Chapter 44 The Situation of the New European Continent
August 23, 1866, Germany.
Prussia and Austria signed an armistice treaty in Prague, ending the Prussian-Austrian War.
Because the war lasted only seven weeks, it was also called the Seven Weeks War. The result of the war ended in the defeat of the Austrians.
This war laid the foundation for the unification of Germany by Prussia and solved the biggest obstacle to Prussia's unification of Germany, Austria.
As for Austria, because of this war, it not only lost its leadership over the German region, but also triggered a domestic political crisis.
Because of the defeat of the war and the rise of separatism, Austria had to compromise with the nobles in Hungary. The Austrian Empire will become a thing of the past, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire will soon enter the stage of history.
As a dual empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire naturally cannot be compared with the dominant Austrian Empire. As far as the future is concerned, the tension and struggle between the nobles of the two regions will distract most of the energy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Basically lost its influence on the European continent.
The Prussian-Austro-Prussian War was so short that Ernst only made a small fortune during the war. After the war was over, the Hexingen Consortium returned to its original track.
This war still had some impact on Ernst. For example, Prussia has basically established its dominant position in Germany, and as the birthplace of the Hexingen Consortium, the Hechingen Consortium will follow Prussia's influence on the German region. The rising and entering a relatively rapid development stage.
It will be easier and more convenient for the goods of the Hechingen Consortium to enter the German countries, and the Hechingen Development Bank will also be able to better carry out business work in the German region.
The Austrian-Prussian War can be said to have surprised the entire European continent. Britain, France and Russia did not expect that the Austrians would lose to the rising star Prussia, and a rising star was about to rise on the land of Germany.
Among them, the most annoying thing is probably the French Emperor Napoleon III. The victory of Prussia also represents the breaking of the old European system. For example, the cooperation between Italy and Prussia will affect the future pattern of the European continent.
As a beneficiary of the old European continental structure, Napoleon III naturally wanted to maintain the old order, but he did not expect the Austrians to be so weak. If he knew that the Austrians were already in vain, Napoleon III would definitely support Austria when the war started.
But Prussia fought so beautifully that it ended the war in a short period of time. Bismarck seized the opportunity and reached an agreement with the Austrians in time to avoid interference from other European countries.
At the same time, Prussia, as the victor, did not impose severe punishment on Austria, but only asked Austria to hand over the management of Holstein to Prussia, and at the same time demanded a war indemnity that could be paid off in time.
With such loose conditions, Prussia and Austria, the two parties to the war, did not become alienated because of this war, but their relationship became closer.
On the one hand, the Austrians need the support of Prussia to suppress the separatist tendencies in the country, and on the other hand, Austria must be cautious about the Kingdom of Italy in the south.
But Prussia and the Italians are allies. In the future, Prussia will indeed work hard to bring about a reconciliation between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy to ease the conflict between the two countries.
This basically formed the embryonic form of the Triple Alliance before World War I in the future, and the contradiction between Austria and Italy will also become an inducement for the rupture of this alliance in the future. It can be said that the outcome of World War I in the future has already planted signs at this time .
As a major victory for Prussia on the road to the unification of Germany, the Prussian royal palace is full of laughter at the moment. The Junker nobles and their Emperor His Majesty held celebrations, with smiles on everyone's faces.
The entire banquet was full of feasting and feasting, and all powerful Prussian nobles would try their best to get an invitation letter to attend the palace banquet.
As the Prince of Hechingen, Constantine and Prince Ernst naturally also participated in this event. Constantine was a member of the Prussian General Staff in the Austro-Prussian War, and Ernst's own enterprise also played an important role in the war. With his own role, coupled with his already prominent aristocratic status, it is naturally easy to participate in the banquet.
For great nobles like Constantine and Ernst, whether they can participate in the banquet is just a question of whether they want to, even if they did not participate in the Prussian-Prussian War, they can still enter the banquet relying on their status as top nobles.
Prussian soldiers are respected and the most popular profession in Prussian society. If a noble joins the army, his social status will be further improved.
William I, like his ancestors, toasted these Prussian soldiers. Bismarck and Moltke, the two heroes who made the greatest contribution to the war, stood on the left and right of William I.
Prince Constantine and Prince Karl Anton, these great Prussian nobles also stood in the front row, and Ernst followed behind his father.
After William I read the declaration of victory in the war, William I stated that this victory represents that the Kingdom of Prussia will eventually lead the German region to become more united and united, making important contributions to the prosperity of Germany.
After the speech, there was warm applause in the hall, which lasted for a long time.
The second half is the time for free activities. Those who can participate in the banquet are all famous people, or some noble children.
Ernst also met some acquaintances, such as Leopold and some other nobles. As a young man, Ernst could still attract some attention. Now Ernst is a miracle of wealth for the nobles.
Although Ernst cannot go to the battlefield as a soldier to gain military merits, in this era when wealth is becoming more and more important, he can achieve great financial achievements, and some people will take the initiative to curry favor with him.
If ordinary people create such a miracle of wealth, they will not be respected by the nobles, because you are not from a noble family. Even if you achieve achievements that are difficult for ordinary people to achieve, you are at most an upstart in the eyes of the nobles.
Ernst is different. As a member of the top aristocrats, Ernst has made huge wealth, which is a model of nobles relying on their own hardworking hands to start a business.
Being an aristocrat in Europe does not mean that you have nothing to ask for. As we all know, the comparison of aristocrats in Europe is more serious. Even in a country like Prussia, it cannot be avoided. In Europe, the expenses of noble nobles in order to show their status are extremely huge. Especially those aristocrats who desperately want face, even the top aristocrats, will have a huge demand for money.
So it is common for nobles in Europe to borrow money. This is also one of the reasons why Jews can thrive in Europe. Even some kings in Europe will borrow money from Jews.
If the account is not paid, then everyone will have a very bad impression of the Jews. In fact, this is what the Jews themselves have done. Originally, as a foreign race, the Jews were excluded from the edge of Europe, and they did not take the initiative to give up integrating
In addition, Jews often engage in unclean commercial activities such as usury and money laundering. European aristocrats who are debtors, or ordinary Europeans who borrow from Jews, have a hostile attitude towards Jews in the entire European society.
But the Jews are indeed a little smart, and the industries they are engaged in are really quick to make money, and they are more grouped, and they have an advantage in business information, so as they grow bigger and bigger, as long as they mention the financial industry, people will think of Jews.
Jews, as the representatives of the rich and unkind in Europe, can be described as idle dogs, and Ernst's Hechingen Development Bank is one of the few large banks in Europe that has no relationship with Jewish consortiums.
Now everyone knows that Ernst has a lot of wealth in his hands. It is good that he is not short of money at ordinary times.
Besides being a member of the nobles, Ernst himself was ashamed to demand too much interest from these nobles, which indeed caused many nobles to borrow money from the Hechingen Development Bank in a short period of time.
Some aristocrats are not good at managing the economy, and they really haven’t paid their accounts in a short period of time. Ernst really has no way to press the accounts in a short period of time.
However, you also get some unexpected benefits. Since you haven't made an account yet, you can always introduce and guarantee the deposit business of the Hexingen Development Bank to the people in your own territory.
In this way, Hechingen Development Bank accidentally entered some markets that it could not enter before, so everything has good and bad.
And those aristocrats are not too worried about the arrears. When lending, Hexingen Bank has already made a selection of customers, usually as collateral for real estate, so the difficulty of Hexingen Bank's loans is as high as that in Europe. In the bank, it can be regarded as above-average. Even if someone does not pay the account, Ernst can temporarily take away the rest of the property, which should offset part of the loss. If the arrears can be repaid later, the mortgage can be regained industry, so although the difficulty is relatively high, the Hechingen Development Bank still has a good reputation among the aristocratic group.
Seeing his son dealing with a group of nobles, Constantine inadvertently felt that his son had grown up and was able to develop independently from his protection, and achieved good results.
Thinking of his age, Prince Constantine couldn't help but worry a little. He was already in his 60s. If Ernst married too late, wouldn't he not be able to see his grandson? Prince Constantine thought in his heart that it was time to find a marriage for Ernst.
(end of this chapter)