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

Chapter 1938 Knowing There Are Tigers in the Mountains

Actually, Friedrich's statement that Franz wanted to be at odds with the world was inaccurate; Franz would not truly isolate himself.

Uniting the majority to strike at a small group might be impossible for him given his circumstances, but he can still minimize the number of opponents appearing at the same time.

Franz was not a dogmatic person; he could also be very flexible.

However, there was another voice around Franz that he found extremely offensive.

"The Prussians can win over Britain and France, and Austria can do the same."

In terms of capital alone, Austria had far more resources than Prussia. If they could just invite Britain and France to enter the country, the problems created by the Kingdom of Prussia would be easily solved.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the three countries could then divide up Germany?

These staff members didn't treat the Germans as outsiders, but they also didn't treat them as human beings.

Although Franz had been suppressing nationalism in Austria, he did not really want to return to the Middle Ages.

Although the plan of these advisors sounded outrageous, it was actually quite feasible. All bourgeois sentiments had to give way to practical interests.

If Franz truly extends an olive branch to Britain and France as those scoundrels claim, the British and French would be willing to sell their own pants to send troops to help Austria quell the rebellion.

Furthermore, the Austrian Empire itself was powerful enough that the so-called risks were manageable. Unlike Prussia, which found that the two reinforcements it invited would instantly become two death warrants.

But what was Franz's motive? If it was simply to expand territory, he had a hundred ways to make the Prussians unable to raise their heads, and they wouldn't even know how they died.

Actually, this was also Franz's fault; he talked too much when communicating with his staff. In order to force them to follow Franz's line of thinking, these people forcibly accepted some less orthodox ideas.

Or perhaps Franz himself was the true ruthless strategist, but he had far greater ambitions and therefore disdained to do so.

Moreover, Franz would not treat it merely as a temporary solution to the Prussian problem; he would refine the entire plan.

Franz would use the corpse of Prussia as much as possible to improve relations with Britain and France, while maintaining the relative independence of other states.

They should wait for a suitable opportunity to reclaim it in one fell swoop, since even if they were to divide the same territory, the Austrian Empire's capacity to absorb resources would be far greater than that of Britain and France.

Once the war is won and Britain and France are expelled from Germany, no one will remember what the Austrian Empire did before, because they can only choose between very bad and not so bad.

This is a monumental achievement that countless heroes throughout history have dreamed of, but Franz has little interest in it.

Is it right just because it has always been this way?
Of course, these ruthless individuals were also being loyal in a sense, and were also using their intelligence and talents, so Franz planned to send them to a more suitable place—the African colonies—to continue to shine.

"Don't want it to escalate? Do you think you can escape?"

Friedrich felt that Franz was deceiving himself.

"Why don't you take a look at what the foreign newspapers are saying?"

Franz almost laughed.

"Uncle Friedrich, I think you must be one of the few people in the family who learns about the world through newspapers."

Let me think about those newspapers that would call me a tyrant, saying they're carrying out a just cause, and so on. Then they'd describe how many victories they've achieved, and how corrupt, depraved, and unpopular we are.
Then find a group of so-called experts and insiders to repeatedly demonstrate their so-called superiority.

What's the use of this?

Will our people believe their propaganda? Haven't we been slandered enough over the years?

These are just clichés and not worth a second glance. Instead of looking at those useless elections, we should study the course of the war.

"What's there to study! Give the order now, and I guarantee that the entire British Mediterranean fleet will be sunk within 72 hours."

Take Gibraltar within a week.

Then, they would seize the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on the Azores and Madeira, which would completely paralyze the British Atlantic shipping routes.

I don't believe the British could hold out that long!

Friedrich finally spoke his mind and felt a surge of relief.

Franz, however, looked annoyed.

"You're still keeping an eye on Britain. And although Britain is a maritime nation that heavily relies on external resource inputs, it has been prosperous for hundreds of years, so diplomatic warfare won't have an immediate effect."

Friedrich could only sigh; after all these years, he still couldn't swallow Britain, this enemy, wholeheartedly.

He had previously discussed similar issues with Franz, who suggested a direct strategic battle in the Atlantic, arguing that commerce raids and port attacks were merely attempts to draw out the main British forces.

"Alright then. Do you know what they're doing?"

After thinking for a long time, Friedrich finally produced a poster and handed it to Franz.

The poster depicts a kind-looking British gentleman sending his valiant son onto a ship, while other British gentlemen are taking off their suits, donning military uniforms, and picking up weapons.

Franz glanced at the signature and sighed.

"Britain still wielded considerable influence within the German Confederation. Is this the image of the British that these people idealize?"

However, upon reflection, if capitalists had a choice, they would definitely choose Britain, and certainly not themselves, the autocratic emperor.

Friedrich frowned; he felt that Franz hadn't grasped the point.

"Look closely, those guys are going all out! They'd rather not make any money than give up fighting us to the bitter end."

Franz's expression immediately turned ugly, uglier than ever before. After a long while, he finally spoke.

“Uncle Friedrich, your talent is not in politics, so you don’t need to worry about these things.”

Friedrich, however, grew somewhat anxious and quickly pointed to the headline on the front page of a newspaper.

"Look, it's written all over here, the information is very detailed, even the gangsters have traveled all the way to Berlin, and there's the Darcy family, and that actor."

Franz rubbed his forehead.

"You mean those capitalists will fight us to the death, willing to give up profits, and even send their own children to the battlefield?"

What kind of young masters, young ladies, actors, explorers, genius inventors, ruthless gangsters, and mercenaries are all coming to attack us?

They were all prepared to sacrifice their homes to help others in need, or rather, sacrifice their own homes to help others in need.

"Is this still capitalism?"

Franz felt disdain, but he wouldn't say something the other person couldn't understand at all.

Franz looked around at the other nooks and crannies and quickly discovered more. "Let's see, what other soothsayers, alchemists, witchers, mystics, legendary agents, and the Assassin Brotherhood are there?"

Are they planning to send vampires and demons next?

Franz casually tossed aside the newspaper that Archduke Friedrich had carefully clipped.

"Uncle Friedrich, don't you think something's missing?"

Franz thought that only a middle-aged person with such a delusional mind would believe such ridiculous propaganda.

Perhaps his family protected him too well, which is why he is so naive, and it's no wonder he was easily fooled.

"These are nothing more than narratives of the elite class. Just like the overwhelming news back in 1848 about how I outwitted the French enchantress in Strasbourg."

You criticized it harshly back then. How come you can't tell the difference now that it's just a different brand?

Don't think it's absurd; in fact, some members of the ruling class like to do it, and some people like to believe it.

It is precisely because both sides have needs that things have become increasingly outrageous.

However, some preconceived notions are hard to change, and Friedrich was still very conflicted at this time.

"You don't need to worry about it too much. Just treat it as some gossip. Some writers and artists like to embellish their art; after all, they also need to make a living."

As for the words of those businessmen and factory owners, they are merely propaganda tools. After all, to deceive others, you must first deceive yourself.

If all else fails, you can take another step back. How many of those guys are there? And how many troops do we have? What can a few celebrities and actors do in a battlefield with millions of soldiers?

In fact, the British have always enjoyed playing this game. For example, during the last Near East War, Florence Nightingale and her team of nurses were captured by the Russian army.

Fortunately, the Russian officer who captured them was a pampered nobleman who, although not very capable, still had at least basic manners.

In addition, the fact that they could communicate in French prevented things from going astray.

Ultimately, through the efforts of many parties, they were able to board a third-party merchant ship after paying a symbolic ransom.

However, the British were still unwilling to let this opportunity pass and publicized the cruelty and stupidity of the Russian army. When the news reached Russia, Nicholas I directly dismissed the officer who had facilitated the incident. Not long after, the dismissed officer died of depression.

The Russian officer was not the only victim of this incident; Florence Nightingale and 38 other women in her team were also victims of the rumors.

Some people tried to clarify the matter but only made things worse; others wanted to take a clear stance in support of their wives or girlfriends but ended up being accused of being cuckolded.

Most people aren't even concerned with the truth; all they care about is whether it will make them feel good.

If there's one advantage Friedrich had, it might be the skill honed from his long life at sea: he was truly free from inner conflict, and his thoughts and emotions shifted incredibly quickly.

"You still have the mood to chat? Are you already certain of victory in this war?"

Franz had no need to hide anything at this point.

"Uncle Friedrich, what do you think they're shouting for? If they can win, why are they wasting their breath? Why don't they just come to Vienna and tell me what to do?"
Why did the Prussians attack Saxony? Wasn't it just to attract our attention?

Seeing that things were finally getting down to business, Friedrich sat up straight, also wanting to know what Franz planned to do.

“Saxons are our ally. What will our other allies think if we don’t send troops? What if Prussia continues to attack our other allies?”
And why didn't you ask your relative for help?

Franz felt a headache coming on when he thought of King Maximilian II of Bavaria. He and King Otto I of Greece were indeed brothers. Both of them had lofty ideals, but their abilities were very limited. What was worse, they were easily influenced and lacked their own opinions.

In fact, disregarding his actual abilities, Maximilian II was quite reliable; he was one of the people most opposed to Franz's forced implementation of the Labor Protection Act in the Confederation.

However, when Prussia stood up to oppose it, Maximilian II was the first to stand up for Franz.

Bavaria had a standing army of nearly 200,000 men, second only to the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia in terms of military strength.

However, the fighting capacity of the Bavarian army was disappointing. In addition to its outdated equipment from the last century, its military doctrine was also quite backward.

Two of the three notorious scoundrels who were once as incompetent as General Lizzie in the Austrian Imperial Army were appreciated by Maximilian II and successfully re-employed in the Kingdom of Bavaria.

In addition, the Kingdom of Bavaria was not stable internally. During the years of Maximilian II’s reign, his reforms successfully removed the title of the poorest state in southern Germany that his father had held, but the new title was the poorest state in all of Germany.

Sometimes poverty doesn't necessarily lead to chaos, but it certainly can. Franz's relative is a prime example; to put it nicely, he's a scholar-king; to put it bluntly, he's a bookworm.

Another crucial point is that Bavaria maintained such a strong military primarily to prevent a French invasion. This was something they absolutely had to guard against. While fighting amongst themselves within the German Confederation was one thing, being invaded would be a grave offense.

Franz's answer was yes.

"No need. If the Prussians want to lure us to Saxony, then let's fight in Saxony."

At this time, the Austrian Empire had 600,000 troops available on the Bohemian front, and this number would soon rise to 800,000. Thanks to the development of railways, both Austria and Prussia were able to mobilize at an astonishing speed.

Albrecht actually believed that 300,000 elite troops would be enough to wipe out the entire North Germany, but Franz knew the principle that even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit, and he would not give the enemy any chance to breathe.

For the first time since 1848, the Austrian Empire would fully unleash its war machine; Franz's long-term accumulation was for this very moment.

"Saxon is clearly a trap. The Kingdom of Prussia only has 50,000 occupying troops on the surface, but once the Austrian army enters, the Prussian army will quickly cut off its supplies and then encircle and annihilate it with a large force."

Now it all depends on how much the Austrians are willing to invest in saving Saxony.

The latest intelligence from Prussia reads as follows.

This intelligence confirms the Austrian Imperial military's suspicions.

"The Prussian occupation of the Saxon king was indeed a ruse! Their real purpose was to ambush us!"

"Isn't it because the Saxon army is useless? If it were us, they wouldn't be prisoners!"

"The Prussians are too arrogant! Do they really think we'll be fooled?"

"Rescuing Saxony is a political issue, not simply a military one. Don't jump to conclusions!"

Inside the General Staff Headquarters, a group of generals were arguing heatedly. War Minister Count Latour felt increasingly out of touch with the times and thought it might be time for him to retire.

War has become so complicated.

"Why don't we just go and attack the Kingdom of Prussia?"

Count Latour's advice was simple and direct, and although it sounded somewhat reckless, it could indeed solve all the immediate problems. Attack the enemy, forcing them to defend themselves; their crisis will then resolve itself.

At that moment, the telegraph machine suddenly went off.

"His Majesty the Emperor orders a full-scale attack on Saxony. The commanding officer is Marshal Albrecht. Marshal Latour will oversee the rear."