Chapter 70: Completion of Preparations

  Chapter 70 – Preparation Completed

The Austrian Empire was like a frail and sickly old man who had overeaten and could die at any time. Franz’s concession to the French was based on this.

On the principle of snaring the grass and hunting the rabbit, in case the French government toughened up a bit, Austria could also tear a piece of meat off the Kingdom of Sardinia.

It didn’t matter how much, what mattered was that politically it would prove to the outside world that the Austrian Empire was still a power, with great strength to deter the stupid Prussians.

As for whether the French would get bigger as a result, Franz was very Buddhist, what business was it of his?

It was the British and the Russians who should be worried about the French getting bigger. Would the French still be stupid enough to attack Austria?

Don’t be ridiculous, after the baptism of Napoleon, the European countries are all S-level of vigilance against France.

Any military action by the French before they get out of diplomatic isolation is likely to incur joint suppression by all countries.

Metternich said calmly, ”If the French wimp out, then there is no need for us to destroy the Kingdom of Sardinia, and keeping them as a buffer between Austria and France is also a good choice.

The most troublesome thing is the British, despite the promises made by the London government, they are willing to mediate the Austro-Sardinian war.

However, our embassy in London sent word that a British consortium is in secret loan negotiations with the Sardinian Kingdom.

Coupled with the fact that some time ago, the Sardinian Kingdom had already borrowed three million pounds from the British, we have reason to believe that the British are on the side of the enemy in this war.”

Metternich has never had much interest in territorial expansion. The conservative politician believed that Austria was already big enough, and the ethnic conflicts at home were even more troublesome, so he was against further expansion.

Based on this policy, there has been little territorial expansion in Austria over the past few decades.

Franz did not see eye to eye with Metternich’s political ideas, but with his diplomatic handwriting, it was a different story.

The greatest diplomat of the 19th century deserved the title of “Prime Minister of Europe” and “Age of Metternich”, which was the highest praise he received from the outside world.

The collapse of the Vienna system was not a diplomatic defeat, but more a case of Austria’s strength not being able to withstand the impact of the revolution.

Historically this time Metternich has stepped down, the result of the British released a bunch of smoke bombs, successfully confused the government of Vienna, if not Marshal Radkis insisted, it is estimated that Lombardy and Venice in 1848 on the loss.

Felix said confidently, “There’s no need to worry too much, the British, even if they support the Kingdom of Sardinia, are unlikely to come down personally without the support of the European powers.”

This is not arrogance, but a judgment based on the international situation and the strength of all parties.

Historically, the Vienna government spared the Kingdom of Sardinia, in addition to the intervention of Britain and France, the most important reason is still that they were worried about the French annexation of the territory of the Kingdom of Sardinia to become bigger.

“Well, it’s good to prepare these things in advance, the most important thing is still the result of this war, if we can easily defeat the enemy, then the result is naturally dominated by us!”

Franz poured cold water on the confident prime minister, it was not a good thing to be so arrogant when the war was not yet over.

This is not to blame Felix, Austria is at least a European power, while the Sardinian Kingdom is just a small little one, the gap between the two sides is huge, it is normal to look down on them.

After a moment’s pause, Metternich proposed again, “Your Highness, the Russians have promised to help us suppress the rebellion, should we let them send troops to suppress the Hungarian rebellion as soon as possible?”

Looking at the crowd’s intent expressions, Franz shook his head.

“No way! This is an Austrian family matter, if we let the Russians help us suppress the rebellion, in the days to come, we will have to depend on the Russians diplomatically.

The hardest thing in the world to repay is a debt of favor, the situation in Hungary is still within our reach, there is no need to involve the Russians.

However, it is still possible to get the Russians to make a pretense of sending troops to Hungary to shake the determination of the rebels to resist.”

Making a show, and actually going down that is two different concepts. If the Russians actually sent troops to help Austria suppress the Hungarian rebellion, what would the future history books record?

“Inviting foreign troops to suppress the revolution”? Wouldn’t that be a representative of the reactionaries? What about Franz’s honorable image?

It doesn’t matter if it’s just for show, to scare the Hungarians and force them to divide their forces for defense.

As the victor, Franz can write whatever he wants. If in the future, he flipped out with Russia, he could even turn the tables and say: under the leadership of the great Franz the Great, he crushed the Russian conspiracy against the Hungarian region.

On the surface also can not pick out what fault, Europe also has regional black, Russia is still after the war against France, only to integrate into European society.

Going through the black history of the Russians and saying that they were plotting against Hungary, Franz would have almost believed it if he didn’t know the truth.

“Your Highness, news has come from the front line in Venice, the Sardinian Kingdom is now cautious and has not ventured out to attack, there is a chance that our baiting of the enemy will fail.

Marshal Radkis asked us to send troops to suppress the Hungarian rebellion as soon as possible, and it would be best if we can quickly dominate the battlefield, forcing the Sardinian Kingdom to risk a decisive battle.” The Minister of War suddenly spoke up

Franz rubbed his forehead helplessly, historical information is a lie, it is a fact that the Italian army’s fighting strength is not good, but it doesn’t mean that they are really good to deal with, at least the current Sardinian Kingdom is not that good to deal with.

Bardolio, the watery marshal, all knew to play it safe, preferring to suffer greater losses all the way to fight a dull battle, did not venture into the Venice area and the Austrian army for a main duel.

Marshal Radkis painstakingly laid out the pocket formation, the enemy’s main force simply do not come in. If you fight out now, want to defeat the enemy may be able to do, want to seriously hurt or completely destroy the enemy army, simply impossible.

Originally Franz was prepared to suppress the Hungarian rebellion after defeating the Sardinian Kingdom, but now it was obviously impossible to do so. He could only take the Hungarians first, forcing the Sardinian Kingdom to send out troops for a decisive battle.

Many people understand the reasoning of “lips dying, teeth cold”, if Austria suppressed the internal rebellion, then the Kingdom of Sardinia will not even have a chance to win.

“Let’s speed up the steps to prepare for war, once the preparation is complete we will immediately send out troops to suppress the Hungarian rebellion, how much longer does the Prime Minister need?” Franz asked suspiciously

“Your Highness, the strategic supplies are almost ready, the army deployment is also basically complete, except for a few newly established centralized provinces that need some time to integrate.

The earliest we can launch the attack is next Saturday, May 5th!” Felix thought about it and said

(End of Chapter)