Chapter 1118 Hidden Dangers
Kossuth and the entire Hungarian government are doing their best to build Budapest into an impregnable fortress.
The Austrian army is helping farmers harvest wheat, collecting refugees, repairing houses, and rebuilding damaged roads.
In fact, Franz is not in a hurry to solve the Hungarian problem. Even the matter of regaining Hungary itself is a low priority in Franz's mind.
If it weren't for the huge military expenditure and high militarism, Franz could have spent several years with them to exhaust the last bit of vitality of the Hungarian nation.
In fact, the military expenditure of 600,000 or 700,000 people is nothing to the Austrian Empire. What really gives Franz a headache is militarism.
The Austrians, who have always loved peace in history, are madly turning to another extreme under continuous victory.
According to incomplete statistics, in 1848, the investment in the military industry of the Austrian Empire increased by 700%, and the number of troops increased by 75%. This is the number obtained after Franz forced a large number of old, weak, sick and disabled people to retire.
Although there is still a certain gap between these social investments and national investments, there is no doubt that a large number of private military enterprises will emerge like mushrooms after rain.
If the Austrian Empire cannot consume these production capacities, the weapons of the Austrian Empire will flow to other countries, and the diffusion of technology is almost inevitable.
What's worse is that investors and businessmen will definitely find ways to avoid losses, and the best way to sell arms is to start a war.
Businessmen cannot start a war by themselves, they must achieve their goals through politicians or Emperor Franz.
Franz may be able to stick to his heart or take advantage of the situation, but politicians may not be able to do so. They can do anything for short-term political interests.
The increase in the number of troops not only means more military spending, but also means that the group of soldiers is growing. They will have more say, and politicians will consider their interests more.
War is terrible, and soldiers know this best, but they are more aware of the dividends that war will bring.
A private may never have the opportunity to be promoted in his life, but in a war he may become a sergeant or even a sergeant major.
(Private soldiers are the lowest-ranking soldiers in the army. Sergeants include corporals, lieutenants, and sergeants-majors. Sergeant majors are the highest-ranking non-commissioned officers.)
Waging war may be just a radical propaganda slogan, a bargaining chip for some people to gain political benefits.
However, the people may not see it this way. They are easily deceived by the illusions woven by politicians, the media, and the beautified history.
Ordinary people will become the backbone of the support for the war. They will form a voice that cannot be ignored. Even Emperor Franz has to consider their opinions and feelings.
This is a vicious cycle. Once the war starts, businessmen profit, politicians benefit, and the people pay huge sunk costs, then all three parties have reasons to continue.
The war will not stop until the country perishes, or the beautiful bubble collapses after being punctured by reality.
There are many powerful empires that have perished in militarism in history. Among them, the Qin Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty, Sparta, and the rarely mentioned Assyrian Empire are well-known.
These empires were all invincible in their own times, and the fact that they were defeated and still remembered by history is the best proof.
Franz did not want to follow the footsteps of these countries, and he was fully capable of digesting these production capacities. It was just that in order to prevent them from overheating, a basin of cold water had to be poured on them.
In addition to the problem of overcapacity that may arise in the future, the most obvious thing at the moment is the change in the public's aesthetics.
Who would dare to believe that the most popular clothing in Vienna in autumn is military uniforms? The streets are full of people wearing uniform military uniforms strolling around. If other time travelers saw such a scene under their rule, they would definitely laugh.
"All heroes in the world are within my grasp!"
"I have achieved true equality for all!"
"My organization and discipline have been maximized!"
But Franz was not happy at all. He designed the military uniforms to be as beautiful as possible in order to prevent no one from wanting to join the army, but not for everyone to wear military uniforms.
Franz had done things like uniform dress before, but that was in schools and refugee camps. On the one hand, it was to shape a collective view, and on the other hand, it was to create a sense of belonging.
It is not a good sign to see uniform dress in Vienna, the fashion capital
Royal territory.
The aftermath of the two fires lasted for more than ten days, and the Austrian army simply rested on the spot. Even without Franz's order, Heinau would not choose to pursue.
You can say that Heinau is an inhuman madman, but you can't say that he is a fool.
Let the infantry of the 19th century rush into the fire to chase the enemy. This operation is not something that ordinary people can do. In the case of unclear enemy situation, it is not realistic to ask the army to help extinguish the fire.
After all, you can't be sure whether the enemy is organizing a counterattack while you are preventing the fire from being extinguished. It is feasible to dig an isolation ditch to prevent the fire from spreading to your side.
In addition, it is also very difficult to put out the fire, especially the fire set by Janos Damojanic when he fled. His purpose of setting the fire was to intercept the pursuers.
The remnants of Janos Damojanic set fire to all the combustibles they could see along the way and burned all the villages along the way.
It was because of János Damojanic's "burning" operations along the way that the fire became out of control.
Of course, whether from a tactical or strategic perspective, Janos Damojanic's behavior is impeccable.
Because he did escape the pursuit of the Austrian army, slowed down the Austrian army's advance, and created a large area of scorched earth in the physical sense.
In terms of military, no matter from which aspect, this was a successful military operation.
From the perspective of later generations, you can say that the Huayuankou dam burst was a bad move, but you can't say that people at that time did things without thinking.
However, this did help Franz inadvertently, making Franz's order seem much more reasonable. After all, in previous history, it was rare for the army to help with disaster relief and harvest wheat.
Although the royal territory was severely damaged, nearly 100,000 people died in the war, more than 350,000 acres of farmland were burned, and more than 30,000 houses were destroyed, but the survivors still had to live.
In fact, the burned farmland only accounted for a small part of the royal territory, and most of it was concentrated in the periphery. A part of it had been harvested before the war began, so the loss was not as great as it seemed.
But no one can guarantee that the Hungarians will not come back and repeat the same old tricks, so it is still necessary to help the people of the royal territory complete the harvest.
The normal operation of the royal territory is equivalent to turning the front line into its own rear, and a stable rear is particularly important for a large army.