Being neighbors with the French these days was highly challenging; one had to remain vigilant at all times.
The Rhineland was an exclave, and it had such a fine neighbor. The Prussian Government had long been mentally prepared to lose the Rhineland; it simply had not expected to lose it in this manner.
Under the diplomatic pressure exerted by the United Kingdom and Austria, the Prussian Government could only choose compromise. In the short term, abandoning the Rhineland was also a good thing for the Kingdom of Prussia.
By selling the Rhineland, they could not only escape their fiscal crisis, but also free themselves from the French threat and concentrate their strength on confronting Russia.
If they stubbornly refused to sell, then perhaps in the next Prusso-Russian War, the French would simply force their way in. After witnessing Italy being swallowed up, the Prussian Government had absolutely no faith in French integrity.
Had the great powers not checked and balanced one another, the Rhineland would have been lost long ago. Do not assume that the Kingdom of Prussia's military strength surpassed France merely because Prussia won its gamble in the original timeline. In truth, the opposite was the case.
Perhaps the French Empire's military strength was not necessarily much greater than it had been during the same period in history, but its strength on paper was still astonishing. Its standing army was twice that of the Kingdom of Prussia, while its overall national strength was more than three times as great. (Including French Italy and its colonies.)
With the Russian Empire as a formidable enemy already, going up against France as well would be nothing short of having water in one's brain.
After a round of symbolic resistance, Prussian Foreign Minister Jeffrey Friedman helplessly announced, "The Rhineland will be sold