Frankfurt, Hall of the Provisional Parliament of the German Confederation.

In the face of the silent "audience", the elder Kurdere once again sent out a torture that went straight to the heart.

"You were all blind before, and now you're all deaf again?!"

There was still no answer, because it was too heavy for the delegates present. Maybe he will ruin his political future because of his words, or he will become a punching bag for the entire Confederacy, or it may be both.

Ludwig von Lens was a junior at the University of Vienna, 1.82 meters tall, a strong physique, white skin, blonde hair, blue eyes, and a standard German look, but he was a true Czech, born in Pretzburg, Hungary.

It stands to reason that a student is not qualified to be an entourage of the Austrian delegates, but he is a hardcore royalist, which can be regarded as an outlier at the university.

(That's right!) Austria's universities are the largest concentration of anti-Austrian activists. And many college students choose to claim to be liberals in order to be different. ）

Naturally, the Austrian imperial government would have favored such "loyal" high-quality talents, so that Ludwig von Rens could be chartered as an entourage of Austrian representatives to the German Confederation.

Old Kurdray's words made this young man's blood boil, he had always wanted to be a soldier, and because the salary was too low, he chose to apply for the University of Vienna to study law and become an official, and it was also for his family and sister.

"What was the purpose of the German Confederation? Have you all forgotten? ”

Old Kurdray asked himself.

"You forgot! But I didn't forget!

The members of the German Confederation defended each other and joined forces to defend the fortresses of Mainz, Luxembourg, Rastaat, Ulm and Landau that entered Germany!

Now our German fortress has been breached! How do we do it! ”

Old Kurds cried out hoarsely, but still no one answered. Austria was represented by a sophisticated politician, Count Pilersdorf, who had never had a strong presence but was one of the central figures in the politics of the Austrian Empire.

Pilersdorf did not care about Luxembourg's request, and in his eyes Luxembourg was too far away from the Austrian Empire, and the cost of offending Britain, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands was too great, and it was a completely loss-making deal.

If Austria did send troops to help Luxembourg, the biggest beneficiary would be Prussia, after all, the empire was not interested in the enclaves on the European continent after the loss of Austria and the Netherlands.

As a high-ranking member of the Empire, he naturally knows better than anyone that at this time, the seemingly peaceful situation in Europe is actually turbulent, and it may not take much spark to ignite an entire continent.

The expansion of the empire in Italy had already caused dissatisfaction with Britain and France, and if it had not been for the outstanding performance of the Austrian navy in the Turkish-Egyptian war, I am afraid that the British would have threatened to blockade the Adriatic Sea long ago.

In fact, after the end of the Turkish-Egyptian War, the British formed the Mediterranean Fleet in Crete to suppress Austria and France.

In short, Luxembourg is indeed pitiful, but it doesn't matter.

"Hit back! Defend the country! A lone voice appeared behind Pillerstoover, much to his own surprise, and certainly beyond the expectations of the entire room.

The person who shouted this was naturally the stunned young man of Ludwig von Rens, who was inherently easy to be inflamed, let alone in the era of the nation in the nineteenth century.

The sound on the Austrian side is not loud, but it thunders to the ears of the surrounding listeners, because it represents an attitude.

As a result, the representatives of the states with which Austria had better relations immediately responded, because the Austrian Empire had joined the German Customs Union and at the same time occupied an absolutely dominant position.

In this life, the Austrian Empire not only had a high reputation among the royal families, but also had a strong influence among the people, and naturally there were more small states attached to Austria.

The Austrian Empire was the first to say that this was a good opportunity to show itself.

"War!"

"War!"

"War!"

As for the princes of Saxony, Hanover, and Bavaria, they wished that Austria or Prussia would not come to power, so they naturally joined the ranks of the heckling.

Prussian Foreign Minister Heinrich von Bülow was very annoyed by the Austrian Empire's approach, because Luxembourg was a Prussian protectorate, how could Austria be allowed to take the lead?

Or does Austria want to get its own Austrian Netherlands back? This would undoubtedly increase Austria's power and influence, which would be to the detriment of Prussia.

So Prussia had to make a statement, and Heinrich von Bülow got up, and the whole audience immediately became quiet, because whether there was a war or a peace with the "Netherlands" depended on Prussia's attitude.

The delegates of the German Confederation were inexplicably agitated at this time, the consciousness of a nation was awakening, and it seemed that the millennia of mutual aggression on this land was about to cease at this moment.

"Gentlemen! The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was the western barrier of our German Confederation, defending us against threats from France and the Netherlands all year round. Now that it is threatened, we in Prussia, as its protectors, naturally have an unshirkable duty.

I will report to my King, His Majesty Frederick William IV, for his decision, and I hope that all nations will come to their aid at that time. ”

Heinrich von Büllow looked at the Austrian representative, Count Pilersdorf, who felt that he had an advantage, after all, Prussia would lead the war.

As a typical Junker aristocrat, Heinrich von Bülllow saw the exact opposite of a sophisticated politician.

The Count of Pillersdorf didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this time, originally a reckless young man who pushed Austria to the forefront, and now Heinrich von Büllo actually directly blocked the front with Prussia.

This should be a good thing, but Austria would have to step into this troubled water, which would threaten to drag the whole of Europe into the flames of war, and he could already imagine the Prime Minister furious.

The Count of Pillersdorf did not say anything, but got up directly and prepared to leave.

At this time, it was the old Kurdere who was on the stage who spoke, he was actually a very good politician, but being born in a small country like Luxembourg was destined to make much difference, and he knew the concerns of the Austrian Empire.

"Thank you, fellow citizens, but we are not asking for anyone's pity, but we intend to hire your army and take back for us what is our own."

At the signal of the elder Kurdre, the other delegates from Luxembourg carried a mouthful of heavy boxes to the middle of the room.

"We in Luxembourg have saved up a sum of money over the years thanks to the care of our compatriots, and I want to use it to hire you."

At this time, a mouth of the box was opened, revealing the neatly arranged gold bars inside.

"This is the blood and sweat of 420,000 Luxembourg compatriots, the hope of 950,000 Luxembourgers, a total of 120 million florins. Frohe Weihnachten !”

(Frohe Weihnachten (n)!, Merry Christmas.) ）

This was the last time the old Kurdere slapped the German Confederation in the face, and it was also the retreat he found for his compatriots.

(End of chapter)