The Rise of the Empire

Chapter 2369: Showdown

"William II has finally grown up." After seeing off the Grand Duke of Baden, Ruprecht said, looking at the pure gold invitation card with the German royal family mark.

"It seems that His Majesty the Emperor didn't just want to discuss with you how to handle this incident. It seems that there are other more important things. Otherwise, His Majesty would not have called Marshal Moltke and Duke Albrecht. Bavaria , Kaiser Prussia, Kingdom of Württemberg, Grand Duchy of Baden plus their respective vassals, this can basically determine the internal affairs of Germany." Earl Schelling said.

"Well, and this meeting is rare and fair. The Kaiser and the Grand Duke of Baden are in the same group. We and Duke Albrecht represent South Germany. Prime Minister Holweg and the soon-to-be chief of the Imperial General Staff Marshal Moltke nominally stood at the imperial level (Mackensen lost the support of the Kaiser because of the rejection of the last banquet, so naturally he could not serve as the chief of staff of the empire.), but in fact, they did not have much say. William The second is really bothering you." Ruprecht said with some emotion.

At any time, people are creatures of atmosphere, especially in negotiations. If there are too many people on one side and too few on the other side, the lesser party will definitely be dissatisfied. It's fine if the strong side completely suppresses it, but if the two sides are actually evenly matched, then before the negotiation, the other party will have extremely serious rebellious psychology, so, before the negotiation, it may have collapsed.

As a result, the Kaiser took the Grand Duke of Baden against Crown Prince Ruprecht and Duke Albrecht. This is balance. As for why the representatives of the Kingdom of Saxony were not invited, on the one hand, the Kaiser did not want to see the three opposite kingdoms facing him, and on the other hand, the Kingdom of Saxony had previously stated that it would not take the initiative to participate in anything unrelated to South Germany. Because Saxony is a bit weak, except for the title of king, it is not better than Baden.

"Reply a letter to William II and say that Frederick Christian, Crown Prince of the King of Saxony, is in Berlin. It is impolite not to inform him of this kind of thing, and it is against imperial practice. After all, Saxony is a kingdom. We must give enough Of course, as the principle of counterpoint, Grand Duke Oldenburg, His Excellency Friedrich can also participate." Ruprecht thought for a while and said.

William II deliberately weakened the status of the Kingdom of Saxony. In fact, 80% of the influence of the Kingdom of Saxony on the overall situation of the empire is only a few votes in the Federal Assembly, which is very limited. However, Ruprecht, the leader of the southern German states, William II cannot be allowed to do this. The reason is very simple. You can say that Saxony is not strong enough, but due to his status as an ally of Bavaria and the status of the kingdom, he must be given due respect! And this is the case that the crown prince is in Berlin, and you don't invite him. If it gets out, not only the Kingdom of Saxony, but also Bavaria will be ashamed!

Of course, as a counterpoint, William II can also invite his children and relatives. After all, Friedrich is the current Grand Duke, and his status is no worse than that of Crown Prince Christian, who has not yet ascended the throne. Therefore, this is very fair and reasonable. What? You mean Prime Minister Holweg and Moltke?

How should I put it, Ruprecht temporarily ignores these two people, and Prime Minister Holweg will not mention it. Except for Bismarck, any prime minister of the German Empire has very little influence at the level of the Bundestag. . After all, even if he is as good as Bismarck, he has only obtained the right to be exempted from responsibility after speaking in the Federal Parliament.... Bismarck is like this, let alone Holweg now?

As for Little Maoqi? The influence is definitely not low, not only in Kaiser Prussia, but also in this German military circle. After all, he has been the chief of the general staff for more than ten years, and his uncle's face. But the Crown Prince believes that,

Little Maoqi will uphold neutrality. After all, Little Maoqi is a loyal believer of his uncle, soldiers should stay away from politics!

"Yes, Your Highness," said Earl Schelling.

"It seems that this time, the Kaiser's plan is very big." Ruprecht said with emotion. He feels that the current William II has the meaning of a real emperor! At least his vision and strategy are much more sophisticated than before! Ruprecht didn't think that this time the Kaiser asked him to talk only about the turmoil in Prussia in the parliament, war reparations, and cooperation between the two parties. Because these things are just temporary benefits!

Why did the Kaiser want to bring over half of the representatives of the most famous states in the German Empire? This is actually a conspiracy. The Kaiser wants to divide the political ecology of Germany in the future with Ruprecht under the witness of all states!

That's right, division! Why is the Kaiser in a hurry to do this now? Because the Kaiser understands a truth, in the future, the gap between his own Kaiser Prussia and Bavaria will become wider and wider...  There are many reasons. For example, Bavaria has a relatively good foundation. Not to mention that the kingdom and Bohemia-Moravia in the south have become a whole, and they can get the full support of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. For example, their own ability Limited, and domestic disputes continue. For example, my age is not enough for the opponent, and my son is not good enough. Wait for the reason.

Therefore, what the Kaiser is thinking now is to use the current gap that is not too big, and even have some advantages to reach an agreement with Ruprecht that is not bad for him. This is not a secret covenant, because there are many people as witnesses. Although politics and fraud are inseparable, as far as Ruprecht has always had a very good political reputation, the possibility of Ruprecht reneging on some key matters is very low, because good politics Reputation itself is a very powerful resource, which is the fundamental reason why Crook and others are willing to cooperate with the crown prince! It is very irrational to deplete such resources without authorization.

And now, something happened inside the Prussian parliament, and the reputation of the Social Democratic Party has plummeted. It is naturally very easy to kick them away at this time. As for whether the Social Democratic Party will follow suit and come to this place afterwards? The possibility is not high, after all, how can a bad reputation recover so quickly? And there is no suitable reason, not to mention Bavaria, even the Kingdom of Württemberg and Saxony will not give face to the Prussian Federation! And now, the Kaiser happens to have the best excuse, the distribution of compensation and the disposal of the Prussian Federation!

"That's fine. It would be a good thing if things in the next decade or so can be resolved in a more transparent manner. After all, I can't stay in Berlin all the time." Ruprecht said to himself.

Thanks to the book friend 20170323121904214 for the reward~~~! Three more today~~~! ! Tomorrow will continue three more~~~! ! !

Recommend the new book of the urban master Lao Shi:

Chapter 2369/2915
81.27%
The Rise of the EmpireCh.2369/2915 [81.27%]