Holy Roman Empire

"This issue, I suggest that people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should discuss it. Our identities are not suitable for arguing about interests." Franz reminded

He, the emperor of Austria, is okay and can be the master, but Alexander, the crown prince, is not necessarily so.

Without the authorization of the tsar, even if an agreement is reached, who knows if something will happen?When the time comes, where will Alexander save his face?

If the two sides reached an agreement now, and the Russians were fast enough, they might have occupied Constantinople before the French settled their internal problems, and the subsequent historical trend might be reversed as a result.

Unless the Russians cheated and defeated the British at sea, then Franz would admit defeat and obediently be Mao Xiong's younger brother. This possibility is no greater than the chance of winning the World Cup.

Otherwise, it is estimated that Britain and France will have to rely on their strong capital to consume the Russians, and in the end they will probably lose to both sides.

This is what Franz wants to see most. No matter who wins or loses, it is in the interests of Austria.

The Russians were defeated, and Austria had the opportunity to further expand in the Balkans; Britain and France were defeated, and Austria, an overseas colony, could get an extra share.

……

Chapter 3 Hongmen Banquet

The meeting between Franz and Alexander still achieved constructive results, and the Russian-Austrian relationship quickly began to heat up, because the small conflicts caused by the Pudan War disappeared.

kingdom of sardinia

The Austrian army is packing its bags, the armistice treaty has been signed, half of the war reparations have been paid, and the British government has provided guarantees for the rest, and the time for withdrawal has come.

Franz didn't mean to play tricks. If possible, he didn't mind withdrawing the troops immediately. It would cost a lot of money to leave the army.

However, since the Kingdom of Sardinia was once occupied, the Austrian army naturally could not go in vain.It is impossible for Qiu to commit no crimes, and almost all the soldiers are now returning with full rewards.

There are too many spoils, and it is very troublesome to carry them. If they are sold locally, in the Kingdom of Sardinia that has just been baptized by the flames of war, they cannot be sold at a high price, and some commodities cannot even be found by buyers.

Marshal Radesky is a good marshal. In order to protect everyone's interests, he immediately decided that the troops would transport them back to China for sale, and then everyone would divide the money.

……

In the industrial area of ​​Turin, a major officer was directing: "Tom, be careful. These machines are precious lumps. They are said to be worth tens of thousands of guilders. You can't turn them into scrap iron, then we won't even earn enough for the freight." !"

"Don't worry, Major. I don't dare let these precious bumps break," Tom replied.

The bandits pass like a comb, and the soldiers pass like a grate.

Since the Vienna government decided to abandon the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Austrian army has given full play to its subjective initiative and embarked on a journey to make a fortune.

Of course, ordinary people are too lazy to grab it, not to mention that they can't squeeze out oil and water, and they are wasting time.

The gains from robbing a nobleman or a capitalist are greater than the gains from robbing a village. This multiple-choice question is easy to do.

Marshal Radesky was strict in running the army. Everyone made money in an organized way. Each army was divided into areas and began to act.

This also needs to test professional knowledge. European armies have always had a tradition of robbery. During the anti-French war, the Kingdom of Sardinia was patronized by the French army many times.

In the process of robbing and being robbed, everyone also learned to hide their wealth.

Don’t worry about real estate and land. These real estates that cannot be taken away are safe. Everyone should be careful how to hide cash, antiques, calligraphy and paintings that are easy to carry.

Nobles and capitalists are not stupid, they start to hide their goods before the enemy arrives. Anyway, as long as they don't resist, the army usually only robs and doesn't kill.

How much you can hide is your own ability. Experienced people know that you should hide the most valuable part of the property and leave a part of the cash outside for the big soldiers to rob.

If all of them are hidden, they will probably lose their money, and how can the soldiers give up if they have nothing to gain?I'm in a hurry, what if someone tortures her to extract a confession?

Salary copying is not Li Zicheng's patent. There are many people who have done this kind of thing, but others are not as violent as him.

A man of integrity like Franz would naturally not let the Austrian army do such unskilled things.

Before the action, people had been sent to train the soldiers. For example, cultural relics inside antique calligraphy and paintings must be kept carefully, and mechanical equipment must be handled with care.

What basements, secret cabinets, empty walls, new ground... These places where the goods may be hidden are all the focus of the search.

Everything is afraid of specialization, and the combat effectiveness of a qualified robbery team is leveraged. This is not a burst of loot.

In this era, the Kingdom of Sardinia did not have a railway running through to Austria, and the transportation mainly relied on manpower and animal power. Naturally, this speed could not be increased.

Since August, the Austrian army has begun to transport these belongings to the country, and it is still working hard.

A soldier reported: "Major, we have found a warehouse with a large amount of triticale. It is said that a grain merchant stored it here."

The major officer frowned, hesitated, and said: "We have seized a large amount of food in front of us, and we are about to evacuate now, and we can't finish it. Seal it there and don't move it. Wait for the order, and I will report it first. "

There is no shortage of food in Austria, and it costs a lot of money to transport it back from the Kingdom of Sardinia. It doesn't make much money at all, and it is a worthless spoil of war.

……

The Supreme Command of the Expeditionary Force, Marshal Radesky, has received too many reports of the seizure of basic materials such as grain, coal, ore, and industrial raw materials.

For Austria, these things are completely tasteless, and it is not profitable to ship them back, and they might not even sell enough for the shipping fee.

He was not reconciled to leaving it to the Sardinian government.After this battle, the relationship between the two countries should not be normalized for decades, and it is more in the interests of Austria to weaken the national strength of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Do you want to destroy it?Marshal Radesky hesitated.

"Marshal, why don't you sell this material cheaply to merchants?" Lieutenant General Edmund Leopold Friedrich suggested

Robbery also has to be divided into objects, and foreign businessmen such as Britain and France are naturally not within the scope of robbery.Of course, this is limited to big businessmen with backgrounds, and small businessmen will rob them if they rob them.

After the Austrian army occupied the Kingdom of Sardinia, some businessmen wanted to buy the trophies of the Austrian army, but because the bid was too low, Marshal Radeski did not want to suffer this loss, so he chose to ship it back to his country for sale.

Marshal Radesky hesitated for a moment and said, "Then sell it!"

If you can't get along with anyone, you can't get along with money.With so many basic materials, no matter how cheap they are sold, they add up to a considerable sum.

Marshal Radeski didn't even bother to think about the consequences of these materials falling into the hands of these foreign businessmen. Anyway, it would not be a good thing for the Kingdom of Sardinia.

……

In Vienna's Stephen's Cathedral, a religious feast is underway, and Pope Pius IX personally "attended" the meeting.

That's right, he was attending a meeting. Even though he was the leader of the religious circles, he was defeated. Although he was not yet bullied by dogs, he also lost his unambiguous authority.

Facing the conditions offered by the Austrians, he really couldn't find a reason to refuse.

The headquarters of the Holy See has fallen. In order to regain the headquarters, it is logical to sell part of the religious property to raise military expenses.

Anyone who dares to object is not devout enough to believe in God.Clergy who have no religious beliefs are not qualified to continue serving God.

This is only the view of Pius IX, and in the eyes of many Austrian bishops, this is very unreasonable.The Holy See has so many properties, so why sell all their properties?

"Stop arguing, this is an order. If anyone opposes the recovery of the Holy Land, I will remove his bishop right now!" Pius IX threatened

It is estimated that the dismissal is only the first step, if there is another excommunication, it will be miserable.

They are not Protestants who can treat the Pope's order as toilet paper.Nor is it a party of princes, who can directly lead troops to Rome and threaten the Pope to revoke the order.

There is never a shortage of people who are blinded by interests, and Bishop Monterey is one of them.

Unlike the veteran bishop who has already earned enough, he has just taken over.For this position, Monterey spent all his wealth, and hasn't had time to pay back?

At this time, if the teaching property is to be sold on a large scale, isn't this going to cut off his money?

He glanced at the audience and saw that all the bishops were angry, so his courage came up.

This is not the Middle Ages anymore, why is the pope so coquettish?

"Your Majesty, the clergy also have to eat. If the religious property is sold, what shall we eat?" Monterrey asked

"As servants of God, we are not meant to seek pleasure. The income of the church is enough to maintain the life of the clergy." Pius IX said indifferently

The church is not without business. In a country with a strong religious atmosphere like Austria, there will be no shortage of believers to raise donations.

Monterey continued to argue: "However, Your Majesty, the church also needs to operate. If the funds are not sufficient, we will not be able to guarantee that the people's faith will not be reduced."

Pius IX said with a pious face: "As a devout believer, you must overcome these difficulties. If you are not capable of taking on this responsibility, child, let someone who is capable do it!"

The person who was going to speak out to help quickly chose to shut up.This is obviously because the Austrian government is eyeing the wealth of the church, and Pius IX has sold them in order to recover the Papal State.

Not to mention dismissing a bishop, even if they are all dismissed, it is a small problem.Without the sacred halo, they are no opponents of the government.

Seeing the bishops who were filled with righteous indignation, they all quieted down, and Monterrey knew that he was finished.

Accidentally, he actually became the chicken in the "killing chickens to warn monkeys".At this time, he didn't even have the courage to defend himself.

If you plead guilty obediently, you can still get a lighter sentence. If you continue to fight, it will be a light death, and the whole family may be in trouble.

Don't think that there is no implicated in Europe, even if it can't reach the sake of implicating the nine clans, it is still necessary to attack his family.

Seeing Monterey, who was subdued and pleaded guilty, Pius IX was very satisfied with his standing.

After no one objected, Prime Minister Felix was invited out.

Under the witness of God, Pius IX signed the Church property transfer agreement on behalf of the Holy See and the Austrian government represented by Felix.

Chapter 4 Disarmament

With the cooperation of Pius IX, the Austrian government successfully persuaded the bishops, and the next step is naturally layered.

D?

If there is no such thing, there are many clergymen who want to be bishops.

Even if most of the teaching property is lost, the church is still a wealthy unit with a lot of public funds for them to spend, and there are no supervisors.

Franz has always been adhering to convincing people with reason, and the deal with the church this time is also a fair deal, which was personally confirmed by Pope Pius IX.

For the clergy who don't understand, it is natural to persuade them with good words. If they can't do it, they can continue to do ideological work, and the diehards can criticize education, and finally help them get rid of their bad habits.

After dismissing an archbishop, [-] local bishops, auxiliary bishops, and more than a hundred priests who were not devout enough, everyone actively cooperated with the government to complete the handover.

Under normal circumstances, after the clergy are deemed to be impious, their fate must be tragic.

But this time, Franz interceded for them.They just need to prove that they are devout believers in the next battle to recover the Papal State.

To be able to solve the church's problems without bloodshed.This made the Austrian government realize the importance of the Papal State. The presence of a pro-Austrian Pope will help the Austrian government manage the clergy well.

To put it simply, it is to see which bishop is upset, and throw him to the Papal State to serve God. For example, guarding the Holy Land is a very promising job.

It is natural to do things after taking the benefits. Pope Pius IX has done everything that Pope Pius IX should do. Now it is the turn of the Austrian government to pay the reward.

Franz hated wage arrears, so naturally he would not become the person he hated the most.

"What's going on with Marshal Radesky? Do we need to redeploy troops from the country?" Franz asked.

"Your Majesty, the withdrawal from the Kingdom of Sardinia is about to be completed, and the morale of the troops on the front line is very high, so they can continue to participate in this operation.

However, Marshal Radesky suggested that these soldiers should be allowed to return home, and some soldiers would be redeployed to intervene in the Papal State. ’ replied Prince Wendisch Gretz, Minister of War

Obviously, he was a little dissatisfied with Marshal Radesky's suggestion, and switching back and forth was easy to say, but troublesome to do.

It is natural to have high morale. The Sardinian army can only be regarded as a soft persimmon. They have hardly fought any tough battles, and they have been pushed all the way.

There were not many casualties in the army, but the loot was very rich. Even if it was sold at a discount, at least each soldier could be divided into several hundred guilders, which was equivalent to the income of ordinary people for several years.

(1 shield equals about 11.69 grams of silver)

In addition to this windfall, the land promised by Franz is about to be fulfilled. The soldiers are naturally willing to fight such a smooth battle.

After thinking about Marshal Radesky's suggestion, Franz felt that it was very necessary for domestic recruits to go to the battlefield. Anyway, there was no danger, so it was considered as training.

It is mainly the city defense army of Vienna, who are prepared with the best weapons. Because of their lack of combat experience, they are likely to be the bottom of the Austrian army.

Franz found an excuse and said: "The soldiers on the front line have been fighting continuously for nearly half a year, and it's time for them to refresh.

According to Marshal Radeski's opinion, some recruits were transferred from the rear to replace them, and the Vienna City Defense Force was also sent out for actual combat training. "

From a purely military point of view, if an army has been fighting continuously for half a year, no matter how elite the army is, it will feel exhausted.

The Ossa War nominally lasted for four or five months. In fact, the two sides actually fought each other less than a month before the Austrian army pushed back from Venice to Turin.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Prince Wendischgrätz replied

These are minor issues, so naturally no one will refute Franz's face.

Intervention in the Papal State is more about deterrence by force, and the chance of a real war breaking out is very small.

Although the revolutionary party government is now in control of the regime, some of the domestic army still supports the Pope. The indecisive bourgeois regime is worried about triggering a civil war, and has not yet carried out a major purge of the army.

Prime Minister Felix said: "Your Majesty, the domestic situation has stabilized, and the international environment is also very favorable to us.

To continue to maintain such a large army, the government's financial pressure is a bit heavy. The cabinet suggested that some officers and soldiers should be demobilized, and the saved expenses should be invested in the restoration of production and construction. "

It is normal to expand the army during the war and disarm after the war.

Although the current situation in Europe is not very peaceful, it was caused by the revolution, and the conflicts between countries have not yet broken out. Under this background, the possibility of war between major powers is almost zero.

"How many troops does the government plan to abolish?" Franz asked with concern