Chapter 488 Bismarck is a peace lover (third update, please subscribe)
"No, there must be no truce!"
When these words came out of Bismarck's mouth, not only William I was stunned, but even Moltke opened his mouth slightly in surprise, and was unable to come back to his senses for a long time.
What is he talking about?
Can't stop the war?
This is not like Bismarck's style!
God can testify that during the Austro-Prussian War, the Prussian army was near the outskirts of Vienna and was about to attack Vienna. The generals happily said, "Our soldiers have been eager to lift up the skirts of the girls in Vienna..." However, Bismarck, the headquarters of the Prussian army at that time, tried his best to stop the march to Vienna. He overruled all opinions and advised William I to quickly negotiate peace with Austria in order to avoid French or Russian intervention in the war. He advocated signing a treaty immediately and not rushing for success. He even threatened the king with resignation.
In the Austro-Prussian War, after the army achieved such a brilliant victory, Bismarck chose to accept such a humiliating peace treaty. Why was he unwilling to cease fire this time when the situation was extremely unfavorable to Prussia?
"Your Majesty, in the war between us and Austria, I am worried that if the war is prolonged, it will cause French intervention, or a revolution in the defeated Austrian territory, thus destroying Prussia's plan to unify Germany. Therefore, I strongly advocate peace talks."
Looking at the confused William I, Bismarck took the initiative to explain.
"But it's different now. We are the losing party. If we negotiate now, Napoleon III will definitely ask for a huge amount of money. For the glory of the German nation, we will not cede even an inch of land to them, even if we fight to the end. Otherwise, the national pride we have built up over the years will suffer a devastating blow!"
Bismarck frowned as he explained his thoughts. In fact, after helping Napoleon III escape from the Battle of Sedan, he had been thinking about how to end the war, and end it with dignity.
"Yes, we can negotiate, but we will never cede land, and we will never use the glory of Germany to achieve the glory of France."
Moltke nodded in agreement.
But King William I felt that they were wishful thinking. The loser had no room for bargaining. When Austria failed, Bismarck was there to stop the victor from making excessive demands. But when Prussia failed, who would stop it?
William I turned his eyes to Bismarck and asked.
"My Prime Minister, what should we do now?"
"Your Majesty, the reason why we are in our current situation is entirely because of Nanhua. Without Nanhua's assistance, how could France stop us? Perhaps, the emperor was captured by us in Sedan. This is a well-known fact. For Emperor Napoleon III, he must restore his honor, honor! The honor of the Bonaparte family is what he cares about most! After all, he was able to become emperor because of this name!"
Taking a deep breath, Bismarck continued.
"If we stop the war now, Napoleon III will certainly make huge demands on us, asking us to cede territory and pay compensation. He will use Germany's sacrifice to achieve his honor. This is inevitable to restore the honor of France! After all, on the battlefield, all the glory belongs to Nanhua! What about France? What about Bonaparte? The victory they need can only be achieved at the negotiation table!"
As the Prime Minister, Bismarck was extremely politically far-sighted. In the war against Austria, he advocated peace talks and did not even offer any harsh conditions, only asking Austria to recognize the North German Confederation. Now, when the war was facing failure, only he saw the opportunity to end it all decently.
"If it's not reflected at the negotiation table? Will it be reflected on the battlefield? Let the French defeat us..."
Before he finished speaking, Moltke opened his eyes wide and said.
"Mr. Prime Minister, you, you don't really think so!"
What was he thinking? Was he thinking about letting the French defeat us? Did anyone think so? Isn't war all about winning?
“We must first let the world know how glorious Nanhua’s victory is!”
Bismarck expressed his thoughts in one sentence.
"The more glorious Nanhua's victory, the more France's defeat will appear. For Emperor Napoleon III, everything he has comes from Napoleon's honor of winning every battle. For the sake of his throne and his empire, he must regain his honor on the battlefield. But the question is, can he defeat us without Nanhua's support?"
"With the assistance of the Nanhua army, even if Napoleon III wins the victory, the opponents of the empire will still think that the victory is not worth mentioning and the glory still belongs to Nanhua. Your Majesty, this is exactly the dilemma Napoleon III is facing now. In this case, he is more eager to win than anyone else. Compared with the spoils of war, I think he is more eager to tell others through a beautiful victory that he is worthy of the name of Napoleon and that the glory of France still shines on the earth. In order to achieve this goal, he must be willing to do everything."
When Bismarck expressed his thoughts, King William I frowned, pursed his lips, and then signaled the Prime Minister to continue.
"For example, through a secret negotiation, we can make the emperor and us reach some kind of agreement to end this war under limited conditions. For example, France will no longer hinder the unification of Prussia. This is exactly the purpose of our war. As for other ceding of land or compensation, it is of course impossible!"
Faced with the Prime Minister's suggestion, Moltke was silent for a while, then asked.
"So, is it possible that the French will accept such conditions?"
What are such conditions?
Everyone fought each other, but in the end it was all in vain, so many people died, and no one got any substantial rewards.
"So, I will negotiate with the emperor of Nanhua. France may be powerful, but as we all know, its emperor is besieged by us in Paris. Maybe it is difficult for us to conquer this city with heart-shaped walls for a while, but Your Majesty, we can easily deal a heavy blow to Napoleon's reputation. For his empire and throne, he has no better choice."
As an excellent diplomat, Bismarck knew exactly what he should do.
"Your Majesty, what we need now is to end the war in a dignified way, and this will be our only choice!"
"What can you get from Emperor Nanhua by negotiating with him?"
William I asked somewhat puzzled.
"Peace, Your Majesty!"
Bismarck answered directly.
"Your Majesty, they must also be longing for peace!"
Bismarck made such a judgment because he believed that no country in the world was willing to sacrifice itself for another country.
"Your Majesty, maybe they are allies, but we have to believe that in this world, only interests between countries are eternal. Nanhua may have sent their troops to Europe, but how could they fight with us for France? After all, it was Nanhua's soldiers who died in the end. I believe that the emperor would never be willing to sacrifice his soldiers for others!"
(End of this chapter)
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