Watching the great powers stir up the storm, the newly succeeded Prussian king Wilhelm I could not bear it, perhaps the Junker nobles could not bear it.

The butterfly effect was powerful, and with the re-emergence of Austria, the Prussian government found that their dream of a great power was really about to become a dream.

The sense of crisis was the driving force behind Prussia's march towards strength. In the First Schleswig War, the Prussian army did not perform well, and it can even be called rubbish.

Calls for military reform were high in the Prussian army, and the main leader was Albrecht von Rohn, one of the three great Prussian heroes.

Ron is not well-known, but what he does is earth-shattering. not only presided over the reform of the Prussian army, but also single-handedly promoted Moltke and put Bismarck on the prime ministership.

Without him, Moltke might still have a chance to climb up, and Bismarck, the public enemy of the royal family, would not have to think about ascending to the throne.

Now General Ron is very annoying, and he has only recently served as Minister of War and Secretary of the Navy, and he is about to face a big problem: the domestic call for the creation of a colony is getting louder and louder.

I don't know what others think of Ron, anyway, he is against opening up overseas colonies, and there is only one reason - no money.

In order to dispel this unrealistic idea, he had to enlist the support of William I. But now Wilhelm I also wanted to grab wealth from the overseas colonies and change the financial difficulties of the Kingdom of Prussia, which caused him a headache.

……

At the meeting of the government of the royal palace in Berlin, Chancellor Frank once again reaffirmed the advantages of opening up a colony and proposed the establishment of a colonial empire belonging to Prussia.

Portugal and the Netherlands, two small countries, had large colonies overseas, and with the strength of the Kingdom of Prussia, opening up overseas colonies did not seem to be a big deal.

Ron objected: "Your Excellency, I know that it is important to open up a colony, to provide cheap raw materials and markets for domestic industry and commerce, and to change the government's financial difficulties.

However, you seem to be ignoring one of the most important issues, that any colonial empire is a naval power.

With those few ships of our navy, I am afraid that even a large number of pirates may not be able to handle it, so why open up colonies overseas? ”

This is a fact, and just by the fact that the Minister of War can also be the Minister of the Navy, we know how bad the Prussian Navy is. But this is unlikely to happen in any country with a somewhat strong navy.

Chancellor Frank explained: "The government is already preparing to expand its navy, and the Kingdom of Prussia needs its own ironclad fleet. ”

Ron asked with a grim face, "Where does the military spending come from?" ”

Frank replied calmly: "Now that the Vienna system has been rebuilt, the contradictions of various countries tend to ease, and the European continent tends to stabilize, it is unlikely that a war will break out.

Under these circumstances, there is no need for urgent military reform. The army sacrificed for the country this time, and then lived a hard life for the next few years.

Some soldiers can be transferred to the navy to save military expenses, and the government will find a way to get together a little bit and build an ironclad fleet first.

After the opening up of the colonies and the solution of the problems of domestic industrial and commercial raw materials and markets, and the improvement of the domestic economy, it is better to carry out military reform. ”

In order to cope with the impact of the rise of Austria and the rebirth of France, Ron recently put forward a specific plan for arms reform:

Requests for an extension of the length of service in the military from 2 to 4 years; abolition of the National Reserve; Replace the equipment of the standing army, and allocate 17.5 million thalers per year from the next fiscal year.

These measures mean that the number of conscripts has increased from 40,000 to 85,000, the army from 102 to 163 regiments, and the peacetime strength from 208,000 to 327,000.

This more radical military reform than ever was based on the greater military pressure on the Kingdom of Prussia.

At present the standing army of the Russians is 990,000, the standing army of the new Holy Roman Empire is 580,000, and the standing army of the French is 500,000.

The three neighbors are so perverted, if they don't expand their army, the quasi-great power status of the Kingdom of Prussia will be gone.

Moreover, Franz's desire to unify Germany was well known, and Napoleon III's coveting of the Rhineland region was undisguised.

The Junker aristocracy, represented by Ron, naturally had a heart of crisis.

Without expansion, the Kingdom of Prussia would have less than a third of the strength of any of its opponents. If war broke out suddenly, they wouldn't even have the strength to fight.

The bourgeoisie did not think so, they had faith in the Vienna system. Expressing concern about the military expansion:

On the one hand, the abolition of the reserve army and the extension of active service will undoubtedly weaken their influence in the army;

On the other hand, two-thirds of the officers and nine-tenths of the instructors in this huge army are Juncker, and there is a danger that the army could become a tool of Juncker's opposition to parliament.

"Who assures it that its sharpened weapons will be used for its own purposes?"

As a result, the bourgeois liberals, represented by the Progressive Party, used the powers granted to Parliament by the 1850 Constitution to bargain with the government and delay the adoption of the expansion plan.

In order to avoid the worst, the capitalists began to preach the benefits of opening up colonies, painting a big pie for the top of the government, and trying to use the development of the navy to weaken the Junker aristocracy.

Now many people have been tricked into it, and real-life examples are in front of them. If there is no benefit to opening up colonies, why are Britain, France, Austria, and France all opening up colonies?

Even the losses of Austria's overseas colonies were turned into profits by the data obtained by the capitalists. Using a bunch of economic jargon, the prime minister and the king are fooled.

Let them believe that the Austrian colonies were only administratively at a loss. The Viennese government has made a profit through monetary taxes, mined gold, cheap industrial raw materials, and other taxes from the market.

This is manifested in the rapid development of the domestic economy and the rapid growth of government revenue. It also has the benefit of wardening the economic crisis and reducing the outflow of gold and silver.

After a mess of data, it was concluded that the Austrian colony had brought 12 million Aegis to the Vienna government every year.

This is not a small amount, almost half of the revenue of the Kingdom of Prussia. Coupled with a whole bunch of benefits, many people are tricked into it.

In fact, this account is not clear at all, and the rapid economic development of Austria and the colonies did contribute. However, there are too many industries involved, and the number of economic cycles is too complex, as long as you add a little more, the final gap is an astronomical number.

The reason that everyone believes is that the Vienna government opened up the colony. If you can't make a profit, you will definitely not be so actively involved.

Including Britain, France, Spain, and Pudus, all of them were analyzed by the capitalists as examples, and came to the conclusion: the colonial empire has a large sphere of influence, and the country is strong; When the colonies are lost, the country will fall.

It doesn't matter if you listen to it once, if there are various experts whispering it in your ears every day, it will penetrate into the hearts of the people after a long time and become a recognized truth.

Ron insisted: "No, the army's military reform must not be stopped." If you look at the map, you can see how much pressure we are facing for national defense.

In the event of a clash with any of the great powers one day, with the current military strength of Prussia, there is no strength for a war at all. ”

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Fibel Adolf, sneered: "Your Excellency, if it is based on the need to fight against the three major powers, even if your military expansion plan is doubled, I am afraid it is still not enough.

However, the financial resources of the Kingdom of Prussia are limited, and even if we invest all our financial revenues in the military, we will not be able to compete with any other great power.

Modern warfare is not the same as it used to be. During the Near Eastern War, the total strength of the Russians exceeded two million at one point; At the time of the unification war waged by Austria, the total number of troops mobilized was also close to this figure.

The Kingdom of Prussia has a population of more than 14 million, and the human resources have set the upper limit of our military expansion. Taking advantage of the contradictions of various countries to maintain European balance is the most suitable strategy for us.

You may not know, but if I tell you a set of economic data, you will understand.

In 1850, the revenues of the Kingdom of Prussia were 40.3% of those of Austria, 28.2% of those of the French, and 30.3% of those of the Russians;

After the establishment of the new Holy Roman Empire in Austria in 1854, the financial revenue of the Kingdom of Prussia was 31.1% of that of Austria, 27.2% of that of the French, and 27.6% of that of the Russians.

In 1860, the Kingdom of Prussia had 20.2% of Austria's, 21.3% of the French, and 31.1% of the Russians.

Because a lot of money is spent on the army, our economy is almost stagnant. We spent 43.2% of Austria's military expenditures with 20.2 per cent of their revenues. ”

Military spending is not only to support the army, but also to support the military industrial system, under the compulsory military service system, this industrial chain is the most expensive.

At present, there are only seven countries in the world with a complete military industrial system: Britain, France, Russia, Austria, the United States, and Spain, among which France, Austria and Spain are at the forefront of army technology.

This is also the reason why the Prussian military industry is dominant, and their size really can't afford to support a second one. In order to reduce costs, countries are trying to sell arms.

Franz even exported the military-industrial system directly to the Russians. For financial reasons, in order to save costs, the Russian military-industrial complex introduced production lines from Austria during the reign of Nicholas I.

After all these years, the equipment produced has flooded the whole army, and it is difficult to change it back.

The Kingdom of Prussia was tragic, because its popularity in the world was too low, it was difficult to sell arms, and the military-industrial system lost its ability to make its own blood. After all, what they sell is only arms, and they cannot attach political effect.

The era of industrialization was cruel, because of the lack of markets and cheap industrial raw materials, in the process of industrialization, Prussian capital naturally could not compete with its rivals, and could only stick to the domestic market.

The Customs Union, which had historically supported the development of the Kingdom of Prussia, now ceased to exist for the sake of interests.

Even the Russian market, because of the deterioration of relations between Prussia and Prussia, was robbed of a part of the market by the Austrians.

With so many unfavorable factors fed back into the economy, the outcome is naturally not optimistic. It is not surprising that the Prussian economy is stagnant.

Faced with this situation, it became inevitable for the capitalists to open up overseas colonies and solve the problems of raw materials and markets.

Now that the Prussian government is in a hurry to go to the hospital, they really have no better choice, and if it continues like this, the Prussian kingdom will be directly dragged down.

Looking at everyone's faces, Ron stopped talking. Although the Kingdom of Prussia was accustomed to military force, it was now unsustainable.

In this era, the military expenditures of various countries are very large, and it is very normal for them to spend in the teens, 20s, and 30s.

The military spending of several large countries can exceed their fiscal revenues, so how can they fight?

If it is only a short period of hard life, the government will find a way to endure it. But now that the Kingdom of Prussia is expanding its army, it is not worth it at all.

Ron knew that if he continued to fight, it would not be long before the Kingdom of Prussia would fall behind due to financial problems.

In this case, the only solution is to start a war, annex more territory, and resolve domestic conflicts through expansion.

Historically, the Kingdom of Prussia did just that, gambling all the way to unify the Lesser German region, and finally losing the empire.

There is no doubt that without Bismarck, the ruling Prime Minister Frank is not so radical, and he advocates a temporary abandonment of land power hegemony.

Ron hesitated for a long time before he said, "Ladies and gentlemen, these questions are indeed very troublesome, but don't forget to look at the map.

The Kingdom of Prussia is now divided into two, and without a sufficiently strong army, we could be eaten at any time.

It is very unreliable to place one's own security in a treaty. The system of the three northern courts, which originally guaranteed our security, no longer exists.

Despite our efforts to repair relations between Russia and Austria, we have achieved little success.

Our desire to join the Russian-Austrian alliance was rejected by both countries, not for so many reasons, but because of the distance between the two countries, and the lack of qualifications to form an alliance with them.

To change that, we have to expand on the European continent. Otherwise, the Kingdom of Prussia would not be long before it would have sunk and become a small country struggling to survive in the gap of great powers. ”

William I frowned, and he wanted to expand, but his strength allowed it. Don't look at the fact that the Kingdom of Prussia can beat any neighbor except Russo-Austrian, in fact, they dare not move any neighbor.

Denmark is the younger brother of the Russians, and now the Russian Empire is still mighty, and there is the Russian-Austrian alliance on its side, so I didn't eat meat but put myself in it.

The Federal Empire of Germany was not easy to mess with, not only with the support of Britain and France, but also with its own economic strength above Prussia.

If one does not operate well, these states will directly switch to Austria, and they can only cry.

Don't think it's impossible. From the point of view of interests, the rights of everyone who remained in the German Federal Empire could be retained to the greatest extent, and the economic benefits of joining the HRE were the greatest, and there was nothing to follow the Kingdom of Prussia.

Both the Junker aristocracy and the capitalists in Prussia have had a hard time in recent years. Everyone is hungry and crazy, where can they care about eating?

There is no doubt in the Netherlands and Belgium that there is also a boss who can affect the whole body.

William I said, "Ron, your ideas are too idealistic. We don't have the strength to ignore the rules, and if we really do something unwise, I am afraid that we will be immediately suppressed by other countries.

It is said that the French were able to concoct a plan for the division of the Russian, Austrian, and French countries. It is only because of the uneven distribution of spoils that the interests of the three countries have conflicted, so there is no follow-up.

Now the Vienna system is the best option for Prussia's security. If it is not conducive to the development and growth of this peacetime, we will really be in danger of breaking the balance in Europe in the future.

The most important thing now is to open up overseas colonies and solve the problem of raw materials and markets for domestic industry and commerce, so as to complete industrialization as soon as possible.

Only when we are strong will the Kingdom of Prussia be able to go further in the next European upheaval. ”

Such a plan was not only made by the French, but also by the Austrian General Staff, and perhaps by the Russians.

Ron smiled wryly and nodded, the reality was too cruel, he didn't have Bismarck's eloquence to be able to convince everyone to reunify.

The international situation has changed, and even if Bismarck is resurrected, there is no way to replicate the successes of history, not even the opportunity to take the first step.