Holy Roman Empire

Not only is the government going to war, the Austrian army is also rectifying military discipline. The Ministry of War has dismissed 12 generals and 361 school-level officers, and cleaned up countless low-level small fish.

Most of these people were driven home because of dereliction of duty and dawdling, and a small number were sent to military courts for corruption and bribery.

I have to say that the nobles in the military still pay attention to their appearance, probably because they are afraid of being blackmailed on the battlefield, and there are still very few people who deduct military salaries. Most of them resell military supplies in private, or take back the deductions when purchasing .

What makes people laugh and cry is that many generals with corrupt personal conduct have a good reputation in the army.

It's a pity that these talents went to the wrong studio. If they were in government departments, they might be raised as pigs. If they were in the army, they would consider themselves unlucky. If they find out and deal with them, don't make exceptions.

The officers and soldiers at the bottom didn't know it, but the top military officials had already noticed that the government was preparing for a big war.

Any individual or interest group that affects the combat effectiveness of the army will be defeated.

Just look at the current training situation. The marshals and generals often go to the training ground to supervise the training of the officers and soldiers.

While rectifying the training of the troops, the military launched a professional quality training course for officers, specifically for officers. Many aristocratic officers who dawdled around were often served by military sticks and leather whips.

In the evening, in a military camp outside Prague, the noble officers who were exhausted from training returned to the dormitory to rest weakly.

Gernia asked: "Casamen, you are always well-informed, do you know when this special training will end?"

"Isn't this nonsense, Gernia? If I had known the news in advance, I would have thought of a way to escape, and I would suffer here with you." Casamen replied weakly

"No way, isn't your uncle at the headquarters? Is there no news at all?" Gernia asked suspiciously

"Yes, he told me that I must behave well, or I will be in bad luck. It is indeed the case now, look at the poor Sarks, the ass is blooming after being spanked. The people in the Military Law Department are really ruthless, a bit I didn’t even save him any face.” Casamen replied with a wry smile.

"It's not a big deal. The next door, Ban Arta, jumped over the wall and tried to escape, but was shot in the right leg by a soldier on duty and was almost amputated.

Even so, he was sent to a military court in the name of desertion, and his life was finished. "Gernia said with lingering fear.

……

Vienna Schönbrunn Palace

Prince Wendisch Gretz handed over a document to Franz, saying: "Your Majesty, this is the complete reform plan of our War Department, please have a look."

Austria's military reform plan was formulated by the deceased Archduke Karl, and Franz also participated in it. It is full of his private goods. Now the Ministry of War is only improving on this basis.

In the battle of 1848, the Austrian army showed many deficiencies, and the insightful people in the army proposed reforms in the military system. At this time, Franz threw out the reform plan taught to him by Archduke Karl before his death.

Although once this plan is implemented, Archduke Karl's influence in the army will continue to increase, Franz still chose to carry out reforms under his banner.

In Franz's view, it doesn't matter how high the status of the dead military god is. It is more influential than the proposal of the emperor Franz, the No. 1 recognized by the Austrian military.

The leader of the reformist party usually will not have good results, as much praise as he receives, he will suffer as much slander.Maybe they will be retaliated by interest groups, and the dead don't matter, and revenge is out of reach.

Many generals in the Austrian army are now influenced by Archduke Karl. For example, Marshal Radeski, the most prestigious now, served as Chief of Staff for Archduke Karl, and Prince Wendischgritz even regarded himself as his descendant.

Now is the best time for military reform. If the older generation retreats after ten or eight years, it will be difficult to bring it up again.

Thinking of this, Franz had a headache.The talents in the Austrian army are showing signs of being in short supply. Now the talents of the generals in the Austrian army are no weaker than those of any other country.

But these famous generals in the anti-French war are slowly getting old, and there are not many young people who have emerged in the younger generation.

Flipping through it casually, Franz asked with interest: "Kick out the overage officers in the army, are you going to let the veterans retire?"

It's okay to think about letting veterans retire, but it's really difficult to do it.

They have made great military exploits for Austria, and they think they can continue to fight for the country. It is unreasonable for you to let them go home because they are too old?

Moreover, in Franz's view, people are old and mature. If there is a war, the quality of the younger officers will not be as good as the older generation.

Talents come out of troubled times, and the older generation just grew up in the era when Napoleon slammed Europe, and Austria was the main force against Napoleon. Dozens of battles, large and small, were fought, and the army was naturally tempered.

They also have a lot of victories. Anyway, the Austrian army also defeated Napoleon head-on.Many military generals were not convinced by the French victory. In their opinion, if the government hadn't held back, they might have won.

The Austrian military spirit was forged in that era. In history, when the Franco-Austrian War broke out, the original owner personally went into battle to command the battle and created an epic defeat. Only then did this arrogance disappear.

Without the army soul, the combat effectiveness will naturally decline all the way. By the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it was able to bully Italy.

Prince Wendisch Gretz explained: "No, Your Majesty. These veterans are treasures in the Austrian army, and they are now training the next generation of officers for the Austrian army. How could the Ministry of War let them retire!

Our plan is to clear out the current army officers who are under the age of 16 and cannot enter the army. "

Franz nodded. This is the disbandment of the legendary "Nursing Bottle Officer Corps".There are not many such young officers in the Austrian army, and this is still the head of the royal family.

Franz himself is a beneficiary of this policy, but this does not affect his contempt for this policy, the ass determines the head.

He was a beneficiary at the beginning, so he naturally raised his hands to support him. Now that his position has changed, this policy can no longer bring him benefits, and Franz's position has also changed.

If they reach the age of service and the nobles become officers by virtue of their superhuman military qualities, everyone will have nothing to say, the army is a place that believes in the strong.

But the milk bottle officer corps is unbearable, but no Austrian soldier would think that their military quality is not as good as that of a child who is breastfeeding.

Franz thought for a while and said, "Then change the overage age to the underage age, and cancel the military ranks of all young officers who are under the service age and have not served in the army, and the royal family is no exception."

He didn't think that the Army was unclear about the situation and miswrote "young age" as "overage age". Obviously, this was leaving a back door while cleaning up the milk bottle officer corps.

The purpose is very simple, the face of the royal family must be taken care of, it cannot be generalized, and all of them are kicked out.Now Franz's three younger brothers are all one of them.

It's just that in Franz's view, this is superfluous.The milk bottle officer corps does not have any substantive role. For the sake of a so-called face, it destroys the principle of fairness in the army, which is really not worth the candle.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Prince Wendisch Gretz replied

The royal family has taken the lead, what else can the nobles say?Anyway, it only made the younger generation lose one title, and there was no real loss.

The purpose of engaging in this kind of young officer was to inspire the next generation to study hard and always remember that he was an officer.

Up to now, this educational model has succeeded and failed.

The children of the nobles have indeed cultivated a heart that they think is superior to others, and they are competitive in their studies. If they surpass their peers through hard work, their progress will continue after being stimulated.

Conversely, if you are still not as good as your peers after studying hard, this arrogance will naturally wear off and you will become decadent.

Chapter 37 The Rule-Abiding Czar

Any reform comes at a price, Franz quickly learned.As victims of this military reform, Franz's three younger brothers came to protest.

There is no doubt that the three little kids were brutally suppressed by him, they were speechless when they were directly told, and left in despair.

In fact, Franz also wanted to establish a military academy for young aristocrats, but in the end he had to give up this plan temporarily because of poverty.

There is no way, this is determined by Austria's national conditions.Now the cost of military education for noble children is borne by the nobles themselves. Once the government establishes a military academy for young nobles, the government will have to bear the cost.

The training of these noble children must not be sloppy, and elite teaching must be required. The education cost of tens of thousands of noble children is at least tens of millions of dong a year, and it is not surprising even if it exceeds [-] million.

In addition to military classes and cultural classes, there must also be etiquette classes, art classes, equestrian classes, hunting, fencing, religion, social dances...

In short, what an expensive word.This kind of elite education cannot be supported by ordinary aristocratic families, so what should we do?

The answer is very simple: parents educate the next generation themselves, or let their children learn from relatives and friends.

Of course, this is an aristocrat with background.Emerging aristocrats do not have the ability to provide such high-end education to their children, and if they cannot cultivate their aristocratic temperament, they will be called nouveau riche.

Anyway, in addition to cultural classes, ordinary schools in Austria also have simple military training, which is a tradition in the German region.

As the saying goes, imitating the behavior of the ruling class is a normal phenomenon in society.The conditions of compulsory education schools in Austria are so poor, and there is no lack of basic military training.

The abolition of the milk bottle army was only a small episode in the military reform, and the actual impact was not great. This kind of honorary officer did not need to be paid by Franz.

The real major surgery is still in the logistics management system. With the continuous upgrading of military weapons, the requirements for logistics supplies are also increasing. The traditional logistics support system can no longer meet the needs of modern warfare.

To put it simply, a special logistics support system has been established, and the army's logistics team has grown.

It is worth mentioning that the medical security system also appeared in the Austrian army, and it is also an important member of the logistics system. Each company has established a medical and health team, and there are special field hospitals for division-level troops.

It is a pity that the medical system is still an empty shell. These establishments only exist in theory. The number of doctors in field hospitals is still in single digits, and they can only guarantee the safety of officers.

According to the current situation, Franz estimates that it will take at least three to five years for these institutions to be fully staffed, and it will take time to train medical personnel, even if they only learn simple battlefield first aid.

Considering the level of medical technology in this era, it can only be said that something is better than nothing.Franz didn't expect them to be able to rescue the seriously wounded, as long as they saved the lives of the lightly wounded.

In this era, the death rate on the battlefield remains high. The most important reason is trauma infection. There are no high-end anti-inflammatory drugs, and there is still no shortage of alcohol in Austria.

Not long ago, Franz sent someone to produce the miracle drug penicillin, and he planned to make money by selling the drug.

It's a pity that even if penicillin can be produced by indigenous methods, this penicillin is not equal to penicillin that can be used to save lives and heal the wounded. There are also professional things involved.

The scientists who participated in the production were shocked, but those who should do experiments should continue to do experiments.If you can't grasp the speed in the middle, the miracle medicine that saves lives and heals the wounded will also become a deadly poison.

Historically, penicillin was invented in 1928, and the clinical trials were not completed until the end of 1940. Of course, there were interruptions in the research.

When will the properties of the drug be stabilized and the penicillin most suitable for human use be produced? It is up to these scientists to work hard. Franz said that he is really helpless.

Laboratory products are so difficult to manufacture, and the transformation from laboratory products to industrial production is naturally indispensable.

Historically, because of the outbreak of World War II, the Americans set a new record in the history of drug research and development from the laboratory confirmation of drug efficacy in 1940 to the start of industrial production in 1942.

Franz does not think that Austria's industrial technology can match that of the Americans during World War II.Not to mention three years, if this goal can be achieved within ten years, it will be celebrated by the whole world.

Franz can only sigh with emotion that anti-Japanese dramas are all harmful.

The time when the Americans achieved mass production of penicillin was in 1943, and then it was provided to the Allied forces.I really don't know which counterfeit drug dealer the penicillin the protagonists robbed by the Japanese army came from, it is even earlier than the laboratory product.

After this failure, Franz directly cut off the idea of ​​selling medicine to make money.

In an era when biotechnology, medical technology, and industrial technology are all unsatisfactory, and he has no system, what can he do?

……

St petersburg

Since the signing of the Russia-Australia Secret Treaty, the Russians have begun to prepare for war.

The tsarist government was not a fool. They knew that the continent of Europe had just experienced a great revolution, and the governments of all countries were busy consolidating their regimes and carrying out social reforms. This was the best time for them to expand.

"My Minister of Finance, when will I be able to collect funds for the war?" Nicholas I asked dissatisfied

Naturally, it costs money to prepare for a war. If you don’t have money, what kind of war will you fight?From last year to now, it has been almost a year, and the Ministry of Finance still has not collected the funds for the war. Naturally, Nicholas I will be dissatisfied.

Later generations believed that Russia, a backward agricultural country, was a poor country among the great powers. The Russian Empire in this era was not poor at all, with fiscal revenue as high as 2 million silver rubles.

(1 gold ruble = 10.3 silver rubles, one silver ruble is about half two silver)

As a feudal dynasty, the industrial development of the Russian Empire is naturally not good, and the agricultural technology is also not good, but can't they support their family's mines?

In the mid-19th century, the Tsarist government discovered a large number of gold and silver mines in the newly expanded territory. In 1840 alone, the Tsarist government minted 4.399 million silver coins and 1.34 million gold coins.

The production of so many gold and silver coins, in addition to showing that the tsarist government was rich and powerful, there is also a helpless reason, their banknotes are not strong enough.

During the Alexander I period, the Russians followed the trend and issued banknotes, but businessmen from various European countries believed that the Tsarist government had no credibility and refused to use paper rubles, so the value of paper rubles naturally went crazy all the way.

In 1817, Alexander I changed the monetary policy and banned the issuance of banknotes. The government adopted a policy of shrinking banknotes and gradually recovered the banknotes circulating in the market.

Instead of paper currency trade, it is natural to rely on gold and silver coins.Facts have proved that this thing really works. As soon as the gold and silver bistandard system came out, it was immediately praised by businessmen from various European countries.

Judging from these data, the Tsarist government in this era should be very rich. The 1 million taels before the devaluation of silver is not a small sum, much higher than Austria before the reform.

As a feudal dynasty, the Russian Empire has no social welfare to spend, and the government's fiscal revenue is mainly to support the army and administrative agencies, which should be enough.

Nicholas I and Franz faced a common social problem-corruption. No matter how rich a country is, as long as this problem cannot be solved, don't expect it to be rich financially.

"Your Majesty, the cost is too huge. I'm afraid it will have to wait until the second half of next year." Chancellor of the Exchequer Aris Stanley replied

Nicholas I frowned and asked, "Hasn't the war tax already been levied?"

"Your Majesty, the nobles have not yet paid the war tax. They demanded the payment after the war broke out, so the war tax is now lower than we expected." Aris Stanley explained

This is a normal operation, and the taxes of the nobles of the Russian Empire have never been easy to collect.The reputation of the tsars in the past was not very good. The nobles were afraid of being deceived by the tsars. Unless the war had already broken out, it would be difficult to receive taxes in advance.

Of course, if Nicholas I was a little tougher, he could accept it in advance, but this would affect domestic unity and stability.

But Nicholas I would not do that. Everyone in Europe has a clear division of rights and obligations.

During the war, the tsar had the right to levy war taxes, and the nobles were also obliged to pay war taxes, but isn’t the war not yet broken out?

"Couldn't they be allowed to pay taxes from various places in advance?" Nicholas I asked with a frown

"Your Majesty, we have commercial contracts. If we ask them to pay taxes in advance, we will have to pay too much." Aris Stanley patiently explained

That's right, this is the legendary tax package system.

Now European countries have basically abolished it, but Russia is too big, the government wants to directly collect taxes and management costs are too high, and it is difficult to guarantee tax revenue, so it has not been abolished.

Nicholas I frowned and said, "Forget it, anyway, we still have time to raise strategic materials. However, the Ministry of Finance must pay close attention to raising military expenses. I don't want our military operations to be delayed because of lack of money."

Unlike other tsars, Nicholas I was a responsible person, he didn't like to break the rules, and he would persevere in achieving the goals he had set.

Chapter 38 The Wind Rises

In the Munich palace, a meeting to decide the fate of the Kingdom of Bavaria begins.

"Your Majesty, your decision is too hasty. At this time, we will be closer to Prussia, and we will definitely be retaliated by the Austrians." Prime Minister Murtis said with a frown