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

Chapter 1448 Inside and outside the city
The army of the Austrian Empire still had to abide by some rules, but the loyalist volunteers from all over Greece were completely different. They didn't care about that.

The king and his local elites were murdered in Athens, and no one can escape responsibility.

As the commander-in-chief of Western Thrace, Melisses commanded the most elite troops in all of Greece. Naturally, he was elected as the leader of the rebel army.

There is another reason, that is, Marshal Melisses' only son also died in Athens, and his hatred for this city has broken through everything.

Melisses participated in the Greek War of Independence and was considered a meritorious veteran. However, due to his poor family background and his peasant-like appearance, he could never get into the core circle and was always mocked by the Athenian elites as a country bumpkin.

However, Melisses had one advantage: he fought very bravely, never withheld military pay, and had great prestige among the soldiers.

Melisses met Otto I for the first time more than ten years after he ascended the throne. Otto I was not a wise ruler and did not have the ability to recognize talent, but he was not stingy.

As long as Otto I could afford it, whether it was official positions, titles, or money, he was never stingy. So various marshals and ministers in Greece were running around, but for Melisses, this was a favor of recognition.

Melisses' son was as brave as he was, so Otto I chose him to be included in the parade and wanted to portray him as a war hero.

But an assassination attempt destroyed everything for Melisses. At the age of nearly 60, everything was meaningless. The person Melisses respected the most was lying in a hospital in another country, his life or death unknown, and his beloved son was blown to pieces by shrapnel.

When Asterios's messenger came to the camp and tried to persuade him to give up his hatred and work together for a great cause, Melisses cut out the messenger's heart with a knife.

The situation of the armies of other city-states who came for revenge was similar. Many local elites and leaders died in Athens. Now they had only one common goal, which was revenge.

They expressed understanding and even gratitude for the actions of the Austrian Empire, because they all knew the strength of the Austrian Empire's army.

If the Austrians wanted to attack the city, they would have no chance.

"Push up all the rockets and artillery! We must take Athens before tomorrow!"

Melisses shouted that the weapons of all the Greek city-states combined were only about the same as Athens. This was one of the reasons why other city-states hated Athens, because the Athenians got too much and gave too little.

In the city of Athens.

Ioannis Macroianos, supported by many Athenian elites, decided to fight to the death and wait for the arrival of British reinforcements.

"Brothers! The British Empire will not abandon us! The British envoys promised us that we could become their dominion on the European continent!
Those who offend us and betray us will be punished! As long as we can defend Athens, we will have endless wealth and freedom in the future!
We Greeks are the birthplace of European civilization! We are the center of Europe! When our ancestors passed on poetry and culture, the ancestors of those Austrian barbarians were still eating raw meat and drinking blood in the mountains!

We will never bow to those savages!"

Before Ioannis Makrianos finished his speech, a riot broke out in the city because the Athenian government's propaganda was completely different from the content of the leaflets distributed by the Austrian Empire.

The Austrians had no intention of massacring the city, but the Athenian government wanted everyone to be buried with them. After witnessing previous assassinations and the behavior of the national elites in their daily lives, it was difficult for the Athenians to trust this so-called government.

As a result, the people of Athens fled, but the city defense forces received orders to guard the city's checkpoints and prohibit anyone from entering or leaving.

The Athenian city defense forces were closely tied to the elites of Athens, and almost all of them participated in the coup. They had no other options left, and naturally had no mercy on the people who wanted to flee. After the intimidation failed, they opened fire to try to disperse the crowd, but the anger of the Athenians had been pent up for a long time. At this moment, it finally broke out.
Citizens of the entire city rioted almost at the same time. The frightened and angry citizens rushed into the police station, the gendarmerie, the armory, and even the city hall and the city defense army headquarters were affected.

The Athenians took up arms and began to seek revenge. Anyone wearing military uniform, official uniform, or fancy clothes became a target of attack.

Before the war even started, the city of Athens was already in chaos. However, the loyalist army outside the city did not hesitate. They did not care what was happening in Athens. They were determined to massacre the city.

Under the command of Melisses, the royalist troops poured all their artillery shells and rockets on the city.

There was chaos inside and outside the city. Archduke Frederick, who was observing the situation with a telescope from a distance, felt that he seemed to understand something.

"As expected, people who play politics have dirty hearts. It's another conspiracy and rebellion. It seems that both sides are not good people."

"Your Excellency, what should we do?"

The adjutant at the side asked hurriedly, he didn't care about any conspiracy or not, he just wanted to fight, get promoted and make money.

In the Austrian Empire, as long as one had certain military merits, he could get a piece of land in the colony after retirement. He did not need to cultivate it himself, but only needed to sublet it to land merchants to make huge profits every year.

Of course, some people choose to hire people to farm the land themselves. After all, who doesn’t want to experience the thrill of being a land lord?

But no matter what, this is the most fashionable way to make money at this time.

This was a helpless move, after all, some of the nobles of the Austrian Empire were really hopeless. So Franz had to resort to this desperate measure to strengthen their power and expand their ranks.

Of course, these places do not refer to Africa, but America. The Austrian Empire's African colonies were still ignored, and Franz could only use administrative orders and coaxing and deception to increase the population of African colonies.

"What should I do? Didn't you hear the emperor's order? Do you need me to repeat it to you?"

As he grew older, Friedrich's political sensitivity increased, and as a soldier he knew that the most important thing for a soldier was to obey orders.

It would definitely be a disaster if soldiers always questioned or even wanted to change their superiors' orders.

Due to some of Frederick's early actions, the atmosphere in the Austrian Imperial Navy was a little too lax. Naval officers always have some crooked ideas, which is good.

But some people are questioning the country's strategy and even want to change it for their own benefit. This must be corrected.

After being taught a lesson by Friedrich, the naval officers' restlessness was finally suppressed.

It’s not that Frederick didn’t know how to adapt, but the Austrian Empire was a big country after all, and sometimes it had to consider its own face.

On the other hand, from a military perspective, Athens was in chaos both inside and outside the city, and a rash attack without knowing the situation would be a big taboo in military strategy.

After all, the purpose of this war was not to achieve a quick victory, but a political show. It would be great if the Greeks could solve the problem themselves.