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

Chapter 1918 The Dimensional Reduction Attack of Modern Propaganda
The Hospitallers' presence in the Kingdom of Sardinia was at Franz's behest; he did indeed need a pair of gloves.

However, the original one was too dirty, so Franz decided to wash it and reuse it. He didn't want to work with a semi-pyramid scheme organization that only knew how to tell stories, and he didn't even want the current organizational framework of the Knights.

The Knights Hospitaller were operating under a system that was familiar to modern people but perplexing to 19th-century people.

They felt they transcended nationality, but internally they wanted to separate people, so they adopted a method of dividing by ethnicity, actively splitting the Knights into small groups.

This model was utterly poisonous to the Austrian Empire, and Franz would never accept it. Having spent his life opposing division, how could he possibly be so unaware of his place at this crucial moment?

Furthermore, Franz only wanted the name of the Knights Hospitaller, not actual support for them. Although Franz had shared many profits with nobles and some old power groups in the past, it did not mean he had to do so.

Franz no longer wants to save this bizarre organization. Rather than wasting time cleaning up and rebuilding it, he'd rather start from scratch.

For Franz, gaining control of the Hospitallers as Grand Master was not a problem; an empty shell with only a facade could not possibly resist imperial power.

Of course, those who took the money couldn't easily take it out of the Austrian Empire. Having lost their privileged status, they no longer enjoyed those privileges, and Franz naturally had plenty of ways to get the money back.

However, the fate of those scoundrels is not worth mentioning, so I won't go into too much detail here.

At this time, the Knights Hospitaller were naturally there to do serious business. Their first priority was to change their past image as insignificant minions, and this trip to the Kingdom of Sardinia was a good opportunity for that.

After all, even if Franz wanted to support a faction to rise to power, he would first need to create momentum, otherwise it would be too abrupt and not look good.

The Knights Hospitaller have faded from public view for far too long; Franz needs to make them great again. This time, they must live up to their name; they must become what the people expect.

In fact, the dramatic changes of the 19th century had a great impact on the existing order, morality, thought, and ideas, which plunged many people into confusion and self-doubt (that is, the decline of social morality).

Therefore, the virtues of the ancient knights are exceptionally precious, allowing compassion and sacrifice to bring people hope in order to combat the indifference and chaos of the times.

Just as Franz had predicted, the appearance of the Hospitallers quickly caused a huge uproar.

However, it's not that its influence is really that great, but rather that everyone has finally found an easy target.

Other countries know that the Austrian Empire is not to be trifled with, and everyone is well aware that provoking the Papacy will lead to a lot of trouble.

But the Knights Hospitaller are different; these old fogies have neither henchmen nor sufficient influence.

Stomping on the weak and picking on the vulnerable is a required course in contemporary politics. Newspaper reporters, commentators, and writers, with their keen sense of opportunity, have all launched their attacks.

Immediately, insults and ridicule followed, and the news was full of attacks and mockery against the Knights Hospitaller.

"Good heavens! Have you heard? Our esteemed knights are going to save the world again!"
Why do I say "again"? Because it's been almost three hundred years since they last saved Europe. But hopefully this time they won't mistake the Christians for protection money and let the Ottomans go unpunished.”

(In fact, one of the main sources of income for the Knights of Malta was to collect protection money from passing ships in order to build a navy to defend against the Ottomans.)

However, in the later stages, the Maltese fleet consistently avoided direct confrontation with the Ottomans, yet it never reduced its protection fees for European merchant ships.
—Le Figaro (France)

"The so-called Knights Order is nothing more than a group of amateur actors dressed in white cross robes pretending to be knights."

—The Times of London

The newspaper "Punch" even published a comic strip about the Knights Hospitaller on its front page, depicting a group of knights in tattered cross armor, leading skinny horses, begging from richly dressed gentlemen.

In the next scene, they become arrogant lords in front of the poor, throwing a few coins and a piece of hard bread to them while shouting "Be grateful!", and raising their chins as if nothing had happened.

The caption reads: Those lackeys of the Pope, one shot from our Royal Navy will remind them how the French took their homeland in 1798!
The Knights Hospitaller themselves did not respond at all, and not a single person came forward to defend them.

The French Church tacitly approved of the French government's actions. The French government felt it had won, the British felt it had won, and even the Kingdom of Sardinia felt it had gotten its revenge.

They invested a lot of money to make the matter bigger and bigger, and all sorts of dirt and information were constantly being dug up, but the Knights did not hang themselves out of shame or be scared away. Instead, they continued to do things their own way.

This made them even angrier. How dare a group of wandering knights with no territory, no people, and no army ignore their warnings?

Therefore, they decided to continue their efforts and intensify their attacks, determined to show the Knights their power.

The methods of attack have also changed from the initial insults and ridicule to humiliation, slander and wanton defamation, especially with a constant stream of popular jokes.

However, it seemed to be of little use. The Knights' actions did not stop, and no one came forward to clarify the facts or draw a line as they had expected.

By this time, some people had already realized that something seemed amiss, but the flames of public opinion had already been ignited and were difficult to control. Soon, the attacks escalated to threats of personal injury and even threats of war.

However, people soon discovered that the members of the Knights of Malta seemed to be a group of nobles who frequently did charity work, and that the Knights' headquarters, the Palazzo Malta, occupied only nine acres of land in Rome.

To murder a group of legitimate nobles? Or to march on Rome?
Making light of it in the newspapers is one thing, but asking people to actually do it offline is something most people don't have the courage for. After all, things haven't gotten that serious yet, and no country would arbitrarily grant the authority to kill.

While they were still debating whether they had won or not, the Knights had already returned to the public eye; after all, black and red are still red. Franz had achieved his goal, and he couldn't care less about those who were just making a fuss over nothing.

Franz also completely abolished the rule of dividing the Knights by ethnicity within the Order. When the French branch objected, he directly dissolved the French branch.

Those who cannot accept the new rules set by Franz must be eliminated. He truly intends to build a genuine knightly order, not just a showy facade.

As for the more than 20,000 Sardinian refugees, it was not a big deal for the Austrian Empire; it was a problem that could be easily solved.

It's just that the high level of attention it's receiving has made it somewhat tricky. The tricky part isn't how to resettle them, but how to maintain the psychological balance of the people in this country.

Given the strength of the Austrian Empire at that time, supporting 20,000 people would not have been difficult, but such preferential treatment was unacceptable.

The Austrian Empire's external image was important, but what Franz wanted was a universal empire, and its attitude towards its people was even more important.

However, it's incredibly difficult to treat everyone equally, since everyone starts from a different point in life, and feelings are inherently subjective. Therefore, Franz never intended to please everyone; the feelings of the people were paramount, but he wouldn't do things terribly either, as it was a demonstration to other countries.

The Austrian Empire's aid to the people of Sardinia was never merely an attempt to humiliate the kingdom; it was essentially a struggle for Italian leadership and the right to unify the country.

Although the gap between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia was overwhelming, some geopolitical situations are unreasonable.

The Kingdom of Sardinia had a greater advantage than the Austrian Empire in leading Italy, and Italian nationalists naturally favored the Kingdom of Sardinia.

All Franz did was pull the scales back on track.

Faced with such a significant loss of national image, Cavour and Emmanuel II made no comment, not even daring to issue a public condemnation.

The loss of Genoa, Sardinia, Nice, and Savoy has brought the Kingdom of Sardinia to the brink of collapse. More than external threats, they need to guard against internal strife, since the French won't always be there to help them in Turin.

It's actually difficult to say whether the damage caused by the French reinforcements or the damage caused by the rebels who fled around Piedmont was greater.

Sardinian refugees had high expectations of the Austrian Empire, and what they saw and experienced along the way certainly lived up to those expectations.

Yes, at least for most people, but it's quite ordinary for the few refugees from upper-class backgrounds.

Franz's policy toward these Piedmontese was not to provide land or monetary subsidies, but only to offer job opportunities and a minimum standard of food, lodging, and medical care.

If these Piedmontese wanted to live better lives, they had to integrate into the Austrian Empire's system and then work harder to get what they wanted.

Otherwise, they would either leave or eke out a living in the refugee camp. Franz wouldn't stop the Sardinians from leaving; he would even send people to escort them back.

In addition, the Austrian Empire had specialized schools where one could learn technology and the Austrian language, and these facilities were also open to its own citizens.

However, the so-called Austrian language is mainly German, which was the common language within the Austrian Empire.

As for the so-called technology, it was naturally the kind of work that the Austrian Empire needed most at that time.

The vocational and technical education system in the Austrian Empire was extremely successful, with a graduate employment rate that was nearly 100%.

Others may not know what the Austrian Empire lacked most, but the Austrian government knew all too well.

Moreover, unlike traditional education which often lasts for years, vocational education in the Austrian Empire typically lasted for several months, or even just a few weeks.

What the Austrian Empire needed most were workers, especially skilled workers.

Previously, due to the need for secrecy, the technology was strictly controlled, which resulted in many people knowing how it worked but not why it worked.

However, as the industrial scale of the Austrian Empire continued to expand, such practices had long become outdated.

Blasting workers, bridge builders, and railway track calibrators are in the greatest demand right now. These jobs are characterized by high risk and heavy responsibility; if not done well, they can easily harm oneself and others.

In the vocational and technical schools of the Austrian Empire, apart from those with exceptional talent, ordinary people simply dared not even touch them.

The Austrian Empire itself had numerous mountains and rivers, and serious geographical barriers. Building railways required solving these problems, and cutting through mountains and building bridges were common occurrences.

Furthermore, the Austrian Empire's railway technology developed rapidly, with trains becoming faster and carrying heavier loads. The standards for rail manufacturing became increasingly stringent, rendering the early rails completely unqualified at this time.

Then there was a lack of low-level workers. Because Franz had been supporting agriculture, there weren't many unemployed or bankrupt farmers to fill the gap.

A large portion of the Austrian Empire's working class came from abroad, including other states within the German Confederation and other European countries.

In addition, the Austrian Empire had an ultimate solution—sending them to colonies.

The Austrian Empire's colonies were in dire need of manpower, and the Austrian government was happy to send many people there, even paying them wages and providing them with land.

It's just that not many people are willing to go.
In fact, some things didn't need to be too complicated, because many of the Piedmontese who escaped from Turin had survival skills and could easily find work in the context of the Austrian Empire.

When these Piedmontese mingled among the Italians, the officials of the Austrian Empire simply couldn't tell the difference.

Therefore, the number of people in the refugee camp always inexplicably increases during mealtimes.
Left with no other option, local officials had to call in immigration officials to scare away the locals who were trying to freeload off.

In fact, the number of Piedmontese within the Austrian Empire was indeed increasing, and the governments of Lombardy and Genoa had raised concerns about Sardinians crossing the border without permission.

In particular, the Lombards suspected that these Piedmontese wanted to overthrow the imperial rule, and they even wanted to expel them under the pretext of preventing a rebellion.

Franz knew the reason all too well; in short, it was regional prejudice.

Lombardy has developed quite well in recent years, and people from southern Italy or Sardinia often smuggle themselves over.

After settling in Lombardy, they would call their relatives and friends over. As the number of outsiders increased, the locals in Lombardy felt their lives were threatened, which is why they often made malicious reports.

The Austrian imperial government did little to address this issue. It wasn't that the officials wanted to do nothing, but rather that, apart from some local officials, they simply couldn't distinguish between the Italians.

The Austrian imperial central government did not want to delegate power to local authorities, mainly to prevent a recurrence of situations where local powers became too powerful to control.

Thus, the issue of illegal immigration became a deadlock, and the local officials in Lombardy were eager to take this opportunity to sweep out all outsiders from Lombardy.

But Franz could not allow them to do so, not only because it would undermine the cause of unification, but also because he could not give anyone the power to define the identity of others.

The reason Franz kept trying to centralize power was essentially because the power of the Austrian Empire had been too decentralized in the past.

What might have meant democracy, freedom, diversity, and balance for other countries was poison, division, fragmentation, and war for the Austrian Empire at that time.