Holy Roman Empire

The British’s astounding proposal directly shook the Berlin Government.

Annexing the German Federation was what they had long dreamed of, but reality didn’t allow it, so to avoid getting hit while they were mixed in, the Berlin Government genuinely suppressed that idea this year.

To their surprise, the British actually brought it up, but this time it wasn’t the Prusso Federation annexing the German Federation Empire, rather the German Federation annexing the Prusso Federation.

The order had been reversed, and the nature of the situation had changed. With the Prusso-Russian war ongoing, the Berlin Government lacked the confidence to negotiate terms and had to relinquish its leadership role.

Wilhelm I was troubled, as making concessions was not as simple as it sounded, Europe was a place that observed legal principles.

Although the German Federation Empire was jokingly referred to as the "Comedic Empire" by the people, it was still an empire recognized by everyone, and the Prusso Federation now joining was merely a regular sub-state.

Moreover, under the current circumstances, who knew if the other side would take advantage of the situation, for instance, by demanding the partition of the Prusso Federation and joining under the names of Prussia and Poland as two sub-states.

Or even further, by separating the Schleswig-Holstein Duchies to weaken the power of the Kingdom of Prussia.

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Foreign Minister Sir Geoffrey Friedman advised, "Your Majesty, from the current situation on the battlefield, we are at an extreme disadvantage.

We’ve lost the Belarusian Region, the Lithuanian Region has fallen almost entirely, and the Volen Region we previously captured no longer exists, with the enemy less than 150 kilometers from Warsaw.

Our soldiers are brave, our officers are excellent, but these are not enough to bridge the gap in strength.

The disparity in power between Prussia and Russia is vast; winning the war with our strength alone is very difficult.

Our experiences from the last Prusso-Russian war tell us that to confront the Russian Empire, we must have enough allies, launch attacks from different fronts, disperse their forces, and increase the difficulty of their logistical resupply.

The unfavorable performance on the battlefield has made our former allies hesitate. Now we must secure a strong ally to boost everyone’s confidence, and the German Federation Empire is undoubtedly the best choice."

Army Minister Philipotor challenged, "Sir Geoffrey, are you trying to sell out the country?"

"Joining the German Federation Empire, do you know what that means?"

With a higher authority above us, life naturally couldn’t be so carefree. Despite many sub-states within the German Federation not adhering to the Central Government, in reality, the Central Government still held significant power.

For example, the issuance of currency.

Even the loosest nation wouldn’t allow for multiple currencies, and the Central Government, under the banner of "for economic development," made it difficult for sub-states to refuse.

Of course, there were ways out. Like the smaller sub-states that simply used international currencies like the Divine Shield or British Pounds, the Central Government couldn’t do anything to them.

For these small states, it didn’t matter, since their market capacity was limited, and they lacked the ability to print money themselves, the losses brought about by using foreign currencies were also limited.

For the sake of convenience in trade, using international currencies to settle overseas trades directly saved them an exchange fee.

However, it was different for the Prusso Federation; no matter what currency they used, they had to pay a hefty Coinage Tax to others, greatly affecting the government’s fiscal revenue.

Economic losses were secondary; politically, they would be subjected to interference. The Central Government’s non-interference in the domestic affairs of sub-states was an idea first proposed by Franz, and that was only effective for a few years before interference began.

It was just that the Vienna Government did it very covertly, by enacting laws and promoting judicial independence, extending their reach into internal matters.

In name, the Central Government had no right to interfere with the operations of sub-state governments, but judicial institutions had the authority to arrest corrupt officials within sub-states.

If this influence wasn’t significant enough, what about the taxes sub-states paid to the Central Government and the financial allocations from the Central Government to the sub-states? Does that count?

The traps had been set in advance, and no one knew initially that with just customs duties, coinage taxes, colonial income, and sin taxes, while maintaining the Central Government’s expenses, there would still be surplus funds.

This was an inevitable outcome, as the Central Government did not shoulder local government administrative costs and did not need to invest in sub-state infrastructures. Besides the significant expense of the military, the financial income just supported the Emperor and the several thousand bureaucrats of the Central Government.

Surplus funds, aside from some being invested into research, became opportunities for meddling in sub-state internal affairs.

Having money in the pocket made one’s voice firmer. At first, these incomes were limited, not enough for the Central Government’s expenses, necessitating cost-sharing by the sub-states, and naturally, they did not dare offend the big bosses below.

But now with the Central Government’s wallet being full, sub-states needing to apply for Central Government financial allocations had to take into account the Central Government’s opinion.

Similar circumstances could occur within the German Federation Empire.

Although they only collected coinage taxes, their expenses were also fewer. Initially, the Central Government’s power was restricted, with the military being maintained by the sub-states themselves, and they only needed to support a bunch of bureaucrats and the Emperor.

Sir Geoffrey calmly replied, "Of course, I know what this means, but do we have a choice?

What are we afraid of being at a disadvantage for?

As long as we win this war, with our strength, can Hanover really do anything to us?

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Do not forget that the system of the German Federation Empire is inherited from the Holy Roman Empire, which practiced an elective monarchy system. If we can win over enough allies, we can change the Central Government as well.

No matter how many restrictions they set up now, we will find ways to circumvent them in the future. Treaties can be torn up, laws can be amended.

When the time comes, these will all be internal affairs of the Empire. As long as we have a plausible reason, even the British cannot object!

As long as they want us to contain France and Austria, the London Government will not trouble us! The urgent matter now is to think about how to pull the German Federation to our side."

In theory, as long as the Prusso Federation joins the German Federation Empire, usurping Hanover’s Central Government position would not be a problem.

What the Berlin Government can think of, Hanover can naturally think of too.

A snake swallowing an elephant is the legendary "Basilisk," not something just any snake has the appetite for.

Hanover can’t even handle a group of sub-states within the German Federation, let alone be the master of ambitious plots. Even if the Prusso Federation were to present itself on a silver platter, they probably wouldn’t dare to accept it.

Philipotor was deeply hurt. He opposed mainly because of the issue of dominance. However, the harsh reality was that the Prusso Federation was disregarded.

This was not the first time he had this concern. Many years ago, politicians had proposed the idea of a "Prusso-Austrian merger to jointly dominate Central Europe." Regrettably, Austria was unwilling to share the spoils.

There was no way around it; the input and the reward were not equal, so Franz naturally could not agree.

Even if the Berlin Government lowered their terms back then, the outcome would have been the same. A dual empire was no fun, and Franz did not wish to challenge a hellish difficulty level.

This time, joining the German Federation Empire, the Berlin Government’s bottom line is undoubtedly lower. As long as they win the war, they could always renege in the future since Hanover lacks the power to force them to keep their promises.

After a moment of silence, Wilhelm I said slowly, "This time it’s the British pulling the strings; the London Government surely has a way to make Hanover compromise.

First, the Foreign Office should contact the British. As long as we can get the German Federation Empire involved, any terms can be agreed to for the time being. Whether we honor them or not can be discussed after winning this war."

No trouble there. It’s only after winning the war that the Berlin Government will have the legitimacy to consider these issues. If the war is lost, the fate of the Prusso Federation is sealed.

Even if England, France, and Austria intervene, the Kingdom of Prussia might survive, but it will be a diminished version, completely disconnected from them.

...

The Berlin Government is worried, and so are the British. In particular, Sir Edward, who spearheaded this plan, regretted it as soon as it was initiated.

Things are not as simple as imagined. Her Majesty the Queen agreed to work on behalf of the "Comedic Empire" royal family. However, the London Government must ensure the position of the royal family remains unshaken.

These are minor issues, just empty promises, and Sir Edward stated that it didn’t matter.

After this war, the Prusso Federation will undoubtedly need time to recover. In the short term, the Berlin Government will not dare to play tricks. As for the future, that’s for the next government to worry about.

The trouble is with the special system of the Comedic Empire; convincing the Emperor alone is useless, as they have the Imperial Parliament constraining them.

"Persuading these sub-states," the idea is great, but the approach is not viable. Informing them is as good as informing Austria, isn’t it?

How much the "Comedic Empire" has been infiltrated is unknown, even to Franz. After all, the Divine Shield is the national currency that circulates more than the Central Government-issued Rhine Shield.

It’s not that the Central Government doesn’t want to ban it, but the currency is legally approved by the Imperial Parliament, and there is nothing the Emperor can do.

Of course, the Vienna Government also paid a price, rewarding these sub-states who voted favorably by opening colonial markets to them, and occasionally providing economic aid.

Although politically divided, economically they have long been integrated.

Given this context, Edward truly doubted the sub-states’ ability to keep secrets. Once the news leaks, the "plan" can only remain a plan, because bad news always spreads faster than good.

Without the support of the sub-states, bypassing the Imperial Parliament is possible, but then don’t expect them to contribute significantly in the subsequent war.

The military forces of the "Comedic Empire" belong to the sub-state governments. The Emperor can only command the forces of Hanover, and scraping together a force of tens or maybe hundreds of thousands is already a stretch.

If the Imperial Parliament doesn’t give face to the Central Government and rejects the resolution to allow the Prusso Federation to join the Empire, not even material support will be possible.

At most, the Emperor with Hanover’s direct troops could go alone to fight the Russians, which would have nothing to do with the German Federation Empire at all.

Such power would only increase Russian casualties slightly and would not alter the outcome of the war.

Alright, Edward admitted he had worried too much. Up to this point, only the Berlin Government had responded to his plan, and the German Federation Empire had not given any answer at all.

The cost is visible while the returns are elusive. The legitimacy of the Central Government of the Comedic Empire has always been questioned by the public, and they always have to tread carefully, so as not to give the Imperial Parliament any leverage.

Without sufficient benefits, expecting them to take the risk of participating in a brutal Prusso-Russian war, even the British head cannot manage it.

Now is not the time without alternatives; push them too hard, and they might switch sides anytime. The market is full of buyers; changing to a different one could still fetch a good price.

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