War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

Vienna, Council.

Since Emperor Ferdinand I was unable to attend, the Council of Regents acted on his behalf. In fact, even if Ferdinand I was present, his order still needed the signature of the Regent Council to take effect.

"Count Latour, I think you should be able to withdraw the temporary garrison in Transylvania to their original garrison." Count Korolaf has not forgotten his promise to Palmerston. After all, honesty and trustworthiness are key. The noble qualities that a noble should have.

Count Tural was heartened by the bloodshed in Budapest, but regretted that the Austrian military was not directly involved.

Now that the bloody conflict has been resolved, there is no reason to station troops in Transylvania. As for the Russians and Ottomans on the other side of the mountain, he is not worried at all.

After all, Transylvania is not Rome, Russia is not Carthage, and they do not have a general like Hannibal. Even if they did, what was the point of a surprise attack on Transylvania?

Are you waiting to be caught in the trap by the Austrian Empire’s army? After all, it is easy to turn it over, but it is not so easy to turn it back again.

The military's suggestion to seize the two principalities on the Danube was strongly rejected by Count Metternich and Count Korolaf. Both believed that the military's behavior was tantamount to self-destruction.

Moreover, on the opposite side of the Carpathian Mountains, the Russian and Ottoman armies are already ready, and there is no value in continuing to station troops here.

"The situation in Hungary has stabilized, and the military has agreed to withdraw. But I want to remind you that the Ottomans are at their weakest in hundreds of years, and now is a good time to defeat it. The barbaric Russians, once they inherit the Ottomans The legacy will seriously threaten the eastern frontier of the empire." Count Latour said plausibly.

Count Korolav feels that a strong Russia is a good thing. After all, only under a strong threat can the weak vassal states of the German Confederation understand the world situation and realize who is their real protector.

Prince Metternich believed that uniting Russia was an indispensable condition for the Austrian Empire to maintain its status as a great power. Moreover, it was not easy for Russia to swallow the Ottoman legacy.

There are a large number of mountains and rivers blocking Austria and Russia. As long as a few key fortresses are captured, Russia can be prevented from advancing westward.

What's more, according to the instructions of Peter's edict, after the Russians obtained a warm outlet to the sea, they should compete with the British for India. At that time, the Austrian Empire will be free to deal with France with all its strength.

The most important thing now is to find a way to win Serbia, solve Austria's worries, and make every effort to digest Italy.

"Count Tural, I think you can withdraw the army to Novi Sad. After all, the fortress is in disrepair and it's time for someone to take care of it."

The upright Count Tural did not understand the meaning of Count Metternich's words and shouted.

"Your Majesty Prime Minister, my soldiers are not decoration workers. If you want to repair the fortress, you should look for maintenance workers, not the army."

Count Korolaf was used to this kind of chicken-and-duck talk, so he changed his words.

"Count Tural, the Prime Minister hopes that you can station the army in Novi Sad to prevent the Ottomans from causing friction on the border."

"They dare! Damn heretics! Even though they have 350,000 troops, our Austrian Empire only needs 300,000 troops to recover Constantinople!" Count Tural's mood immediately rose. As long as he was fighting against the Ottomans, He supports all actions.

Metternich advocated stationing troops in Novi Sad, not to attack Serbia directly, but to allow Russia to take the initiative to negotiate with him. At the same time, stationing troops in Novi Sad also meant to wait for an opportunity. Once the scale of the war expanded, it exceeded all parties. expectations, then Austria can find any reason to attack Serbia.

"Gentlemen, although some states in Italy are ruled by members of the royal family, their expansion has affected the interests of the Austrian Empire. Especially Duchess Marisa, who borrowed heavily in the name of the empire and blatantly embezzled national property."

Before Metternich finished speaking, he was interrupted by Count Korolaf.

"The Duchess has made many sacrifices for this empire, and we can no longer criticize her. I suggest that Baron Oaker and those Parma officials who bewitched the Duchess be severely punished, and a group of honest and reliable people from the Austrian Empire be selected to be sent to Parma. , and at the same time draw a clear line between debts.”

Count Korolaf's words were affirmed by the two royal princes. Of course, they just nodded and did not take any substantive action.

However, at this time, Duchess Marisa had long lost her value in Metternich's eyes, and now she had become an obstacle to Italy in the rule of the Austrian Empire.

The small states in Central Italy have lost their value, and now the Austrian Empire needs to integrate Central Italy into Northern Italy in order to maximize its value.

Although these small countries do not have much strength to compete with the powerful Austria, the rulers of these small countries are inextricably linked to the royal family.

If it is done too radically, it will inevitably arouse the dissatisfaction of the royal family, and the Regency Council will not allow such an order to pass.

For this reason, Prince Metternich had to find a way to prove to the Regency Council that the fragmented status quo of China and Italy was no longer in the interest of the empire.

In fact, this was what he mentioned when he was teaching Archduke Franz.

Prince Metternich praised joining the German Zollverein as the greatest decision in Emperor Franz II's life.

Archduke Franz asked why Austria could not form another Italian Customs Union?

"Archduke Franz, you are very smart. But think about why your grandfather, the great Emperor Franz II, didn't do this?"

Prince Metternich said to himself.

"The politics between countries are not isolated. France, which has competed with the Austrian Empire for Italy for hundreds of years, has not given up its ambitions for Italy. The Bourbon dynasty from France is even ruling the land at the southern tip of Italy, and Sardinia The kingdom also clung to France.

The British would not want a powerful country to dominate Italy, which would destroy their so-called balance of power. "

Prince Metternich cleared his throat and continued.

"Let's see what your grandfather did. The Austrian Empire opened three ports and six towns to the Central and Italian states, allowing free trade from the Central and Italian states to Austria, and only charged a nominal fee. tariffs. At the same time, it is planned to build a railway connecting the entire China and Italy."

Franz took out a thick stack of documents and placed them on the table.

"But what's the result? What benefits does this kind of unilateral tribute trade have to the Austrian Empire? While it has a trade deficit, the trade volume is less than 3% of the German Customs Union, and it makes almost no contribution to tax collection.

All the money earned by the countries of China and Italy flowed into the hands of these corrupt officials. They used it to buy French and British goods, which in the end benefited our enemies.

In the past five years, the Austrian Empire has built countless railways, but the Sino-Italian Railway still only exists on sketches. Doesn’t such low efficiency explain the problem? "