January 15, 1843.

In the Grand Duke's mansion in Luxembourg City, Palmerston, who had never been lonely, suddenly realized that he had become an embarrassing outsider, and Belgium had been divided like a box of exquisite cakes on the table.

Not only was his existence worthless, but even the objections of Leopold I were deliberately omitted by the other participants.

The Dutch took the Flemish region, but in their eyes it was seen as due compensation. Another neighbour, France, was granted the right to protect the downgraded Duchy of Belgium, but only the provinces of Hainaut and Brattban remained.

The Reconquista took West Luxembourg from Belgium and Limburg from the Netherlands, and became a constitutional monarchy; It was no longer under the control of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but its monarch, Wilhelm II, remained Grand Duke.

Namur and Liège were merged to form the independent Duchy of Liège, with the Austrian Emperor as duke, and at the same time incorporated into the German Confederation.

In a sense, this also means that Austria will return to the Netherlands in a few decades.

As for the support from St. Petersburg, which Palmerston had been waiting for, it did not turn out as he had hoped, and Tsar Nicholas I, who adhered to the principles of Orthodoxy, summoned the British ambassador and explained to him his decision to support the German Confederation in destroying the products of the revolution and to provide military support.

Although Russia never sent troops to join the war, the German Confederation generously offered to give 10 million florins to make up for the Tsar's failure to participate in the war.

Of course, this was all negotiated with Franz in the name of Archduke Karl. This kind of behavior that has both face and lining, the tsar is naturally very willing to participate.

And as far as Nicholas I was concerned, an unbreakable holy alliance was worthy of his trust in comparison with the Anglo-Saxons, whose interests were paramount, after all, it was in the best interests of his country.

Palmerston and the other Whitehall lords thought that Britain had never been in the situation it is today, but at this time the whole of the European continent seemed to be monolithic.

Even France, which did not profit much, did not dispute this distribution.

Not to mention the so-called allies, the Dutch, who did not regain all of their homeland this time, but the top of the government unanimously regarded it as a big victory.

(Dutch civilians were indifferent to the state and the war, and the army and officials were happy to loot the people when they took over the Flemish region.)

However, the large number of Catholics made the people very unhappy, and strongly demanded that the government expel these people who were competing with them for jobs. At that time, Dutch civilians naively thought that as long as there were fewer people, they would get more. ）

As for the German Confederation, which has many states, although it has always been a loose union, it is only in this matter that everyone bites very tightly. Moreover, thanks to the previous battles, Prussia's prestige has fallen to a low point at the moment, and it has confirmed the title of "the shame of the great powers".

(Before the military reform, the combat effectiveness of the Prussian army was limited.) ）

On the other hand, its competitor won the entire territory of Belgium in just one week, and defeated the "main force" of the French army in one day, and the record can be described as brilliant.

At this time, Austria's prestige was in full swing, and Palmerston knew very well that the whole game was laid by the old fox of Metternich, waiting for Britain to drill into it.

"Why are you carving up innocent Belgium!? You bandits."

The domineering diplomat's incendiary questioning was interrupted before he could begin his gaze, and he looked at the representative of the German Confederation, while Prince Metternich looked unmoved.

This also has to start after the liberation of the whole territory of Luxembourg, those small states also have their own calculations, after all, the economic strength of the place is not weak.

Although the Netherlands was still its nominal suzerainty, anyone with a discerning eye could see that it was in name only, and that the future incorporation of Luxembourg into one country would have a major impact on the situation of the German Confederation.

As a result, the states wanted to show themselves, to make their brothers in Luxembourg realize the benefits of joining the Confederacy, and to pave the way for future plans.

Prussia, Saxony, Bavaria, Hanover, and other powerful states almost fought for the unequal distribution of the spoils; At this time, the European prime minister, who had been on the sidelines since the beginning of the meeting, took the initiative to propose that the list of participants in the final signatories be determined by drawing lots.

In the end, this right actually fell into the hands of the Kingdom of Hanover, and the German Confederation was actually very dissatisfied with the results of this draw.

Since 1714, when George the Elector of Hanover came to power, Hanover has been in a confederation with Great Britain and Ireland for more than 100 years.

Although after the death of King William IV in 1837, the British throne passed to Victoria, Lord of Kent, a niece who was closely related.

Due to the implementation of the Continental Sally Law in Germany, which forbade women to inherit the throne, the throne of Hanover passed to her fifth uncle, the Duke of Cumberland, known as Ernst August I.

It seems that the separation is superficial, but the trade between Hanover and Britain has never been severed over the years, and even the former has refused to join the German Customs Union.

Whether the Hanoverians were reliable or not was not confirmed within the Confederacy. And on such an important occasion, it was a blind man who wanted to sign, which made the representatives of the German states even more angry.

(Georg Friedrich Alexander Karl Ernst August, now Crown Prince of Hanover, later Georg V, the famous blind king of Hanover)

Georg spent his childhood in Berlin and England. When he was a child, he lost vision in one eye due to illness; After an accident in 1833, he lost his other eye and became a veritable blind man.

Will an invisible prince be able to rule a kingdom in the future?

This was a question that Georg and his surroundings were most likely to rethink, but his father, Ernst August I, insisted on establishing him as his heir and a great king in the future.

Historically, Georg V sent troops to defeat the Prussian army during the Austro-Prussian War and achieved partial victories on the battlefield, but failed to expand the results.

With the defeat of Austria, Hanover had to surrender, and Georg V had to go into exile and die in his homeland.

To get back to the point, in the venue at this moment, the "blind" crown prince spoke amazingly.

"The Belgian land was originally taken from another country, and now it is only returned to its rightful owner. Speaking of robbers, I've heard that Lord Palmerston was in this business from your ancestors, haven't you? ”

Although Georg's above words are true, they are indeed hurtful, which is equivalent to directly eliminating the legitimacy of the Kingdom of Belgium, and at the same time drawing a line with Britain, a long-time ally.

Palmerston was not angry, for he had no hope of the peace conference; Because every country seems to have a share of the benefits, even Prussia, which made a big fool of itself this time.

Luxembourg shares a direct border with it, and with a long-term Prussian garrison, the possibility of future annexation or joining the Prussian side is very high, which undoubtedly strengthens the Prussians.

The benefits of Imperial Russia were the simplest, but they were more affordable. Ten million florins may not be eye-catching to other countries, but it is a long-lost rain for the impoverished woolly bear.

The three sides were also very satisfied with this, and if the threat of war at this time was to have the opposite effect, so that the three countries would form an offensive and defensive alliance with the same hatred

But Palmerston was one of the most powerful diplomats of the nineteenth century, and he understood that "there are no eternal friends and no eternal enemies, only eternal interests."

Believing that time would change everything, he made a brief statement at the end of the peace conference

"The British Empire's refusal to sign this treaty will prove to be a mistake today."

This was a nail planted by Palmerston, and a curse on the peace conference, believing that interests would lead to different changes and that the Luxembourg Accord would one day be broken by those who made it.

(End of chapter)