The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 105 Europa Universalis ([-])

Vienna, July 1725, 4.

The Habsburgs had ruled Austria since 1278 and were the owners of the Holy Roman Emperor for almost as long.However, it failed to unify the original territory of the Holy Roman Empire. Until now, the empire under Habsburg was just a huge collection of scattered lands with different nationalities and different languages. Different.

In the 16th century, the Habsburgs continued to expand their rule to include the empires of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and Hungary and their dependent states, including Croatia, Slavonia and Transylvania. Included in the map.In the 17th century and early this century, the Habsburgs acquired possessions in Italy from the Spanish branch of the family, including Naples, Tuscany and Lombardy, as well as the Southern Netherlands.

The diversity of peoples and cultures in the Holy Roman Empire made it more difficult to rule.In order to keep the country together, the Habsburg royal family usually adopted the approach of obtaining the support of local nobles and elites to jointly determine the local political system.

Therefore, a series of key positions in the government and its most important component, the army, were held by local nobles and local forces, and their loyalty to the emperor was extremely limited.Not only that, in many areas, the local noble councils were still active and had considerable autonomy to collect additional taxes outside of the king's control.

There were various religious beliefs in the Habsburg Empire. In addition to the Roman Catholicism believed by the rulers, there were also Calvinism and Lutheranism with a large number of believers, as well as Judaism, which was believed by a small number of people.

In addition, there are obvious ethnic and linguistic differences within the empire, with the dominant Germans, the rebellious Magyars, and the ethnically complex Slavs, including Croats, Czechs, Slovaks, and Slovenes.

The Habsburg Empire sought the most appropriate strategy for managing its vast and diverse territory, while also looking for ways to resist secessionist tendencies.

Militarily, the Habsburg Empire also faced a series of threats: in the southeast, the Ottoman Empire continued to invade; in the east, Tsarist Russia became increasingly powerful, posing a new threat; in the north, the Kingdom of Prussia was rising, challenging the authority of the empire; In the west, although the ambitious Louis XIV died more than ten years ago, his powerful national power is still deeply feared.

More than 20 years ago, the War of Spanish Succession launched by a coalition of European countries did not achieve any meaningful results. Instead, it cost the Habsburg Empire a huge amount of money and exacerbated the empire's deep-seated crisis. It can be said that the gains outweigh the losses.

In 1711, the last year of the war, Charles VI ascended to the throne and became the monarch of the empire. What he faced was a country with internal and external troubles, and a future where the empire was likely to fall apart.

Constrained by long-term incest marriages, the Habsburg family also faced the same dilemma as their Spanish relatives more than a decade ago, that is, the issue of heirs.

Although Charles VI, who turned 40 this year, and Queen Elizabeth Christina, who was famous for her exquisite beauty, "worked" very diligently, they only gave birth to four children, and the only male, Leopold John, was still ten years old. Unfortunately, he died in infancy when he was just a month old.In the foreseeable future, the poor Emperor may not have a new male heir, and the empire will face an extremely serious crisis of survival.

On the European continent, according to the ancient Salic Code, women will not be allowed to inherit the imperial throne. Therefore, Maria Theresa, the eldest daughter of Charles VI, will not be able to become empress. As a result, the empire will not be able to maintain its status quo. Unless other potential contenders to the throne signed a consent form with Charles VI relinquishing their right to become emperor.

Over the past few years, Charles VI had exerted all his efforts to obtain partial consent to renounce the throne from the heirs of his many relatives, and to obtain the consent of the Hungarian Parliament.

Of course, gaining the support of these people was not easy, as Charles VI had neither the powerful army to force their consent nor the wealth to buy them off.In order to ensure their agreement, he had to use the empire's property to make deals with them, such as partial territorial sovereignty - allowing France to have the right to garrison troops in the Grand Duchy of Lorraine, and certain trading rights - giving preferential trade rights to the Southern Netherlands. Dutch and British, even imperial taxing powers - gave the Hungarian Parliament the power to veto land taxes.

But Charles VI still felt that these efforts were not enough to ensure that his eldest daughter would eventually obtain the inheritance rights of the empire. Not to mention that Prussia and France next door were full of covetousness for the empire's territory. Even several states, including Bavaria and Saxony, had ulterior motives. , trying to carve up the lands of the Habsburg Empire.

Therefore, Charles VI needed the support of more big powers, especially European powers that did not conflict with the interests of the empire.King George I of England - who also held the title of Elector of Hanover - was one of the empire's most valued and sought-after helpers.

"Your Majesty, we cannot launch an attack on the Ottomans for the time being." After listening to His Majesty the Emperor's words, Prince Eugen von Savoy pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said: "In December last year, the Ottoman Empire invaded Qi State. Under diplomatic pressure, all troops that invaded Persia have been withdrawn into the country. At the same time, they also worked with Qi to put pressure on Russia, forcing the Russian army to withdraw from the Caucasus. Under this situation, the Ottoman Empire has completely relieved the northeast and east Military threats from two directions began to focus on consolidating the military defenses of Wallachia and Moldavia. In addition, the Ottomans obtained a new loan from Qi for the salary and equipment of the domestic army. Procurement to enhance the army's combat power. Therefore, if we attack the Ottomans now, it is not the best time."

"What if the Poles and Russians also attack the Ottomans together?" Charles VI was vaguely dissatisfied with Prince Eugen's question.

"Huh?" Prince Eugen was stunned after hearing this. "Didn't the Russian Czar just die? How could they launch an attack on the Ottomans at this time? In addition, the Polish Parliament issued a decree eight years ago, stipulating The king did not have control over the standing army in the country, could August II say that he would send troops to attack the Ottomans?"

"England will naturally persuade the Poles and Russians to join us in attacking the Ottomans." Charles VI said impatiently: "What you need to do now is to prepare the army immediately and launch an attack on Wallachia. The upcoming attack will strive to completely drive the Ottomans from the north bank of the Danube."

"Your Majesty, this is too risky..."

"Nine years ago, when we launched a counterattack against the Ottomans, didn't we take risks?" Charles VI said: "At that time, we had just experienced a cruel and massive European war, both in terms of national strength, the size of the army and weapons Equipment, we are all weaker than the Ottomans. But under your command, the imperial army displayed extraordinary perseverance, first defeating more than [-] Ottoman troops in Petrovaradin, and then severely damaging the Ottoman army again in Belgrade, and then conquered The city created a great victory that shocked the whole of Europe. This battle was the furthest point the imperial army penetrated into the Balkans. It not only completely eliminated the Ottoman threat to the empire, but also restored the empire's prestige. Prince Eugen, you Did you know that after the war, the hymn "The Noble Knight" composed for you by an unknown soldier in the army has been widely circulated in the empire and inspired the people and troops of the empire to move forward without hesitation and without hesitation? Now, after so many years, are the former warriors of our empire timid when they launch another attack on the Ottomans?”

"Your Majesty, I will be as full of courage as ever against all enemies of the empire, including the Ottomans." Prince Eugen's face turned a little blue and he said solemnly: "All my achievements were given by the empire. Honor also comes from the empire. In order to protect the safety of the empire, I am willing to devote my life. However, as your loyal minister and the commander-in-chief of the imperial army, I have to make reasonable suggestions for your majesty’s hasty decision. At this time, it is not The best time to attack the Ottomans is because the imperial army is undergoing reform and reorganization and does not yet have the favorable conditions to launch a large-scale war." "Prince Eugen, I need to remind you." Charles VI took a deep breath He said in a very stiff tone: "According to the news from the Ottomans, their Guards and Sipaxi Corps are also undergoing corresponding military adjustments and reforms under the guidance of the Qi State Military Staff Group, and Procured and equipped more advanced weapons. Under this situation, we must preemptively launch a sudden attack on the Ottomans to disrupt their military transformation process. Otherwise, when the Ottomans accumulate enough military power, they will surely A new round of fierce attacks will be launched on the empire."

"Your Majesty, with the rapid advancement of the fortifications in the southern fortresses, if the Ottomans dare to launch an attack, we will definitely be able to rely on those series of strong fortresses to make them suffer a bloody blow and pay an extremely heavy price. In this way, the empire is completely It can consume a large amount of the enemy's vitality at a small cost. ... Therefore, there is absolutely no need for us to launch an attack first."

"..." Charles VI's face has become extremely ugly. Why is this famous imperial general in Europe unwilling to obey his order and launch an attack on the Ottomans?
Don’t I know what you’re talking about?

The problem is that this war is not considered strategic or tactical at all. It is a war of great political significance.In addition to fighting the religiously heretic Ottomans, the Empire needed this war to demonstrate to England our alliance's stance.

Yes, the reason why Charles VI suddenly wanted to provoke a war against the Ottoman Empire was because of the diplomatic suggestions made by the English.

It stands to reason that although England and the Ottoman Empire have different religious beliefs, there is essentially no irreconcilable conflict, and they even do prosperous business with those pagans.

So why did the English encourage the Habsburg Empire to attack the Ottomans?

Without him, in order to attack the Qi State behind the Ottomans!

As we all know, the Ottoman Empire has two powerful alliances. One is France, which is called the "traitor" and "sacrile ally" of the Catholic Church, and the other is Qi, the number one power that dominates the Indian Ocean Rim.

Compared with France, an alliance partner that pays lip service but does not deliver the truth, that damn Qi State seems to be the "godfather" of the Ottomans. Over the past sixty years, it has provided countless support to the Ottomans, and it has provided absolutely It was real money, the amount of aid was high, and the materials were rich, which amazed the Habsburgs and other European countries.

As the life-and-death enemy of the Ottomans, the Habsburgs naturally hated Qi.Originally, the Ottoman Empire, with its large population and abundant military virtue, tormented them to the point of death and sent troops to Vienna several times.Finally, many friends of the Catholic Church joined forces to defeat Osman several times, but Qi always gave them a large amount of financial and material support at this time, rescued them alive, and then lay dormant for several days. year, came back again.

It is for this reason that among the major powers in Europe, the Holy Roman Empire controlled by the Habsburg Dynasty is the only country that has not established any diplomatic ties with Qi. Even non-governmental commercial and cultural ties have been excluded. It was forbidden by the Habsburg dynasty, which regarded this eastern country as an evil empire like the Ottomans.

Although the Habsburg dynasty hated Qi's bottomless support for the Ottomans, it was really out of reach to attack this country.Because they don't have a strong navy, how can they reach the border of Qi?
Furthermore, the empire's main enemies were always the Ottomans on land and the malicious French.Oh, yes, and the rising Prussia.

As for Qi State, it can only be ranked at the bottom.

This time, at the request of England, the war against the Ottoman Empire was launched. In addition to preemptively disrupting the Ottoman military reform process, it also wanted to attract the attention of the people of Qi as much as possible and force them to use the resources that should have been used for the war against England. A large amount of resources can be transferred to the Balkan battlefield to some extent.

The reason why he wanted to take chestnuts from the fire for the English was because Charles VI obtained a guarantee from England that King George I, who held the title of Elector of Hanover, would support his eldest daughter Maria Theresa's legal status in the future. Succession to the throne of imperial emperor.

At the same time, the English government also promised that in the event of a war between the empire and France, it would stand firmly on their side and provide strong financial and military support.To this end, the English government will sign a separate military alliance secret treaty with the empire on the basis of the original four-nation alliance treaty, making a formal agreement on the rights and obligations between the two parties.

With the firm support of the English, the future continuation of the Habsburg Empire would be guaranteed. In return, Charles VI would not hesitate to take a military adventure and launch an attack on the Ottomans.

Of course, he did not expect that the imperial army could once again create the same results as the Belgrade victory. Just as the English envoy said, as long as they could slightly inflict heavy damage on the Ottomans and attract the attention of the Qi people, they would not be able to do their best. Launched an expedition against England.

It can be seen that England was extremely cautious (nervous) in the war provoked by Qi, and did not hesitate to spend huge costs to cause trouble for the Qi people from various regions in order to distract their energy.

It is said that in addition to persuading the Habsburg dynasty, the English also wanted to encourage Tsarist Russia in the east to attack the Ottomans from the Black Sea or attack Persia from the Caucasus, so as to put a certain amount of pressure on the Qi people.

Therefore, in the view of Charles VI, the risk of attacking the Ottomans this time with the help of Russia was actually not great.Taking ten thousand steps back, even if we cannot win a big victory, at least we will not suffer a big defeat.

On April 4, Charles VI dismissed Prince Eugen from his duties as Privy Ambassador to the State Council and Field Marshal, and instead appointed Duke Carl Ludwig as the new Army Commander-in-Chief, ordering him to reorganize the army and stockpile combat supplies. Prepare to launch an attack on the Ottoman Empire.

(End of this chapter)