Chapter 875: The Rise and Fall of the Mighty
Chapter 858: Heating Up
Berlin University, since the defeat of the Russo-Prussian War, it had become the cradle of German nationalism, with all kinds of radical ideas coming out.
Because of the failure of the war, the Kingdom of Prussia was burdened with a huge debt, in order to pay off the huge debt, the Prussian government has long been pressurized, there is no money to develop the economy.
The people’s stressful life and high dissatisfaction with society naturally intensified the spread of ideas.
After joining the German Confederation, the Prussian economy was slightly improved with the economic help from the central government.
However, this was now all over. With the signing of the treaty on the export of coal to France, the era of the German Confederation’s profiteering from the high price of coal came to an end, and the central government’s revenues were greatly reduced.
Without this income, and with the states unwilling to pay taxes to the central government, the central government itself was in a situation where it could not make ends meet, and naturally could not afford to help the Kingdom of Prussia.
Against this background, apart from the coal-rich Rhineland, it was the Kingdom of Prussia that reacted most violently.
From the very beginning, the Prussian government had firmly resisted the negotiation with France, but they were not the most powerful people in the Federation.
The fact that they were able to enter the Reichstag was the result of many years of diplomatic efforts, and they had no decision-making power at all.
The Berlin government could only passively accept the situation. The government accepted the reality, but the civil society could not help it.
As in all regions of the German Federation, anti-French marches broke out in varying scales.
At the University of Berlin, a group of young students were having a heated discussion, and it was clear that they were planning a boycott of the French.
……
A young student walked up to the podium: “Gentlemen, the demonstrations that are taking place now are not half as effective as they should be; the French are simply invisible, and the weak government doesn’t dare to fight the French.
If we want to change all this, we have to take more active measures to let the damn Frenchies know that we are not easy to bully.”
The anti-French demonstrations were working, and newspapers and magazines in the country, stopped the entertainment news to support the patriotic movement organized by the students.
Workers, the middle class, capitalists, and even public officials of the government joined the demonstrations.
In certain small states, the monarchs came out to join in the fun and appeared in the demonstration crowds.
The influence was sufficient, but unfortunately not very effective; the French did not choose to compromise, and the German federal government did not dare to tear up the treaty.
“Fritz, what is more aggressive action?
Is it the siege of the French Legation?
It’s no use, the corrupt central government has long since sent troops to blockade the embassy area, we can’t even get in!
Petitioning the government is even more useless.
The Berlin government has always been against compromise with the French, and in fact all the states except Hanover are not in favor of compromise with the French.”
As a state government, of course you have to oppose something like this that is going to get a bad rap.
With the exception of Hanover, the central government, which couldn’t hide and had to go up, everyone else hid as far as they could.
From the fact that the Reichstag did not veto this treaty, we know that compromise is the common will of many states, only the black pot let the Hanover family take the blame.
Even William II, who had just recently succeeded to the throne, issued a righteous letter of condemnation, scolding the French and the central government together.
In any case, under the system of the German Confederation, the central government could not do anything about the monarchs of the states, so it was just as well to scold them.
Prussia’s willingness to cooperate with the central government before was to obtain economic assistance, which was also the condition for Prussia to agree to form a two-court empire with Hanover.
Now the promised assistance is gone, William II did not turn his face, only painless scold a few sentences, has been considered very give face.
Fritz shook his head: ”Of course not, the central government is too weak, Hanover colluded with Britain and France to sell out the interests of the empire, this is not something that can be solved by a petition.
The best way to change the current situation is to show the French our determination and force them to give in.
Although we have previously called on the public to refuse to buy French goods, this is still not enough. We have to do more to make the French compromise.
I have roughly calculated that the annual import and export trade between the German Confederation and France totals around 67 million Shenduan each year.
Coal exports alone account for a quarter of that amount. If the French want to plunder cheap coal, we will make it impossible for them to buy a single piece of coal.
The coal exported by the British alone is not enough for the French. As long as we can cut off trade between the two countries, we are not afraid that the French will not compromise.”
This is true, once the German Federation stops exporting coal to France, in a short period of time the French really can’t find enough replacements.
Now the main coal-producing countries in Europe are Britain, Germany, Russia and Austria, the Russians’ coal is shipped out at sky-high prices, and Austria’s coal is rarely exported to the outside world.
Although the British coal exports are large, but the sudden increase in the market gap, not a day or two can make up for it.
The amount of coal that the enlarged version of France has to consume every day is astronomical. Once there was a shortage of supply, France’s economy would immediately be in trouble.
But it’s not just the French economy that’s in bad luck, the German Confederation can’t fall in line either.
Cutting off trade between the two countries, the German Confederation would also lose a lot of money, countless businesses would go bankrupt, and millions of people could lose their jobs as a result.
Hearing this crazy plan, the rational Hans exclaimed, “Fritz, your plan is too crazy. If you do this, the French will go crazy!”
Losses and whatnot were minor issues for the nationalists.
After all, most of those who were able to enter the university were from better-off families and hadn’t yet suffered a social beating, and didn’t know how heavy the financial losses were; the focus of attention was still the reaction of the French.
Don’t look at everyone’s slogans, not afraid of the French that’s just talk, really if the French hit, everyone is still very panicked.
Fritz sneered: ”Want to defend the sovereignty of the country, and how can not take risks?
Even if the French really come over, what can be done?
His Majesty Franz has already publicly promised to protect our safety, and we all know exactly what his old man’s credibility is.
Gathering the strength of all the countries in Germany, we are not afraid of the French, and we are even stronger.
What we fear now is only the corrupt central government, who fear that the outbreak of war will lead to the unification of the German region and the loss of their power.”
Looking at the emotional crowd, Hans fell into self-doubt. It seemed like the outbreak of war was not that scary.
Although the French were strong, but the German Confederation + Austria were not weak either. The gap between the fighting strength of the armies, this is something that no one knows until it is fought.
But fundamentally, Germany and Austria together look really good. The population is 2 times that of France, the economy is 2.7 times that of France, and heavy industry is 4 times that of France ……
In fact, the North German Confederation is on par with France in both steel production and especially steel production.
Putting aside other factors, simply from these figures, people really can’t find a reason to be afraid.
Even if the French army’s combat power could explode, everyone could still pile on the numbers. The Russo-Prussian War has already proven with facts that with enough quantity, even the highest quality will be buried.
To the very beginning, Franz, the opinion of this party, was represented by everyone, tacitly agreeing that he would fight for the unification of the German region.
……
To cut off trade between the two countries was easier said than done, at least the group of students at the University of Berlin were not yet capable of accomplishing it.
A great string movement spread from Prussia to the whole German region.
Once the number of people involved became too large to keep secret, the student tandem soon appeared on the desks of the leaders of the states.
Upon receiving this news, Wilhelm II, who was at the fountainhead of the storm, was in a daze; trouble was coming.
Multiple choice is not good, the nascent students dare to gamble, does not mean that the rulers also dare to press all the body price to gamble.
Personally experienced the failure of the Russo-Prussian War, William II did not have the original time of the kind of arrogance, now the Kingdom of Prussia is not the second empire of the bullish and coaxing.
To be able to force the French to compromise without the outbreak of war is naturally the best choice.
But what if the situation gets out of control?
Once war broke out, as a part of the German Confederation, the Kingdom of Prussia simply could not stand alone.
If it loses the war, the Hohenzollern dynasty, which is already in a precarious position, will be destroyed; even if it wins the war, it will be a substitute for others.
If it was not for the fact that Austria was not prepared for war, William II would have suspected that it was a conspiracy of the Habsburgs.
Of course, William II had another option, that is, to stop the students’ conspiracy immediately, to avoid the outbreak of the national anti-French movement.
It would only affect the prestige of the monarch, and might even be perceived by the nationalists as a betrayal, weakening the basis of their own rule.
Also in a state of perplexity was George I, who, as the central government of the German Confederation, bore nearly all the firepower.
Sometimes George I really wanted to be reckless regardless, win the imperial emperor, lose the king of the state, and save himself from so many birds of a feather.
(End of chapter)