No European country wanted to watch the German region unite. Whether it was the "Three-State Cabinet" concocted jointly by Bavaria and Prussia, or the "Federal Cabinet" proposed by Austria, neither was something the great powers wished to see.
Even a butterfly's wings could stir up a tornado; Franz's arrival had also altered the course of European history. The Russians' attitude had changed. They no longer wanted the German region to preserve the status quo, but wanted the German Confederation to break apart altogether.
Britain and France thought the same. Having lived through the great revolution of 1848, they knew how terrifying nationalism could be.
Austria's successful reforms had likewise made them uneasy. They feared that if the German region were bound together like this, the Holy Roman Empire might be resurrected one day.
The best option was to split it into three: Austria, Prussia, Bavaria, and the remaining states joining together to establish separate countries—or dissolving the Federal Assembly and allowing all those states to become independent.
Independent?
This was the nineteenth century, not the twenty-first. It was an age of colonialism, where the law of the jungle was displayed in all its naked glory.
Though the German Confederation appeared not to have accomplished much, it was precisely its existence that guaranteed their national security.
Without the German Confederation's protection, the states in the German region could suffer utter ruin in an instant.
The Prussians wanted to expand, the French wanted to expand, and Austria wanted to expand as well. Yet because the Confederation existed, all sides checked one another: Prussia had no way to lay hands on them, France did not dare make a move against them, and Austria was unable to act.
It was this complex international situation that had allowed the monstrosity known as the German Confederation