Chapter two hundred and seventy-six Prussia's decline
Early morning on November 8, 1850.
A shocking news came from the German region. Prussia and Austria, which had been in a long-term confrontation, would actually start a war early in the morning.
Immediately afterwards, Felix Schwarzenberg, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Austrian Empire, appeared in Munich, the capital of the Kingdom of Bavaria, as if he had learned to flash, and accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bavaria, Baron Depforten, announced that the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Bavaria
At the same time, war was declared on the Kingdom of Prussia.
Felix Schwarzenberg's move instantly shocked people from all walks of life. They who thought it was just a secret war between Prussia and Austria never thought that the Austrian Empire would really do it for the sake of black people.
The Principality of Sen-Kassel takes action.
Of course, the reason for Felix Schwarzenberg's declaration of war against the Kingdom of Prussia was not only that the Kingdom of Prussia supported the Hessian Parliament and violated the territory of the Elector of Hesse, but also to frame the Austrian soldiers wounded by the Prussian cavalry in the middle of the night.
The Austrian Imperial Army was counterattacked as a last resort, looking like a victim.
Felix Schwarzenberg's almost shameless self-defense was not recognized by all countries. The Prussian commander William I, who led two regiments to break out of the encirclement, quickly denounced Felix after returning to the Principality of Kassel.
Schwarzenberg's shameless behavior also called for sanctions on the Austrian Empire from the outside world.
However, all of William I's appeals were nothing more than mild reprimands to Schwarzenberg. The Austrian Empire, which had appeased the troubled French Republic and Russian Empire, only needed to rush towards Berlin.
While the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia greeted each other's families in a tactful way in the diplomatic field, Albrecht, who had cleared the Prussian defeated troops in the Fulda area, gathered his troops and marched towards Kassel in the north, while running towards Austria.
It showed Austria's impressive (sneak attack) results faster than the flying general.
The demoralized prisoner Ron and other Prussian prisoners appeared in Austrian newspapers on November 10.
At this time, after receiving the support of the Kingdom of Bavaria, the Austrian Empire's military strength increased from the original 50,000 to the current 70,000.
Due to internal ideological confusion in the Kingdom of Prussia, the army has increased its losses, which means that the ratio of the Prussian and Austrian coalition forces in the Kassel area has reached a ratio of 4 to 7.
After this battle, no matter how brave the Prussian general was, he did not think that the Prussian army could defeat the combined Austrian and Bavaria armies with one enemy and two enemies.
If it were just a military issue, Prussia could grit its teeth and persist. What would be even worse would be a diplomatic failure.
Many German countries that originally joined the Erfurt Union were too frightened to play happily with the Kingdom of Prussia after seeing Austria, the big brother in Germany, take action against the King of Prussia.
Even some German countries (such as Saxony, the old enemy of the Kingdom of Prussia and the master of archfire) clamored that the Kingdom of Prussia had destroyed the old German confederation system and that it should accept punishment from Austria.
While Saxony actively moved closer to the Austrian Empire, it also cooperated with the Austrian Empire to deploy troops in the border areas between Prussia and Saxony.
Saxony's actions forced Prussia to also deploy troops in Silesia.
There are also colleagues from some countries who are moving closer to Austria while hypocritically calling on the German region to exercise restraint. It is best for both sides to sit down and talk candidly.
Most of the vassal states in Germany no longer chose to support Prussia, but hoped to maintain the old German Confederation.
For a time, the Kingdom of Prussia fell into unprecedented diplomatic isolation in Germany.
On November 12, King William I Qin, who was the commander of the Prussian front in Kassel, was preparing to return to Berlin from Kassel. The person responsible for replacing King William I Qin was Count Wrangel, commander of the Berlin garrison.
Before embarking on the journey back to Berlin, Prince William met with Count Wrangel.
At this time, Prince William no longer looked as high-spirited as before. Albrecht's "sneak attack" really embarrassed Prince William.
Ron's capture also made Prince William feel that he had lost his right-hand man.
"Your Highness, this is not your fault! No one thought that the Austrian Empire would launch a sudden attack!" Count Wrangel comforted Prince William. He did not want to see Prince William's will continue to be depressed.
"No need to comfort me!" Prince William shook his head and said: "This war was caused by me overestimating the enemy! I will shoulder all the responsibilities for this war!"
Then, Prince William glanced at the tent behind Wrangel and said sincerely: "Mr. Count, these are the best young men in Prussia. Please use them with caution!"
Count Wrangel knew that Prince William still had not gotten over the shadow of defeat. He sighed inwardly for Prince William's experience. At the moment, he could only rely on the prince to get out of the shadow of defeat.
"Your Highness, don't worry!" Count Wrangel replied: "The young boy on the other side will only use despicable means to achieve temporary victory."
"Then please!" After this battle, Prince William lived up to his previous arrogance and seemed to have transformed overnight into the William I who succeeded the Prussian throne.
However, William I's heart also became as timid and prudent as the Prussian throne. He seemed to gradually understand why his brother Frederick William IV was deliberately trying to maintain relations with Austria and the Russian Empire.
Without the help of Austria and Russia, especially the Russian Empire, Prussia's prestige in the German region would be nothing more than a flower in the mirror.
After Prince William I said goodbye to Count Wrangel, he finally arrived in Berlin after several twists and turns by train.
Prince Wilhelm I of Prussia, who had just returned to his home in Berlin, received an invitation from Sanssouci Palace.
Sanssouci Palace is an 18th-century German royal palace and garden located in the northern suburbs of Potsdam, Germany. It was built by King Frederick II of Prussia in imitation of the Palace of Versailles in France.
Although the Palace of Sanssouci is not as luxurious as the Palace of Versailles, its garden architectural art can be regarded as one of the best in Germany.
Since it was built by Frederick the Great, Sanssouci Palace has been the residence of the Hohenzollern royal family, and all the Prussian kings have lived here.
What's even more commendable is that in the history of Europe, no palace has ever been able to remain so intact after being baptized by successive wars. Napoleon's march into Berlin, World War I, and World War II were all unstoppable.
The Palace of Sorrows fired a shot, which allowed the Palace of Sanssouci to be preserved into the 21st century.
Of course, Prince William had no idea that the palace would outlive the Hohenzollerns as kings of Prussia.
Just like ancient Greece, Sparta and other ancient countries will gradually be destroyed by external forces as time goes by, the art they left behind will be forever engraved in the hearts of future generations.
When Prince William came to the main entrance of Sanssouci Palace, the king's military attaché also happened to appear in front of Prince William.
"Your Highness, please come with me!" The military attaché respectfully bowed to Prince William in front of him.
Prince William also returned the gift to the military attache.
Under the leadership of the aide-de-camp, Prince William passed through a luxurious corridor with amber on the wall and Persian red carpet on the floor, and arrived at a door engraved with Zeus from Greek mythology.
"Your Majesty is inside!" The Attendant Attaché stretched out his hand and made a gesture of invitation to Prince William.
Prince William turned the doorknob and opened the door. The current King of Prussia, Frederick William IV, was standing in the center of the living room.
And now next to him is an old man in his 70s who is wearing a traditional black Prussian military uniform with white edges and a white beard.
The two people who heard the noise coming from the door turned to look in the direction of Prince William. Prince William quickly entered the room and closed the door.
"You are back!" Frederick William IV said to Prince William with a smile.
Judging from the expression of Frederick William IV, he did not seem to be angry because of William I's defeat, but instead was happy that William I could return safely.
"Your Majesty!" Prince William responded to his brother Frederick William IV.
Next, Frederick William IV did not ask Prince William about the situation in the Hesse-Kassel region, but instead asked Prince William about his family's shortcomings. He also smiled and told Prince William that he must give his son a choice.
A good marriage.
Prince William was deeply moved by Frederick William IV's greetings.
Gradually, Frederick William IV turned the topic to the situation in the Marquis of Hesse-Kassel.
However, he was not blaming Prince William, but blaming himself.
"Alas! The cause of all this is me!" Frederick William IV blamed himself: "Maybe this is God's punishment for me. I should not disobey God's will! We should not reach an agreement with those liberals
!”
"No! This is not your fault, Your Majesty!" Although Prince William also does not think that using the power of liberals to unite Germany under the Prussian flag is a right thing, but now is not the time to find out who is right and who is wrong.
He had to defend his brother: "If the Austrian Empire hadn't oppressed us over and over again, we would not have united with those people!"
Frederick William IV sighed again, and the old man standing aside said: "Your Majesty, Your Highness, we may be able to ask the Kingdom of Britain, the French Republic and the Russian Empire to mediate between us and the Austrian Empire!"