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

Chapter 1490 Do your duty
Third, this top-down model is prone to corruption because power is highly concentrated.

On the one hand, there is a lack of entertainment venues in Africa, and on the other hand, people have to return to their home country frequently to report on their work. In addition, the economic model is single, so it is difficult to hide the proceeds of corruption.

But it is completely different in Cuba. Not only are there many channels for selling stolen goods, but there is even the potential for independence in certain periods.

Franz shook his head.

"Austria is not Prussia, let alone Russia. We are a country, not a military camp."

“But we still have external enemies.”

Count Latour said this somewhat unwillingly.

Prince Schwarzenberg suddenly thought of something and asked with some confusion.

"Your Majesty, you don't believe in those so-called armistice treaties, do you? In the eyes of those pirates, the so-called treaties are just a pile of waste paper.

Previous wars have proved that as long as the situation is favorable to them or they feel it is profitable, those armistice agreements will be thrown into the trash.

How can you trust those guys?"

"I don't believe in their character, but they need rest more than we do. It is not wise for Britain and France to start a war at this time."

"But our enemies are not smart, otherwise they would not be opponents of our Austrian Empire."

Count Latour said with a smile, and other high-ranking officials of the Austrian Empire also laughed, and the atmosphere suddenly became much more relaxed. It was obvious that the victories over the years had made them a little too proud.

Franz glanced at the faces of the people.

"It shows that everyone still has great confidence in the Empire. I am very pleased. I also have great confidence in the Empire. We are not afraid of those powerful enemies.

Instead, they should be afraid of us, but we are a civilized country and do not bother to use such despicable means. "

"Your Majesty is wise! Long live the Austrian Empire!"

The top leaders of the Austrian Empire in the conference hall shouted in unison. In fact, they liked this feeling very much. Just as it was an honor to work with like-minded people, they felt it was also an honor to work for Franz.

If you live in this era, you don’t have to think, just follow the emperor’s orders.

But Franz didn't like this and changed the subject.

"As the empire continues to expand, pressure on border defense will certainly increase, but conscription is not the only option to maintain a large army."

No one dared to speak. They didn't know what Franz was thinking. If the border was not maintained by the army, would it be maintained by words? Or by the consciousness of others?

But these words were too harsh, and they didn't think that the emperor would be so naive.

Of course, Franz was not so naive. He did all these things just to promote military reform.

At this time, the Austrian Empire still relied mainly on the volunteer system, and conscription was only implemented in a few areas. From the perspective of human history, the volunteer system and the conscription system have both won and lost, and it is difficult to tell the pros and cons.

However, judging from the period from the Industrial Revolution to the end of World War II, conscription was undoubtedly advanced, effective, and in line with the development of the times.

Many pseudo-historical war scholars even simply and crudely conclude that conscription (compulsory military service) + nationalism + industrialization = invincibility.

But no matter what, conscription is indeed the most suitable military service system for the era of large-scale industry and the grand narrative of nationalism.

Franz did not keep his ministers waiting too long and he quickly gave an answer.

"The size of the Imperial Army is now too large and has exceeded the necessary scope, but I do not want to give up the army or the use of force.

On the contrary, we need a stronger army and more soldiers." Franz's words confused the top leaders of the Austrian Empire.

"Isn't this inconsistent?"

Of course, everyone only dared to speak about it in their hearts. Although they had doubts, they still maintained an appearance of listening attentively on the surface.

Franz didn't like this very much, but this top-down model could easily lead to personality cult and hegemony.

"I know you have a lot of questions in your mind, but I want to say that France is not without merit. Their conscription system is worth learning from.

If we can also adopt compulsory military service, we can greatly reduce military spending and increase war potential.

The reason why France was able to fight against the whole of Europe on its own was that it relied on the compulsory military service system to tap into France's war potential.

Many of you here have participated in the anti-French war. I think you must know how brave and fearless the French army was at that time, but have you ever thought about why the French army always had so many fearless soldiers? "

At this time, almost all the senior officials of the Austrian Empire had experienced the anti-French war, and many of them had even been to the front line. They certainly remembered how powerful the French army was, but they really didn't think about why the French army was so powerful.

As for why there are so many French troops, of course it is because there are so many French people. After all, France used to be a populous country in Europe, not a country that has not seen population growth for many years.

"Your Majesty, you were still a child. France used to be the most populous country in Europe. It's normal for them to have a large population."

"That's right. And the French are morally corrupt. They recruit criminals from abroad to form foreign legions. Those evil guys don't deserve your praise."

Count Latour snorted coldly.

"Napoleon had not met you. If he had met you and our imperial army today, he would have fled to Egypt overnight."

Marshal Anton was even more exaggerated.

"Even during Napoleon's heyday, his 800,000-man army was no match for the rebels in the Apennines. We only need 300,000 men at most to wipe them out."

Franz watched the rhythm being led further and further off track and inadvertently glanced at Marshal Radetzky.

“Your Majesty, with all due respect, the military strength of the Empire at this moment exceeds that of any country in Europe at any previous time.

You don’t have to belittle yourself.”

Franz was speechless for a while. It seemed that using France as an example was not a good idea. These people hated and feared France so much that even when facing a dead country, they would try their best to discredit it, as if this could prevent it from coming back to life.

"We are not talking about who is strong or weak. You need to understand why France was strong at that time. France was able to fight against the whole of Europe because of the low cost and high morale brought by the compulsory military service system.

It is not shameful to admit that the opponent is strong, and it is our honor to defeat and conquer the strong enemy. Now the speed of industrial development is getting faster and faster, and the cycle of soldier training is also getting shorter and shorter.

Our system must adapt to the times and make changes to suit the times. Otherwise, even the most powerful country will eventually perish. "

Some of the high-ranking officials of the Austrian Empire were silent, some were shocked, but more people were still shouting "Your Majesty is wise! Long live the Austrian Empire!"

Franz looked at Prince Schwarzenberg, who was the most important minister that Franz relied on at the moment.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Franz was completely speechless. He obviously didn't want to have the final say, but the reality was that it was difficult for others to follow Franz's ideas. Moreover, due to many factors such as identity, status, and prestige, there was not even one person who dared to refute him to his face.

At this moment Franz hesitated, but only for a moment, and he thought of the word "duty".

As the emperor of the Austrian Empire, Franz had no right to retreat.