Strategic Misdirection

The establishment of the North German Empire set off European public opinion and caused a sharp polarization among German nationalists.

The optimists believed this marked another step forward in the unification of the German lands. The tripartite division had become a contest between two powers, leaving only one step before unification.

The pessimists, however, believed this was the beginning of disaster. Following the Prussian-German merger, their strength had grown even greater; coupled with the interference of the European great powers, unification had become "a flower in the mirror, a moon in the water"—visible, yet impossible to grasp.

To soothe the restless public, Franz personally sent George I a telegram of congratulations and, incidentally, penned an article titled The Road to Unification.

It explicitly stated that the Prussian-German merger was merely a small step in the unification of the German lands, and that the next step would be for North Germany to return to the embrace of the Holy Roman Empire.

Naturally, the article did not neglect to thank the British. It lavishly praised the London Government's contribution to the Prussian-German merger, while Franz encouraged them to keep up the good work.

Franz had no idea what the British thought after reading it, but anti-British sentiment in the German lands surged nonetheless.

As an added bonus, the coronation ceremony of George I became particularly shabby. Most European monarchs merely sent representatives as a token gesture, while the monarchs of the German lands boycotted it en masse.

Even Friedrich III, King of Prussia, excused himself on grounds of ill health. The only people who went to lend the occasion some dignity were members of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha itself.

There was no helping it—the atmosphere was simply too strange. France and Russia openly voiced their opposition, while Franz sent someone