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

Chapter 1634 The Great Melee in Argentina
If it were just the permafrost of Patagonia, it might be a bit difficult, but now with the vast northern grasslands, supporting several million people shouldn't be a problem.

"Your Majesty, we can use the Jews as cannon fodder. If we can win, we will; if we can't, we won't lose anything."

Without a doubt, in Prince Schwarzenberg's eyes, this was a sure-fire deal. After all, it was the Jews who died, and if they lost, they could shift all the blame onto the Jews.

However, the Jews thought the same way.

Franz cleared his throat, taking the opportunity to mentally rehearse what he should say.

"Your Highness, have you considered whose banner the Kingdom of Patagonia would fly if it were to wage war against Argentina?"

Prince Schwarzenberg's pupils suddenly dilated, as if he had thought of something.

"That's right, they will be operating under our banner. Whether it's the great powers or the small neighboring countries, they will all think that we are the ones pulling the strings behind the scenes."

Those Jews are good at dealing with the natives, but when it comes to real fighting, we'll have to rely on our army. And who do you think will end up with all that hard-won land?

Patagonia is too far from the empire's homeland and is composed of criminals; if its size is allowed to continue to expand, it will be a problem.

If they could instigate rebellions within the empire back then, why can't they instigate rebellions in the empire's colonies in the future?

As for the so-called atonement, just take it with a grain of salt; it's nothing but advertising rhetoric from a bunch of warmongers.

"They dare! We were able to drive them out of Germany back then, and we can drive them out of this world too!"

Prince Schwarzenberg's nationalist sentiments were running high; after all, the Austrian Empire had been winning for years, and his confidence was inevitably inflated.

"They may not dare, or they may not have the strength, but that doesn't mean other countries don't. And they might not be afraid. Perhaps as soon as the war begins, they will collectively rebel, just like they did in the Battle of Kitos, and betray our army."

The Battle of Kitos: The Jewish community of Cyrene committed a series of horrific crimes against the local non-Jewish population. The Roman historian Theo recounts:
They even ate the flesh of their victims, pulled out their tendons, smeared their bodies with their blood, and dressed them in clothes made of their skin; many were sawed in half from head to toe.

Others were thrown to wild animals or forced to fight each other like gladiators; a total of 22 people were killed.

(Similar descriptions have been given before, so they will not be repeated here.)
As a traditional European and a nationalist, Prince Schwarzenberg was extremely distrustful of Jews, but he immediately understood everything after Franz spoke to him.

However, Prince Schwarzenberg was still somewhat unwilling to give up.

"If other powers can support their own forces, we can support ours as well."

Franz shook his head.

"The Spanish have already gotten involved, so we should just support Spain. As for when there's a real opportunity, we'll talk about that later. Right now, the important thing is to get a new prison guard."

Otherwise, in a few years they wouldn't even need an excuse to seize power and just grab the jailers. In fact, Franz believed that giving the Jews access to the southern Argentine steppes was a huge strategic mistake. Without those steppes, the Austrian Empire would still be firmly in control of the Kingdom of Patagonia.

But with this grassland, the chains had loosened, and coupled with the Argentine civil war, they began to have this idea.

It wasn't that the Austrian Empire couldn't consider taking over Argentina, but if it were to do so, it would have to conquer the entire country and establish a new kingdom.

Otherwise, not only would they not gain any real benefits, but they would also fuel the ambitions of the Jews, and even lose a large number of colonies while creating another enemy for themselves.

Franz had no faith in the so-called loyalty of those Jews. He always felt that the best way to deal with the Sherman Jews who believed in the power of faith was to make them weak while always maintaining a strong and powerful posture.

Then they will become civilized, rational, and loyal.

The scale and intensity of the Argentine Civil War at this time were far greater than in its historical counterparts, and the course of the war had also changed significantly. Because Rosas had allied with France, the federal faction opposing him was exceptionally powerful and quickly achieved victory at the Battle of Cáceros.

However, after the Battle of Cáceros, the Federalists did not press their advantage to completely eliminate the remnants of Rosas. Bartolome Mitre, with the support of the British, wanted to seize the fruits of victory, but Urquiza fled back to his stronghold in Paraná and made a comeback with the support of the Brazilian and Uruguayan Reds.

Thus began a protracted and chaotic war among the three parties, which caused widespread suffering and led to letters being written to the governments of the United States and Spain.

Surprisingly, all responses were received. Although no one cared about the so-called Monroe Doctrine, the Americans themselves couldn't ignore it, and they also supported an agent to join in the fun.

As for Spain, if it were the historical Kingdom of Spain, Isabella II would most likely have chosen not to see it. After all, the Kingdom of Spain at that time was too weak, and her own rule was in turmoil. From any perspective, it would have been impossible for her to interfere in the Argentine civil war.

However, things were different at this time. Ferdinand II was determined to make the Kingdom of Spain bigger and stronger, and he had always paid close attention to Argentina, a former Spanish colony.

More importantly, the Kingdom of Spain has never recognized Argentina's independence, so the Spanish government sees the Viceroyalty of the La Plata as nothing more than a rebellious province, and has ample reason and grounds to intervene in the war.

Just then, the Argentine civil war caused many people to yearn for the days of Spanish rule, and they accepted Spanish aid and became a force to be reckoned with.

At this time, no single power was strong enough to unify the whole of Argentina. The situation in Europe was complex, and the shadow of war lingered. Neither Britain nor France dared to commit their full strength to the battlefield in South America.

What they feared was naturally the Holy Alliance; Austria and Russia combined were simply too large. Brazil, Uruguay, the United States, and Spain, though less powerful, were not insurmountable natives.

And so everyone was stuck in this awkward situation. The war went on but no one could be determined to win. Franz was the last person who wanted to fight this kind of war of attrition, but he enjoyed watching others fight. After all, this kind of war was a comprehensive drain on a country, and fighting it a few times could even wear down its morale.

Can Franz's deployment of troops break this stalemate? In fact, no. Because if the Austrian Empire were to move, Britain and France would no longer have to worry about their rear.

The Austrian Empire's forceful entry using Patagonian troops was essentially just an increase in investment, a tactic that other countries could also employ.

Even without geographical advantages, they could unite to deal with the Austrian Empire. In that case, the civil war in Argentina would remain at a stalemate, and Franz would not only fail to reap the benefits but would also get himself trapped.