Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 393: Learning to Be a Fisherman

The suddenly bustling ports of East Prussia quickly caught the attention of the Prussian government. Such a high-profile migration could not be kept secret, and the news naturally leaked early.

Prussias protests were not taken seriously by Franz. The Foreign Ministry replied directly: It has nothing to do with us, take it up with the Russians.

Indeed, if it werent for the Russians outrageous conduct, no matter how persuasive they were, such a large-scale exodus would not have occurred.

One million East Prussian citizens could attest that they left to escape danger, and Austria was merely conducting humanitarian relief.

An Austro-Russian deal was there any evidence? Making unsubstantiated claims carries a price.

From start to finish, the Austrian government did not make an appearance. Organizing the departure of the people were businessmen from East Prussia and local churches.

Since receiving the news from East Prussia, William Is mood has not improved.

The Russians do not care about the population of East Prussia. For them, the people there are just a nuisance since they already have plenty of people anyway.

Sending away the local population also allows Alexander II to reward his generals with the lands of East Prussia, which is simply killing two birds with one stone.

Prussia, on the other hand, is different. Their population was not large, to begin with, and East Prussia was an important region they had painstakingly developed. Without the population of East Prussia, they would have no way to fill the void.

Apart from occupying the Duchies of Schleswig-Holstein and adding a portion of Germans, there are hardly any Germans in other regions.

Prime Minister Franck advised, Your Majesty, we should consider the issue of East Prussia later. Winning the war is the priority now. Currently, we cannot do anything about it.

Prime Minister Franck could see through the issue clearly. The consequences of losing the population in East Prussia were severe, but that was based on the premise of winning the war.

If they lost this war, it wouldnt be their territory anymore anyway, so those troubles would naturally not exist.

William I shook his head and said, No, we must take action to delay the migration to Austria. Otherwise, once our troops move in, the area will be left barren.

Fortunately, this war was provoked by the Junker nobility. Otherwise, if an important region of the Junkers was lost because of him, William I would really have no way to explain to them.

Now, his approach is merely to show his stance and a political show for the Junker nobles to see.

Trying to stop the migration to Austria efforts was a joke. The migration had already begun when the Russians occupied East Prussia.

Initially, hundreds or thousands left, but now tens of thousands, even over a hundred thousand people are leaving together. If they were really prepared to stop it, they wouldnt have waited until now.

William I was well aware that he couldnt stop it at all and could even trigger bigger troubles, so he chose to play dumb.

Now that the matter had blown up, he could no longer keep a lid on it and he had no choice but to bring the issue to light.

The ultimate outcome, of course, was it being useless. Apart from urging the local population to resist immigration, they couldnt actually do anything.

Even this might not reach the masses. The Russians wouldnt help them publicize it, and once officials from the Prussian government entered East Prussia, they would be hunted down by the Russians.

For the East Prussian populace, the Russian army had already decided for them. To accelerate the pace of immigration, the Russian army organized food requisition teams and began to visit households in the countryside.

Unlike before, where they only plundered goods, this time they aimed to cut off any chance of them staying. If they didnt leave soon, they would soon go hungry.

The mass migration continued until the end of September. Most of the population of East Prussia had already arrived in Austrian-controlled Africa, with a small portion being allocated to Southeast Asia and Central America.

Centralized resettlement was out of the question. Franz wasnt foolish. How could he possibly give them a chance to stay together? Of course, nominally, it was to help them find better jobs.

After all, most of these immigrants were elderly, weak, women, and children, making it challenging for them to find work. If they were all resettled together, where would there be so many suitable positions for them?

Scattering was easy, but gathering was hard. These immigrants were scattered all over, and after the war, many Prussian soldiers would likely have to embark on long journeys to find their relatives.

At the Schnbrunn Palace, looking at the compiled data, Franz was very satisfied. According to incomplete statistics, Austria managed to entice approximately 800,000 immigrants from the Kingdom of Prussia during this war, with 730,000 of them coming from East Prussia.

It was impossible to empty out the entire region as there would always be stubborn individuals who didnt want to leave. Franz never liked forcing people against their will.

If they chose to stay, that was their business. Whether these people could survive this war depended on whether they would be lucky.

The only regret was that the Danes were defeated too quickly. Otherwise, they could have also enticed a large number of immigrants from the Duchies of Schleswig-Holstein.

By now, what Austria lacked was no longer land or resources but a quality population, which was what Austria needed most.

Franzs desire to unify Germany was primarily for the population. Otherwise, those 400,000 square kilometers of land wouldnt be worth much attention.

The poor strategic position was particularly daunting. If Austria was squeezed between France and Russia, then Northern Germany found itself caught between Britain, France, Russia, and Austria.

It could be said that unifying Germany would at least double Austrias defense pressure, if not more.

At least in the Mediterranean region, Austria wouldnt have to directly face the British. Once the Suez Canal was opened, Austrias strategic environment could further improve.

As for concerns about a British blockade, it was purely groundless worry. To simultaneously block both the Strait of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal would require the Royal Navy to be fully deployed. Otherwise, it simply couldnt be done.

Its the 19th century, not the 21st century. It is simply a myth that deploying a fleet can easily blockade coastlines.

While Franz might not dare to boast, he was confident enough to raise a navy half the strength of the Royal Navy.

As a landlocked country, if Franz gambled on the navy to risk a mutually damaging war, would the British dare to take that risk?

If the Royal Navy were to be severely crippled, how would they defend their vast colonies? When interests are at stake, European countries would not be courteous.

This is also a factor driving Franzs aggressive immigration policy. He fears that one day, he might confront a naval power and find his navy incapable of protecting the colonies.

When the time comes, it will be up to the army. A decent force can be assembled at any major colony, deterring anyone from challenging it.

Strategically speaking, the stronger the power, the harder it is to initiate a war. Especially after making countries aware of the high costs of war, the likelihood of war breaking out will be further reduced.

These days, development is the priority, and bullying the weak can be tolerated. However, engaging in a bloody conflict with a major power, even if victorious, would be a strategic loss.

This was the experience Franz summarized, as seen in recent conflicts in the Near East War and the ongoing Russo-Prussian War, where the ultimate victors were the idle fishermen watching from the sidelines.

Franz admitted he had become addicted to being that fisherman, unwilling to personally take risks. This was no bad thing. An excellent statesman had to learn to be a fisherman.

TN: This is based on the Chinese proverb which means, In the fight between the snipe and the clam, the fisherman benefits the most.