Chapter 125: Holy Roman Alliance
Since everyone had no objections, the plan to create the Austrian Economic Circle naturally passed with a high vote.
As for how to implement it, honestly, Franz didn’t really know. The times were different, and the situations in each country were different, so many things couldn’t be simply copied.
Even when it came to recruiting allies, each one had to be persuaded individually, as the promised benefits might vary for each member.
On this matter, Franz had faith in Metternich. After all, this “Architect of Europe” had extensive experience, and balancing the interests of various parties was his expertise.
In Franz’s view, this economic alliance could potentially evolve into a political and military alliance in the future, as their interests would become increasingly intertwined with economic development.
Being prepared for the future was crucial.
For example, the name of the alliance had to be representative. Franz believed that naming it the “Holy Roman Alliance” would be a suitable choice.
“Your Majesty, if we name it the Holy Roman Alliance, it may be emotionally difficult for the Italian states to accept,” Prime Minister Felix pointed out after giving it some thought.
“What if we place the alliance headquarters in Rome? We could even put it right next to the Vatican. This way, we can have both ‘Holy’ and ‘Roman’ in the name. Would that be acceptable?” Franz countered.
Metternich cautioned, “Your Majesty, locating the alliance headquarters in Rome could damage the Empire’s reputation within the alliance.”
Franz pondered for a moment and replied, “That’s not crucial. The economic alliance essentially revolves around Austria, and we already have the dominant position. The impact on our reputation is minimal. We can also send a signal to the outside world that this is primarily an economic union, reducing other nations’ wariness.”
“We don’t need to bring up that name directly. We can gather everyone for a meeting to decide where to establish the headquarters. As long as Austria doesn’t compete, what place could be more competitive than Rome?
Once the headquarters is settled, we can have His Holiness the Pope suggest that name. Anything that can expand our influence, Pope Pius IX won’t refuse.”
Titles and names were of little concern to him. If the headquarters of the economic alliance were placed in Vienna, even if everyone agreed, Franz wouldn’t dare to invoke the name of the Holy Roman Empire.
Don’t think that just because the Holy Roman Empire fell many years ago, everyone has forgotten about it. European nations are still very vigilant, and if Austria dares to show any intentions of reviving the Holy Roman Empire, they shouldn’t expect an easy diplomatic path.
For now, playing it this way is acceptable. If they place the headquarters near the Holy Vatican City, right next to the Christian world, it can be called both “Holy” and “Roman.” This name would be reasonable.
“Your Majesty, what benefits does this bring to us?” Metternich asked in confusion.
In other words, this could be seen as a religious version of the Holy Roman Alliance. It has nothing to do with the Habsburg Holy Roman Empire, and it also doesn’t seem to offer many advantages to Austria.
“On the surface, of course, there are no immediate benefits, but in reality, ‘Holy Roman Alliance’ and ‘Holy Roman Empire’ only differ by one word.
If our economy continues to develop, in the future, we can even let the media change the name. For example, we can call it the ‘Holy Roman Economic Empire,’ or simply the ‘Holy Roman Empire.’
These are names the media can use on its own, and we won’t be directly associated with them. If the governments of various countries have objections, they will have to reluctantly accept it.” Franz explained calmly.
The influence of the Holy Roman Empire in Europe is profound, especially in the German regions, where it was known as the First Reich, the only empire recognized by the German states.
This was a huge political asset left behind by the Habsburg dynasty, and Franz wouldn’t miss the opportunity to use it.
The more people heard it, the more they would get used to it. Ordinary folks didn’t have the time or inclination to differentiate between “this” Holy Roman Empire and “that” Holy Roman Empire.
Once everyone accepted the idea of the Holy Roman Empire, Austria’s annexation of the Southern German states would have a solid popular base.
With economic ties and political influence, there might not even be a need for military force to achieve unification in the future.
Only instruments and names cannot be lent to other people.
— Zuo Zhuan, Battle of An
Franz is using the gap in time to preemptively secure naming rights. As long as Austria can develop and strengthen its advantages over other states, it can gradually establish itself as an established fact.
People’s minds change, and the unification of the Italian region and the German region in history both happened because the idea of unity became deeply ingrained in people’s hearts.
Without this foundation, the Kingdom of Sardinia would not have had the ability to unify the Italian region, and the Kingdom of Prussia would likely have experienced the suffering of the Habsburg dynasty, being severely defeated by external forces in the German states.
Prime Minister Felix smirked and said, “As long as the people of the German region accept it, even if the governments of the various states don’t want to acknowledge it, they won’t have a choice when the time comes.
To avoid external interference, it’s best for us to proceed in secret. Let’s start by signing secret treaties with these states one by one. We can announce them publicly once the agreements are reached.”
As a staunch supporter of German unification, Prime Minister Felix was not willing to let any opportunity to expand into the German region slip away.
In his view, the Holy Roman Alliance, or the Holy Roman Empire, was the best tool to counter the Prussian idea of “Lesser Germany.”
If Prussia and Austria continue to strengthen their power, the German states will be left with only two options in the future: either to join Lesser Germany under Prussian leadership or to join the Holy Roman Empire under Austrian leadership.
That’s right, in the future, it won’t be the Holy Roman Alliance but the Holy Roman Empire.
Due to religious beliefs, most of the Northern German States are likely to lean towards the Kingdom of Prussia, but it’s a different story for the Southern German States; they naturally lean towards Austria.
Under Franz’s influence, Austria has already started to advocate for a Prussian-Austrian alliance to absorb the German region, and this idea is not only finding support within Austria but also among Prussian supporters.
Before the unification of the German region, even the Prussians themselves didn’t dare to believe they could achieve it. Frederick William IV’s highest goal was only to annex the northern German states.
The Junker aristocrats of Prussia were not as influential in those days as they would be in later years. Sending them to defeat Austria or France might have led to them retreating without engaging in a full-scale war.
It’s not a matter of whether to fight or not, but rather the fact that they simply couldn’t win.
During the later stages of the Crimean War, the Kingdom of Prussia did consider taking action. With the British, French, and Russian forces locked in a bitter struggle, defeating Austria could have allowed Prussia to unify the German region.
Don’t be misled by the later image of Germany’s invincible military. That was the future, not the present. The rise of the Kingdom of Prussia only entered a period of rapid development after the reforms of 1848.
At the time, Prussia was still a feudal monarchy, and its military strength was limited by its overall resources and capabilities. Historical successes often hinged on a fair amount of chance, and both the Prussian-Austrian War and the Franco-Prussian War were gambles on the nation’s fate.
It’s not as straightforward as textbooks might suggest, where victory was achieved solely through superior institutions, compulsory education, or overall national power.
If the Austrian government had not made unfortunate decisions, such as poor personnel choices or military strategy errors, the Prussian-Austrian War might not have concluded as easily. Just a few more months of delay, and Prussia might have found itself in a less favorable position.
The Franco-Prussian War was indeed a dramatic turn of events. Napoleon III, who considered himself a reincarnation of a military genius, rushed into war against the Kingdom of Prussia without full national mobilization. With 220,000 French troops against 470,000 Prussian forces, the outcome was quite predictable.
After the Franco-Prussian War and the subsequent unification of Germany, the German military’s reputation soared. Their combat capabilities reached their zenith.
Successful nations and their leaders certainly deserve respect, and Franz was wary of the rising power of Prussia.
In his view, he had two options: either disrupt Prussia’s path to unification or simply allow Prussia to unify the German region while Austria shifted its development focus elsewhere.
The choice in this matter is not solely up to him; reality has already made the decision. The Austrian people cannot tolerate the loss of their position as leaders in Germany, and the Austrian government cannot bear the political consequences of such a loss.
Given these circumstances, Franz can only proceed along the first path. Simply disrupting Prussia’s plans won’t be enough; if Austria’s energy is already tied up in the German region, they should naturally gain something from it.
The idea of a Prussian-Austrian alliance to partition the German region may sound good in theory. As compensation, Austria could support Prussia’s expansion in other directions.
Well, this is purely hypothetical. Apart from teenagers with a vivid imagination, most politicians wouldn’t believe that Austria would genuinely support Prussian expansion, especially when Prussia doesn’t have a clear expansion direction.
Expanding into Northern Europe - Why don’t you ask the Russians?
Expanding into the Low Countries - Would the French agree?
Colonizing overseas territories - Where is our formidable navy?
“The issue of negotiations, our Foreign Ministry will handle that. The current question is, what are the shared interests of this alliance, and what can we use to entice them to join?” Metternich asked in a matter-of-fact tone.
Since it’s about binding interests, they must first make everyone see where those interests lie.
“We can follow the example of the German Customs Union and collectively lower tariffs to promote the flow of goods.
We can also allocate the sales rights of certain products to powerful countries as a means of buying their loyalty.
For instance, we possess competitive advantages in agricultural products.
Selling directly would certainly harm the interests of local nobility, but if we let them handle the sales, that issue would no longer exist.
Originally, these states had to import grain from outside sources. What does it matter where they buy it from? With lowered tariffs, everyone’s profits would increase,” explained Finance Minister Karl.
In simple terms, it’s about conceding some benefits to local nobility in exchange for smooth access for Austrian industrial products.
The interests of the nobility are satisfied, and naturally, the interests of the capitalists are sacrificed. These states are still feudal monarchies, with nobility holding the reins of power; buying them means buying the government.
“No, if we do this, how will we ensure the profitability of our agricultural products?” Archduke Louis objected.
The profits in any industry are finite, and every link in this supply chain is extracting its share of profits. If one link takes more, another naturally takes less.
“Don’t forget, we can enter the market with lower tariffs, giving us a price advantage. We can also manipulate the alliance to increase tariffs on foreign agricultural products, securing everyone’s interests.
Once we’ve pushed out other agricultural products, we can further expand our total grain exports, potentially even monopolizing the grain imports of these states.
Austria’s grain production hasn’t reached its limit yet, and there is plenty of uncultivated land available.
The liberation of serfs has increased the motivation of farmers to cultivate crops, and domestic grain production is about to enter a period of significant growth.
If we don’t open up new markets, we might face a surplus of domestic grain. If we can’t sell it, what’s the point of talking about profits?
To open up new markets, sacrificing a bit of immediate profit for a potentially greater future gain, isn’t that a viable option?” Finance Minister Karl persuaded.
It’s undeniable that his idea makes a lot of sense. Regardless of profits, the grain must be sold first. What’s the point of discussing profits when it’s sitting unsold at home?
This is not too different from modern-day practices of dumping at lower prices, except that the lower prices are mainly at the wholesale level, and the profits end up in the hands of the elites. Market grain prices may not decrease significantly as a result.
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