January 11, 1862, at exactly 18:00.
Kingdom of Prussia, Berlin, Prime Minister's Residence.
Otto von Bismarck just took the position of Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Prussia last month. He was originally planning a series of actions to be prepared by the Kingdom of Prussia. Mao Qi and the Army Minister of Military Affairs (Army Logistics Minister) von Byrne held a secret meeting. For this plan, several giants of the Kingdom of Prussia are racking their brains, and they must be prepared to hit the target. At the same time, they can also The follow-up plans are connected one after another, so as to establish the future status of Prussia in one fell swoop.
Let Prussia truly join the game of European hegemony. Even if the plan is completed, the Kingdom of Prussia is a latecomer among these great powers, but Bismarck and several others believe that the latecomer will come back to the Kingdom of Prussia.
After the meeting was over, it was already 17:00 in the afternoon, so exhausted and exhausted, I finally returned to the Prime Minister's Office in a carriage before 18:00.
But what made him a little unhappy was that at this time, someone disturbed the rest time he was going to use to recover his energy.
An uninvited guest came to visit.
For a diplomat who was unwilling to stand by as the balance of power in Europe was destroyed, this visit made Bismarck's soul shift from prime minister back to the body of foreign minister.
The visitor was Nicholas Pearson, the ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Kingdom of Prussia, a diplomat who was 20 years younger than Bismarck, and is now only 27 years old.
Originally thought that the other party was here to ask for a meeting to discuss the relationship between the two countries, but he didn't want to,
Pearson came to Bismarck "for advice on foreign affairs."
After the chat, the young Pearson talked without any scruples: "The day I was born was April Fool's Day, which means that the day when a lie could not be held responsible, now everyone in this world turns a blind eye to the behavior of deceiving the world, and I just happened to have it again. Chose the profession of diplomacy.
Some people say that in diplomatic occasions, those who don't talk are gold, those who talk less are silver, and those who talk more are rubbish.
But the famous French Empire diplomat Talleyrand also said that the function of the tongue for people is to conceal our own thoughts. I heard that he can speak for four hours without interruption, with clear logic and distinct layers. In the end, people found that he didn't seem to say anything. In order to master the mysterious diplomatic knowledge, dear Prime Minister, and my most respected diplomatic predecessor, His Excellency Bismarck, can you teach me, a student, in this regard? "
"It's amazing!" Bismarck secretly said that the young diplomat in front of him was amazing. He never imagined that there would be such a person in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, so he took the big person as an example.
It seems that this kid will not be able to rule the world in the future, but at least he will be a traitor in troubled times. The Kingdom of the Netherlands has such a talent, and he is lucky. "
Bismarck was originally dissatisfied with being interrupted, but the topic of the young diplomatic envoy in front of him led to the relapse of his diplomatic occupational disease. He immediately regained his energy and rejected the idea of sending the other party away after preparing a few or two sentences.
How to answer this question?
There is no need for Bismarck to think about it, because the characteristics and inertia of his profession have already made him able to speak without hesitation.
"What is diplomacy? Mr. Pearson, I can't explain your question. If diplomacy is a science, I have never heard of a special institution studying it. If diplomacy is an art, right? Then master it. The muse will never come out to protect the person who is in the arts, saying that diplomacy is deceit, which is blasphemy, but among the gentlemen in our line, there are indeed many charlatans."
"That's an excellent answer!" Nicholas Pearson applauded admiringly, and he was indeed an old fox in the diplomatic world, "As expected, he is our senior, I think, even the Viscount Palmerston of the British Empire is no better than that. that is it".
Although Bismarck has cultivated his heart for many years to the point of perfection, but now he is so praised by the young diplomat who has just won his high evaluation and is optimistic, even if he has hidden his vanity for a long time, he can't help it.
Viscount Palmerston!
Henry John Putard, that is the Prime Minister of the British Empire. How many people in the diplomatic field are most respected and admired by him in the world?
Bismarck, whose eyes were too high, admired only one and a half people, half of whom were Austrian Prime Minister Clemens Brunel von Metternich, who died in 1859.
Metternich became Austrian ambassador to Saxony, Prussia and France after 1801, and foreign minister of the Austrian Empire after 1809.
During this period, he presided over the Holy Alliance Austria, Britain, Tsarist Russia, Sweden, and the German Confederation, etc. to form an alliance to defeat Napoleon I, and in 1815, he presided over the division of the European pattern after defeating Napoleon I on behalf of Europe. The Vienna Conference was held in Vienna, the capital of Austria.
It is the first time in modern history that thousands of politicians from various European countries have gathered in Vienna, and the meeting has been held for half a year.
In 1821, in addition to the post of Foreign Minister, he also served as Chancellor of the Austrian Empire.
During his tenure, he became the core figure of the "Holy Alliance" and the Anglo-Russian Opp, and personally promoted the establishment of the four major powers and ushered in the era of great powers controlling Europe.
He opposed all nationalism, liberalism and gaming movements, and formed a Metternich system (also known as the Vienna system) with "orthodoxism" and "balance of power among the great powers" in various countries, which lasted for more than 30 years. It was not until the 1853-1856 Czarist Empire and Britain fought in the Crimean War that the Four-Power Alliance and the Vienna system's **** of Europe collapsed.
At this time, Metternich had already retired from politics in 1851, and he did not appear in public until his death in 1859.
Bismarck has always regarded Metternich as an idol-level existence, especially his balance of power diplomacy, which has always been the object of Bismarck's imitation.
In fact, he is doing the same with Prussia now.
Befriend Tsarist Russia, especially Princess Charlotte, the sister of William I, who was the mother of Alexander II when she was the Empress Dowager of Tsarist Russia;
At the same time ease the relationship with the Austrian Empire, allowing the two countries to start a battle for the dominance of the German Confederation within the framework of the German Confederation;
To hide his strength from France, let Napoleon III lower his vigilance and paralyze the opponent.
Prussia has gone through this, minimizing the threat of the Kingdom of Prussia in the eyes of other countries, and allowing other countries to engage in internal conflict.
At the same time, Prince Frederick married the daughter of Queen Victoria of England, and in 1858 married her eldest princess, Princess Victoria.
The Prussian-British marriage consolidated Prussia's power over other countries.
Therefore, the Kingdom of Prussia has a very stable position among the major powers, which makes it difficult to ignore, but also feels that it is a country that is difficult to pose a threat.
This is balance of power diplomacy, but his balance of power diplomacy is more selfish, that is, it is a balance of power relative to the Kingdom of Prussia, not the entire continent, and even the United Kingdom is counted by him, not the Metternich period. When the Vienna system was established, it was taken advantage of by the British.
and many more!
Bismarck looked at Pearson with understanding. It was at that time that the United Kingdom advocated for Belgium to be allocated to the Netherlands. At the same time, it obtained overseas territories such as Ceylon and the Cape of Good Hope from the Netherlands. Now Belgium seceded in 1830. The Kingdom of the Netherlands was established with the support of the United Kingdom, and Leopold I, the uncle of Queen Victoria, was the King of Belgium.
For the Netherlands, this is tantamount to being slapped very loudly.
He didn't believe that the people in the Netherlands would be indifferent, nor that the Orange-Nassau royal family would let go gently.
As for the young diplomat in front of him, the arrival of this time will allow Bismarck to find some context.
Sure enough, he is young. He is not like the former King William I, and he is not as irrelevant as William II. He does not want to choose to avoid difficulties like William III. The new king of the Netherlands, William IV, is obviously not ready to compromise easily. what.
After making calculations, Bismarck has a judgment.
And when Bismarck had an idea, Nicholas Pearson was also thinking.
His Majesty William IV once told him that balance of power diplomacy is a big question and is prevalent among top European diplomats.
It is also a diplomatic method adopted by a major power in order to seek hegemony. Balance of power is an objective reflection of the comparative advantage of one side in the power balance between opposing powers or groups. UUkanshu www.uukanshu.com Balance of power diplomacy is capitalist The institutional product is the result of the gradual formation from the foundations of European democracies competing for continental and maritime hegemony in the 16th century.
The first to implement balance of power diplomacy was the British Empire. In the early 16th century, British Prime Minister Wolsey supported Spain to fight against France, but when Spain gained the upper hand in dominating Europe, the British Empire turned to support the French Empire. In this way, It is possible to let the war have the advantages of the two countries in turn, and the British Empire will sit and watch as they exhaust their national strength.
In the 18th century, France was also eager to use balance of power diplomacy in the four wars between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
In this century, the figures who implemented balance-of-power diplomacy were Metternich of Austria and Bismarck of Prussia. Metternich took a strong Central Europe as a pillar, united the British Empire to unite Prussia, and was at a distance from Tsarist Russia. Its goal was to establish Austria's presence in Central Europe. Hegemony has the core position of Austria's top four status in the decades before and after the Vienna system.
Bismarck now inherits Metternich's clothes and is also practicing balance of power diplomacy. In order to isolate France and prevent possible two wars, Bismarck's balance of power structure has assembled an alliance of Prussia, Tsarist Russia, and Austria. Balance of power diplomacy can only be used. It is the great power that is used for the strong, and the effect and the weak are often the bargaining chips for the powers to seek military affairs. Bismarck's diplomatic balance construction has ulterior motives. As His Majesty said, the goal that the Kingdom of Prussia will take a fancy to is its own. Northern Denmark.
And the purpose of his arrival this time is to develop the benefits that the Netherlands is asking for. Of course, the price to pay will not be 'too high'.