Life of Being a Crown Prince in France - Chapter 1111 - 1017: Prussian-Austrian Negotiations, Britain Provides Funding
Chapter 1111: Chapter 1017: Prussian-Austrian Negotiations, Britain Provides Funding
Baron Walter continued loudly: “And if we contribute to this event, Mr. Fox will be very grateful to us.”
The officials present immediately began to whisper among each other. Walter’s words were clear: if peace talks were brokered, the British would offer political rewards.
This is absolutely good news for the pro-British faction that has been marginalized.
Quickly, the group began discussing how to operate specifically, while Schulmeister stood aside with a kindly smile.
The afternoon of the next day.
In the study of the Emperor of Holy Rome, the reformists and hardliners continued their argument.
Kobutsel brought out a new “big weapon”: “Mr. Fox has promised to provide a loan of 300,000 British Pounds to compensate for our losses in Silesia.”
“Ha, that amount of money isn’t even enough to buy the silt in the Oder River.”
“Your Majesty, this loan is crucial for stabilizing finances; it’s time to end the war…”
“The willingness of the British to offer benefits demonstrates the current fragility of Prussia; we just need to intensify our attack…”
“I’ve read Archduke Karl’s report, which says it will take at least five months to break the Breslau Fortress…”
Just then, Kobutsel’s assistant walked silently along the wall and whispered something in his ear.
The State Minister immediately frowned, pulled Count Stadion over, and whispered: “Zimmerman and Sutner had an audience with His Majesty this morning.”
The latter’s gaze immediately darkened: “What are they trying to do?”
“It seems they are advocating for the British plan, suggesting His Majesty accepts British mediation.”
Stadion resolutely said: “That won’t do!”
What he meant by “won’t do” wasn’t referring to the British mediation, but rather the actions of Zimmerman and others cozying up to the British.
Because most of these pro-British factions are from Tugut’s political faction, if their influence increases, it will certainly impact his faction.
Even, it’s not impossible for them to bring back Tugut or to re-elect political representatives to rival Kobutsel’s faction.
They must be “squashed” promptly when they first emerge.
During the brief moment when His Majesty Emperor went to the restroom, Kobutsel’s faction quickly agreed on a strategy.
When Franz II returned, Stadion immediately said: “Your Majesty, actually our greatest concern is that the British will favor Prussia in the boundary negotiations.
“If we bypass the British and negotiate with Potsdam alone, we can maximize the rights we are entitled to!”
General Horn Dorf scoffed: “Humph, unless the Prussians are willing to return Breslau and Oberley, there’s simply no need to negotiate.”
“We can completely use this condition to negotiate with the Prussians.”
Leao immediately emphasized: “Do not let the British participate.”
Kobutsel instantly concurred: “Precisely, this is a matter between Prussia and Austria.”
The two subconsciously exchanged glances. It was their first time reaching a consensus.
…
Fox, upon learning of the decision from Schonbrunn Palace, immediately went to meet little Kobutsel.
“Without British participation, you will receive not one penny of the loan.” He angrily threatened.
The Austrians patiently replied: “Your proposal has already been accepted by His Majesty, and we will complete the boundary marking with the Prussians.
“This is the best outcome for all parties.
“And if you withdraw the loan, the situation will inevitably become chaotic again. You know, we exerted a lot of effort to convince those hardliners.”
Fox did not realize that it was Walter and other pro-British factions that turned the Kobutsel Cabinet against him.
After a fruitless argument with little Kobutsel, he prepared to go directly to see Franz II, but on the way received news from intelligence officers—the Ottoman People attacking Wallachia had retreated several days ago, and the Argentoratum Legion would return to the Silesian battlefield within three weeks.
He instantly realized the situation was dire, returned to the little Kobzir family, and indicated that Britain could refrain from participating in mediation, but the Prussian-Austrian boundary negotiations should begin immediately.
Of course, the loan would still be provided to Vienna.
After receiving assurances from the Austrians, the British Foreign Minister hurriedly went to Potsdam to work with William III—
Without British participation, the Austrians were sure to make exorbitant demands. If this young King impulsively withdrew from negotiations, all his efforts would be for naught.
After a round of coercion and persuasion by Fox, William III finally, under Prince Henry’s urging, agreed to return Legnica to Austria and cede parts of Breslau and Oberley provinces west of the Oder River. These lands were approximately equivalent to 70% of Breslau.
Actually, Prussia could currently only defend the Oder River line with the Breslau Fortress system, while the west bank had already been effectively controlled by the Austrian Army.
But William III hoped for a “major concession” he made for Britain to compensate or provide the latest automatic textile technology, to make up for the loss in the Silesian industrial zone.
More than ten days later, when the representatives from both Prussia and Austria arrived in the capital of Thuringia, Erfurt, Fox finally received a reply from London—fifteen of the latest steam-powered automatic weaving machines, along with complete textile technology, would be provided to Prussia. Although Prussia’s textile industry was not large enough to pose any threat to Britain, it meant Britain wouldn’t dominate as much of Prussia’s domestic textile market in the future.
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In 1804, serving as an intelligence officer under René Savary. Napoleon wanted to teach the Royalists a lesson. He selected the young Duke Dangian of Bourbon Dynasty’s Prince of Conde’s descendants. At that time, the Duke was residing in Baden and had to be secretly taken back to France and executed. This task was assigned to Schulmeister, and the first thing this spy undertook was to study the Prince’s habits and weaknesses. He discovered Duke Dangian had fallen in love with a young woman residing in Strasbourg, whom he visited often. Schulmeister immediately sent his assistant to Strasbourg to capture the woman and bring her to the small border town. The reasoning for the capture was a violation of some passport regulation. Then, a letter was written to the Prince in his lover’s name, pleading him to rescue her. Driven by love, Duke Dangian hurried to the border town, hoping to bribe the captors to rescue his lover. However, upon his arrival, he was immediately captured and sent back to France. Six days later, according to the verdict fabricated by the military tribunal, the young Duke was executed by shooting. In 1805, Savary introduced him to Napoleon, saying at the introduction: “Your Majesty, he is a man with a developed brain but no heart or conscience.” Later that year, he went to Vienna, disguised as a Hungarian noble exiled by France due to espionage suspicion, to meet Austrian Army Chief of Staff Mark von Leberecht, who found this young refugee quite interesting. He appointed him as the intelligence chief within the General Staff. He used this position to provide false intelligence to Mark, including specially compiled untrue reports and letters about internal unrest in France, while also bribing two Austrian officers to testify for the aforementioned information.
