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

Chapter 1840 Try your best
To be honest, Franz was a little embarrassed at this moment, because after circling around, the ball seemed to have returned to his feet.

Of course, Franz could also sit idly by, since it was Frederick William IV who had brought this trouble upon himself. He could simply wait for the issue between the two duchies to explode and spiral out of control before holding anyone accountable.

This time, we guarantee that Prussia will suffer a terrible fate, even if the people don't expel Prussia from German citizenship.

The prestige of the Kingdom of Prussia would inevitably decline significantly, and they would morally lose their eligibility to contend for German leadership.
However, Franz wasn't there to compete in being worse off. If he really wanted to be worse off, he had a million ways to undermine Prussia, and even make it more than just socially dead.

But this maneuver doesn't mean much to Franz, and may even contradict his ultimate goal.

However, the problem now is that the model of resolving the issue through the Confederate monarchical assembly is probably too late. After all, everyone avoids such matters, and there is no reason for Frederick William IV to remain in power.

Frankfurt has lost all its former glory since losing its independent status as a free city, and monarchs would not choose such a place for team building activities.

In fact, even Franz had already returned to Vienna. His initial purpose was to establish the authority of the Confederation Monarchical Assembly, thus giving him another means to circumvent the law.

Moreover, the stronger the monarch's power, the stronger the authority of the Austrian Empire, which is more advantageous to the Habsburg family.

Furthermore, some things are much more dignified to resolve privately than to be publicly executed.
Although things are difficult, they still need to be done.

"Contact Berlin and Hanover for me."

Franz's words surprised Prince Schwarzenberg and Lord Haberscu, who were preparing to open champagne to celebrate Prussia's humiliation.

"Your Majesty, we don't need to clean up the Prussians' mess; they brought it on themselves!"

This is the truest sentiment of the Austrians. Although they are nationalists, they find the Prussians more hateful than the French.

Moreover, Prince Schwarzenberg and Lord Haberscu, as the true high-ranking officials, understood just how difficult it was for Franz to do this.

On one hand, there was a chaotic situation and a fanatical populace. Neither the Germans nor the Danes showed any sign of backing down. In addition, the situation in the various states had completely spiraled out of control.

In fact, the reason why the German states adopted a laissez-faire attitude was largely due to the inaction of the Danish government.

There are sensible people in each state government who know that they cannot hold back the people at this time, otherwise they will be the ones who suffer.

In fact, the fact that other states did not directly use their national military force to retaliate against Denmark's national-level military force is already quite restrained.

However, if the scale of casualties expands, it's hard to say that a real fight might break out, and things could get very different then.

On the other hand, time was also very tight. Even if the Austrian Empire sent troops immediately, it would not be able to gather enough troops to stop both sides within a few days.

Moreover, as time goes on, the troop strength of both sides is also increasing. With the upgrading of military equipment on both sides, conflict could break out at any moment.

As the Chancellor and Foreign Minister of the Austrian Empire, they naturally had great faith in Franz's abilities, but even the most capable person needs time to demonstrate their abilities.

They were in a complete dead end, and taking over now would bring them no benefit whatsoever, which is why they had been gloating before.

Franz's expression also showed some helplessness.

"We are not doing this for Prussia; we are doing this for the unity of the Confederation and the lives of millions of innocent people. They should not become victims of some ambitious individuals."

"But Your Majesty, no one will understand you. If we fail, we will be caught in the middle."

"No, we won't. Have the Prussians prepare the ships, and we'll send the Trieste marines over."

Hopefully, it's not too late.

Franz believed that the only way to solve the problem was to capture the leader first, so he planned to send troops to launch a direct attack on Copenhagen, partly to control Jacob Bjorn and his gang and prevent them from taking any further extreme actions.

On the other hand, it is necessary to find Frederick VII, the culprit, as his continued absence remains a potential threat.

Austria had already learned of Frederick VII's movements; after all, it was incredibly easy to plant spies around such a person.

It was precisely because he had sufficient intelligence that Franz dared to take such action.

Whether Frederick William IV was faking illness or not was irrelevant to Franz, since even if he were faking illness, Prussia would likely cooperate.

Of course, if they don't cooperate, then we'll just have to take the blame.

Taking the detour from Hanover was too far, and the Mecklenburg navy simply didn't have the strength to break through the Danish blockade, so Prussia was the only option.

What if the Austrian Imperial Marines were to fail?
That would mean having one million Danes buried with Jacob Bijørn and Frederick VII.

Franz had another plan: he would send troops to the two duchies and send Grand Duke Albrecht there to stabilize the situation.

Albrecht had, after all, served as Commander-in-Chief of the German Confederation, so the military from all sides would give him some face. In addition, his status as a member of the Austrian imperial family could theoretically keep things under control.

At the same time, Albrecht and the large army of the Austrian Empire could also draw the Danes' attention, providing cover for the marines' raid.

However, if the operation fails, the spies Franz planted around Frederick VII will assassinate him.

Then the German allied forces will sweep across the entire Jutland Peninsula, eliminating any Danes who might have been involved in the plot to assassinate Frederick VII.

Franz didn't know how many Danes would be left alive on the Jutland Peninsula by then, but he was certain the entire peninsula would be stained with blood.

This was a last resort, but at least it prevented the situation from escalating further.
However, Franz did not think he would fail at all. Although this tactic seemed simple and crude, it had a much higher margin for error than a complex conspiracy.

And if all else fails, Franz could choose to overturn the table and send troops to conquer the entire country of Denmark.

The only concern is whether Albrecht can resolutely carry out the cleanup order. After all, in Franz's memory, this uncle is a pure soldier who strongly opposes indiscriminate killing, whether in Belgium, Hungary, or Italy.

A quarter of an hour later.

"Uncle Albrecht, I hope you understand that Denmark has closed the border and cut off the railway."

A large-scale conflict could break out at any time. Although we have already informed the countries along the route, it is still not advisable to send too many troops.

Therefore, the first thing you must do upon arriving in Holstein is to incorporate the local scattered militia. Our forces alone will hardly be able to maintain order; you must find other sources of strength on the spot.”

Franz's statement completely stunned Albrecht.

"Can war be fought like this?"

Franz nodded.

"We lack sufficient troops. Controlling a conflict involving hundreds of thousands of people without enough troops would put us in danger."

We're there to save lives, not to die. Any sacrifice is acceptable, but it must be worthwhile.

Grand Duke Albrecht shook his head.

"No. I just feel that every time I follow your instructions, it refreshes my understanding. There's no time to lose, I'll leave now and get there by tomorrow morning."

"Uncle Albrecht, I still have to remind you."

The brutality of the civil war far exceeded your imagination. No matter how strong the French were on the western front, both sides were still engaged in a war, and there were always some rules to follow.

However, in a civil war, even the slightest hesitation could mean your death. Therefore, once a civil war breaks out, do not hesitate; kill all the enemies in front of you with all your might so you can protect more people.

Albrecht thought for a moment and then said.

"Don't worry, I won't show any mercy when facing the enemy."

Franz frowned. "Those who serve the enemy are also enemies; to be merciful to them is to be cruel to one's own people."

You should know how many people we have lost over the years in order to eliminate bandits and mountain robbers within our borders.

To avoid a repeat of the tragedy, you'd better finish this in one fell swoop.

Of course, I will try my best to negotiate to avoid the worst outcome.

Albrecht nodded.

"I understand. But I have faith in you."

After Albrecht left, Friedrich came over and said something.

"Frantz, I think you used the word 'negotiation' in a somewhat problematic way."

Franz sighed.

"The Danish side simply refused to cooperate. However, I suspect it was a unilateral decision by Jacob Bjørn and his cronies."

However, even if such a person is willing to negotiate, they are most likely just stalling for time.

Uncle Friedrich, would you try to guess what a mouse is thinking?

Friedrich answered without hesitation.

"Of course not! So you're planning to give up on negotiations?"

No. How could that be?

In fact, airships were already distributing leaflets in Copenhagen at this time, but it was unknown how effective this propaganda campaign would be.

Given that it was on the other side's home turf, it would have been easy for Jacob Beauhn to stigmatize Franz's behavior.

Moreover, it's hard to say how much those who are clear-headed are willing to pay. Saying and doing are two different things, and it's another matter entirely when facing a powerful third party.

Then there's Frederick VII himself. According to the solution in the story, as long as you persuade the king, the problem can be solved, and everyone can have a happy ending.

However, the problem now lies precisely with this person, as Frederick VII was already afraid of taking the blame and wanted to shirk responsibility.

Now that the situation has suddenly deteriorated, Frederick VII has become even more determined to feign illness and stay home.

As for Jacob Bijørn's deliberate deception, it certainly existed, but Frederick VII, who ruled Denmark for so many years, must have also had his own intelligence agency.

Franz did not believe that a newly appointed prime minister who couldn't even handle the parliament could directly control the intelligence system around the king.

Now, a fool is trying to pin the blame on a madman, and what's worse, this fool has no idea he's done something stupid.

The two of them worked together to make something that seemed impossible happen.

Friedrich didn't quite understand Franz's helplessness. His biggest question after reading the action plan was...

"When did you send the airship? Or have you developed some new technology?"

Friedrich naturally thought of airplanes. He only knew a little about airplanes, except that they were aircraft that could run at speeds exceeding one hundred kilometers per hour.

But what Friedrich didn't know was that the planes wouldn't be able to fly for long before they had to land to refuel.

On the contrary, airships were initially improved due to the invention of the internal combustion engine, and with their streamlined design, their speed was already close to 30 kilometers per hour.

However, this was clearly not the time to show off his skills, Franz replied directly.

“I have a few airships in Copenhagen, which come in handy at this time.”

"what?"

Friedrich was completely bewildered.

To prevent him from overthinking, Franz could only offer further explanation.

"The scenery in Denmark is beautiful; I just feel like I might need it someday."

Although it was a far-fetched argument, Friedrich finally accepted it, since in his view Tripoli was only marginally useful for a few ports, and the rest were all negative returns.

Franz might actually have a collecting obsession; after all, some people like to collect ship models, while Friedrich himself preferred collecting ships.

We just have different hobbies.
Friedrich soon stopped dwelling on this issue.

"Why don't you let me take command of this maritime operation?"

"Impossible. The Prussians will not hand over their navy; cooperating with our operation is already the limit."

Franz paused for a moment before continuing.

"As for having you personally participate in the island landing operation, that's even more impossible, and you know very well why."

Friedrich knew why, of course, but he felt that life was just too mundane.

Friedrich had expected the previous attack on the British ships to be a major battle.

However, the result was utterly disappointing; all the buildup had turned into a rushed chase.

The British divided their forces and abandoned their armor and weapons, so by the time the decisive battle came, the disparity in troop strength between the two sides was enormous.

Given the overwhelming disparity in firepower and manpower, the victory in that naval battle felt unreal to Friedrich.

"But can the Prussians be trusted? Our navy can set sail immediately and arrive in two weeks."

Friedrich clearly wanted to try again.

"We don't have that much time."

Franz's answer was straightforward; he didn't want to give people unnecessary illusions, and besides, the Austrian navy simply couldn't reach the Denmark Strait.

"Could we ask the Russians for help?"

Friedrich was clearly not giving up.

This time, Franz simply shook his head; the Russian side probably hadn't received the message yet.

Leaving aside whether Franz could persuade Nicholas I, by the time the Russian navy arrived, it would probably be too late.

Even assuming the worst, what would happen if the Russians came? The conflict with Denmark could be considered an internal conflict, but what would it look like if the Russians were involved?
Suddenly, a large number of leaflets fell from the sky over Copenhagen, the contents of which were roughly that Jacob Beaune had imprisoned Frederick VII and was instigating a civil war within the Confederacy.

Both allegations are partially true, but clarifying them will not be easy.

At least Frederick VII could no longer feign illness, and the Danish government needed to contact Germany and the Confederation to explain everything.

Franz really did his best; it all depends on whether the Danish elites are up to par, and whether Jacob Bjørn and Frederick VII still have any conscience.