Chapter 559 Pawns Crossing the River
When the French officer whose face was swollen had just returned to the camp, before Lieutenant General Jean-Baptiste Montmorency had time to attack, a messenger ran back in panic and shouted.
"No! The Prussian army has crossed the river!"
"They dare! This is an act of war! Don't be afraid! Warriors of France! The Prussians are vulnerable!"
Although Lieutenant General Montmorency said this, he only glanced at the number of the opponent's army with a telescope, and appointed his adjutant as the temporary commander of the front line to direct the battle, while he himself chose to report to the superior (escape) .
This was a completely unequal battle. Field Marshal Carl von Hagen was the commander-in-chief of the Prussian Rhine region, while Lieutenant General Montmorency was only the commander of the suppression force, with only a few thousand troops under his command.
At the same time, Baden's army also crossed the Rhine River, and there was no tense confrontation. The French army decisively chose to escape after discovering that the opponent's strength was several times their own.
The provinces of Alsace and Lorraine already have a majority of Germans, and the locals were also angry at the atrocities committed by the French army. Therefore, when the revenge armies of Prussia and Baden arrived, a series of new murders were triggered. .
Although the Prussian and Baden armies immediately withdrew to their home countries after completing their revenge, Alsace and Lorraine were already in flames at this time.
Prussia and Baden immediately arrested the two marshals who rashly attacked France. Louis Philippe also immediately declared in the "Le Monde Française" that he would make the Germans pay with blood.
In fact, Louis Philippe meant to make Prussia and Baden pay the price, but obviously the content of the article was deliberately misinterpreted. When it came to the German region, it became that the French wanted to kill all the Germans.
Then the German Confederation Congress was held urgently in Frankfurt. Only then did the French remember that Austria was also a part of Germany.
Frankfurt, temporary conference center of the German Confederation.
A large number of important figures, including Archduke John of Austria, King Friedrich William IV of Prussia, Archduke Leopold I of Baden, and Dutch "Merchant King" William III, will attend. It can be described as a gathering of stars.
(Archduke John is the younger brother of the old emperor Franz II. He has been introduced before and will not be introduced in detail here. He has a wide range of hobbies and is good at diplomacy.)
As the temporary host, the mayor of Frankfurt felt under great pressure. He never imagined that this situation would occur today.
"Dear Sirs, where should we start?"
"What else? Now that the French bayonets are at our throats, do we still need to study which of you stole whose fish?"
Member of Parliament Couldre from Luxembourg did not shy away from sarcasm.
King Ludwig I of Bavaria curled his lips. He came here just for this matter. The reservoir built by Bavaria was opposed by many countries in the middle and lower reaches.
"Quiet! Quiet!" Since Archduke John and the King of Prussia were still present, Archduke Leopold I of Baden did not dare to slam the table and just shouted loudly.
"Mr. Couldre is right! The French are bullying others too much! They are killing my German compatriots. We must unite to protest against France!"
Baden was not a powerful country, and it was too close to France. If a war broke out, it would be the first to suffer, so Archduke Leopold I wanted to resolve the problem peacefully the most.
In fact, Prussia also wanted to do so. William IV even personally ordered the arrest of Marshal Hagen, the commander of the Rhine region. However, there were exchanges of fire when the troops crossed the border. Coupled with the attitude shown by Louis Philippe, the matter did not seem to end so easily.
He could only curse in his heart, "Damn Hagen, damn Louis Philippe, damn Germans. If it weren't for them, Prussia wouldn't be in such an embarrassing situation."
At this time, the Grand Duke of Württemberg put forward a different opinion, that is, the issue between Prussia and Baden. Why should the entire German Confederation be involved?
As one of the three southern German countries, Württemberg is naturally close to France, and it does not want to be at odds with or even go to war with France because of other countries' affairs.
This does represent the thoughts of some countries. After all, the French hammer has hit German iron-headed babies many times in the past few hundred years.
In particular, the disastrous defeat during the Napoleonic Wars cast a shadow over all German states. In fact, as long as a few powerful states did not mention the war, it was useless for the small countries to mention it.
Franz almost fell asleep while listening. He looked at Archduke John, who was known as the most diplomatically gifted member of the Habsburg family, and saw that the latter was gnawing on pig's trotters and seemed to have no time to speak.
"This is really indecent." Franz couldn't help complaining, how could a member of the royal family do this in public?
Adjani whispered from the side: "This is the style of Archduke John, and now that he is no longer a member of the royal family, he no longer needs to observe so many etiquette."
Archduke John actually gave up his status as a member of the royal family for love long ago, but the Habsburg family still occasionally asked him to deal with some not-so-easy things.
For example, in the Alsace-Lorraine crisis at this time, Archduke John both represented Austria and could not represent Austria. In short, no matter what decision was made at this German Confederation Conference, the Austrian Imperial Government could overturn it at any time according to its own needs. it.
This was Metternich’s diplomatic strategy, commonly known as “non-stick pan”.
"It's so boring." This is Franz's evaluation of this meeting so far. To be honest, he is a little disappointed that the huge German Confederation is full of such mediocre people.
Those congressmen from Luxembourg really wanted to do something, but they were soft-spoken and lacked the courage of the old congressman Couldre. In the end, they could only jump up and down like a bunch of fleas.
Adjani smoothed her hair and said, "I think it would be terrible if everyone in the world were like you. Do we need actors to save us?"
Franz: "I'll just take it as a compliment. It seems like it's time."
At this time, Archduke John finally put down the pig's trotters in his hands and stood up and said.
"Strong enemies are everywhere, and the Dharma Demon is determined to kill me, but you are here discussing who will take the blame. You feed the wolves with the meat of your own compatriots, will the wolves be grateful to you? Wait until you feed the wolves to heights. When it's strong again, will it beg for mercy from you? Or will it eat you in one bite?"
In fact, everyone understands this truth, but this is the political science based on absolute rationality. They all like to beggar their neighbors and think that others are hell.
If you want to rule Germany, you must break those inherent shackles. Archduke John's heartfelt words are inspiring, but he still needs a little booster.
At this time, it was time for the actors who had been prepared by Franz to enter, and he winked at Adjani.
Soon someone ran to the rostrum.
"We are the representatives of the Germans in Alsace and Lorraine, and we need the help of the German Confederation! The French are rampant on our land, wantonly killing our compatriots, and want to destroy our culture
We now petition to join the German Confederation. "