Chapter 426: Chapter 113: Trapped by Someone
 

Vienna, as a good neighbor, Franz had always closely monitored the civil war in Russia, and with the intelligence he had gathered, he knew that the Tsarist Government was about to concede.

To ensure domestic stability, Alexander II had been holding back from launching an attack, resulting in the rebel army gaining strength like a snowball rolling downhill, now threatening the rule of the Tsarist Government.

At this point, any shrewd monarch would choose to maintain their own rule first. Alexander II had to end the war before he could clean up internally and use political means to dissolve the rebellion.

Even a cornered dog will jump over a wall, and without ending the war first, those parasites colluding with the Kingdom of Prussia could probably not even safeguard St. Petersburg.

To confuse these people, Alexander II had already made a few scapegoats, which made it appear as though the issue had passed.

This half-hearted approach, apart from buying time, actually had no effect. For a nation, such a compromise was akin to slow suicide.

Franz had encountered Alexander II before, and he was well aware that this man was no mediocre ruler. As early as Nicholas I’s era, Alexander II had proposed social system reforms.

Unfortunately, Nicholas I had already pushed for a round of reforms, which ended in failure. The aging Nicholas I lacked the courage to burn his bridges, afraid to risk a break with domestic interest groups.

By the time of Alexander II, the difficulty of reform had increased significantly. Without the prestige of Nicholas I, he could not suppress the various power factions within the country.

Comprehensive social reforms were watered down to limited social reforms, and just like in the original timeline, Alexander II opted for a gradual approach to drive social change.

At a critical moment, the Polish uprising erupted, followed by the outbreak of the Prussia-Denmark War, challenging the supremacy of the Russian Empire.

To maintain imperial hegemony, Alexander II had no choice but to wage war. The failure of the war intensified domestic social conflicts, leading to the current situation.

Without hesitation, Franz made a decision, “Prime Minister, urge the Berlin Government to fulfill the conditions, or else don’t let them even think about getting anything!”

This was political extortion. With the negotiations at a deadlock, the Berlin Government was also panicking. In these months, the Tsarist Government had rearmed hundreds of thousands of troops.

Fight another battle? The Prussians were anxious; the war had already cost them dearly, and even if they won another hard collision with the Russians, it would still be a loss.

If they lacked the strength, even if they could take a vast amount of land from the Russians, they couldn’t swallow it!

The Junker nobles were also insightful, knowing that the Kingdom of Prussia could not withstand any failure at this stage. France and Austria were still watching eagerly, holding back only because they still retained the power to fight.

Whichever side started first would end up benefitting the other. Moreover, given the severe international situation, both France and Austria feared being double-crossed if they entered the fray first.

When it came to interests, alliances were only slightly more useful than waste paper. Where could one go to cry if they got tricked?

This created an opportunity for Austria to extort Prussia. Prussia only knew that the Russians were still taking a hard stance, uninformed that the Tsarist Government was ready to compromise, and the Berlin Government did not dare to let the war continue.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” replied Prime Minister Felix.

…

Plans never change as fast as situations, and the Berlin Government was not at all panicked when it received the diplomatic note from the Vienna Government.

The two sides directly started discussing terms, with Prussian Foreign Minister McKate questioning, “Sir Robinson, what about Silesia and the Prussian Saxon area? You know it all too well, how could they possibly be bought for fifty million divine shield?

As far as I’m aware, just for the Prussian Saxony area, the treaty you signed with Russians stipulated fifty million divine shield. And that was a high-risk loan, the figure can’t possibly be any lower now!

We are selling the Prussian Saxony area and Silesia area for an outright price of 1.2 billion divine shield, which is absolutely value for money.”

Austrian Envoy in Berlin, Robinson, explained calmly, “Your Excellency, the Minister, the accounts can’t be settled like that. First of all, the Silesia area was pre-agreed upon before the war, so no further payment is required.

This transaction concerns only the Prussian Saxony area, and you must realize that our political concessions should also be included in the scope of this deal.

Your country aims to acquire the two Duchies of Schleswig-Holstein, Lithuania, Latvia, and the major part of Belarus, which together would increase your country’s territory by three-quarters.

Reaching such a goal is not easy; at least, the French support the Polish to gain a seaport in the Lithuanian Region, and the British also seem quite warm about it. If you don’t want another exclave…”

An exclave is a painful issue; one Rhineland under the French’s watchful eye was already causing sleepless nights for the Berlin Government, let alone another exclave under the Russians’ eyes, making life unbearable.

Should the Polish gain a seaport in the Lithuanian Region, the Belarusian Region and Latvian Region that Prussia wanted would become exclaves, creating national defense pressure enough to induce collapse.

Not only would they be threatened by the Russians, but even the Polish would have the strength to threaten them. If their forces could not unite, what could they use to annex Poland and establish a Great Prussian Empire?

Weakening Prussia and strengthening Poland were in French interests. It created conditions for them to annex the Rhineland region and supported a pawn to deter Austria.

For the British, both were their juniors, and it wouldn’t be good to lean towards either. John Bull, adept at playing both sides, naturally would not dash to take a stance.

Prussian Foreign Minister McKate countered, “Sir Robinson, a strong Poland emerging isn’t good for your country either, for Polish nationalism hasn’t forgotten Austria-Poland!”

Envoy Sir Robinson responded with a faint smile, “Your Excellency, the Minister, you think too highly of the Polish people. There has never been an Austro-Poland, and the local population do not consider themselves Polish.

If the newly established Poland dares to challenge Austria, it won’t be long before they become history again. The chasm in strength cannot be bridged by a few slogans.”

The Vienna Government had confidence in this regard; as early as twenty years ago, when the Polish nobility in Galicia rebelled for independence, they were suppressed by the local populace.

After so many years of assimilation, traces of Poland had long been erased, and the locals now identify themselves as Austrians.

Those who still retain Polish traditions have become a small minority, and this is evident in the national statistics of the Vienna Government, which show that the number of the Polish ethnic has dropped to less than a million.

The decrease in Polish people did not mean they disappeared; mainly, they were assimilated. The new generation does not consider themselves Polish, so naturally, the number of Polish people plummeted.

In Austria, ethnic divisions are not based on bloodlines; after so many years of development, with a significant number of mixed-heritage children, it’s challenging to determine clear-cut ancestries.

Rather, it is based on language and script, traditional customs, and the public’s self-identification with their ethnicity, among other factors.

In this regard, the policies of Prussia and Austria were quite similar, both promoting Germanization. Both achieved substantial success, although Austria went a step further by making it difficult to find work without knowing the common language.

Of course, the re-independence of Poland would still affect Austria’s assimilation efforts, but the Vienna Government was prepared.

Franz was also an advocate of freedom; if they wanted to be Polish, then going back to Poland would be best—Austria would not miss a few hundred thousand people.

Deporting hundreds of thousands would be difficult in other countries, but in Austria, it was not a problem. Protests and disturbances? They’d all be deported together and dealt with.

The threat posed by Poland was internal, not external. The disparity in strength meant that militarily, Poland could not threaten Austria. As long as one was willing to be ruthless with internal problems, the threat would be manageable.

While Austria could afford to disregard it, McKate could not. Prussia was still very interested in Poland, and Polish nationalism could not intimidate the Berlin Government.

To some extent, the Junker aristocracy was their nemesis. Both East and West Prussia served as examples, where a handful of Junker nobles managed to suppress local issues and did an excellent job in integrating the population.

With such successful experiences, the Berlin Government’s confidence was bolstered. No matter how the external world criticized the feudal aristocracy as backward, it proved to be quite effective in stabilizing localities.

…

After some haggling, on August 11, 1867, Austro-Hungarian Envoy Robinson and Prussian Foreign Minister McKate signed the “Prussia-Austria Land Deal.”

The treaty contained only one clause: The Kingdom of Prussia sold Silesia and the Prussian Saxon area to Austria for the price of 38 million divine shield.

Note: After the signing of the treaty, the Kingdom of Prussia would, upon receipt of payment, complete the handover to Austria within two years, with Austria paying an additional 10 million divine shield in relocation costs.

Undoubtedly, other additional conditions were concealed, and both parties tacitly refrained from mentioning them.

In Vienna, reviewing the signed treaty left Franz in disbelief. It felt to him as though Prussia was eager to sign the treaty without showing any real resistance.

The only issue was the length of time the Prussians requested for the handover, but that was not a significant concern—two years was not enough time for the Kingdom of Prussia to recover, nor did they have the strength to renege.

Besides, the Berlin Government gave a reasonable explanation: they needed time to divest their assets. Unless Austria was willing to buy out the industries, they had to allow Prussia time to adjust.

Purchasing the industries was out of the question; the Vienna Government was not about to play the fool. To buy at market value, Austria couldn’t afford it!

Bubble economies existed in every era, and with the Silesian and Prussian Saxon areas together covering more than 30,000 square kilometers, including mines, land, factories, real estate, they were worth billions. The apparent market value would even be several times higher.

Since the Prussians were willing to vacate, the Vienna Government naturally wouldn’t mind. Not all factories were valuable—Austria already had its own industries, and keeping them would only intensify market competition without any substantial benefit.

Exactly because they were unnecessary, the Vienna Government decisively signed the treaty with the Prussians. It soon became evident to Vienna that the Prussian relocation was a bit too thorough.

The factories that moved took their workers with them. When the nobility and landowners relocated, they took their households and the farmers who worked their lands along.

Of course, this discovery came only six months later, by which time it was too late to change anything, and Franz could only grudgingly accept it.

The treaty was signed; regret was not an option anymore. And not everyone had left—those who supported Austria stayed behind, serving as a small consolation prize.

Now, the Vienna Government was celebrating this great diplomatic victory, having regained the long-sought-after Silesian area and the Kingdom of Saxon its Prussian Saxon area.

The public reaction was even more enthusiastic, with many believing that this move was a further step toward the unification of the Germany Region, deeply embedding the concept of unification in the hearts of the people.

After pocketing the benefits, the Vienna Government’s stance at the London Peace Conference shifted as well.

Many of Prussia’s proposals were met with tacit approval, far from their initial firm opposition.