Chapter 8: Pu-Ao Linkage
With the Prussian top leaders led by King William I and Prime Minister Bismarck actively preparing and operating.
The army of the Kingdom of Prussia was on the alert, and the army of the Austrian Empire was also on the way.
The Austrians were naturally well aware of Prussia's ambition to unify the German region.
The rapid development of the Kingdom of Prussia in recent years is no secret. With the establishment of the Customs Union, the development of industry, and the interconnection of railways, the Kingdom of Prussia's voice in the German region has been increasing.
Therefore, the Austrians would naturally not miss this war against Denmark and would not allow Prussia to win over the hearts of the people in Germany.
Of course, Austria's ambition to unify the German region was no less than Prussia's, but unfortunately it was interfered with by Britain, France and other countries and dared not act rashly. This time, Bismarck dragged Austria into the water by jointly leading the fate of the two duchies in the north.
In the face of common interests, Austria really took the bait. This was an open plot. If Austria did not take action and waited for Prussia to win over the hearts of the people in the German region, it would have to act alone without Prussia. Prussia was already invincible.
Schleswig and Holstein were far away from Austria. Even if Austria gained control of one of the two regions, it could only treat it as an enclave. However, Prussia could use its geographical advantages to quickly digest its spoils.
However, Austria has had countless enclaves in history, but no one cares about this issue. The Habsburgs not only had countless enclaves in the Holy Roman Empire, but also in the entire Europe and even the world. In the future, Prussia can make a fuss about this.
This is also where Bismarck's cleverness lies. The Austrians had to accept this conspiracy. Getting Austria to join in the action would be equivalent to sharing Prussia's international pressure.
As one of the world's top powers, Austria is naturally not comparable to the secondary power like Prussia in the eyes of other countries.
During its heyday, the Habsburg dynasty had no rivals in Europe, and even now it is still a world arbitrator on the same level as Britain, France, and Russia.
The current Austrian Empire is not a dual empire like the later Austro-Hungarian Empire, and its strength is still considerable.
The old guys from the Napoleonic era have not yet died out, and the Austrian Army is still a top army on the European continent that cannot be underestimated.
Of course, it is unlikely to expect these old guys to personally command the front line, but they can at least stabilize the Austrian military morale, as they are all people who have seen the world.
Even a rotten boat has three pounds of nails. Although these people's ideas may be outdated, they still have abilities and vision.
This time, it seems that the Austrian army can still keep up with the times. Although the army's composition is chaotic, it is still prepared in an orderly manner.
As the Austrian army marched north, a large army gathered in northern Germany. Bavaria, Württemberg and other countries also raised their own armies to join.
Judging from the mobilization capability alone, Prussia is naturally superior, although geographically Prussia basically mobilizes within the country, while Austria needs to start from the country and then head north, which is a long journey and is naturally at a disadvantage.
However, we have to say that the Prussian army had top-notch qualities. Through the unified dispatch of railways, ports, mules and horses, the General Staff made plans in an orderly manner.
The interconnection and connectivity of the logistics network made the whole of Prussia like a large military depot, and every link of the state machinery could be well connected with the army.
The Prussian army as a whole was clean and capable due to its uniform clothing and complete rules and regulations.
The Austrian army was very diverse. Due to the lack of a unified language and culture, local nobles led the armies in their respective regions. The armies had a variety of numbers and uniforms, and retained the characteristics of their respective regions and nationalities.
It was because the Austrian Empire was so large and powerful that its logistics did not collapse, and it was able to obtain support from the northern states, so the Austrian army could get relatively good conditions for rest and recuperation.
In addition to the Prussian and Austrian armies, other capable states also brought their own armies to support the two countries, but compared with Prussia and Austria, they could only play a supporting role.
With the gathering of the armies of various countries, it was naturally impossible to transfer all the subsequent logistics from the country, except for the supplies that accompanied the army. Most of them were purchased from Prussia and the northern states.
At this time, Ernst, who had been well prepared, joined the cause of supporting the army. The first batch of industrial products were loaded directly from factories and warehouses and transported to the military camps, and they were given away for free.
Many troops who had never used the products produced by Heixingen Development Company found it very novel.
Cigarettes and lighters, in particular, were very popular among soldiers, especially in the Austrian army.
Although the Austrian army was also Ernst's customer, Ernst was unable to supply products to the Austrian army on a large scale due to distance reasons.
Now Ernst wanted to take this opportunity to popularize his products among the Austrian army. By the end of the war, Ernst's tobacco company would have built a factory in Austria.
Because the Prussian army purchased and distributed daily necessities for soldiers and officers in a unified manner, Ernst was unable to resort to any tricks.
Austria was obviously different. The Austrian army was a mixed bag, the quality of its officers was uneven, and the poor military discipline brought sales for Ernst's products.
By bribing officers, these thugs smoked in the barracks, and soon all the cigarettes provided by Ernst were consumed. The Austrian quartermaster had to increase the requirements for cigarettes in the military supply orders.
Since cigarettes could indeed ensure the emotional stability of the soldiers, there was nothing much to say, so the Austrian generals turned a blind eye. With a stroke of the pen, the empire sent a large number of orders into Ernst's factory.
After these soldiers retire, it will be difficult for them to quit their addiction to tobacco. Ernst can then continue to do the tobacco business. Convenient and cheap paper cigarettes will spread throughout Germany along with these soldiers.
January 16, 1864.
Representatives of Austria and Prussia formally signed the agreement. Austria had drafted a clause to maintain the 1852 agreement, but Bismarck cancelled it and changed it to a clause that Austria and Prussia could only jointly decide on the relationship between the two duchies, and that neither country could decide on the succession issue without the consent of the other.
In this way, the two countries will jointly bear the pressure of public opinion from countries outside the region, and the problems in the German region should naturally be solved by the Germans themselves.
(End of this chapter)
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