The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1095 Dies ist Deutschland
The war between Prussia and Denmark has been going on for more than half a year, but both sides did not pay many casualties.

But at this time, neither side was willing to continue fighting, because compared to the direct losses of the war, the indirect economic losses were unbearable by both sides.

Prussia mobilized nearly 100,000 troops, nearly 200,000 at its peak, and Denmark also had nearly 80,000 troops, including thousands of Swedish and British volunteers.

In addition, the Danes also mobilized 300,000 civilians to maintain the logistical supplies of the frontline troops. Although the Prussian side had some advantages in railways and canals, it also needed 50,000 civilians, 12,000 mules and horses, and 3,000 vehicles. cart.

In fact, in order to cope with the huge consumption caused by the war, Friedrich List, the finance minister who returned to Prussia again, proposed building a railway to transport supplies in the Principality of Schleswig-Holstein.

In the eyes of Friedrich List, this was the best way to reduce war losses, and this was recognized by many senior Prussian officials.

Because this can not only reduce the transportation cost of materials, but also enable rapid maneuvering of troops and reduce the cost of occupation.

The Prussian military even planned to build a railway network in the Schleswig-Holstein area and build several military fortresses to consolidate defense and train new soldiers.

However, William IV would never dare to do this. He was completely forced by the National Assembly to send troops to Denmark, and no one promised to hand over the land of Schleswig-Holstein to Prussia.

Therefore, William IV would rather choose to use people to carry horse-drawn horses than build a railway for other countries.

Denmark's infrastructure construction is very poor, and the domestic railway length is only more than 30 kilometers. Only one-seventieth of the size of Prussia and one-three-hundredth of the size of the Austrian Empire.

Fortunately, the Danes have the help of the British Navy, which can alleviate some of the pressure through sea transportation. However, the Danish defenses on the north bank of the Ida River were in disrepair and could not block Prussian artillery fire, so they had to recruit civilians to repair them.

Compared with the dilapidated fortress, what is more critical to the Danes is the crumbling river embankment. The south bank is close to the German region, so it is relatively prosperous, and the embankments are tall and strong.

The north bank is often flooded, so the number of residents is decreasing, and the river embankments are naturally in disrepair. Therefore, the Danes not only had to build fortresses, but also built river embankments. In short, it was a waste of people and money.

The war lasted for half a year, with Prussia losing 5,000 men and Denmark losing nearly 10,000 men. This is not to say that the Prussian army fought bravely. The number of people on both sides who died on the battlefield together did not exceed 3,000.

The vast majority of the remaining people died of various diseases and accidents. Cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and various unknown communicable diseases were rampant in the army.

In fact, with the medical level of this era, it is impossible for hundreds of thousands of people to gather in areas outside the city in the summer without causing problems.

In addition, due to the influence of nationalism, more people were injured in folk vendettas, but it is difficult to count so they were not included.

What's even more critical for Denmark is that after the war with Prussia, Denmark unilaterally withdrew from the German Customs Union.

The result was a shortage of domestic materials and skyrocketing prices. Domestic businessmen joined forces with British and Swedish businessmen to not only eat up Denmark's economic achievements over the years, but also swallowed up the money Denmark paid for selling colonies, and even made the government renege. Got into debt.

King Frederik VII of Denmark was not a smart man, but he also knew he could not go on any longer.

The appearance of Frederick VII at this time surprised the monarchs attending the meeting.

After all, the National Assembly had previously attacked Denmark in the name of the German Empire, and the Kingdom of Denmark voluntarily withdrew from the German Customs Union in protest, and then asked Britain and France for help. The two sides should have been at odds.

But someone soon figured out the link. When will the National Assembly represent Germany? They are just a bunch of rebellious officials and traitors.
The two enemies Frederick VII and William IV were extremely jealous when they met. However, both kings relied on their status and were afraid of Franz as their master, so they just looked at each other and nothing happened.

Ramond Ditlev was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark at this time and a famous orator in history. As the mouthpiece of Frederick VII, he decided to strike first. "Your Majesty, Denmark is a peace-loving country. However, in the past seven months we have been subjected to a shameless attack and siege. The invaders have occupied a large area of ​​​​the Schleswig-Holstein region. "

Ramond Ditlev's words were very sharp. He immediately labeled Prussia as an invader and defined the nature of the war. Anyone who spoke for Prussia in the future would be Prussia's accomplice.

However, in this way, Denmark offended Prussia miserably. I am afraid that the Prussians will not let it go so easily.

At this time, I heard Ramond Ditlev change his subject.

“All this stems from the instigation of the National Assembly in Frankfurt, which made two peoples who originally loved each other hate each other.

So what reason do we have to continue this mistake now? "

What Ramond Ditlev said makes sense, and there are many knowledgeable people here, but they can't think of any reason to refute it for a while.

Ramond Ditlev did not give everyone time to think carefully, he decided to strike while the iron was hot.

"I propose that everything be restored as before, and our country will no longer pursue the losses caused by the war. Do you agree? Your Majesty."

Ramond Ditlev looked at William IV, which made the latter feel like he was riding a tiger. Stopping the war and withdrawing troops back home would undoubtedly be beneficial to both sides, but it seemed a little strange, but he couldn't explain it clearly.

“What will happen to the Germans in Schleswig-Holstein?”

A voice broke the silence, and Ramond Ditlev immediately answered with a smile.

"They will live happily on this land just like in the past. They can even apply for passports and visit their relatives' homes."

This sentence can fool most people, but Franz is not included.

"I am asking you, Your Majesty the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, which country's laws will you rule by."

".Danish Constitution"

Frederick VII did not have the courage to face Franz directly, he only dared to tell the truth.

"That won't work. You are also the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein. The local Germans account for 80%. It is obviously inappropriate for you to use Danish laws."

In fact, the local Germans were mainly concentrated in Holstein, and the Schleswig area was mainly Danish, but Franz deliberately counted the two places together.

"Your Majesty! This is our internal affairs in Denmark!"

Ramond Ditlev protested loudly as he looked at his unsatisfactory monarch, and Louis-Philippe retorted loudly.

"This is the German Confederation!"

(End of this chapter)