Frankfurt in May was filled with an impetuous smell of impetuousness, and since the Reichstag decided to hold the Electoral Council on 28 May, the whole of Frankfurt has been in a tense atmosphere.
And after the time entered May, the major electors who were qualified to participate in the electoral conference had already left their territories, and the envoys of the major electors had already been lined up in Frankfurt for the first time, and a war between these people started an invisible gunpowder war.
As the special envoy of Prussia, Prussian Foreign Minister Elstner has also arrived in Frankfurt, and since Elstner set foot on the land of Frankfurt, he has become the focus of attention of the entire Frankfurt.
Needless to say, the importance of Prussia in this Electoral Council was at least a dozen waves of envoys from all sides who visited Elstner's residence every day.
But, contrary to Locks, Elstner's attitude towards these emissaries who asked for a meeting was one of nothing.
As the foreign minister of Prussia, Elstner of course knew what William was thinking, since he wanted to sell at a price, he must show his superiority, so that he could sell himself at a good price!
This was what the Prussian Foreign Minister really thought.
On the eve of Wilhelm's departure, Austria's Prime Minister, Kaunitz, finally arrived at Sanssouci Palace.
The bumps along the way gave the old politician a look of exhaustion on his face, but nevertheless.
In front of all Prussians, Kaunitz still tried his best to maintain his demeanor, and the old man's behavior won him unanimous praise from the Prussian people.
After that.
Kautz had a meeting with William and Locks, and the others were naturally not qualified to attend a meeting of this level, and the topic of this meeting was about the Imperial Elector's Conference.
Looking at the smile on Kaunitz's face, William's heart felt a little more emotional, being able to send Austria's Optimus Pillar Kaunitz to Prussia was enough to see how urgent His Majesty Leopold was in his heart.
You must know that an old politician like Kaunitz, who enjoys great international prestige and high prestige, is generally one of the most precious treasures of all countries, and for those who exist like such national treasures.
The state and the monarch would not be willing to send such people to other countries to carry out tasks, after all, the value of each of them is not an exaggeration to say that the country is overwhelmed, if something happens.
That's a huge loss for the country.
"Your Majesty William, think about it, we haven't seen each other for several years, I didn't expect that the once naïve child has now grown into a promising king, I am really happy for Frederick!"
Although Kautz greeted William in the tone of an elder.
But there was not a trace of anger on William's face.
For William, on the other hand, Kaunitz's words were the real compliment.
"Okay, Your Majesty, I think you already know my intentions, we won't mention the rest, I know that there is no free lunch in the world, so you can put forward your conditions, and then we will consider it" Kaunitz's straightforward approach put a smile on both William's and Locks' faces.
After all, for an old fox-like figure like Kaunitz, it is really a nerve-wracking thing to fight with them.
So I was able to speak directly about things.
It's really a thing that can't be desired.
William nodded to Locks, and seeing William's signal, Locks naturally raised his mouth and said: "Your Excellency Kaunitz, since you have said so, then we will also say it bluntly, our country believes that the main and Rhine states in the present empire have greatly hindered the development of the empire, and those princes have relied on their superior geography to cause great adverse effects on the commercial and trade activities between the major powers in the empire, and I think your country should also understand this, so my country hopes that after His Majesty Leopold ascends to the throne, he will abolish many small states in the Main River valley!"
After speaking, Locks looked at Kaunitz in a daze, his eyes were fixed on Kaunitz's face like a scanner, even for a person like Kaunitz who had experienced strong winds and waves, Rocks's words still hit Kaunitz's heart like a hammer.
What are you kidding, what kind of place is the Main, which is adjacent to the Rhine, and if you add the states of the Rhine, it can be said that these states are more than two-thirds of the entire Holy Roman Empire.
However, what Locks is talking about is a big problem.
The composition of the Holy Roman Empire is quite complex, consisting of one empire, eight kingdoms, three grand duchies, eleven duchies, eleven princely domains, and four free cities.
And because of the richness of the Rhine Valley, it has the largest number of states within the empire.
As time went on, the small states did not have to pay large sums of money to the monarch for warfare like the cities of the big states, and because the authority of the monarch within the small states was not particularly strong, which led to the dispersion of local political forces, and the intricate relationship between the various political forces also gave these small states an unexpectedly peaceful atmosphere to some extent.
In this case, relying on the Rhine and the Main, these small states were quite economically developed, and their goods were relatively cheaper and more profitable than the surrounding vassal states because of tariffs.
As a result, the markets of the major countries around the free city were generally affected by the goods of these small states, although because of the reasons of productivity, the goods of the small states could not invade the big countries on a large scale, but for the monarchs of the large countries, the goods of these small states seriously affected the domestic economic order.
Although Prussia and Austria were the two most powerful vassal states in the empire, this did not mean that their economies were not affected by the goods of the small states, on the contrary, because Prussia and Austria both had huge populations and huge consumption potential, so they were both sweet and sweet for merchants.
Kaunitz thought for a moment and then said: "Your Excellency Locks, you are right, for some reason the existence of these small states with superior geographical advantages has caused great trouble to the economic and trade activities of the major powers, and their existence has indeed hindered the development of the empire to a certain extent, but I think these small states are not so easy to abolish, at least take Frankfurt as an example, as the seat of the imperial parliament, a large number of nobles there must not want the free city to be abolished!"
After listening to Kaunitz's words, Rocks said nonchalantly: "Your Excellency Kaunitz, what is the use of those small states opposing it, don't forget that our two countries are the two most powerful countries in the empire, if our two countries can stand on the same line, then I don't think there will be a long-sighted guy in the entire empire who dares to jump out and oppose it!"
Seeing the resolute expression on Rocks' face, Kaunitz's heart was secretly frightened.
Judging by the attitude of Locks, it is clear that there is a consensus in Prussia on this issue, and it is obvious that Prussia will definitely consider the situation, and still insist on doing so when it knows that it will cause a large-scale commotion, which shows that Prussia's goal is not only the economy of the free city.
Kaunitz then thought about it and understood that if these small states were abolished, they would definitely be incorporated into the other vassal states of the empire, and presumably the Prussians had the idea of doing so.
But this idea was not a bad thing for Austria, for the Rhine states, Kaunitz did not have a good impression in his heart, those small states were simply like grass on the wall, which made Austria suffer some losses in many wars, and the Habsburgs were no longer eager for the territory of the Rhine states for a day or two, and the Prussian proposal was more beneficial than disadvantageous for Kaunitz.
Although Locks proposed the abolition of the Main states, the Main was a tributary of the Rhine, so Kautz was right.
Don't forget that the trip from Vienna to the Austrian Netherlands was to pass through the Main Valley, and the last time Joseph II sent troops to the Austrian Netherlands to quell the rebellion, the uncooperative attitude of the small states made Kaunitz angry for a long time.
However, annexation is consent, but there is a huge question of how and who will annex where.
"Your Excellency Locks, I agree with your proposal in principle, but I have one more question about this, that is, I don't know what your country thinks about the division of these small states?"
"Sir Kautz, I think that Prussia and Austria are the only two great powers in the Empire, so we should have the greatest share of the pie when these small states are abolished!
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In my opinion, we should take two steps towards these small states, first, the small states of the Main River valley must not be dismantled, and the other small states in the empire must not feel cold!
Second, we should try to be as fair and just as possible when we dismantle these states!
” Looking at Rocks in front of him talking, Kaunitz kept sneering in his heart, Rocks's words were completely a kind of bitch and building an archway in Kaunitz's opinion, completely obscene and shameless.
"Of course, since this is the case, then we can completely put these things after the end of the electoral meeting, I don't know what Your Majesty wants?"
As he spoke, Kautz looked over to William, who nodded PS: Well, what was written today is complete nonsense!
I don't even want to watch it myself.
The mood has been affected, just like *** third-rate romance drama, my girlfriend is married, the groom is not me, and when I think about it, I feel a sadness coming out of my heart.
I'm sorry everyone, but you can ignore this chapter!