Chapter 232: On the Necessity of Buffering

Chapter 227: On the Necessity of a Buffer

Berlin.

Austria moved with great fanfare and no secrecy at all, and naturally the Prussian government received the news.

Frederick William IV was still hesitant to join in interfering with the coalition army, but now there was no need to consider it. If he didn’t find a way to cope with it, the Kingdom of Prussia would become history first before the allied forces were established.

Foreign Minister Andrea analyzed, ”Your Majesty, Austria is intimidating us, Russia, France, and Austria dividing us will not be beneficial to them, once we are finished, Austria sandwiched between France and Russia will be embarrassed.

The gain they can get from dividing us is definitely not greater than annexing the South German region, while the price they pay is much greater.”

This is inevitable, carve up Prussia France and Russia can use a limited number of troops, the Russians can also deploy two hundred thousand troops, the French hold up the death of more than one hundred thousand troops, to play the main attack of the task certainly fell on the head of Austria.

Prussian kingdom’s military strength is not weak, in the life and death situation, outbreak of five or six hundred thousand army out is completely possible.

If this is a fight, even if it is dry but the three countries to join forces, but when deadlocked, chipped Austria a few teeth or no problem.

Pay such a big price, but after the war, the proceeds will be divided by France and Russia, without the Prussian Kingdom of Prussia in the Prussian Poland and the Rhineland region, the value of the Austrian South Germany is not comparable to the region that Austria has already entered the hands of the South German region.

In addition, it was much more difficult to rule, the Junker nobles would not buy Austria, while the local people in South Germany were happy to welcome the king’s division.

Frederick William IV said with a sad face, “Theoretically it is true, but this threat still exists, and Austria dares to make it so obvious, clearly concluding that we dare not take the risk.”

This is not a risk, it is clearly suicide. As long as Austria attacked Prussia with all her might, Russia and France would surely take advantage of the fire.

Would Austria do this? No one knows the answer to this. But Frederick William IV was certain that this was the easiest way for Austria to break the game.

Joseph von Radowitz thought for a moment and said, “Your Majesty, let’s throw this dilemma to the British, if they can’t guarantee our safety, then we won’t participate in the Nine Nations Intervention Coalition.

The Austrians still need us to hold the French at bay, and if we are finished, they will have to face the French threat head on. As long as we quit now, they’ll call it quits.”

The multiple choice question was a good one; the Prussian government was in the intervention army for the benefits, and could just as easily be out for the benefits.

The nine-nation alliance looked powerful, but in reality the only main players in this were France and Prussia, the rest of the countries were just making up the numbers. As soon as any of the Prussians and French wimped out, the British plan went bust.

Andrea shook his head and said: ”Prime Minister, I’m afraid that the British can’t do anything about this problem, they can convince the French, but there is no way to convince the Russians.

According to Austria’s plan, war will be waged against us before the organization of the allied forces is completed, and the British are not capable of rescuing us.

The only ones who have the power to help us are the French, but I am afraid that for the sake of their own interests, it is more likely that the French will sit back and wait for us to fail and then annex our territories west of the Rhine.

At this time, we cannot place our hopes in the British. It has long been proven that their promises are unreliable most of the time.

If we can’t get enough out of the Intervention Army, then joining forces with Austria to carve up the German regions would be a good option.

The big deal would be to join the Russo-Austrian alliance, re-establish the Nordic three court system, and jointly dominate the European continent, with Britain and France simply powerless to stop it.”

Frederick William IV hesitated, Austria’s annexation of the South German region caused everyone’s scruples, but the loss of direct benefits to the countries is not large, the greatest loss of benefits among the powers should be Prussia, the market has become smaller.

Prussia’s annexation of the North German region is different, hit the British face is only a small problem, the biggest trouble is to cut off the British capitalists’ financial road.

Historically, Prussia annexed the North German region, but after joining the free trade system, the industry of the Kingdom of Prussia at that time had already developed greatly, and was not afraid of the British competition.

Now is not the same, this period of time if the Prussian government dares to join the free trade system, the domestic national industry will be stillborn.

There is no way, in this era, the Kingdom of Prussia does not have a strong competitive pillar industries, industry all rely on copycat British, or the world is copycat British.

The Prussian government stood against Austria, one of the reasons is to worry about Austria control of the South German region, will increase the import tariffs on Prussian goods, directly with administrative means to squeeze them out of the market.

This was not likely to happen, but was certain to happen. It is self-evident what it meant for the industrializing Kingdom of Prussia not to have enough markets.

There was no way the London government was going to budge on the issue of North Germany, or Prime Minister George would have had to step down early, perhaps with a ticket to paradise attached.

This was one of the reasons why the British wanted three parts of Germany, the interests of the capitalists at home, prompted the London government to act.

As for the claim that the British had many colonies and a large market, that’s bullshit. Most of the colonial markets were untapped in this day and age, and the main markets were still in continental Europe.

The risk of oceanic trade was much greater than trading at home, besides which capitalist would mind the amount of money they made?

In contrast to South Germany is different, Bavaria is the textile center of the German region, this era the British biggest export is textiles, the London government let the Kingdom of Bavaria and Austria to leave, there is no exclusion of competitors.

In the mid-19th century, international politics was not only political and military, but also economic influence, especially for countries with strong capital like Britain.

……

Austria’s counterattack was both expected and unexpected by the British. Originally, the London government thought that Austria would bully the Prussian government, but did not expect the Vienna government to directly zoom in.

The effect of the big move was naturally very powerful, and the Prussian government had already politely indicated its attitude – it did not dare to play.

Reality has told the British, sometimes not be able to completely look at the national interest, the personal interests of senior government officials, the same can determine the national politics.

Determining the position of Napoleon III, the Austrians seized the loophole of the Allied Forces and could counterattack with impunity.

“The situation has changed, the Prussian government has been intimidated by Austria and is ready to withdraw. If we don’t do something to stop it, I’m afraid it won’t be long before the Nordic Three Courts Alliance resurfaces in Europe.” Prime Minister George Hamilton Gordon said solemnly

The Russo-Austrian alliance has not been dismantled yet, if it becomes a Russo-Austrian-Prussian alliance again, then don’t say anything, they will once again shrink their power back to the British Isles well.

Home Secretary Henry thought for a moment and said, “Prime Minister, I’m afraid the Prussians haven’t made up their minds yet, otherwise at this time they would have sent troops to annex the North German region instead of communicating with us.

We can’t help Russo-Australia, but there is still a way to deal with the Prussians, the Royal Navy blockade of the North Sea for a month, the domestic economic crisis of the Kingdom of Prussia will break out, and it’s impossible for them to ignore the consequences of this.

Even if the Prussians and Austria join forces to divide up the German region, it doesn’t mean that all of North Germany is theirs. I’m afraid that many of the states would not give them the chance to make a move, and would just throw themselves directly into Austria’s arms.

It was impossible for the Prussian government not to consider this situation clearly. This expansion did not eliminate the crisis, but only postponed it.

With Russia in the east, France in the west, and Austria in the south, and the remaining side surrounded by the sea, the geographical position of the Kingdom of Prussia was simply bad to the extreme.

It was a lot like Austria in that both were sandwiched in the center by France and Russia. Only Austria could at least move into the Italian region and the Balkans, the Prussians could only colonize overseas.

I’m afraid that’s why Frederick William IV didn’t dare to make up his mind, without our acquiescence, they can only be stuck at home and watch the countries continue to grow and expand.”

This was the core reason for the collapse of the Nordic Three Courts Alliance, the alliance could not bring greater benefits to the Kingdom of Prussia, they could not industrialize without overseas markets, and they had to deal with their relationship with the British.

George Hamilton Gordon hesitated for a moment and then made a decision, “Tell Thomas that this trial plan has failed and to activate the second plan.”

This was the best option, but not the only one. The London government did not think everyone was stupid and naturally prepared contingency plans.

The reason why the British adopted this unreliable plan was very simple, the cost of implementation was low and the benefits were large!

If it succeeds, of course, everyone will be happy; if it fails, they have nothing to lose, so why not give it a try?

And now they’ve really failed?

Obviously not!

The British had put a thorn in the side of the Russian-Austrian alliance, worsened Prussian-Austrian relations again, and at the same time irritated the French by provoking Austria’s relations with the European nations.

And what about the British payoff? Simply by the Foreign Secretary running harder and checking the Austrian strategy, they accomplished most of it.

Affected by the deterioration of the diplomatic situation, the next long period of time, Austria must repair international relations, after all, the annexation of South Germany practice stimulated everyone’s sensitive nerves.

……

Paris.

When the Prussian government withdrew from intervening in the coalition, the British plans naturally changed and negotiations were reopened.

Thomas proposed again, “Gentlemen, considering the stability of the European continent, it is necessary to leave a buffer between the great powers, I suggest that Baden, Hanover, Hamburg, Bremen …… and other German states be allowed to form a new country.

Considering the actual situation, the Kingdom of Prussia can make a land exchange with this newborn state, leaving enough buffer space between Prussia and France, and between France and Austria.”

This would have been a much more reliable suggestion, at least that’s what Metternich thought, and except for the missing Duchy of Baden, none of the other South German states were proposed by the British.

In order to maintain a certain buffer with the French, in order to obtain the recognition of everyone, pay a Baden Duchy, in Metternich’s opinion this price can be considered.

While Metternich was thinking, the French representative Auvergne was the first to express his support, “Mr. Thomas’ proposal is good, for the sake of peace and stability on the European continent, leaving a buffer between the big powers is necessary.”

The reason was naturally that it was good for everyone’s strategic security, the French now had neither the dominance to encroach on the world nor the strength to fight alone.

Since they couldn’t swallow it, it was necessary to avoid conflicts with the big powers as much as possible. As a member of the vested interests, a stable European continent is in the interests of Britain and France.

If the old country is not stable, even if you open colonies overseas, your heart is not solid, right? Don’t look at the British who repeatedly provoked conflicts among European countries, but in fact they wanted Europe to be stable the most.

Of course, this kind of stability, must be built on the strength of the countries under the situation of equal strength. Obviously, at this time on the European continent, the countries are holding each other back, and no one can be a dominant player, then stabilization is necessary.

And this newborn country dominated by the British will inevitably move closer to them politically, increasing their say on the European continent.

At the same time, it also preserved their market in the German region, and the government could reap a wave of gratitude from the capitalists, which was nothing short of a win-win situation.

……

Karl Worcel was also somewhat eager to do so, but seeing that Metternich had not taken a position, he could not afford to risk speaking in favor of it, considering that Austria’s interests were involved, and that it was a place explicitly agreed upon in the covenant.

Nothing surprising, the Russians are now strategizing to go south to Constantinople, continental Europe can’t be cared about for the time being, and a stable Europe is what they need.

Metternich thought for a moment and said, “This issue, which involves the Duchy of Baden and the Pfalz province of Bavaria, is something we must consider carefully.”

Seeing that the Austrians did not object either, the Prussian representative, Rotluff, could not hold back, knowing that if they did not come out for the benefits now, they were going to lose a lot of money.

“No, the Rhineland region is the most important industrial area in the Kingdom of Prussia, we can’t give it up like that!”

……

(End of chapter)