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

Chapter 1967 Sinner
The British royal family and government have a mutual dislike for each other. The British aristocracy, who have been suppressed for many years, were still moved by Prince Albert's words, "The only difference is that the protected nobles wear medals on their breasts."

In theory, the aristocracy still holds an absolute advantage in British politics, but the so-called aristocracy has never been a monolithic entity, and this has always been the case.

Many historians and political scientists like to deliberately view the aristocracy as a single entity, but in reality, many British nobles had already become bourgeois by this time.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible to pass so many laws detrimental to the traditional aristocracy. Do you really think that ordinary people in 19th-century Britain could determine the direction of national politics?

The traditional aristocracy's primary source of income was land, but this source of profit has begun to decline significantly.

In particular, the repeal of the Corn Laws effectively sentenced many traditional landed nobles to death, as they could no longer even maintain a decent life.

They either sell their possessions to maintain a respectable life, putting on a show of wealth beyond their means, or they join in making money, engage in rent-seeking, or even become someone else's lackey.

Of course, there was also a more traditional approach at the time, which was the so-called "strong alliance," that is, to marry into the families of the wealthy, either through their children or by the wealthy themselves.

Their social status has continued to decline, and they have even been called "parasites" by many critics.

Moreover, the British aristocracy and royal family are not a monolithic entity; in fact, the British royal family is not even British by design.

According to the traditional aristocratic mindset, limiting royal power is what they should do most. Just like in every reform Franz implemented in the Austrian Empire, it was always the nobles who were the first to jump out and oppose it.

Even if Franz's policies would benefit them, they would instinctively begin to oppose them as long as the royal family's gains outweighed theirs.

The situation in constitutional monarchy Britain would be even worse than in the Austrian Empire.

However, as time went on, more and more traditional British nobles felt pressure from the emerging bourgeoisie.

These newly rich had no sense of martial ethics; they were capable of anything. In particular, the guillotine of the French Revolution instilled in the British aristocracy an extreme fear of the power of the bourgeoisie, and they too feared being sent to the guillotine.

The impact of the new elites on the traditional aristocracy was comprehensive, but the latter's response was rather weak: contempt. They tried to mask their fear with disdain.

Such attempts to conceal their true feelings of jealousy and longing are futile; they cannot hide their deepest envy and desires.

However, the aristocracy was already divided, and there were far more than two factions within Britain. Many important matters were decided in clubs.

There are double digits of such clubs, and they have their own circles in addition to the London local authorities.

This is an even older tradition called "fox hunting circles," which supposedly allows one to understand the local political structure by participating in a few local fox hunting games.

Who is invited, who is ignored, who rides alongside whom in the hunting grounds, seating arrangements at banquets, and the selection of dishes—these details accurately reflect a person's position within the local power structure.

In Britain, these circles, large and small, all have their own leaders, and they still fight each other like in the Middle Ages.

However, the emerging bourgeoisie, having formed a new community based on shared interests, are constantly eroding the original power of the aristocracy.

These nobles now desperately hope that someone can lead them to restore their former glory, otherwise they will eventually perish in the long river of history.

However, the very fact that traditional nobles were moving closer to the royal family would raise suspicion among another group of people.

Victoria and Prince Albert were well aware of this influence, but they also needed to check the power of Parliament, otherwise that frustrating scene would repeat itself.

The Kingdom of Hanover may seem like a tempting prize, but it's actually a mess. Besides, what reason would Victoria and her husband have to be at the forefront for the British government?

"What are they trying to do! Do they want us to take on the mess my cousin made?"
They wouldn't even come to beg us!

Queen Victoria's voice trembled with anger.

"They want us to take on these troubles voluntarily, and then push us out to take the blame."

Their skin is thicker than London's old city walls.

Prince Albert smiled, but he wasn't surprised.

“Darling, are you sure they’re really after Britain? Won’t our involvement in continental Europe give them another handle to use against us?”
Why should we do something that they want us to take risks without any promises?
Their constant focus on the situation on the European continent is itself a violation of Britain's long-held policy of glorious independence.

Victoria suddenly realized that it was very likely; those politicians were really capable of anything, and this wasn't the first or second time they had used the royal family as a shield.

"So what should we do?"

Prince Albert said with great certainty.

"We don't need to do anything. We just need to uphold the glorious tradition of independence."

The reason they made such a mess of Britain is because they violated this principle: Britain is so big, why should it have to focus on Europe?
Can't we just live peacefully with our neighbors?

They thought it was impossible, so they never tried. But we are different; we come from the European continent, and the people of the European continent are not monsters.

Victoria wholeheartedly agreed. Over the years, she had come to believe that the high-ranking British officials were hypocritical, and her distrust intensified after witnessing the devastation on the streets of London.

“My dear, you’re right. Those so-called gentlemen are not our own people, and my cousin George V will not allow anyone to set foot on his territory. Let’s just live our own lives.”

What they didn't know was that the person who wanted them to be removed from office was already dead, and his successor, Gladstone, did not want Britain to be directly involved in this turmoil.

But suspicion had already formed a closed loop from the very beginning.
Although the Hanoverians' act of dismissing the king was outrageous, in the context of northern Germany at that time, it was common for workers to dismiss their bosses and for farmers to dismiss their landlords.

It's not entirely incomprehensible that the people would depose their king; the key issue is that Georg V himself was simply too extraordinary.

He was the kind of ruler who was very disappointing; in fact, his policies were rather conventional.

There was nothing particularly outstanding about him, nor were there any major mistakes. He did no good deeds, nor any shocking misdeeds, and in terms of personal qualities alone, George V was definitely among the best.

But his mistake was being born in the wrong country and the wrong era, and developing ambitions that were not commensurate with his capabilities.

As Franz said before, if George V had been born a hundred years earlier and in a powerful country, he would probably have become a model of a wise ruler.

He would at least have been a monarch who accomplished something. But unfortunately, he was born in the nineteenth century, an era of great change.

George V’s conservatism angered liberals, while his outdated mysticism and staff council disgusted conservatives.

He emphasized loyalty and dedication to his ministers and the people, but was unwilling to relinquish any benefits.

Even Bismarck's price war was merely opening Pandora's box, while George V's industrial and commercial subsidies were the real culprit that pushed everything into the abyss.

Franz had estimated that the price war would take at least a year and a half to cause a widespread economic crisis, but George V's actions greatly accelerated this process.

The speed was so fast that even Bismarck, the original initiator, could not believe it.

However, George V's biggest problem was his unclear stance and overly pragmatic approach. He first sided with Austria, then with Prussia, and even colluded with the French.

He easily achieved what neither Wilhelm I nor Bismarck could: the status of a national traitor.

In a nation-state, this charge could be enough to erase any achievement of anyone, let alone George V, who was simply a detestable ruler.

Lacking internal support and external reinforcements, coupled with the prevailing national and ethnic circumstances, the Kingdom of Hanover offered little or no meaningful resistance.

Hanover already had a large number of pro-foreign forces, and with Britain abandoning its position, France withdrawing, and Prussia being defeated, these people all sided with the Austrian Empire.

It was precisely because of the presence of this group of people and nationalists that the takeover of the Austrian Empire proceeded very smoothly.

Historically, while Hanoverian resistance against Prussia was not particularly intense, many Hanoverians refused to recognize Prussian rule. This was reflected in political parties and taxation; the Welf Party consistently led the separatist movement, and Hanoverians frequently resisted taxes.

Especially on the issue of conscription, a considerable number of historians believe that the Franco-Prussian War was the turning point in Hanover's submission.

However, Hanover and the Rhineland were different. During the entire Franco-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Prussia only recruited a few thousand soldiers from Hanover, while it could recruit hundreds of thousands of young men from the Rhineland.

However, the power of time is terrifying; two generations later, Hanover became one of the most loyal regions.

But Franz clearly didn't need that; the best-selling item in the Hanover region was Franz's prints. In fact, the moment Austrian goods entered Hanover, they were already captivated.

Moreover, Franz was distributing real money, and the solutions he provided were all practical problems.

However, a problem arises: the Hanoverian dynasty has a long history, and unlike the Prussians, they are very confident in their own culture and laws.

However, the Austrian Empire's own circumstances made it impossible for multiple laws to coexist; in Hanover, only one law could be in place.

In fact, this problem was not difficult for Franz. He could greatly reduce their resistance by simply changing the laws of the Austrian Empire to those of the Holy Roman Empire.

Moreover, most of the people of Hanover at that time were ignorant of the law; they only had some basic, rudimentary concepts. In this respect, the laws of the Austrian Empire were clearly more accessible to the populace, given their more primitive legislative logic.

Franz would use the name of the Prussian legal system to get the Hanoverians to accept the Empire's laws, since a law with higher acceptance would be more in line with the public's sense of public order and good morals, and thus easier to implement.

Franz was absolutely confident in this; a law that could be implemented in a country like the Austrian Empire, where the regions were so vastly different, would certainly not be too complicated.

Although Hanoverian law originated from primitive Roman law, it has been completely transformed by the Hanoverians while retaining its original characteristics.

The most absurd thing is that the original text of the laws of the Kingdom of Hanover was written in Latin, and the German-annotated version is generally not available to the public. Even if you do manage to buy it, the numerous technical terms and Latin paraphrases are not something that ordinary people can understand.

This is no longer a question of whether it's accessible to the masses; it's become magic in the hands of professionals. Calling it a dimensional reduction attack might be an exaggeration, but it's something almost unknowable, untouchable, and impossible to look directly at.

This is why the opposition from the Hanoverian legal community is so strong, though they are only a small minority. Franz would not allow the majority to suffer in order to protect the privileges of a small group.

As for the legal professionals in the Kingdom of Hanover—judges, lawyers, and notaries—they were the main force opposing the replacement of local laws with the laws of the Holy Roman Empire.

Franz actually disliked these people. Despite being professionals in the field, they were unwilling to improve their skills and only wanted to stick to their own little corner of the business.

Of course, there are some great individuals among them, but Franz believes that most of them should be considered a form of academic clique. If this group were to truly gain control over the interpretation of the law, who knows how much trouble they would cause in the future.

This isn't the world of cultivation, and they don't have any cheat codes with a system. What makes them think they can be certified forever in Franz's empire? If they want high salaries and to be elites, they should honestly keep up with the times.

Otherwise, Franz wouldn't mind inviting them to the colonies to continue being their elite.

The long lines of people in the city square were hard to believe.

"Can the whole family get consumption vouchers just based on that little booklet we got yesterday?"

This is simply unbelievable for most people, after all, they have never heard of anything like it in their lives, or even in their ancestors for generations.

"There probably will be."

A nationalist who appeared to be a leader spoke with some uncertainty, after all, he had never been to the Austrian Empire, and what he heard was always more unreal than what he had seen.

Moreover, he was an accountant, and he knew very well what it meant to give every Hanoverian 20 florins. If the original Kingdom of Hanover had dared to do that, it would probably have declared bankruptcy the very next day.

Although the Austrian Empire was far wealthier than Hanover, this time the consumption vouchers covered the entire Holy Roman Empire. What does 9000 million people mean? That's an astronomical number.

Many fervent nationalists thought Franz had gone mad, fearing that His Majesty the Emperor would ruin the nascent empire. Compared to Franz, they seemed much more rational, and some even began to pause and reflect.

However, they dared not speak out, fearing that people would lose faith in the empire and that they would be exploited by the enemy.

But the public is more concerned about the consumption vouchers themselves.

"Can I buy anything?"

"No, you can only buy products within the specified range."

However, someone immediately revealed a little trick.

"Although we're not allowed to buy flour, we can buy bread. Just buy the really hard kind, wrap it in cloth when you get home and put it in the cellar. That should last us at least six months."