Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 147

Chapter 147: Chapter 34: The Derailed Topic

Translator: 549690339

On February 21, 1850, under diplomatic pressure from England, France, and Russia, the Prussian Government signed the Treaty of Berlin between Prussia and Denmark in Berlin.

The Prussian Government recognized the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark over the Schleswig-Holstein Duchies, marking the official end of the Prussia-Denmark war.

Before the treaty was signed and under strong pressure from the Russians, the Prussian Army had essentially withdrawn from the Kingdom of Denmark, including abandoning both Schleswig-Holstein Duchies.

After the treaty was signed, the delegation from the German Federation left the scene in anger, refusing to recognize Denmark’s sovereignty over the Schleswig-Holstein Duchies.

The Prussian Government had been tricked; it wasn’t just the German regional states that had tricked them, but also the Russians—clearly, Nicholas I was practically warning the Prussians to stay in line.

During the negotiations, the German Federation’s delegation initially supported Prussia and had a heated argument with the Russian representative. Once England, France, and Russia unified their stance, the delegation quickly capitulated and accepted their mediation.

Originally, it was agreed that everyone would sign the treaty together, but once the Prussian Government had signed, the Federal delegation immediately bolted, pushing all responsibility onto the Prussian Government.

Yes, they bolted. The so-called angry departure was simply a narrative for the public; after all, the Federal delegation didn’t sign the treaty, so they could say whatever they wanted.

The Prussians had thought that England, France, and Russia would force the German Federation to sign the treaty, effectively resolving the Schleswig-Holstein issue once and for all. But in the end, the Russian representative left, satisfied.

With the Russians gone, England and France naturally couldn’t be bothered to intervene anymore.

After all, it was only Prussia and the Schleswig-Holstein Duchies that bordered the German Federation. Regardless of how loudly the other states shouted, they could only fire blank shots in practice.

In this matter, the attitude of the German Federation wasn’t important. In fact, this international organization couldn’t genuinely be considered a state, as diplomatic rights were decentralized among the states, none of which had the power to sign treaties on behalf of everyone.

As a result of the Treaty of Berlin between Prussia and Denmark, the Kingdom of Prussia suffered a significant loss of prestige in the German region and was unable to contend with Austria for leadership in the German region.

At this time, outside every Prussian embassy in the German regional states, crowds of people pursuing donations surrounded the buildings, holding signs of debt and protesting, occasionally hurling stones at the embassies.

The public opinion campaign was successful. When donations were initially solicited, newspapers had published the Prussian Government’s strong statements—some were true, but most were fabrications by the editors.

However, that didn’t really matter since the people believed it to be true. They were promised a fight to the death against the Russians, but when the battle began, they felt they had been deceived, and they were ventsing their anger in this way.

Naturally, the money was gone for good. The Prussian Government was so poor that even if the insults were ten times harsher, they wouldn’t be able to pay.

Eventually, the governments of each state had no choice but to deploy troops to protect the Prussian embassies and provide for their staff. In a climate where everyone was calling for their heads, the employees of the Prussian embassies didn’t dare go out shopping.

After Prussia had been duped, the formerly friendly relations between Austria and the German regional states also turned cold.

Leading states like Bavaria, for one, did not desire to see the German region unified; they attempted to play a balancing act between the sub-states of Prussia and Austria.

The regional states’ coziness with Austria was due not only to religious and political influence but also to the Kingdom of Prussia’s manner of expansion.

The Kingdom of Prussia, originally a minor state, had grown into the second largest in the German region, inevitably expanding its territory along the way.

Within just a few decades, the territory of the Kingdom of Prussia had expanded threefold, and its controversial history of territorial expansion naturally raised everyone’s guard.

The diplomatic policies of the Metternich era still had value, at least convincing the German states that Austria had no ambition to unify the German region, overlooking the fact that Austria’s national policy had changed.

At the recent Frankfurt Assembly, evidence of Prussian Government’s participation had been exposed by Austria, which thoroughly disgusted everyone, prompting a unified response to Austria’s rallying cry.

Now, with Prussia suppressed, the stance of the Kingdom of Bavaria changed again; they did not wish to see an imbalance of power between Prussia and Austria that would lead to dominance by one state.

Normally, the second in line allies with the third to oppose the leading power. That Austria could pressure the second highest in league with the third was already a considerable diplomatic victory.

Things were now back on track, and the foreign policy stance of the Bavarian Government had shifted yet again.

Because of the influence of the 1848 revolution, King Ludwig I of Bavaria was forced to abdicate. Before abdicating on March 6, Ludwig I issued a declaration promising that the Bavarian Government would dedicate itself to the cause of freedom and unification of Germany.

This laid a political mine for his son, Maximilian I, who succeeded the throne.

Bavaria’s nationalist unifiers, who were forced to choose between unity with Prussia or religious alignment with Austria, preferred Austria, which shared their religious faith, to unify the German region.

Historically, Maximilian opposed the constitution of the Frankfurt Assembly, advocating the exclusion of Austria from the German region, which put him at odds with the populace. To stabilize his rule, in 1851, he shifted to a pro-Austria stance.

Regardless of inclination, the highest goal of the Bavarian Government remained establishing a tripartite balance of power between Austria, Prussia, and Bavaria. Evidently, the Kingdom of Bavaria was far too inferior in strength to Prussia and Austria to achieve this.

The Kingdom of Bavaria’s lean toward Prussia was well-received by the proponents of Austria’s westward policies. Taking ruthless actions against allies sent the wrong message, and the Austrian Government also cared about its image.

If they couldn’t take ruthless actions, even if Austria unified South Germany, these states would continue to exist independently, undermining the centralization efforts of the Austrian Empire.

These states were primarily Bavaria; the smaller states lacked strength and, without their leading brother, they would dare not cause trouble for the Central Government.

Maximilian I, this doomed pro-Prussian King, undeniably provided the Austrian Government with an opportunity to annex the Kingdom of Bavaria.

Now, it all depended on whether his actions could create a justifiable excuse for Austria to legitimately depose the Bavarian Royal Family.

In the office of the Austrian Prime Minister, Felix said in a grave voice, “The alliance between Austria and Bavaria has become an obstacle to our unification of the German region.

It is imperative to dissolve this alliance, but Austria cannot betray the pact, it would be best for the Bavarian Government to take the initiative in the betrayal. The timing of the dissolution of this alliance must also be chosen carefully, too early is no good, and too late is also problematic.”

This balance was difficult to navigate; if the alliance ended prematurely due to geopolitical reasons, then Austria’s influence in the German Federation would suffer greatly, and The Holy Roman Alliance might also be affected.

If, at the time of Austria’s initiation of a war for unification, the two sides are still allies, Maximilian I might just proclaim the Kingdom of Bavaria has changed allegiance.

Anyone in Bavaria could lead the way, except the King, for the cost would be too high.

If such a situation were to occur, the Austrian Government would have cause for lament.

Looking back at the history of the German Empire, the Kingdom of Bavaria retained independent political rights and could even recruit its own army.

Along with a few other states, they had the power to veto unfavorable clauses in the uppermost institution of the German Empire, the Federal Assembly, leaving the Central Government powerless against this state within a state.

Metternich furrowed his brow and said, “There’s always an excuse if you look for one, the question is whether our plan will succeed. If it fails, the Austrian Empire’s great situation will vanish.”

He disliked taking risks and also disapproved of the Russian-Austrian secret treaty. But an arm cannot twist a thigh, and the current Austrian Government was no longer his one-man show.

After thoughtful consideration, Felix said, “Mr. Metternich, the risk of Austria unifying the South German Region is not military.

If we deploy troops under the banner of unifying Germany, there’s a very high likelihood that the state armies will defect, as most of them support German unification.

With the enemy lacking the will to fight, the possibility of us facing military defeat is virtually zero.

The real risk lies in diplomacy, where you have the most authority to speak.

The Russian-Austrian secret treaty has already been signed, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Russians will stand with us.

The British cannot reach us, and the danger comes from two directions: France to the west and Prussia to the north. If we can handle one of them, we win.

If the Austrian Government can make concessions in other areas, do you think it’s possible to persuade France to support us?

We don’t need their support, just their tacit approval would suffice.

Or even cause indecision within the French government, delaying their decision-making process a bit, and we can join forces with Russia to pressure Prussia!”

Metternich fell into contemplation; it’s easier said than done. Many factors influence diplomatic outcomes and must be carefully weighed, especially when they concern the fate of nations.

After some thought, Metternich said with a furrowed brow, “Make extensive sacrifices in the Italian Area, commits to ceding all territory west of the Rhine River, and the chances for obtaining French support are three in ten, with neutrality being six in ten.

As for delaying the decision-making process of the French government, if it is the current French government, they would dispute for months even without any action on our part.”

In his view, Felix was obsessed. Was being neighbors with the French such a good thing?

Therefore, Austria would have to spend vast sums on defense against France in the future, which was also a reason why Russia allowed Austria to annex the South German Region.

Moreover, the so-called strategic estimates were utterly unreliable; who knew when the French government would change again?

Frustrated, Finance Minister Karl said, “Prime Minister, can we discuss this issue later? Let’s not forget our current mission. Without resolving domestic matters first, I am against any expansionist action.”

Originally, the Austrian Government’s finances were quite ample; in 1848 a substantial amount of nobility property was confiscated, and a sizeable sum was extorted from the war with Ausa.

Ever since the Russian-Austrian secret treaty, upon seeing Russia’s war preparations, the Austrian Government judged that the European Continent’s situation was about to be disrupted. To prepare for contingencies, the money became a war reserve.

Consequently, the Finance Ministry had to budget carefully, living within its means.

Recently, there was a dispute over the direction in the Imperial Palace, which ended without a conclusion as the Emperor proposed a reform of the officialdom, putting a stop to the argument.

Initially, today’s topic was supposed to be the reformation of officialdom, but because of the news of the Bavarian foreign policy shift, the discussion veered off course again.

Without a doubt, this was Prime Minister Felix trying to get the Cabinet to support his strategy of expansion to the west, but unfortunately, not everyone was interested in expansion.

Felix laughed and said, “I apologize, that’s my mistake! Recently my mind has been filled with the issues of the South German Region, and I couldn’t help but stray off-topic.

We should continue with today’s topic, about the precise plan for cleaning up the officialdom.”