Chapter 1279 One Million Reals
Originally, a war that was thought to take days or even weeks ended in a somewhat black humorous scene.
The heads of Geldon and countless Spanish government officers were thrown together casually, and he no longer had to worry about how to face Isabel II.
However, this time it was Gabrenz and Benedek's turn to have a headache. According to the bounty made up by a group of Barcelona military academy students, the Austrian Empire owed those prisoners of war nearly one million reais.
One million reais is just a drop in the bucket for the Austrian Empire, but the problem is that the bounty these people said does not exist at all.
If it were in the past, they would just find an excuse to ask the Ministry of War for money, and Count Tural's personality would often be too lazy to investigate.
However, now there is an additional logistics department under the Ministry of War, and these people are not easy to fool.
After Franz ascended the throne, he was very good to the soldiers, and the armament budget was also very sufficient. However, the control of the soldiers was also very strict. All funds must be reported and there will be a review.
Once it is found that the funds are unaccounted for, all those who handled them will be subject to a comprehensive investigation. No one wants to be investigated, and no one wants to anger the emperor.
"Look at what you have done!"
Gabrentz slammed the table hard, and several students finally gave in. After all, they were the ones who caused the incident. If the two generals really want to take the blame, they will have to take it.
They know how terrible the Spanish bureaucrats are.
"At most, put it on our account first, and we will pay it back when we have money."
Olmer said with his neck stiff.
This time it was Benedek's turn to be angry. He valued these children very much, but it was precisely because of his value that these children were unrestrained all day long, which led to today's incident.
"One million reais, your annual salary is only 300 reais, can you afford it?"
Some of these military school students have good families, but one million reais is still too much for the Spaniards, so they buried their heads even lower.
At this time, Fani Cos couldn't help it.
"Why are you two fighting with a group of children? Instead of pursuing the responsibility that they can't bear at this time, it is better to consider a solution.
Next time, you should keep a close eye on them in advance to prevent trouble before it happens."
Gabrentz was unhappy when he heard it. He looked down on this elementary school principal. If it weren't for the fact that the Austrian Empire was so short of officials, a primary school principal would not have the right to talk to him like this in his next life.
"You talk nicely, do you think they are elementary school students?"
Fani Caus was not angry either. After all, he had seen many naughty children and unreasonable parents, and the resettlement and transformation bureau encountered even more weirdos all day long.
"Then I have to ask you. If you didn't restrain them strictly, could they do such a thing?
You two generals should also be responsible for this matter."
"I didn't say I'm not responsible! I have reported the loss."
Gabrentz was a little angry. He actually wanted to teach this group of young people a lesson, but he was actually taught a lesson. He was depressed and roared.
"There's no need to be angry. I think these kids are great and have a lot of ideas. But next time you take action, you must report to your superiors if conditions permit."
Fani Kaus is very good at getting along with children, and then turned to Gabrenz and Benedek.
"Do the two generals know how much the empire spent on Spain? If you knew, you wouldn't care about the million reais anymore. I believe His Majesty the Emperor must be willing to pay one million reais for this great victory."
"Humph, if we don't teach them a lesson now, what about in the future? One million this time, will they say it's ten million next time? One hundred million?
If we let these guys go like this, sooner or later they will cause a disaster that no one can deal with. You're responsible for this!"
Although Gabrenz was very angry, now that someone was willing to take the blame, he let it go.
Benedek suddenly discovered that the nobles were really shameless.
Fani Kaus didn't mind, after all, it was a great achievement in his eyes, but what Gabrenz said made sense.
"Children, don't worry. Our emperor is a wise ruler. He will definitely see through everything. But General Gabrenz is right. You have gone too far.
How about this. Each of you write a 10,000-word self-criticism. Remember to use German when you reflect deeply."
When the military academy students heard that they had to write self-criticisms in German, they immediately wilted like eggplants hit by frost. It turns out that students in any era are most afraid of writing self-criticisms.
In fact, these military academy students in Barcelona can barely communicate in German at ordinary times. After all, many people have been exposed to German before, but it is a bit difficult for them to write it down.
I am afraid that after writing a self-criticism, the dictionary will be torn apart.
Ignoring the military academy students who were exhausted in completing the self-criticism, the news of the million-dollar reward soon reached Vienna.
"Nonsense! It's just nonsense! Who authorized them?"
Prince Schwarzenberg, who was born in an orthodox military family, was very dissatisfied. First of all, he hated unruly soldiers very much, and secondly, he hated generals who could not control their soldiers even more.
How could Prince Schwarzenberg be happy when one thing contained these two factors at the same time?
In addition, although the Austrian Empire was spending money like water at this time, the review mechanism had never been so strict.
For such a million-level expenditure, the Empire's Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of the Interior, and the newly established Imperial General Prosecutor's Office would certainly pay attention.
These departments can usually stir up three-foot waves even if there is no wind. Now that such a big thing has happened, I don’t know what else will be involved.
However, at this time, the senior officials of the Austrian Empire government were very satisfied with the results of this battle. After all, this was the Austrian Empire's largest victory on the frontal battlefield since the war began.
After annihilating more than 20,000 Spanish regular troops, the Spanish government forces in Catalonia were no longer able to organize a counterattack.
As for the loss of one million reais, it can only be regarded as a drop in the bucket compared with the huge logistics expenditure at this time.
Franz actually found this kind of operation very interesting. If it were done in other countries and other eras, Franz would probably think that the person who came up with this idea was crazy.
But it was different at this time. In this worst era, Spain had the worst king, the worst government, and the worst army.
There is no difference between these local governors and warlords, they just want to share accounts with Madrid. They don't even need a trial, they can just kill them all and no one will be wronged.
Franz will not deal with those military students. As for the so-called one million reward, just treat it as a reward for them.
Of course, this balance of merits and demerits is also a warning. Franz does not want these young people to have too much fun, or feel that the empire lacks majesty.
In order to prevent this kind of thing from happening again in the future, Franz still needs to develop a detailed price list and certification procedures to avoid having no credentials and someone wanting to operate in secret in the future.