Chapter 660 Who is under the court, dare to sue this official!
De Ruys's explanation not only did not make William I's anger disappear, but instead became more and more angry.
The Kingdom of Prussia was on every possible precaution, fearing that the French Empire would step into German territory, but it was still not prepared for the French Empire to steal its territory.
Although the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is only the size of a free city in the German region, it is one of the important military fortresses in the German region to guard against French invasion. The loss of Luxembourg has made the Kingdom of Prussia and the French Empire have a larger area bordering each other. Prussia
The military pressure that the kingdom needs to bear is also more serious than before.
Of course, the military pressure faced by Prussia is not the worst thing. The worst thing is that from the time when the French Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands began to explore and trade, the Kingdom of Prussia did not receive any news.
If the Kingdom of Prussia receives any news, this deal will not happen at all. The Kingdom of Prussia will do its best to prevent the French Empire from acquiring the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, even if it is willing to fight.
The fact that the Kingdom of Prussia has not received any news from beginning to end is undoubtedly the most intriguing point. Either the French Empire has done a very good job of maintaining confidentiality, or Britain and the German princes know the deal in their hearts, but they have already acquiesced to it.
If it is the former, the Kingdom of Prussia still has a chance to remedy the situation.
If it is the latter, then the situation is dire, which means that the Kingdom of Prussia has been "abandoned" by Britain and Austria.
In that case, the Kingdom of Prussia would not have a friend in Europe at all, unless the Kingdom of Prussia wanted to be with the Russian Empire, in which case the French Empire would have reason to deal with the Kingdom of Prussia.
Thinking of this, William I couldn't help but feel a hint of fear in his heart. He would rather lead his army to kill with real swords and guns than go to an isolated and helpless situation.
The last time it was isolated was during the time of Frederick the Great. If Peter III had not suddenly withdrawn his troops, the Kingdom of Prussia would have been eradicated by France, Austria and Russia.
However, even though William I was a little scared in his heart, he still had a tough attitude on his face, "The Kingdom of the Netherlands does not have the right to transfer the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg alone. I believe that the German Confederation will not agree!"
"Your Highness William! It seems that the transfer of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg from the Kingdom of the Netherlands does not require the consent of the Kingdom of Prussia! Besides, when the Kingdom of Prussia merged the principalities of Sigmar and Lingen, it did not seek the consent of the German Confederation! Why?
If you want France, you must seek the approval of the German Confederation?" De Luys raised his head and once again resumed his previous unruly attitude.
The principalities of Sigmar and Lingen that De Luys mentioned belong to two branches of the Hohenzollern family. Their territories are all within the German Confederation. Their combined territorial scope is not as good as Luxembourg. Because of this,
Both principalities were killed in the Revolution of 1848.
Although they were fortunate enough to get the help of Prussian soldiers to restore the country, the princes of the two principalities were unwilling to continue to rule this pocket country.
Therefore, Frederick, who was still King of Prussia at the time, purchased the territory of two principalities with his own money. Prussia's territory was slightly expanded in 1848.
[ps: In the OTL world line, the heir to the Principality of Sigmar was invited to serve as the king of the Kingdom of Romania after the Kingdom of Romania was established.
The heir to the Principality of Lingen also received an invitation from Spain to serve as King of Spain.
However, the Principality of Lingen was not as lucky as the Principality of Sigmar. They encountered strong resistance from Napoleon III as soon as they were invited by Spain.
In order to appease the many heirs to the Principality of Lingen, they had no choice but to declare at the request of William I that they would never serve as King of Spain.]
After hearing De Ruys's rebuttal, William I refuted it by saying that the Duchy of Lingen and the Duchy of Sigmar were the territories of the Hohenzollern family.
"If the territories ruled by our own people can be unified, then the whole world will be in chaos!" De Luluis refuted again: "In the final analysis, this is just a lame excuse of yours.
!”
"If the French Empire is unwilling to give up Luxembourg, then the Kingdom of Prussia will not rule out using force to solve the problem!" William I threatened De Luys with war.
"If the Kingdom of Prussia wants to use force to solve the problem, then France doesn't mind accompanying it to the end!!" De Luys also said tit for tat: "The French Empire is not afraid of going to war with any country! Please believe in the French Empire.
Determination to defend territorial sovereignty!”
After speaking, De Ruys bowed to William I again.
"Mr. De Ruys! If this is all you have to say, then please leave here immediately!" William I said to De Ruys with a stiff attitude.
"Your Highness, I have finished my words! Whether France and Prussia will go to war or peace, it all depends on you!" De Ruys turned and left.
"Bastard!" William I said viciously, and then added loudly: "He and his monarch are complete bastards!"
…
As the negotiations between the Kingdom of Prussia and the French Empire approached breakdown, the Kingdom of Prussia began to continue to increase its troops to the Rhineland. Except for the Guards and the two armies on the eastern front, the remaining five armies were all gathered on the western front.
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Not only that, the Kingdom of Prussia also mobilized nearly 40% of the first-category reserves into the army under the mobilization of their chief of general staff, Elder Moltke.
After all, the total strength of the Kingdom of Prussia's army on the Eastern Front is about 150,000, and its combat effectiveness is somewhat unsatisfactory.
The French Empire also mobilized about 150,000 people in the Luxembourg and Allot regions. These are all active troops of the French Empire, and their combat effectiveness is far greater than the army of the Kingdom of Prussia.
Just as the Kingdom of Prussia and the French Empire were at war with each other, the Austrian Empire, the (nominally) leader of the German Confederation, also had its Foreign Minister Count Bauer (who had received French gold coins) also making a voice.
He called on Prussia and France to resolve their issues within a peaceful framework and not to fight and kill each other at every turn, which would be bad for the entire European continent.
This seemingly reasonable attitude of the Austrian Empire made the Kingdom of Prussia feel even more annoyed.
In the opinion of William I, it is not the responsibility of the big brother, the Austrian Empire, to maintain the integrity of the German Confederation. However, now that the Austrian Empire is calling on Prussia and France to resolve the issue within the framework of peace, isn't it a blatant attempt to deviate from one another!
As a result, at the strong request of William I, the Kingdom of Prussia carried out a violent bombing of the Austrian Empire. (This also illustrates how expensive the Kingdom of Prussia's diplomacy was without Bismarck.)
The Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Prussia declared in public that if the Austrian Empire really sided with the Kingdom of Prussia, it should work with the Kingdom of Prussia to sanction the French Empire, instead of acting as a yes-man for France like it is now.
Prussia's words succeeded in irritating Count Bauer, who immediately told the Kingdom of Prussia that whether the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg should fall under the rule of Jerome Bonaparte should be decided by Luxembourg and the German Confederation.
The Kingdom of Prussia should not make the decision instead of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. This behavior of the Kingdom of Prussia is an attempt to put itself above the German Confederation.
As soon as Austria's "Public Prosecution" came out, the Kingdom of Bavaria, Württemberg, and Saxony, which had already been bribed by France, immediately criticized the Kingdom of Prussia.
As the seller, the Kingdom of the Netherlands also criticized the Kingdom of Prussia in the name of the Duchy of Limburg (a member of the German Confederation) at the request of their monarch, William III.
While the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire were at odds with each other, the French Empire also declared that they respected the opinions of the Luxembourgers and were willing to listen to their voices.
Thus, the first referendum in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg officially began.
The content of the referendum is: Who would you choose to be your ruler! a: William III, b: Jérôme Bonaparte.
In this situation of choosing between the two, far more people chose Jérôme Bonaparte than William III.
After all, one has a strategy of knocking Luxembourg's bones and draining its marrow, while the other implements a strategy of favoring Luxembourg. It is clear which one to choose.
In the end, residents of the Grand Duchy of Lucerne ended the vote with 90% approval.
When the voting results were announced, the German public opinion that had been stirred up by the Kingdom of Prussia was instantly extinguished, and the German elites who claimed to be democratic had to admit that this was the choice of the Luxembourg people.
(Interlude: Jérôme Bonaparte, who learned the results of the referendum in the Crimean Peninsula, proudly explained to his nephew Jérôme Patterson: The seemingly democratic referendum actually just makes you in Watermelon
Choosing between Apple and Apple, voters have no right to choose at all.)
Subsequently, William I asked Bismarck, who was stationed in the Frankfurt Parliament as the representative of the Kingdom of Prussia, to raise a public prosecution to the French Parliament, requesting the German Confederation to deny that William III of the Netherlands had the right to transfer Luxembourg at will.
Although Bismarck knew that William I's proposal would definitely be rejected by Frankfurt, Bismarck, who still had some ideas of German nationalism in his heart, still submitted the proposal to the German Confederation Parliament.
When the proposal was brought to the German Confederation Assembly for discussion, Prince Metternich, who chaired the German Confederation Assembly on behalf of the Chairman of the German Confederation, Emperor Franz Joseph, told the representatives of the German Confederation that the German Confederation would usher in a new person.
It’s over!
Bismarck, who had a keen political sense, immediately realized that this proposal was dead.