Chapter 4: Two or Three Attempts to Form a German Customs Union (Part 1)

Metternich, who fell behind, looked at his two colleagues and sighed. Although these people were full of confidence, based on his understanding of the old emperor, this time they would most likely not succeed.

But as an idealist, he was unwilling to give up, even if there was little hope.

Metternich liked the title of "Chancellor of Europe". However, after he became the Prime Minister of the Austrian Empire, he found that it was not as easy as he thought to point out the way.

In the past, as a diplomat, he could use words to cleverly resolve the situation even if he was besieged and slandered by many people.

However, as the Prime Minister of the Empire, he had no money, he could not even afford to hire a secretary, and his decrees could not leave Vienna, let alone reform.

The relationship in Austria was more complicated than the situation in Europe. Joining the German Customs Union was obviously beneficial to the Austrian Empire.

But it was strongly opposed, and the intensity of the opposition was far beyond his imagination.

Because the abolition of tariffs will affect the income of some people, the entry of goods from the German region into Austria will affect the profits of some people, and even the increase in the German population in Austria will affect the status of some people

And Emperor Franz II is a soft-hearted person, and he is also afraid of taking responsibility. So the final result is most likely to do nothing and maintain the status quo.

Metternich knew very well that if he wanted to maintain Austria's position as the president of the German Confederation, he had to either join the German Customs Union or prevent it from being established.

He tried the latter, but failed.

Led by Prussia, the six states in northern Germany established a customs union in 1826, and the tariffs between the states participating in the alliance were abolished.

The following year, the two large states of southern Germany, Bavaria and Württemberg, formed the South German Customs Union, and later some other states in southern Germany also joined in to deal with the customs union organized by Prussia.

In 1828, the states of Hanover, Saxony, Thuringia and the cities of the Hanseatic League formed the Central German Customs Union against Prussia.

But who would go against the money bag? Therefore, these organizations established to fight against Prussia collapsed, and finally became the cornerstone of the German Customs Union.

The establishment of the German Customs Union is good news for Prussia, and it is also good news for Austria.

Although Austrian goods cannot be compared with those of Britain and France at this time, and are even inferior to those of the Belgians, he is still very confident compared with Prussia.

As long as the German Customs Union is mastered, it will not only alleviate the tight situation of Austria's economy, but also strengthen the control over the German Federation, and thus revive the great power.

As long as there is money, Metternich can carry out reforms and realize his ambitions.

On the other hand, Prince Wendigoretz and other dignitaries also arrived at the palace gate. They have only one purpose for this trip, which is to prevent Austria from joining the German Customs Union. Because Bohemia is close to South Germany and Saxony, if tariffs are exempted, it will greatly affect the income of local noble officials.

Prince Esterhazy even brought people from Hungary overnight, and he came not because of money. In his opinion, trading with Prussia would also make it easier for him to buy Prussian luxury goods (amber, agate, pearls) with less money.

But once Austria and Germany establish closer relations, the German population in Austria will increase, which is likely to affect the power of the Hungarian nobles in the empire, which is something he and they cannot tolerate.

Borstrup, a banker, is actually a representative of the Rothschild family. His reason for opposition is that Solomon Rothschild wants to dominate the banking business of the Austrian Empire forever.

Now in the Austrian Empire, several well-known banking families have declined or are in a state of shock because they have been unable to recover the empire's debts.

Once the restrictions are lifted, banks in North Germany will enter the Austrian Empire, which will affect the interests of the family.

In Vienna, in the Hall of Mirrors, the two sides broke out in a fierce quarrel again.

On the side that supports joining the German Customs Union, whether it is Metternich, Korolav or Brooke, they are experts in their own fields.

This made the debate suspenseless from the beginning

It seems that this should be the case.

But can the correct and reasonable side win?

Presenting facts and reasoning are obviously not the strengths of these nobles. Fishing in troubled waters and playing court politics are their forte.

The staff they hired with a lot of money are not just for show.

In particular, the nobles seized on the fact that Metternich had tried to establish a German customs union with Austria as the core, but ended up breaking up unhappily.

"Prince, have you forgotten? How did we break up with Saxony unhappily that time, and how did Bavaria betray us?"

"Yes, yes, even Baden and Württemberg became enemies with us because of this. Have you forgotten all that?" Another noble echoed.

Metternich remembered how these powerful people were so smart that they led to the explanation of the alliance.

Because Saxony's industrial products compete with Austria, and agricultural products from Prussia may enter Hungary through Saxony, which will affect their interests.

In order to prevent the Austrian Empire from trading with Saxony, opponents even bribed officials to prevent the Saxon delegation from entering. Finally, the Saxon delegation had to enter Austria through Bavaria.

At the meeting, these nobles put forward harsh conditions and even asked the Saxon government to limit the number and types of goods exported to Austria, causing the Saxon ambassador to leave in anger.

Later, they bribed the close ministers around the King of Saxony and spread false news that "Austria intends to make Saxony a vassal."

At this time, King Anton I of Saxony still claimed to be the master of "the strongest state in northern Germany". He fantasized about annexing Prussia sooner or later and then competing with Austria. How could he accept the humiliation of being a vassal of Austria?

As a result, the commercial alliance between Austria and Saxony was declared broken.

The three southern German countries are closer to Austria in culture and religion, and have strong liberalism. They are very interested in making money. Many Greater Germans also regard themselves as subjects of the Holy Roman Empire.

The churches of the three southern German countries also hope to use this to strengthen their relationship with Austria to resist the influence of northern German Protestants. The Austrian church also hopes to use this to strengthen the influence of the Catholic Church and thus fight against the growing Protestant forces in the country.

Under Metternich's clever combination, the attitudes of the church, the people, and the bureaucrats were unprecedentedly consistent, which was already a general trend, but the nobles were unwilling to accept it.

The nobles first used the same old tricks to make things difficult for the delegation, but this time Metternich learned his lesson and found a general who was both a noble and incompatible with the aristocratic circle-Julius Heinau, to receive the delegation.

This man was the illegitimate son of the candidate of Hesse and had no inheritance rights. He should not be a noble. However, he came to Austria alone during the Napoleonic Wars, performed well on the battlefield, and won the title of the Austrian Empire.

The genuine nobles despised this kind of illegitimate child from a wild background. At the same time, Heinau also looked down on those "so-called nobles" who relied on the protection of their ancestors and wet their pants when fighting.

At the same time, Heinau had another identity that made the nobles even more disgusted. He was a Jew, and his mother was the daughter of a Jewish merchant. She first married a blacksmith, and then became the lover of the Grand Duke of Hesse and secretly gave birth to Heinau.

The nobles could not accept people like Heinau, and Heinau's reputation made all those who tried to cause trouble stay away.

But this time, the nobles went even further. Their behavior could not be said to be a betrayal of the country, but simply a betrayal of the country. This time they went straight to the French.