Chapter 809 The intruding Earl of Chambord
The battle situation in Zug State is also not optimistic. Ever since Augustin Keller underestimated the enemy and rushed in and destroyed the main force of the Second Army, the Orthodox Alliance's counterattacks have not stopped.
At the same time, in order to maintain huge military expenditures and to appease the Free State allies, Joseph Loy imposed a series of economic sanctions on Friborg and Zug.
However, the reality is that even if the tax revenue of these two states is fully increased, not much oil and water can be squeezed out. Later, a series of compensation agreements and military recruitment plans were introduced, but the entire situation continued to deteriorate.
So Joseph Loy had to consider more radical methods. The final winner of the Swiss Confederation in history was not a mediocre person. He knew what could be touched and what could not be touched.
Civilians themselves have no money, not to mention that they have sent their children, husbands, and fathers to the battlefield.
As for the official, he cannot be touched either, because he still relies on these people to maintain order.
The Jesuits, the monasteries, the clergy, they were a good place to start. After all, if no one can survive, who will speak for God?
Joseph Loy ordered all monasteries to be inspected, their property confiscated, and all priests and nuns sent to frontline military camps.
All Jesuit property was also subject to confiscation, and those who had supported the Jesuits were required to donate double their funds to the federal government, otherwise they would be treated as enemies.
A large number of historic monasteries were burned to the ground, and many precious books, materials, and sacred relics were lost.
But even so, his funds still appear to be insufficient.
Switzerland is not rich in products, and many things need to be imported from abroad, and these powerful neighbors happen to be on the side of the Orthodox Alliance.
Since the beginning of the war, France, Sardinia, Austria, and the entire German Confederation have imposed an embargo on the Swiss Free State, which has led to an increase in the prices of many materials, and the prices of the most important strategic materials: gunpowder and saltpeter have increased twenty-fold.
The most destructive thing is that the main salt mines in Switzerland are all in the areas ruled by the Orthodox Alliance. The largest salt mine in the Free State, Bex, was attacked by several fanatics.
After the collapse of a maze-like underground salt cavern thousands of meters deep underground, it would be impossible to resume production within a month or two in an era without large-scale excavation equipment.
What's even more unfortunate is that good things can spread thousands of miles without leaving home, and the news of the bombing of the Free State salt mine spread throughout Switzerland in a very short period of time.
As a result, the salt grabbing incident took place in Switzerland in the 19th century. As for how crazy people were for salt at that time, I will not describe it.
This led to a series of chain reactions, and daily necessities began to rise crazily, among which the price of sugar increased fifty-fold.
In fact, although Austria and France have announced embargoes, businessmen with official backgrounds have never stopped trading with Switzerland.
It's just that prices have risen very ridiculously, and only the Kingdom of Sardinia is really implementing a complete embargo, because Carlo Alberto really wants a new territory.
In addition, consumption is also a big problem. Frey Holosa's army only eats ten meals a day for each soldier, and it cannot use 3,000 tons of food in a month.
However, at this time, the north had to face the threats from the southern German countries and had to clean up the internal resistance forces (actually Tanner Amherd's guerrillas), so Joseph Loy could only turn a blind eye. One eye.
Dufour gathered his main force in Lucerne, but was blocked by the fortress in the valley. After several battles, the Free State lost troops and generals, but the front line did not advance a single point.
The Swiss Confederation's army is ridiculously monotonous, but Dufour can't really be blamed for this. In fact, since the French Revolution, the army has rarely occupied bastions.
Napoleon, the God of War of that era, also used high-speed maneuvers to deal with bastions, bypassing the bastions and striking the enemy's rear.
But how do you want to get around the Swiss mountains? Given the organization level of the troops in this era, if a hundred thousand troops marched into the mountains and half of them came out, they would be considered strong troops.
But in fact, considering factors such as supplies, it is impossible to imitate Hannibal and climb the mountain.
What about soil work? In winter, the surface of the ground is so frozen that dogs can’t dig it. After finally digging through the hard surface, we found that the groundwater level here is quite high due to the influence of the Reuss River. If construction is forced, there will be a high probability of collapse.
But this was the best way Dufour could think of at this time, which was to approach the bastion by constantly digging trenches.
In the meantime, he also tried to use a powerful weapon such as the Congreve Rocket. However, this weapon was very limited in its power against sand and gravel buildings. After firing hundreds of rounds, he gave up after finding that it had no obvious effect.
As time went by, both sides of the civil war gradually became tired, but the off-field became lively.
The British flourished on both sides of the border. On the one hand, they continued to expand their interests in the east. On the other hand, they firmly rejected US President Polk's request to redraw the US-Canada border on the American continent.
On the European continent, the French Bourbon orthodox Henry V announced his participation in the Congress of Vienna with a high profile, but the title he used to attend the Congress of Vienna was Count of Chambord.
The Earl of Chambord was actually supported by the French orthodox faction. Since Louis XIX had no heirs, he became the legal heir to the Bourbon throne at this time.
In fact, the Count of Chambord only had one Chambord Castle in France at this time, which seemed not worth mentioning compared to Louis Philippe who owned the whole of France.
However, Count Chambord made a surprising decision in November 1846, that is, to marry the Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este.
This kind of repeated jump operation is not uncommon in the history of the Bourbon family. However, everyone has to admit that he has attracted strong support from the Austrian Empire, which makes the balance of victory and defeat tremble again.
You must know that the neighborly relations between France and Austria at this time can not be called harmonious. Louis Philippe has fought twice with the Austrian Empire either actively or passively.
Austria had every reason to put the more pro-Austrian Earl of Chambord on the French throne, and the British also wanted to use him to stop the Orleans Dynasty's ambitions in Spain.
As soon as this news came out, the French orthodox faction celebrated, while the Bonapartists expressed strong indignation. On the contrary, the Orleans faction chose to lie down.
In fact, the reason is very simple. The Orleans faction has money and industry. As long as the monarch wants to stabilize the country, he cannot do without them. Moreover, over the years, they have clearly known that Louis Philippe is not a good king.
The Bonapartists were completely different. Although they were not weak in France at this time, the army was the most vulnerable place to be purged.
It is true that Louis Philippe was a loser, but he still had hope of restoration among the Bonapartists. If a pro-Austrian king came to power, there would be no way for this group of people to survive, so they behaved particularly fiercely.
Louis Philippe himself was even more numb. He really didn't expect that a Count of Chambord would come out.