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

Chapter 1544 Oranges Grow in Huainan
In fact, Franz was also a little helpless. He originally wanted Jelacic to continue to serve as the governor of Vojvodina, but his status in the hearts of the Croatians was too high.

Croatia's terrain is very suitable for separatism, and Franz had to consider the worst case scenario, so he could only bring Jelacic and his family to Vienna.

Fortunately, all parties had no objection to Franz's actions, and those officials who were sent to colonies and transferred peacefully did not cause any trouble.

Of course, the final results of this military reform will not be known for several years.
In North America, Americans have never given up on expanding westward.

However, to reach California, one must cross the Nevada Desert and the Sierra Nevada Mountains, which were considered insurmountable.

At this time, the so-called California Trail was heavily guarded by the Austrian Empire. Not to mention the illegal immigrants, even the US Army was powerless.

However, as the saying goes, there will always be brave men when there is a big reward. In this era, the West did give birth to many legends and so-called ruthless families.

They are real villains, and murder and arson are commonplace for them.

Franz did not welcome these guys, and the Austrian Imperial colonial government did a lot of work to prevent them from entering California.

For example, the hunting teams on the border, these so-called hunting teams do not hunt small animals in the desolate Gobi Desert, but real wild beasts.

When the Austrian Empire first came to California, the Apache tribe where the sleepy man lived chose to surrender, because just a few days ago, the most ferocious tribe in the entire wilderness had been slaughtered like lambs.

(Sleepy Man is the real name of Geronimo, the legendary leader of the North American Apaches.)
To the Apaches, the Austrian Empire was a completely different white tribe. The strength of the Mexicans had already intimidated them, but the strength of the Austrians made them not even have the courage to raise their heads.

For these Apaches, it is not a shame to bow down before a truly strong man. Moreover, the credibility of the Austrian Empire is much better than that of Mexico, and it will not fool them with inferior wine and tobacco.

The Apaches' tribute was of little appeal to the Austrian Empire, so Franz levied a blood tax on the Apaches.

The Apaches would regularly send laborers to the colonies or select outstanding warriors to join hunting parties.

In contrast, the Austrian Empire would regularly pay "wages" to the Apache tribes. These so-called wages might be food, salt, tobacco, sugar, or some industrial products, or even iron pots, swords, etc.

Compared to working in the dark underground, the Apaches would definitely prefer to join the so-called hunting team.

It's hard to say that these people didn't have some personal grudges when dealing with those American illegal immigrants, but it was just right to deal with those Western legends who liked to eat living people at every turn.

The sleepy man performed well in the hunting team and was soon appreciated by his superiors.

This is a great honor for the Apache people, and it also means that he will gain a high status in the tribe in the future and even become a strong contender for the chieftain.

As time went on, the Austrian Empire's influence and control over the surrounding tribes continued to increase, and sometimes it even sent troops to help chiefs loyal to the Austrian Empire consolidate their positions.

Some tribes had tried to resist, but they were killed. The power gap between tribes and countries was too great. The Apaches might be excellent hunters, but they were nothing in front of the army.

The Apaches also attempted to assimilate into the new world, especially after the best members of the tribe were granted citizenship of the Austrian Empire.
San Francisco.

Metternich did not like California because it was too windy and there were too many locusts.

Every year there is at least one moderate-sized locust plague, which means that California's agricultural harvest is always not as good as it seems.

This year is no exception. Due to the high cost and poor effect of manual hunting, Franz relies on biological control, which is the so-called chicken soldiers and duck generals.

At this time, there were at least hundreds of thousands of chickens and ducks fighting day and night in the California farmland, but they were not the main force in killing the locusts. Suddenly, the sky darkened, and the day turned into dusk in an instant.

Metternich opened the window. Although he had been here for three years, he was still shocked. The overwhelming flock of pigeons covered the sky like a noisy black cloud, and the flock of pigeons, which was more than ten kilometers long, pounced on the locusts in the field.

In the next few weeks, the pigeon plague will completely wipe out the locust plague. Why is it called a pigeon plague? Because hundreds of millions of passenger pigeons will leave a lot of droppings, which is simply a disaster for colonial hygiene.

Fortunately, passenger pigeons usually do not stay in cities, otherwise travel would become extremely difficult.

A skinny old man wearing glasses walked in and said.

"Master Metternich, you are looking for me."

Metternich said, pointing out the window at the endless stream of passenger pigeons.

"That's right, Mr. Audubon. Do you have any idea how to get these birds to go only where they should go?"

Audubon said with some embarrassment.

"Sir, you have stumped me. These birds may have been flying in the sky for tens of thousands of years. It is not easy to change their habits."

Metternich did not buy this argument.

"In ancient Rome, the watermelon that Caesar ate was only the size of a palm, but the watermelon we eat now requires both palms to hold.

If you are not capable of this, Mr. Audubon, I will seek help from someone else."

Audubon had not expected Metternich to be so direct. He had wanted to keep it a secret to raise the price, but now it seemed that if he didn't take it, it would probably slip out of his hands, so he said quickly with a smile.

"Sir, I have studied birds all my life and I am a true bird expert. Please give me some time and I will make sure you are satisfied."

Metternich seemed to be very cunning, good at balancing and using roundabout tactics, but that also depended on who he was dealing with.

Metternich was a high-ranking official, a former chancellor of the empire, and it was unlikely that he would be overly courteous to a zoologist. After all, if there were too many people who could receive courtesies, the so-called courtesies would be worthless.

Moreover, in North America, Metternich discovered one thing: here, both countries and people value strength more than etiquette and rules.

Especially when Metternich wanted to mediate the Mexican Civil War and was almost assassinated, he asked himself if he had done well enough, not offended anyone, and came up with the best plan, but no one bought it.

The same was true for the division of Texas. He didn't expect the Americans to go back on their word, but fortunately the Austrian Empire's army was sufficient to provide a backup.

There were also separatist forces within California, and Metternich did not want to go to war, after all, Mexico and the United States were still eyeing it covetously.

What he wanted was to cede some power and make this disaster disappear.

But the Governor of California, Karl Ferdinand, the second son of Archduke Karl, simply sent out his troops to surround the rebel camp until there was no one left alive.

This made Metternich feel a little confused, and he began to doubt whether he was suitable for this land.