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

Chapter 1624 Stealing the Donkey and Pulling Up the Peg

“No, that would be handing over autonomy to them. These two are too radical. If they escalate the conflict, it might give the French an opportunity to exploit.”

George Hamilton Gordon said.

Although France had been greatly weakened at this time, it was still a powerful nation that could not be ignored in the traditional mindset of Europeans.

"But we have no money left unless we continue to cut naval spending."

Chancellor of the Exchequer William Gladstone's remarks immediately drew the ire of First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir James Graham.

"What nonsense are you talking about! Our warships are still stuck in the last century! Do you expect those wooden hulls to collide with the Austrians' steel ships?"
The Navy, the Royal Navy, is the foundation of our nation! I oppose any policy that weakens the Navy!

You already cut naval spending once at the beginning of the year! Experienced sailors have chosen to leave the navy to make a living, and new recruits can only train on land.

Do you want the Royal Navy to suffer another defeat?!

First Lord of the Navy James Graham was clearly agitated, and his words offended William Gladstone, who immediately responded with sarcasm.

"Losing the war is your problem as soldiers, what does it have to do with us? Please don't shirk your responsibility, remember General Nelson."

If you can't complete the mission, at least you can die there.

James Graham immediately got up to confront William Gladstone, but was stopped by someone. He gritted his teeth and shouted.

“One of our navy lads can take on a hundred Austrians, but they can’t chase the Austrians’ iron-hulled steamships with their wooden sailing warships!”
You cowardly bum who only knows how to talk big, you couldn't last a day at sea!

"Enough! Enough! Stop arguing!"

George Hamilton Gordon called out several times, but the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of the Navy continued their argument.

"Enough! Shut up, all of you, and listen to the Prime Minister!"

It was only after Privy Council President John Russell intervened that the farce was stopped.

George Hamilton Gordon's displeasure flashed briefly as he cleared his throat and spoke.

"I know we are in a difficult time right now, but we must stay united. The budget is limited, and we also have to deal with these contingencies."

All I can do is ask you all to be careful with your spending.”

Although the argument stopped, George Hamilton Gordon still couldn't come up with any solutions and only made some polite remarks.

He didn't even dare not allocate funds to Palmerston.

However, thanks to the strong efforts of the cabinet members, the administrative officer was replaced by an army officer, and the so-called regular army was replaced with a batch of outdated weapons and equipment.

The British cabinet's intention was clear: they wanted to send Palmerston and George Gray as military supervisors.

In addition to organizing a colonial armed force and being responsible for the security of the colony, this superintendent had a mission: to reach a reconciliation with the Maori.

At this time, the British government had no desire for war. Therefore, rather than war or suppressing rebellions, they preferred peace talks or a strategy of divide and conquer. Of course, this did not apply to Russia and Austria. The British government, from top to bottom, still wanted to resolve the conflict with these two powerful adversaries; however, they were only concerned with the damage they could inflict on Russia and Austria within a manageable range.

After all, the British dared not easily offend two great powers, and on the other hand, Franz was always wary of the British.

More than a third of the Austrian Empire’s intelligence and diplomatic funds were spent on the British; if only foreign expenditures are considered, the figure would exceed 60%.

The massive amount of funding resulted in a massive amount of intelligence, as well as a thorough understanding of the movements and deployments of the British army.

At this time, according to the conservative estimates of the Austrian Imperial Navy's high command, the British naval forces deployed in the Mediterranean would be completely incapable of resistance within a week at most, and would lose their ability to communicate and evacuate within three days.

The British Mediterranean Fleet was seen as easy prey by the Austrian Imperial Navy. Friedrich even hoped that Britain could deploy more fleets in the Mediterranean, as this would make a surprise attack more valuable.

However, Franz felt that this approach was debatable, since in this era, Europe still had to adhere to some basic principles when going to war.

It is highly unlikely that a surprise attack without declaration of war, as Friedrich imagined, would occur. According to traditional etiquette, this process would last for several days or even weeks, rather than simply issuing a final 24-hour ultimatum as in later times.

If this were possible, then the larger the British Mediterranean fleet, the better; the more it destroyed, the greater the advantage for the Austrian Empire.

The Crimean War in history took 31 days from declaration to start, and if the preceding direct military conflicts are included, the total process lasted 4 months.

Furthermore, Franz did not want to provoke a war first, as this would be inconsistent with his plans and the current interests of the Austrian Empire. Ideally, the Austrian Empire should be an intervener rather than an initiator in the war.

Of course, if the benefits were great enough, Franz could have set a precedent, since there were no specific requirements for the procedures of declaring war and starting a war at the time.

For a nation, traditions and etiquette also have a price. As long as the price is right and it is in the country's interest, it should act when the time is right.

In fact, in the later stages, especially when large countries are fighting small countries, even ultimatums are often just for show, and war can break out as soon as a declaration of war is made.

In dealing with the British Navy, besides surprise attacks along fixed routes and localized decisive battles, the Austrian Imperial Navy could choose to "block the way."

Friedrich said excitedly.

"As long as the Kingdom of Spain cooperates with us to take Gibraltar in one fell swoop, and with the help of the two naval bases in Gibraltar and Ceuta, we may be able to keep Britain out of the Mediterranean."

As for the strength of the British Army, it can be ignored, at least for now. Although the total size of the British Army is nearly 100,000, the problem is that these 100,000 men are responsible for all of Britain's colonies around the world.

The number of troops on the mainland was only over 20,000, and this was the result of several successive Army and Colonial Secretaries' efforts; otherwise, there would have been less than 20,000 troops on the British mainland at that time.

In addition, given the unrest in Ireland and Scotland at the time, the British could only mobilize a little over 10,000 troops. Even if these 10,000 troops were highly capable, their threat to a major power was very limited.

The British could indeed send reinforcements, but that would take time, and the Ottoman Empire would inevitably collapse first under the combined attack of us and the Russians.

If the Ottoman Empire surrenders, what reason is there for the British to continue fighting?

Franz looked at his uncle. Tactically, it was indeed feasible, but it was completely inconsistent with the strategic significance of the Austrian Empire.

If Franz had to describe the plan in one sentence, it would be "stealing the donkey and pulling out the stake."