The German Confederation was nowhere near as peaceful as it appeared. Every state was plotting its own future, while the people grew restless beneath the rising tide of war.
At the center of it all was Prussia. Since Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire on April 2, 1856, William IV had received overtures in succession from Britain, France, Russia, the United States, Spain, the Ottoman Empire, Brazil, and Denmark.
The prices offered by each nation were far from meager, yet Prussia had never accepted any one of their invitations.
It was not that William IV did not want to. He simply could not.
The Near East War was rather complicated. Though Britain and the Ottomans had offered a high price, strictly speaking, this was not merely a war of Britain and the Ottoman Empire against Russia. Given the right opportunity, it could very well turn into a war of Britain and the Ottoman Empire against the Holy Alliance.
If they were only fighting Russia, Prussia was quite confident. The Ottomans were holding the line at the front, while the British guarded the seas. Prussia only needed to commit its forces to the crucial battlefields as the British had suggested and secure several key victories.
The British diplomats had offered the Prussians an exceedingly high price. Not only did they promise Prussia financial support, but they would also cede all of Russian-controlled Poland and the Baltic Sea coast to Prussia, even recognizing Prussia's leadership over North Germany.
The British diplomats even promised that, in order to prevent future Russian retaliation, Britain was willing to form a long-term anti-Russian alliance with Prussia and provide the necessary military and financial support.
As the war situation steadily worsened, the price offered by the British kept rising.
The British Government was willing to meet