I have to say that the Russians are very good at choosing the time, and as soon as the ultimatum period ends, it happens to be December 24, and the next day is Christmas.

Whether it's to carry it to the end, or choose to compromise. The Prussians did not have to spend this Christmas, delaying for several days before issuing an ultimatum to the Prussian government, and there was no lack of deliberate disgust for Frederick William IV.

Berlin

After receiving the ultimatum of the Russians, the Kingdom of Prussia exploded, and the main war faction and the main peace faction quarreled endlessly, and the plan to instigate Polish independence was once again proposed.

Prime Minister Josef von Ladowitz said excitedly: "No, Poland will not be able to become a climate at all, even if we give up Prussian Poland and let them establish an independent state, we will not be able to stop the Russians."

On the contrary, it will anger the Russians, who will unite Austria and France to attack us, and it is impossible for the Kingdom of Prussia to win this war! ”

The new Foreign Secretary Alpha said disdainfully: "Prime Minister, don't be so alarmist, at most it is to fight the Russians."

How could the French be involved in this war when the infighting was raging, the parliament supported by the president was opposed, and the bills passed by the parliament were vetoed by the president?

Austria supported us this time, even if the Austrian government had bad intentions, but the Austrian people were our staunch allies.

If the Austrian government dared to join forces with the Russians to attack us, and the revolution broke out in the country before the operation had even begun, they could not have taken any chances. ”

After a pause, he agitated again: "The Russian Empire has decayed, this great empire is broken at the first stab, since it is on the opposite side of us, why not stab him?"

As long as we stand up this time, the entire population of the German region will become our loyal supporters, and the great cause of reunifying Germany will be accomplished in our hands. ”

It is a pity that the top echelons of the Prussian government are no longer secondary two teenagers, and the Russian Empire is decaying, but this rotten empire is not something that Prussia can challenge.

The power of allies? Don't tease, it's okay to fool the second teenager, where did Prussia get its allies?

Many of Germany's states are not afraid of the big things when they see the excitement, and the slogans shouted one after another are earth-shattering, and if they really confront Russia, it is another explanation.

If you analyze it carefully, you will find that the so-called defense of the territorial integrity of the German Confederation does not include parts of Prussian Poland and East Prussia.

This is a huge pit that will be on the rise, and once you jump into the Kingdom of Prussia, you will have to fight the Russians alone. Of course, there is still support, and there are many countries that are unhappy with the Russians.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Holder said coldly: "Mr. Alpha, unless all the German states declare war on the Russians at the same time, it is impossible for us alone to win this war.

Perhaps you haven't noticed, for the Prussian-Danish War, we ourselves spent the last gold coin in the treasury, and as early as half a year ago, the government officials could not receive full salaries, and in the last three months, they have not received a penny.

In the case of national mobilization, our strategic materials can support a maximum of half a month's combat time, and unless our army can win this war within half a month, there is no need to launch this war. ”

Lack of money is one of the biggest problems, since last March the Prussian-Danish war broke out, there was a truce in between, but the armies of the two countries are still facing off.

The Kingdom of Prussia was in deficit for many years, and in order to support the war, they had already tried to raise military funds.

There is really no way to do it, international loans cannot be borrowed, the bonds issued by the government are not taken care of in the financial markets, and the people in China have donated many times and exhausted their pockets in order to support the war.

Even in order to raise money, they did not hesitate to put down their face and ask the people of Germany for help, and they obtained a lot of money, but the problem was that there was not much left in the hands of the Prussian government.

No money is only one aspect, and there is really no way to win. In the era of gun platoons, crowd tactics were one of the most effective tactics.

The Prussian-Russian border was in no danger to defend, and once the war broke out and the main forces of the Prussian army were dragged, the Cossack cavalry killed in the hinterland of the Prussian kingdom, and they were cold.

"The Russians intervened, and the Prussian-Danish war could not be fought. At this time, the most important thing is to find a way to convince the people in China to explain the predicament we are facing to the people, so that they can understand the difficulties of the government.

The question was resolved by the Prime Minister, and the Foreign Ministry sent people to communicate with the Russians, to resume negotiations with the Kingdom of Denmark, and to invite Austria to join in the war.

As a sign of our good faith, the Kingdom of Prussia lifted the national mobilization as soon as negotiations began. Frederick William IV said unhurriedly

……

On December 23, 1849, with the armed mediation of the Russians, the Prussian government announced that it would accept the Russians' proposal to reopen the Prussian-Danish negotiations and at the same time dissolve the national mobilization.

As soon as the news broke, the German region exploded, and the anti-Russian sentiment of the people began to rise, and the Prussian government became disillusioned.

When the Kingdom of Prussia was mobilizing for the whole country, everyone was very moved, and there were not a few people who donated money and materials, and now all of a sudden the Prussian government is cowardly, isn't it a waste of everyone's feelings?

The Prussian government was instigated, but what to do with the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein? In the eyes of the people, this is a matter of principle that cannot be abandoned.

All eyes were on Vienna, and as the boss of the German Confederation, the Austrian government had to show a clear attitude at this time.

Metternich is an old fritter of diplomacy, how could he jump in and help Prussia top the tank?

On Christmas Day, the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced: "The Austrian government will convene a federal conference in the near future, in which a delegation from the Federal Parliament will participate."

Prior to this, the Austrian government hoped that the Kingdom of Prussia would assume the responsibility of a great power and hold the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein. ”

At this time, everyone remembered that there seemed to be a federal parliament in the German region.

However, for the Prussian government, the emergence of the Federal Parliament at this time was to create problems for them.

Of course, it is impossible to compromise in the Federal Assembly, and everyone wants to save face.

Even if the Federal Parliament decides to declare war on the Russians, it will only be a matter for Austria and Prussia, and they are out of reach of these states in the rear, what are they afraid of?

To get the Bundestag to agree to abandon the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein, don't even think about it.

If Prussia had abandoned the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein, then all the blame would have fallen on them.

At this time, there were already rumors that the Prussian government had taken advantage of everyone's patriotic enthusiasm to provoke the war in order to divert domestic contradictions, and public opinion was very unfavorable to the Prussian government.

On Christmas Day 1849, the whole of Germany was not doing well, and the newspapers were full of news of the Prussian-Danish War, and the festive atmosphere was diluted.

In order to express his dissatisfaction with the retreat of the Prussian government, Franz ordered the cancellation of Christmas celebrations, the court banquets, and the government celebrations.

The attitude of the Russians was very tough, and within a month the border between the two countries was not restored to the pre-war level, and the Tsar's army was about to enter the Kingdom of Prussia, which directly cut off the possibility of the Prussian government to make a profit.

The Prussian government was not stupid either, knowing that the longer such a thing dragged on, the more troublesome it would be, and the negotiations had not yet begun, and the Prussian army had already begun to withdraw from Jutland.

One of the factors in this is that there is no money, and hundreds of thousands of troops are deep into the enemy's territory, which is not a small logistical pressure, and they have decided to retreat anyway, so it is better to return as soon as possible to save expenses.

……

Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna

Franz was in a bad mood, and the Prussian government was too quick to use the negotiations to delay the time.

He now finally understands why so many people will be caught embezzling public funds, there are too many unexpected situations to effectively control.

Invest in the food processing industry, the factory has just been established, and if you want to make money, at least wait for the factory to be up and running, right?

The invested mines are no better, the time is too short, and basically they are not effectively developed.

The only mining is sand and gravel mines, but the construction of the railway has only just begun, and the profits are good, but unfortunately this is only a drop in the bucket.

The total amount of savings of the Royal Bank has reached Rp 2,768,900, and the administrative expenses of the bank are Rp 18,000 per month, which must be deducted, and a part of the funds must be reserved for the operation of the bank, and there is not much money that can fill the hole.

Theoretically, three million dong of the donation would go into bank deposits, but in fact this is also an unknown amount, and Franz did not dare to risk this limit.

By the end of the year, the Habsburg family had a lot of assets, but they embezzled them to fill in the holes for themselves, which was also easy to cause internal contradictions.

In fact, these industries already have a mature management mechanism, and Franz only takes his own share every year, in addition to supervising the operation.

Since his uncle is still alive, he, the patriarch of the Habsburg family, can naturally get a big discount on the money, and the profit will be 300,000 guilders.

If it weren't for the end of the year, the royal annuity would come down, and Franz really didn't know how to fill this hole, and he couldn't be cheeky enough to borrow money?

Or withhold donations from the government? I believe that the Ministry of Finance will not be so blind and come over to urge His Majesty the Emperor to repay the money.

Since the royal annuity was to be used to fill the hole, it was natural for the Viennese court to cut unnecessary expenses, and the reduction of court banquets was one of them, and the Prussian affair only provided him with an excuse.

Franz sent people to accurately calculate that the total cost of various banquets at the Austrian court every year would not be less than 500,000 guilders, and a million guilders would not be enough for a little extravagance.

"Your Majesty, the Prussian-Danish War is coming to an end, and for the sake of the bank's credibility, we are ready to return the donations." John Steva reminded

The most important thing for a bank is its reputation. For the sake of the credibility of the Royal Bank, Franz gave up even the opportunity to embezzle a huge donation.

Otherwise, the donations that went into the Royal Bank would have been gone for a long time. Directly handed over to the Prussian government, it became a headless public case.

Franz thought for a moment and said: "Hold a press conference, explain what happened, invite Prussian representatives and notaries to be present, and check the accounts."

External news: If the negotiation goes well, the unused part of the donation will be returned after the end, and everyone will bring the receipt issued by the bank to the business location of the original donation for the same proportion refund.

This year's royal annuity will be deposited directly into the Royal Bank, and the dividends from the royal assets will also be put into the bank, so the funding gap is not a problem.

Also, settle the previous things as soon as possible, complete the commercial loan procedures, and not leave any clues. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty." John Stewa replied

As long as there is money, many problems will be easy to solve, the capital hole will be filled, and the loan procedures will be made up, and the matter will be over.

After such a wave of operations was completed, Franz's misappropriation of donations turned into a legitimate business loan from the bank. The money invested at the beginning was just laundered.

。 m.