The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1423: Pan-Slavism of the Austrian Empire

Queen Olga had a very special identity as she came from Russia, a strategic ally of the Austrian Empire at that time.

Olga’s pregnancy will certainly strengthen the ties between the two countries, but the expectations of the people at home are the main focus.

Strictly speaking, the Slavs were the largest ethnic group in the Austrian Empire, but they were divided into Western Slavs, Eastern Slavs, and South Slavs.

These people have always played the role of third-class or even fourth-class people in the Austrian Empire.

Although Olga's ancestry is of German origin, the Slavs within the Austrian Empire still regard her as the spokesperson for the Slavs.

The benefit is that it will enhance the sense of belonging of the Slavs within the Austrian Empire and greatly strengthen the cohesion of the country. The Pan-Slavic national issue of the Austrian Empire will be greatly alleviated.

But the downside is that it is very likely that Pan-Slavism within the Austrian Empire will transform into Pan-Slavism.

This kind of Pan-Slavism is not simply a move towards Russia, but is likely to become a Pan-Slavism with Austrian characteristics.

Although they all fought under the banner of religion, ethnicity, and country, most Slavs in the Austrian Empire believed in Catholicism or Eastern Catholicism, and found it difficult to accept their identity as Eastern European barbarians.

Most of these people were loyal to the Habsburg royal family and preferred to be subjects of the Austrian Empire.

To sum up, it is highly likely that it will regard Russia as a competitor and even start to compete with Russia for the leadership of Great Slavia.

In addition, it must be said that the timing was very delicate, as Franz had just taken advantage of the 1848 rebellion to deal with the Hungarians.

Millions of people died, including more than 550,000 Hungarian nobles, and more than 590,000 people who were deprived of their status and exiled in the subsequent liquidation.

Most of the remaining Hungarian nobles lived in Austria all year round. They neither sympathized with the Hungarian nation nor understood Hungarian culture.

In their eyes, 1848 was a completely arrogant and stupid rebellion, without any progressive attributes. However, in order to prevent it from resurrecting, Franz would completely crush them into dust.

At this time, the Pan-Slavists with the characteristics of the Austrian Empire will most likely take this opportunity to seize the ecological niche of the Hungarians. After coming to power, they may do anything driven by the fanaticism of converts.

Sooner or later, the Russo-Austrian alliance will collapse under the efforts of these people. What the British cannot do no matter how hard they try, they can easily accomplish. After all, they have been stepping on Russia's bottom line since the moment they were born.

In the foreseeable future, the Austrian Empire's own ethnic issues would become more complicated.

After all, it is unrealistic to expect these fanatical nationalists to always unite against the outside world. Franz dares to guarantee that they will find time to carry out a major purge internally, but even so there will still be traitors everywhere.

As for religious issues, this thing weighs at least 300 kilograms if it is not weighed on the scale, and it weighs at least 1,000 kilograms if it is weighed on the scale. Pius IX went to the East, and Franz could even temporarily take over the position of Pope and give orders to the church.

The Austrians and Italians didn't care about it at all, but the French were very opposed to it. However, France was not strong enough and its voice was not loud enough at that time, so it could only sulk at home.

As for the Spaniards, from the common people to the king, everyone is ambiguous about the Habsburg family. If we really catch a Spaniard and ask him, he might support this matter more than the Austrians.

Of course, there are still many opponents around the world, but they are not even qualified to sit at the table.

Originally, Franz could have used the coexistence of Eastern and Western Rome to lure the Tsar, but this group of Pan-Slavists pushed Franz to the opposite side of the Tsar.

This was a difficult decision for Franz, because there were thorns on both sides. When Queen Olga told Franz that they had a child, Franz really wanted to pretend to be surprised, but in fact he knew more about this matter than Olga.

After all, the maids around the queen were all Franz's people, and it was not difficult for them to infer this result when they reported and summarized the queen's daily behavior.

After Franz's efforts for many years, the Austrian Empire finally had its first batch of female doctors. However, even though they completed formal medical education and passed the most rigorous examinations, they still could not be recognized by the Austrian Imperial Medical Association.

Fortunately, there were only a dozen people in total, and they were all from noble families, so Franz could only create a term for them: "medical maids."

These medical maids are very popular among the ladies. After all, as women, some private matters can be much more convenient for them, and they don't have to worry about employment issues at all.

In fact, the church also trained some nuns who specialized in medicine, but because they were managed internally by the church and had the church's support, the doctors of the Austrian Empire did not dare to do anything to them.

Compared with other countries in the world that did not train female doctors until the 1880s and 1890s, the Austrian Empire was far ahead in this regard.

Back to the topic, although Franz had already known the news of Olga's pregnancy, he still said to the expectant queen.

"That's great. Want to fire a salute?"

Olga nodded.

So the salutes over Schönbrunn Palace were fired from day to night, and Olga snuggled on Franz's shoulder.

"I feel like everything is so unreal. I'm really afraid that I'll wake up and find out it was all a dream."

Franz knew that Olga was seeking comfort, but he had too many things on his hands and could not indulge in the love affair with her.

So Franz said.

"Then I can continue to deal with you!"

"Hate!"

The Queen's pregnancy was also a carnival for the cultural circles of the Austrian Empire. Vienna has never lacked artists.

Poems praising the country were everywhere in newspapers, on street corners, and on residents' walls. On the one hand, many poets were indeed full of inspiration, and on the other hand, they wanted to highlight their loyalty. After all, Franz could be regarded as the most brutal emperor in the history of the Austrian Empire.

In addition, according to the custom of the Austrian Empire, the royal family and the government would select several of these poems to reward and spread them around the world.

Even those poems that were not selected would be copied into a book and kept in the royal library, and would also receive some symbolic rewards.

Whether for money or for fame, there is no reason for a poet to miss this event.

In addition to the existence of the system of bestowing official titles, those who wanted to become officials and nobles would hire gunmen to find ways to make themselves familiar to the emperor.

The same was true for painters and musicians. Countless paintings were created and countless tunes were sung in Vienna.

Sculptors from various countries are vying for the right to design the upcoming public statues.
(Only one chapter today.)
(End of this chapter)