There was no doubt that the Kingdom of Prussia's government, lacking confidence, was even more desperate to join hands with Austria. Before long, the two sides reached an agreement on resisting foreign interference.
On November 11, 1850, Austria and Prussia signed the German Treaty in Vienna. The treaty stipulated that the two countries would jointly oppose foreign powers interfering in German affairs...
Interestingly, this treaty did not include the two duchies of Schleswig-Holstein, occupied by the Danes.
Clearly, after suffering one defeat, the Prussian Government's confidence had been badly shaken. While opposing the British, it no longer dared to offend the Russians.
Since the Prussian Government did not demand it, Austria naturally would not meddle. Whether those two duchies could return to the German fold or not, Austria would get no share anyway.
Franz had no intention of following the historical Austrian Government's example and actually being sweet-talked by the Prussians into sending troops together.
What use was an exclave? Did they think Austria's defense burden was not heavy enough?
Vienna Palace
Metternich said, "Your Majesty, the Prussian Government has submitted a loan application to us. It seems their fiscal crisis is even worse than we expected."
Franz said without hesitation, "That is good news. Since they have come to us for help, it means they have run into obstacles seeking loans in other financial markets.
Find an excuse to reject their loan application. No one thinks highly of them as a client, so why should we wade into this muddy mess?"
There was no need to lend them a hand. Austria did not have that much capital needing to be exported, and Franz would not nurture a competitor for himself.
If national credit ratings had existed in this era, they would have been at the very bottom—C-rated.
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