The Earl of Brandenburg was immediately tempted, and he even began to imagine the glorious scene when he became the Prime Minister of the German Empire. So he immediately persuaded Frederick William IV of his concerns:
"Your Majesty, I think this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Austria is in turmoil and has no time to take care of itself. We just take the opportunity to unify the central and western regions of Germany and establish a new German Empire. Once the empire is established, you will open a new page in history. I believe Prussia will
From now on to glory!"
Compared to the excitement of Earl Brandenburg, Frederick William IV was relatively calm. It was not that he was calmer, but that he was not very interested in any great imperial undertakings. Now that Prussia was making him mentally and physically exhausted,
He really didn't know if he would be able to handle the German Empire again.
Of course, if this was indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, he would not let it go. The problem was that he was not sure whether this was an opportunity, so he was very hesitant.
Over there, the Count of Burgburg did not notice the expression of Frederick William IV at all. The second-rate prime minister was completely intoxicated by the beautiful scene he had imagined. He was completely immersed in it and could not extricate himself. There
Talk endlessly about how wonderful the future is and how worth looking forward to.
But he didn't say how to realize these wonderful futures, but this is normal, because he has never thought about this issue at all. In a sense, he is like a visionary, who can only put forward ideas, but lacks the ability to realize them.
means and strategies.
Naturally, these blueprints made Frederick William IV frown, because he not only wanted blueprints, he also had to see how to realize them. After all, he, the king, was only good at proposing ideas. How to realize them depends on the prime minister.
of.
The problem now is that King Frederick William IV and Prime Minister Brandenburg are highly consistent in a sense, that is, they are only good at proposing ideas but not good at realizing them. To put it bluntly, they are just talking on paper and talking on paper.
However, Frederick William IV is forgiven for having this problem, because he has always been in poor health. In terms of government affairs, he mainly proposed ideas and left them mainly to William I for implementation. The two brothers cooperated reasonably well.
But now that William I, who was good at implementation, has stepped down, Brandenburg is not good at handling these details, which is terrible! After all, the Prime Minister is the Prime Minister, and he needs to lead the overall situation, coordinate various relationships, deal with various troubles, and take care of everything.
Well organized.
This means that the Earl of Brandenburg cannot handle these matters at all, or in other words, the handling is not ideal enough. Now Prussia really needs delicate operations most, and such a bold approach as the Earl of Brandenburg is really not possible.
Good results.
Therefore, the monarch and his ministers couldn't talk about anything in this conversation. It could be said that it was nothing but nothing. But what's more funny is that the two of them still enjoyed it. Even if they couldn't talk about anything, they still discussed it in a serious manner.
"Your Majesty, you don't have to worry. According to my estimation, Austria will not be able to quell the domestic riots at least in the first half of this year. We have enough time to contact all states. On the one hand, we can do persuasion work, and on the other hand, we can
Be able to be prepared to respond with force!"
The first half of Earl Brandenburg's words made Frederick William IV nod repeatedly. Although he also knew that poaching Austria's corners was risky, secretly wooing and contacting some small German states was not a big problem, because hundreds of
Everyone has been doing this for years, it is a recognized unspoken rule, and Austrians do it often, so it doesn't matter if they are discovered.
But when he was asked to make preparations for a military response later, he frowned. He didn't like fighting, especially not fighting Austria. Not only was the chance of winning not high, but the more important problem was that once he used force against Austria, it would be tantamount to declaring sanctity.
The alliance was completely broken.
It's hard to say what Russia's reaction will be at that time, and without the endorsement of the Holy Alliance, Prussia will have no backing in the world. In the future, it will have to face international threats alone. This is for Frederick William IV, who is already used to the Holy Alliance.
It takes a lot of determination.
But now he obviously has no such determination. He hopes that the Holy Alliance will continue to exist. Even if the alliance is not as intimidating as before, having some underwear is worse than nothing, right?
Frederick William IV hoped to solve the problem within the alliance, that is, to achieve the goal of Little Germany without completely falling out with Austria. We could fight without breaking up and continue to live in this way.
It has to be said that Frederick William IV was really politically immature, or naive. For Austria, the Little Germany plan was completely unacceptable, because it was a clear attempt to poach him and weaken his influence over the German states.
Control. Is this simply subversive!
As long as Austria is not kicked in the head by a donkey, it is impossible to agree to this plan. In other words, it is impossible for Frederick William IV to fight without breaking through. Either he must fall out with Austria, or he must be honest.
To maintain the status quo and pretend to be a grandson, you can only choose one of the two, but not both.
Now Frederick William IV has both the fish and the bear's paw, and he has no determination to risk everything. What do you think he can accomplish if he is so hesitant?
"A solution by force is absolutely undesirable!" Frederick William IV replied with a serious face. "A war with Austria will lead to unpredictable consequences and may completely destroy our relations with Austria and Russia. This is
unacceptable!"
Count Brandenburg was poured cold water on his head. It would be false to say that he was not disappointed, but he did not expect Frederick William IV to immediately agree to his plan and fall out with Austria. His goal was
Sit back and watch, and strive for the most basic goal first: to get Frederick William IV to agree to secretly win over the states and secretly seduce the Austrians.
As long as this is realized, there is still the possibility of realizing the Little Germany plan in the future. Maybe Austria will continue to decline in the future, and maybe the Hungarians are particularly capable of tossing? Once Austria continues to decline, he will not take advantage of the opportunity.
I believe that Frederick William IV will not be tempted.
So he immediately nodded and said, "Your Majesty, I will thoroughly implement your will, but necessary military mobilization and preparations are also necessary. We can make secret preparations under the pretext of quelling the riot."
Although Frederick William IV still frowned, he thought about it and accepted the suggestion. After all, quelling the riot was a sufficient reason, and there was no harm in making preparations early.
Of course, he did not forget to tell Count Brandenburg: "You can make preparations, but you must not cause unnecessary friction, especially do not irritate the sensitive nerves of the Austrians!"