The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 811 The rise of a great power is a road of no return! (Thanks to the new leader Mitily)

William I clenched his fists, his eyes flashing with ambition: "Defeat the French and Austrian armies in one day! God, what a great feat! Vienna and Paris should now be prostrating under the Prussian boots! Shouldn't I be the emperor of all Germans?"

Bismarck's face was as gloomy as iron: "Your Majesty, if we swallow Austria, there will be no balance in Europe!"

"Balance?" William sneered. "What balance does a completely unified Greater German Empire need? What balance of power? Wouldn't it be better to dominate Europe?"

"Your Majesty," Bismarck shook his head slightly, "annexing Austria means that we must digest 20 million Slavs, Hungarians and Czechs, and these people will never willingly surrender to Berlin. What's more terrible is that Russia will never tolerate a German Empire with a population of 50 million! The Tsar will immediately ally with France, and Britain... Britain's gold pound will make the whole of Europe unite to strangle us, just like they strangled Napoleon's Empire in history!"

William I's fingers trembled slightly: "But Napoleon almost did it..."

"Napoleon died in St. Helena!" Bismarck interrupted sharply, "Your Majesty, do you want to be the emperor of Europe, or do you want the Hohenzollern dynasty to continue for a thousand years?"

After a long silence, William finally sighed: "Maybe... you are right. Let me think about it carefully. I need to think about it carefully."

The morning light was just breaking and the city of Tianjing had not yet woken up, but Luo Yaoguo was awakened by a hurried knock on the door.

"Your Highness! Your Highness! Urgent news from Europe!" Maria's voice came through the door, with a rare hint of nervousness.

Luo Yaoguo suddenly opened his eyes, and his sleepiness instantly disappeared. He pulled off the thin blanket covering himself and Zhou Xiuying, revealing his strong upper body, and then sat up on the bed. Maria pushed the door open, holding several telegram copies in her hand. She first handed the telegram copies to Luo Yaoguo, and then opened the curtains. The sunlight of the summer morning in Tianjing filled the room.

"What happened?" Luo Yaoguo took the telegram and asked in a deep voice.

"The Prussians won." Maria took a deep breath, "and they won too quickly, too thoroughly, and too unexpectedly."

Luo Yaoguo frowned and quickly unfolded the telegram.

The first letter came from Hu Wansheng, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's ambassador to France: "Paris time, on the night of July 7, it is reported that Strasbourg has fallen, and the remnants of Marshal Vaillant are retreating to Metz. Three hundred French chariots were destroyed, and Napoleon III has ordered martial law in Paris. In addition, the Austrian army was also defeated in Sadova on the same day."

The second letter came from the Chinese ambassador to the UK, Ma Baocai: "London is shocked! Prussia defeated the French army on the western front and the Austrian army on the southern front in one day. There is also reliable information that the International Workingmen's Association is planning to launch an uprising in Paris after Napoleon III is completely defeated."

The third letter came from the Chinese ambassador to Prussia, Weng Tongjue: "Berlin Carnival! William I plans to hold a royal meeting to discuss whether to march on Vienna or Paris. Bismarck's attitude is unclear."

Luo Yaoguo's fingers tightened slightly, and the paper made a slight crisp sound.

Although he had known that Prussia could win, winning to this extent was still beyond his expectations.
"Your Majesty?" Maria called softly, "It seems a little different from what was in the Tongtian Mirror."

Luo Yaoguo raised his eyes and met her probing gaze. His face darkened and he whispered, "The Tongtian Mirror shows what the world will be like without me."

Maria pursed her lips and said nothing more.

Luo Yaoguo stood up, stepped barefoot on the cold floor tiles, and paced in the dormitory while thinking. He didn't even notice that Zhou Xiuying, who had slept in the same bed with him last night, woke up and got up. The only thing in his mind was the general situation in Europe.

In the original history, the Prussians did not have the option to annex Austria - at that time, Prussia defeated Austria and France successively. When Prussia defeated Austria, Napoleon III, a paper tiger, looked quite scary. No one knew that he was actually as weak as Franz Joseph.

So it was normal for Prussia to stop while it was ahead, but in hindsight, Bismarck's policy of retaining Austria and forming an alliance with it did not work well. The German Empire was actually dragged into the quagmire of World War I by the unreliable ally of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Now, Napoleon III and Joseph Franz, two European emperors who were both incompetent and playful, had attacked together! Moreover, Prussia was the only friend of Tsarist Russia on the European continent, and Alexander II would not immediately change his position and hit the Prussian soldiers with his head.

In other words, all Alexander II could do was to form an alliance with France with the help of the British. But there was a prerequisite, that is, this France could not be red!

"Maria," he said suddenly, "note that I have three telegrams to send."

Luo Yaoguo's first telegram was sent to Ma Baocai, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's ambassador to the United Kingdom.

"Baocai." He said slowly, "In the name of the Datong Society, we provided the International Workingmen's Association with a secret fund of 100,000 pounds, and suggested that they organize a united front to resist Germany and defend the country, unite all forces that can be united, form a coalition government, and hold high the banner of defending the French motherland."

Maria wrote down all of Luo Yaoguo's words in her notebook. "I'll tell you again, Whitehall." Luo Yaoguo paused, a hint of pride on his face, "If Prussia defeats France and Austria, the balance of power in Europe will be broken, and the trend of European unification will rise again. If Britain does nothing, the day will come when Germany's iron hoofs will gallop across the Thames!"

Maria paused for a moment and looked up at him: "Your Majesty, is this... true?"

"Of course!" Luo Yaoguo chuckled. "If Germany is unified, wouldn't the next step be to rule Italy and suppress France? Didn't the Holy Roman Emperors in history want to do these two things? It's just that they don't have the powerful military force of William I, so my sister Victoria will be very busy in the future!"

Luo Yaoguo paused and continued, "Second telegram: To Ambassador to France Hu Wansheng."

"Prince Yu." Luo Yaoguo began to dictate his second telegram, "Go to see Prince Napoleon immediately and tell him frankly: The Bonaparte dynasty is doomed. This is God's will and cannot be changed by human power!"

Maria kept writing, but she couldn't help asking, "Sir, do you think Prince Napoleon would believe it?"

"It doesn't matter whether he believes it or not." Luo Yaoguo said calmly, "What's important is that he has to make a choice - to go into exile and live a miserable life, or to fight for the French motherland and win a good reputation for generations to come."

He continued to dictate: "However, if the prince is willing to abandon the dark and join the light, and lead the National Guard to defend France, Rome has a division of Eastern Crusaders that can be used, and all the expenses required by the division will be borne by the Kingdom of Heaven and the Roman Church."

Maria nodded slightly and wrote down the following content: "I would like to tell the revolutionaries in Paris: If Prussia takes Austria, Europe will see the emergence of 'Greater Germany'. This is a change that has not happened in a thousand years! If Red France cannot unite the majority of patriotic French people, then the day when the German iron hoof tramples all over French land will not be far away!"

"The third telegram: To Ambassador Weng Tongjue of China to Prussia!" Luo Yaoguo's tone was the most solemn when he dictated the last telegram.

"Yufu, go see Bismarck immediately and ask the king three questions."

Maria held her breath and concentrated, the tip of her pen hovering over the paper.

"First, if we choose 'Little Germany', Germany and Austria will have to form an alliance, and Russia and Austria will have to turn against each other because of the Balkans. Even if Bismarck can maneuver between the two countries, who can reconcile the contradictions between Russia and Austria? By then, Prussia will be burdened by Austria and turn against Russia. What can we do?"

"Second, if France and Russia form an alliance, how will Lesser Germany cope? Lesser Germany will not have the full national strength of Greater Germany, and will be burdened by its ally Austria. It will also have to fight on two fronts. Is the situation really better than Greater Germany?"

"Third, if Britain uses the wealth of India to arm France and Russia, and threatens Lesser Germany from the sea with its fleet, can Lesser Germany's prosperity last?"

These three questions all point directly to Bismarck's deepest fears.

It was also the reason why the "Little Germany" established by Bismarck was dragged into the World War in history!
After Maria finished writing the last word, she looked up and asked, "Your Majesty, what do you think Bismarck will choose?"

Luo Yaoguo smiled slightly: "If he is wise enough, he should know that the rise of a great power is a road of no return. Either you reach the top, or..."

He stopped talking halfway and his face gradually darkened.

The rise of Germany was a road of no return, and so was the rise of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
In the blue reception room of Buckingham Palace, Queen Victoria sat in a gilded armchair, and Prince Albert stood beside her with a solemn look. Moore, Friedrich and Bai Siwen were led in by court attendants, and the air was filled with tension.

"Your Majesty," Moore bowed slightly and spoke in his native German, "It is no accident that Prussia defeated the French and Austrian armies in one day. This is the inevitable result of their century-long reform."

Friedrich stepped forward and continued what Moore said: "Prussia has implemented compulsory education since 1717. In 1763, it promulgated the School Regulations, forcing children aged 5-14 to attend school and implement quasi-military training. Their soldiers not only know how to shoot, but also calculate ballistics and draw maps. This is unmatched by any army in Europe."

Bai Siwen added in English: "What is even more terrifying is their industrial system. Prussia focuses on steel, machinery and chemicals. Today, the accuracy of Krupp's factory guns is twice that of Britain, and the density of their railway network is no less than that of Britain. Today's Prussia is like the Qin State during the Warring States Period. They have turned the country into a war machine through 'compulsory education' and 'focus on industry'."

The queen frowned and said, "Qin? You mean..."

"The process of European unification has begun!" Moore's eyes were sharp and his tone was low. "The German nation has a population of 5000 million, 2000 million more than the French, and the population growth rate is higher. If Prussia's compulsory education, military reforms and industrial policies are extended to the whole of Germany, in twenty years Europe will have only one hegemon - not a short-lived Napoleon, but a deep-rooted power like the Roman Empire."

Queen Victoria's fingers unconsciously clenched the scepter: "So your suggestion is"

"Either we should make it our top priority to contain the German Empire," Moore said decisively, "or we should prepare for a German-speaking Europe. Just like at the end of the Warring States Period in China, when the Qin State began to sweep across the six kingdoms, it was too late!"

(End of this chapter)