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

Chapter 1917 Achilles' Heel
Fifty-eight years have passed since Napoleon seized Malta. For the past fifty-eight years, the Knights have been wandering without a proper place to call their own, since even a decent noble estate is no less than nine acres.

"Call everyone here, I have something important to announce."

However, Grand Master Filippo was immediately met with a cold shower after he finished speaking. The person who poured cold water on his idea was Henri Boutmann, a member of the Order of the Knights from France.

In fact, many members of the French Knights of the Order of Malta defected when Napoleon attacked the island. Without these inside agents, it might have been a little more difficult for the French to take Malta.

However, Henry Boutermann's ancestors did not choose to rebel, but he had no goodwill towards the Austrian Empire, after all, France was being suppressed by the Austrian Empire.

"Don't get too excited. You should remember that our forefathers also looked forward to the Vienna Conference, but those damned guys wouldn't even let us in."

This bucket of cold water instantly extinguished the Knights' enthusiasm, but they still hoped that the new emperor of the Austrian Empire might be a little foolish and perhaps grant their request.

It wasn't that Metternich didn't want them to participate, but the British objected, and given the Austrian Empire's strength at the time, they had no choice but to concede.

There is a tiny bit of religious element involved, but it is actually more about the strategic location of Malta.

The Sovereigns of Malta is indeed a useful card, given the strategic importance of the island of Malta, which directly relates to control of the central Mediterranean.

Any powerful nation that wants to control the central Mediterranean region cannot bypass the island of Malta, and with the advancement of technology, the island of Malta will become increasingly important.

Returning Malta to its rightful owners would portray the Austrian Empire as an enforcer of justice, rather than a nouveau riche or plunderer.

This aligns perfectly with the Austrian Empire's self-image as the protector of Catholicism and the maintainer of European order.

At the same time, the Order of Malta was a weak organization, so weak that the Austrian Empire could disregard its influence, making it easier for the Austrian Empire to exercise actual control.

With the legitimacy of the Sovereign Order of Malta as a guarantee, the British had no choice but to either give up or confront the entire Catholic world head-on.

Some things are a joke in the hands of weak countries, but in the hands of strong countries they are an unquestionable principle of nature.

Although the direct opponent of the military intervention was only Austria, the impact on Britain itself was extremely negative, not to mention that the Irish were in rebellion at the time.

On the other hand, the reason why the Knights of Malta were able to settle in Malta was also closely related to the Habsburg family. If Franz wanted to take it back, he would have plenty of excuses.

Franz's assistance to the Knights of Malta in restoring their kingdom was, by all accounts, a win-win, or even a win-win-win situation.

After all, the British were not Catholics, and driving heretics out of Catholic territory was a victory for the entire Catholic world.

However, Franz still chose to refuse, partly because he felt the Knights' sincerity was insufficient, and partly because he felt these guys were simply not qualified.

However, the most important reason was that the time was not right. At that time, the Austrian Empire had not yet shown its full power. Tying the British to the Mediterranean would only weaken their national strength.

In fact, every time the British Mediterranean Fleet was completely destroyed, it was a major blow to Britain. Maintaining this high-risk stronghold required a lot of manpower, material resources and energy.

Since the first destruction of the Mediterranean Fleet in 1848, every batch of garrison troops has been restless and unable to eat or sleep. In particular, almost every commander of the Mediterranean Fleet in recent years has suffered from varying degrees of insomnia and depression.

Some things are unavoidable; after all, you can only be a thief for a thousand days, not a thief for a thousand days.

To be fair, every commander of the British Mediterranean Fleet was a capable individual, a carefully selected and truly shrewd military strategist and pragmatist.

The more the British studied it, the more powerless they felt, because the Austrian Empire theoretically had too many possible routes of attack.

Although theoretically every type of attack has countermeasures, the difficulty of preparing for a perfect attack increases exponentially before the Austrian Empire's attack methods can be determined.

They can come up with countless contingency plans, but they cannot guarantee that every plan will be implemented simultaneously.

Moreover, the Austrian Empire might not necessarily choose only one method to attack Malta, making this situation almost unsolvable.

However, what was truly devastating was that as time went on, the Austrian Empire had more and more methods at its disposal. It could seize the island not only through naval warfare but also by sending troops to Malta, and even by using air power.

It would be virtually impossible for the British Mediterranean Fleet to defend against a surprise attack from the Austrian Empire, so could it possibly launch a counterattack?

These British generals were not fools; they, along with the top military geniuses in London, were studying this possibility.

Unfortunately, the Austrian Empire's naval headquarters was too far away, and there were checkpoints along the way, so the chances of the British fleet approaching Trieste or Venice undetected were almost zero.

Conversely, the Austrian Empire's fleet could move freely and even launch attacks from the territories of other countries.

No matter how much Franz and Maximilian disagreed, the British did not believe that the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies would side with them.

What's worse is that even the British Royal Navy, with its considerable arrogance, didn't believe that a single surprise attack could completely destroy the Austrian Empire's massive naval power.

In fact, after several failures, many British generals came to a very sad conclusion: even under conditions of surprise attack, the British Mediterranean Fleet's chances of winning were not high, and there was a great possibility that it would be trapped and beaten.

Furthermore, the ongoing conflicts between Britain and the Austrian Empire, at least in terms of the constant propaganda war, made it difficult to imagine which British commander could sleep soundly on a barrel of explosives.

After all, the Austrian Empire was not only capable of naval warfare, but was also more likely to launch attacks directly on land, and the real threat might even come from the sky.

If the enemy comes only from the sea, then they still have a choice. To fight? To flee? To surrender? The initiative is in their own hands.

However, the Austrian Empire did not play by the rules. Once the Austrian Empire launched an attack on land, even the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet might die mysteriously in the chaos of war.

The bullets that killed them could have come from Austrians, but they could also have come from their own side; after all, it wasn't unheard of before.

When their own lives are directly threatened, can they really remain as calm and collected as if they were ordering someone else to die?

Obviously, the vast majority of people cannot, since in Britain, job rank has little to do with moral character. So how could they not become depressed?

The most terrifying part of Franz's plan was yet to come; repeated failures led Palmerston to consider disbanding the Mediterranean Fleet.

After all, Palmerston believed that such a purely loss-making department had no purpose, and Britain at that time did not have the extra money to maintain such a fleet. Rebuilding the Mediterranean Fleet would cost at least tens of millions of pounds, and when you factor in the time, manpower, and subsequent maintenance costs, it would be an astronomical sum.

Such extravagant behavior is completely unsuitable for the British government, which is currently facing internal and external difficulties.

Palmerston's idea wasn't wrong, but being right doesn't mean it's correct, much less that it will gain the approval of others.

It's important to understand that the Austrian Empire posed a real threat, not to mention that it had previously intercepted British merchant ships.

In order to maintain Britain's position in the Mediterranean trade network, a strong and powerful navy was essential.

As for the British government not having money? What does that have to do with me?
If you don't have money, just borrow it!

They don't care about that.

In addition, although the Suez Canal was not yet completed, the Austrian Empire had already begun preparations for the second phase of the Suez Canal project.

The British government couldn't afford to continue interfering, nor did it have the power to stop the Austrian Empire's actions, so it was in a very awkward position.

The best way to break the deadlock was to strengthen Britain's control in the Mediterranean region, and a powerful Mediterranean fleet once again became the best option.

Palmerston was a weak prime minister; he had no control over Parliament, and he couldn't even manage his own party, which is why he cared so much about the support of the royal family.

Palmerston wanted to find someone to break the deadlock, but no one was willing to take the risk, and no one could shoulder the responsibility.

With the plan to abandon the Mediterranean Fleet forced to a halt, could the size and budget of the Mediterranean Fleet be reduced?

Palmerston was adept at passing the buck; he wanted to pass the buck to the Navy and the Budget Department so they could handle it. This was actually a very clever tactic—allowing the two already conflicting departments to fight amongst themselves so he could reap the benefits.

The problems belong to others, but the credit goes to oneself—isn't that wonderful?

However, British bureaucracy has been developing for centuries, and Palmerston was not the only intelligent person in history.

First Lord of the Admiralty Sir Sir John Parkington and Chancellor of the Exchequer Benjamin Disraeli were both seasoned veterans of the political arena, and they both knew exactly how Palmerston was calculating.

However, neither Sir Kington nor Benjamin Disraeli could bear the blame. Both sides had their own reasons. After all, the Royal Navy theoretically had a strategic veto, and the British Treasury could use a serious fiscal deficit as an excuse.

If a different prime minister were appointed, if the timing were different, or if the leaders of both sides were replaced with simpler officials, the two sides might actually fight as Palmerston hoped, and then Palmerston would resolve the issue for him.

But Sir Kington and Benjamin Disraeli were both cunning old foxes, especially Benjamin Disraeli, who would later become the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. How could he possibly let Palmerston succeed?

Thus began a tug-of-war between the Royal Navy and the Treasury, with both sides submitting their respective departmental reports in principle.

This forces the cabinet to form a joint committee to resolve the issue, which is essentially inter-departmental consultation.

However, such internal negotiations usually last for several months, or even until the end of the current government's term. After all, outsiders can't get involved, and those inside don't want to solve the problem.

This is a very mild approach, which basically involves silencing the Prime Minister with countless meetings and discussions, essentially putting the ball back in Palmerston's court.

Unless Palmerston can come up with a way that satisfies both sides, the final result will either be a dead end or only symbolic concessions.

In fact, Britain has done this kind of thing quite often in its history. For example, during Margaret Thatcher's term, the Iron Lady tried to cut departmental spending in this way.

No matter how loudly she shouted her slogans, if her subordinates were sufficiently compliant, she was powerless to stop them. As a result, by the end of her term, the budget not only hadn't been cut, but had actually increased.

Palmerston saw this problem as unsolvable, but he would not admit defeat, so the existence of the British Mediterranean Fleet became very delicate at this time.

The reconstruction was proceeding at an alarmingly slow pace; although there were soldiers, there were no ships. This led the Austrian Empire's navy to believe that the British had abandoned Malta.

In reality, the Austrian Imperial Navy had a simpler set of considerations, since at that time, the Austrian Navy had countless ways to deal with the British Mediterranean Fleet.

Moreover, they don't need to consider as much as the British, because any method is directly effective, and the combinations are much more flexible.

The Austrian Empire assumed it could win on land, partly because its army was strong enough, and partly because the concept of special operations was not yet widespread at that time.

The British didn't even have special forces, let alone any means of countermeasures.

At that time, the British military believed that the Austrian Empire had only sent some highly capable marines, and they were not even clear about the specific operational objectives of the Austrian side.

At this time, the British army's concept of infantry consisted only of offense, defense, and occupation, and human wall fortifications remained the mainstream military doctrine.

The trench warfare tactics employed by the Austrian Empire have long been despised by mainstream academia, even being called the "turtle tactic."

Franz never expected the British to be so short-sighted. Ironically, those generals who had actually experienced the war were despised and excluded from mainstream academia because of their defeats.

Meanwhile, those mainstream military strategists who talk big all day long desperately attack dissidents in order to maintain their right to speak.

Politicians also need to find excuses for failure, and the two sides hit it off, creating such an absurd scene.

After all, a general who never goes to the battlefield will never lose. Tactics, strategy, and equipment issues are gradually reduced to human factors.

This way, not only can a perfect scapegoat be found (since the dead can't refute), but it can also save money and avoid the upcoming reforms.

This is a major reason why the gap between the British and Austrian armies is widening, though Franz greatly appreciates this.

He had to give a thumbs up to the British for accomplishing something that the Austrian Empire struggled to achieve.

Of course, Franz was not the kind of person who only talked the talk but didn't walk the walk; he would establish a foundation in Britain to support those people's theories.

Although the source of the funds is unclear, the British are not pedantic in this regard. They will not dwell on such a trivial matter, after all, "defending the truth" is a major issue concerning the well-being of all mankind!