The establishment of the North German Empire provoked a storm of public opinion across Europe, and within the ranks of German nationalist partisans, a stark polarization emerged.
Optimists believed this was a further step towards the unification of the German Region, signifying a transition from a three-way split to a duel of titans, with true unification being only one step away.
Pessimists, on the other hand, saw this as the beginning of a disaster: with the amalgamation of Prussia and Germany, their combined strength had grown even greater, and due to the interference of the European powers, unification had become an "illusory flower reflected in the mirror, a moon's reflection on the water," visible but untouchable.
In an effort to calm the troubled hearts of the populace, Franz personally sent a congratulatory telegram to George I and casually penned an article titled "The Road to Unification."
