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

Chapter 1910 Crony Capitalism
Morni's military achievements earned him a certain degree of respect, but that was all.

He remained excluded from mainstream circles, and the future first playboy of France was frequently rejected at this time. Even prostitutes who were paid to do things for him often teased him.

Later, Morney astutely realized that this was an era where money was everything, and that with money you could buy almost anything, at least he would no longer be rejected by those prostitutes.

He was overwhelmed with invitations, and the aloof and arrogant ladies who used to ignore him were now vying to get into his bed.

Those who fawned over the powerful were as numerous as fish crossing a river, and he began to be lucky, with various awards always coming his way.

All sorts of important figures began vying to befriend him, and he himself became a highly sought-after celebrity.

The Rothschild family, the Perel brothers, the Fulds, and countless other illustrious names all had to be placed after him; salons and gatherings without his attendance were considered inferior.

The Duke of Morny even coined a term specifically for this: "crony capitalism".

In his eyes, ordinary people were nothing more than consumables, at most like grass on the grassland. Officials and merchants were nothing more than a bunch of self-proclaimed fat sheep, while he was the wolf, the true carnivore.

In fact, the first thing Morni did after being granted the title of Duke was to propose to Franz's sister, after all, he was already second only to the French emperor in the Second French Empire.

If they could also form a marriage alliance with the Austrian Empire, they would not only have accomplished something that even Napoleon III could not, but they would also have expanded their network of connections to the entire European continent.

At this time, the Austrian Empire was powerful enough, and the Habsburg family was prestigious enough to fully satisfy Morni's vanity and practical needs.

If he could truly achieve this, his future career would be unimpeded, and no one would be able to interfere with his freedom. Once he became a double champion, Morni might even be able to build his own family, or even replace Louis-Napoleon.

However, Franz burned the letter, but Morne was not giving up.

Morne actually hoped to bump into Franz's sister, but he was thrown out of the ball. Franz himself was not rigid about marriage, and even felt that intermarriage between nobles and commoners was acceptable.

Of course, the royal family still has to consider some potential consequences. But Franz wouldn't push his sister into a fire pit.

After all, Maria Anna was just a girl who hadn't seen much of the world. If she were to meet a playboy who was a master of romance, she would probably be completely infatuated with him.

Franz could refuse to use his own sister as leverage, but he would never allow others to use his sister as leverage to threaten him and the Austrian Empire.

In fact, Franz had his reasons for not allowing Maria Anna to marry into the other country. Although royal families from various European countries were willing to marry Franz's sister, these countries were either low-value targets or simply a burden to the Austrian Empire at that time.

Britain, France, Prussia, and Russia all extended olive branches, with all three factions in France harboring this idea, since whoever could secure this marriage would most likely gain the support of the Austrian Empire.

However, Franz did not want to get directly involved in the French Civil War. He opposed Napoleon's Second Empire, but that did not mean he liked the Orleans or Bourbon dynasties.

In reality, it would be a loss for the Austrian Empire if any of the three parties became too powerful; the best course of action was to maintain the status quo.

As for the marriage alliance with Russia, it should have been the best course of action, since the Russo-Austrian alliance was the cornerstone of the rise of the Austrian Empire.

However, after so many years of development, especially after the Ottoman Empire withdrew from Europe, the conflict between Austria and Russia began to escalate dramatically.

Not to mention time travelers like Franz, the entire high command of Austria and Russia could see that war between the two sides was inevitable sooner or later.

At this point, Franz marrying his sister off to Russia would only add to the tragedy and serve no other purpose.

Prussia opted for a marriage alliance with Britain. Although Prince Albrecht the Younger was of suitable age, he was too far removed from the core of Prussian power, and a prince was far from being a suitable match for Maria Anna's status.

If Franz were to marry his sister to someone who wasn't even the first in line to the throne, Lady Sophie would definitely be the first to object.

A marriage alliance between Austria and Britain is worth considering, since conflicts between nations have little to do with the ruling family.

For example, the Duke of Morny eventually married the daughter of a Russian prince. It should be noted that Nicholas I had repeatedly stated publicly that he wanted to destroy the Second French Empire and exile Napoleon's entire ragtag family to Siberia.

In fact, at this time, the British government's attitude toward the marriage between the British royal family and the Austrian Empire was one of both opposition and support.

Opposition is for appearances, support is for substance.

In fact, after fighting for so long, the British had long since given up on fighting Austria. If they could turn enemies into friends and achieve win-win cooperation, the British government would be very happy to see it.

Even if they can't, just getting some breathing room is a great gain for them.

This deal is a sure thing for the British government, and it's also a sure thing for the increasingly weakened British royal family.

In fact, Prince Albert was very keen to arrange this marriage, since a marriage alliance with the Austrian Empire would bring far greater political benefits to the British royal family than the opposition from members of parliament.

It could even help his eldest son, Albert Edward, consolidate the royal family's position.
This condition was not unacceptable to the Austrian Empire, since Austria had already occupied all the territories it wanted and there was no need to continue fighting to the death with Britain.

Furthermore, in theory, Austria and Britain shared a common enemy and common interests.

But Franz simply couldn't consider the British as allies, after all, the British were experts at betraying their allies, something he knew all too well at this moment.

In addition, Queen Victoria's eldest son, Albert Edward, was a mere figurehead, but Franz didn't care about having another incompetent person.

But Albert Edwards was not only incompetent, he also loved to break the rules.

He might be considered a wise ruler in England, but from the perspective of the Austrian Empire, such a man would probably be seen as a stain on the family.

Given the current rate at which the confidence of the Austrian Empire's citizens is expanding, it is highly likely that this will trigger even larger-scale riots in the future.

Finally, and perhaps most unimportantly at this point, Albert Edward and Maria Anna grew to dislike each other.

Franz's sister, Maria Anna, was a woman of rather gentle character.

Franz was not the kind of feudal patriarch; in fact, he often said some unconventional things.

Maria Anna may have been naturally inclined to admire the free-spirited Queen Jhansi, but she herself was rather unremarkable.

It's not easy to make a woman like this dislike you, and Prince Albert Edward disliked this kind of obedient girl the most.

Therefore, both sides had no choice but to give up.

Franz originally chose Spain as his marriage partner, but Ferdinand II began to act recklessly after becoming King Ferdinand VIII of Spain.

Franz could tolerate the previous shady dealings, and he could even understand the fact that Franz sided with Britain and France, but the massacre of pro-Austrian elements in Catalonia was something he could not accept.

Franz was quite certain that this short-sighted fellow was very likely to turn against the Austrian Empire for some petty gain in the future.

The Spanish did the same thing in New Granada. Franz understood what Fernando VIII was afraid of: he desperately wanted to exclude the Austrian Empire, or rather the Habsburg family's influence, from Spain's sphere of influence.

Fernando VIII was terrified that Franz would repeat his past mistakes, yet he had a hundred wiser options, choosing the most extreme one instead. As Emperor of Austria and head of the Habsburg family, Franz could not stand by and watch those close to him suffer needless slaughter, so he had to support them to avoid alienating the people.

However, this action chilled Fernando VIII's heart, and the relationship between the two sides was completely severed as a result.

The marriage proposal naturally fell through, but fortunately Maria Anna herself didn't care, and Mrs. Sophie was determined to find the best match for her daughter.

Thus, Grand Duchess Maria Anna's marriage was postponed.

When Franz received the telegram from the Second French Empire, he was not surprised at all; in fact, he had known all along that the other side would make this choice.

Franz's failure to reply was tantamount to tacitly approving the French proposal, though whether the French actually dared to do it was unclear.

The partition of the Kingdom of Sardinia by Austria and France was an acceptable outcome for both sides.

However, Franz was not as greedy as Duke Morni thought; he had no interest in the finest Piedmont.

In fact, Franz still needed the Kingdom of Sardinia as a buffer zone. If the Austrian Empire were to occupy Piedmont, it would have to bear enormous defensive pressure and the possibility of resistance.

Rather than taking on this mess, it's better to pass it on to someone else.

More importantly, it can completely shatter the unrealistic fantasies of Italian nationalists and make them understand who the real enemy is.

However, the proposal from the French was unacceptable to the Austrian Empire's high command.

"What right do those Frenchmen have to share our profits!"

"Too crazy!"

"We should declare war on France! Let those robbers know what's what!"

Franz looked at the ministers with some helplessness. There was no doubt that they had developed a path dependency, always resorting to war to solve problems.

Beating up a second-rate power like Sardinia is no longer enough to satisfy their vanity; now they want to take action against the real great powers.

"Isn't it better to resolve issues peacefully?"

Franz's calm demeanor surprised the ministers, after all, it was Franz who had wanted to be attacked in the first place.

"Your Majesty! This is blatant robbery by the French!"

Prince Schwarzenberg said with great sorrow.

"Yes! They are not qualified to join forces with us!"

The Minister of War, Count Latour, also added a timely comment.

"Who said we were going to join forces with the French?"

Franz countered with a question.

Everyone present was now completely baffled.

"How can we divide the spoils without joining forces?"

Of course, no one would ask directly, and Franz wouldn't let the situation remain awkward.

“We’ll do what we want. What France does is none of our business. They can’t cross the line.”

However, the situation remained awkward, and those present still couldn't understand Franz's thinking. In their view, this didn't change the fact that the French had seized the spoils of war from the Austrian Empire.

Because of Sardinia's poor performance and the lack of a powerful nation to stand up for it, the Austrian Empire's high command now regarded everything in Sardinia as Austria's spoils of war, and they all looked determined to acquire it.

Franz had no choice but to bring out Metternich's theory again.

"We need a buffer zone. And the real punishment is not to physically eliminate the opponent, but to make them live in constant fear of being destroyed at any moment."

"Don't those guys from Sardinia always like to call themselves the restorers of the Italian nation? I'd like to see how they manage to revive it."

There is no love without a reason, nor is there hatred without a reason.

The Kingdom of Sardinia was the last remaining threat to the struggle with the Austrian Empire for leadership of the Apennine region, so Franz spared no effort to suppress and weaken its power and influence.

The Austrian Empire's high command fully understood and agreed with this. But precisely because of this, they found Franz's actions even more incomprehensible.

"Your Majesty, if we don't kill the snake, there may be future troubles."

Prince Schwarzenberg said with some concern that although he did not believe the Austrian Empire would lose at this time, it was never wrong to be prepared, just as Franz had said before.

Seeing that Franz did not express his opinion, Baron Riet von Geiltz, the Minister of Transport, thought of another possibility and said.

“Your Majesty, Prince Metternich once said, ‘A strong nation should not be easily humiliated. The defeated must retain their dignity so that peace can last.’”

Aren't we creating an enemy who hates us by doing this?

Metternich could never have imagined that his words would be remembered by a Prussian and ultimately used against the Austrian Empire.

At this point, Count Latour interjected again.

"We should seize this opportunity to completely annihilate the Kingdom of Sardinia! No one can help them now! Once the Kingdom of Sardinia is gone, the future troubles will disappear! Then we won't have to worry about dignity or hatred anymore!"

The Austrian Empire's high command was not a mob, so they didn't rush forward, but their expressions were all very solemn as they waited for Franz to give them an explanation.

“Prince Metternich makes a good point, but the Kingdom of Sardinia is not a powerful nation. They need the strength to take revenge.”

Franz's answer was quite unexpected, and it was clear that he was insulting the Kingdom of Sardinia.

It's worth noting that Franz is not usually like this. His Majesty the Emperor is usually quite reserved and rarely acts so arrogantly.

The surrounding ministers exchanged bewildered glances, after all, Franz was considered one of the most powerful emperors in the entire history of the Habsburgs.

Now that the emperor has made up his mind, what can they say?