Chapter 853 Declaration of War
Although later generations often refer to Josip Jelačić, Prince Windischgratz and Marshal Radetzki as the triumvirate who saved the Austrian Empire.
But in fact, the command level of Prince Windischgratz and Jelacic is really limited. It doesn’t take any experts to deal with them. Even Franz doesn’t take them seriously. Albrecht Privately, he reduced them to nothing.
Count Stadion was a versatile man in both civil and military affairs, but he was so stubborn that he contracted the plague at this critical moment.
In fact, it was said to be a plague, but it was actually some kind of strange disease that had not been discovered by medicine at that time. At this time, the doctors were helpless. In order to appear that they were not so incompetent, they blamed the refugees and the plague.
Gablenz was a famous general in later generations, but at this time, neither ability nor qualifications were enough to hold such a high position.
Hainao is capable, but he is too reckless.
The remaining veterans of the Napoleonic Wars, such as Marshal Anton von Pinkley and Tim Shidela, have no problem with their loyalty, but their thinking is still stuck in the last century.
As for unruly and young officers like Amkhed and Heinrich Beaim, there was even less hope. At this time, Benedek was just a minor major.
Of course, allowing the General Staff to override the Ministry of War is only temporary and is just to facilitate unified dispatch and command during the war.
Franz would not let a group of staff lead him by the nose.
Vienna, Hofburg Palace.
Metternich's exit did not bring about the peace he imagined. The domestic situation became increasingly chaotic, and Count Korolaf's corruption and bribery were also exposed.
The huge amount made people angry. Count Korolav knew that no one could protect himself at this time, so he directly submitted his resignation and fled Vienna.
Prince Metternich and Count Korolaf, two factions fell. However, there is still no shortage of replacements in the Regency Council, and Count Fickelmont quickly entered the palace to fill Count Korolaf's vacancy.
However, before the count could stay in office until the second day, word of his glorious deeds of bullying men and women in his hometown reached Vienna.
Pillersdorff did not stay in the Regency Council for more than a few days before he resigned because of his anti-German nationalist remarks in the German Confederation.
Chaos continues, with many officials resigning and many others joining.
The former are naturally those guys who are waiting to die because they see that the situation is not good, and the wind is blowing; the people who join later are much more complicated, there are nobles who are loyal to this country, there are shareholders of the Royal Overseas Development Company, and some are just waiting. It took decades to finally fill the gap, but of course there were also a lot of speculators and saboteurs.
However, no matter how many people resign, the institutions of the Austrian Empire can still operate normally, and the army of hundreds of thousands to fill the vacancies cannot be covered.
At this time, divisions also arose within the people. The continued unrest led to the destruction of the original order, and a large number of supervisory agencies went offline collectively.
While this freedom is great for some people, most people suffer from it. First of all, with skyrocketing prices, without government restrictions, businesses have regained control over pricing freedom.
All kinds of daily necessities are priced almost every hour. Even coffin shops are following the trend, and the prices have doubled several times. You can understand the reason. After all, the French Revolution has not been around for many years.
Secondly, there are ubiquitous crimes, ranging from theft and robbery to murder and arson. Gangs have begun to brazenly fight, grab territory, and collect protection fees.
In order to reflect their fearful nature, gangs began to change their names to be more down-to-earth. Names such as "Justice League", "Avengers", "Heaven and Earth Club" appeared one after another on the streets.
The factory owners and bankers who had been severely beaten by Franz in the past also survived. Workers' wages were directly cut in half, and working hours were restored to the eighteen-hour work system.
All kinds of small loans, loan sharks, and ancestral loans are all resurrected, and the two parties are joining forces to reconstruct the world.
But the freedom is only temporary. After all, the royal family will not allow them to do this. The days when they were suppressed by Franz to the point where they were almost "unprofitable" are still vivid in their minds.
So these people found Solomon Rothschild, but the former underground king of Vienna did not want to get involved in this matter.
He knew very well that Archduke Franz was not that easy to deal with. How could he give up so easily when he was leading an opponent that even half of Europe's financiers could not defeat?
Moreover, Franz’s lackeys Attiès Bank and Cina Bank did not mess around, so Solomon’s own bank could not mess around either.
As for reminding my colleagues? Do not make jokes! Colleagues are enemies, and Solomon hopes that these people will have a bloody encounter, so that he can make a lot of money even if he does not violate the rules of the game, so why should he bother?
Solomon Rothschild was considered the most influential business tycoon in Vienna at this time. He refused to come forward, so the Austrian bourgeoisie had to find other agents.
Then Gushan Casse and Alexander Bach came into their sight. These two people were representatives of the Viennese liberals at this time.
They naturally understand what those businessmen and bankers want? That is to fix their power in the form of law.
That’s right! They needed a constitution to limit imperial power while protecting their own rights.
This coincided with the views of the liberals. The two sides hit it off and immediately began to prepare for a larger march or even an attack to force the royal family and the government to compromise.
However, for the sake of safety, they still united Northern Italy, Bohemia, and Hungary to put pressure on the Austrian Imperial Government and the royal family.
Northern Italy was heavily suppressed and the uprising was not smooth. The Czech nationalists in Bohemia did not encounter official attacks, but the cross-border German nationalists were already too much for them.
Hungary was the only one who was at ease at this time. Before the Viennese contacted them, these descendants of the Huns even seemed a little low-key.
However, how could they be willing to take second place when it came to adding insult to injury to the Austrian Empire?
When Kossuth received news of the chaos in Vienna, he immediately rushed to the Parliament and began his famous February speech.
(I will conceptualize this paragraph first and write it tomorrow.)
At the same time, the Hungarian government also stated that it would support Pius IX's proposal. This heavy blow undoubtedly wanted to tear the Austrian Empire in half.
At this time, the situation suddenly changed, and the collapse of the Orleans Dynasty inspired countless perverts and careerists. They were waiting for this opportunity, and they were ready to overthrow Austria.
However, Franz was also waiting for this opportunity, and his telegram was sent to Vienna on time. Madame Sophie's eyes widened when she saw the telegram, but she soon became relieved.
On February 28, 1848, the third day after the collapse of the Orleans Dynasty, the Austrian Empire announced that it would reject the unreasonable demands of Pius IX and formally declare war on the Papal States' aggression. The Habsburg family would use its power to re-evaluate this king. Is the pope qualified?