Chapter 790 Aid? (Down)
Northern Italy, Kingdom of Sardinia.
Carlo Alberto was not a lonely king. He always wanted to use a dynastic war to expand his territory.
The Swiss Civil War at this time was undoubtedly an opportunity, so Carlo Alberto immediately sent a batch of weapons and supplies to the Orthodox Alliance.
After the supplies were delivered to Ticeno, the soldiers from the Kingdom of Sardinia left. After all, the Freedom Alliance threatened to blow up the mountain road.
It would not be good for the Kingdom of Sardinia to really drive these guys to the point of jumping over the wall, and Carlo Alberto was even more afraid that the two powerful neighbors around him would take the opportunity to attack.
However, what he didn't know was that all these things had been seized by the canton of Ticeno, and he didn't even know that the canton of Ticeno had already joined the Free Alliance at this time.
That’s right! In fact, as long as the money is in place, or the shamelessness is enough, Catholic states can also join the Protestant alliance to beat up the Catholic alliance.
In history, Prince Metternich also did such a stupid thing. When the Austrian Empire's economy was on the verge of collapse, he scraped together 30 million florins and 20,000 rifles and sent them to Ticeno to support the Orthodox Alliance.
The result is that the Free Alliance uses the money sent by His Excellency the Prince to recruit troops, and then uses Austrian weapons to beat its allies.
But at this time Franz had sent the money and weapons to Galicia, and he could use these things to train another army.
This army is mainly composed of former refugees and serfs. They have just been allocated land and have finally lived a new life. They are most enthusiastic about ensuring their own way of survival. At the same time, they also have a strong sense of belonging and admiration for the country of Austria. psychology.
Coupled with patriotic education and church brainwashing, the future will be an important force in Franz's hands.
Those responsible for the training were some veterans who had retired from the Royal Dragoons. Most of these people had not participated in the previous Battle of Galicia. They retired because they were too old or because of injuries they had suffered in Hungary.
Although Franz gave each retired veteran a substantial pension, the skills these people have honed their whole lives will definitely not be willing to be wiped out.
So Franz gave them another chance, and the loyalty of these people was very guaranteed and they would not cultivate a rebel army for Austria.
Closer to home, most of the remaining southern German countries are powerless. After all, Baden and Württemberg are not really powerful countries.
Of course, there are also those like Bavaria, who not only refuse to provide friendly sponsorship, but also ask for benefits from the Orthodox Alliance. What's even worse is that they don't do anything even after receiving money.
However, King Frederick William IV of Prussia, who was far away, was very interested in this, because his family territory Nazjatar was among them.
Although this territory often resists taxes, it is still Brandenburg's property. If this group of Swiss take the opportunity to rebel, the losses will be huge.
So Frederick William IV sent his brother Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig, the famous Prince of Shotgun, William I, with 300 guards to protect the family property.
The Prince of Shotgun joined the army at the age of 10, and at the age of 17 he joined the army with the rank of captain to participate in the anti-Napoleonic war. He fought a fierce battle with Napoleon's army at Bar-sur-Obe near Frankfurt.
So I didn't care about this trip to Switzerland. In fact, there was another reason, and that was that the great powers at that time generally believed that the Swiss Confederation's army was not as large as they boasted.
After all, it is not uncommon for the number of troops to be mixed in this era, especially when small countries exaggerate in order to protect themselves. For example, Belgium previously claimed to have an army of 200,000, but in fact it is still unknown whether it has 20,000.
The new State Representative Konstantin Sigvort and Field Marshal Ulrich Salis had high hopes for such help, but Archduke Karl did not care.
Because we have discussed the situation of the Swiss Civil War with Franz countless times before, it is impossible for the great powers to send troops to intervene before the civil war expands.
This is not that the threat from the Free Alliance and Britain is really that great, but the mutual constraints of France and Austria, which have been feuding for centuries.
Theoretically speaking, no country can stop Austria and France from carving up Switzerland, unless Russia and Britain intervene at the same time. However, it is still a question whether the news can reach St. Petersburg before the carving up is completed.
Despite this, the century-old feud between France and Austria is not so easy to resolve, just like the previous partition of Belgium.
Whenever the French had the opportunity, they would stab the enemy tentatively. Similarly, the French do not trust the Austrians, so they do not even have the basis of mutual trust, let alone cooperation.
And once the buffer zone of Switzerland is lost, Austria and France will be in direct contact. The direct result of this will be war, endless war, and there will be too many conflicts of interest between the two sides.
Therefore, Franz did not want to carve up Switzerland with France, and he did not want Switzerland, the sixth child, to pretend to be neutral every time, but to really sit on the fence, reaping the benefits and then scolding her.
That would either mean that the Orthodox Alliance defeated the Free Alliance, or it would give the great powers a reason to intervene.
Archduke Karl knew what he had to do, and he also knew the key to victory in this war. There are too many mountains in the Swiss Confederation. If you want to achieve a unilateral victory, you will fall into a quagmire like the Spanish War.
Therefore, he had no intention of conquering all areas with force from the beginning. Naturally, those excessive soldiers had no purpose other than wasting food.
And Marshal Ulrich Salis did not lie about one thing, that is, Switzerland’s mobilization ability far exceeds the imagination of the great powers. The energy that this universal compulsory military service system can exert is that countries like Austria that still implement a military recruitment system Unimaginable.
At first, according to Archduke Karl's estimate, the Swiss Confederation's ability to mobilize 100,000 troops at full strength was already the limit, according to Austrian standards.
But the reality is that the Orthodox Alliance alone can easily pull out 100,000 troops, which is not at full capacity.
According to intelligence, the Free Alliance had more troops. He couldn't imagine how many soldiers this country could recruit if it tried its best.
However, Archduke Karl understood why Franz had to intervene in the Swiss Civil War. Such a threat should not exist, let alone be out of Austria's control.
Just as the two sides were arranging their troops in full swing, the Freedom Alliance once again sent an invitation to the Orthodox Alliance, requesting a federal meeting to discuss the country's "taxation issues."
Vienna, Hofburg Palace.
Prince Metternich was very depressed because Franz intercepted his relief supplies to Switzerland.
But what annoyed him even more was that the small Swiss state dared to openly challenge the Vienna System and the 1843 Agreement.
This is not the first time that the Swiss Free Alliance has challenged his bottom line. It previously hosted the Carbonari and the Polish Zionist Army and funded rebels in Austria.
If it weren't for the fact that Switzerland is the buffer zone between Austria and France, he would definitely let those fanatics know how many guns, artillery and horses the Austrian Empire has.