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

Chapter 1804 Each Goes Their Own Way
The Ottoman troops guarding Jerusalem did not receive official orders, and besides, their actions could not be detected by foreign troops.

As expected, the Ottoman army refused the Austrian imperial army's request to enter the city and asked to verify the information with Ankara.

However, the Austrian army had little patience and distrusted the Ottomans.

Before the Ottomans could even set up their cannons, the Austrian army had already blown open the city gates with rockets.

Battle was imminent, but the Ottoman Holy City Guard was at best a local security force and was incomparable to the regular army of the Austrian Empire.

The Ottoman army, which had been defending the city, surrendered after only half an hour. The Austrian army was still very cautious, after all, they had been tricked in the Battle of Constantinople, and who knew if the other side was faking a surrender.

Fortunately, the Ministry of War had developed a new surrender procedure, which involved getting the Ottomans to voluntarily leave the city and trenches.

Initially, the Ottoman Holy City Guard felt humiliated and rejected the Austrian army's demands.

However, as more and more Austrian soldiers arrived, they eventually changed their minds.

In fact, the situation inside Jerusalem was much better than the Austrian soldiers had imagined, after all, many people had lived there for generations.

The Ottomans had committed massacres more than once, so people were already on guard. Many people carried weapons, though they were all rudimentary; even a few kitchen knives and sharpened wooden sticks were enough to instill fear.

The imagined bloody scene did not occur. Although a few unlucky people were beaten to death in the street, most people remained safe and sound, hiding in the church or at home.

Embassies from different countries have reacted differently. Some countries are trying their best to protect their citizens, while others are demanding hourly fees, and some are directly sending troops to drive them away.

Some even went so far as to drink and chat with local Ottoman officials on luxurious terraces while observing the hardships of the people, and when the mood struck them, they would even join in the fun with the people.

However, at this time, the two sides were still in a stalemate in Jerusalem, and there were no large-scale casualties.

If we had to find a culprit, it would be the Austrian army that killed the most people during the siege.

However, the Austrian soldiers, who had just witnessed a human tragedy, only saw a group of demons besieging the church. As partners of justice, it was only natural to provide some rockets and shells as support.

Then the cannons roared through the crowd, and the once-aggressive Ottomans were instantly routed and fled in disarray.

What's even more terrifying is that those in the rear had no idea what was happening in front; the Austrian soldiers only knew that a battle had broken out ahead.

A massive melee ensued, and due to the extreme bloodshed, the church, which had been under siege, was opened to the attackers.

Because the Austrian army in front of them was incredibly efficient, especially in dealing with these ragtag troops that had no fighting ability whatsoever.

Chaos reigned at the front, and Austrian troops arriving from the rear joined the battle one after another.

Soon, nearly a third of the holy city was razed to the ground, and the Ottomans who had besieged the church and were armed with weapons all fell in pools of blood.

Ludwig von Runds arrived at the church door with a group of soldiers carrying several crates of munitions, speaking in broken German-accented French.

"Boron oil, Zhe'er Yipin'an. Come out quickly."

After a long while, a frail old priest finally came out, wearing reading glasses, and looked at the scene for a long time.

"You are Austrians, aren't you?"

"You speak Austrian? We're here to help you, and we've brought you weapons."

Ludwig von Runds and the soldiers beside him all seemed very happy.

"Fortunately we caught up."

"Thank you, but we don't need your help. Please leave."

The old priest immediately told them to leave.

“Those Ottomans are ruthless! We will wipe them out, because we are afraid they will resort to desperate measures.”

Ludwig von Lens explained, “Enough. We have our ways, and we’ve held out here for centuries. If it weren’t for your killings, those Ottomans wouldn’t have gone so mad.”

Clearly, the Christians here have their own way of life, and Ludwig von Runds doesn't really like dealing with them.

He usually encountered either military priests or missionaries who were pioneering colonies, and their ideas were completely different, making communication impossible.

"let's go."

"Yes."

"First, establish a quarantine zone within the city to protect these guys. If they encounter any attacks or resistance, kill them without mercy."

"As ordered."

In fact, Ludwig von Runds, who had been killed along the way, finally came to his senses a little. He had only brought an advance force of a little over 10,000 men, and continuing the fight could very well lead to a larger-scale war.

Like most Austrian Imperial officers at the time, Ludwig von Runds looked down on the Ottomans, but he did not have higher authority, so he waited for further instructions from home.

This is quite a big deal, and I believe the evidence will cause a huge uproar in Austria.

Indeed, the massacres that occurred in Canaan, especially the photographs, shocked the entire Austrian Empire.

Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna.

Olga has just returned to her home country and is extremely weak due to her previous surgery.

"I'm sorry, darling. I didn't know things would turn out this way."

"You're not the one who should apologize; you're the victim. Don't worry, believe me, those people have already paid the price they deserve."

Franz couldn't help but feel a little apologetic. If he hadn't acted so hastily, perhaps those people wouldn't have resorted to such extreme measures.

However, this thought was fleeting. Franz had actually known that this would happen, but he felt that those people should be targeting him instead.

However, his opponent's lower limit was lower than Franz had imagined, and he had to reassess his enemy.

After Olga's incident, the entire royal family's security system was upgraded to a higher level.

"I didn't expect so many people to die."

Olga was clearly filled with remorse; of the hundreds of guards and servants she had worked with day and night, only 57 survived.

If she hadn't insisted on attending her brother's wedding, this might not have happened. Thankfully, she didn't bring little Karl along, or she would have regretted it for the rest of her life.

"That's their job, and what we need to do is fulfill ours. To live longer and make this country a better place."

"Doctor! Call a doctor!"

Suddenly Olga coughed up blood, which stained the sheets red. Franz rushed over to check on her.

"Don't blame yourself too much. The doctor said you need to rest."

"Frantz, I'm sorry."

"You don't need to blame yourself. Focus on getting better first. We can talk about it later."

The doctor and nurses arrived quickly and conducted an examination.

"Her Majesty the Empress was simply a little too excited."

"I see."

Franz turned and left; he now had to keep an eye on his two children.