Chapter 133: Doing It This Way Puts Me in a Difficult Position
Berlin.
Ever since he heard about the large donations being raised in Austria, Frederick William IV has been incredibly excited. Yes, excited, not angry.
Apart from the Kingdom of Prussia, the entire German region has contributed to the fundraising efforts, amounting to approximately 43 million florins when converted to Austrian currency. Austria alone has contributed more than 30 million florins.
This sum of money is already equivalent to Prussia’s revenue for nearly half a year. If they can get their hands on all of it, it would undoubtedly be a much-needed boost for the financially struggling Prussian government.
Unfortunately, the great Emperor Franz insisted on earmarking the donations, and as a result, many German states followed suit. Of course, they weren’t as cautious as Emperor Franz in their approach.
So far, the Prussian government has received over 5 million florins in donations from the German region, while the rest has been intercepted by their respective governments.
With such a large windfall, how could the bureaucrats stand idly by? Their approach to handling the donations isn’t as stringent as Emperor Franz’s; they issue receipts for all donations, and any unused funds can be refunded.
It’s safe to say that the remaining money is destined to never reach the hands of the Prussian government.
What frustrated Frederick William IV even more was that in the media, it was being reported that the Kingdom of Prussia had already received donations from the German region, and the total amount had exceeded 100 million florins.
During this era, communication was not as efficient, and there were no bank records to verify the claims. People were just saying things casually, and the various German states didn’t want to lose face, so they each donated astronomical sums.
Whether it was true or not, did it really matter?
After all, these figures were announced by the local media, and they were not officially acknowledged. Even if the truth were to come out in the future, it wouldn’t matter much.
If they encountered unscrupulous governments, they could simply insist that the money had been given to the Prussian government, and no one could prove otherwise.
For example, Franz had allocated the first donation to the Prussian government, totaling one million florins, all in cash, and it was transferred to the Prussian embassy in the presence of the media.
Of course, perhaps thinking that one million was too little, Vienna’s newspapers reported that it had become three million. If Franz were unscrupulous, he could have just pocketed the extra two million florins, and no one would be able to prove otherwise.
Not everyone was as scrupulous as Franz. Inflating the donation figures was a minor issue. Many regions, even though they had only given two hundred thousand, insisted that Prussian officials sign receipts for five hundred thousand.
In any case, whether they wanted the money or not, in the face of self-interest, the bureaucrats were highly motivated.
The occurrence of such situations was less common in states that were not heavily affected by Prussia. Such things were happening the most in the Southern German States.
Prussian Prime Minister Joseph von Radowitz expressed his concerns, “Your Majesty, we cannot accept this money!”
“What’s going on?” Frederick William IV asked in confusion.
While there might be some dissatisfaction toward the various German states, there was no need to quarrel over money. Even if a significant portion of the donations was being embezzled by officials in each country, the final amount they would receive was still substantial.
Presently, the Prussian government was drowning in debt, and if it weren’t for the changing times, Frederick William IV would have been inclined to declare bankruptcy and default on all debts.
“Your Majesty, these states are ostensibly supporting us in the war, but in reality, they all have ulterior motives.
Now they’re elevating us so highly. If the Russians insist that we abandon the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, how should we handle the situation?
Currently, apart from the German states, all the countries in Europe stand against us. The Danes are fearless and won’t make concessions,” Joseph von Radowitz said with a bitter smile.
There’s no doubt that this time, using the war to divert domestic conflicts has gone too far. Now, the Prussian government is in a difficult position. If they can’t regain control of the Schleswig and Holstein Duchies, they won’t be able to explain themselves to the people.
This isn’t just about the domestic population of Prussia but also the people in the German states.
They can try to influence domestic public opinion, but as for foreign public opinion, they shouldn’t expect anything better. After all, they’re already being heavily criticized.
This issue is something that Frederick William IV has also considered, but he has no choice. Whether they accept or reject this money, the final outcome won’t change.
If they successfully regain control of the Schleswig and Holstein Duchies, they will be hailed as heroes among the German states. If they fail, they will be seen as traitors instead.
Unless they are willing to have an actual conflict with the Russians, in which case, regardless of the result, they can explain their decisions.
In this era, Russia is a superpower in Europe. It’s normal for Prussia not to be able to defeat them in a one-on-one war. The people can understand this, and they will redirect their anger towards Austria and other non-belligerent states.
If the Prussian government retreated without firing a single shot, how could the nationalists and patriots accept that?
In the eyes of the common people, all the states in the German region are supporting them, so they shouldn’t back down even when facing the Russians, right?
Public opinion is frightening, but the Russians are even more frightening!
If a Prussian-Russian War breaks out, which side will Austria support?
In Frederick William IV’s opinion, the likelihood of Austria leaning towards Russia is slim. Under the pressure of public opinion, it will probably support Prussia.
Unfortunately, this kind of support is very limited. It’s impossible for Austria to contribute significantly. After all, if the Kingdom of Prussia is defeated, Austria’s biggest obstacle to unifying the German regions disappears.
Although Austria’s support may be weak, it counteracts diplomatic pressure from France. Meanwhile, the rallying cry of many German states helps offset the diplomatic pressure from smaller European countries.
Currently, Prussia is facing much less diplomatic pressure compared to that in history, but the pressure from patriotic forces within the country surpasses historical levels.
Both Prime Minister Joseph von Radowitz and King Frederick William IV are determined not to give up the Schleswig and Holstein Duchies.
They have invested too much in this war, Prussia’s war expenses for this conflict have exceeded Austria’s expenditure during the Austro-Sardinian War.
The war has been ongoing for over a year now, even though the actual time of military engagement between the two sides has been relatively short. The Prussian army has also been quite successful in its battles against the Danish forces.
However, it’s important to note that military operations during wartime require significant financial resources, often several times more than what is needed during peacetime. This poses a considerable financial challenge for Prussia, which is already struggling with its militaristic ambitions.
The military expenditure of the Kingdom of Prussia has always been high. Since the ascension of Frederick II in 1740, the size of the Prussian army has increased dramatically from an initial 70,000 to 200,000 soldiers, constituting 9.4% of the national population. Military spending each year accounted for 4/5 of the government’s entire budget.
At the time, Prussia’s territorial size in Europe ranked only tenth, and its population ranked thirteenth, yet its army size was second only to the three great powers of Russia, France, and Austria, making it the fourth-largest army in all of Europe.
Furthermore, this number increased to 235,000 soldiers under Frederick II’s successor, William II. In the following years, the Prussian army rarely fell below this figure.
During peacetime, maintaining such a large military force was a significant financial burden for the Kingdom of Prussia, especially considering its relatively small population and the fact that it had not completed industrialization. The pressure on its finances was considerable.
For this country, running a budget deficit was a common occurrence. In this situation, Prussia found it extremely difficult to seek external loans or issue bonds.
Only when the government was truly out of funds did Frederick William IV put aside his pride and seek assistance from the German states. Even though he knew that obtaining these funds would be challenging, he had little choice but to accept them.
“Now, it’s too late for all this. Let our people gather evidence just in case anything changes in the future so we can drag them into this mess.
This is a last resort; the ultimate solution is still to retain Schleswig and Holstein. By then, these states will obediently send the money.” Frederick William IV said firmly.
“Your Majesty, I’m afraid it’s not that simple. These states will most likely demand independence for these two duchies when the time comes,” Joseph von Radowitz remarked after giving it some thought.
“Don’t worry. As long as we successfully reclaim these two duchies, we’ll establish a fait accompli. They won’t be able to do anything, it’s not like we don’t have supporters,” Frederick William IV said confidently.
After years of propaganda, the idea of Lesser Germany had gained traction in many regions, surpassing the concept of Greater Germany. There were a significant number of supporters of Prussia’s efforts to unify Germany.
If it weren’t for Franz's disruption of the Frankfurt Assembly, Lesser Germany would have become the prevailing idea in the German regions by now.
……
The Prussian government’s persistence put the Russian government in a very difficult position.
From the beginning, they had sided with Denmark, and the Russian government had even publicly declared that they would use force if the Prussian government did not back down.
So, what to do now? If they took action, it would benefit the Austrians. If they did nothing, wouldn’t the Russian Empire’s reputation be completely lost?
If they couldn’t even protect their own allies, and the Russian government kept going back on its word, could they still have the face to participate on the international stage?
It could be said that times had changed, and it was no longer like it used to be.
The Tsarist government of the past could treat their reputation like toilet paper, use it and discard it. But now, the Russian Empire is vying for world supremacy. If they don’t pay attention to their reputation, who will respect them?
Being a superpower may seem impressive, but it comes with its own set of challenges. Unless they can achieve world domination through force, they should take a page from Napoleon’s book.
St. Petersburg.
Nicholas I inquired, “What about the Austrian government? Are they willing to mediate in the Prussian-Danish War?”
“Your Majesty, the Austrian government has declined to participate in this mediation. Metternich, that old fox, has stated that due to domestic public opinion, Austria’s involvement in mediation would only favor Prussia,” replied Foreign Minister Karl Nesselrode, looking troubled.
The Russians did not want to go to war with Prussia, and the Russian government was doing everything it could to avoid a conflict. This was not a well-kept secret, and naturally, the Prussian government was aware of it.
The tragedy was that upon receiving this intelligence, the Prussian government made a strategic miscalculation, believing that the Russians would not intervene militarily, which bolstered their confidence.
“Damn it, the Austrians are probably still dreaming of us helping them clear the obstacles to German unification. Aren’t they afraid we’ll leak the Russian-Austrian treaty?” Nicholas I muttered to himself.
Everyone in the room was astute enough not to give a foolish reply like “not afraid.”
If the Russian-Austrian treaty were to leak, Austria’s strategic position would become problematic, and Russia’s strategic situation would also be dire.
The annexation of the South German states by Austria would make the British wary, raising their threat level to something close to that of the French. However, compared to the Russians, who were planning on annexing the Ottoman Empire, it would hardly be worth mentioning.
The British still had plenty of ways to limit the former – whether by supporting Prussia, manipulating Franco-Austrian relations, or sowing discord between Russia and Austria – all could serve as balancing measures.
The latter is a different story. The current Russian Empire leaves the British with little room for action, and if they were to annex the Ottoman Empire, a change in the balance of world power would be inevitable.
Even if Nicholas I wanted to involve Prussia, he wouldn’t dare to leak any information to them. In fact, the level of secrecy has been heightened to the maximum during discussions.
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