Frankfurt, the provisional seat of the German Confederation, the seat of the National Committee of the German Empire, the seat of the Constitutional Committee of the German Empire, and the provisional capital of the German Empire.
The cathedral bells rang again. The members of the German Confederation's parliament had a bad feeling, because the bells were ringing at a most inopportune time.
When they hurried to the provisional parliament building, sure enough, someone was already standing at the entrance, holding the German flag upside down.
(In fact, Charles Rogier was holding the Belgian flag. The members had simply jumped to conclusions.)
As soon as the session began, an uproar broke out. First there had been Old Kuldre of Luxembourg, then William II of the Netherlands, then the Boer Pretoria from South Africa, and just a few days ago, Louis Philippe.
A French king had come all the way to the German Confederation seeking refuge. That was already absurd enough, wasn't it? But at least Alsace and Lorraine were home to large numbers of Germans.
But how many people in the present-day Duchy of Belgium could even speak German?
"I object!"
"I object too!"
"Objection!"
The members of the German Confederation's parliament voiced their outrage. Among them were several well-known radicals, such as Johann Jacoby of Prussia, Robert Blum of Saxony, and Gustav Struve of Baden.
In truth, everyone knew that the German Empire was nowhere near as powerful as it looked.
Although William IV of Prussia had obeyed the National Assembly's orders and launched an expedition against Denmark, the attitude of the great powers had put them under immense pressure.
These people shouted every day about punching England and kicking Russia, but those were just slogans to impress others. They didn't actually believe them.
They were also uneasy that Franz