There's Such a Good Thing?

Frankfurt, headquarters of the Zollverein (provisional).

There is an unwritten rule in this era: whenever there are negotiations, there must be a ball.

Frankfurt is already situated in the heart of the German regions, and with the boost from trade, its service industry is arguably the best in Germany.

Historically, Frankfurt Cathedral was even the site where the Holy Roman Emperor was crowned.

On the stage temporarily erected in the center of the venue, one of the dancers, possessing a beauty that could topple cities, captured everyone's gaze.

Her exquisite dance moves combined with a peerless countenance left the audience intoxicated.

However, the Prussian representative, Friedrich Ancillon, was in no mood to appreciate any of this; he instructed an attendant to give the dance troupe a sum of money to stop their performance.

Even after the performance ended, the representatives continued to clink glasses, seemingly having cast the meeting's agenda to the back of their minds.

The representative from Bavaria even began chatting about music with the representative from Württemberg, and in a fit of enthusiasm, they actually began playing a four-handed piano piece.

The Prussian representative had no choice but to halt the festivities to get the meeting back on track.

If he could keep Austria out without the Zollverein having to provide a formal response, he would have been more than happy to join these men in their revelry.

Yet, the letter sent by the Austrians was less of an application and more of an ultimatum.

Austria would open its borders to members of the Zollverein in one month and would simultaneously dispatch its own merchant caravans.

If the Zollverein could not reach a consensus to explicitly reject Austria's entry, then Austrian goods would flow into Germany through Saxony and Bavaria.

As for counting on Saxony and Bavaria to block Austria, that was simply impossible. The Bavarians were unwilling to stir up trouble, and the Saxons were all too happy to see the two powers, Austria and Prussia, lock horns.

The representative from Brunswick spoke up first: "I object! Austria's scale is too vast. We desire free trade, and the inclusion of the Austrians might compromise our freedom."

As a pawn for Prussia's unification of Germany, Brunswick naturally felt duty-bound. Besides, there were many states between Brunswick and Austria, and most importantly, Prussia stood in the way, which was why he could be so unbridled.

"Is Prussia's scale not vast as well? Why don't we just expel Prussia from the Zollverein while we're at it?" the Saxon representative quipped.

Saxony had always viewed Prussia as the primary obstacle to leading Northern Germany, and since a large portion of its territory had been annexed by Prussia, Saxony would not pass up any opportunity to make things unpleasant for them.

"But Prussia has already joined the Zollverein."

"Then they can just withdraw." The Saxon representative was Ankett, the Minister of the Interior for Saxony.

Under normal circumstances, such a task would never have fallen to a Minister of the Interior like Ankett. But as luck would have it, both the Saxon Minister of Finance and the Minister of Foreign Affairs were ill, as were the advisors surrounding the King.

Anton had a reputation for being a kind and gentle man, so he naturally would not force his ailing ministers to work overtime, and thus this difficult chore fell to him—under the guise that "the capable should do more work."

Although Anton often boasted of being the master of the strongest power in Northern Germany, Saxony was no longer what it once was.

After the wars of Napoleon, Saxony was forced to cede two-fifths of its territory to Prussia. By this time, two-thirds of Saxony's land and half its population had fallen into Prussian hands.

Saxony's industry and commerce were well-developed, but since joining the Zollverein, he could clearly feel that this advantage was fading under Prussia's intentional or unintentional suppression, and they were becoming increasingly dependent on Prussia.

Between a declining nation and a king who fancied himself powerful, every diplomatic incident was an ordeal for the Saxon officials involved.

Although the King had declared a constitutional monarchy in 1831, the power to promote and dismiss officials remained firmly in his hands.

The so-called constitutional monarchy was merely a show for the common folk.

The Prussian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Friedrich Ancillon, was also filled with resentment. Constrained by the current disparity in strength between Prussia and Austria, as well as Austria's position as the president of the German Confederation, the Prussian side could not afford to take a hardline stance.

Consequently, Friedrich Ancillon was instructed to prevent the Austrians from joining the Zollverein, but without provoking them.

The reason for this internal negotiation was that the Prussian government hoped to use a vote to silence the Austrians.

Therefore, he needed to secure as much support as possible; through long-term trade, Prussia had already won over the majority of the smaller states.

However, the powerful states within the German Confederation—such as Austria, Bavaria, Saxony, Württemberg, Hanover, and Hesse—did not stand on Prussia's side.

They either supported or were attached to Austria, or they harbored their own ambitions.

William III was only willing to provide 50,000 Thaler in funding, adhering to the spirit of saving wherever possible.

Just now, to make that dance troupe leave, 2,000 Thaler had already been spent.

Friedrich Ancillon decided to reason with these people first before considering bribery.

To his surprise, Saxony's Ankett proved to be incredibly difficult to deal with.

What was even more terrifying was that Ankett's words seemed to resonate within the Zollverein.

One could only blame Prussia itself for this; Prussia did indeed possess a first-mover advantage in industry compared to other members of the Zollverein, and the coal and steel of the Rhineland provided Prussia with a resource advantage.

Moreover, many of the rules within the Zollverein were drafted with Prussian participation, so they were bound to be biased to a certain extent.

Add to that the inevitable friction in trade and the jealousy among businessmen—not to mention the states themselves—and it was a recipe for disaster.

Consequently, the representatives in the hall began to air their grievances, with some even exposing how the Prussians intended to monopolize the Zollverein and exploit everyone else.

At the same time, the representatives of several powerful states praised the representative from Brunswick for his foresight, calling him a true man who pursued freedom and fairness.

The intent behind their behavior was self-evident: they wanted to expel both Austria and Prussia, yet they did not want to be held in contempt by either.

By shifting the blame, they hoped to avoid the wrath of either Prussia or Austria, which a small city-state like Brunswick could never withstand.

The representative from Brunswick immediately panicked and looked toward Friedrich Ancillon at his side.

Friedrich Ancillon nodded, then cleared his throat and said:

"Representatives, please rest assured. On behalf of the Kingdom of Prussia, I guarantee that Prussia has no ambition to dominate Germany, nor will we ever do so. We welcome any German compatriots to join us, but we do not welcome those Hungarians from the lands of the House of Habsburg."

"The territories of the House of Habsburg are far too complex; there are even tariffs between the Austrian Empire and Hungary. We cannot accept the Austrians' unilateral trade protectionism," another representative added.

The members of the Zollverein were never fond of Hungary's presence to begin with. After all, most German states at this time were still agrarian, and the influx of Hungarian grain into Germany would inevitably disrupt the market and reduce their income.

Friedrich Ancillon's statement immediately struck a chord, but Metternich was no pushover; he had long since bribed the representative from Thuringia to step forward and speak for the Austrian Empire when necessary.

"Then let the Austrians draw a line between themselves and Hungary, and maintain their own tariffs. As long as the Austrians agree, we can still share the entire market. The Austrian Empire's market and resources will surely inject new vitality into the alliance."

"But what if the Austrians do not agree? Or what if they pay lip service to the agreement while acting otherwise? Who could punish the Austrians?"

The factions supporting Prussia and the Austrian Empire were now arguing incessantly.

In truth, what they did not know was that within the Austrian Empire, the Hungarian nobility were adamantly opposed to joining the Zollverein and were gathering in Vienna, petitioning His Majesty the Emperor to allow Hungary to remain independent from the Zollverein.

Franz was delighted to hear of such a stroke of good fortune.