Holy Roman Empire

Empress Dowager Sophie thought for a while and said, "Then let's put this matter on hold for now, and we'll talk about it in two years."

European aristocrats get married late, Franz is not too old, and her niece is even younger, so it doesn't matter if it takes a few years.

Seeing that his mother was still unwilling to give up, Franz didn't say anything.This is the best way to procrastinate. If you refuse directly, it may not be long before a new marriage partner jumps out.

With this shield, at least it bought Franz a few years.During this period, he can still go out for a walk to see if he can meet someone of the same status—true love, if not, just marry a beautiful princess.

There is always an ideal, what if it is realized?

Now Franz's personality has been determined, his personal integrity must be perfect, and he cannot be willful in his personal marriage.At least until his prestige is established, this persona cannot collapse.

This is the price of being an emperor. If there is a choice, Franz will still choose-be an emperor.

The price paid is high, but the reward is also great!It is not so difficult to be able to control one's own destiny in this dark age.

Ordinary people have no pressure?No pressure on the nobles?

Not long ago, Austria still killed a lot of people, and how many prominent nobles were sent to the guillotine. Did they really deserve what they deserved?

How many people were involved in it, and in the end they couldn't extricate themselves, and their heads were in different places?

Franz is aware of these situations, but he knows it, and it is impossible for him to reverse the case for these people.Voluntary or not, there was a price to be paid for participating in the rebellion.

Looking at all the people who are busy with food, rice, oil and salt every day, Franz feels that he is very lucky.

Chapter 46 Ambitious Admiralty

Franz had to lament that European politics was chaos. During his two years as emperor, Austria had actually signed secret treaties with all the European powers.

It is estimated that people who study international history in the future will lament the work of the Austrian Foreign Ministry when they see this bunch of secret agreements, and then leave a lot of unsolved political mysteries in the world.

The first is the "Pharmaceutical Treaty". It was originally agreed that everyone would happily carve up the Kingdom of Sardinia, because the French June Revolution broke out and died.

Then came the "British-Austrian Memorandum on Balkan Issues" and "Anglo-Austrian Memorandum of Understanding on Italian Issues". The latter has been completed.

Needless to say, the Russian secret agreement is nothing more than the continuation and expansion of the alliance between the two countries. The two countries have been in an alliance for decades, and the two sides are each other's most important allies.

Not long ago, they signed a secret treaty with the Kingdom of Prussia. The two countries jointly oppose foreign forces interfering in German affairs. This treaty will be announced when the time is ripe. It is essentially used to deter the British. Naturally, it will not be kept secret.

This is the end?Facts have proved that the Austrian government really likes to toss. The secret negotiations between Austria and Spain ended, and the two countries reached a consensus on overseas colonization—the "Ossi Colonial Treaty" was released.

According to the provisions of the treaty: the two countries recognize each other's sovereignty over their overseas colonies, and provide each other with assistance within their capabilities in colonial activities, such as obtaining logistical supplies in each other's colonies...

Now Austria has no colonies. It seems that the Spaniards have suffered a disadvantage. In fact, the Spanish government attaches more importance to this treaty than Austria.

There is no way, Spain has declined so much in this era, and the empire on which the sun never sets has gone away from them. The two colonial empires of Britain and France stepped on their bones from the beginning.

Now that the Austrian Empire is preparing to join overseas colonial activities, their soft persimmons are dangerous again, and they may be stepped on again.

That being the case, why not choose to cooperate?Austria's conditions are not too much, but when they colonize overseas, they need to obtain supplies from their ports, and it's not that they don't give money.

This humble treaty was completed under the promotion of the Ministry of the Navy.It is true that the persimmons are looking for soft ones, but Franz is not going to overturn the table as soon as he comes up, is he?

If Spain hadn't been going downhill all the way, Franz would have wanted to form an alliance with them, and directly stabbed France back to let them feel what a sandwich biscuit is.

In any case, the airs of the Spanish powers are still there, and the declining Spanish navy is a little bit stronger than the Austrian navy.

Not only Spain, but even the Admiralties of the Netherlands and Portugal, two small countries, attach great importance to it, and are still negotiating.

This is the price of late entry. It is more reassuring to use the ports of these small countries as a springboard than to use the ports of Britain and France.

It is not easy to expand the colony. The first problem is the logistics supply. The materials in the early stage must be shipped from outside.

Just look at the map and you will know that the geographical location of Austria is to open up overseas colonies, how far is the distance!In this context, it is important to be able to purchase supplies nearby.

Historically, the Russian Pacific Fleet expedition was a negative example. Under the blockade of the British, they lacked effective supplies along the way, and they were ambushed by the Japanese as soon as they arrived.

Franz naturally had to learn a lesson. In any case, it would not be wrong to try to establish a good relationship with the colonial country first. Even if he wanted to grab territory, it would be a matter of gaining a firm foothold.

In addition, overseas colonization also requires learning experience. Now Austria sends people to the colonies of various countries to collect intelligence and learn from their management experience.

However, this method of collecting information is not very reliable. You can only see some superficial things, and you need to learn deeper things.

Don't look at how many experts and professors in later generations criticize the backwardness of the colonial management system every day.However, in this era, it is a skill to be able to establish colonial rule, manage large colonies with a small number of people, and earn a lot of profits.

If everyone cooperates, you can also learn more about them and learn from their successful experience, so as not to lose everything just a few days after opening up the colony.

In the final analysis, overseas colonization is still for profit. If you keep doing loss-making business, it is estimated that no one will participate in it before long.

The Ministry of the Navy is not busy, taking the signed treaty, and then asking the government for funding.

According to the shipbuilding plan proposed by the Ministry of the Navy, the government allocated 5000 million guilders for shipbuilding, and built a naval fleet second only to Britain and France within five years.

This is not an exaggeration at all. In this era, the navies of various countries are not large. Even the British have a total tonnage of only 10,000+ tons. As long as the total tonnage of the navy exceeds [-], it is ranked first in the world.

In terms of tonnage, the Austrian Navy is second only to the four countries of Britain, France, West Russia.Obviously, tonnage does not equal combat effectiveness. The Austrian navy is an offshore navy. It is okay to run around the Mediterranean Sea. The ocean-going industry will probably not sink, right?

Who knows?Anyway, there is a total of 1.8 tons of navy. In Franz's view, this is a bean sprouts navy, not comparable to a battleship in later generations, but the tonnage of naval warships in this era is relatively small, and this scale is not too small.

Let's put it this way, if the French broke out suddenly, they could still compete with the British for the position of the world's number one naval power. The gap between the British and French navies is not as big as that of later generations.

At least the difference in tonnage is not that big. At the closest time, the difference in total tonnage between the two navies was less than 20.00%. In theory, a surprise attack might win.

Anyway, everyone is a wooden warship, and the shipbuilding technology of various countries has not widened the gap. There are still ten years before the birth of the world's first ironclad ship.

Looking at the shipbuilding plan in his hand, Franz didn't show face, and asked directly: "I remember last year, the Napoleon built by the French Navy was powered by steam engines.

You build a bunch of sailing warships, it’s fine when the wind is down, but when the wind is headed, have you outrun others? "

Secretary of the Navy Felcos explained: "Your Majesty, the French steam engine battleships are expensive to build and difficult to maintain. After fully driven, they will undergo a major overhaul.

Steam engine battleships did not show obvious advantages on the battlefield. Now the main force of the navies of various countries is still sail warships, and it is too risky to adopt new technologies rashly. "

Franz didn't care about his many reasons, and asked directly: "With our shipbuilding technology, can it be built?"

Felcos thought for a while and said, "Theoretically, there is no problem. We have mature experience in building merchant ships by using steam engines as power on ships. It is not a big problem to apply them to warships."

Franz didn't bother to complain, the navies of various countries were terribly conservative in this era.It is estimated that many people would not have imagined that it was not the British who led the naval technological revolution in this era, but the French.

In 1849, the French took the lead in applying steam engines to warships, which opened the prelude to the power revolution of naval warships; in 1859, the French produced the world's first ironclad ship, ending the era of sail warships; in 1863, the French introduced the compressed air engine Applied to submarines, ending human drive, increasing the range of activities of submarines...

The naval technological revolution was initiated by the French, and it still cannot change their status as the second child for thousands of years.Later, it was hard to change. It is estimated that the French would rather not change, from the second child to the third child, the fourth child, and the fifth child...

Now the Austrian Navy is undoubtedly a representative of the conservatives. They are technologically innovative. Just look at the military expenditure of the Austrian Navy. They have no money to be willful.

This is also where Franz wonders. Isn't new technology first used in the military and then promoted for civilian use?

Why is it the other way around here? There are so many Austrian steamships running in the Danube River, why didn't the navy think about building a steam engine battleship?

Difficulty in maintenance?This can also be regarded as a reason. Why didn't steam merchant ships continue to use sail power because of difficulty in maintenance?

Franz said earnestly: "The navy should also pay attention to the application of technology. Even if you can't promote technological innovation yourself, if others have made achievements, you can follow along and learn to use it, right?

Otherwise, what is the use of an outdated navy, no matter how large it is?On the battlefield, you can only be used as a target for others! "

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Secretary of the Navy Felcos replied with a wry smile.

There is no doubt that the shipbuilding plan of the Admiralty died when it came to Franz.

Technically speaking, it is not difficult to build the original ironclad ship.As early as 1578, the Japanese made iron-clad ships, which were covered with iron sheets on warships.

Franz doesn't want to build a bunch of sailing warships and use them as targets for others, although the chances of a naval battle in the Austrian Navy are not high in the short term.

He can't make an epoch-making invention, it's just a conceptual military technological innovation, isn't it difficult?

I didn't see that after the French came up with the ironclad ship, followers appeared in just a few months, and there were almost no technical obstacles.

The era when shipbuilding technology reflects the industrial level of each country has not yet arrived. Now the shipbuilding technology of sailing warships is very mature, and the performance gap between warships of various countries is not large.

After thinking about it, Franz didn't put forward the ironclad ship theory immediately. This is not something an emperor should do, and even if it is done, it must be done secretly.

Otherwise, William II is an example. He designed the warship himself, and then sank directly after launching it into the water.It would be strange if there was no problem. Could it be that the German technicians are all idiots, don't they know to remind the emperor?

Franz will not let people take advantage of it. It is much better to promote technological innovation secretly. It is normal to fail. Any technological innovation is not a success.

If it succeeds, it proves that under the leadership of the great emperor, Austria's technological innovation has taken another step forward.As for the credit for inventions and creations, being an emperor is not necessary.

Chapter 47 The Arms Race

The navy's shipbuilding plan was rejected by Franz, but the naval budget in 1851 was increased by more than 100 million guilders again, reaching a height of 1268.1 million guilders.

The Austrian government's attitude towards the navy can be seen in general, but no matter how important it is, it can't change the essence of Austria as a land power country.

In 1851, the army's military expenditure rose even faster, soaring to 6124.62 million guilders, and the large reserve strategy was officially launched. According to the plan, from now on, the reserve will increase by 20 every year.

The total military budget of the Austrian Empire in 1851 was nearly 1850% higher than that in 20.00, and the war was approaching.

How could it be possible to hide the actions of the Russian neighbors from the Austrian government?Not long ago, Nicholas I imposed a war tax on the pretext of expanding far away.

If there is no secret treaty between Russia and Austria, everyone may still be skeptical and unable to determine the Russian war goals.The Austrian government, who knows the truth, is 90.00% sure that the Russian-Turkish war will break out again.

That being the case, as an ally, the Austrian government will naturally follow up.How would the Austrian strategy work without the Russians breaking the situation?

Thanks to the big actions of the Russians, the Austrian government's increase in military expenditures has not caused any waves.In the eyes of the outside world, this is a normal reaction, no matter how vigilant a neighbor like Mao Xiong should be.

The European situation has always affected the whole body, and the arms race is also contagious. Although Russia and Austria did not intend to provoke an arms race, everyone followed up.

Governments of various countries have increased military expenditures one after another, except for the British army arms race, which they have never participated in.

Not all countries are in such a good financial situation. The Kingdom of Prussia, which is in financial difficulty, did not follow up this time.

Frederick William IV was not a fool. The Kingdom of Prussia simply couldn't support the arms race with Russia and Austria.Military spending has exceeded half of fiscal revenue, and if it continues to increase, it will only go bankrupt.

The French, who were also in financial difficulties, followed suit. Although the French government had no money, the private consortium had money, so they could just borrow from the bank.

This is the background of the old empire, with sufficient financial guarantees, which is why France was able to become the second country among the great powers to complete industrialization after the United Kingdom.

The completion of industrialization in Belgium was very close to that of the British, but their industrial system was not perfect, and many industries did not exist.

Although Belgium completed industrialization first, its industrial strength is still not as good as that of several great powers, and it only has advantages in some fields.

Vienna

Prime Minister Felix said: "Your Majesty, affected by the Russians' war preparations, all European countries have begun to expand their armies and prepare for war, except for the Kingdom of Prussia, which has financial difficulties.

Just a week ago, with the support of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, the French government passed the military expansion bill, and the French army expanded by another 43.6. After the expansion, their total strength reached [-], second only to Russia.

For our next strategy, the threat of the French has risen to the first place, we must be vigilant and ready to deal with it. "

France has always been a traditional army power in Europe, and it has been fighting against the Habsburg dynasty for hundreds of years. The French army reached its peak in the Napoleon era.

Everyone is extremely wary of the French.After learning of France's military expansion plan, the Austrian government immediately held a cabinet meeting.

Franz frowned. He knew that this was not a big deal, and he couldn't take the threat of the French seriously enough.

"How many troops are there in mainland France?" Franz asked with concern

It doesn't matter how many French soldiers there are, they also have a lot of colonies, and they always need to be garrisoned.The key is to look at the troops they concentrate on the mainland. This is the existence that may pose a threat to Austria.

Prime Minister Felix replied: "Before the military expansion, it was 22.1 troops. After the military expansion is completed, it is still uncertain. The worst case scenario is that all the 27.1 troops remain in the mainland."

Franz breathed a sigh of relief. After the Russians took action, Britain and France would definitely help the Ottoman Empire. Obviously, there would not be so many French troops left in the mainland.

Since the reserve system is rotten, it will take some time for the French to expand their army before they can form combat effectiveness. This is an opportunity.

What worries him the most is that the French government will restore the reserve system and return to the Napoleonic era. The war mobilization mechanism that can recruit millions of troops at any time is the most threatening.

Clearly, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was not very capable militarily.Otherwise, during the Franco-Prussian War, it would not have mobilized only 22 troops, and rushed to a decisive battle with the Prussians, and was beaten to the ground by them with more than twice the superior force.

Perhaps it was because they lost too much. After the war, the French were still unconvinced. The British provoked a bit, and France and Germany became inseparable enemies.

Franz asked uncertainly: "If the French only used so many troops to intervene, we should be able to hold on?"

Professional questions need professional answers.

Franz believes that he still has a certain military level, which is mainly reflected in strategy.If it is specific to tactics, it is estimated that there will be no problem in commanding battles below the regiment level.

In this kind of battle involving hundreds of thousands of troops, the chief of staff, Marshal Radesky, has more say. He has fought against the French army at its peak and has personal experience.

Marshal Radesky thought for a while and replied: "Your Majesty, the current French army is no longer as invincible as it was in Napoleon's time. After so many years of wear and tear, it has long lost that invincible momentum.

With the same strength, we can fight the French in a decisive battle.

If we wait until the Kingdom of Bavaria has repaired the railway before taking military action, then within a week we will be able to reach Baden and keep the French out of the country. "

After seeing the Austrian government's railway network strategy, Field Marshal Radeski discovered the great military use of railways.

Since railways can be used to transport goods, they can naturally also be used to transport troops, and at the same time can effectively provide logistical support.

South Germany is not a dragon's pool and a tiger's den. Austria has operated in these areas for many years.Sending troops is almost a sweep. With nationalists as the leading party, it is difficult for these small states to resist.

As long as the speed is fast enough and these small states are not given the opportunity to collude with the French, there will be no major changes.

It doesn't even take too long, it only takes two or three months. After the leadership of each country is settled politically, the armies of these German states can also transform themselves and resist the French invaders together with the Austrian army.