Since everyone has no opinions, the plan to build an Austrian economic circle was naturally approved by a large vote.

To be honest, Franz really didn't know how to implement it, because the times are different and the national conditions are different, and many things cannot be copied and copied.

Even the younger brothers, they have to do ideological work one by one, and the benefits promised to each state may be different.

Franz still believes in Metternich at this point, after all, this "European prime minister" has rich experience, and balancing the interests of all parties is his specialty.

In Franz's view, this economic alliance can also be turned into a political alliance and a military alliance in the future, and it is a matter of time before everyone's interests are tied together along with economic development.

It's important to plan ahead.

For example, the name of the League had to be representative, and Franz felt that the Holy Roman League was a good choice.

"Your Majesty, if it were to be named after Holy Rome, I am afraid that it would be emotionally difficult for the Italian state to accept." Prime Minister Felix thought for a moment and said

"What if we put the headquarters of the Union in Rome? It can even be placed next door to the Holy Vatican, which is both sacred and roman, so it's no problem to call it that, right? Franz asked rhetorically

Metternich dissuaded: "Your Majesty, placing the headquarters of the Alliance in Rome will damage the reputation of the Empire in the Alliance. ”

Franz thought for a moment and said: "It doesn't matter, the economic alliance is essentially around Austria, we are already dominant, and the reputational impact is minimal."

We can also send a signal to the outside world that it is just an economic alliance that will reduce the vigilance of countries.

We don't have to put it up directly, but we can get everyone together and decide where to set up our headquarters, and as long as Austria does not compete, what place can be more competitive than Rome?

When the headquarters decided, it would be good for His Majesty the Pope to propose this name, and if it could expand its influence, Pius IX would not refuse. ”

He is the least valued. If the headquarters of the Economic Union were to be located in Vienna, Franz would not dare to raise the banner of Holy Rome, even if everyone agreed.

Don't think that after so many years of the fall of the Holy Roman Empire, everyone will not remember. The European countries are very vigilant, and Austria dares to reveal the intention of rebuilding the HRE, and it should not want to have a good life diplomatically.

Now it's okay to play a sideshow like this, headquartered next door to the Vatican, the holy land of Christendom, which is both sacred and roman, so it is also said in the past.

"Your Majesty, what is in our interest in doing this?" Metternich asked, confused

In other words, it became a religious version of the Holy Roman League. It had nothing to do with the Holy Roman Empire of the Habsburgs, and it didn't seem to do much good to Austria.

"On the surface, of course, there is no interest, but in reality there is only two words between the Holy Roman League and the Holy Roman Empire.

If the economy develops further, we can also ask the media to change the name in the future, for example: Holy Roman Economic Empire, or simply Holy Roman Empire.

These are the names of the media themselves, which have nothing to do with us, and the governments of various states can only pinch their noses and admit them if they have opinions. Franz explained calmly

The Holy Roman Empire's influence in Europe was far-reaching, especially in Germany, where it became known as the First German Reich and the only empire recognized by the German states.

This was a huge political resource left over from the Habsburgs, and how could Franz not use it?

The more you call, the more you get used to it. Ordinary people don't have that much effort to tell the difference between this "Holy Roman Empire" and the other "Holy Roman Empire".

When everyone recognized the Roman Empire, the popular base for Austria's annexation of the South German States was established.

Relying on economic bondage and political infiltration, the merger can be completed without the use of force at all.

Only the instrument and the name, not the dummy.

- "Left Biography" - "The Battle of the Sword"

Franz is taking advantage of the gap in the times to preemptively register the naming rights, as long as Austria can develop and grow and increase its advantages over the states, it can become an established fact.

The unification of the historical Italian region and the unification of the German region is due to the fact that the idea of unity is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

Without this foundation, the Kingdom of Sardinia would not have been able to unify Italy; Most of the Kingdom of Prussia will feel the suffering of the Habsburgs, and they will be beaten by the German states and foreign powers.

Chancellor Felix sneered and said: "As long as the people in Germany approve it, even if the governments of the states do not want to recognize it, they will not be able to bear it at that time."

In order to avoid external interference, it is better for us to act in secret, first sign secret agreements with these states one by one, and wait for the agreement to be reached before making it public. ”

As a staunch German, Chancellor Felix was unwilling to pass up any opportunity to expand into the German region.

In his opinion, the Holy Roman League, or the Holy Roman Empire, was the best weapon against the Prussians' ideas of Little Germany.

If Austria and Prussia continued to grow in strength, there would be only two options left before the German states: either join Prussia-led Germany or join Austria's Holy Roman Empire.

That's right, in the future it will not be the Holy Roman League, but the Holy Roman Empire.

Because of religious beliefs, most of the North German states would fall to the Kingdom of Prussia, but the South German States were different, and they naturally leaned towards Austria.

Under Franz's influence, there was already a voice in Austria that Prussia and Austria had joined forces to carve up the German region, and this voice had a market not only in Austria, but also in Prussia There was no shortage of supporters.

Without the unification of Germany, the Prussians themselves could not believe that they could unify the German regions, and Frederick-Wilhelm IV's highest goal was only to annex the North German regions.

The Junker aristocracy was not as awesome as later generations, let them defeat Austria and France, and it is estimated that they will be instigated back one by one before the war starts.

It's not a question of whether you can fight or not, it's that you can't win at all.

Otherwise, in the middle and late stages of the Crimean War, the Kingdom of Prussia would have moved, and the British, French and Russians would have been locked in a bitter war, and as long as Austria was defeated, they could unify the German regions.

Don't look at the invincibility of the German army in later generations, but that is the future, not the present, the rise of the Kingdom of Prussia was only after the reform in 1848, and it entered a period of rapid development.

It is still a feudal dynasty, and its comprehensive national strength restricts the strength of their army. Successes in history are full of coincidences, and both the Austro-Prussian and Franco-Prussian wars were gambling on national fortunes.

It is not at all what the textbooks say, winning in the system, in compulsory education, and in comprehensive national strength.

If the Austrian government had not done its own thing, had misemployed its personnel, and made mistakes in military deployment, the Austro-Prussian war would not have ended so easily, and Prussia would have been crying as long as it dragged on for three or five months.

The Franco-Prussian War was even more of a comedy, and Napoleon III, who had already floated, thought that he was the reincarnation of the god of war, and did not carry out a national mobilization at all, and hurriedly declared war on the Kingdom of Prussia, with 220,000 French troops and 470,000 Prussian troops in a decisive battle.

The result is naturally self-evident, after the end of the Franco-Prussian War, after the reunification of Germany has been packaged, the military soul of the German army has been established, and the combat effectiveness has reached its peak.

Successful people should always be respected, and Franz was very jealous of the rising Prussia.

In his opinion, either the road to the unification of the Kingdom of Prussia was interrupted in advance; Or simply let Prussia unify the German regions and Austria divert its direction.

This multiple-choice question was not up to him, and reality had already helped him make a decision. The Austrian people could not tolerate the loss of their position as German leaders, and the Austrian government could not afford the political consequences.

That being the case, Franz had no choice but to follow the first path. It was not enough to interrupt Prussia's plans, and since Austria's energy was contained in the German region, it was natural that something would have to be gained.

The joint division of Germany by Prussia and Austria is a good idea. In compensation, Austria would support Prussia's expansion in other directions.

Well, that's pure foolishness. With the exception of the second-year boys, the vast majority of politicians would not believe that Austria would really support Prussia's foreign expansion, and the most important thing is that they have no direction for expansion.

Expansion into Northern Europe, have you asked the Russians?

Expand to the Low Countries, first see if the French say yes?

Go overseas to rob colonies, where is the powerful navy?

"On the issue of negotiations, our Ministry of Foreign Affairs will do a good job. The question now is, where are the common interests of this alliance, and what do we use to lure them in? Metternich asked nonchalantly

Since it is a bundle of interests, we must first let everyone see where the interests are.

"We can follow the example of the German Customs Union and work together to lower tariffs and promote the flow of goods.

We can also subcontract the right to sell certain commodities to powerful factions in various countries and buy them off with profits.

For example, agricultural products in which we have a competitive advantage.

If we sell directly, it will definitely harm the interests of the local aristocracy, but if we sell it to them, this situation does not exist.

Originally, these states had to import grain from the outside world, so where did they buy it? Tariffs have been lowered, and everyone's profits have increased. Chancellor of the Exchequer Karl explained

To put it simply, it was to give away part of the benefits to the local aristocracy in exchange for the unimpeded flow of Austrian industrial and commercial products.

When the interests of the aristocracy were satisfied, the interests of the capitalists were naturally sacrificed. These states were still feudal dynasties, and the aristocracy still controlled the dominant power, and if they were bought, they would buy the government.

"No, if we do that, how can we protect the profits of our agricultural products?" Archduke Louis objected

The interests of any industry are limited, and every link in the industrial chain is making profits from it.

"Let's not forget that we can enter the market with lower tariffs and have an advantage in terms of price. We can also manipulate the alliance to raise tariffs on foreign agricultural products to protect everyone's interests.

After squeezing out other agricultural products from the market, our total grain exports can continue to expand, and even monopolize the grain imports of various countries.

Grain production in Austria has not yet reached its limit, and there is still a lot of wasteland to be cultivated.

After the emancipation of serfs, the peasants' enthusiasm for growing grain has been raised, and domestic grain output is about to usher in a period of explosion.

If we do not open up new markets, I am afraid that a large amount of domestic grain will be unsalable. If you can't sell it, what profit is there to talk about?

In order to open up new markets, isn't it okay to give up a little bit of immediate benefits in exchange for greater profits in the future? Chancellor of the Exchequer Karl flickered

It has to be said that his theory is very plausible. The profit is not profitable, and the grain must be sold first.

This is not much different from the low-price dumping in later generations, except that the low price is only in the wholesale, and the profits go to the hands of the powerful, and the price of grain in the market will not be reduced too much.

。 m.