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

Chapter 1220: On Stage (Part )

In addition to being a new territory, the Rhine region was also a Catholic region, while Prussia was a Protestant country. If you talk about European history without talking about the influence of religion, it is like hanging salted duck eggs on a fishhook, which is nonsense.

The religious war in Germany was an unavoidable hurdle. It lasted for thirty years and caused an average population loss of more than 30% in hundreds of countries.

This is the deepest pain in the hearts of the Germans, so there was a huge gap between the two sides from the beginning and they were wary of each other.

Historically, the King of Prussia even allocated a special sum of money to the Archbishop of Cologne to build a church. The money consumed during the construction of this church for more than 600 years is simply incalculable. It was not until William I unified Germany that the Cologne Cathedral was declared completed.

However, the situation was different this time. After the turmoil in 1848, the relationship between the two sides not only did not ease, but became more dangerous due to the death of the former Archbishop of Cologne.

In 1848, the former Archbishop of Cologne organized an army of more than people under the banner of the Frankfurt National Assembly, which shows its economic strength and appeal.

Although this army was later forcibly disbanded by William IV, it was not difficult to gather these people again with the authority of the Archbishop of Cologne.

In particular, the death of the former Archbishop of Cologne was very strange, and it is hard to believe that it had nothing to do with the Prussian government and William IV.

Even after the National Assembly was defeated by the Austrian Empire, Prussia did not dare to liquidate the Rhine region.

Because the death of the previous Archbishop of Cologne was really untimely. If he had not died, Prussia could have taken the opportunity to settle accounts. However, he died, and the debt was settled with the death of the person. William IV could only choose to hold his breath.

When the news of the Polish uprising came, the people who reacted the most in Prussia were naturally the Poles, who were not living a happy life in Prussia.

The Prussian government was actually very conflicted. They did not want to see a powerful Russia lurking around them, but they also did not want the Polish uprising to affect their country.

However, there was no hesitation for the Archbishop of Cologne, or for any clergyman, there was nothing better than launching a crusade to prove his faith.

This opportunity is right in front of him, how could he miss it?
After receiving the secret letter from Vienna, the new Archbishop of Cologne immediately convened a rally to give a speech in support of the Poles' defense of their faith.

In fact, the Archbishop of Cologne was not stupid. He would not point the finger at the Tsar directly like Pius IX did. Because once the Russians were angered, there was no guarantee that the Prussian government would not perform a drama of wiping out Ma Su.

The Archbishop of Cologne only needed to make a statement, and others would naturally do the rest. The bishops in the Rhine region began to move and prepare to support the Poles.

It is naturally impossible to let them go to the battlefield, but it is not a problem to donate money and supplies and trick others into going to the battlefield.

The Archbishop of Cologne's actions, coupled with the ambiguous attitude of the Austrian Empire, caused the entire southern German region to become restless.

Although the Thirty Years' War had left terrible memories on this land, the Germans knew better that once the religious war began, there would be no more innocent people, and it would be either victory or death.

The previous consecutive victories of Austria and the German Confederation made people believe that they would definitely be the final winners.

Although Germany and Russia were allies at that time, the Germans and Austrians were always afraid of this giant from the East.

Compared to Germany and Austria, Italy did not take any real action. Although Pius IX jumped up and down and shouted loudly, he did not organize any form of army to go to Poland, nor did he spend a lot of money.

First of all, the word "poor" dispelled most of their ideas, after all, war costs money. Secondly, although Italians have a strong sense of family, their national consciousness is very weak. They rarely regard themselves as people of a certain principality, and most of them only mention their hometown.

If they don't care about their own country's affairs, they will care even less about the affairs of other countries.

Finally, although Rome is the seat of the Vatican, Italians are more aware of the filthiness of the church.

How can the affairs of the German Confederation be complete without the involvement of West Germany’s top general Louis Philippe?
Louis Philippe, who was already 76 years old, publicly expressed his willingness to become the acting king of Poland and negotiate with Russia in the hope of making the Tsar change his mind.

He even "privately" stated that if the Tsar did not change his mind, he would lead the Polish people against Russia like Pedro I did.

The main point is that they are fearless. After all, there is the German Confederation. If the Tsar declares war on Alsace-Lorraine, it is equivalent to declaring war on the entire German Confederation plus the Austrian Empire.

If the sky falls, there is someone to hold it up. Besides, if I can secure a throne for my descendants at my old age, even if it is just a king in name only, it will not be a loss.

At this time, Count Chambord's mother could no longer sit still, and Marie Caroline also jumped out to promote her son, Count Chambord, that Henry V, the legitimate heir of the Bourbon family of France, could concurrently serve as the King of Poland.

Count Chambord in Fribourg was still inspecting the site for a public hospital. He was confused when he heard the news, but the people of Fribourg and the French orthodox were very excited. They all felt that Count Chambord was a good king.

The people had never seen a king, or even a mayor, wearing a pair of worn-out boots all day, walking around with a trekking pole, and carrying a theodolite to plan and build things.

I have never seen a king attending a trial in court with the people, nor have I ever seen a king praying with civilians in church and listening to the people's voices.

In addition, Fribourg's incorporation into the German Confederation has enabled its economy to achieve a qualitative leap, and people's lives have improved visibly. It is even the only country in the entire Swiss region with railways.

The Bourbon Legitimists and the Orleanists quarreled again, but this time they were not fighting for the French throne, but the Polish throne.

King Augustus II of Saxony could no longer sit still because of the French commotion. After all, the position of King of Poland should have originally belonged to the Saxon family.

After the Swiss Civil War, Saxony was allocated the wealthy Zurich region, and in 1848 it obtained Hamburg, one of the four major free cities in Germany, at the negotiating table.

Coupled with the merger of the same clan, Saxony at this time is no longer what it used to be. Although it still cannot be compared with Prussia and Austria, its size is no weaker than the Netherlands.

If Saxony can gain some ground in Poland, it will be only a matter of time before it becomes the strongest state in northern Germany again.

Augustus II still remembered the last wish of his elder brother and uncle - to make Saxony the most powerful state in northern Germany again.

As for the risks, don’t we have Prussia and Austria in front of us?

Queen Maria Anna, the actual ruler of the Kingdom of Saxony, immediately sent a military observation group to Russian Poland and recruited mercenaries to protect the Polish people.

As the twin sister of Madame Sophie, Queen Maria Anna obviously knew more information than the average person.

Although he didn't know exactly what happened, the Poles made such a big fuss, and it must be his nephew who was stirring up trouble behind the scenes.