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

Chapter 1667 Hate

At this time, the Austrian Empire was putting immense pressure on Napoleon III, not only because of its power but also because of a vast network known as the "New Vienna System".

The New Vienna system left France with virtually no way out, with the two most vulnerable factions within France, Orleans and Bourbon, bearing the brunt of the attack.

Especially Louis-Philippe, who should be in his grave at his age, but he's still lively and energetic every day.

Today he claims to be a German duke, but also the legitimate ruler of France. If he were to become King of France, he would lead France into the German family.

He will be running for King of Spain again tomorrow, claiming that he is the most suitable king for the Spanish people and is willing to compete fairly with other royal families.

He's going to Rome the day after tomorrow to replace the Pope, saying he's long wanted to give up everything to serve God.

Besides stirring up trouble everywhere, Louis Philippe also frequently spread rumors that the Napoleonic family was inhuman.

From the initial Agricultural Bank to railway construction, and more recently the Paris renovation project, from people's livelihood to military supplies, even the plummeting price of silk in Lyon and the rise in sugar prices have not been overlooked.

According to Louis Philippe, the Agricultural Bank established by Louis Napoleon was a loan sharking scheme disguised as a bailout, but its real purpose was to leech off the farmers.

As for Louis-Napoleon's railway construction, it was a blatant case of power and money trading. If you don't believe it, just look at whether only those large companies close to him obtained the railway operating rights.

In order to build the railway, the Napoleonic authorities went to great lengths, and forced demolitions and land seizures were commonplace.

The transformation of Paris was a corrupt scheme, with citizens not only bearing the burden of inflated project budgets but also facing the possibility of being evicted from their homes.

Officials and businessmen who had connections with Louis Napoleon used insider information to buy low and sell high, making huge profits many times over.

Louis-Philippe also accused Louis-Napoleon of setting the fire in Lyon, and claimed that the Lyon riots were nothing more than a desperate resistance by the locals who could not bear the destruction of their livelihoods.

All of this was orchestrated by Louis Napoleon in order to inflate the price of silk.

The claim that sugar prices have risen is a lie, based on the argument that the increase in global sugar prices is far less than the increase in domestic sugar prices in France.

Louis-Philippe even claimed that Louis-Napoleon used his mistresses to run brothels and casinos, and secretly supported the mafia in Paris.

For this reason, Louis-Philippe even founded the newspaper "Le Journal du Volks" (French People's Daily), which relentlessly criticized Louis-Napoleon, the Bonaparte family, and their supporters every single day of the year.

The root of all this lies with the Austrian Empire. If Franz had not agreed to accept the Duchy of Orléans into the German Confederation, and if the Mutual Protection Pact had not existed, Napoleon III would have silenced that old codger long ago.

Unbeknownst to them, their situations had reversed; the mouse had become the cat, and the cat had become the mouse.

What's most infuriating is that Louis Philippe was also highly regarded by nationalists in the German region, who regarded him as the vanguard of the German nation.

Louis-Napoleon was powerless against him, which emboldened Louis-Philippe to not only fund the rebels within France but also conduct military exercises in his own territory.

Although Count Chambord unexpectedly acquired a territory during the Swiss Civil War, he lived a peaceful life in the mountains thereafter.

However, some in France extol the Count of Chambord as a wise ruler, arguing that if he could govern Fribourg well, he could govern France well. Furthermore, compared to Orléans and Bonaparte, the Bourbon was clearly more orthodox.

In addition, some disillusioned idealists and frustrated writers used their imaginations to depict Fribourg, under the rule of Count Chambord, as an ideal country.

This caused many of France's top talents to frequently flock to Fribourg, much to Louis-Napoleon's dismay.

However, what troubled him even more was the rumor that the Habsburg family wanted to form a marriage alliance with the Bourbon family. Although the veracity of this news had not yet been confirmed, it was enough for the orthodox faction in France.

In addition, there was the Duke of Omar, who was isolated overseas. He lived in Algeria, facing France across the sea every day. He was both a huge threat and blocked France's path to expansion into North Africa.

Of course, Duke Omar, like his father, was never one to lag behind in causing trouble for the Bonaparte family.

Duke Omar frequently sent people throughout France to spread the news:

"Any French subject who is willing to pledge allegiance to the House of Orléans can obtain a piece of land of their own in Algeria."

This was very attractive to French farmers who had lost their land and homeless people who had nowhere else to go, and smuggling between France and Algeria was rampant.

Supplies, personnel, and technology continued to flow into Algeria, and Duke Omar's power grew day by day.

In addition to the two internal problems and Algeria overseas, the westward expansion of the German Confederation in the north also greatly squeezed France's living space.

Moreover, due to a series of confederation articles and reforms, especially the merger of related clans, the German Confederation was greatly strengthened, and the German territories were no longer an option for French expansion.

In the southeast, only the precarious Kingdom of Sardinia remained. Although it was still nominally a buffer zone between France and Austria, it had in fact been incorporated into the new Vienna system by Austria.

After Switzerland was partitioned, the territories of France and Austria were directly adjacent. However, the mountainous terrain of Switzerland was too complex to be suitable for large-scale military operations, and both France and Austria had heavily fortified their positions at the mountain passes, making a major war unlikely.

In the west, Spain even changed its king. Louis Napoleon himself couldn't imagine what it would be like for Ferdinand II to betray Austria.

In addition, there was the Holy Alliance, which theoretically meant that if France attacked Austria, Prussia and Russia would both send troops to attack France.

All of this was thanks to the Austrian Empire. Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte could never forget his rejected marriage proposal, which resulted in almost all European royal families refusing to marry him.

He was ultimately forced to marry a minor noblewoman.

He hates!

However, Napoleon III was also aware that France at this time was no match for the Austrian Empire, let alone capable of destroying the entire New Vienna system.

Alexander Colonna Valevsky is right. The British had no foothold on the continent and were merely trying to use France to counterbalance Russia and Austria.

Russia was too far from France and was embroiled in the Near East war, so it was unlikely to pose a direct threat to France. But the Austrian Empire was a different story.

As regional powers, everyone understands the principle that two tigers cannot share one mountain. The Austrian Empire would never tolerate France becoming too powerful again, and similarly, if Louis Napoleon were to restore France's strength, he would spare no effort to weaken Austria.