Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 100

Chapter 100: Chapter 100, Praise and Kill

Translator: 549690339

In recent decades, Prussia has been continuously developing and growing stronger, naturally inciting envy and resentment from Austria. Now that it was Austria’s turn to be unfortunate, everyone was more than happy to see them become the butt of jokes.

“Speaking of Prussia, not long ago they sought our diplomatic support under the pretext of saving the German Confederation states and, having been rejected, they began to spread unfavorable opinions about us throughout the Germany Region.

At this time, the Kingdom of Prussia was practically hailed as the national hero of the Teutons, while great Austria had been relegated to serving as the backdrop!” Metternich said frowning.

Upon hearing this news, everyone’s expressions turned dark. Austria was the leader of the German states and, from a nationalist perspective, Austria should be the one championing the cause of the Two Principalities of Schleswig and Holstein at this time.

However, geographically separated from the Two Principalities by Prussia and with no interest to serve, Austria couldn’t justifiably take action.

Now that the Kingdom of Prussia was touting itself as the savior of Teutondom, it was yet another slap in Austria’s face.

Historically, due to internal strife, Austria had lacked the capacity to intervene, but now that internal conflicts were about to be quelled, international affairs could no longer be ignored.

Prime Minister Felix said curtly, “Humph! The Prussians are really too audacious. We must show them some color!”

Metternich shook his head, “I’m afraid that’s not easy. We can’t prevent Prussia’s actions regarding the Schleswig and Holstein issue; otherwise, the nationalist enthusiasts in the Germany Region will see us as traitors to the nation.”

With the rise of nationalism, the influence of public opinion could no longer be overlooked. As the longstanding head of the German states, Austria had to stand behind Prussia at this juncture, a clear case of public opinion hijacking.

Given that Austria had been coerced into this position, it was natural to expect little effort from Austria’s part, leaving Prussia to shoulder the diplomatic pressure alone.

Suddenly, Franz’s complexion changed. Historically, Austria had been forcibly dragged into the fray by Prussia, with Prussia and Austria joining forces only to withstand international pressure and take back the Two Principalities.

But not long after the end of the operation, Prussia and Austria fell out, leaving Austria having worked for Prussia for free and then being beaten into a semi-invalid state.

Although this was to happen over a decade later, the seeds of war had already been planted now.

In this Prussia-Denmark War, although Prussia did not occupy the Two Principalities, they did gain the support of the German people in the region, laying the popular foundation for Prussian unification of Germany.

Franz said with a furrowed brow, “The Prussians are playing the long game, they have us figured out! In that case, let’s see who’s more cunning!”

“Your Highness, it wouldn’t be good for us to stand against Prussia at this time, seeing as the public opinion in the Germany Region is in their favor!” Finance Minister Karl warned.

Franz scoffed, “No, we must not just refrain from opposing the Prussians’ actions, but we should openly support them. The Foreign Ministry will publicly back Schleswig and Holstein’s return to the German Federation.

From now on, we will deploy our influence to build momentum for this cause, ensuring that all the residents of the Germany Region know about our efforts to maintain the territory’s integrity.

We will also praise the contributions of the Kingdom of Prussia, issuing a diplomatic note to them, telling them not to be cowardly, and that once we’ve resolved our internal issues, we’ll be there to support them!”

There is also a way to kill in the world—killing with praise. The Kingdom of Prussia now prides itself as the savior of the Germany Region, so let them stand a little higher.

The stage is set, and the play must go on. If Prussia had the support of Austria and the German regional states, could they easily back down?

But if they do not concede, what can they do? The major European powers all stand on Denmark’s side, supporting Austria, which this time only plans to be a bluster king, offering them virtually zero actual help.

The Swedish Government has already mobilized troops to defend Denmark, and the Russians have amassed forces on the Prusso-Russian Border. If a misfire leads to conflict, Russo-Prussian relations would become antagonistic.

“Your Highness, if we support Prussia, we have no way to explain it to England and France and Russia in diplomatic terms, which will be unfavorable for our next actions!” Metternich said with a headache.

Franz said indifferently, “Mr. Metternich, this problem will have to be managed by your Ministry of Foreign Affairs to coordinate.

Explain our difficulties to the countries, continuous internal rebellions in Austria, we can’t ignore the feelings of the German People, assure them that our support for Prussia is limited only to verbal commitments.”

Austria is one of the great powers, and it can handle this little diplomatic pressure, as long as there is no actual action taken, it will not affect the Russian-Austrian Alliance.

Austria-France has just signed a friendly treaty; everyone is an interest community and will not fall out over the Danish issue.

As for the British, there’s even less need to say anything, because of the issue with the Kingdom of Sardinia, the two countries are having a falling out. At this time, the London Government cannot afford to further deteriorate Anglo-Austrian relations; otherwise, the Russian-Austrian Alliance will only tighten further.

The remaining small European countries can at most condemn us a bit, surely they can’t sanction Austria just for a few slogans, right? Even if they want to, they don’t have the courage, do they?

Prime Minister Felix objected, “Your Highness, if it’s just verbal support, naturally it’s not a big problem. But what if the Prussians drag the issue on, until we suppress the internal rebellion, then should we help them or not?

If we help them, the strength of the Kingdom of Prussia will further grow; if we don’t, our prestige in the Germany Region will greatly suffer!”

This is a very real issue. The Prussians may not defeat the Russians, but at this period, the Tsarist Government also does not want to declare war on Prussia. Dragging the problem out for a year and a half is something they could do.

Franz said with a sneer, “It’s okay, the Prussians can drag out the time, and we can also drag out the time. Even if the internal rebellion has been suppressed, we can still claim that the local situation is unstable and we are unable to send troops.

We could just contribute some of the military expenses. If Prussia successfully returns the Two Principalities of Schleswig and Holstein to The Federation, we will pay; if not, just default on the payment!”

If he could spend some money to completely ruin Russo-Prussian relations, Franz would not be stingy.

However, the Prussians certainly would not want to take this money, as they did not make such a big fuss just to see the Two Principalities of Schleswig and Holstein return to the German Federation.

If they couldn’t incorporate the Two Principalities of Schleswig and Holstein, wouldn’t they have fought this war in vain?

And even because the Federal Assembly would have two new members, the strength of the Sub-States would be further enhanced, and the path to German unification would become even more elusive.