War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

The Fortress of Verona is located on the Addio River south of the city and includes an entire fortress complex, an artificial moat, and a bridge.

The fortress is surrounded by the Addio River on three sides and can only be attacked from the southwest. It is a typical classical fortress.

The advantage of this kind of fortress is that it has only one entrance and exit. As long as the entrance is blocked, the enemy will not be able to get in. The disadvantage is that there is only one exit, so the enemy will not be able to get out as long as the entrance is blocked.

In fact, the so-called Four Corner Fortresses have this problem to a greater or lesser extent. Among them, Peschiera Fortress, the only one with two entrances and exits, was also the only fortress that was captured by the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

(Four Corners: Verona, Mantua, Peschiera and Legnago.)

As the most important stronghold of the Austrian Empire in northern Italy, Verona is not lightly defended, but in recent years the empire's money has been mainly spent on economy, scientific research and infrastructure.

The defense facilities of the Verona Fortress have lagged behind the times, but although they are old, they do not feel dilapidated. There is no doubt that someone is carefully maintaining them.

"It's very beautiful! This is the best fortress in Northern Italy! But if possible, I hope it will remain abandoned."

The person who spoke was a tall, energetic, and kind-faced old general. He was the highest military commander in Northern Italy, Marshal Radetzki.

Standing next to him was a young man with extraordinary bearing, and the young man's drunken father.

Franz could naturally hear the worry in the old marshal's heart, but what was coming would always come and there was no way to avoid it.

Franz: "Marshal, have you heard anything?"

"People's lives are so happy that they have forgotten the pain of war. The empire's tolerant policy has also increased the ambitions of some people. They feel that this country is weak and can be bullied.

And the most important point is that since you have decided to repair this fortress that has been neglected for decades, it is enough to prove that the imperial center knows the situation here better than we do. "

Historically, it was in a semi-abandoned state after 1809.

As expected, people become better with age, and it is obviously their own judgment, and they also need to bring the "Imperial Center" with them.

In fact, the old marshal knew the situation in Northern Italy better than the people in the Regency Council. It had been far away from the war for too long. After the external conflicts were downgraded, the internal conflicts became the main contradiction.

Although the tariffs in Northern Italy and Neletania have been abolished after a series of reforms at this time, there are still many historical problems plaguing this region. In addition, with Hungary as a negative example, people think It's impossible without extra thoughts.

"This is not what the Regent Council meant, it was my idea."

Franz simply showed his cards directly. He didn't feel the need to hide anything.

The old marshal still looked a little in disbelief. Although he had heard from his old boss, Archduke Karl, that Franz was not an ordinary brat, he still couldn't believe his ears.

After all, the cost of infrastructure renovation on such a large area is astronomical. Even if the country pays for it, it still needs to be paid in installments. However, the young man in front of him said it was his own wish... What does this mean? !

"What do you mean? But where does the money come from?"

"Let them come out on their own."

Franz smiled and told all about how he deceived these speculators and investment businessmen.

Radetzky found it unbelievable, but when he thought about it carefully, it seemed reasonable. Everything in this country was originally developing for the better.

Coupled with the Habsburg family's reputation and the behemoth Austrian Empire as a guarantee, the money seemed really not worth mentioning.

Of course, in this world, it seems that this kind of thing can only happen in the Austrian Empire, and indeed it can only be done by Archduke Franz. After all, he is most likely to be the future emperor.

"Archduke Franz, this is really a genius idea, but what if there is no unrest in the country within five years? And it is more beneficial than the uprising in Italy. Hungary is the real problem."

Radetzky expressed his concern that if large-scale unrest did not occur within five years, Franz would have to pay a huge sum.

And what if after the unrest breaks out in Hungary, the Italians shrink back because the situation is not right?

"Don't worry, the economy of the Austrian Empire will reach a new level in five years. It won't be a problem to pay back the money by then."

Franz couldn't tell the other party that he was a time traveler. Three years later, not only Austria but the whole of Europe would be bombed, so those people must not return the money.

Fortunately, the changes in the Austrian Empire over the years have been obvious to all, and Marshal Radetzki knows that some of the pensions that should have been paid during the Holy Roman Empire have been paid.

Moreover, the army has replaced equipment three times on a large scale in the past eight years, and has never been in arrears with military pay in the past five years. The reason why the soldiers in Milan were so brave before was that they knew that "advancing will be rewarded, retreating will be punished, and injury will be punished." If you have medical treatment, you can die with comfort."

In fact, it also has something to do with the commander's reputation and style. Although Radetzky was "romantic", he always owed debts in his own name and never deducted the military pay of his subordinates.

In addition, Radetzky's style allowed Franz to redefine the term "romantic". The 79-year-old marshal found a 46-year-old Italian aunt as his lover.

This Italian aunt named Meirejiali was a poor person. She married two husbands and both died unexpectedly. Her only son died in pain due to dysentery.

From then on, she was considered an unlucky person, and the people in the village drove her to live outside the village.

Marshal Radetzky, who had just arrived in Lombardy to take up his post, happened to lead his troops through her village. Not wanting to disturb the people and wrong himself, the old marshal stayed overnight in a dilapidated house at the end of the village.

As a result, the two met again. Although the old marshal owed a lot of debt, he was still very generous to women.

Naturally, there were many empty rooms for a woman living alone, so she agreed to the old marshal's request to stay overnight. At that time, the landlord usually had to take care of the food, so Radetzky naturally didn't want to eat the cake.

So the woman made some pumpkin balls with the only pumpkin and oil at home. After eating, the old marshal was very satisfied and found that the people in the village didn't seem to respect the woman in front of him.

At that time, Merejiali was visibly depressed, with unkempt hair, ragged clothes with countless patches, and a dirty apron. The house at home looked like an abandoned hunting lodge, with only some salvaged items in the kitchen. scattered vegetable leaves and oddly shaped pumpkins.

Marshal Radetzky had seen so many things in his life that he quickly understood what women were going through.

It happened that he didn't know this land yet and there was no one around him to take care of it, so he said to the woman.

"Ma'am, will you take care of me, an old man?"

"willing."

Then Melekali became Radetzky's nanny. Although the latter was over seventy years old, his humor was not inferior to that of the young people, and he was a true nobleman and a true gentleman.

Meregalli is a virtuous woman with the unique enthusiasm and simplicity of the Italians. She is no longer discriminated against in the military and regarded as an "ominous" existence.

Like Fantine in Les Misérables , after being cleansed and fed, Merecallie becomes "plump" and "charming."

Then she regained her second youth, and soon fell in love with the old marshal. It's just that the worldly view scares her. Fortunately, Marshal Radetzki is an informal person.

When their contract expired, the old marshal found a woman again.

"Madam, will you continue to take care of me, an old man?"

"I do, my lord."

"This is a long-term contract!"

"how long?"

"lifetime!"