With Franz's order, Bavaria became lively.

Chancellor Felix's speech in Munich still had a role, and most of the young generation in Bavaria were tricked into thinking about how to unify the German region.

This thought goes wrong. With their social experience, they are not able to consider problems comprehensively at all, and it is very easy to go to extremes when looking at problems.

If there is no one to lead the rhythm, it will be forgotten, but it is a pity that Franz, who has been prepared for a long time, how can he give up this opportunity?

One after another, experts and scholars jumped out to express their opinions, criticizing the Bavarian government authorities for undermining the unity of the German regions for their own interests.

In the eyes of most people, the rebuilding of the HRE is not the best option, but it is the most suitable choice, when the road to peaceful reunification is blocked, only unification by force remains.

There may be people who want to make a difference in the war, but it is definitely not a civil war.

Under the influence of Prime Minister Felix's speech, these self-proclaimed elite students could not stand it, and they thought that they should do something for the reunification of the country, and they could not watch the government mess around.

Demonstrations, such meaningful activities, are regarded by them as the best way to make their voices heard.

Everyone is an intellectual, even a parade can find a legal basis, and the speech made by the former King Ludwig before his abdication became everyone's banner.

(Ludwig abdicated under the influence of the Revolution, and in order to win the hearts of the people, he publicly stated that the royal family would be committed to the unification of the German region)

Maximilian II had a headache, and this political bomb detonated. Even if there is no such thing as the immutability of ancestral family law in Europe, the words of the old king before his abdication still have political effect.

Now everyone wants the king to come out and give an explanation, since the royal family is committed to the unification of the German region, how can the current government go against the grain?

It was not only the king who was questioned, but also the cabinet ministers. The attitude of everyone is very clear, it is okay to oppose the establishment of the HRE, but you have to come up with a plan for the reunification of Germany, right?

Whether it is feasible or not, at least it must be able to convince everyone theoretically and gain the approval of the majority of people.

Maximilian II anxiously asked, "What should you do now, the people outside are waiting for our answer?" ”

It's not that they are unprepared, but the previous emergency plans were all used to deal with someone making trouble. Now the question is, aren't these people making trouble?

The mass of participants in the demonstrations was much higher than usual, not only workers and students, but also the middle class, capitalists, sociologists, and aristocrats.

It covers a wide range of groups, involving all groups in the Kingdom of Bavaria, and even if the Bavarian government suspects that it is organized, they do not dare to act rashly without evidence in their hands.

The Great Revolution had just passed, and everyone was so worried that they did not dare to mess around, for fear of causing social unrest.

Chancellor August replied: "Your Majesty, the best way now is to come up with a plan for the unification of Germany and to convince the people as much as possible." ”

In fact, the governments of the various states throughout Germany are now preparing their own plans for unification, and since they want to oppose the rebuilding of the HRE, there must be a new replacement.

Otherwise, it is as Felix criticized, "If you don't do practical things all day long, you know that you oppose for the sake of opposition."

"Prime Minister, what do you think?" Maximilian II asked

August replied, "Your Majesty, we can change the previous plan and change the plan of the Cabinet of the Three Kingdoms again."

The reason is the same: there are so many states in Germany that if everyone participates in the decision-making, there will be quarrels left every day.

The best option would be for Bavaria to replace the many small states and form a balance in the central government with Austrian Prussia to dominate the empire.

Of course, this proposal will certainly not be supported by other states, but it is feasible to convince the people that Bavaria can gain the most benefits.

As long as the Austrians can accept the formation of a three-country cabinet, we will support the re-establishment of the Holy Roman Empire. ”

After a moment's hesitation, Maximilian II made up his mind and said, "Okay, that's it." ”

To do so would offend a small state, but the lesser of two powers. Offending these small states is nothing more than a few words of protest, and if you don't give an explanation to the people at home, it will affect the foundation of the rule.

Since gaining the support of the Great Powers, the Bavarian government has been much emboldened. If it weren't for the fact that Austria was a little stronger, they would all want to unify Germany's many small states by force.

Moreover, this time the Bavarian government also came out for everyone and smashed the Austrian HRE plan, even if the slogan is a little too much now, it must be understandable to everyone.

……

On March 4, 1853, Britain and France ignited the Crimean War, disrupting the deployment of the Russians as soon as they struck.

The strategy of the British was not wrong, the tsarist government was really exhausted. After the addition of a new front, the logistical supply of the Russian army in the Balkans fell to Austria.

To the surprise of the coalition forces, the Russian army invested in the Crimean War not only had low combat effectiveness, but also had surprisingly bad weapons and equipment, which could be regarded as a flower army.

There was no way, and the tsarist government was helpless. Most of the elite units of the Russian army filled the Balkan battlefield, or they also went to the Caucasus theater, and the rest were second-line troops or reserve forces.

The training was not enough, the weapons and equipment were not good, and as soon as the battle broke out, the Russians naturally suffered a big loss. If it weren't for the terrain and climate of the Crimean War, which pitted the unaccustomed coalition forces, the two sides would have decided the victory and defeat now.

Vienna

Chancellor of the Exchequer Karl said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the Russians have once again asked us for loans, the tsarist government's bond sales are cold in the market, and the vast majority of investors are worried that they will default. ”

Franz didn't even bother to complain about the Russians, the credibility was so bad that there was no one left. Even if they take out collateral, investors are worried that they will default.

This is not unfounded, there is a precedent for hairy bears. Even if there is collateral for debts, they can also create excuses for defaulting.

For example, if they mortgage a mine, they can collect a mess of taxes specifically on the mine and force investors to exit on their own.

Another example is that if you mortgage the tax, you will let the creditor collect it yourself, provided that you can collect it.

……

The sins of the ancestors, now it is the turn of Nicholas I to pay back. There have been too many bloody lessons, and the capital market is still apprehensive about them.

Even Nicholas I's efforts to restore credibility were to no avail. Without the efforts of several generations, their credit will hardly be accepted by the market.

Just look at the fact that all European countries are issuing paper money, but they are still directly using gold and silver as currency, not only the lack of credibility in the international market, but also the domestic capital market is also suspicious of the credibility of the tsarist government.

Franz did not hesitate to say: "Tell the Russians that we are also in financial difficulties and cannot afford to give them huge loans, and suggest that they try in the capital markets of neutral countries." ”

He was afraid, the Russians had already borrowed 202 million dong from Austria, including 130 million dong from the government, 72 million dong from the private sector, and Franz's Royal Bank issued a huge loan of 5 million dong.

Of course, government loans are all ultra-low interest rates. Private loans naturally follow the laws of the market, and when encountering a business partner with a bad reputation like the tsarist government, the monthly interest rate is less than 0.7%.

After deducting the mess of fees, the interest that the Russians have to pay is actually more than 1% per month.

Don't think it's usury, even with such interest, there are very few consortia willing to lend money to the Russians.

High risk corresponds to high returns, and these loans would not have been approved if it were not for the fact that the money could only be used in Austria.

Some private loans have other strings attached, such as specifying the money to buy a company's products, or ......

Naturally, the tsarist government was keen to ask the Austrian government for a loan. Not to mention the high interest rate of private loans, there are still a lot of restrictions, and the tsarist government naturally cannot stand it.

Even if there are Russians in the background, Franz does not dare to print tickets unscrupulously, who knows when the war in the near East will end? What if it's too late?

At that time, Austria did not accumulate enough capital, the economic crisis broke out again, and the Russians who got the loans could still become bottom-pickers.

In the face of interests, what should be guarded against is still to be guarded. Basically, the Russians had to import a certain amount of gold and silver to Austria, which could guarantee that there would be no currency devaluation, before Franz dared to lend money.

Franz admits that he is a conservative and ignorant of economic issues. However, the country is different from the enterprise, and what the country needs is steady development, not rapid explosion.

Metternich opened his mouth and said: "Your Majesty, at this time we need to stabilize the Russians, we can help them sell a batch of bonds for emergency first, the summer tax is coming soon, and the Russians should be able to return a mouthful of blood at that time."

The Bavarian government itself has reached a dead end, and now it only takes time to ferment, and our people just need to push it and they will be finished. ”

It was not easy to trap the Bavarian government, and Austria made a lot of huge holes for them to jump on, but most of them avoided them.

For example, if the Bavarian government suppresses the crowds that demonstrate, Austria can intervene on the charge that the Bavarian government persecuted nationalists and tried to divide the German region.

Without even declaring war, Austrian troops could appear on the streets of Munich and even be welcomed in.

Obviously, the Bavarian government was not stupid, even if it did not know that Austria wanted to take action against them, and knew that repression by force would shake the foundations of its rule.

As a result, the pit did not jump, and they themselves dug another pit and buried themselves. On the surface, it seems that offending these small states is nothing, and they are just shouting slogans at home anyway.

But Austria is a different story, the governments of these states can calm down, but the people cannot.

According to the Austrian plan, they were also one of the shareholders of the HRE, and they were all masters of the country; According to the Bavarian plan, they became shareholders and nominally shareholders, but they were not qualified to participate in decision-making, and they were even deprived of the right to dividends.

In this case, it is no wonder that they are not angry. As long as they are angry, when Austria makes a move against Bavaria, they will oppose it, and the opposition of the common people will undoubtedly make the governments of these small states hesitate.

As long as they did not send troops to help at the first time, the Kingdom of Bavaria would not be able to withstand the first wave, and the later caused the established fact of Austria's annexation of Bavaria, and it would be too late for everyone to participate.

Without the Kingdom of Bavaria, these small states would have to face Austria directly, their strength was limited, and they simply did not have the strength to resist Austria.

These small states of Germany may seem inconspicuous, but if united, they are not weak.

Three or four hundred thousand troops can still be taken out, plus a Prussian kingdom, if they can't quickly break through each of them, once they reach a stalemate, then this plan will fail.

Therefore, political camouflage is very important, not to mention fooling the governments of the world, as long as they hesitate and let Austria defeat Bavaria, the whole situation is decided.

On the surface, the Austrian government is now dominated by the peaceful unification faction, followed by the anti-German unification faction, and as for the voices advocating the reunification of the German regions by force, they cannot be heard at all until below.

Politically, however one looks at it, the Austrian government has no motive for military action and is not in a position to make such a decision.

To some extent, politicians' political positions will influence national decision-making, just as Lincoln, who advocated the abolition of slavery, was elected and the American Civil War was ignited.

If the Austrian government had been in power, the German states would have been as vigilant as they were now against the Kingdom of Prussia.

Even if their strength is not as strong as that of Austria, their prime ministers are all from the military, a standard hardliner, and everyone feels threatened.

Franz said kindly: "Well, first help the Russians withstand this wave, and then they should collect war taxes again, presumably this year the tsarist government will not be short of money." ”

War taxes are a unique tax in Europe, and in modern times, monarchs usually financed wars from war taxes.

Now there is a war tax in Austria as well, but Franz will not collect it unless it is absolutely necessary. If you collect money, you can't lose the battle, otherwise the consequences will be very serious.

Field Marshal Radetzky reminded: "Your Majesty, it is time to create a pretext for war, and the matter of dividing and disintegrating the German state has reached this point, and it will be too late to come again." ”

Franz thought for a moment and said, "Go according to the plan!" ”