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

Chapter 1559 The Army of Unclaimed Prizes
Louis Philippe's move really disgusted the British. In fact, not long before, Britain had decided not to invite the Orléans family to the event, considering its relationship with the Second French Empire.

As a result, Louis Philippe cried and begged to attend the Great Exhibition, and Guizot showed considerable sincerity, so Commissioner Smith finally included the Duchy of Alsace-Lorraine on the invitation list.

As a result, this scene unfolded before his eyes. John Russell had already killed Louis Philippe a thousand times in his mind. He never imagined that someone in the world could actually do something so shameless.

Most importantly, the Duchy of Alsace-Lorraine received almost no awards, only a few insignificant consolation prizes, yet Louis Philippe made a huge fuss about it, even spending money to publish notices in the newspapers, as if they had suffered a great injustice.

Such behavior can only be described as intolerable, but the Duchy of Alsace-Lorraine had almost no business dealings with England, and John Russell had nowhere to vent his resentment.

However, his misfortunes did not end there. Due to Danish Prime Minister Ramund's illness, Frederick VII had to find someone else to take the blame.

Unfortunately, no one in the top ranks of the Danish government was willing to take the blame. Frederick VII was truly exasperated to see a group of Danes speaking Danish and carrying flags written in Danish, pretending to be German nationalists and wandering the streets all day long.

Frederick VII closed the curtains and said.

“I suspect those untouchables are fooling me.”

The top officials of the Danish government fell silent; they simply didn't know how to describe the monarch, let alone how to answer his questions.

"Does anyone have a way of getting these annoying guys home?"

Still, no one answered, no one could answer, and no one dared to answer.

Frederick VII was not cruel, but he was incompetent enough that everyone knew what he was going to do, and no one was willing to take the blame.

After all, even if he took the blame, he wouldn't gain Frederick VII's favor; instead, he would be ridiculed and even treated like a fool.

Why aren't you all saying anything? Are you mute?

Frederick VII stomped his cane, but still no one answered.

"You guys"

Frederick VII was so angry that he couldn't speak.

"Your Majesty, please order the crowd dispersed. Bring the army into the city. End this farce!"

One young official, exasperated, said he was fed up with the king and his ministers passing the buck, the parliament wrangling with the king, and the fact that there were genuine nationalists among those outside.

But more often than not, they are ignorant masses who have been incited, hooligans and thugs who take the opportunity to cause trouble, opportunists who are well-versed in political maneuvering, and self-righteous fools.

"Are you insane, sir?"

"I'm not crazy!"

"Take him to the hospital for treatment."

Several guards rushed in and carried the young man out, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The commotion outside grew louder and louder, and some people even started burning the Danish flag.

After a period of silence, with the Danish king and his ministers seemingly oblivious to their surroundings, Frederick VII finally spoke.

“My motto is ‘The people’s love is my strength.’ I have decided to heed the voice of the people.” “Your Majesty, you are wise.”

The ministers' answers were perfunctory; in fact, they already knew this would be the outcome, but by letting the king say it himself, they wouldn't have to take the blame anymore.

The Danish leadership focused on how to absolve themselves of responsibility, leaving the Danish exhibitors in London with only an ambiguous order.

However, this was an era of nationalism, and even more so, an era of madness.

The award must be rejected! It must be rejected! What value is a British medal compared to the support of the people?
In fact, Britain has been trying to repair its relationship with Denmark, after all, Denmark controls the choke point of the Baltic Sea and was an involuntary member of the German Confederation.

Whether for the purpose of dismantling the German Confederation or to guard against Russia, Denmark was an important pawn for Britain.

Therefore, the British cultivated a large number of pro-British factions within Denmark, but to John Russell's disappointment, these pro-British officials turned out to be of no use whatsoever.

Denmark joining the ranks of those withdrawing from the prize pool is not only a slap in the face to the British, but also a sign of taking sides.
John Russell and a group of British officials had already imagined Denmark colluding with Austria and Russia.

Soon, William III succumbed to the pressure and withdrew from the prize. The whole of the Netherlands rejoiced, German nationalism in the Netherlands grew stronger, and the number of Germans in the Netherlands increased.
The British were not so pleased. In their view, the Dutch were starting to dredge up old grievances because the Netherlands had become stronger in recent years.

This made Britain uneasy. The Netherlands and Denmark were Britain's historical enemies, but historically Britain had already eliminated any possibility of revenge between the two countries, and even separated Norway from Denmark and Belgium from the Netherlands.

However, these long-standing enemies found a new backer at this time: the German Confederation.
There is no doubt that at this time, the British government considered the German nation to have been formed and had become a unified whole.

Vienna, Hofburg Palace.

Franz sneezed several times in a row. It seemed that the air conditioning in the Austrian Empire was not very perfect. It could not directly adjust the temperature and could only adjust it slowly by reducing the power.

Belgium's situation was rather unique, as Leopold I's relationship with the British royal family meant that he could not directly oppose Britain.

Fortunately, Belgium is a democratic country, and through the joint efforts of King Leopold I and the Belgian Parliament, it was determined that both forfeiting and accepting awards were personal actions of the exhibitors and had nothing to do with the state.

Although both were playing football, it must be admitted that Leopold I was more skilled.

Belgian exhibitors, considering their respective perspectives, naturally made different judgments. Textile magnate Henrik Bowens chose to accept the award presented by the British and framed it in his office.

Krona Steel and Bandera Bant Waffle Company chose to forgo the award for a simple reason: their main market share was in the German region, and the British imposed restrictions on them at every turn.

Most of the countries in the German region had made their own choices, leaving Prussia in the most difficult position. Bismarck originally wanted to emulate the Austrians, but he dared not follow their methods, fearing that doing so would offend the British terribly.

The practices of other countries are not of much reference value to the Kingdom of Prussia, unless Prussia intends to go down a dead-end road.

Bismarck had indeed considered this, but the British attitude and strength were unclear, and the relationship between Russia and Austria was too close, making it very difficult for Prussia to openly choose sides.

At this time, everyone in the Kingdom of Prussia, from King Frederick William IV down to ordinary diplomats, was at a loss.

This was indeed a difficult problem, but Bismarck knew he couldn't be like the other mediocre people, otherwise Prussia would really be doomed.

How easy is it to satisfy the vanity of nationalists without offending Britain?

If one is not careful, the title of a traitor to the nation will be unavoidable.