Chapter 154: Dismantling the Milk Bottle Army
Chapter 152 – Dissolution of the Milk Bottle Army
The torrent of history rolled forward, and after the end of the Pudan War, the situation in Europe also changed drastically, and reform became the mainstream of society as if overnight.
In addition to the Russians in the land of ice and snow are still doing what I do, most of the countries on the European continent are carrying out social reforms, Austria is reforming, France is reforming, Prussia is still reforming ……
Reform is good, everyone is busy with internal reforms, there will be no energy to mess things up, the situation in Europe has calmed down, as if it is back to the Metternich era.
Franz knows that this is all an illusion, the conflict has not disappeared, it is just lurking for the time being. With the hairy bear who is always ready to break the international order, and the John Bull who is only afraid of the sky, how can Europe be truly peaceful?
The Austrian government to speed up the pace of internal reorganization, today this official was warned and punished, tomorrow that official gray rolled home, and occasionally there is an unlucky person by the Anti-Corruption Agency sent to court.
After the decree to clean up the atmosphere of the officialdom was issued, the officials were not happy with the situation. Since March, dozens of officials have lost their jobs almost every day for various reasons, and one-tenth of them have been sent to court.
As far as Franz knew, this was still the government’s mercy, otherwise the number would easily expand tenfold. Perhaps it was because they felt that the sky was the limit, and the more remote the area, the bolder the bureaucrats became.
For example, in the province of Dalmatia, there was a mayor named Argues, who believed that Latin was the best language in the world and then promoted it for decades.
For this kind of bold official, the cabinet government is naturally not polite.
Just this one pitiful person directly made one-third of the officials in the province of Dalmatia go home to plant potatoes, and three hundred of these unlucky people accompanied him to prison.
In a fit of rage, Prime Minister Felix sent them all to the army of building railroads to contribute to the modernization of Austria.
Since it was to make an example of them, how could it be possible if it was not ruthless?
Not sentenced to death, not the Austrian government soft hands. Rather, it is a living and suffering antithesis, to be able to deter people in a longer period of time than directly sent to meet God.
Ordinary officials embezzlement and bribery, was caught most of the money is confiscated, and then depending on the severity of the circumstances and decide whether to go home, or will go to prison.
Any official who goes against the government’s orders, whether clean or not, must go to prison, or the kind of “key care of the Lord”.
Any identity background is useless this time, and individual typical characters, not one into the prison but the whole family to go together, the nobility can not be an exception.
Felix “butcher prime minister” of the prestige of the role, so that the bureaucrats are scared, even if the heart is very dissatisfied, but do not dare to make a move, for fear of attracting fire to burn themselves.
Not only is the government in a big move, the Austrian army is also in the rectification of military discipline, the Ministry of War has dismissed 12 generals, 361 school-level officers, the lower level of the small fish is cleaned up countless.
Most of these men have been driven home for malfeasance and mucking about, and a few have been court-martialed for corruption and bribery.
It must be said that the military nobility still pays attention to eating, probably for fear of being blackballed on the battlefield, the people who withhold military pay are still very few, and most of them are privately reselling military supplies or receiving kickbacks on purchases.
What is laughable is that many of the personal integrity of the corrupt no good generals, in the army’s reputation is still very good.
Unfortunately, these talents go to the wrong field, if it is in the government sector, there is still a possibility of being raised as a pig, to the army on their own bad luck, to find out a deal with a don’t want to be an exception.
The bottom of the officers and soldiers do not know, but the military hierarchy has perceived, the government is preparing for a big war.
Any individual or interest group that affects the fighting strength of the army is to be brought down.
Just take a look at the current training situation, one marshal and general all personally go to the training ground from time to time to supervise the training of officers and soldiers, and sometimes when they can’t look at it anymore, they even take a whip and whip people.
At the same time as rectifying the training of the troops, the military opened a professional quality training course for officers, specializing in the training of officers, and many of the noble officers who are mixed up in the world are often served with military sticks and whips.
In the evening, Prague outside a barracks, by the training of exhausted noble officers, breathless back to the collective dormitory to rest.
Gernia asked, “Casamen, you’re always well-informed, do you know when this special training will end?”
“Isn’t that nonsense, Gernia. If I knew the news in advance, I would have already found a way to bolt, and I would still be suffering with you here.” Casamen replied breathlessly
“No way, isn’t your uncle in the command, hasn’t there been any news at all?” Gernia asked suspiciously
“Yes, he told me I had to behave or I’d be in bad luck. And now it has, look at the lovable Salks, getting his ass kicked. The court-martial guys hit him really hard, they didn’t give him any face at all.” Casamen replied with a bitter smile
“That’s nothing, the next class, Alta, went over the wall trying to escape and was shot in the right leg by a soldier on duty, nearly amputating his leg.
Even so, he was court-martialed for the crime of desertion, his life is considered finished.” Gernia said in a heartfelt voice
……
Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace
Prince Windischgraetz handed Franz a document and said, “Your Majesty, this is our War Ministry’s perfected reform plan, please take a look at it.”
Austria’s military reform plan, which was still formulated by the already dead Archduke Karl, Franz also participated in it, which was full of his intermingled private goods, and now the Ministry of War is only perfecting on this basis.
In the battle of 1848, the Austrian army showed a lot of shortcomings, so that the army in the insightful people proposed a military system reform, this time Franz threw out the Archduke Karl before his death taught him the reform plan.
Even though the Archduke Karl’s influence in the army would continue to increase once this plan was implemented, Franz still chose to carry out the reforms under his banner.
In Franz’s opinion, the dead military god’s status is no matter how high, with the Archduke Karl, the Austrian military recognized as the first person to put forward, always more influential than Franz, the emperor to put forward.
Reformist leaders usually do not have a good result, received much praise, will have to suffer much slander. The dead do not matter, even if they want to retaliate, they can not reach.
Now the Austrian army generals are many by the influence of the Archduke Karl, for example, now the most prestigious Marshal Radetzky for the Archduke Karl as chief of staff, and Prince Wendischgraetz even as his juniors call themselves.
Now is the best time for military reform, if in ten or eight years, the old generation retired, then it will be difficult to propose.
When he thought about it, Franz had a headache. The talent in the Austrian army actually has signs of a green and yellow, and now the general talent in the Austrian army is no weaker than that of any other country.
However, these famous generals in the war against France are slowly aging, and the younger generation has not yet had a few emerging.
With a casual glance, Franz asked with interest, “Kicking out the overage officers in the army, are you planning to retire the old generals?”
Letting the veterans retire is fine if you think about it, but it’s harder if you really do it.
People have made great achievements for Austria, think they can still continue to fight for the country, you let them go home on the grounds that they are too old, it does not make sense, right?
In addition, in Franz’s opinion, the old become smart, really if the war, the quality of the younger generation of officers, really can not compare to the older generation.
The old generation grew up in the era when Napoleon was beating Europe, and Austria was the main force to fight against Napoleon, and dozens of battles were fought, and the army was naturally honed.
They also have a lot of victories, at least the Austrian army has defeated Napoleon head-on. Many military generals were unconvinced by the French victories, and in their opinion if the government hadn’t pulled the plug, maybe they would have won.
The Austrian military soul was forged in that era, and it took the historical outbreak of the Franco-Austrian War, where the original owner personally went into battle and commanded the campaign, creating an epic defeat, to knock that arrogance out of them.
Without the military soul, the army’s combat power naturally dropped all the way down, and by the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it was just able to bully Italy.
Prince Windischgraetz explained, “No, Your Majesty. These veteran generals are the jewels of the Austrian army, and are now training the next generation of officers for the Austrian army, so how could the War Ministry possibly let them retire!
Our plan is to clear out the current officers in the army – those who are below the age of 16 years old and are unable to enter the army for service.”
Franz nodded, this is the disbanding of the legendary “Bottle Officer Corps”. The number of young officers in the Austrian army is not at all small, and this is still the royal family’s lead.
Franz himself is the beneficiary of this policy, but this does not affect his contempt for this policy, the ass determines the head.
At first he was the beneficiary, naturally to raise his hands in support, now the position has changed, this policy can not continue to bring him benefits, Franz’s position has also changed.
If the age of service, nobles with superhuman military literacy became an officer, everyone has nothing to say, the army is to believe in the strong place.
But this bottle officer corps, let a person can not stand, but no Austrian soldiers will think, their military literacy is not as good as the children who are breastfeeding.
Franz thought about it and said, “Then let’s change the over-age to under-age, and abolish the rank of all teenage officers who are under the age of service and have not entered the army for service, and the royal family is not an exception.”
He didn’t think that the Army Department was confused and misspelled “underage” as “overage,” apparently leaving a back door open while cleaning up the Corps of Titty Officers.
The purpose is very simple, the face of the royal family must be taken care of, can not be generalized, all kicked out. Now Franz’s three younger brothers, are all part of it.
Only in Franz’s opinion, it was superfluous. The Milk Bottle Officers’ Corps has no substantial role to play, and to destroy the principle of fairness in the army for the sake of a so-called face is really not worth the loss.
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Prince Wendischgraetz replied
With the royal family taking the lead, what else could the nobles have to say? Anyway, it was just a matter of making the descendants have one less title, and there was no substantial loss.
The purpose of having this kind of Junior Officers in the first place was to motivate the next generation to study hard and always remember that they are an officer.
By now, this model of education has succeeded and failed.
The children of the nobility did cultivate the heart of the middle who thought himself to be superhuman, and competed in his studies, and if he surpassed his peers through his efforts, then after being stimulated, his progress would continue.
On the other hand, if through hard work, they are still not as good as their peers, this kind of arrogance will naturally slowly wear off and become disillusioned.
(End of chapter)