Chapter 10 Undercurrent

Berlin

William III looked at the Austrian credentials placed on the table and slapped the table hard.

"The Austrians shamelessly asked to join us!"

Seeing His Majesty the King so angry, most of the Prussian senior officials remained unmoved. There are even many people who are speaking for Austria, and they are speaking out loudly.

"Only the German Zollverein Union that includes Austria can be called the true German Zollverein Union."

These words made William III very angry. Why did he raise such a group of white-eyed wolves?

Of course, the white-eyed wolf will also look at the situation, and immediately change the subject when the situation is not good.

"Brandenburg's destiny is to receive the legacy of the Holy Roman Empire, annex Austria, expel Hungary, and establish a truly German state."

After hearing this, William III's anger subsided slightly.

Obviously, it was Metternich's gold-dollar offensive that had an effect. After all, the interests of the country are not as real as the money in your own hands.

There is no shortage of greedy people in any country, and there is no shortage of loyal people.

Prussian Finance Minister Mertz was this kind of person. As the initiator and actual manager of the German Customs Union, he knew very well how much trouble the Austrians had made.

First, they sat back and watched the emergence of three customs unions in Germany. Then, like the British, they stayed outside the various alliance systems and kept the three alliances in a tripartite situation, intending to let Prussia continue to decline due to internal friction.

But fortunately, the Sino-German business alliance itself was not stable. There were endless arguments over the issue of internal unified tariffs and eventually fell apart.

The South German Customs Union is sandwiched between France and Austria. The relatively small space makes it difficult for them to do anything.

Soon after, the Sino-German Commercial Alliance and the South German Customs Union collapsed one after another, but the Austrians did not give up and successively attracted Saxony and South German states in an attempt to form a customs union of their own, but nothing happened.

"Your Majesty, Austria must not be allowed to join. Our industry is still too fragile. The Austrians have a first-mover advantage over us. If the Austrians are allowed to enter the German Zollverein, endless logging will be waiting for us."

"Then the Austrians will use the money they robbed from us to buy our resources and then make them into goods and sell them to us. One day, we will become their slaves like the Irish."

"Gentlemen, what should we do?" William III asked.

"Austria must be excluded, otherwise we can only set up trade barriers and carry out trade protection."

“Isn’t the purpose of our establishment of the German Customs Union to eliminate trade barriers and carry out free market trade?”

"That is under the premise that we can harvest others, rather than letting others harvest us."

The man fell silent, but the discussion became louder. Prime Minister Wei Lixi knew how to persuade these idiots who did not understand economics, so he shouted loudly.

"Damn it! The Austrians must be excluded! If Hungarian food is allowed in, who will our food be sold to?"

This statement immediately received a response from the Junkers and landowners.

What they don't know is that at this moment, there is a group of people like them in Hungary.

Budapest

"Damn it! Damn it! The emperor actually wants to join the German Customs Union. What should we Hungary do?"

"What's wrong with this? It will be cheaper to buy things in the future. I'm tired of always buying Austrian products. This time I went shopping in Berlin. I heard that the prostitutes there are serious."

"What serious nonsense! Let Prussian grain come in, and who will sell our grain to!"

The Hungarian landowners immediately responded, "Prussian grain must not be allowed to enter Hungary! If the emperor does not accept our plea, we will fight to Vienna!" The roar was loud.

Prince Eltházy was just watching the crazy crowd silently in a corner. Although he also liked to say that, he knew very well that Hungary could not defeat Austria at this time, otherwise it would not be as simple as shouting slogans.

In addition, he missed his palace in Vienna a little bit. As far as the entertainment industry is concerned, Vienna is centuries ahead of Budapest.

Hanover.

"What? The Austrians actually want to join the German Zollverein? What are they thinking! Aren't they afraid of the outflow of gold?"

"If Austria can join, so can we," one minister said.

"Are you an idiot? Are those Germans rich? Let us use real money and silver to exchange for Austrian waste paper? Our gold must not be wasted on meaningless competition."

At that time, signs of economic crisis had appeared in the UK, and there was a serious shortage of precious metals. The policy adopted by the British government is to raise trade barriers wildly to prevent the outflow of precious metals and cope with possible runs.

Mainstream European countries have followed suit, but Austria's own debt has exceeded the risk level, and there is no point in stockpiling precious metals. On the contrary, this kind of stable but unredeemable banknotes appear safer.

Dresden, Saxony.

"The Austrians intend to join the German Zollverein?"

"Yes, the Prussians ask us to oppose Austria and reject Austria's request to join the German Zollverein."

"Why refuse? Wouldn't it be nice to let the Austrians come in and fight the Prussians? We Saxony is the center of Germany, and neither the Austrians nor the Prussians can do without us. Wouldn't it be nice to let the tigers and wolves fight, and we wait for the opportunity to get the best of us? "

"Your Majesty, you are wise."

Paris France.

Marshal Soult, who was old and frail, had completely lost the look of a soldier. He was in a state of half-sleep and half-wakefulness.

"That's it. The Austrians intend to join the customs union initiated by the Prussians. The Prussians don't seem to intend to let them join, and there are also some troubles among the Austrians. I think we should immediately organize a Franco-Belgian alliance to counter the Austrians." Guizot finished his report and expressed his thoughts.

"Well, I'm old. His Majesty the King trusts me and you. I know you are very capable, and I trust you too. You just have to have a clear conscience and be worthy of His Majesty the King and God." The old marshal just wanted to retire peacefully, so he pushed it clean.

"Thank you for your trust. I will do my best to live up to His Majesty and your high hopes." Guizot was also used to Soult's non-stick pan. He didn't have time to play Tai Chi with this old man.

Franco-Belgian alliance, this has always been Guizot's dream. Although Belgium had just become independent at this time, it was the first country in the entire European continent to industrialize. The industrial strength is extremely strong, and the national quality is very high.

Besides, Belgium has a unique location. Incorporating Belgium into the French sphere of influence will definitely enhance France's strength and influence. It can also go a step further and incorporate the entire Low Countries into France's territory.

Guizot's idea is very good. The Franco-Belgian alliance can indeed attack and defend, and it can also enhance commercial competitiveness. But he overlooked the most important issue, that is, the British.

There is a joke that Belgians may fly to Britain even if they fly kites. The Low Countries are definitely the British's Achilles' heel. The British will not allow any powerful country to get involved in the Low Countries. The British have always been afraid that a country will occupy the Low Countries and then use the Low Countries as a springboard to attack the British mainland.

For Austria's joining the German Customs Union, the threat of force like last time may not work. I don't know what the emperor of the Austrian Empire is thinking about, and he actually said he wanted to go to war.

The Austrian emperor can have a tantrum, because that family is not normal. But Guizot can't have a tantrum, he and France can't afford this risk.

The traitors inside Austria can be used well. In addition, the Prussians would not be willing to let the Austrians steal their pigs.

To be fair, although France looked down on Austria's industrial strength, the Austrians and Prussians still had a high chance of winning the competition.

The Prussians also knew this, so it would be much easier. Guizot already had a plan, which was to unite the anti-Austrian forces in Austria and the German Customs Union.

Find a way to refuse Austria from joining the German Customs Union. Once the Austrians join the German Customs Union, it will no longer be Austria's problem.

It is an internal problem of Germany. Although France has never given up its ambitions for the Rhine region, France is still unable to support its ambitions at this time.