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

Chapter 1461 The Last Hope
In addition, José Hilario López abolished the Indian reservation system and slavery, so he was also called the Liberator of New Granada.

However, the slaves freed by José Hilario López had no land or property and soon became cheaper tenants again. Their lives not only did not improve but became worse.

The Indians were also driven out of their last homes due to the abolition of the reservation system and became completely homeless.

In order to combat the influence of the church, José Hilario López withdrew the diplomatic ambassador to the Vatican, expelled the bishop of the capital Bogota, abolished the tithe, expelled Jesuit priests, confiscated church land, and took a series of actions.

José Hilario López achieved his goal of attacking the church, but he also offended the religious forces, and the two sides were almost at the point of a fight to the death.

If José Ilario López and his successors had remained dominant, this might not have been a big problem.

But unfortunately, José Hilario López's clever behavior brought about retaliation from the Austrian Empire, and the arrival of the Austrian Imperial Navy successfully ignited the emotions of the people of New Granada.

Dissenting political enemies, ambitious high-ranking officials, spiritual Austrians, homeless Indians, tenant farmers living in dire straits, and an extremely dissatisfied church were successfully connected to each other.

For a time, the entire New Granada was in flames. José Hilario López could only barely control the area around the capital, Bogota. He suffered nearly a hundred assassination attempts in a week, and even his own servants wanted to kill him. He had no choice but to hide in the military camp with his family.

"why is that?"

Jose Hilario Lopez, covered in blood, said to his trusted generals in a daze that the blood on his body was from the servants he had raised for decades, and he had treated them very well.
"Commander, this is not the time to talk about these things. Of the 22 provinces in the country, 19 have already clearly opposed you. The five Maritime Provinces have surrendered to the Austrians, and they want to use the Austrians to deal with you.

And those damn priests are inciting the peasants to rebel. There have been more than a dozen riots in the capital Bogota in just one week.

Generals Melo and Odowan have also issued declarations that you have betrayed New Granada."

Odovan is José Ilario Lopez's partner, while Melo is his rival, and both are powerful figures in power.

José Hilario Lopez was overwhelmed after hearing this.

“What do the British say?”

“The British government has not responded to our requests.”

Upon hearing this, José Hilario Lopez flew into a rage and shouted hysterically.

"What about the French? What about the Russians?"

The henchman replied in a low voice.

“No one responded to us.”

José Hilario López, slumped in his chair, suddenly laughed.

"Hahaha, these ballless, short-sighted Europeans! They are just a bunch of shameless liars! Order the conscription! I want to drive these traitors in the country into the sea along with the Austrians!"

"Yes, Commander."

"But what? Are you scared? I tell you, I was able to drive away the Spaniards back then, and now I can also drive away the Austrians and their lackeys!"

"Commander, we have no money."

"Where's the money? Where's my money!"

José Ilario Lopez grabbed his crony by the collar and yelled. In fact, his reforms had already emptied the treasury, and he was still immersed in the praise. The crony was also very aggrieved, because he could not collect much money at all, and the government's various expenses were astonishingly large. The cost of stationing troops in fifteen provinces alone was astronomical.

As for the property confiscated from the church, it had long gone into the pockets of several bigwigs. This was all tacitly approved by José Hilario López, but now he was being asked about himself.

"Commander, we have already spent all our money. I have the account book here. Please don't be impulsive."

José Ilario Lopez put down his confidant, picked up the account book and looked through it. He couldn't help but feel his scalp tingling. He decisively gave up the idea of ​​raising an army, but he soon had another idea.

"Quick! Write to Washington!"

The confidant was a little confused.

"The British and French are unwilling to help us, will the Americans help us?"

José Hilario López laughed.

"Idiot! You forgot the Monroe Doctrine! America belongs to us Americans! They Europeans have no right to interfere with us!"

In fact, Franz really didn't expect that things would become so serious. He thought it was just the great powers sending a few warships to the ports of weak countries to show off their power and force the other party to surrender.

The British, the French, and the Americans have done this kind of thing before. Why does it make such a big fuss when it happens to us?

New Granada is too big, too complicated internally, and too far away from the Austrian Empire. If it were swallowed, it would definitely cause indigestion.

Moreover, the impact of annexing New Granada would be too great, and Franz did not think that the other powers would really sit idly by.

However, this time Franz was really wrong, and the British really didn't want to get involved in Austria's mess again. New Granada was worthless in the eyes of Europeans except for the two provinces of Panama and Antioquia.

Panama contributed 40% of New Granada's tariffs, about 20 pounds, while the province of Antioquia produced 75% of New Granada's gold, worth about 40 pounds.

Even these two richest provinces are still not worth mentioning in Europe, and the other provinces are completely negative-income provinces in the eyes of European countries.

In comparison, if a war breaks out with the Austrian Empire, the corresponding expenditure will be at least hundreds of millions, or even tens of millions of pounds.

John Russell didn't know whether Austria still had any money, but Britain was definitely out of money.

As for France, it was also in trouble both internally and externally. The environment Napoleon III faced at this time was much worse than in history. Although he urgently needed a war to boost the morale of the French, what he wanted was victory, not an unpredictable miracle.

Napoleon III was a gambler, but he would not bet on a losing game. The French navy was severely damaged after the loss of the Grand Orient Fleet, and it would take several years for it to recover.

Moreover, whether fighting across the ocean or in the Mediterranean, the French navy was at an absolute disadvantage, so it was reasonable for Napoleon III to give up intervention.

As for Russia, Nicholas I strongly supported Franz's approach. He believed that a strong country should severely humiliate weak countries and let them know what a great power is.

Nicholas I's idea unexpectedly received widespread support from the Russian top leaders. After brainstorming, they even thought of sending a fleet to support the Austrian navy.

Of course, the Russians also have their own plans. On the one hand, it is to consolidate alliances and orthodoxy, and on the other hand, it is to show the strength of the Russian Navy to the world and accumulate experience for the Russian Navy's cross-ocean operations.

Nicholas I's actions made Franz a little flustered.