Between countries, interests are always the theme. At the same time that Franz was calculating the Russians, the tsarist government was also calculating Austria.

This calculation has nothing to do with alliances, everyone is doing it within the rules. Until the interests outweigh the contradictions, the alliance between the two sides is still reliable.

After the establishment of the Russo-Austrian alliance, the tsarist government relaxed its repression of Prussia.

Obviously, after the Austrian government exposed its ambitions for the South German region, the tsarist government feared that Austria would unify the entire German region and threaten their continental hegemony, and was ready to let the Prussians counterbalance Austria.

The most intuitive manifestation is that the diplomatic pressure exerted by Russia on the Kingdom of Prussia is not as strong as before.

In a way, Franz also inadvertently helped the Prussians. Of course, this help was not enough for the Russians to allow the Kingdom of Prussia to annex the two principalities of Schleswig and Holstein.

Denmark, the little brother, the Russians do not want to give up yet, the tsarist government needs a stable Northern Europe, and the expansion of the Kingdom of Prussia has upset the balance in Northern Europe.

The Tsarist government was in a state of contradictions, and the best option was to move the Kingdom of Prussia into the heart of Germany, delaying the unification of Austria with the South German States.

But the fact that the Kingdom of Prussia could not be allowed to unify the German regions did not correspond to the strategy of the Russians. In the eyes of the tsarist government, Austria, as an ally, was the best option.

There is a certain strength, but it does not threaten the strength of Russia. The most important thing is that the Habsburgs are very old, and it is very difficult for any old empire to regenerate them.

By contrast, the newly rising young empire is even more fearful. Being young means that it is still on the rise, and the possibilities for the future are endless, and unfortunately the Kingdom of Prussia is a kingdom with the potential to become a young empire.

The Russians were very contradictory, on the one hand, they wanted the Kingdom of Prussia to balance Austria, and on the other hand, they were worried that Prussia would be co-opted by Britain and France, and stab Russia or Austria at a critical moment.

In Nicholas I's view, the best option was for the Kingdom of Prussia to also be co-opted and return to the "era of the three northern courts", or the "alliance of the three emperors".

Easier said than done.

In the final analysis, it is still interests, and now the Russians cannot yet sacrifice the interests of the Danes, which will chill the allies.

Then it will not be easy to let the Prussians join forces to carve up the German regions, and it is obvious that it is difficult to feed the Prussians in a North German region.

If Prussia stretched out his hand to the German region, not to say that Austria could not bear it, even Nicholas I could not tolerate it, he could not tolerate the birth of a German Empire.

What's even more serious is that after the partition of Germany by Prussia, the Kingdom of Prussia really became bigger, and the two joined forces to block their westward expansion.

It is not good to know that after the future "Three Emperors Alliance" defeats the enemy, it will be the Augricus team up against Russia and cultivate the feeling of the enemy on oneself, which is always not wonderful.

saint petersburg

In order to solve this troublesome problem, Nicholas I convened a special imperial council.

The Prime Minister was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, either you can go all out to win over the Kingdom of Prussia and continue the Berlin Convention; Either unite to suppress the Kingdom of Prussia and make them incapable of causing chaos for us! ”

Everyone knows this multiple-choice question, what to do to suppress the Kingdom of Prussia, it is very simple, as long as Austria is united and beats him severely, Prussia will not be able to turn over for more than ten or twenty years.

But the problem was that after defeating Prussia, Austria's goal might not be to annex South Germany, but to unify the whole of Germany.

If suppression is not feasible, then win over Prussia instead. There is a price to be paid for wooing, and the Russians will not pay this price, and if they want to cut their flesh, they will take their lives again.

Foreign Minister Karl Wolfelrod analyzed: "Your Majesty, the Prussians have a great appetite, and now there are two ideas for the unification of the German regions, one is the unification of the German regions by Austria to establish the Greater German Empire, and the other is the unification of the German states by the Prussians with the establishment of Little Germany except for Austria.

The latter was concocted by the Prussians, and their goal was very clear, that is, to unify Germany, and now they are working for this goal by launching the Danish War.

If we were willing to support the unification of Prussia with Germany, they would certainly join the League, but Austria would certainly not agree. Perhaps before our strategy has even begun, the two countries will start fighting. ”

Nicholas I frowned and asked, "Why can't the North German states feed the Prussians?" ”

The Russians pursued the supremacy of strength, sharing as much benefit as they could, and now the Kingdom of Prussia is the bottom of the great powers, or just a quasi-power.

In later generations, everyone spoke highly of the Kingdom of Prussia, because they unified Germany and established the awesome Second German Empire, which elevated their status.

It's not that now, a medium-sized country with a population of 13 million, has the strength to compete with the major powers.

"Your Majesty, we can try to co-opt the Prussians in North Germany, and if that doesn't work, lure them into expanding into the Low Countries." Foreign Secretary Carl Woosselrode proposed

The 19th century was an era of expansion, and all countries wanted to expand their power, and not expanding in this era was a chronic suicide.

Don't look at the many countries in later generations, they have survived this era, and in fact, many people ignore the risks they have experienced.

Not to mention small countries like the Netherlands and Luxembourg, and even big countries like Spain have been beaten all the way behind.

If countries such as Prussia and Austria do not expand and strengthen their strength, it will be a tragedy for both the Russians and the French to march eastward.

The development of farming is not impossible, but the speed of farming development is too slow. If you don't have enough market and industrial raw materials, you can't compare to the results of other people's two or three years if you work hard for twenty or thirty years.

"No, it is already dangerous for the Prussians to annex the North German States. If they get Belgium and Holland again, then it will be another France. The prime minister objected excitedly

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, the road to our westward expansion has been blocked, even if the Kingdom of Prussia becomes bigger, it is impossible to counterattack Russia, as long as we provoke the Austro-Prussian contradiction, the western front will be stable. It is our national policy to run the Mediterranean with all its might. Carl Woosselrode explained

……

The internal bickering among the Russians eased the diplomatic pressure on Prussia and created the illusion that the Russians would compromise as long as they had subdued the Danes and created the established facts.

Affected by this, the Prussian army quickly defeated the Danes at the front, and on April 9, 1849, the Prussian army again entered Jutland.

Unlike the last restraint, this time the Prussians, in order to force the Danish kingdom to compromise, blocked and killed the gods all the way, and the Buddha blocked and killed the Buddha, and April had not passed, and half of the Jutland Peninsula had fallen.

If it weren't for the Danes' foresight to establish their capital on the island of Zealand, the Prussian navy would have been weak, and it is estimated that the Prussian army would have smashed the Yellow Dragon.

If he couldn't stand it, he looked for the boss, and Nicholas I was also enraged by the Prussian approach.

It depends on the owner to beat the dog? He had already stopped it again and again, and he dared to continue military action, and he didn't take him seriously at all.

As soon as they thought their dignity had been provoked, the Russians took action.

On May 7, 1849, two Russian infantry divisions landed on Jutland, blocking the path of the Prussian army's advance.

It was impossible to fight, Frederick William IV instigated, and the news from St. Petersburg indicated that the Russians had reached the limit of tolerance.

It is easy to start a war, but it is difficult to end it. Regardless of the fact that Frederick Wilhelm IV had now suppressed the revolutionary party in the country, he was still not alone in Prussia.

It is not a good thing that the army on the front is fighting too well. Now the eyes of the population have been turned to the Prussian-Danish war, and no one remembers that they suppressed the revolution.

But the after-effects of the rise of nationalism have also come, and the people cannot tolerate defeat, especially if the war has been won, and the government will make concessions.

It is okay to have an armistice, but not to abandon the two principalities of Schleswig and Holstein, this is a matter of principle, and whoever dares to make concessions is a traitor.

It was not only Austria that helped the Prussians, but all the states in Germany, including the North German states that favored the Prussians.

It can be said that the whole German region is now supporting Prussia spiritually, and if spiritual support can be turned into substantial support, then Frederick Wilhelm IV will not have to be cowardly.

Vienna

"Your Majesty, the Prussian ambassador in Vienna asked us for help, and when the Foreign Office refused, they offered to raise money for the war in Austria.

According to the information we have received, the Prussians have already launched a fund-raising campaign at home, and now they have set their sights on the whole of Germany, and their finances must be almost untenable. Metternich said with a smile

Raising money for military spending? This was a clever plan that Franz came up with for the Prussian government, and it was not easy for the people to get their money.

If the money is not done in the end, how enthusiastic these people are when they donate, how much resentment they will have in the future.

"In that case, we will cooperate with them, and the government will send people to help them raise donations, so that people can build momentum in the German region and magnify the actual amount of money raised by a little bit.

On behalf of the Austrian government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs donated 10 million guilders to Prussia to support their military campaign for the German Confederation to recover the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein.

However, there is no need to rush to give them this money first, just find a reason to delay it later, and it really can't be delayed, so it will be paid in installments on the grounds of financial difficulties. Franz thought for a moment and said

In the 21st century, people dare to play it, and Franz naturally doesn't mind following suit.

No, he can't count this as a fraud, and he doesn't really don't give money.

As long as the Prussians were able to bring the two German principalities back into the arms of the German Confederation, the Austrian government would give money.

If the Prussians could not resist the pressure and gave up the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein, which had already been in their hands, the money would not have to be given.

By the way, the people of the German states should be mobilized to protest at the entrance of the Prussian embassy and ask them to return their hard-earned money.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Metternich replied

I wonder how happy the Prussian delegates will be when they hear the news, probably not to die of excitement, right?

。 m.