Chapter 430 The King of Difficulties

Without the obstacles created by Austria, the London Peace Conference will develop in the favour of the Kingdom of Prussia. On September 1, 1867, Prussia and Denmark signed an armistice treaty.

There is no way to cede the land. Both the Schleswig-Holstein duchies were eaten by Prussia, and naturally it is impossible to spit them out.

There is no need to think about reparations, the Kingdom of Denmark has a new background - the Nordic Federation. Although this country, which is still being formed, is not as powerful as the Kingdom of Prussia, there is no problem in protecting itself.

The Swedes did not fight for the duchies of Schleswig-Holstein, mainly because they feared that Denmark was too strong for their control of the country.

In addition, Karl XV of Sweden wanted to annex Finland, which would have to stand against the Russians, and then clashed with Prussia. The national defense pressure was too great.

Even so, Sweden asked for a symbolic compensation for Denmark, about 2 million Aegis, to take care of the Danes' emotions.

It's all petty money, and no matter how poor the Kingdom of Prussia is, there is no shortage of funds. In order to settle down as soon as possible, the Berlin government readily agreed.

Because of the existence of a common enemy, the Russians, Prussia's forthcoming Nordic Confederation will have many topics in common. If it wasn't for the participation of Denmark, the Swedish government would have already committed suicide against the Russians.

From this point of view, Prussia gave up Jutland in exchange for an ally, and this business was still very cost-effective.

The foundation of the Russian Empire is too strong, and even if it is weakened, no one dares to despise them.

If they continue to decline, that's fine. If the Russians become stronger again, the Kingdom of Prussia will bear the brunt again.

It is necessary to take precautionary measures. With the addition of a Nordic federation to restrict the Russians in the north, the pressure on Prussia will be much less.

To this end, the Skagerrak (Jutland) Kingdom of Prussia did not make a request.

Of course, Prussia's pocket version of the navy is also one of the reasons that prompted the Berlin government to give up. With their current naval strength, it is useless to occupy them.

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After the Pudan armistice was signed, the tsarist government also made concessions. On September 26, 1867, Prussia, Poland, and Russia signed an armistice treaty.

This time the Russians were bleeding profusely. It was inevitable to recognize the independence of Poland. The tsarist government was also forced to accept almost all the territorial claims of the two countries.

Poland became independent, Lithuania was lost, Latvia was abandoned, Belarus was not saved, and Ukraine was cut off.

This is beyond the scope of Russian Poland. The total loss of territory is close to 790,000 square kilometers, the total loss of population is as high as 20 million, and the total industrial volume has been reduced by nearly three layers.

At the end of the 18th century, the three countries of Prussia and Austria divided Poland, and the Russians got the largest share of about 460,000 square kilometers. At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, they received part of the territorial compensation of the Commonwealth of Poland. (Warsaw area)

These territories add up to less than 600,000 square kilometers, and now they have lost even the profit, which is enough for Alexander II to hurt for a long time.

Concessions were made on the ceded land, and the tsarist government of course would not pay the indemnity. Prussia and Poland, who wanted to rely on war reparations to survive the financial crisis, miscalculated this time.

The money of the tsarist government was also used to suppress the rebellion, and Alexander II did not dare to relax his vigilance in this regard.

The threat posed by Prussia and Poland is only a minor problem, similar to a cold and a cold; and the threat posed by the chaos of the party is cancer, although it is only an early stage, and it will kill people if it is not treated in time.

Whichever is the lesser of the two evils, naturally we can only compromise with Pubo first. The land will not run away, even if it is ceded out, they can get it back when they get better.

Money is different. Without money, there is no way to suppress the rebellion, and the rule of the tsarist government of the chaotic party will be threatened.

According to the treaty, the Kingdom of Prussia will acquire Lithuania, Latvia, and most of Belarus, with a total area of ​​286,000 square kilometers and a total population of about 4.7 million.

Poland gets the remaining area, with a total area of ​​about 504,000 square kilometers, including the core Warsaw region of Poland, parts of Belarus, most of Western Ukraine, and the border extends to Kyiv.

Obviously, the Russians lost a lot this time, and even the Smolensk region was lost, which is only 360 kilometers away from Moscow.

Occupied by the Poles in 1611, it was considered to be the old Polish land in the negotiations and was included in the Belarusian region.

It is not that the tsarist government is weak, but that it is actually occupied by the enemy, which is a given. Unless you use force, you can't get it back at all.

Most of the ceded land was actually controlled by the enemy. They recovered a lot of territory through negotiation. During the winter battle, the Russian army lost too much territory to the enemy, causing them to have no confidence in the negotiation.

The newly independent Kingdom of Poland inherited the legacy left by Russia and became a newly rising European power with a total population of more than 15 million, similar to the Kingdom of Prussia before the war.

Although the industry is not very good, the agricultural foundation is still good. The land is basically in the plain area, so farming to a well-off society is not a problem.

However, this did not satisfy the interim government. In the marine age, how can you be embarrassed to call yourself a big country if you don’t have an outlet to the sea?

Well, independence has just been achieved, and the Poles have begun to dream of a great power.

In theory, Poland still has the basis for its rise. Although the total population is not high, their birth rate is high.

The scale of the industry is not large, but the Russians still have a lot of important industrial systems. Consolidating them can save a lot of time.

Local resources are abundant, which can meet the needs of the early stage of the industrial revolution. Some minerals are still more than abundant, for example: silver reserves are very rich, so there is no need to worry about currency issues.

The surplus of grain output can also be exported in exchange for foreign exchange to develop the domestic economy.

This is only theoretical, in fact the biggest flaw is the lack of "talent". Don't count on the intellectuals left behind by the tsarist government, who are basically on the revolutionary road and ready to make a big splash in politics.

Many intellectuals are spraying the sky, the ground, and the universe. I am sorry that the practical ability has not been cultivated.

Of course, there are occasional exceptions, but too few. The second industrial revolution has begun, and what a country needs is a large number of engineers with knowledge and skills.

In terms of population quality, the German region currently has an advantage. At present, the countries that have completed compulsory education are all concentrated in the German region.

Neither Britain nor France has universal compulsory education, let alone other countries. Reading is the patent of the rich, and the church schools occasionally teach common people knowledge, but this is far from enough.

Only after gaining national independence, the Poles have not yet floated. Although they were dissatisfied with Prussia because of the issue of the sea exit, the two sides still did not tear their faces.

The Kingdom of Poland still lacks a king, and everyone is still worried about the king.

According to the Polish tradition, it is definitely necessary to find the king outside, and several major professional kings in the German region are all candidates.

There are too many issues to consider, as well as the diplomatic game of various countries. The Polish parliament is currently in a fierce quarrel, and the Polish king may have a difficult birth.

At present, it is clear that the battle for the throne is the King William I of Prussia. Once Poland and Prussia are co-monarchs, the merger of Prussia becomes possible.

In theory, it is in the interests of both countries to form a federal empire. They face a common threat - Russia and Austria.

These two enemies are too powerful, and they are not opponents when they fight alone. Only when they are united can they have the strength to fight against them.

Obviously, this is only theoretical. Who is the boss is a headache, Poland's glorious history has become the biggest obstacle to this league.

Before the Russian threat disappeared, the Polish provisional government needed the help of the Prussians and almost compromised with the Berlin government, but the international environment at the time did not allow it.

France and Austria did not want to see the merger of Popo and gave stern warnings. At the critical moment of the war, the Berlin government did not dare to offend the French and Austrian countries, and the plan ended in vain.

It was very reluctant at the time, but now the real threat does not exist, and the Poles are even more reluctant to be younger brothers.

Of course, the voice for the union of the two countries has always been very high, and the support of William I as the king of Poland in the Polish parliament is still not low.

However, the most popular candidate was kicked out from the start.

At the same time, it was strongly opposed by the three countries of France, Austria and Russia. Even if the Polish Parliament supported it unanimously, William I did not dare to sit on the king.

If the two countries merged, William I dared to take the risk. Just being a co-monarch will be opposed by the three major powers, and William I is still very cowardly.

It's not just his problem, the key is that the Polish parliament is more cowardly. Facing the intervention of the foreign powers, they did not dare to vote.

Of course, the Berlin government has not given up completely, and now there is a lot of disputes in the Polish parliament, largely because of them.

In the joint anti-Russian war between Prussia and Poland, the Kingdom of Prussia also took advantage of the situation to complete its infiltration into Poland. Now there are more than eight layers of officers and soldiers in the Polish army, all of which were trained by Prussian instructors.

The pro-Prussian forces in Poland are also very strong. Although everyone does not want to be the younger brother of Prussia, it does not mean that everyone rejects William I as the king of Poland.

With such a big advantage, the Prussians naturally have to fight for it. It is not their style to declare defeat without making any effort.

The international opposition forces are strong, mainly the two countries of view and Austria. The attitude of the Russian Empire can almost be ignored now, until they end the civil war, they have no time to interfere with who the Polish throne will be.

The British did not explicitly support and oppose it, and could be regarded as neutral. There are a lot of small European countries, and most of them have dissenting opinions, but their opinions are not important.

Taking the Polish throne was crucial to the annexation of Poland by Prussia. If they can't get it, they would rather leave the Polish throne vacant.