Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Chapter 651: Chapter 560: Equivalent Exchange

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“If we could exchange Legnica for Gdansk,” Manken glanced at his King, “I believe, strategically, it would be completely acceptable.”

“Gdansk?” William II stopped in his tracks, raising his voice, “That is originally mine. The British are actually asking me to use my own property to exchange for Legnica!”

Gdansk, also known as Danze, although currently a territory of Poland, was difficult for Poland to govern effectively given its strength, as it was an exclave separated by Prussia.

Under the alliance signed between Prussia and Poland, the area was essentially managed by Prussia. Of course, the port’s revenues were largely taken by Poland.

As a knock on the door sounded, Prince Henry stepped in—as a pillar of Prussia, he could almost come and go as he pleased in Sanssouci Palace.

He gave a quick salute to William II and immediately said, “Your Majesty, what we’d be exchanging Legnica for is not Gdansk, but the legal legitimacy.

“Although we now have managerial rights over Gdansk, it is because Poland is in chaos. If their strength is restored, we will soon lose it.

“To truly secure Gdansk, as the British say, probably requires a war.”

William II fell silent at once. His uncle had analyzed the situation in the east multiple times before, so he knew that if he were tied down by the conflict in Silesia, he’d never be able to initiate the war he needed—

The war against Poland.

“Why didn’t the Austrians concede…”

He had barely spoken when he was interrupted by Prince Henry, “Your Majesty, I am here to report that the British envoy just received instructions from Congress, deciding to provide us with 500,000 British Pounds in aid to help us make the necessary preparations for war, in exchange for our concessions.”

“500,000 pounds in loans…”

William II suddenly paused, looking at Prince Henry, “Did you say ‘aid,’ not ‘loan’?”

The latter nodded, “Yes, Your Majesty, it’s aid. Half of it in military supplies, and the other half in cash.”

William II’s face immediately brightened. A loan would need to be repaid, but aid was a gift!

Given Prussia’s current financial situation, this money was a godsend.

He suddenly felt that the British might not be much worse than Peter III.

Prince Henry continued, “Your Majesty, we can use this money for military reforms, and in the subsequent wars, besides Gdansk, we will also be able to obtain more territory.

“For instance, the vast south bank of the Vistula River. This would yield far greater profits than Legnica.”

Manken timely added, “Your Majesty, after we expand our military capabilities, we could even wash away the humiliation suffered in Southern Netherlands.”

He was naturally referring to Blucher being defeated by the French Army, being chased from Liege to Namur.

Finally, William II nodded emphatically and said to Prince Henry, “Please inform the British envoy that I will summon him tomorrow.”

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During the reign of Leopold I (1640—1705) of the Roman Empire, the rule of the Habsburg Family still featured dual governance by the monarch and the nobility, with the nobility holding considerable political power and many privileges. His second son, Charlie VI, began to consolidate monarchical power, steering towards a modern absolutist autocracy. Charlie VI’s daughter, Maria Theresa, and her son, Emperor Joseph II, through a series of reforms, established a strong centralized modern state. The dual governance of monarch and nobility gave way to absolute monarchy. The powers and privileges of the nobility were significantly curtailed. Henceforth, central government taxation no longer required the approval of the nobility; administrative agencies and professional bureaucrats, obedient to the monarch, penetrated from the central to local levels, gradually eroding the ruling power of the noble landlords; the separation of the judicial and executive branches stripped the nobility of their judicial power; the codification of criminal and civil law led to a gradual unification and centralization of state power in the Viennese court; reforms in taxation and finance further reduced the nobility’s rights; Joseph II refused to convene the local parliament of Bohemia and dissolved its executive bodies, thus eradicating the last remnants of nobility’s parallel rule with the monarchy. Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz-Rietberg, a prominent minister during the enlightened absolutist era in Austria (1711—1794) once told Empress Maria Theresa, “I cannot agree to elevate the nobility again. I am myself a Bohemian noble and landlord. But my duty to Your Majesty outweighs my class’s interests. I must admit before God and Your Majesty that if the nobility’s rule is restored, it would completely end the hope and reform of the country, and the supreme power of the state would suffer severe damage.” [3] Absolutist monarchs and their representatives of centralized power and modernized state gradually replaced the feudal political systems. In this process, the nobility lost much but quickly found their new place. They actively took part in building the modern state, serving as administrative officials, serving the monarch, and obtaining material benefits and resources far surpassing those of the feudal era from stronger and richer modern states. Similar processes occurred in Prussia and other German states.

During the era of enlightened absolutism in Austria, Count Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz-Rietberg, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s “December Constitution” of 1867, proclaimed that everyone should be equal before the law. In 1907, universal male suffrage for the lower house of parliament was implemented. However, up until 1918, the nobility still enjoyed superior social status and many privileges. From 1861 to 1918, the Upper House of the Austrian Parliament (Noble House), aside from the royal family and church leaders, had 106 noble families with hereditary seats. These 106 families were often referred to as the “High Nobility” (Hochadel), although this term generally only referred to princes who had or had had sovereignty within the framework of the Holy Roman Empire, and included some counts and barons who had never held sovereignty. The Kingdom of Hungary had its own Noble House in Budapest, unrelated to these 106 families. The extent of participation in politics by members of the Noble House varied, with some never attending meetings. From 1907 onwards, members of the Noble House could also stand for election to the Lower House. The Emperor sometimes elevated commoners or those who had risen from the bourgeois to the nobility to the Noble House.

Nobility obtained before around 1400 were known as original nobility (Uradel). Those who acquired nobility through imperial/royal decrees thereafter were known as charter nobility (Briefadel). A common term used in Austria and Hungary, “old nobility” (Alter Adel), included both original nobility and some early charter nobility.