Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 353

Chapter 353: Chapter 40: Forcing the Palace

In the Berlin Palace, the Junker nobility laid their cards on the table with the government. They had the sense to inform the government to coordinate before attacking Denmark, without the rashness of striking first and talking later.

Prime Minister Frank was livid, his face ashen. He himself was born of the Junker nobility, and they had waited to inform him only when the sword was at their throats—it was clear he wasn’t considered one of their own.

This was a serious matter; the Kingdom of Prussia had already fallen into the hands of the Junker aristocracy—bourgeoisie-controlled political parties and parliaments had been reduced to minor roles.

If the situation were described in terms of shares, the Junker aristocracy had already taken control of sixty-five percent of the “company” that is Prussia, making them the absolute majority shareholders.

This incident meant that Frank’s position among the Junker aristocracy was being shaken. It was a political signal indicating that the Junker’s support for him had waned.

King Wilhelm I’s expression was just as grim—he, the king, had also been kept in the dark. He glared at the military’s representatives, ready to turn hostile if they didn’t provide a satisfactory explanation.

No action could be taken directly against the Junker class, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t touch a few high-ranking military officials. Besides, were the Junker aristocracy still so unified?

The rise of the Maritime and Continental factions owed part of their existence to Wilhelm I himself. No monarch liked their subordinates to be too cohesive—dividing them was simply instinctual.

Feeling the intense gaze, Loen, the Army and Navy Minister, scrambled to explain, “Your Majesty, if you look at this map of Europe, here is our Kingdom of Prussia.

Our homeland is split in two by the German Federation Empire; the Rhineland region in the west faces military threats from the French, while the Prussian Poland in the east is under threat from the Russians, and the Silesia area in the south faces military threats from Austria.

No country in the world is in as dire strategic straits as we are, threatened simultaneously by three major powers.

In such a situation, we have few choices to break free. To annex the German Federation Empire would inevitably invoke opposition from all European nations.

The French covet the Rhineland and don’t want our territory to be contiguous; the Austrians desire to unify the Germany Region and would never let us reach into the German Federation; the British don’t want to relinquish this thorn in the European Continent and similarly wouldn’t support our annexation of the German Federation.

Not to mention the Russians, whose ambitions for Prussian Poland are well known—should we show any weakness, they would pounce immediately.

To grow stronger, our only choice now is to recover the Schleswig-Holstein Duchies from the Danish and, should fortune favor us, take a hefty bite out of Denmark as well.

Recovering the Two Principalities is of great significance to the German people. Under the influence of national righteousness, Austria would not stand against us; in fact, they might even support our actions diplomatically.

The Kingdom of Denmark is politically pro-Russian; England and France wouldn’t mind us undermining the Russian influence, and they may even give us a push, positioning us against the Russians.

This is when the Russians are at their weakest; Alexander II’s reforms are not yet complete, and he is also facing the Polish uprising. Conservatives there are bound to strike back.

The troubled Russian Empire, even if it wanted to intervene in this war, could not muster much force given the financial state of the Tsarist Government.

Should the Russians send troops, we would not be fighting alone. England and France would surely support us, and even Austria would be keen to see the Russians fail.

Our chances of success in taking action now are very high. We need only a month to occupy the Kingdom of Denmark, catch the Russians off guard, and then resolve further issues through negotiations.”

This was a gamble, betting on whether the Russians would intervene in the war. A win would naturally mean reclaiming the two duchies and taking a chunk out of Denmark.

If the bet was lost, we would turn to England and France, becoming their proxy and, with their backing, take on the Russians in a fight.

Without a doubt, the Prussian Military was not confident in a full-scale confrontation with Russia, but committing the nation’s resources to a local war against the Russians was a different matter altogether.

The Russian Empire was powerful, but regrettably, the Tsarist Government was impoverished. In the midst of reforms, they were even poorer than before.

The Prussian Government might be short on funds, but England and France were wealthy. Since we would be acting as their proxies, naturally, they should foot the bill.

This explanation only slightly subdued Wilhelm I’s rage; it was clearly insufficient to make him let the matter slide.

Wilhelm I scoffed, “Is that so, my Army Minister, my Minister of the Navy, my Chief of General Staff. Since when did the Kingdom of Prussia’s domestic and foreign policies become entirely subject to your decisions?”

Both Army and Navy Minister Loen and Chief of General Staff Maoqi lowered their heads, playing ostrich.

It wasn’t that they intended to act first and report later; the problem was that if they had reported in advance, the plan would never have passed.

On the surface, the risks of this gamble seemed within a manageable range. The most serious outcome would be a local war with the Russians, and with English and French support, Prussia’s odds of victory were not low.

In reality, however, this was all theoretical. If any link in the chain failed, the Kingdom of Prussia could face immediate catastrophe.

For instance: if the Tsarist Government, in a fit of rage, decided to clash with them regardless of the cost. Forget about support from England and France—even if they intervened in person, they would equally be doomed.

Should the Russians and Austrians reach a compromise to divide Prussia, our enemy would immediately double in number.

Do not think such a possibility didn’t exist—in an era where the Kingdom of Prussia spanned over 300,000 square kilometers, with Prussian Poland accounting for nearly half.

Austria wouldn’t dare relinquish territory in the German Region of Prussia, but Prussian Poland was not included in this—Vienna Government could discard it without any pressure.

Under normal circumstances, the Tsarist Government would not act this way. That was because if Austria annexed these lands, they would grow significantly, and without the Kingdom of Prussia to balance them, the German Federation Empire would hardly hold out for long.

Or, for instance: if English and French bureaucracy was a step too slow, and by the time aid arrived, Prussia could already have suffered a crippling blow.

Or perhaps: if the attack on Denmark encountered unexpected issues and failed to secure victory immediately, leading to the Russians launching an offensive. Forced to fight two-front battles.

…

“`

With so many unforeseen factors, any one of which could have spelled doom for the Kingdom of Prussia. If Prussia fell, its nobility and capitalists wouldn’t necessarily go down with it, but Wilhelm I was bound to have bad luck.

As a competent king, why take the risk? Wouldn’t it be better to develop according to the current situation? Isn’t that enough?

To put it bluntly, it was the Junker aristocracy, for the sake of their own interests, who dragged the Kingdom of Prussia to the gambling table, even with insufficient preparation.

Prime Minister Frank pleaded, “Your Majesty, now that things have come to this, let’s set aside the matter of responsibility for later! What is most important now is to communicate with other countries immediately and seek diplomatic support.

The recovery of the Schleswig-Holstein Duchies is a major concern for the entire German People and we cannot let this pressure be borne by us alone.”

Whether willing or not, it was the Prussian Government’s rear end that had to be wiped clean. If the military were left to its own devices, who knows what result they would produce?

Prime Minister Frank didn’t dare take that risk; the Kingdom of Prussia couldn’t afford the consequences of failure. Had he been in charge from the start, he wouldn’t have taken this risk before settling things with England, France, and Austria.

Wilhelm I sighed and said, “I don’t care how you do it, immediately order the troops to stop all actions.

We need a reasonable excuse; ‘maintaining German sovereignty’ has already been used once.

After the Paris Congress, the Germany Region was partitioned, and the Kingdom of Prussia no longer had the right to represent all the Sub-States in the Germany Region; this reason cannot be used as our pretext for war.”

In terms of boosting morale, ‘maintaining German sovereignty’ can certainly ignite the patriotic passion of soldiers, but politically, it is a losing proposition.

In the first Prussia-Denmark war, the Kingdom of Prussia, under pressure from the Russians, also gave up the Schleswig-Holstein Duchies, tarnishing its reputation in the Germany Region.

If used again, neither Austria nor the German Federation would buy their story.

Because the international agreement at the Paris meeting divided the Germany Region, using this excuse as a war pretext would not be recognized by England and France either.

Roon replied hesitantly, “Your Majesty, it’s already too late. Although the plan was to launch the attack on the morning of October 27, the units have already cut off telegram communications. We simply can’t notify the troops in such a short time.

Look, why not just come up with some excuse, such as ‘saving our German brothers oppressed by the Kingdom of Denmark’?”

Obviously, the military had made preparations early on. Whether or not the Berlin Government cooperated, the attack would still go ahead as scheduled. The only time left for the government was to issue a declaration of war.

There’s no point dreaming of delaying tactics. After all this hectic effort, how could they possibly decide not to fight?

Chief of General Staff Maoqi bit his tongue, holding back his opinions from start to finish.

This plan originated from the General Staff Office, and the accompanying military plan was personally overseen by him; just on this account, he dared not speak rashly for fear of angering the King.

Wilhelm I glared at Roon and said with a sneer, “So everything is ready, then why bother telling me? If you’re so capable, go ahead and do it yourselves!”

Having said that, he left without looking back. The King left in a huff, but the work still had to be done. At the very least, a declaration of war had to be issued; the Kingdom of Prussia still couldn’t resort to war without declaration.

Prime Minister Frank said with an angry face, “Since you military people have made up your minds, just send someone to hand the declaration to the Danish.”

The work of the Foreign Ministry is very busy, and they also have to clean up after you, so let’s not trouble them.”

If it were any ordinary time, the Foreign Minister would have exploded at anyone encroaching on his duties. But now was naturally an exception, and the Prime Minister wanted to throw all the responsibility onto the military; of course, he wouldn’t object.

If they won, all was well, but in the event of an unexpected defeat, the military would have to shoulder all the blame.

Maoqi and Roon exchanged a glance and smiled wryly at each other. Clearly, with the King and the government already upset, they shouldn’t expect good times ahead.

If this war didn’t yield satisfactory gains for all, both of them were certain to be sacked, and they might even end up in military court.

Unauthorized military mobilization without the King’s approval was a grave trespass. Now the government had passed another charge their way; the military had to go and deliver the declaration of war.

If they won, it would be decided by the government; if they lost the war, they estimated that the declaration might even be fabricated by the military by that point.

Debt doesn’t crush a person; in any case, if they won the war, all issues would be erased with a single stroke, and if they lost, having one more charge or one less made no difference.

In any event, it was the military that first broke the rules, and naturally, it had to bear the corresponding responsibility.

Maoqi replied, “No problem. But other government departments must cooperate properly; if due to some department’s negligence or malpractice, the war is lost, then we’ll all go to hell together!”

This is Prussia, a world where the army owns the state. As Chief of General Staff, Maoqi only needed to be accountable to the King; he wouldn’t dare act up in front of Wilhelm I but didn’t care much for government officials.

Since relations were already strained, it was more efficient to issue threats than to make nice suggestions.

Prime Minister Frank retorted sarcastically, “Just focus on doing your own job, and don’t end up causing a bunch of chaos that we have to clean up every day.

We’re about to hold a government meeting, and you aren’t welcome to join. Please leave, gentlemen!”

There’s no such thing as neglecting work; if they lose the war, not one of the government’s top officials would be able to escape. Even those without any responsibility would be implicated and forced to resign.