Because the geographical location of Schleswig and Holstein is really a bit like a choke point. Schleswig and Holstein cut off the traffic between the Kingdom of Prussia and the newly acquired Denmark by land. In exchange for
In a word, these two territories divided Prussia in half, which William could not accept!
William sat on a chair and looked at the two senior senators opposite him, sincerely asking for advice.
"Lokes, Dessau, I would like to ask you about your views on Schleswig and Holstein"
"Well, Your Majesty, are you dissatisfied with Schleswig and Holstein again?"
William's question put Rocks and Henry in a slight quandary. The two looked at each other, and then Rocks tactfully tested William's thoughts.
"It's not that I have any objections to those two Dukes, but you all know the geographical locations of Schleswig and Holstein. If anything happens in the future, these two will be detrimental to the overall interests of Prussia.
We must capture this place!"
As soon as William said this, Rocks fell silent, but Henry said:
"Your Majesty, our army is conducting operations against Hamburg. If we attack Schleswig and Holstein at this time, it will definitely cause panic among the small princes around us. Then in the future, we in Prussia will be in the Holy Roman Empire.
We can no longer find a friend in the country who is willing to help us, and both Saxony and Bavaria will be wary of us, which is detrimental to our future interests in Prussia!"
Henry's quick words made William frown slightly, but what Henry said was indeed the truth. Now, although Prussia has gained the right to attack Hamburg, rashly making moves against Schleswig and Holstein will definitely cause Prussia to lose control.
The whole world's reputation was ruined. After all, Schleswig and Holstein helped Prussia in the Danish war.
After thinking for a while, William said:
"Do you think this will work? We will take out Greenland and Iceland and exchange territory with the two dukes."
"Your Majesty, I think you have made a mistake, that is, Schleswig and Holstein have helped us in the Danish war. If we exchange those two barren lands for the two dukes, although
The exchange meeting is successful, but what will the whole world think of us in Prussia! This will cause us in Prussia to become the underdog in the eyes of the world!"
Although Henry's words were a bit unpleasant and harsh in William's ears, William had to admit that what Dessau said was reasonable.
"Your Majesty, I have an idea..."
At this moment, Rocks on the side spoke, and as soon as he spoke, he drew William's attention.
"Your Majesty, I think we can exchange territory with Hamburg and the two Dukes. Compared with Schleswig and Holstein, Hamburg is undoubtedly many times more prosperous. And more importantly, although it seems that
Hamburg seems a bit stingy in exchange for two territories, but anyone who knows the business will understand the major concessions made by Prussia. After all, Hamburg has developed business and trade, and the taxes it pays every year are worth the amount of Schleswig and Holstein.
The total is several times more.”
As soon as Rocks finished speaking, Henry jumped out
"Your Majesty, I think Lord Rocks' proposal is not feasible. Although it seems that we have opened up the passage to Denmark and connected the entire kingdom, but as Lord Rocks said, Hamburg is very prosperous. I think Hamburg's
Prosperity can provide Prussia with a lot of military spending, and Hamburg's port is also very important to our shipping and navy. Obtaining Hamburg will prevent our merchant ships from having to go around Kattegat, and our navy can completely borrow Hamburg's port
Head to the further world!”
After listening to Henry's words, William was in a dilemma. What Rocks and Henry said were quite reasonable. The importance of Hamburg is natural and comfortable, and Schleswig and Holstein are slightly inferior to Hamburg.
, but it is also very important to Prussia.
"Your Majesty, it is true that as Prince Henry said, Hamburg can indeed make a great contribution to our country's economy, but now the domestic economy is getting better and better, and Hamburg's tax is just the icing on the cake. I think the reason why we were originally
The reason for attacking Denmark is that the Jutland Peninsula can create a strategic depth for Prussia. If we do not remove the two dukes of Schleswig and Holstein, the two duke families will be in the local area.
Hundreds of years of rule can definitely cause great damage to our Prussia at critical moments. And moving these two dukes to Hamburg will not only help us rule Schleswig and Holstein, but more importantly
Because they are unfamiliar with the place, the two Dukes can only rely on us Prussia to rule. In this way, it seems that we are at a disadvantage, but this has a positive significance for our future strategy! And you don’t have to
Forgot that Holstein is an excellent producing area for war horses.”
Rocks' words moved William. Indeed, the reason why he was interested in Denmark in the first place was precisely because Denmark's Jutland Peninsula could provide Prussia with strategic depth and bring Jutland under Prussia's rule.
It can provide Prussia with a more stable rear, and the geographical location of Jutland can be said to tightly grasp the throat of the Baltic Sea.
"Lokes, what you said makes sense. In that case, you immediately send someone to discuss with the two Dukes of Schleswig and Holstein. If the two Dukes have no objections, then we will do what you said."
implement"
Seeing what William said, Henry stopped talking. Henry just missed one thing, which was the Holstein war horses that Rocks mentioned. Indeed, a high-quality war horse production area is also very important to Prussia.
Although Prussia does not lack war horses, who would object to having too many strategic materials such as war horses?
None of these people seemed to take Hamburg seriously. If Scheifele knew about it, he would be so angry that he would vomit blood. However, compared to Hamburg's army of only 6,000 people, Prussia did have a reason not to take Hamburg seriously.
On March 17, 1789, the Prussian First Division led by Dafilia arrived at the border of Hamburg. Although it passed through the territories of several small princes on the way, how could village princes such as Wandersbeek attack Prussia?
When the army was affected, these small princes often surrendered immediately when they saw an unlucky opportunity.
Scheifele stood at the top of the city of Hamburg and watched the crowds in the city rush towards the pier in panic. He felt very unhappy. Just after the Imperial Parliament passed the Prussian sanctions vote on Hamburg, a large number of Hamburg's upper class began to flee Hamburg.
Not only that, there were also calls within Hamburg to hand over Scheffel to apologize to Prussia.
During this period, Scheffel was in trouble both internally and externally. Although he visited important influential people in Hamburg many times in the hope of getting them to support him, he got very little success. Scheffel seemed to be a bird that could bring disaster.
Like a crow, everyone is afraid to avoid it.
Now even the city defense army, Sheffield, has a tendency to be unable to command. Although the commander of the city defense army is Sheffield's confidant, the people are distracted and everyone is not optimistic about Sheffield's future.
Just as he was looking at the Elbe River outside the city with dull eyes, he suddenly saw the Hanover flag flying high on the other side of the Elbe River, which caused a flash of lightning to flash in Scheifele's heart.
Since the Prussians do not give themselves a way to survive, then surrendering to Hanover should not be the worst choice. At least for the sake of offering hamburgers, the Hanoverians should save their lives!
Thinking of this, Sheffield immediately sent someone to Hanover to convey his willingness to surrender. Sheffield expected that the Hanoverians would definitely accept his surrender, because Hanover's ambition for Hamburg was no longer a day or two, just because Hamburg was
It was a free city in the Holy Roman Empire, so the Hanoverians did not use drastic measures.
The reason why Hanover was chosen was not only because the Hanoverians had a long-standing ambition for Hamburg, but more importantly, Hanover and the United Kingdom were co-owners of the federation, and the current elector of Hanover was King George III of England.
Because King George III's mental illness improved at the end of 1788, at the beginning of 1789, his eldest son, the Prince of Wales, the later George IV mentioned many times before, ended the regency, and the government was returned to George III.
in hand.
Anyone familiar with the situation in Europe will understand that George III is different from his son. George IV could sit back and watch Prussia annex Mecklenburg, but George III would not do this because George III loved his queen very much.
On September 8, 1761, George III married Sophia Charlotte, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, in the Royal Chapel in St. James's Palace. The couple only got married at the wedding.
After meeting for the first time in their lives, two weeks later, the two were crowned together at Westminster Abbey on September 22, 1761. It is worth noting that George III never had a mistress, and the relationship between the couple was also very deep.
George and his wife had fifteen children, including nine sons and six daughters.
In other words, George III had a very deep relationship with his queen, and his queen was from Mecklenburg.
The reason why William fearlessly attacked Mecklenburg was because the relationship between George IV and his mother was not very harmonious, and the queen's influence on her son was obviously not as great as her husband's.
But now the government has been returned to the hands of George III. Although Prussia has annexed Mecklenburg, George III may not necessarily say anything, but there is definitely still some dissatisfaction with Prussia.
If Sheffield surrendered at this moment, he was not afraid that George III would not accept it.
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