Chapter 587: The Power of Public Opinion
Chapter 574 The Power of Public Opinion
Being a neighbor to the French these days is still very challenging and one must always be on guard.
The Rhineland region was an enclave and had a good neighbor, and long ago the Prussian government had prepared its heart to lose the Rhineland region, it just didn’t expect to lose it in this way.
With the diplomatic pressure exerted by Britain and Austria, the Prussian government had no choice but to compromise. In the short term, giving up the Rhineland was also a good thing for the Kingdom of Prussia.
After selling the Rhineland, not only could it get rid of the financial crisis, but also get rid of the threat of the French, and could concentrate on the confrontation with the Russians.
If you hold on to it and don’t sell it, there’s no chance that the French will just go straight for it in the next Russo-Prussian War. After the annexation of the Italian region, the Prussian government had no confidence in the integrity of the French.
If not for the mutual restraint of the powers, the Rhineland would have been lost long ago. Don’t look at the original time and space Prussian Kingdom gambled and won, think Prussian Kingdom military strength above France, in fact, the opposite is true.
Perhaps the current French Empire’s military strength is not necessarily much stronger than the same period in history, but the strength on paper is very impressive. The standing army is twice that of the Kingdom of Prussia, and the combined national strength is more than three times that of the Kingdom of Prussia. (Including the French Italian regions and colonies)
Going up against France after having the Russian Empire as a major enemy would be absolutely brain-dead.
After a symbolic struggle, Prussian Foreign Minister Jeffrey Friedman reluctantly announced the sale of the Rhineland to the highest bidder in a public auction.
There is no doubt that this was to alienate the alliance between Britain, France and Austria. If you really want to fight for financial strength, neither Belgium, nor the German Federal Empire, can not be the rival of France.
Austrian Minister Hummel: “Your auction of the Rhineland region is no problem, but the Rhineland is part of the German region, on which live the German people.
Taking all factors into account, it is better for the Rhineland region to join the German state, and I suggest that this auction be participated by the German-speaking cultural circle countries: Switzerland, Belgium, the German Federal Empire, and the New Holy Roman Empire.
As the proposer, our side can avoid suspicion and withdraw from this auction.”
“Avoiding suspicion” is completely gilding the lily. Who can sleep with an enclave under the nose of the French?
European countries do not want the French to expand in Central Europe, and also do not want Austria to expand in Central Europe, even if they want to take the Rhineland region is no chance.
“Enclave” is also relative, if the face of the French, it is indeed an enclave; if replaced by the German Federal Reich, it is a two-sided attack.
French Foreign Minister Montero angrily stood up: “No, since it is a public auction, naturally the highest bidder will win. All European countries are eligible to participate, how can it be narrowly limited to German countries?”
To be able to buy the Rhineland region with money, how could one miss such a good thing? Even if the chance was small, Montero had to fight for it.
Hummel tit-for-tat said, “We are all civilized people, and we all know clearly that to govern a place well, you can’t do it without the support of the people.
Your country’s cultural traditions are alien to the Rhineland region, so how can you manage a good relationship with the local population? As a civilized country, we must respect public opinion.”
“Public opinion” is the first thing the French came up with, Napoleon III is to respect public opinion on the throne. Napoleon III came to power by respecting the will of the people. And he was really elected by the people, not by a conspiracy to restore the throne.
This doesn’t mean that European countries really respect public opinion. The ruling class often chooses to respect public opinion when it’s in their favor, and pretends not to see it when it’s not.
In order to kick France out, Hummel did not hesitate to raise the banner of “public opinion”. This is both an interest and a political necessity.
As the leader of the German region, Austria has the responsibility to take the lead. Otherwise, Belgium and the German Federal Reich would not have had the courage to compete with the French.
Seeing that the fire was almost ready, Marquis Maclean, the British Foreign Secretary who had been watching the show, said, “Sir Hummel is right, as a member of a civilized society, we must respect public opinion.
More than ninety-five percent of the population of the Rhineland is of German descent, and the culture and traditions are all much more suitable for a merger with a German state.
Now that the New Holy Roman Empire is out of the picture, the most suitable countries to participate in the auction would be Belgium, the German Federal Empire, and Switzerland.”
The British and Austrians were united in their stance, and the European countries that were still waiting to see what would happen joined in, in a moment of “respect for public opinion”.
……
With more than a dozen countries on the same page, Montero couldn’t resist the pressure. The reality is that no one wants to see France continue to expand. The so-called “public opinion” is a piece of cloth, is used to frame their own image.
If they really respected public opinion, Ireland would have become independent, Scotland would have become independent, and the major colonial empires would have collapsed.
Facts are one thing, but what they say is another. We all want to save face, saying one thing and doing another is a must.
If there is no cover, directly spread out to say that France is too strong, we are worried that France is a threat to their own security after the growth, how to get along with each other later?
“Hmph!”
After expressing his dissatisfaction with a cold shout, Montero chose to remain silent. There is no way, this occasion is not suitable for a tongue-lashing, everyone’s attitude is resolute, there is no way to convince.
Want to bully and seduce, the leader and the British and Austrian two countries, dish out the trick is also self-defeating, France has not singled out the strength of Europe.
Montero’s silence, quickly gained everyone’s high praise, a variety of horse’s ass came, such as: “consider the overall situation”, “a sense of international responsibility”, “respect for public opinion model” ……
However, when it fell into Montero’s ears, it all turned into sarcasm. Without achieving the goal, no amount of good words can bring benefits.
As a political figure, if you get praises from all sides, don’t be in a hurry to be happy, it’s better to calm down and reflect first.
Usually, there are only two situations that will reap praise from everyone. The first situation is that you are dead, and people are always forgiving when it comes to the dead; the second situation is that what you are doing is in their interest.
Most of the time, the second situation in the international arena can be interpreted as follows: you made a mistake and let everyone profit. This is the easiest case to reap praise, and you will be known in life and in death.
Otherwise, it’s good that your enemies don’t grope you, and you expect people to give you a favorable review?
Respect for rivals, that is to respect dead rivals, or fallen rivals, rivals still in office, do not want to find a way to defeat, but also for the rivals to make a name for themselves, this is a kind of what kind of spirit?
After pacifying the French, everyone’s eyes gathered on the representatives of Switzerland, Belgium, and the German Confederation, waiting for their reply.
Swiss Minister Podolsky was the first to give an answer, “Although we would like to purchase the Rhineland region, we are limited by our financial resources, we still have to bear the pain of giving up.”
Looking at Podolski with a pained expression, everyone almost believed it. The Swiss federal government was indeed poor, limited by productivity and resources, this year Switzerland had not yet developed.
But said limited by financial resources to give up the Rhineland region, everyone is more willing to believe that the Swiss are afraid of the French, do not dare to hit this piece of enclave idea.
This aspect of Switzerland and Belgium, the German Confederation is completely different, the latter two are directly bordering the mainland, can increase their own national strength.
The Kingdom of Belgium, for example, obtained the Rhineland region, it won’t be long before the comprehensive national strength will multiply. As the first country to complete industrialization on the European continent, in many areas Belgium is in the world’s leading level.
Unfortunately, due to the small size of the territory and the lack of development potential, Belgium has not been able to touch the threshold of the Great Powers and can only exist as a small country.
By taking the Rhineland region, they could complete the transition to a medium-sized country, and by then their survivability would be greatly increased.
If it fell into the hands of the German Federation, the increase in strength would be even more pronounced. Other than that, it is inevitable that heavy industry will surpass Spain.
The buyers are left with two, Prussian Foreign Minister Jeffrey Friedman is not angry, this is expected.
Either France and Austria together under the bidding, or the two countries under mutual restraint together out of the game. Austria does not want to stick to this time this trouble, directly choose to pull the French with the exit.
The auction can not be carried out immediately, we have not completed the insider trading, how can so quickly have the results. This is not money on the line, but also consider the political implications.
……
(End of chapter)