Chapter 208: Chapter 95: When the Time is Right

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On March 16, 1853, Prime Minister Felix arrived in Munich, and after a week-long negotiation, it ended in failure.

The Bavarian Government explicitly opposed the reconstruction of the Shinra Empire, declaring Felix’s diplomatic efforts a failure.

Under public pressure, the Bavarian Government proposed on March 27 to reconvene the Federal Assembly to decide whether to reconstruct the Holy Roman Empire.

On March 28, Prime Minister Felix delivered a speech at the University of Munich, publicly responding to the Bavarian Government.

“I have a dream that within my lifetime, I will see the unification of the Germany Region. It should be the real unification of the German People, not the nominal German Federation, which is a joke.

Today is a bad day, the Bavarian Government has shut the door to the reconstruction of the Holy Roman Empire, and all our efforts have failed.

It seems my dream has a long way to go before it can be realized. If I don’t live to see it, I hope you can continue on, as the elite of the Germany Region, it is your responsibility and duty.

We all know that rebuilding the Shinra is the best choice for the unification of the Germany Region, it is the only way to achieve national unity in a short time.

The multitude of states in Germany have been divided for so long, each has developed its own system, which makes the desire for true unity very difficult, and it cannot be achieved overnight.

Let the Federal Assembly vote? In truth, we all understand this is not an activity of the minority obeying the majority, nor is it a child’s play.

Reconstruction of the Shinra must gain the support of all Sub-States; if anyone disagrees, a forced merger into an empire will only lead to contradictions and ultimately collapse.

The consequences of force are clear to all—Switzerland gained independence, Belgium gained independence, the Dutch gained independence, Luxembourg gained independence—these were their own choices, and we don’t need to scrutinize the historical reasons today.

If we don’t handle things well now, a new wave of independence movements will appear. Do not doubt, there are already international forces plotting to divide Germany, and they have even colluded with internal forces in Germany.

Therefore, I must proceed with the utmost caution, afraid that one wrong step will make me a criminal of Germany.

A unified German Empire must be an empire recognized by all. If this cannot be achieved, then it is only a federation, not an empire.

I know many people oppose the reconstruction of the Shinra because they feel the empire is too loose, with local governments having too much power and the Central Government too little, a system that does not suit everyone’s tastes.

But there is one thing to note, in order to gain the approval of all the people, we must not bleed, or at least not bleed too much.

If a civil war breaks out because of unification and blood flows like rivers, will everyone be able to sit together calmly after the war?

The answer is no. Under the guidance of those with ulterior motives, this kind of hatred will quickly take root and sprout, leading to division in the end.

Felix got into the groove, starting his oratory barrage.

The officials from the Bavarian Government below the stage were so angry that their faces were ashen, but it was not appropriate to have an outburst, as diplomatic etiquette needed to be maintained. Although Felix was ranting, he was not directly insulting the Bavarian Government by name.

If they were to stand up and stop the speech, wouldn’t that show that they felt guilty?

Moreover, the emotions of the students had been stirred up, and provoking them at this moment could lead to unpredictable results; who knows if some impressionable youth would start calling for a revolution.

This was not without precedent, as over ninety percent of the revolutions in Europe had been started by fervent youths with a casual call to action that was then blindly followed.

For instance, the French February Revolution, the Vienna March Revolution, the Berlin March Revolution, and so on—none of these uprisings had tight organization beforehand; it was just that passionate cries led everyone to blindly join in the turmoil.

Ever since the Bavarian Government made their decision, they had heightened their security to strictly prevent any rash actions from fervent youths.

For example, there were more than a hundred police officers currently inside the University of Munich—officially to protect Prime Minister Felix’s safety, but also, essentially, to monitor the crowds he interacted with.

Bear in mind that Prime Minister Felix was now the most unstable element within the Kingdom of Bavaria, and with his high status, the Bavarian Government could only hope he would leave quickly.

As much as the government despised him, the general Bavarian people welcomed him, and most had great respect for this peace-loving Austrian Prime Minister.

About an hour later, Felix stopped his speech and entered the interactive exchange segment.

An excited young student said, “Respected Prime Minister Felix, I would like to ask how we can ensure that the Holy Roman Empire will treat every Sub-State fairly?”

This question had been answered many times over by Felix in his travels, and he repeated:

“It’s a simple question, it depends on the system, a fair system. I do not believe in rule by man, for humans are inherently selfish, with natural tendencies; only a fair system can solve problems.

This system will be jointly established by all the Sub-States, publicly demonstrated throughout the country, for everyone to evaluate if it is fair.”

The nonsense mode was activated, and applause arose from below the stage. The accompanying officials of the Bavarian Government closed their eyes, as if to say, ‘Out of sight, out of mind.’

Another young student curiously asked, “Your Excellency, Prime Minister, does such a perfect system exist?”

Felix answered without hesitation: “No, it does not!”

Ignoring the commotion in the room, he continued, “There is no perfect system in the world; what seems wonderful today may become outdated tomorrow. What we can do is continually update the system to make it more suitable for us.

From the very beginning of human society, from the earliest tribal civilizations, matrilineal clans to the patriarchy, then entering the era of slavery, with the earliest nations emerging…

All these social changes are about self-adjustment and improving social systems. From our perspective today, our current system is more advanced than in the past.

But actually, if our ancestors had adopted our advanced regulations, the German People would have become history, or even untraceable in history books.

Is this a problem with the system? Clearly not!

The productive forces of society determine the production system, so do not parrot criticisms of past social systems being corrupt or backward. At least at the time, those systems met the needs of the era.”

It went off track; with everyone’s thoughts so active and their questions too cunning, Prime Minister Felix had no choice but to lead the conversation further away, striving to maintain control of the pace.

“Prime Minister, after the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire, Austria will become the new Central Government. Isn’t this unfair to the other Sub-States?”

A young student’s question brought the topic back to attention.

“You are mistaken. The Central Government is formed collectively by the Sub-States. If Austria acts as the Central Government, whom exactly could this Central Government command?

As for fairness, I think it can only be ensured by an impartial constitution. Large and small Sub-States will definitely have different political clout. If you forcibly equalize them, that would in fact be unfair to the larger Sub-States.

True fairness is about equal treatment, not privileges. My vision of the Holy Roman Empire is of a world without special privileges.

You will receive rewards proportionate to your contributions to this country, be it in money or in social status.

In other words, it’s about opening the gates to high society, although this gate might only be open a crack,” Prime Minister Felix continued to cheat on.

The mixture of truth and falsehood made his speech even more persuasive.

His open acknowledgement of social harshness implied that while no Sub-State would have privileges, gaps in individual social status would still exist.

This mode of speech was the result of painstaking research by the staff of the Austrian Government, designed to rouse peoples’ emotions without letting them spiral out of control.

The balance was not easy to strike; if nationalist fervor was detonated, Austria would be unable to bear the consequences.

Due to the Bavarian Government’s extreme caution, Prime Minister Felix made only a few speeches before he started on his return journey.

There was no doubt that this diplomatic mission had failed. Aside from a very small number of German Confederation Sub-States that expressed support for rebuilding Shinra, the majority subtly expressed opposition.

Especially after the Bavarian Government openly declared opposition, a wave of critique against the Holy Roman Empire swept through the Germany Region.

Of course, none of the governments delved into their dark histories; the local governments’ resistance against the Central Government was also a stain and an absolute political faux pas that could not be mentioned.

Vienna

After hearing Felix’s report, Franz realized that the situation in the Germany Region was far more complicated than he had imagined.

The German People were often stubborn. Once they fixed their minds on something, it was hard to sway them back.

This meant that convincing them was a necessity; without their approval, unifying Teuton was but a dream.

A misstep could lead to the very independence surge mentioned in Felix’s speech.

“Your Majesty, nationalism is growing rapidly in the Germany Region. If we stir up national sentiment now, by political means we still have hope to achieve unification,” Prime Minister Felix suggested.

Perhaps too engaged in his role, Felix was now genuinely considering the use of political maneuvers to unify Teuton.

Franz shook his head and said, “It’s impossible to succeed. If we really established the Holy Roman Empire, England and France and Russia would probably suspend hostilities and turn their attention back to us with malice.”

Teuton unification would undermine Russian hegemony over Europe, shatter the French dream of European dominance, and collapse the British policy of continental balance.

It was a clash of core interests, affecting their future development and survival. To avoid this situation from happening, they would definitely take action, without ifs, ands, or buts.

Even now, as England and France and Russia were embroiled in fierce conflict in the Near East, their secret government contacts had never ceased.

Franz was sure that England and France no longer wished to fight. If not for being in a difficult position unable to dismount from the tiger, they would likely have compromised with the Russians.

Now that they wanted to compromise, the precondition was for the Russians to make concessions; otherwise, they couldn’t explain it back home.

Did the Tsarist Government wish to continue fighting? The answer was no. The cruelty of war had awoken many, leaving them also reluctant to continue.

Concessions are easy to discuss but difficult to make! Once the Tsarist Government compromised, internal conflicts would erupt, and naturally, Nicholas I wanted to end the war with a resounding victory.

Now, Constantinople was within reach. Capturing this fortress city would solve all of the Tsarist Government’s crises, and Nicholas would become the greatest Tsar in Russian history.

As for other interests, with the Black Sea Fleet destroyed, even if they entered the Mediterranean, they couldn’t rely on swimming, could they?

Annexing the Ottoman Empire? Wars cost money, and while the Russians had military strength, they lacked the corresponding financial resources.

They could even intervene in the Germany Region while continuing the war. With the Kingdom of Prussia in the mix, a few barks from England and France and Russia, and the Holy Roman Empire would dissolve again.

Once Franz pointed this out, Felix quickly came to his senses. The Shinra Empire was far from a true empire; without external threats, issues could be gradually resolved, but now the problem was collusion from within and without.

“Your Majesty, the time is ripe to commence the next plan,” Metternich said.

Franz nodded in agreement.

Austria wasn’t aggressive enough to start a war over a disagreement. Without a justifiable reason that others could accept, if they inadvertently provoked collective anger, that would play right into the hands of the Prussians.

Simply disagreeing politically was not a sufficient cause for war. Now, there was a need to add fuel to the fire and give a final historical definition to the Bavarian Government.