Holy Roman Empire

After gaining the support of the local people, Austria was invincible.The current France is no longer the Napoleonic era, and it can be pushed all the way across.

The Minister of War, Prince Wendisch Gretz, said: "Not only in South Germany, if the French intervene, they may join forces with the Kingdom of Sardinia in the Lombardy region, making us fight on two fronts."

Marshal Radesky shook his head and said: "It doesn't matter, they beat theirs and we beat ours.

If France dares to send the main force to the Italian region, it will be a big deal that the Italian region will not be used, and we will go directly to Paris.

In terms of distance, we are even more advantageous.I don't know if we can capture Paris, but we can bet with the French government.

If we lose the bet, we will be a Lombard at worst. If we win the bet, the price the French will have to pay will be high. "

Looking at the dispute between the two, everyone tacitly did not participate.This was exactly the effect Franz wanted. If there were no conflicts between the Ministry of War and the General Staff, he would have to replace him.

It has nothing to do with trust, this is the instinct of the emperor's balance technique.

If the subordinates are allowed to collude, then they will be deceived. There are not one or two emperors who have been emptied in history.

Similarly, you can't let your subordinates fight like hell, everyone is busy fighting among themselves, who will do the work?

After thinking for a while, Prince Wendisch Gretz retorted: "The French are not paper-based, how could they conquer in a short time?

Once Paris could not be conquered and the war reached a stalemate, the French's advantage in fighting at home was manifested, and they could quickly mobilize hundreds of thousands of cannon fodder.

These cannon fodder units have not been trained, but when defending their homes and the country, they can rely on morale to make up for the lack of training.

At that time, subject to logistical supplies, we still have to withdraw in vain, and it will be difficult to get back the lost Italy. "

Not to be outdone, Marshal Radesky said: "Even if we can't conquer Paris, we can still hurt the French.

They can concentrate their forces to defend Paris, and they will not guard other areas. If they refuse to compromise, we will burn, kill and loot all the way to destroy their industrial and commercial systems in the Northeast.

Don’t dare to say anything else, create millions of homeless refugees, encourage these people to rob and plunder, and spread chaos throughout France.

They are overwhelmed at home, can they not withdraw their troops from Italy?Just the Kingdom of Sardinia still has the ability to prevent us from recovering the Italian region? "

Sure enough, the old guys are all ruthless characters. If they really do this, it is estimated that the French will not be able to recover their vitality for more than ten years, and the Austrian and French have become sworn enemies. The mainstream of future international conflicts will be the Austrian and French conflicts.

What would happen if Franz chose?Of course I did it, and they have become enemies anyway. What is the difference between doing fifty and doing one hundred?

Enmity is enmity, who is afraid of whom?The big deal is to pretend to be the grandson of the British and just not challenge the sea power. Austria's geographical location determines that the threat from the sea is almost zero.

Get down on the Frenchman once, and the military spirit will come out.The Austrian Empire after the unification of South Germany was completely reborn.

Metternich acted as a peacemaker and said with a smile: "Don't be so angry, you two, as long as we choose the right time and create an established fact, the French will probably acquiesce.

They are not fools. If I invest 40 or [-] troops in South Germany, they don't have the same strength, so how could they risk sending troops?

Moreover, if the French want to intervene with us, the best way to send troops is from the Rhineland. Does the Kingdom of Prussia dare to lend them a way?

When we do it, the Kingdom of Prussia will most likely follow suit. The French oppose our unification of South Germany. Are they willing to watch the Kingdom of Prussia unify North Germany?

They are eyeing the land of the German Confederation west of the Rhine, and a powerful Prussian kingdom is not in their interests.

In the future, we will remain allies with Prussia in dealing with the French. "

After hearing Metternich's explanation, everyone looked happy.It is the theme of this era to look for the weak, to bully the weak and fear the strong.

What the French want is not in the hands of Austria. Even if they interfere with the unification of the German region, it is essentially for their own interests.

Instead, the Kingdom of Prussia wanted to keep the territory west of the Rhine and had to fight the French.Want to compromise?Do domestic nationalists agree?

Franz said slowly: "Okay, that's the end of the French problem. The problem now is the arms race among European countries. Our good neighbor, the Kingdom of Prussia, can no longer hold on.

It seems that this Pudan War was not fought in vain, and it will be difficult for the Kingdom of Prussia to get out of the predicament in the short term, which is also a good thing for us.

Judging from the current situation, the time for the Russians to start the war should be in 1851, and it will not exceed 1852 at the latest. Should we escalate the arms race? "

There is no doubt that the only countries whose armies on the European continent can threaten Austria are Russia, France and Prussia.Now that the Kingdom of Prussia is in a financial crisis and cannot keep up, the escalation of the arms race at this time is the three countries of Russia, France and Austria.

Prime Minister Felix gritted his teeth and said: "Your Majesty, we can bet that after the Russians provoked the war, Britain and France will send troops to intervene, and there will be a chance to unify the southern German region.

Now to escalate the arms race, first eliminate the Kingdom of Prussia and then, if there is one less competitor, we will have one more possibility of success.

If you lose the bet, the big deal is to implement the Balkan strategy first, and you will never lose money! "

How could it not be a loss?In the eyes of Prime Minister Felix, instead of going west to Germany, it would be a loss-making business to carve up the Balkan Peninsula.

But in order to gain the support of the Balkan faction, he also went all out.If the fighter planes appear, they will unify the South German region. If they don't appear, they can only fight rabbits and go to the Balkans to make up for the losses.

Marshal Radesky said excitedly: "Your Majesty, this risk is worth taking. If you lose, it will cost tens of millions of guilders. If you win, you will be South Germany!"

It is true that they lost, and the big deal would be military expenditures of tens of millions of dong.This is not a complete waste, at least it increases military strength.

The Austrian government is not an iron head, so it has to bite the bullet and rush upwards.

If the international situation is unfavorable and you cannot go west, you can go to the south to bully the Ottoman Empire to make up for the loss.Even if Russia really went to the Far East to eat ice cubes, Austria would not hesitate to go it alone.

Thinking of this, Franz has already made a decision in his heart.

Chapter 48 Everyone is getting ready

Franz had no choice but to make this decision.The Austrian army has just suppressed a domestic rebellion, defeated the Kingdom of Sardinia, and intervened in the Papal State by the way.

Now he has hundreds of thousands of veterans who have seen blood in his hands. Anyone with a little military common sense knows how precious veterans with rich combat experience are.

This means that the combat effectiveness of the Austrian Army is at its peak, no worse than that of any country in this era.

If this time is missed, the combat effectiveness of the Austrian army will slowly decline when all the veterans who have seen blood retire.

No matter how strict the training is, it is not as effective as letting soldiers go to the battlefield.After several victories and battles, he became a proud soldier.

How could Franz give up such a big advantage?What's more, the veterans of the Austrian military are already old, and if they don't fight them, they won't even have a chance to play their residual heat.

For example, Marshal Radesky was in his eighties. Even if he was old and strong, Franz was not at ease letting him lead troops on the front line.

At this time, these old guys can still dispatch commands in the staff department. If it takes another ten or eight years, Franz will have to accept the reality that the famous Austrian general will wither.

This is a reincarnation, and it is impossible for any country to remain at the top forever.If the layout is not completed at this time, the risk will be greatly increased if you do it in the future.

It's not that there are no successors in the Austrian army. The problem is that famous generals are all played on the battlefield.For a general who has never proven himself on the battlefield, who knows if he is really capable or just talking on paper?

When the general's strength is uncertain, the best way is to fight inactively, using national strength to delay the past, and not giving the enemy an opportunity.

This was proved during the World Wars. The Germans had the most outstanding generals in the world and the most famous generals, but they still lost in the end. This was the case in both World Wars.

It is obviously impossible for Austria to have that advantage before digesting the South German region.Relying on national strength may crush Prussia, but if you want to crush the French, don't dream.

The final result was that Austria's military budget increased again in 1851, from the original 7395.72 million guilders to 1.12 million guilders.

Such expenditure, if there is no war, will persist for three to five years at most, and the Austrian government will have to give up.

These increased military expenditures belong to the army, and the navy should not be counted on. Whether it is going west to the German region or south to the Balkan Peninsula, they will not have the opportunity to perform.

The direct consequence of the increase in military spending was that Austria’s active-duty troops were expanded to 51.2. At the same time, civilians also began to form training reserves.

If the existing 58.6 reserve troops are added, theoretically there are 93.6 reserve troops.In fact, this is impossible. Every year, 3 or [-] people in the reserve force are old enough to withdraw from it.

These reserve forces cannot be trained in one year.According to past experience, reserve forces have undergone more than three years of training before they can compete with recruits who have been in the army for one year.

Of course, there must be a veteran belt, otherwise this time will be greatly extended.

The young and strong who participate in reserve training naturally have preferential treatment, for example: exempt from agricultural tax on 3 hectares of land, and those who have accidents during training can enjoy military pensions...

The Austrian government's sudden military expansion was naturally not random. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also notified the Russians. Since we are allies, these issues still need to be communicated.

St petersburg

After receiving the notice from Austria, Nicholas I knew that his strategic intentions had been exposed.There is no way to do this. There is so much movement about war preparations, how can it be kept secret?

This is not a mythical novel. From the expansion of military preparations, material preparations, to the final launch of the war, millions of people were involved. How could it be kept secret?

Even if the tsarist government used the Far East strategy as a cover, it would have no effect.The Siberian Railway has not yet been repaired, and hundreds of thousands of troops are sent to the Far East. It is estimated that they will starve to death halfway.

Open the map and you will know that the only place where the Russians can mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops to do things is the Ottoman Empire.

Nicholas I asked suspiciously: "Didn't the Austrian government say that they want to cultivate themselves, and that they cannot use force within ten years? How come they can't bear it so soon?"

Foreign Minister Karl Worser replied: "Your Majesty, Austria has come out of the civil war, and even because of the suppression of rebellious parties, the government has issued a fortune and confiscated a large amount of property.

Our preliminary judgment is that the Austrians are planning to take advantage of our attack on the Ottoman Empire. It is not certain whether they are plotting against the South German region or the Balkan Peninsula. "

To put it simply, he dared not say that the Austrian government made a fortune by copying the nobles' homes.If the Tsar took an interest, he was in for bad luck.

The Russian Empire is also an aristocratic system, even more conservative than Austria.Therefore, what was propagated in Russia was that the Austrian government seized the rebel capitalists, and the participation of the local nobles in the rebellion was taken away.

Nicholas I said indifferently: "This is a good thing. The Austrians moved, and they can help us share a little pressure. Let's see if the British can care about that side."

Nicholas I has this proud capital. The reason why Europe has been stable in recent decades, apart from the constraints of the Vienna system, is that European countries have joined forces to suppress Russia and prevent them from expanding abroad.

No matter how confident they are, they don't think they can single out the whole of Europe, so the Tsarist government in Vienna was quite peaceful.

After so many years, the Russians have long been impatient.At this time, Austria abandoned its previous position and agreed to their expansion to the Ottoman Empire.

After the signing of the Russian-Austrian secret treaty, the last shackles hindering their expansion have been opened, and the tsarist government can no longer bear it.

In an alliance with Austria, the Russians did not expect to receive Austrian military assistance, and His Majesty the Tsar has no shortage of soldiers. Austria only needs to be a good nanny.

This is the position the Russians gave to Austria, and the alliance between the two sides did the same. In the east, Russia and Austria joined forces to suppress the Kingdom of Prussia, and in the south to deal with the Ottoman Empire.

Neither Austria nor Russia has the slightest psychological pressure to bully the Ottoman Empire, and they do not think it is necessary to form a coalition.

In fact, geographically, the two sides are not suitable for organizing coalition forces, which involves the issue of spoils after the war.

Don't think that a secret contract can be done, these spoils are more reliable if you have to fight them yourself.Otherwise, if something happened on the battlefield and the originally reserved territory was not won, would the original agreement still be valid?

If the territory was won by one party alone, then there is no need to say, whoever won it will get it. If it is won jointly, everyone will contribute, and there will be disputes when dividing the spoils.

In order to avoid this situation, both sides have made an agreement that they will fight according to their own sphere of influence. If they cross the boundary, it will be a waste of effort.

Unlike what was preached by later generations, the tsarist government did not have the ambition to unify the European continent. What they wanted was to establish a consolidated European hegemony.

It's not that they don't want to unify the European continent, but that they simply can't do it.Except for ancient Rome, the European continent has never been unified again.

Napoleon, who was hanging around the sky, just expanded his territory, and then supported the pro-French regime, instead of unifying the entire European continent. Naturally, Nicholas I would not think that Russia had the strength to unify the European continent.

This is also a prerequisite for the establishment of the Russia-Austria alliance. If the tsarist government wanted to unify the European continent and the Hungarian revolution broke out in history, the Russians would not help Austria suppress the rebellion, but took the opportunity to directly defeat Austria.

……

The Russians don't care, the two sides are allies, they can ignore Austria's military expansion, but some people can't help it.

The person who knows you best is not necessarily your friend, but there must be your enemy.The Ottoman Empire is undoubtedly a tragedy. They are feuds with Russia and Austria.

Looking at the reactions of the two neighbors, the Sudanese government has already lost its temper.Abdul Mejid I dared to swear in the name of Islam, these two neighbors are absolutely uneasy and kind.

There is no way, anyone who is in his position will think so, after all, they are old enemies for hundreds of years, who doesn't understand who?Russia and Austria are traditional allies, and they are traditional enemies. What's wrong with joining hands to attack them?

Not to mention that the two came together, even if it was a one-on-one fight against King Abdul Mejid I, he would not be able to bear it.

Don't think that after reforms, the Ottoman Empire will be considered a European power.My family knows my own affairs, and the core problems of the Ottoman Empire have never been resolved.

On the surface, they are also a modern country. In fact, because of internal contradictions, the strength of the Ottoman Empire is just puffiness.

Of course, their two enemies are actually not too powerful.Whether it is Russia or Austria, the strength shown on the outside is stronger than their real strength.

Everyone is a typical example of being strong from the outside but doing things in the middle, but the internal conflicts between Russia and Austria have been suppressed, which is stronger than the Ottoman Empire in this respect.

Regrettably, even in terms of superficial strength, the Ottoman Empire is much weaker.Compared with most of the small European countries, they are considered powerful countries, and compared with any great powers, they are "cups" on the coffee table.

Abdul Mejid I asked with concern: "What do Britain and France say?"

The foreign minister's expression darkened. How could he know about such a long distance, and the cable and telegram were not connected?

However, Abdul Mejid I was not easy to provoke. Compared with other countries in Europe, the ministers of the Ottoman Empire were the most insecure. If you provoke the Sultan, you will lose your head.

"Your Majesty, there is no news yet. However, we informed the British that the Russians are preparing for war. The London government has already given an answer. Once the Russian-Turkish war breaks out again, they will stand by our side." Diplomacy The minister had an idea and said

This news made Abdul Mejid I's nervous mood a little better, but worry is still indispensable.

Even if the British support them, they still can't stand it?With one against two, the Ottoman Empire at its peak said that there was no pressure, but now they really can't stand it.

"How are we preparing?" Abdul Mejid I continued to ask

The Minister of War quickly replied: "Your Majesty, as of now, we have expanded the army to 53, and it is expected to expand to 80 in the next three months.

Once war breaks out, we can mobilize another 30 troops, enough to deal with emergencies on either side. "

If there were really so many regular troops, then in the Crimean War, the Ottoman Empire would not be suppressed by the Russians.

As a depraved old empire, Ottoman is not lacking in a series of problems such as corruption, bribery, empty pay, and reselling of military supplies.

Chapter 49 Strategic Deception

London