At the royal palace in Berlin, the Junker aristocracy had a showdown with the government. They still have brains, and they know that they will notify the government to cooperate before attacking Denmark, and they will fight first before they have fun.

Prime Minister Frank was so angry that his face turned pale, he was also a Junker nobleman, and he had to be notified when the sword was on the string, which clearly did not treat him as his own.

This was a very serious point, because the power of the Kingdom of Prussia had fallen into the hands of the Junker aristocracy during this period, and the political parties and parliaments controlled by the bourgeoisie were reduced to supporting roles.

If it is divided by the shareholding system, the Junker aristocracy already controls 65 percent of the shares of the Prussian company, and is the absolute majority shareholder.

This kind of thing happened and meant that Frank's position within the Junker aristocracy had been shaken. This was a political signal that the Junker aristocracy had reduced support for him.

William I's face was also very ugly, and he, the king, was kept in the dark. looked at the military representative murderously, and if he didn't give a reasonable explanation, he would be unkind.

There is no way to take the Junker aristocracy, which does not mean that he cannot move a few military high-ranking people. Besides, is the current Junker aristocracy still monolithic?

The birth of the Maritime School and the Continental School is also due to William I. As a monarch, no one likes to have a monolithic subordinate subordinate body, and it is just an instinct to divide his subordinates.

Ron, who was stared at and was also the Minister of the Army and Navy, hurriedly explained: "Your Majesty, look at this map of Europe, this is the location of our Kingdom of Prussia.

Our homeland was divided in two by the German Federal Empire, the Rhineland in the west was militarily threatened by the French, Prussia Poland in the east, and the Austrians in the south.

There is no other country in the world that is as strategically as bad as us, and at the same time threatened by the three great powers.

In this case, we don't have many options to break the game. Wanting to annex the Federal Empire of Germany was bound to be opposed by European countries.

The French covet the Rhineland and don't want to connect us to the mainland; The Austrians wanted to unify the German regions, and it was impossible for us to reach out to the German Confederation; The British did not want to give up this nail on the European continent and likewise would not support our annexation of the German Confederation.

Not to mention the Russians, who know their ambitions in Prussian Poland and will pounce on us as soon as we show a flaw.

The only option we have now is to recover the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein from the Danes, and if we're lucky, bite the Danes.

The reconquest of the two principalities was of great significance to the German nation. Under the influence of national righteousness, Austria will not stand against us, and even diplomatically they will support our actions.

The Kingdom of Denmark is politically pro-Russian, and Britain and France will not mind us striking at the power of the Russians, and they will even push us to stand against the Russians.

Now is the time when the Russians are at their weakest, Alexander II's reforms are not over, and there is another Polish uprising, and the conservatives are bound to fight back.

Even if the Russian Empire wanted to intervene in the war, with the financial situation of the tsarist government, the power they could come up with was very limited.

Once the Russians send troops, we will not be alone, Britain and France will definitely support us, and even Austria wants to see the Russians defeated.

The odds of winning now are very high, it only takes a month to occupy the Kingdom of Denmark, catch the Russians by surprise, and then negotiate a solution to the problems that follow. ”

It was a gamble on whether the Russians would send troops to intervene in the war. If you win the bet, you will naturally take back the two principalities, and by the way, bite off a piece of meat from the Kingdom of Denmark.

If he lost the bet, he defected to Britain and France, acting as their agents, and fighting the Russians with the support of both countries.

There is no doubt that there is no bottom in the Prussian military with a comprehensive PK with the Russians, but it is different to fight a local war with the Russians with all the strength of the country.

The Russian Empire was strong, but unfortunately the tsarist government was poor. The reforming tsarist government was poorer than ever.

Although the Prussian government had no money, Britain and France were rich. Since he is a thug, it is naturally the boss who pays for it.

This explanation only slightly reduced William I's anger, and it was obviously not enough for him to reveal the matter.

William I sneered and said, "Yes, my Minister of War, Lord of the Navy, my Chief of the General Staff. Since when did you decide the internal and foreign affairs of the Kingdom of Prussia? ”

Army and Navy Chancellor Ron and Chief of Staff Moltke both lowered their heads and loaded the ostriches.

It's not that they want to cut it first, it's that the problem is that they reported it in advance, and this plan can't be passed at all.

On the face of it, the risk of this gamble is manageable. The most serious consequence was a local war with the Russians, and the odds of victory with Britain and France supporting Prussia were not low.

Actually, this is only theoretical. If something went wrong in one of these areas, the Kingdom of Prussia could be wiped out.

For example: the tsarist government was so confused that it would do whatever it took to fight them. Not to mention the support of Britain and France, even if Britain and France go into battle in person, they will also be finished.

In the event that the Russians and Austria reached a compromise to divide Prussia, Prussia's enemies would immediately become two.

Don't think that this possibility does not exist, the total area of the Kingdom of Prussia in this era was 305,000 square kilometers, and Prussian Poland accounted for 141,100 square kilometers.

Austria did not dare to give up the territory of the Prussian German region, but the 141,100 square kilometers of Prussian Poland was not at all pressured by the Vienna government.

Under normal circumstances, the tsarist government would not have done this. That's because Austria's annexation of these territories would grow rapidly, and without the Kingdom of Prussia as a counterbalance, the Federal Empire of Germany would not last long.

Another example: the British and French bureaucracy was a step slower, and by the time the aid came, Prussia was already half-defeated.

Or: the attack on Denmark was unexpected, and the war was not won in the first place. As a result, the Russians came to the door again and were forced to fight on two fronts.

……

With so many unexpected factors, any one of them would be enough to bring the Kingdom of Prussia to an end. Prussia was finished, and the domestic aristocracy and capitalists were not necessarily doomed, except Wilhelm I, who was doomed.

As a qualified king, why take the plunge? According to the current situation, isn't it good to continue to develop step by step?

To put it bluntly, it was the Junker aristocracy who dragged the Kingdom of Prussia to the table for their own benefit, and still at the table when they were not fully prepared.

Prime Minister Frank advised: "Your Majesty, the matter has come to this point, and the matter of accountability should be put back!" The most important thing now is to immediately communicate with other countries and seek diplomatic support.

The reconquest of the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein is a major matter shared by the entire German nation, and we cannot afford to let this pressure be borne by our family. ”

Whether you like it or not, this ass will have to be wiped by the Prussian government. If the military is allowed to toss, who knows what will happen in the end?

Chancellor Frank did not dare to take this risk, and the Kingdom of Prussia could not afford to lose. If he had operated from the beginning, he would never have taken this risk until he had dealt with Britain, France and Austria.

William I sighed and said: "I don't care what method you use, immediately order the troops to cease all operations."

We need a plausible excuse, and the preservation of German sovereignty has already been used once.

The partition of Germany at the Paris Peace Conference, and the fact that the Kingdom of Prussia was no longer qualified to represent all the states of Germany, cannot be used as a pretext for our war. ”

In terms of morale, the preservation of German sovereignty was the best way to stimulate the patriotic fervor of the soldiers, but politically it was a failure.

In the First Prussian-Danish War, the Kingdom of Prussia, under pressure from the Russians, abandoned the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein, which became infamous in Germany.

On this ground, neither Austria nor the German Confederation would buy them.

Because the international resolution of the Paris Conference to break up the German region, Britain and France will not recognize this reason as a pretext for war.

Ron replied with some hesitation, "Your Majesty, it's too late in time.

Although the plan was to attack the morning after tomorrow, the troops had now cut off telegraph communication. In such a short period of time, we did not notify the troops at all.

You see, it would be nice to find an excuse to make do with it, for example: to save the Germans who were oppressed by the Kingdom of Denmark. ”

Obviously, the military was prepared. Regardless of whether the Berlin government cooperates or not, the offensive will still be launched on time. The time left for the government is for the war letter.

Delay tactics, don't dream. Everyone has been busy for so long, how can they say that if they don't fight, they won't fight?

Moltke, the chief of the general staff on the side, stopped talking and did not express his opinion from beginning to end.

This plan was first drawn up by the General Staff, and the accompanying battle plan was drawn up by him himself, and he did not dare to speak rashly on this basis alone, so as not to anger the king.

William I glared at Ron, sneered and said, "Are you ready, then tell me what to do?" If you're so capable, do it yourself! ”

After saying that, he went out without looking back. The king is gone, but things have to go on. At least the war book must be issued, and the Kingdom of Prussia cannot do anything without declaring war.

Prime Minister Frank said with a face full of anger: "Since your military has decided, then you can send someone to hand the war book to the Danes!"

The work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is very busy, and there is also the aftermath for you, so there is no need to trouble them. ”

If it were in normal times, whoever dared to rob the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Foreign Minister would have erupted long ago. Now it is naturally an exception, and the prime minister wants to throw all the responsibility on the military, and he will naturally not object.

If there is a slight accident and the war is lost, then the military must fight all the thunder.

Moltke and Ron looked at each other and smiled wryly. Obviously, this time the king and the government have done evil, and they should not want to have a good life in the future.

But if this war does not reap the benefits that everyone is satisfied with, the two of them will definitely get out, and if they don't do so, they will have to go to court-martial.

It was a taboo to move an army without the king's approval. Now the government has stuffed another charge, and the military has run to deliver the war letter.

If you win, the government decides, and if you lose the war, it is estimated that this war letter will also become a forgery from the military.

If you have a lot of debts, you won, and all the problems will be written off anyway, and if you lose the war, there is no difference between one more crime and one less crime.

In short, all this is because the military broke the rules first, and naturally has to bear the corresponding responsibility.

Moltke replied, "No problem. But in other respects, the government must do a good job of cooperating, and if the war is lost because of the passive sabotage of some departments, then we will go to hell together! ”

Here is Prussia, a world where the army has a state. As the chief of the General Staff, Moltke only needed to be responsible to the king, and he did not dare to make a mistake in front of William I, so it didn't matter to the government officials.

Anyway, the relationship is already stiff, and it is more efficient to directly threaten than to persuade with good words.

Prime Minister Frank sneered at each other: "It's better to do your own work, don't make a mess when the time comes, we don't have the time to clean up the aftermath for you every day."

Now we are going to convene a government meeting, and you are not involved, so please two of you! ”

If there is no such thing as passive sabotage, once the war is lost, none of the top levels of the government will be able to escape. Even if there is no responsibility, they will be implicated and step down.