Chapter 4 Two or three attempts to form the German Customs Union (Part 1)

Chapter 4 Two or three attempts to form the German Customs Union (Part 1)

Metternich, who was lagging behind, looked at his two colleagues and sighed. Although these people are full of confidence, based on his understanding of the old emperor, they will probably not succeed this time.

But as an idealist, he is not willing to give up, even if there is little hope.

Metternich liked the title "Prime Minister of Europe" very much. It was only after he became the Prime Minister of the Austrian Empire that he discovered that directing the country was not as easy as he thought.

In the past, as a diplomat, no matter how many people besieged or slandered him, he could deftly resolve it with words.

However, as the Prime Minister of the Empire, he had no money. He could not even hire a clerk, and his decrees could not leave Vienna, let alone reforms.

Austria's domestic relations are more complicated than the situation in Europe. Joining the German Customs Union would obviously benefit the Austrian Empire without any harm.

But he encountered strong opposition, which was far more intense than he imagined.

Because the removal 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 also affect the status of some people.

Emperor Franz II was also soft-hearted and 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 chairman of the German Confederation, he must either join the German Zollverein or prevent its establishment.

He tried the latter, but failed.

Led by Prussia, six North German states established a customs union in 1826, and tariffs among the participating states were abolished.

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

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

But who would have trouble with the money bag? So these organizations established to fight Prussia fell apart, and eventually became the cornerstone of the German Zollverein.

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

Although Austrian products were not comparable to those of Britain and France at this time, and were not even as good as Belgian products, he was still very confident compared with Prussia.

As long as the German Customs Union is mastered, it will not only alleviate Austria's economic constraints, but also strengthen its control over the German Federation, thereby reviving the glory of a great power.

As long as he has money, Metternich can carry out reforms and realize his ambitions.

On the other side, Prince Windigorets and other dignitaries also arrived in front of the palace. Their trip had only one purpose, which was 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 came from Hungary with his people overnight. He came not because of money. In his opinion, doing business with Prussia would also make it easier for him to buy Prussian luxury goods (amber, agate, pearls) with less money.

However, once Austria and Germany establish closer relations, the German population in Austria will increase, which will most likely affect the power of the Hungarian nobles within the empire, which he and they cannot tolerate.

Borstru, a banker and in fact a representative of the Rothschild family, objected on the grounds that Solomon Rothschild wanted to monopolize the banking business of the Austrian Empire forever.

Now within the Austrian Empire, several well-known banking families have declined, or are in a state of shock due to the delay in collecting the empire's debts.

Once restrictions are lifted, North German banks will enter the Austrian Empire, thus affecting the family's interests.

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

On the side that supported joining the German Zollverein, both Metternich, Korolaf and Bruck were experts in their own fields.

This made the debate unsuspicious from the beginning

It seems like it should be.

But can the right and well-founded side win?

Presenting facts and reasoning are obviously not what these noble men are good at. Fishing in troubled waters and playing palace politics are what they are good at.

The staff they hired with huge sums of money were not just for a living.

In particular, the great nobles seized on Metternich and tried to establish a German customs union with Austria as the core, but the result was that they broke up unhappy.

"Your Excellency, have you forgotten? How we broke up with Saxony on bad terms that time, and how Bavaria betrayed its trust?"

"Yes, yes, even Baden and Württemberg are at odds with us because of this. Have you forgotten?" Another nobleman echoed.

At this time, Metternich remembered how these powerful people were so clever that the alliance explained.

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

In order to prevent trade between the Austrian Empire and Saxony, the opponents even bribed officials to prevent the Saxon mission from entering. Finally, the Saxon mission had to enter Austria via Bavaria.

At the meeting, these nobles put forward harsh conditions and even asked the Saxon government to limit the quantity and type of goods exported to Austria, causing the Saxon ambassador to leave the meeting angrily.

After that, he bribed the 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 most powerful state in North Germany". He dreamed of annexing Prussia sooner or later and then fighting Austria. How could he accept the humiliation of surrendering to Austria?

As a result, the commercial alliance between Austria and Saxony collapsed.

The three southern German countries are more similar to Austria in culture and religion, and are strongly liberal. They are very interested in things that can make money. There are even many big Germans who consider themselves subjects of the Holy Roman Empire.

The churches in the three southern German countries also hope to use this to close relations with Austria to resist the influence of North German Protestants. The Austrian churches also hope to use this to enhance the influence of the Catholic Church to fight against the increasing Protestant influence in the country. .

With Metternich's ingenious combination, the attitudes of the church, the people, and the bureaucrats were unprecedentedly consistent. This was already the general trend, but the great nobles were unwilling to give in.

The great nobles tried their old tricks at first, planning to make things difficult for the envoy. However, this time Metternich learned wisely and found a general who was both a noble and incompatible with the aristocratic circle - Julius Heinau, to receive the envoy. .

This man is the illegitimate son of the Hessian candidate and has 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 received a knighthood in the Austrian Empire.

Genuine nobles despise such illegitimate children with wild backgrounds. At the same time, Hai Nao also looks down on those "so-called nobles" who rely on the shelter of their ancestors and wet their pants whenever they fight.

At the same time, Hainao also had another identity, which made the nobles even more disgusted. He is a Jew, and his mother is the daughter of a Jewish businessman. She first married a blacksmith, and then became unwilling to be lonely and became the lover of the Grand Duke of Hesse, secretly giving birth to Hainau.

People like Hainau are unacceptable to the great nobles, and Hainau's evil reputation makes all those who try to cause trouble shun away.

Only this time, the nobles went even further. Their behavior can no longer be said to be harming the country, it is simply traitorous. This time they went directly to the French.