Chapter 214: The Road of No Return
Chapter 210 The Road of No Return
Munich
Maximilian II hadn’t slept well since he learned of Felix’s German tour, which had placed its last stop in the Kingdom of Bavaria.
The states in front of them could play Taiji and stall for time, as the last state, what could they do?
There was no doubt that the states wanted Bavaria to stand up to Austria, and as the leader of the smaller states, Bavaria could not hide.
Especially after Maximilian II came to the throne, the three-legged strategy was pursued, which pushed Bavaria into a corner.
The Kingdom of Prussia was estranged from everyone, and there was no pressure on Frederick William IV to play dumb, and he was not afraid to offend anyway.
Bavaria was different, and since it wanted to be the leading light of the smaller states, it now had to step up to the plate. Whether it was in favor of Austria’s plans or against them, it was better than playing the hunchback.
Maximilian II said cautiously, “Gentlemen, Felix will not be long before he arrives in Munich, there is not much time left for us, today we must make a choice.”
This was the price that had to be paid for the previous diplomatic blunders, having been fooled by the Prussians earlier and thrown out the three-part German strategy, which had already offended numerous smaller states.
At this time, the Bavarian government either defected to Austria forget about it, everyone together to establish the Holy Roman Group, to become a small shareholder among them.
Alternatively, it could stop Austria’s plan, speak out on behalf of the many German states, and regain the support of all of them. In any case, the relationship between countries is maintained by interests, as long as the interests of the same everyone is a friend.
Bavarian Prime Minister August analyzed: “Your Majesty, it is easy to stop the Austrian plan, but the consequences are very serious.
First of all, we will offend Austria severely, and it will be difficult to restore the friendly relationship between the two countries; secondly, it is not easy to pass the hurdle of the domestic public, and most of the people now hope for the peaceful unification of the German region.
Although we all know that it is impossible for the German region to really unify, as the person who personally closed this door, we will certainly be condemned by public opinion.”
Auguste had sensed the danger; after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austrians had come up with the German Federal Assembly, which was intended to block the French invasion.
It didn’t occur to him that the French had been at peace for decades, and Austria’s efforts had been wasted. Now that the French had resumed arming, Bavaria’s western front was no longer safe enough.
If we don’t make good relations with the Austrians in the east at this time, disaster may come at any time, who let Maximilian II succeed the throne and then keep on making stupid moves?
Ambition is the need for strength to support, the German region tripod is the most expected by Britain, France and Russia, international support is not lacking, but unfortunately the Kingdom of Bavaria’s strength is limited, can not put the plan into practice.
Theoretically, if the Bavarian Kingdom was twice as strong and had the support of the Great Powers, it would be almost ready to go for the endeavor.
Now Maximilian II is trying a little too early, and with their own lack of strength, their voice in the Confederation has become dispensable after losing the support of the many smaller states.
Finance Minister Bazel objected, “Prime Minister, these pressures can be resisted. Once Austria’s conditions are accepted, the Holy Roman Empire is resurrected.
Times are different now, nationalism has awakened, the central government is not a dispensable rubber stamp, they can use public opinion to pressure us to give in.
Austria was originally the largest state in the German region, in terms of population, territorial size, and even economy, they were about the same as all of our states put together.
They got the power of the central government, and when the time comes to have great righteousness in their hands, we will be forced to give in.
Maybe at first, just unifying the currency and abolishing the tariffs, it looks like we don’t have to pay much.
But in time, you’ll find that the right to command the army, the right to finance, the right to diplomacy, will all fall into the hands of the central government, and we’ll be a highly autonomous government at best.”
This is something that will happen sooner or later, and any central government will find a way to collect power.
It’s not like the many German states are ironclad, like the few free cities, they wouldn’t mind becoming highly autonomous, which is a good thing for the capitalists.
Most of the smaller states are also able to concede much more, and what seems like chicken feed to them is really tangible benefits to the larger states.
In that respect, the Crown had the most to lose. There was no longer an emperor at the top, no longer supreme, and if certain policies were unpopular with the populace, they could still run to the central government and complain.
With internal and external attacks, it won’t be long before the royal family has little power left. Even the cabinet government would slowly degenerate into a provincial government, with its power drastically reduced.
Therefore, the bureaucratic groups in the various states are staunch opponents.
Prime Minister August shook his head and said, “Mr. Bazel, I think you misunderstand. I’m only against coming out directly against Austria, it doesn’t mean we have to support them.
There are so many people who don’t want to see the Holy Roman Empire re-emerge, do we need to jump out and pull hatred? Why should we all get the benefits together and we have to take the blame?
Our position now should be consistent with the majority of the states. If everyone doesn’t oppose the Austrians’ plan, we don’t oppose it either.
Drag all the state governments down, and either everyone opposes the re-establishment of the Holy Roman Empire together, or everyone goes back to the imperial era together.”
“Your Excellency Prime Minister, I’m afraid it won’t be that easy, right now all the German states want us to step up, even Britain, France, and Russia want us to stand up against it.
I’m afraid it’s impossible to muddle through, at least diplomatically we won’t be able to account for it.” Foreign Minister Barkhaus objected
Simply put, it means that even if Bavaria wants to back down, there are so many bosses forcing them forward. Treating the opinions of the Great Powers as toilet paper, the Bavarian government is not that bullish.
Maximilian II frowned, by what right did the Austrians mess up, everyone put pressure on them, it’s still not bullying a soft target.
The Kingdom of Prussia itself does not want to come forward, it pushed the Kingdom of Bavaria to come forward; Britain and France can not scare Austria, but also can not sway the Prussian government decision-making, it caught them bullying.
The Russians pushed them to come out in opposition solely to cause trouble for Austria and delay the pace of unification of their allies.
All factors together, the Bavarian government was pushed to the forefront by everyone. Faced with diplomatic pressure, even the fiercely opposed Chancellor Auguste had to admit it.
With the support of the Great Powers, the Kingdom of Bavaria was able to retain its position in the Confederation, and essentially they were just a small country with a combined national strength comparable to that of Belgium.
But a small country is a small country, the land is narrow and lack of people, have to rely on the big countries to survive.
This is also the reason why Maximilian II wanted to integrate the many small states in Germany, only by pulling these small states together would they be a medium-sized country and have the ability to be independent.
If a medium-sized country develops well, it is also a small power, just like the Kingdom of Prussia, which is now a medium-sized country and has crossed the threshold of the Great Powers.
If you want to do this, first of all, Bavaria has to get the support of the great powers, without Britain, France and Russia to suppress Austria and Prussia, where is the chance for Bavaria to integrate the many small states in Germany?
At the time of the Great Clash of Ideas, Maximilian II also proposed a plan for a small Germany with Bavaria at its center, but unfortunately even the Bavarian people lacked interest.
The reason was very simple – it was too small and did not meet the expectations of the “dream of a great nation”.
As long as the ancestor of the broad nation, all have a big country dream, how can the German people do not have it? Since it is a big country dream, it must be big enough, and this is the reason why Austria is now popular.
The new version of the Holy Roman Empire is really big enough, and once it is established the area exceeds 1.1 million square kilometers, surpassing its next door neighbor, the French, in all aspects, which satisfies the great power dream of many middle-aged teenagers.
The German-French conflict was the result of the Habsburgs and the French being in a dead heat for hundreds of years, and the historical Franco-Prussian War was just a continuation of this conflict.
Beyond the French, it also contains the special feelings of the Germans. This is why, after the Franco-Prussian War, Prussia was able to integrate the loose German states.
Everyone’s vanity was satisfied, national pride appeared, identification with this country went up, and then Germany went from being a regional term to a nation.
Maximilian II sneered and said, “Since everyone wants Bavaria and Austria to be enemies, we have no choice but to go on.
This is also an opportunity, as long as we stand up against Austria, we can gain the support of the Great Powers, then integrating the German regional states will no longer be a dream.
England, France, and Russia don’t want to see a behemoth German Empire emerge, and our plan fits neatly into their interests, and with their support, the likelihood of eventual success is very high.”
The arm can’t hold back the leg, Maximilian II pinched his nose and admitted that he was still thinking about the bright future, but he didn’t know that this foot was stepping into the road of no return.
(End of chapter)