factors.

The Russians sold Alaska, which was millions of square kilometers in area, for only a few million divine guilders, while the Kingdom of Prussia sold the Rhineland region, which was only tens of thousands of square kilometers in front of it, for as much as hundreds of millions of divine guilders.

A similar case is the case of the territorial transactions of the Prussian Saxony region. Even in times of war, it was sold for tens of millions of divine guilders.

George I waved his hand, ”Money is not a problem, the British are happy to take this deal. The Prussian Kingdom owed them a huge debt that could turn into a bad debt at any time, and the bankers were already in a hurry.

Now the Prussians are most short of money, in other aspects they may make concessions, but only in the “money” issue can not be negotiated.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will do its best, as long as the final price of the transaction, not more than the previous Rhineland, we can accept.”

I have to admit that George I in grasping the hearts and minds of people, judgment is still very accurate.

The British are indeed very worried that the Berlin government is finished, and the loans they put out become bad debts, this time Hanover is willing to take a chance, even if there is no collateral they dare to lend.

To put it bluntly, it’s a matter of left hand to right hand. Hanover loan is to buy land, Berlin government got the money and have to take it over to pay back the British.

In essence, John Bull does not need to take a penny out of the account on the scratch to complete the two business, by the way, but also reduce their own business risks.

Hanover’s financial situation is good, the government is almost no debt, lending money to them is certainly more reliable than lending money to Prussia, which is about to go bankrupt at any time.

The worse the finances are, the more the government values money. For the present Berlin government, money is no longer simply money, it is also their life.

Without enough money, they would collapse themselves next.

(End of chapter)