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

Chapter 1881 Assassination in the New Era
However, news soon reached London that the flames of rebellion in Bohemia had not been completely extinguished, and Palmerston spoke highly of this fragmented rebellion.

Some people have raised questions.

"Your Excellency, those Czechs you had high hopes for have turned from a regular army into guerrillas in just one day. What are your thoughts on this?"

Palmerston enjoyed being surrounded by people, even though he wasn't the center of attention.

"I am very pleased."

The reporters were somewhat bewildered.

Are you siding with the Austrian Empire?

"No, of course I stand on the side of justice and civilization. But you can imagine two boxers fighting in the ring. The one who is stronger and bigger will definitely have the advantage and be more likely to win."

At this point, the conflict between Austria and Bohemia was like that between a tall, strong Maori man and a small, pitiful child on the streets of London; the outcome of their battle was entirely predictable.

At this time, there was still an armistice agreement between Austria and Britain, and the two sides had not explicitly broken off relations, because it was not worthwhile for a defeated power to offend the Austrian Empire. Therefore, Palmerston had to be careful with his words.

If the Prague rebels hadn't been wiped out overnight, he would have had other explanations, but for now, this is all he can say.

What happened in Prague undoubtedly confirmed Palmerston's statement, but another question arises: why did he say he felt so gratified?
Palmerston specifically compared Austria to the Maori people on the island of New Zealand because the stereotype of the Maori people in Britain at the time was that they were barbaric cannibals who had just betrayed Britain and completely ignored those civilized treaties.

The image of a frail child on the streets of London is one that easily evokes sympathy, and Palmerston's intention is self-evident.

A brief silence gives people time to think, and he made good use of that.

"However, if it is in a dark alley and both sides are holding daggers, the outcome will not be so absolute."

A weak person doesn't need to fight a strong person head-on. On the contrary, he can use his short stature to hide and occasionally appear to strike the enemy.

The strong Maori man would be more easily exposed due to his size, and the angrier and more desperate he became, the more he would expend energy.

Moreover, the Maori, due to their intellectual limitations, only use simple spears and fists, while those who grow up in London use tools and take advantage of the terrain, such as blindfolding their opponents with soot before fighting.

This is the wisdom of the streets.

Palmerston's words sounded nice, but in reality, they were even more shameless. However, the Austrian regular army could not do this, much less dared to do so; they had to be bound by the rules.

At this point in Britain, the bottom line would only become a shackle, and the consensus had become that only by abandoning morality could one embrace success.

After Palmerston's insightful remarks, everyone naturally understood and felt renewed confidence in the "Czech nationalists" far away in Bohemia.

All we can offer them is support and trust; we can't offer them money, troops, or supplies.

The war with the Americans made the British fully aware of the horrors of guerrilla warfare, and the victory in Pittsburgh could not make up for the loss of Trenton.

The British lines were constantly compressed, and the British Army only realized that William Rhoden was right after they lost their offensive capabilities.

The United States was too large and its battle lines too long to be defended. The US military could always easily penetrate the British defenses and launch a surprise attack from the center.

Codrington was indeed a defense expert, and he poured his heart and soul into this defensive line, but even the best defense is useless if a large part of it is lost in the middle.

However, even if Codrington had actually built the Great Wall he envisioned, the situation would not have changed much.

As I said before, the United States is too big, too big to be defended against.

Moreover, Codrington's so-called defense system was based on the premise of internal stability, but by this time the British-occupied zone had already become a bloodbath.

Riots were raging everywhere, and British soldiers and immigrants were being killed every day. The British government’s plan to restore its rule in North America had failed.

The £30 million war budget has been exhausted. Even if another £30 million were provided, it wouldn't be enough to fill the huge hole in North America.

That's why Palmerston had such a profound understanding of guerrilla warfare. The Americans had gone to great lengths to drive the British out, and with Britain continuing to be at a disadvantage, those Americans who had initially turned against them were now turning against them again.

The reaction within the Austrian Empire to Bohemia was much muted; rebellion was nothing unusual, and its swift suppression was even less surprising.

It would be news if the Prague rebels could actually hold out against the Imperial Army. People have no sympathy for the rebels; they'd rather know exactly how many crimes those guys have committed and how many people they've harmed.

Some people might wonder, why is this about public relations? Do they really care? The answer is yes, they really care. They are very concerned about whether they will be bullied again, and the public has a very simple view: the fewer bad guys there are, the better.

Another question is whether they dare to touch those big shots, or whether they will focus on the minor figures and fool the people.

Every action taken by the Austrian Empire demonstrated the government's resolve.

With the Vienna crackdown already underway, few people believed the Imperial government was merely putting on a show, and even fewer dared to get involved easily, given the vivid memory of 1848.

Once something gets involved with a rebellion, even the smallest thing can turn into a huge problem, and it's almost impossible to get out of it unscathed.

Although telegraphs were now in use, rumors always spread more widely than the truth, and the public preferred to hear such stories.

According to folklore, Franz personally rode his warhorse and fought the dragon with a lance. The mess around the train was the trace of the battle between the man and the dragon.

Prague became a den of villains because of evil dragons, and the whole affair was thus dramatically glossed over.

The events that occurred in Bohemia at this time served as a wake-up call for the nobles of the Austrian Empire. Continuing to play the old game was definitely not going to work, and confronting the central government of the empire would only lead to certain death.

Those who want to continue their collusion and hope that the law will not punish them because of their numbers must reconsider their options. Should they continue to commit crimes and wait for the emperor to come after them, or should they study how to clear their names and start anew, or should they let go of the past and leave this place of trouble?

All I know is that people often see fires flickering in the mansions of certain wealthy families at night, and the next day they always find a lot of ashes in the trash cans.

Outer members of gangs began to disappear in large numbers, the efficiency of the police system improved significantly, and even some cold cases that had been pending for decades began to loosen up, with compensation being obtained even without a result.

Of course, some people are thrilled by this, finding it more satisfying than any number of awards they could receive. They feel good seeing those guys suffer, since they themselves don't have such bad experiences.

Such people would love for the investigation to be as thorough as possible, ideally as the emperor's edict stated, that no one, regardless of status or power, should be spared.

As for those half-black, half-white guys, they're also racking their brains. There's no doubt that the wheels of history have already started turning, and sooner or later it will be their turn.

Soon these people found a way out to start a new life in the colony. In fact, many of them had no choice before and were simply pushed here by the tide of society.

Why not refuse? Because those who refuse would starve to death.

Now they just want to be good people.

Franz didn't completely close the door, letting go of the past and starting anew, but if they weren't willing to let go, nightmares would eventually find them.

Franz was assassinated again, as expected, but this attack was quite creative.

The assassins hijacked an airship and rappelled into the palace under cover of night, bypassing the outer defenses. Unfortunately, the Hofburg Palace had tens of thousands of rooms after several expansions.

The palace is still heavily guarded. Once the fighting begins, the Imperial Guards will arrive from all directions, followed by the city defense troops and the military police.

The assassins had at most two minutes. Although an inside man helped them find the right direction, it was only a general direction.

The whereabouts of members of the royal family are not fixed, and even the people specifically in charge of these matters can only determine their location about half an hour in advance.

Unfortunately, these people had just successfully rappelled down and hadn't even had time to form a formation before they were spotted by the guards.

Franz even had the composure to stand by the window and watch the battle outside, remaining completely unperturbed even as his enemies advanced towards his building. The assassins numbered only a dozen or so, while the palace was guarded by hundreds of soldiers, and its internal structure was extremely complex; those unfamiliar with its layout might even briefly lose their way.

Finding one's place is even more difficult.

Even if the assassins find Franz's room, they may not have enough firepower to destroy the door.

In addition, there are secret passages within the palace, which Franz could use to escape at any time.

In reality, the assassins were mostly killed before they even got close to the palace where Franz was. They were only kept alive to obtain useful information.

However, being shot in the leg or arm can also be fatal, and the Imperial Guards clearly lacked experience in this area, since Franz did not have that particular fetish.

Moreover, the palace had been suddenly invaded for the first time since 1848. There had been many attacks against Franz, but only two had dared to directly attack the palace.

The assassins who were hit by the large-caliber military rifles quickly fell into a state of shock and were clearly unable to get anything out of them.

Fortunately, Franz has captured them alive.

A quarter of an hour ago, gunshots outside startled Franz from his dream. He went to the window and looked at the battle in the courtyard, his eyelids twitching involuntarily.

Celestina made a rustling sound behind him, then wrapped a robe around Franz's body, her fingertips trembling slightly as she lightly brushed his chest.

"Your Majesty, should we leave?"

Franz took Celestina's hand.

"There has been progress, but it's not enough. Does this concern you?"

Celestina shook her head abruptly and said urgently.

"No. I really don't know anything."

Franz simply patted her hand lightly and said with a smile.

"That's the person outside the door."

Celestina followed Franz's gaze toward the door, but it was closed and there was no one there.

Just as she was wondering what was going on, someone suddenly started banging on the door, making a chaotic and urgent noise.

"Your Majesty, the palace has been attacked. Lord Bordeaux requests that you come with me to evacuate."

The other two maids in the room were already dressed, but they would not make decisions on their own without Franz's orders.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong? I'll come to your rescue right now."

The people outside started banging on the door, but this door was not something that one or two people could break open.

Franz gave Celestina a look, and she spoke.

"Please be patient, His Majesty is changing his clothes."

"It's too late! Your Majesty, please hurry!"

Franz, however, remained unhurried, still gazing out the window. About half a minute later, a series of rapid footsteps sounded, and someone rang the doorbell.

"Your Majesty, there are assassins invading the Bordeaux Royal Palace."

It was obvious that Bordeaux felt ashamed that assassins had broken into the palace, and even more ashamed that the so-called assassins were still putting up a stubborn resistance.

"You should arrest that assassin at the door first."

Franz's voice rang out, startling everyone outside.

Bordeaux was initially puzzled as to why someone had arrived before him. However, when everyone's attention turned to the guard who had arrived first, he immediately panicked.

Originally, everyone was just suspicious because they had been together day and night. After all, everyone wanted to do something like escorting the emperor to curry favor with him. But now it's basically certain.

"Arrest him first."

At Bordeaux's command, several guards moved in unison, and a fruit knife that had been hidden beforehand fell to the ground.

In reality, not all guards could access firearms at all times. There were strict prohibitions in the palace, and even cold weapons were not allowed to be carried at all times. They could only obtain weapons under special circumstances.

Otherwise, a dozen assassins wouldn't have been able to cause any disturbance; clearly, that fruit knife was the murder weapon intended for the assassination.

The battle outside has also ended.

"Interrogate them thoroughly."

Franz's tone remained calm, as if he had not just experienced an assassination attempt, but had merely watched a bland and uninteresting performance.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Bordeaux was somewhat troubled, not expecting that there was a traitor among his own men, and that the poison was hidden in his teeth, indicating that he had come prepared.

It was clearly an opportunity earned by a promising young man with ability, talent, a clean background, and generations of loyalty to the country.

"Let me see him!"

The young man was clearly dissatisfied, but unfortunately, His Majesty had not given any orders.

You are not qualified yet.

Before the young guard could say anything, he was struck hard across the face, his mouth filled with blood and several teeth knocked out. His eyes were filled with resentment and bitterness.

However, he never got to see Franz. He was just a pawn in someone else's game, just like the others outside.

The assassination was clearly meticulously planned, with over a dozen assassins being former soldiers, in addition to the royal guard.

It has to be said that the stakes were high, but it was all for naught. By examining the backgrounds of these people, it wouldn't be difficult to find the masterminds behind it all; they were simply exposing themselves more thoroughly.

Celestina asked, somewhat puzzled.

How do you know he's an assassin?

Franz smiled.

"A single person comes to protect me? Does he even have the qualifications? Besides, none of the rules in the palace are established for nothing."

"But what if he doesn't have a weapon?"

"That's also related to the assassin. He couldn't have gotten here so far in advance; the only explanation is that he knew about the assassination plan all along."

However, he didn't want to become one of them; instead, he wanted to rise to power by taking the lives of those assassins.

This kind of person should not be allowed to live.