January 14, 1864.

Recently, Ernst began to become more restrained, because Prince Constantine was coming to Berlin.

Prince Konstantin came to Berlin from Heichengen on business, and Konstantin rarely left the country, and every time he left, there was basically something big to happen.

Ernst was busy with the great cause of industrial expansion every day, going back and forth between the factory and the school, and the study tour that he had promised at the beginning became a permanent residence in Berlin, so he was still a little weak and lacked confidence.

Of course, Ernst knew that these "little things" were not worthy of Konstantin coming to Berlin personally, and must be important military affairs.

Prince Constantine was in Prussia equal in status to princes, and although the Hexingen Princely State was annexed to Prussia, his status was retained.

The Heixingen family basically had the traditional rank of field marshal, and Konstantin also held the false post of marshal and served in the General Staff.

This visit to Berlin is probably also to participate in the discussion of major events and prepare for the war.

Ernst's grandfather fought in the war against Napoleon. Of course, at that time, Heshingen entered the war as one of the many states of Germany, and was previously a member of the Rhine Confederation, a puppet regime supported by Napoleon.

Seeing that the European anti-French alliance was strong, Frederick, Marquis of Heixingen, jumped back in time and joined the victors' camp.

Later, after the war, Marquis Frederick turned to education and devoted himself to education, where he remained until his death.

Konstantin and Prince Karl, the spokesman of Sigmaringen, later joined Prussia after a joint resolution, after all, they were both members of the Hohenzollern family, and naturally there was no objection to Prussia's "call" to unify Germany.

If it succeeds, it will be considered a hero of the empire in the future, and if it fails, the worst is to maintain the status of a vassal state.

Both were members of the Hohenzollern family, and in Europe, a place where blood origins were valued, the natural interests of the two branches brought the two branches closer to the growing Prussian mainline.

The province of New Hohenzollern, where Heichengen is located, is located in the southwest of Germany, where there are many princes, with Bavaria to the east, Bavaria to the east, France to the west, and Baden and Württemberg on all sides.

As the birthplace of the Hohenzollern family, it was an important military fortress in itself, and it was still inserted in the South German region where Prussia had a weak influence, and Prussia attached great importance to the Hohenzollern province.

As far as Ernst himself is concerned, the future war between Prussia and Austria will have no impact on his own family, Hexingen is surrounded by Württemberg on three sides, and the Duchy of Baden on one side, and the main battlefield is Bohemia, which borders Prussia and the Austrian Empire.

The Franco-Prussian War that followed, without accident, was mainly in France, and it basically suffered no losses in a series of wars of German unification.

Before Ernst's founding, the Heixing roots were a traditional combination of military landlords, and the main industries were agricultural rents and real estate income in various places, as well as the salaries of Prince Constantine in the army, and even if there was a war, there was no threat to any important industry.

Moreover, Ernst's own factories were in Berlin, and Berlin could not have fallen as long as it had not been a world war.

As for the future, moving the industry to safety before the outbreak of the First World War will not affect it, and the great changes in the world will not affect the wealth of Hohenzollern, which is rooted in the Black Generation.

As for the big talk of saving Germany, Ernst said that he couldn't afford to play, Europe was so rolled, and there were many capable people.

If you want to play in Europe, you must have top-level resources and IQ, and a small place like Heixingen cannot afford to play, and small countries like Bavaria and Belgium that have a certain influence and volume in the European continent only get the ticket.

Only by attaching himself to Prussia could Heixingen make a big profit and accumulate capital in the future.

Ernst pondered historical events, and now it was likely that the Prussian-Danish War (the Second Schleswig War) was approaching, and he wanted to speed up the construction of tobacco and lighter factories.

The army is a big consumer of tobacco, not to mention the lighter, a holy weapon of war, thinking about the matches that are now popular, Ernst feels that kerosene lighters are still very marketable.

It is necessary to ensure the mass production of these two things before the start of the war, and then accelerate the acceptance of the civilian market through the natural platform of war.

These soldiers come from all over the country, and when they return to their hometowns, they are natural propagandists.

While Ernst was still planning, Konstantin had already returned from the palace.

The place where Ernst lived in Berlin was actually the ancestral property of the family, and after the rise of the Hohenzollern family in Brandenburg, the Heshing roots bought a manor house in Berlin as a liaison office. It is also a hundred years old.

Konstantin would stay here every time he came to Berlin, and Konstantin's carriage was parked in the courtyard, and the Keno butler urged the coachman to pull the carriage away.

"Ernst!" Konstantin greeted Ernst's name affectionately.

"Father, why did you come to Berlin, did something big happen?" Although Ernst knew in his heart that his father had probably come to Berlin for the purpose of the Danish war, he still pretended to be suspicious.

"Well, there are some things that came to Berlin to contact the royal family, and of course to stop by to see my son's career." Konstantin said happily.

Ernst felt a little ashamed that he had been busy with business in Berlin and had not gone back to see his old father, although he had been communicating by letter, but he had been out for almost a year, but he had only returned once last Christmas.

"Father, I will accompany you more in the future, I am a little carried away by caring too much about business." Ernst said to Konstantin.

"Okay, what do I have to do with someone by my side? I'm here to come to Berlin because something big is going to happen, so you don't have to think about it. Konstantin stroked Ernst's head and continued: "You really gave me some surprises, I didn't think that our family still has a talent for business, I am ready to invest in the water, hahaha......" Konstantin quipped.

"Father, is the kingdom preparing for war?" Ernst digressed the subject.

"Well, yes, but where did you hear that?" Konstantin asked solemnly.

This kind of thing is classified before the war, and it is not allowed to be sloppy, and Ernst is still a child, and the royal family will not take the initiative to tell him, so Konstantin asked cautiously.

"Father, you also know that the kingdom's army is an important customer for me, and recently they have begun to order new supplies in large quantities, and some factories around Berlin have also begun to work overtime to produce, which is obviously to prepare for the army."

Seeing Konstantin frowning, Ernst began to increase his persuasiveness again.

"Of course, some business owners have business dealings with us, so we can get some gossip. Moreover, the new prime minister of the kingdom is clearly not an ordinary role, and when he first ascended the prime minister's position, he threatened to solve the major problems of our time with iron and blood. Now, it is clear that force is going to be used to solve the country's troubles. ”

In a few words, Ernst said his "guess".

Konstantin looked at his son with satisfaction and said: "That's right, it seems that the Hohenzollern family has another master, hahaha......"

Laugh.

"The Kingdom is in contact with Austria to force the Danish government to abandon the two German states of Holstein and Schleswig, and the German Confederation has already sent troops to Holstein, and Prussia intends to promote the independence of the Duchy of Schleswig." Konstantin continued.

"At present, other countries on the mainland are waiting and seeing, and the countries that can really intervene are Britain, France and Austria, the Russians are still licking the wounds of the Crimean War, and the French do not dare to act rashly, so as to avoid the recurrence of the anti-French alliance and trigger a continental war, the British navy will have the strength to intervene at that time, but the British prefer to pull the Russians into the water, as for Austria, this time we will join the Austrian Empire to participate in safeguarding the interests of the German region."

Constantine was a gamble, with Wilhelm I and Bismarck using the intrigues of the great powers to strike a delicate international balance, while the Danes' draft constitution provoked the anger of the Germans and provided a pretext for the war.

If the national mood is properly applied, it will be possible to realize the iron and blood that Bismarck has always emphasized to determine the major problems of the contemporary world.

Bismarck could unite the many states and free cities in the German region by safeguarding the interests of the German region, and unite the forces of the German region with a general righteousness.

At least in the North German region, Bismarck could achieve the penetration of Prussian influence, preparing for the future unification of the German regions.