War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

Berlin City Palace.

"Brother! Those damn villains and rebels are already riding on our heads! How long do we have to wait?"

Prince William slapped William IV's desk, and his saliva almost splashed on William IV's face.

"Wait a little longer, wait until they and the Austrians are both defeated, and then we will take action to clean up the mess. By then."

William IV was interrupted by his irritable brother before he finished speaking.

"It will be too late by then! Whether the Austrians win or the National Assembly wins, they will settle accounts with us! This is the fate of our Prussia!"

"No, they dare not, we still have 200,000 regular troops, and we can mobilize 150,000 reserves."

William IV said to himself.

"What about the Rhine? Should we give it to that charlatan?"

At this time, the Rhine region of Prussia was actually controlled by the Archbishop of Cologne. The main force used by the Frankfurt National Assembly to attack the Austrian Empire was the local Prussian army, and even the military rations and weapons came from the warehouses of the Kingdom of Prussia.

In fact, before the end of the war against France, many states had defaulted on or interrupted their aid to the front for various reasons.

Fortunately, there was no war in the later period, so this drawback did not appear.

However, at this time, the National Assembly brazenly launched a war against the Austrian Empire, and its weakness was exposed.

The members of the National Assembly all expressed their willingness to go bankrupt to support the war, but these people did not have much assets on the surface. Three or five hundred florins seemed a lot to ordinary people, but it was a drop in the bucket for the war.

Even if three hundred members each donated 500 florins, it would only be 150,000 florins. The capitalists behind those members would naturally not be the big suckers, so they could only fleece Prussia.

So the National Assembly hoped to win in one battle, because Prussia did not have much wool left.

However, when the German coalition took the train and sang songs to the outskirts of Salzburg, their hearts were half cold.

The fortress group stretched to the top of the mountain, and in front of it there was a moat (Salzach River) tens of meters wide between the two armies.

The Western Defense Line, which the Austrians had begun to build since the 10th century and has not yet been completed, is indeed not comparable to the temporary defense built by the Belgians.

In fact, the German coalition did not attack any strong cities. Brussels had long been repeatedly destroyed by the French army. Although the Saarburg was in a dangerous terrain, it was just an old-fashioned fortress from the 13th century.

The only strong city, Metz, the French army withdrew from the city without any resistance.

At this time, facing the real bastion fortresses with high walls and deep moats, Vincent Morris's heart sank to the bottom of the valley. He felt that there was no hope of a quick victory by force.

However, Vincent Morris immediately thought of a way, that is, to pass through Prussia.

Although Austria also has fortresses in the north, there are always gaps in the long northern border to enter the fortress, which is at least much better than directly hitting the wall.

Vincent Morris's tactics are very feasible in military terms, but in the eyes of politicians, it is an extremely stupid behavior.

Hundreds of thousands of troops pass through the heartland of Prussia, which is to force the Prussians to go to war!

The plan to use Prussia as a route would naturally not pass, so they had to consider the worst outcome.

Prussia did not have enough wool, so they could only think of ways to get it from the people, so the patriotic tax was put on the agenda, that is, each person donated 1 florin. The German Confederation had more than 30 million people, so there would be more than 30 million military expenses.

Edward Simson, who came up with this idea, felt that he was simply a genius, and the collection process was also very smooth. After all, with the masters taking the lead, most of the people did not know what the money was used for.    Of course, this was limited to the areas controlled by the German federal government, and most of the principalities did not pay the money.

But millions of taxes were enough to solve the urgent problem. At most, it could be changed to a monthly payment. If it didn't work, it could be paid every ten days or every week.

Back in the Berlin Palace, William IV chose to ponder in the face of his brother's questioning, and the result of his meditation was to continue to wait and see.

"Whether the National Assembly or the Austrians win, they will win us over. If the Austrians win, they will never allow traitors to exist.

If the National Assembly wins, they also need us."

"Brother! Have you forgotten what those treacherous guys did to you? They want to overthrow your rule!"

"William, Karl is still confronting the Danes, and we don't have enough troops. We must put the safety of Prussia first..."

"Brother!"

"Enough! Stop talking! Go back to your fiefdom! Stay in Neuchâtel and don't try to attack the French again!"

"Why? The Genevans support us Prussia!"

Prince Shotgun roared again, like a child whose toys were taken away.

"Be good, Prince! I am the king!"

William IV's tone was stern, and it was obvious that he did not intend to change his decision.

Prince Shotgun could only walk out of the palace gate helplessly, with a feeling of loss lingering in his heart. He couldn't help but think that it would be great if he were the king.

Looking at the people on the street holding the tricolor flag and singing "Song of Germany", Prince Shotgun couldn't help but feel a little shaken, and even felt a little chill on his back.

"Deutsche Lied", also known as the "Emperor's Quartet", was a birthday gift from the great musician Haydn to Francis II, the first emperor of the Austrian Empire, on February 12, 1797. It was also the national anthem of the Austrian Empire at that time.

There was also a notice written by the king himself "To Our Citizens and the German Nation" posted on the street notice boards. King William IV claimed that he was willing to protect Germany from all threats.

"Prussia is from now on dedicated to Germany." The large characters were very eye-catching. Upon seeing this, Prince Shotgun decided to hide in his carriage immediately.

At this time, a bearded man got off the carriage and walked towards the parade crowd. This was not uncommon in 1848, and nobles in the German region often participated in such activities.

But this time the nobleman didn't come to join them. The tall, bearded man grabbed the tricolor flag from the leader's hand, broke it in the next second, and threw it to the ground. Added another touch to that flag.

The crowd quickly recovered from the shock and was replaced by anger.

"What are you doing! How dare you trample on the sacred tricolor flag! Kill him!"

The tall figure turned around and suppressed the clamoring crowd. The pistol on his waist made people dare not act rashly.

"Are you still German? Can you be reasonable? How can you rob us?"

The tall, bearded man looked at the silent parade, and with a snap of his fingers, a group of tall, strong men came over.

This time the vanguard of the parade was completely wilted. They looked at the crowd in front of them in fear and were speechless.

The tall, bearded man smiled contemptuously, cleared his throat and said.

“Germany’s future lies not in Prussian liberalism but in power.

The major current problems cannot be solved by speeches and majority decisions. They can only be solved with iron and blood! "