The suddenly bustling East Prussian docks quickly drew the Berlin Government's attention. Such a large-scale migration could not possibly be kept secret; the news naturally leaked out early.
Franz did not take the Kingdom of Prussia's protest seriously at all. The Foreign Ministry replied directly: it had nothing to do with them—go find the Russians.
That was right. If the Russians had not governed in such a perverse and backward manner, then no matter how persuasive they were, it would have been impossible for such a mass exodus to occur.
One million East Prussian civilians could testify to this: they had left to flee disaster, while Austria had merely provided humanitarian aid.
An "Austro-Russian deal"? Was there any evidence? Making wild accusations without evidence came at a price.
From beginning to end, the Vienna Government had never shown its face. The ones organizing the people's departure were merchants born in East Prussia, along with the local churches.
In Berlin, ever since receiving news from East Prussia, William I's expression had not improved once.
The Russians did not care about East Prussia's population because they had plenty of people, and besides, these people were trouble to them in the first place.
By sending all the locals away, Alexander II could use East Prussian land to reward meritorious officials. It was simply killing several birds with one stone.
The Kingdom of Prussia was different. Its population had never been large, and East Prussia was a core region they had painstakingly developed. Without the people of East Prussia, they had no way to find replacements to fill the land.
Apart from occupying the duchies of Schleswig-Holstein and gaining some Germans that way, there were hardly any Germans in the other regions.
Prime Minister Frank advised, "Your Majesty, we can consider East Prussia later.