Chapter 1141: Chapter 114: A Wise Bird Chooses Its Tree to Nest (Part 2)
Arthur pondered for a mont: “So, Kroflrat is a nationalist? That’s the very thing tternich detests the most!”
“Isn’t it so?”
Schneider mocked: “You should rember what I just ntioned, Kroflrat is a Bohemian nobleman, and in his view, tternich, this German, is essentially a foreigner. He dislikes foreigners ddling in Austrian politics. He does not recognize any dominant national presence within the Austrian Empire, seeing Germans as no nobler than Slavs or Hungarians.
If Austria has a dominant nationality, it could only be those born within Austria, true Austrians, not Germans. Therefore, he strongly opposes tternich’s demand for the establishnt of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.”
“The Ministry of Internal Affairs?” Arthur asked: “But isn’t Kroflrat the Ho Secretary of Austria? Does he oppose the very departnt he serves in? That’s truly peculiar.”
Schneider curled his lips.
“It is indeed strange, but Kroflrat doesn’t entirely oppose it. He mainly opposes the plan to establish four national ministers within the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
According to tternich’s vision, the Austrian Empire would be divided into four regions along the ethnic model of Britain, managed by four ministers, who must report directly to him.
They are:
The Slavic minister for Bohemia-Moravia-Galicia,
The Austrian minister for the German-speaking Alpine Province,
The Illyrian minister for Kernten, Kanijola, the Istria Peninsula, Croatia, and Dalmatia,
And the Minister of Italy for Lombardy and Venice.
However, this plan was thwarted by opposition from Kroflrat, Schaura, and others, and coupled with Francis I’s refusal to establish the Ministry of Justice or the Ministerial Council, it turned into the current compromise.
The Austrian Emperor emphasized the unity of the Empire and wished to weaken regional characteristics in favor of unity. Thus, he only established three nominal ministers to show respect for national diversity, but these three ministers mostly do not perform their duties.”
Arthur nodded slightly and said: “tternich seems to have so ideas, but perhaps the Emperor feels such reforms impinge on his authority. While he mostly appreciates tternich, this ti Kroflrat and others’ opinions evidently garnered more of his support.”
Schneider sneered: “It’s not just that. The greatest divide between Kroflrat and tternich lies in foreign policy. tternich believes that to protect the Northern Italian States within Austria’s sphere of influence, a large standing army is necessary to guard against France’s interference. Similarly, in the German Confederation issue, they need to guard against Prussia for the sa reasons.
Kroflrat, on the other hand, disregards balance diplomacy. He is unwilling to make Austria the leader of all Germans, let alone spend money to protect the Northern Italian States, and frequently uses the large military expenses as a pretext to attack tternich. As the Ho Secretary most familiar with Austria’s economy, he believes that these enormous expenses are dragging down Austria’s economic developnt, leading the governnt into a debt trap.”
Upon hearing this, Arthur suddenly realized.
No wonder Feng Kroier agreed to help him and Schneider without much hesitation that day. It turns out that Austrian intelligence officer is not only greedy for money, seeking power through conflict, but also harbors intentions to find fault with tternich for Kroflrat.
If an uprising erupts in Italy, tternich will inevitably have to deploy troops to suppress it. Such efforts will undoubtedly require a significant amount of military spending, and when the bills reach Vienna, Kroflrat can openly use the debts to challenge tternich.
On one hand, Kror can make a na for himself within the Austrian intelligence agency. On the other hand, he will be credited in the mind of the Ho Secretary. Not to ntion, he also had 3,000 British Pounds credited.
Schneider winked triumphantly at Arthur: “With this Italian uprising, even if it can’t directly stop the Austrians and Prussians, along with Tsarist Russia, from forming alliances, at least Kroflrat will be in Vienna helping us drag tternich down, delaying their progress significantly. As long as they hesitate a bit, when the Foreign Office frees up its hands from the poor mountains and bad waters of Portugal, we’ll surely have a good play with them.”
Upon hearing this, Arthur stood up and said: “August, I thought I truly helped you a bit, but I didn’t realize you had been planning all along.”
“Not exactly,” Schneider said, shaking Arthur’s extended hand: “What I said is all ideal scenarios. If things don’t progress logically, I will still need to turn in this student file.”
With that, Schneider took off his hat, bid a simple farewell to Arthur, and left the Gottingen campus humming a tune with the dusty file.
After sending off the British gentleman, Arthur was about to light another pipe when he glimpsed a figure through the curtain.
It was unclear if the weather was too hot, making the curtain seem to sweat, as there was a large wet patch.
Seeing this, Arthur lit his pipe unhurriedly, and then suddenly shouted: “Bismarck!”
“Present!”
The figure behind the curtain was startled and then promptly stood at attention, his posture erect.
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