Chapter 580 Tearing Down the Wall
Milan's old city wall, full of traces of time, is full of thickness and once played the role of a safety protector for city residents.
However, with the rapid development of weapons and equipment, its role is becoming more and more limited, and instead it hinders the further development of the city.
After all, the city wall was originally built to deal with barbarian invasions in the early Middle Ages, but it couldn't even defend against slings, let alone modern artillery.
Moreover, its defensive capabilities will only weaken over time in the future, and even large bastions like Vienna and Paris have withdrawn from the stage of history.
Of course, saying this does not mean that the city wall is useless, at least the ordinary people living there do not think so.
Once this inertial reliance on luck is not eliminated, it can provide an effective reassurance that the defending side will rely on the city to defend and refuse to surrender.
Once the attacker starts to attack a city, it usually means a massacre, at least for the residents in the city, a catastrophe is inevitable.
In view of the possibility of falling into such a possible dilemma in the future, Franz felt that the development of so many years cannot be destroyed in one day, so demolishing the city walls and widening the roads is the right way. After all, the thought of street battles and other situations is disturbing. I have a terrible headache.
Not only Milan, but also the traditional big cities in the entire empire had this common problem, so he planned to carry out a comprehensive transformation.
However, there are still three years until the legendary Spring of All Nations, and there is still plenty of time, so there is no need to be too anxious for the time being.
In addition, while the demolition work is progressing, some important fortresses still need to be repaired, such as the Four Corners fortresses in northern Italy (Verona, Mantua, Peschiera and Legnago), and others New fortresses and strongholds, as well as storehouses, were also required in strategically important locations.
After the plan to demolish the wall and build the fortress was announced, wealthy gentry from all walks of life in Northern Italy came over with great interest to "offer suggestions" and plan to get a piece of the pie.
For this reason, the enlightened Archduke Franz announced a five-year plan deadline to these people on the spot; the demolition and construction plan would be completed within five years. As for wages, the imperial government in Vienna will settle the payment in one lump sum after the expiration of the period.
As for whether this group of people will still be there five years from now, there is no way of knowing. In addition, he did not forget the matter of comforting the troops, but the total money sent from all walks of life in Milan only amounted to more than 200,000 florins.
It seems that he really thought he was a fool. Fortunately, he originally planned to help these people.
But this is no longer important. Franz still distributed rewards to all soldiers who participated in the suppression operations as planned. Among them, the soldiers will receive rewards equivalent to twenty months' salary.
The officer's salary was roughly ten months' salary, doubled for the wounded, and doubled for the killed. In the end, Franz scattered a total of 2.3 million florins.
Franz had two main purposes for doing this. One was to tell the old marshal and his troops that they had done nothing wrong. If they continue to work hard next time, they need to treat the enemy as cold as winter and as ruthless as the wind.
The other is to publicize the consolation of the army in newspapers, and at the same time spread the news that the money used by the young archduke to comfort the army was provided by the local gentry of Milan.
In fact, people may not be so gullible when it comes to fake news like this, and those who gave gifts would not admit it either.
However, coupled with the information about a series of projects contracted to individuals and commercial organizations, onlookers had to wonder whether there was any behind-the-scenes operation.
Of course, it is not unusual to operate behind the scenes in this era, or it would be strange if there were no operations behind the scenes.
But this makes a lot of sense in the eyes of some people. After all, they were plotting together to overthrow the decadent rule of Vienna, and then they turned around and donated money and materials to those "executioners"?
And how could the Austrian army, which has always been in disrepair, destroy this seamless plan? The blood of the Italian warriors cannot be shed in vain!
In fact, in the final analysis, the previous riots had the background of a multi-faceted joint organization. An organization called Young Lombardy was responsible for recruiting manpower.
Overseas "friends" are responsible for providing weapons and financial support, and it is the local gentry who are responsible for formulating plans and responses.
They can use the power in their hands to help give the green light, convey intelligence, and hinder the Austrian soldiers by the way. Even if they fail, they can "fish out" the people.
However, this group of eloquent "eloquors" finally stood aside and watched. Not only were the participants of this riot arrested, but also the organizers who were preparing for the second riot and the participants who fled when the situation became worse.
It was agreed that there would be only one company of garrison troops, but in the end they faced thousands of soldiers who were waiting for them. Those arrested were all insurgents from poor backgrounds and foreign friends who provided friendly sponsorship, but the local leading figures were unscathed.
All this has to make people suspicious. After all, while the two parties suffered a devastating blow, the third party was not only fine, but also benefited. How could it not make people jealous.
The truth is that the Austrian government did receive a lot of reports and obtained a lot of intelligence through investigations. However, precisely because there was so much information, it was difficult to identify the authenticity.
Under such circumstances, it is impossible for the officials to take action rashly, let alone arrest all suspects. Although this may not paralyze the Lombardy region, the impact will definitely be worse than random arrests.
Instead of making random guesses like headless flies, it is better to watch them quietly and wait until they are almost exhausted before taking action. By then, whether it is to accept the dog as a dog or to cut a bunch of leeks, it will be a matter of course.
In fact, there is no need for Franz to stand in the way, because there has never been any trust between these three parties; there are different factions within almost each party.
Many people in Young Lombardy did not support Mazzini's doctrine. They even did not want to unify Italy, but wanted to make Northern Italy independent. After all, in their eyes, their relatives in the south were too poor and were a burden.
Among the "foreign friends" are stars, including Britain, France, the United States, Prussia, Sardinia, and even the Russians and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
As the world's number one troublemaker, it is normal for Britain to come to Apennine to interfere. As for France and the United States, one is an old enemy for hundreds of years, and the other is a new power that has been miserably offended.
In fact, the grievances between Austria and the United States are not just about the U.S.-Mexican War and the former's violation of the Monroe Declaration.
Italy and Germany have always been important sources of immigrants to the United States, but now they rely on the two customs unions established by the Austrians to make the economic development of the two places much better than in history.
This greatly reduced the willingness of local people to immigrate. Not only that, the latter also united with German and Italian states to directly intervene in immigration activities.
Another point is the trade issue. Austria has been reducing the proportion of cotton imported from the United States. Although Franz has been very careful, the total amount has not decreased, and has even increased, but some people have still discovered the flaw.