At the end of November 1793, Britain and Prussia signed a memorandum of understanding in Brandenburg, the content of which was about Hanover.
The two countries jointly declared that from the date of the signing of the memorandum, Hanover has been an indivisible territorial part of the Kingdom of Prussia, and Britain has no objection to this. In exchange, Prussia promised to continue to implement the alliance agreement between the two countries, and any infringement of the British
Any third country with interests would be Prussia's enemy.
Although this memorandum between the two countries calmed down the already tense situation between the two countries, it also disappointed some countries that had previously had high expectations, including Spain.
After Britain and Prussia signed the memorandum, as soon as the Spanish negotiating delegation learned of the news, the Spanish humbly asked the British to restart peace negotiations.
Apparently, Sir North, who was dissatisfied with the Spanish's unauthorized suspension of negotiations, immediately significantly increased his previous demands after receiving the Spanish's request.
In response to the unreasonable demands of the British side, the Spanish negotiating delegation once again fell into chaos. Fortunately, Spain has not completely despaired, because France standing to the north of them has not completely fallen, and it seems that it can still survive
Hold on for a while.
The news that Britain and Prussia had signed a memorandum reached Paris, and Louis XVI suddenly became very nervous.
Because Ferdinand had previously agreed to France's peace proposal on behalf of Prussia, with the consent of Louis XVI, Napoleon led 20,000 troops in Paris south to quell the Revolutionary Party forces entrenched in southern France.
There are only about 10,000 defenders.
Fortunately for Louis XVI, although Britain and Prussia have returned to alliance status, it is obvious that the two countries are currently in a state of different dreams. And even if the coalition wants to reorganize its offensive against France, it will not be possible.
Standing on the wall of Wagram, Karl looked at the pocket watch in his hand. The hour hand on it clearly pointed to the eleven o'clock position.
Although at the last moment, Daniel led two thousand Hungarian remnants to escort Alexander to break out from Wagram, but according to the previous conditions when the Prussians intervened in mediation, Alexander, who had lost Wagram, had lost the opportunity to talk to Karl.
But what made Karl feel a little annoyed was that even though Nuhad took the initiative to open the city gate and cooperated with Karl's troops to enter Wagram, the Austrian army still suffered a lot of casualties due to the desperate counterattack of the Hungarian soldiers.
The number of casualties alone was as high as 2,600.
Although Daniel led Alexander to break through from Wagram, it was clear that Karl did not want to let Alexander go. Under Karl's order, three thousand Austrian cavalry launched a pursuit of Alexander who broke through.
"Daniel, let's go. We are at the end of our rope, and I don't want you to die with me!"
As Wagram was captured by Karl, Alexander's face turned into ashes. What he could imagine was that without the mediation of the Prussians, even if he escaped back to Hungary, he would never end well.
a bit.
"Your Highness, how can you give up at this time? We still have Budapest! Even if the Hungarian nobles no longer obey your orders, we still have an army of more than 10,000 people in Hungary. As long as we rise again, why can't we rise again?
!”
Looking at the frustrated Alexander, Daniel frowned and persuaded Alexander.
But after hearing Daniel's persuasion, Alexander's expression did not waver at all. He looked at Daniel, then at the less than 500 remaining soldiers around him, and finally shook his head with a wry smile and said:
"Although Budapest is still in our hands, I am afraid that as soon as the news of Karl reaches Hungary, those nobles will never show mercy to us. How can a Budapest and an army of more than 10,000 people defeat those nobles?
Such ambition. Besides, we only have these few hundred remnant soldiers now. Do you think we can escape safely back to Budapest like this? Don’t forget, there is a distance of hundreds of miles from here to Budapest!"
The more than two thousand Hungarian troops who originally followed Alexander to escape from Wagram were attacked by the Austrian cavalry, and only a few hundred remained.
And in the face of this situation, how could Alexander not feel desperate?
"Your Highness, we can't give up hope yet. You should know that if you fall into the hands of Karl, your situation will not be half better than that of His Highness Franz. Even His Highness Karl will never let go in order to rule Austria legitimately.
Pass yours!
Your Highness, death is never the most terrible thing. The most terrible thing is that people lose the motivation to climb up! During the Seven Years' War, Frederick of Prussia was in desperate situations several times, but he never gave up.
Already?
It is this kind of non-giving up that made him lay the foundation for Prussia's current ambition to look forward to Europe! If that great emperor could do it, why can't we?
Since both roads lead to death, why don’t we continue and give it a try!”
Daniel's persuasion had some effect, at least Alexander's eyes regained some sparkle, but soon the sparkle dimmed again.
"It's different. Our situation is even worse. After losing Vienna, I also had hopes of making a comeback, but I still ended up in this situation. It's really...
....."
Seeing that Alexander was completely desperate, Daniel lowered his head and thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and immediately ordered a few soldiers around him to lift Alexander onto the horse, and had Alexander's hands and feet tied to the horse.
"What are you doing, Daniel? Are you going to betray me too?"
"Your Highness, you really disappoint me now. You gave up hope before we reached the point of death. Where have all your ambitions gone?
Now I just hope that you can get back on your feet. Even if you are tied up, I will take you back to Budapest!"
With that said, Daniel immediately ordered the remaining one hundred cavalrymen to take all their horses, abandon all their baggage, and immediately set off back to Hungary.
Naturally, the hundreds of Hungarian infantry were abandoned.
In fact, in Daniel's mind, Alexander's situation has not deteriorated to the worst point, no matter what. There are still more than 10,000 troops in Budapest, and even those Hungarian nobles who want to plot evil may not be so easy.
And the reason why Daniel is so perseverant is that he naturally has some trump cards in his heart. As early as when Daniel was assisting Alexander in informing Hungary, Daniel secretly stored some supplies without telling Alexander. What Alexander didn't know was that Daniel also secretly handed over some supplies without telling Alexander.
Many Hungarian powerful nobles have recovered.
Daniel believed that the Hungarians he could make friends with would not betray him easily. The reason was that Daniel had many entangled interests with them. Moreover, these nobles also understood some of Daniel's background.
For Daniel, Austria can never be unified, and Austria must continue to bleed. Only in this way is it in the interests of Prussia!
After signing the memorandum of understanding with the United Kingdom, Brandenburg returned to calm, but under this calm there was still an undercurrent.
Although Britain and Prussia have reached an understanding, for Prussia, this so-called understanding is undoubtedly just the British wanting to temporarily stabilize Prussia so that Prussia can continue to serve the British.
Although after the understanding was reached, the Ministry of Military Affairs sent military orders to Ferdinand again, asking him to cooperate with the British military operations to a certain extent, but it was obviously impossible for the coalition forces to restore the joint fighting situation as before.
Moreover, as the French peace mission arrived in Brandenburg, the Prussian upper class was already seriously considering the possibility of reaching a peace agreement with France.
"Your Majesty, the Prussian soldiers have shed enough blood in France. Continuing to fight in France now is detrimental to Prussia's interests for us. Therefore, on behalf of the senators, I request your Majesty to withdraw the troops from France!"
Ferdinand, who had already retreated to the second line, came to the Brandenburg Palace to see William and conveyed his request to withdraw his troops from France.
According to the content of Prussian military reforms, any official who is over 65 years old and has served as a Prussian cabinet minister or military general or above can enter the Senate with the approval of the King of Prussia after retirement and continue to exert their remaining talents.
Although this Senate does not have much real power, no one underestimates this Senate.
No matter what dynasty or generation it is in ancient and modern times, at home and abroad, senators are always a part of the upper echelon of a country that cannot be ignored. Especially for a military country like Prussia, the influence of the large number of retired generals in the Senate cannot be easily
erased.
The reason why William established the Senate in the first place was precisely to reach a deal with these senators. After all, the original military reform touched the interests of these senators, so in exchange and to some extent compensation, the Senate
It came into being.
What's more, for William, the establishment of the Senate was also a means for him to enhance the power of the Prussian monarchy.
Although both the military ministry and the government of Prussia are currently united under the leadership of the Prussian royal family, William is thinking about the future.
Historically, in all militaristic countries, the cooperative attitude between the military and the government was only at a certain stage, and to some extent, this stage of cooperation between the military and the government might be broken at some point.
Japan in history is an obvious example.
After Japan's Meiji Restoration, the military and the government worked closely together for a period of time. However, on whether to expand the war against China, the military, under the control of a group of Meiji Restoration veterans, stood on opposite sides of the government.
The military even sent elite soldiers to assassinate government officials.
This kind of example is undoubtedly worthy of vigilance for William.
However, the Senate established by William is completely different from the Japanese Senate during World War II. The Senate established by William can be regarded as an extension of the interests of the royal family. Because whether you can enter the Senate depends on the royal family's words.
Decide.
In other words, if the king does not agree, even the former marshal or former prime minister cannot enter the Senate.
Through this method, the royal family can select people who are in their own interests and can maintain their rule to enter the Senate. Among the rights of the Prussian Senate, the Senate has the right to control the relevant work of the Ministry of Military Affairs and the government.
Intervene, and with the authorization of the king, the Senate has the power to veto bills of the Ministry of War and the government.
In addition, seats in the Senate cannot be hereditary.
In this case, although the Senate also has certain rights, they all require the approval of His Majesty the King. In other words, if the King does not approve, then all the proposals of the Senate will be empty words.
Although in this case, Prussia has undoubtedly entered a dictatorship. History has proven that the dictatorship can put the country on the road to rise in a short period of time, but this rise cannot last long.
William knew this very well.
But for William, all he needs to do now is only one goal. That is to bring Prussia to the throne of the world's most powerful country. As for other issues, he is not considering them for the time being. However, as proven by countless historical experiences, only
Military dictatorship is the best way to quickly embark on the road to becoming a powerful country.
Moreover, William is just in his early twenties, and he still has a lot of years left. Even in the future, he may not be able to effectively control the war machine he has cultivated.
But Xia Jie of the Xia Dynasty said something very well, that is
"After I die, I won't care about the flood!"
In the drawing room of the palace, William received Marshal Ferdinand.
Although Marshal Ferdinand is already seventy-three years old, it can be seen that he is still in very good spirits.
"Marshal Ferdinand, you are right, but we have just signed a memorandum of understanding with the British. If we withdraw our troops from France at this time, how will the international community view Prussia?"
"But Your Majesty, France has sent people to sue for peace. I think Prussia can serve as a bridge. As long as we put appropriate pressure on the British, I think the British will agree to stop military operations and sit at the negotiating table.
of!"
After hearing Ferdinand's words, William suddenly became silent.
Negotiating peace with the French is not unacceptable to William. Although the spy he sent before damned fell in love with Napoleon, which caused William to never get rid of the last scourge in his heart, but for William, the current situation
Except for Britain, no country in Europe could stop the rise of Prussia.
Negotiating peace with France can give Prussia enough time to digest the fruits of victory in this war. Moreover, negotiating peace with France is not without benefits. At least in exchange, the French are willing to pay for their artillery, battleships, alchemy, etc.
Technology. At the same time, the French can also cede colonies.
"Well, I want to know if withdrawing troops from France is the opinion of most of the senators?"
"Exactly, that's why I came to see Your Majesty!"
After receiving Ferdinand's answer, William nodded and said:
"Then later, I will ask someone to notify Rocks, and then let the government tentatively contact the British to see their attitude!"
Not long after William and Ferdinand concluded their discussions, Locks received a notice from the Brandenburg Palace.
After the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Britain and Prussia, especially after the French peace mission arrived in Brandenburg, calls for peace talks with France to withdraw troops from France arose on the Brandenburg Day.
And according to the information from the Intelligence Department, most of the soldiers on the front line want to return to Prussia day and night. There won't be any big problems in the short term, but if time goes on, it's hard to guarantee that the situation won't get out of control.
.
This analytical data from the Intelligence Department also attracted Locks' attention.
For Lockes, who had grown up in the army, he clearly knew the consequences of an army fighting abroad for a long time. Especially among the Prussian army in France, their veterans were already fighting abroad.
For more than half a year, the soldiers who have endured the war day and night have an extremely strong desire for their hometown.
"Send an invitation to the British Embassy in my name, saying that I invite Mr. Fox to come and discuss important matters!"
After thinking for a while, Rocks gave instructions to his attendants.
With the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Britain and Prussia, the British people were completely relieved. However, after breathing this sigh of relief, the British senior officials thought more about a powerful Prussia, especially Prussia, which had broken away from British control.
Is it in the interests of the UK?
"We must curb the growth of the Prussians. The Prussians have grown too fast. They have completely threatened the interests of the United Kingdom! If the British government continues to ignore this, then a Prussia that dominates Europe will pose a serious threat to the United Kingdom.
Threat, this Hanover incident is a very obvious example!"
Edward, Duke of Kent, was released back to London after Britain and Prussia signed a memorandum. Apparently, Edward, who had been brutally trained by Henry again in Hanover, was extremely resentful of the Prussians. Therefore, after returning to London, Edward immediately
Such remarks were made in the British House of Lords.
It is not that there is no market for Edward's remarks. On the contrary, the market for Edward's remarks is very high. At least after he delivered his speech, the British House of Lords applauded for nearly ten minutes. This is a very obvious example. (To be continued.