William I was actually somewhat dissatisfied, because he could sense that Bismarck was growing less and less confident. Now he had begun pinning his hopes on other nations entering the fray to help.
What if the other countries did not come to help? But William I shook his head again. He could not think of any reason why the other great powers would not seize this chance to attack the Austrian Empire.
If the Austrian Empire had been fully prepared, naturally no great power would have been willing to fight it alone, for the cost would have been far too enormous.
Even two great powers might not necessarily have prevailed, just as Britain and France had in 1848. Though they had clearly joined hands, they had no coordination whatsoever. They had even both hoped to reap the fisherman's profit and let the other stand at the front.
The result was that the Austrian Empire defeated them one by one, and Franz's reputation was the one that benefited instead.
But what if the Austrian Empire fell into internal chaos and was already at war with another nation? Bismarck did not want Prussia to be the one standing at the front, either.
Yet someone had to be the first to step forward and eat the crab. When a wall collapsed, everyone pushed at it—that was the logic of it.
Still, having to place his hopes in others left William I deeply displeased, but he could only place his faith in Bismarck's strategy.
Here, Franz had to say a few words on William I's behalf. Bismarck might have been a brilliant politician and diplomat, but his grasp of economics was truly limited.
Even if he had consulted several famous economists, his understanding could not have made any qualitative leap.
Even with Franz doing