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

Chapter 1962 Post-War Resettlement (Part 2)

Because Franz had already evacuated civilians from potential battlefields before the war, atrocities against civilians were not common throughout the war.

This greatly reduced the Austrian army's desire for revenge. Coupled with the Austrian army's strict military discipline, the entire war was like a fight between brothers, "stopping at the last minute," and unusually, it did not cross the line of war.

At the same time, according to the best path of governance in modern Western political science theory, the government structure of the Kingdom of Prussia should be preserved and then placed within the framework of the empire.

To put it bluntly, it's still the same old British and American system of local autonomy, which is completely inapplicable to the Austrian Empire.

What they considered an extremely foolish act was something the Austrian Empire had to do—to gradually replace the Prussian system with the Austrian system.

Of course, this system must be implemented by someone who has a thorough understanding of both the Prussian and Austrian imperial systems, and who is determined and decisive.

Vienna, Hofburg Palace.

“Mr. Bismarck, I hope you will use your intelligence to build it, not destroy it.”

Franz's words made Bismarck feel somewhat embarrassed, but he couldn't muster any resentment.

A capable and proud person like him would usually regard such "generosity" or "favor" as an insult.

They would feel that this was trampling on the pride of a nobleman, after all, Bismarck was a Junker nobleman who had sworn allegiance to Wilhelm I.

This behavior undoubtedly incited him to betray...
However, when the matter is placed in Franz's case, everything seems to make sense. Because Franz's actions do not evoke any sense of "pity" or "humiliation".

Given Franz's status and abilities, he had a thousand or ten thousand ways to humiliate others. At the same time, from a certain perspective, he did treat officials from other former states within the Confederation equally.

Not only Bismarck, but the vast majority of Prussian and Hanoverian bureaucrats, as long as they were willing, were given a chance to prove themselves.

Franz pardoned almost everyone, but there's no shortage of scapegoats in this world.

For example, some unrepentant factory owners and capitalists, and some extreme nationalists.

An extreme Zionist organization codenamed "Paradise" was then put forward, with the aim of instigating a world war so that they could seize power.

No matter how outrageous the plan was, the citizens of the Holy Roman Empire liked to believe it, and even some British and French people believed it.

Jews were used to such unexpected disasters, but according to the traditions of the Austrian Empire, they would not be implicated as long as they did not participate in them.

As for being looked down upon and criticized, every nation in the Austrian Empire faced similar problems, and even the Germans were not immune.

This was a common occurrence in the Austrian Empire, a situation that had persisted for nearly a thousand years, though it became more complicated with the advent of railways and the telegraph.

But in the Austrian Empire, what was more serious than ethnic conflict was regionalism. In the eyes of Viennese, the world consisted only of Viennese and people from other places.

Everything seems to be the same as it was hundreds of years ago.
However, at this time, ethnic identity in the Austrian Empire did not bring any privileges, so not many people would cling to their ethnic identity.

Faced with those historical inventors, Franz's solution was to allow citizens to change their race.

Magic is magic precisely because it is limited to the people who can use it. Franz destroyed their spell's underlying logic.

Of course, to avoid unnecessary bloodshed and hatred, Franz would still order the protection of the Jewish community loyal to the empire.

As for whether Bismarck's acceptance of an official position in the Austrian Empire constitutes betrayal, even Wilhelm I surrendered, so what was there for him to argue about?

The pardons of Bismarck and Wilhelm I, the two main culprits, were handled very casually, without any grand publicity or elaborate humiliation, as if it were just a trivial matter.

In fact, the Austrian Empire suffered very few losses on the battlefield, and people of that era were very accepting of dying in battle, so there was no widespread desire for revenge. Franz was able to handle the situation discreetly.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, I will definitely prove myself."

Bismarck was very proud of his talent, and he did not like to boast like a street performer or make resolutions like a student.

He doesn't need anyone's approval; he is the strongest.

But when facing Franz, Bismarck felt uneasy and unsure of what to do with his hands and feet. He felt he had to do something.

However, perhaps due to nervousness, his performance was somewhat subpar.

"Ah."

Franz nodded, expressionless, because he had heard similar words countless times.

As mentioned earlier, Franz would not actually allow the original Prussian government to maintain an autonomous structure, so he would send officials from the Austrian Empire to cooperate with them.

It's called cooperation, but in reality, it's a gradual replacement. Officials don't need to be changed, but the government structure must be.

Franz also knew that appeasement alone was not enough, so he would also send a garrison to maintain order.

At this point, no one would oppose Franz's approach; besides the fact that opposition would be futile, Prussia did indeed need order at this time.

Workers, peasants, and ordinary citizens, incited by nationalists and religious figures, all jumped up, along with a group of opportunistic individuals. At this time, it would not be an exaggeration to describe the Kingdom of Prussia as a chaotic mess.

It should be noted that the Prussian church's stance was very flexible, even giving rise to new branches.
However, the garrison commander still had to carefully consider the matter, since if Heinau were sent there, the Prussians might rebel before Heinau even took office.

Sending generals who are not well-known or experienced would likely make the Prussians feel slighted.

Therefore, Albrecht was the only one who could do this job. His status and qualifications were sufficient, and the Prussians would not feel slighted by him. On the contrary, they would feel flattered.

In fact, for a country like Prussia with a strong military tradition, they only despise cowards and incompetents, but they will show great admiration when facing the strong.

Of course, Count Latour also had a plan: to have Franz move the capital directly to Berlin. Given Franz's prestige, subduing Prussia shouldn't have been a problem, and the plan was theoretically feasible, but practically impossible. Count Latour's plan was opposed by almost all the officials of the Austrian Empire; after all, they couldn't afford to lose their homeland for the sake of Prussia.

As for Count Latour's reasons, nobody wanted to hear them.
Albrecht von Rohn, on the other hand, quickly infiltrated the inner circle of the Imperial military. Compared to Moltke's aloofness, Rohn's pragmatic approach clearly won him more favor with his colleagues.

Moreover, Count Latour's abilities were increasingly inadequate for this rapidly expanding empire. Fortunately, Count Latour himself knew his own limitations, so he directly promoted Ron to the position of Chief of the General Affairs Department of the Imperial Army.

The Chief of the General Affairs Department of the Holy Roman Empire's Army was not a particularly high-ranking position, but it was a powerful one, making him the third most important figure in the army system.

Ron’s rapid rise to prominence was seen by himself as recognition of his talent, but by his former Prussian colleagues, he was a traitor.

In reality, the Austrian Empire, or the entire German region, or even the whole of Central Europe, did not have many people with this kind of combined military and political talent.

The Austrian Empire had many talented individuals with both military and political skills, but these people were more of a nuisance than a help most of the time.

The biggest flaw of Austrian Imperial officers was their penchant for politics, but Ron was different; he was a coordinator, an organizer, not a contender.

Franz detested military involvement in politics, but military participation in politics was a long-standing tradition in the Austrian Empire, and he couldn't change that situation anytime soon.

Ron, who was born in Prussia, did not have this problem at all. As a soldier who was deeply involved in politics, he did not cultivate his own faction, nor did he take sides and join factional struggles everywhere.

Count Latour was able to serve as the Austrian Empire's Minister of War largely because he had no political leanings and was loyal only to the royal family.

Even though his abilities were mediocre and he often made mistakes due to recklessness and underestimation of the enemy, he was still able to hold the position of Minister of War.

But the situation has changed, and the organization and size of the Austrian Imperial Army are no longer something that an ordinary person can control.

In recent years, Franz has also had to frequently take time to resolve some issues that should have been addressed by the Minister of War. Of course, this was also part of his plan, since his solutions were far ahead of their time and could give the Austrian Empire an unparalleled advantage.

However, it was only a matter of time before a replacement was needed. Initially, Franz preferred Benedek, believing that a military strategist from a commoner background would be better.

But in reality, this integration into the group was incredibly fast; Benedek was even willing to remain on the fringes of those factions.

Benedek, who came from a humble background, was unable to gain the respect of others and couldn't even squeeze into their circle.

Moreover, Benedek's own lack of self-confidence is a fatal flaw.

In fact, the Austrian Empire also had a less than ideal candidate: General Kuhn, a reformer of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in history.

General Kuhn was not without talent, but history did not give him the opportunity. Just like the dualistic and contentious structure of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, even a god couldn't solve it unless the systemic problems were addressed first.

Regardless of how hard General Kuhn himself tried in history, his achievements have been completely erased by the failure of the reforms.

Franz wasn’t quite sure who was better, him or Ron, but General Kuhn had the common trait of Austrian imperial aristocratic officers: he also liked to get involved in politics.

Moreover, judging from historical records, his political skills were very immature. He was often harassed by the Hungarians and left in a huff. He also failed to gain support in Austria and always appeared depressed. He even appeared in the magazine "Clumsy".

Of course, the Austrian Empire's group of military and political talents were not without their merits. Once sent overseas, each of them could be a governor who could stand alone.

After all, it doesn't matter if one's political level is low overseas, as long as one can make up for it with an iron fist.

Even the overseas colonial structure designed by Franz was specifically tailored to this group of people, especially since the efficiency of the early pioneering soldiers was actually higher than that of the technocrats.

Franz's combination of tactics proved highly effective, and the situation in Prussia quickly stabilized. Prussian officials weren't branded as traitors; instead, the Prussian people were delighted that they had abandoned their allegiance to the Prussian government.

Under the supervision of Austrian imperial officials, all laws and administrative measures were implemented very effectively.

In reality, most people don't care who the officials are; they only care whether the laws that benefit them are being enforced.

Franz did not allow officials from the Austrian Empire to directly replace Prussian officials, not because he could not, but because it was not cost-effective; he needed to maintain stability.

Franz did not want to leave too many hidden dangers in terms of integration; he needed his policies to be thoroughly implemented and executed.

In addition, having both groups appear at the same time also served the purpose of having them supervise each other, since many traditional nobles of the Austrian Empire had already regarded Germany as a colony of the Austrian Empire.

These guys have no nationalistic sentiments; their thinking is still stuck in the feudal colonial era. In their eyes, Franz is the world's biggest schemer and the best actor.

Franz was not an omniscient and omnipotent god, so he did not know who had such thoughts, and could only use supervision to reduce the probability of such events occurring.

Of course, Franz did want to give those people a chance. The Austrian Empire had a limited number of talented people, and Franz's ambitions went beyond the present, so he had to make the best use of everyone's talents.

This approach aligns with the consistent logic of the Austrian Empire: the empire will not abandon anyone, but will simply place them where they belong.

In a way, it also showcases the allure of the empire.
There was little resistance throughout the process, and even the Prussian bureaucrats, who were originally known for their laziness, suddenly transformed into efficient political machines.

Especially in terms of property statistics, a large amount of hidden wealth was revealed. Even William I was unaware of his own wealth, and the population was larger than imagined.

It seems that Prussia's defeat was not its fault, but rather the result of the selfishness and narrow-mindedness of the nobles and bureaucrats.

If these guys had gone all out, they might have lost more gracefully.
The people were naturally overjoyed, as they had achieved most of what they had wanted before the war.

In fact, the Austrian Empire brought about changes to their lives that were somewhat beyond imagination: higher wages, lower prices, more free time, and a more honest government.

Although the law is strict, it seems that as long as they don't commit crimes, it doesn't really concern them.

The Imperial Labor Protection Law was erected in the square, and its provisions were engraved on a stone tablet.

The Austrian Empire's sharing of the victory also shocked the Prussians, who had previously only praised the soldiers and boasted about how wise the king and government were when they won.

However, the Austrian Empire defined sharing of victory as 20 florins in shopping vouchers per person, valid for three days, distributed in batches.