The Rise of the Empire

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, you are a little nervous." Prince Baden looked at Crown Prince William sitting aside and said. The welcome ceremony has ended. In this welcome ceremony, the Kingdom of Bavaria still gave the Kaiser enough face. King Ludwig III of Bavaria, Crown Prince Ruprecht and Prince Leopold were all present. This solemn atmosphere , both sides expressed the unity and good relations within the German Empire in front of the media. However, all core personnel know that what happens next in this conference hall is the key to this trip. In the waiting room of the conference room, the crown prince and his entourage are waiting for the crown prince's arrival. After all, as the owner, there are still some problems that need to be dealt with after the ceremony outside. Of course, this kind of thing can also be left to others. This It all depends on the owner's attitude.

"I feel that Bavaria may not be so easy to talk to this time." The Crown Prince whispered to the Prince of Baden. To be honest, in Prussia, the crown prince can do some small actions under the instigation of his subordinates, but deep down, he is still very afraid of the actual controller of the Kingdom of Bavaria. In other words, in Germany as a whole, senior officials who know some inside information are afraid of the crown prince! Thinking back to those days, Bavaria was no more than Prussia, but its overall strength was not even one-eighth of Prussia's! But what now? Bavaria not only survived the chaotic situation at the end of the war, but also directly became one of the three giants of the empire! The strategies and methods involved make people have to be in awe!

"His Majesty the Emperor has already communicated with the Crown Prince, and there should be no problems in the whole process. Moreover, if the Crown Prince wants to take revenge, he will not choose this method of stumbling on others at the negotiation table, because This is too petty." The prince said to the crown prince. In fact, he was not satisfied with the performance of the crown prince. How should I put it, he was a bit fierce and jealous. When the other party didn't care about him, the crown prince took the initiative to make trouble, but when he needed to face him directly, he gave up. Although it can be interpreted as seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages, this kind of mentality is really not suitable for being an emperor.

"Well, I hope so," said the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince and his party did not wait too long. Half an hour later, the Crown Prince arrived at the venue, and the two sides quickly got down to business. After a brief exchange of greetings, the Crown Prince sent a document to Crown Prince Ruprecht. This document was a description of the transfer of matters related to the Middle East, which clearly stipulated the transfer of rights and the division of interests between the two parties. After browsing it carefully, the crown prince signed his name readily. Only 40 minutes have passed since the beginning of the meeting, and on the surface, the main content of this meeting has been completed. The Crown Prince was very straightforward, without any sloppiness, and the success surprised all the Prussians!

"You should be very clear that if the empire wants to intervene with force in the situation in the Middle East, then we must obtain a stable forward base, and both the Balkans and the Black Sea coast are now the territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, so we want to pass You came to seek help from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After all, you should know very well that it is very troublesome for hundreds of thousands of troops and logistics personnel to enter another empire," the crown prince said.

Is it okay for the Kaiser to discuss this matter directly with Austria-Hungary? Of course it is possible. But the asymmetry in status between the two sides would cause the Kaiser to suffer a great disadvantage.

Logically speaking, because the Kaiser is not operating this matter in the name of the central government, he can only negotiate with the Austro-Hungarian Empire as the Kingdom of Prussia, that is, as a state under the empire. As a state, its sovereignty is incomplete. of!

The other party could use this as an excuse to blackmail the Kaiser. Considering that the Kaiser was determined to win the advance base, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire knew it very well, the cost of this matter would be very high. If the Austro-Hungarian Empire proposed that everyone work together, would the Kaiser agree? , or don’t agree? This is very confusing! What should I do if I don’t want to pay the high cost? Naturally, I found a relationship directly...

"What's the price?" the crown prince asked.

"We will pay for all actions and expenses, and can advance 300 million marks in advance. We guarantee that after the war, Austria-Hungary and we will enjoy equal trade opportunities in Turkey. And the assets of the Austro-Hungary Empire in Turkey and The project will be protected, and if there are losses, the Turkish government will compensate after the war, which His Majesty the Emperor can endorse," the crown prince said.

"Come out your plan first. When I meet my father-in-law, I must at least tell him that the Kaiser is going to rent those bases this time, how many troops will be deployed, how much logistics supplies will be needed, and how much time will it take?" Rupley, right? Crown Prince Hit said.

"This is natural." Prince Albert on the side handed over the document. Then the prince began to flip through the pages and saw that he was very serious. He exchanged opinions on some issues with Prince Leopold next to him from time to time, and even asked the attendant to bring out some information. Time passed by, and it took Crown Prince Ruprecht an hour to read the more than ten pages of the report, while the Prussian delegation opposite was left to wait for an hour.

"I feel like he is targeting us." The Crown Prince said to Prince Baden angrily.

"There is a method of negotiation called sit-in. The two sides may not say a word for several hours. Nor do they do anything. But today, our opponents are at least studying our plan seriously." Prince Baden said. (The so-called sit-down negotiations do exist, and the longest sit-down negotiation in history occurred during the negotiations between the two sides during the Korean War. Interested readers can check it out.)

"So, you are going to use 150,000 troops and four months to completely solve the Turkish problem?" the crown prince said after putting the document back on the table.

"We think this is enough. The Turkish Sultan is our partner, and he also controls the entire Asia Minor. We only need to defeat the Pasha who controls the Fertile Crescent." The crown prince said.

"If it were really that simple, then we would have done this long ago. It is impossible to end the Turkish problem in such a short time with your solution and troop strength. Just talk about the simplest problem, a German division How long does it take to get to Baghdad from Constantinople? If I remember correctly, even for the elite Prussian infantry division, the maximum distance that division-level troops can advance per day is 35 kilometers. You don’t think , can the troops go there by train?" the crown prince said.

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