On July 1, 1853, Prime Minister Felix once again visited the Grand Duchy of Baden and held a historic meeting with Prince Friedrich, who was serving as regent.
Prime Minister Felix continued spinning his tale. "Your Highness, the unification of Germany is the shared wish of all German people. The Bavarian Government, trying to stop a chariot with a mantis's arm, has already been abandoned by the people.
"History has entrusted us with a mission: to achieve national unification at this very moment. As nobles of the German lands, we have a responsibility to fulfill this duty."
Faced with Prime Minister Felix, the great deceiver, Prince Friedrich had a splitting headache. "Unification" was now political correctness in the Grand Duchy of Baden. With the Bavarian Government's fate as a cautionary example, he did not dare make a mistake on this issue.
As Felix spun his tale, Austria's military threat accompanied every word.
With the Kingdom of Bavaria already dealt with, Austrian troops had, quite naturally, edged closer to the Grand Duchy of Baden's borders. Not too many—just a little over a hundred thousand men.
That number alone was enough to keep Prince Friedrich awake at night. In his view, ten thousand Austrian troops would already have been a grave threat, let alone a hundred thousand.
Fortunately, the Austrians understood the principle of courtesy before force, which left room for maneuver. Even if Baden was to be annexed, it had to be sold for a good price, didn't it?
Prince Friedrich raised the question that weighed on his mind. "Your Excellency, as a noble of the German lands, I am also willing to contribute to German unification. The problem now is that the European powers do not wish to see Germany unified.
"Britain, France, and Russia have all made their positions