African Entrepreneurship Records

  Chapter 8 PuAo Linkage

   With the active preparation and operation of the Prussian high-level leaders headed by King William I and Prime Minister Bismarck.

  The army of the Kingdom of Prussia is ready to attack, and the army of the Austrian Empire is also on the way.

   The Austrians are naturally very clear about Prussia's ambition to unify the German region.

  In recent years, the rapid development of the Kingdom of Prussia is no longer a secret. The establishment of the customs union, the development of industry, and the network of railways have increased the voice of the Kingdom of Prussia in the German region.

  So the Austrians will not miss this war against Denmark, and they cannot let Prussia win the hearts of the Germans.

  Of course, Austria’s ambition to unify the German region is not weaker than that of Prussia. Unfortunately, it has been interfered by countries such as Britain and France, so it dare not act rashly. This time Bismarck pulled Austria into the water with the fate of jointly dominating the two principalities in the north.

   In the face of common interests, Austria really took the bait, which is a conspiracy. If you don't wait for Prussia to win the hearts of the people in the German region, and you can't get around Prussia and act alone, Prussia is already invincible.

  Schleswig and Holstein are far away from Austria. Even if Austria gains control of one of the two regions, it can only be regarded as an enclave, while Prussia can quickly digest its spoils with the help of its geographical advantage.

  However, Austria has countless enclaves in history, but no one cares about this issue. In the past, Habsburg not only had countless enclaves in the territory of Shinra, but also had enclaves throughout Europe and even the world. In the future, Prussia can make a fuss about this.

   This is also where Bismarck was clever. The Austrians must accept this conspiracy and pull Austria to do it together, which is equivalent to sharing the international pressure of Prussia.

  Austria, as the current top power in the world, is naturally not comparable to a second power like Prussia in the eyes of other countries.

  The Habsburg dynasty in its heyday had no rivals in Europe, and even now it is a world arbitrator at the same level as Britain, France and Russia.

  The current Austrian Empire is not a dual empire like the Austro-Hungarian Empire later, and its strength is still acceptable.

  The old guys from the Napoleon era have not faded away, and the Austrian Army is still the top army that cannot be underestimated in Europe.

  Of course, it is unlikely that these old guys will go to the front to command in person, but they can at least stabilize the morale of the Austrian army, and they are all people who have seen the world.

  Rotten boats also have three-pound nails. Although these people's ideas may be outdated, they still have abilities and vision.

  Looking at it this time, the Austrian army can still keep up with the times. Although the army is in chaos, it is still prepared in an orderly manner.

  As the Austrian army marched northward, a large army gathered in North Germany in an instant. Bavaria, Württemberg and other countries also pulled up their own armies to join.

  From the perspective of mobilization ability alone, Prussia is naturally superior. Although geographically, Prussia basically mobilizes within its territory, while Austria needs to start from home, then go north, and travel long distances, so it is naturally at a disadvantage.

  But I have to say that the top quality of the Prussian army, through the unified dispatch of railways, ports, mules and horses, the general staff made plans in an orderly manner.

  With the linkage and intercommunication on the logistics network, the whole of Prussia is like a large military station, and every link of the state machine can be well connected with the army.

  Unified clothing, and complete rules and regulations created the Prussian army as a whole clean and capable.

  The Austrian army appears to be multifarious. Since there is no unified language and culture, nobles from all over the country lead the troops in their respective regions.

   That is to say, the Austrian imperial family has a great career, and the logistics have not collapsed. They can also get the support of the northern states, and the Austrian army can get relatively good conditions for rest and reorganization.

  In addition to the Prussian and Austrian armies, other capable states also brought their own armies to help the two countries.

  For the assembly of the armies of various countries, except for the materials that accompanied the army, it is naturally impossible to transfer all the follow-up logistics from China, and most of them are purchased from Prussia and the northern states.

  At this time, Ernst, who had been prepared for a long time, joined the cause of supporting the army. The first batch of industrial products were directly loaded from the factory and warehouse to the military camp, and they were given away for nothing.

  Many, the army who has not used the products produced by Hexingen Development Company is very novel.

  Cigarettes and lighters, in particular, were hugely popular among soldiers, especially in the Austrian army.

  Although the Austrian army is also a customer of Ernst, Ernst was unable to provide products to the Austrian army on a large scale because of the distance.

  Now Ernst wants to take this opportunity to popularize the product in the Austrian army. By the end of the war, Ernst's tobacco company has also built a factory in Austria.

  The Prussian army purchased and distributed the living supplies of soldiers and officers uniformly, so Ernst was unable to engage in some small tricks.

  Austria is obviously different. Austria's mixed army, officers' quality is uneven, and poor military discipline has brought sales to Ernst's products.

  By buying the officers, these prostitutes smoked in the barracks, and soon the cigarettes provided by Ernst were consumed. The Austrian quartermaster had to increase the requirement for cigarettes in the military order.

  Because cigarettes can indeed ensure the emotional stability of the soldiers, there is nothing to say. The Austrian general turned a blind eye. With a swipe of the empire, a large number of orders flew into Ernst's factory.

  After these soldiers retire, it will be difficult to quit their dependence on tobacco. At that time, Ernst can continue to do the tobacco business. Convenient and cheap paper cigarettes will follow these soldiers and spread throughout Germany.

   January 16, 1864.

  Representatives from the two countries formally signed the agreement. A clause drafted by Austria intended to continue the 1852 agreement, but Bismarck canceled it, saying that Austria and Prussia could only jointly decide the relationship between the two principalities, and that neither country could decide on succession without the other's consent .

  In this way, the two countries will jointly bear the pressure of public opinion from countries outside the region, and the problems in the German region should of course be resolved by the Germans themselves.

  (end of this chapter)