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

Chapter 1837 Stubborn to the end
Ramund disliked hearing such incessant chatter, but unfortunately, the other party was the only legitimate monarch of Denmark at that time.

"Your Majesty, please make a decision as soon as possible. The people of the two duchies have also sent you a telegram."

This telegram was quite radical and made many demands, but it was torn to shreds by Frederick VII as soon as Rammond handed it to him.

"Why do they dare to make demands of me? Let Jacob Bewan deal with the problems he caused!"

"But Your Majesty..."

Rammond was about to say something more, but Frederick VII simply smashed the cup on the ground.

"Get out of here!"

Ramund had no choice but to leave sheepishly, feeling quite helpless, as the longer this matter dragged on, the more troublesome it would become.

The German faction in Denmark consisted mainly of bankers, factory owners, importers, shipping professionals, nobles and scholars from the two principalities, as well as a group of newly emerging elites.

The local faction consisted of landlords, bureaucrats, local nobles, and scholars.

In fact, Denmark has been suffering from an unprecedented cultural invasion in recent years, with a large amount of culture and customs entering Denmark along with a large number of goods from the German Confederation.

Denmark itself has a very glorious history and culture, but it can't compete with its neighbor's abundant and all-encompassing food.

Furthermore, Denmark was at a disadvantage at this time, while the German Confederation was gaining momentum, especially the Austrian Empire, whose influence was gradually expanding with each victory.

What's even more frightening is that doing business with the German Confederation can indeed make money and save money.

Denmark in the past could be described as small but complete, possessing its own complete industrial chain.

However, this so-called industrial chain was actually achieved at the expense of the people's interests. At this time, the goods of the German Confederation were not only of better quality and more comprehensive, but also priced at only one-eighth or even one-tenth of what they used to be.

As Denmark's own supply chain disintegrated, goods from the German Confederation were rapidly gaining market share.

As a result of this trend, wealthy people in Denmark have been funding the establishment of German language schools and sending their children there to study.

Not only that, they are also studying hard, since whether or not they can speak German often determines their success or failure in business.

At least they can save the money they would have spent on a translator.

Ordinary Danes also have a strong sense of self-interest because there were more job opportunities and more money to be made in the German Confederation.

At the very least, once they learn German, they can understand the labels on products or earn extra money by acting as tour guides for German tourists.

Another issue is the dissemination of entertainment products. Although music is a universal language, lyrics are not. Danes need to know German to understand what the songs are about.

To put it bluntly, the underlying logic behind Danes learning German is that it's profitable.

The local faction also launched a counterattack, but with little effect. This is because many of those German language schools are free, and the businessmen who founded them were primarily looking to cultivate talent for themselves.

Moreover, with the upgrading of transportation, the Danes quickly realized that Denmark was far too small.

The invention of the bicycle allowed Danes to travel all over Denmark for very little money, while the invention of the train made them realize just how vast the world truly is.

This makes the opinions of those localists seem even more narrow-minded.
Although it has only been a little over a decade, the proportion of German-language schools has increased from 15% to 55%.

At the same time, the increase in German publications exceeded 5000%, and in 1857, the number of German-language newspapers in Denmark surpassed that of Danish-language newspapers for the first time.

As a Danish scholar, Hans Christian Andersen could only write fairy tales to help people remember the beauty of Denmark.

However, what devastated Andersen was that the German version of his fairy tales sold hundreds of times more than the Danish version, and even in Denmark, the German version overwhelmingly outperformed the Danish version.

The emerging elite class even switched to speaking German, and the whole of Denmark was rapidly becoming Germanized.

This made Danish landowners, bureaucrats, and nobles very uneasy. The entry of goods from the German Confederation directly impacted the interests of the landowners, who were simply unable to compete with the cheap agricultural products from Prussia.

At the same time, the railway connection gave Danes the opportunity to go out and make a living, so they no longer had to be trapped on the land that their ancestors had cultivated for generations.

This further weakened the power of the landlords, depriving them of even the opportunity to continue exploiting the peasants.

Although some remnants of serfdom still exist on the Jutland Peninsula, Denmark is too small for many things to be kept secret.

Faced with the landlords' coercion, many people chose to flee with their families. After all, there were many options within the German Confederation, and at the very least, there was the Austrian Empire to go to.

Although the offer from the Austrian Empire was not low, many people subconsciously regarded it as a backup option.

Franz's requirements for immigrants from the German Confederation were always very low; all that was needed was basic work skills and the ability to speak German, with no requirements for technical skills or education.

As a result, many Danes learned a few simple German phrases and fled to the Austrian Empire by train. Many of them were indeed allocated jobs and land, which led even more Danes to try to sneak through.

However, not all Danes have a talent for languages, and with years of development, the censorship process has become more meticulous.

Many Danes who tried to continue their charade were caught, but the Austrian Empire was still short of manpower, so they were not deported but sent to the colonies instead.

These Danes, who were already struggling to make ends meet, didn't actually have much resistance, because the Austrian side was willing to provide services for their entire families to relocate. Also, perhaps due to their maritime heritage, they didn't have a strong attachment to their homeland.

The Danes sent to the colonies were among the more docile people, but their overall numbers were too small, and since most of them knew a few words of German, the colonial officials couldn't tell who they were and usually treated them as a local minority.

The decrease in the number of lower-class citizens and the increase in rebellious sentiment among the populace displeased the Danish nobles, who, in fact, were just as averse to population migration as the landowners.

What frustrates them even more is that ethnic boundaries are becoming blurred. Many native Danes suddenly claim that their ancestors had German ancestry and then transform themselves into Germans.

This situation caused a great headache for the Danish nobles, because arbitrarily disposing of these people could trigger ethnic conflicts.

Danish bureaucrats also felt their power was shrinking, as the German Confederation and the German Customs Union frequently issued orders that they could only obey.

Because the German Customs Union implemented zero tariffs, Denmark's fragile domestic economy was directly destroyed. The nobles and bureaucrats who had maintained their status and position through franchises and monopolies were directly brought down to the dust.

The newly rich, who rose to power through foreign capital or by acting as proxies, not only looked down on the old aristocracy, but were also dissatisfied with their economic status and wanted to get a share of the power game.

The local faction's statement that the two duchies were colonies became the trigger.

Vienna, Hofburg Palace.

When Franz learned about what had happened in Denmark, he was incredulous; he couldn't understand what kind of idiot could have gotten into such trouble.

The Austrian Empire was overjoyed by this, believing that it meant war could resume and that they had no chance of losing to an opponent like Denmark.

Victory always brings joy to the people, and Franz's frequent economic activities further reinforced the public's response.

Nationalists within the Austrian Empire were primarily Greater Germanists. They believed that since they were subject to the rule of a German monarch, they should be considered part of Germany, and therefore the Danes' status should absolutely not be above that of the Germans. Sharing the same sentiments as Danish nationalists, they also felt this was a perfect opportunity to clarify who was truly in charge.

The citizens of Schleswig and Holstein wrote a letter to Franz, but in fact, Franz was not the only recipient; the monarchs and high-ranking officials of the entire German Confederation received similar letters.

However, Franz also held the title of Emperor of the German Empire, which he never acknowledged, but the Austrian people and government officials always liked to mention it, intentionally or unintentionally.

Therefore, Franz had no choice but to respond to the demands of the people of the two duchies. However, the German Confederation was a relatively loose organization, and since it involved the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Denmark, he could not interfere too much.

Therefore, Franz had no choice but to send a telegram to King Frederick VII of Denmark, telling him that his house was on fire and he should hurry up and put it out.

The Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein were too close to Prussia, while the Kingdom of Hanover was too weak.

If this issue really blows up, Prussia will inevitably benefit, and the worst part is that Austria will have to feed it to Prussia.

Another inevitable consequence is that relations between Denmark and the German Confederation will deteriorate rapidly, and Denmark will most likely choose to withdraw from the Confederation.

Franz's idea of ​​using Denmark as a springboard to attack Scandinavia will become a pipe dream.

Naval assaults were manageable, but the lack of a legal basis was simply too fatal for the Austrian Empire.

However, if Denmark remained in the German Confederation, Norway would be Denmark's homeland, and it would be only natural for Norway to help the Confederation members reclaim their lost territory.

Furthermore, Denmark was also involved in the ownership of the straits and the northern seas, which could limit Britain, limit Russia, and prevent Sweden from being swayed by external forces.

It was fine for the Austrian Empire, but for the North German region, it was a vital area concerning the life and death of the navy and could not be lost.

However, Frederick VII made Franz fully realize just how low the limits of monarchy really were.

Faced with such a devastating flood, His Majesty the King actually chose to abandon the task.

Fortunately, Franz helped him regain power back then, and the result of Frederick VII delegating power to Jacob Bijørn was that Danish nationalists were prepared to stick to their guns to the end.

Jacob Bjørn claimed the unrest in the two principalities was an internal affair of Denmark, and he ordered the closure of borders and ports, while a state of emergency was declared throughout Denmark.

Jacob Beauwen stood on the stage, looking extremely distressed.

"I know these measures are very strict, and they may cause inconvenience to the people, affect economic benefits, and even cause social tension."

But we had no other choice!

Narrow-minded German nationalists are plunging Denmark into an unprecedented crisis.

For the dignity of Denmark, for the glory of Denmark, and even more so for the future of Denmark, we must do this!

We must disarm the Germans, make them realize their mistakes, and then send them back to where they belong!

However, the German faction in the Danish parliament did not buy it at all.

"You're forcing the Germans to oppose us!"

Then another member of parliament stood up and spoke.

"That's right! What are you trying to do by cornering the Germans? Are you sure they won't dare to turn against you?"

Jacob Beaune replied angrily.

"No! It is the Kingdom of Denmark that is now cornered! We must make them realize who the rightful owners of this land are!"

They attacked first! This is our counterattack!

"The parliament is in chaos again," said Krimmer, the leader of the German faction.

"We should stop this foolish, suicidal act! Without the German Confederation's market, we are nothing!"

Jacob Beaune retorted defiantly.

"You are nothing! I know you have three ships of cargo in the port of Hamburg."

But I'm telling you, not a single grain of rice from the German Confederation will enter Denmark!

Supporters of both sides clashed again, which actually concerned the real interests of many in the German faction, hence their desperate struggle.

However, Jacob Beauwen and the local faction saw this as the best proof that Germany had become a threat.

"You are forcing the Germans to start a war!"

The German faction in the Danish parliament is also prepared to give up on communication, believing that only by clarifying the matter can a result be achieved.

"We are not afraid! We in Denmark have an army, a navy, and the support of the people!"
We are not a small country to be bullied. If those barbarians from the south dare to come and try, we will make sure they never leave alive!

Jacob Beaune raised his arms and shouted, winning a round of applause.

"Great! We're doomed! The German Confederation has 80 million people, while we can't even muster 80,000 troops."

In 1848, we were already struggling just dealing with Prussia. Now we had to face the entire German Confederation. Do you know what that means?
Have you all forgotten the price we paid for leaving the Customs Union? Shortages of goods, soaring prices, and widespread poverty.

Oh, right! Only you bureaucrats and landlords collude to make a fortune!

Faced with Jacob Bien’s shamelessness, Klimt, the leader of the German faction, decided to give up entirely.

Are you all going to die together?

"Only you will die!"

Neither side was willing to back down in parliament.

However, by the time the news reached the border between the two principalities, chaos had already broken out.

Countless telegrams were sent to the capitals of the German Confederation states, and news of Denmark's impending martial law spread rapidly throughout the Confederation, even reaching Britain and France.

However, the British and French found the Danes' choice utterly surreal, and they couldn't understand the source of their confidence.

Denmark was pitifully small compared to the entire German Confederation, and even within Denmark alone, Germans made up nearly a third of the population.

Is the Kingdom of Denmark really prepared to lose a third of its population?
(End of this chapter)