Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 467: Trying to be the Fisherman but Failing

France wasn’t the only one trying to be the fishermen after the Anglo-Boer War broke out. Prussia, too, was lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce.

William I, however, was not one to rush in blindly. He knew that despite the clandestine skirmishes in South Africa, Britain and Austria still maintained a facade of being “friendly nations.”

This delicate balance meant that either side could still retreat to the negotiation table. William I didn’t see the South African conflict as the final straw that would break their alliance.

But what he thought didn’t necessarily align with the ambitions brewing in Berlin. The restless Junker aristocrats had already begun their scheming.

Prime Minister Moltke’s eyes gleamed with excitement as he addressed William I, “Your Majesty, this is a golden opportunity. With Britain and Austria clashing and the French entangled in Italy, no one could hinder us from striking at the German Federal Empire. The chance to unify Northern Germany is here.”

Unifying Northern Germany was a game-changer for Prussia. If they could swallow up the German Federal Empire, it wouldn’t just be three titans ruling Europe, it would be four.

Even after their victory over Russia, the world still ranked Prussia below the Russian Empire.

Being acknowledged as a great power was one thing, but Prussia was seen as a second-tier power. It had some say, sure, but not the influence to dictate the course of Europe.

This wasn’t just about prestige; it was a reflection of raw power. Economically and militarily, the Kingdom of Prussia still lagged behind Britain, France, and Austria.

After defeating the Russians, the Junker nobles’ confidence was overflowing. If they hadn’t suffered such heavy losses in the war and hadn’t yet recovered their strength, they wouldn’t have been so quiet.

To break free from this status, unifying Northern Germany was the perfect answer. And if they could grab Poland along the way, that would be even more perfect.

Prime Minister Moltke, still as sharp as ever, wasn’t foolish enough to tackle two major goals simultaneously. Prussia’s limited resources meant that trying to juggle both would result in achieving neither.

William I cut straight to the point, “My Prime Minister, which do you believe is more important to Austria: the South African region or the German region?”

The answer was clear without much thought. The German region was far more critical. Even with the discovery of gold mines in South Africa, it still didn’t hold a candle to the significance of the German lands for Austria.

Politically, Franz would never abandon the German region. Even if he couldn’t unify it, the call for unification had to be maintained.

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This was related to the legitimacy of the Holy Roman Empire. The Austrian government couldn’t just let go of it, or they wouldn’t be able to justify themselves to their citizens.

Moltke responded, “Naturally, the German region is more important. However, based on Austria’s behavior, they didn’t seem overly eager to annex the German Federal Empire.

If they truly wanted to absorb the German Federal Empire, they wouldn’t have waited until now. They could have acted years ago while we were bogged down in a grueling war with Russia.”

This was true. At that time, Prussia was tying down the Russians, and if Austria had moved against the German Federal Empire, only the French would have been able to intervene.

With the French eyeing the Italian region, an exchange of interests between France and Austria would have made the success rate of annexing the German Federal Empire very high.

William I took up his pointer, gesturing to the map of Europe on the wall, and then said, “The Austrian government’s inaction doesn’t mean they will allow us to take action.

Marshal, you are a master of military strategy. You must be well aware of the strategic situation Austria would face if they attempted to annex the German Federal Empire.

From a purely defensive standpoint, the current situation is most advantageous for Austria. To the east, the Russians are licking their wounds. To the south, the Ottoman Empire is on its last legs. And we in the north pose no real threat.

With the Alps as a barrier, the French in the west would find it difficult to launch an attack. For France to invade Austria, they would have to come through Italy or take the longer route through Belgium and the Rhineland.

The French are still busy annexing Italy, meaning the region will remain unstable for the next 20 years. An invasion of Austria through Italy would force the French to consider the guerrilla fighters within their own borders.

As for borrowing passage, that’s even less likely. We certainly wouldn’t dare let the French through, and they wouldn’t trust us anyway—they’d rather fight their way through.

The likelihood of a full-scale war between France and Austria is now at its lowest, even lower than the probability of us going to war with France.

If Austria were to occupy the German Federal Empire, this strategic advantage would vanish instantly. Not only would they face the threat from France, but also a maritime threat from Britain.

Putting aside the military threats, does Austria even need the German Federal Empire right now?

The German Federal Empire comprises over twenty states. If the Austrian government annexes them, won’t the Imperial Parliament become overwhelmingly chaotic?”

The final reason is the real issue. With so many states joining the Holy Roman Empire, their combined votes in the Imperial Parliament would surpass Austria’s, weakening the central government’s control over the states.

It’s not just that strategy doesn’t allow it; even if there were no strategic issues, the political impact alone would make no one dare to make a move.

When Franz reorganized the Holy Roman Empire, he had no choice. Austria lacked sufficient strength, and the number of dominant ethnic groups was severely insufficient, forcing a compromise.

Over the years, through compulsory education, planned cross-immigration, and assimilation measures, internal ethnic conflicts have largely been resolved.

At this point, the Austrian government naturally doesn’t want to add a bunch of states. Otherwise, they wouldn’t need to use force; the German Federal Empire would come running over on its own.

According to the principle of at least one vote per state, the many small states of the German Federal Empire, with their numerical advantage in votes, could directly become the masters of the empire.

How could such a situation be allowed? Not only would Austria oppose it, but even the several states within the country wouldn’t agree.

Everyone has contributed to the empire’s development to this stage. It was already a significant concession to share these benefits. No one would willingly hand over their power!

The Austrian government is concerned about appearances and can’t openly violate the promises made back then, so the matter has been dragged out. But while they won’t make a move, they won’t let others make a move either.

William I estimated that if they made a move, Austria would immediately step in to reap the benefits. Once Prussia had dealt with these state governments, Austria could directly annex these regions as provinces or cities.

The current Kingdom of Prussia doesn’t have the strength for a decisive war. Even if they muster the courage to challenge Austria, they must first consider whether Russia would stab them in the back and worry if France to the west would take advantage of the situation.

In an era without Bismarck, these troublesome issues have given William I headaches, forcing him to take matters into his own hands.

Power struggles are brutal. Even as king, William I cannot have the final say because the military holds too much power.

Prussia is not without talent, but promoting these individuals is extremely difficult, leaving many as mere advisors to the king.

Recently, William I tried to appoint a commoner as the Minister of Foreign Affairs but faced opposition from the Junker aristocracy. Their reason was simple: the candidate had no merit for the country.

William I couldn’t refute this argument. The system of appointing officials based on merit was copied by the Junker aristocracy from Austria and then modified.

Austria evaluates officials based on their administrative performance, while Prussia directly looks at merits. Administrative achievements count as merits, and military achievements count as merits too. Under these rules, many Junker nobles hold high positions.

Having just defeated the Russians, the Junker nobles have amassed military merits, and most of the government’s power has fallen into their hands.

The Prime Minister and various ministers were all Junker nobles, which inevitably weakened William I’s power.

If William I hadn’t acted first to divide and weaken the Junker nobles, splitting them into several factions, he would now be a mere figurehead.

They were all elites of this era. Despite their political insensitivity, once the issue was laid out clearly, Marshal Moltke quickly grasped the situation.

Seeing Moltke’s changing expression, William I felt very satisfied. It was precisely because Moltke’s talent lay in military matters and his political abilities were limited that William I appointed him as Prime Minister.

Otherwise, how could the Junker aristocracy have been divided? Now Prussia is in a peculiar situation where many individuals with outstanding military capabilities hold government positions.

Of course, those with excellent political abilities have not entered the military. William I is not foolish enough to undermine his own strength.

After a moment of silence, William I added, “The current focus of the government is to develop the economy. Prussia has just emerged from war. The country needs rebuilding, and the people need to rest.

In recent years, the Russians have also undergone social reforms. To raise funds, Alexander II even resorted to defaulting on debts.

This enemy is very formidable, and we cannot afford to let our guard down for even a moment. Within twenty years, there will inevitably be another war between Prussia and Russia.”

Changing the subject was very successful, as the Russians contributed significantly to the unity and stability of the Kingdom of Prussia. Only when facing this major enemy could Prussian society unite so strongly.

The Prusso-Russian conflict could not be resolved, and William I did not intend to reconcile with the Russians. If there were problems, he would just throw them at the Russians, and it would be fine.

This reason left no objections from the cabinet members. While being enemies with Russia, to provoke Austria and offend Britain would be simply suicidal.

Indeed, the British were also opposed to Prussia annexing the German Federal Empire. France and Austria were already enough to keep the British government busy; adding a more powerful Prussia would be too much for the British to handle.

Moreover, the British had significant interests in the German Federal Empire. With Austria not interested in taking action, they were happy to protect their smaller ally.

In fact, any consolidation on the European continent posed a threat to the British. Limited by the small size of their home territory, the British government had to prevent any potential European unification.

To ease the tension, Finance Minister Roon suggested, “His Majesty is right. Our finances are in a dire state, and we are on the brink of bankruptcy.

The Russians’ recent default not only damaged their international reputation but also cost them nearly all their international markets.

We cannot afford such a price. Now, developing the economy is crucial, and the government needs to implement more proactive economic policies.”

Don’t think that just because they all come from a military background and aren’t very familiar with political affairs, the situation in the Kingdom of Prussia isn’t very stable.

They directly applied the model of military management to governing the country. The long-term consequences are yet to be seen, but at least in the short term, this approach has yielded positive results.

Within three years after the war ended, the Kingdom of Prussia had emerged from its difficulties. Of course, the war spoils played a significant role in this recovery. Without them, the recovery would not have been nearly as swift.

By now, the Kingdom of Prussia has not only overcome the food crisis but has also transitioned from a food-importing country to a food-exporting one.

Significant progress has also been made in the industrial sector, particularly in the military industry. Stimulated by the war, Prussia’s military-industrial complex underwent a complete upgrade and now ranks among the world’s best.

Economically, during the post-war recovery period, the Kingdom of Prussia maintained high growth rates. However, over time, this growth has gradually slowed.

The huge debt has become an important factor restricting the continued development of the Kingdom of Prussia. More than half of the Prussian government’s annual financial revenue is used to repay foreign debt.

Although this percentage is gradually decreasing, it still leaves Prussian finances on the brink of bankruptcy. If they could afford the consequences of default, they would have followed Russia’s example long ago.

Additionally, the Polish people have made significant contributions. They selflessly provided raw materials for industry and a market for Prussian products.

Without these contributions, Prussia’s economic recovery would not have been so rapid.

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