Chapter 70: Preparations are complete

The Austrian Empire was like a sickly old man who ate too much and could die at any moment. Franz's concession to the French is also based on this.

Based on the principle of raking the hay to beat the rabbit, if the French government gets tough, Austria can also tear a piece of meat off the Sardinian kingdom.

How much is not important, what is important is that it can prove to the outside world politically that the Austrian Empire is still a great power, with a strong strength to deter the Prussians who are just about to make a move.

As for whether the French will become bigger because of this, Franz is very calm, what does it have to do with him?

If the French become bigger and stronger, than it becomes the British and the Russians problem, at that time it was them who should be worried. Could it be that the French would be foolish enough to attack Austria?

Don't be ridiculous, after Napoleon's conquest, the vigilance of European countries towards France has entered the greatest threat level.

Before getting rid of diplomatic isolation, any military action by the French may lead to joint suppression by all countries.

Metternich said calmly: "If the French are cowardly, then we don't need to destroy the Sardinian kingdom, it is also a good choice to keep them as a buffer between Austrian law. The most troublesome were the British, who were willing to mediate the Ossa War despite promises made by the London government. However, we have received news from our embassy in London that a British consortium is negotiating a secret loan with the Kingdom of Sardinia. In addition, the Kingdom of Sardinia has borrowed 3 million pounds from the British some time ago, and we have reason to believe that the British sided with the enemy in this war."

Metternich has never been interested in territorial expansion. The conservative politician believes that Austria is already big enough, and the national contradictions at home are even more troublesome, so he opposes continued expansion.

Based on this policy, Austria has experienced little territorial expansion over the past few decades.

Franz despised Metternich's political propositions, but to his diplomats, that's another view.

The greatest diplomat of the 19th century is well-deserved. "European Prime Minister" and "Metternich Era" are the highest evaluations given to him by the outside world.

The collapse of the Vienna system was not a diplomatic failure, but more because Austria was not strong enough to withstand the impact of the revolution.

At this time in history, Metternich had already stepped down. As a result, the British released a bunch of smoke bombs and successfully confounded the Vienna government. If Marshal Radetzky insisted, it is estimated that Lombardy and Venice would have been lost in 1848.

Felix said confidently: "There is no need to worry too much. Even if the British support the Kingdom of Sardinia, without the support of the European powers, it is impossible for them to arrive personally to settle this matter."

This is not arrogance, but a judgment based on the international situation and the strength of all parties.

Historically, the Vienna government had let the Sardinian kingdom go. In addition to the intervention of Britain and France, the most important reason was that they were worried that the French would enlarge the territory of the Sardinian kingdom after annexation.

"Well, these things should be prepared in advance. The most important thing is the result of this war. If we can easily defeat the enemy, then the result and conditions will naturally be dictated by us!" Franz poured cold water on the confident prime minister. The war is not over yet, so being so arrogant is not a good thing.

This is not to blame for Felix. Austria is also a European power after all, while the Kingdom of Sardinia is only a small power. The strength gap between the two sides is too huge, and it is normal to look down on them.

After a pause, Metternich proposed again: "His Royal Highness, the Russians have promised to help us suppress the rebellion. Do you want them to send troops to suppress the Hungarian rebellion as soon as possible?"

Looking at everyone's moving expressions, Franz shook his head.

"No! This is Austria's domestic business. If the Russians help us suppress the rebellion, we will have to rely on the Russians diplomatically in the days to come. The hardest thing in the world to pay off is a debt of love. The situation in Hungary is still within our tolerance and there is no need to involve the Russians. However, it is still possible to let the Russians pretend to send troops to Hungary and shake the determination of the rebels to resist."

Pretending and actually ending are two different concepts. If the Russians did send troops to help Austria suppress the Hungarian rebellion, what would the future history books record?

"Ask foreign troops to suppress the revolution?" Wouldn't that be a representative of the reactionaries? Do you still want the glorious image of Franz?

Just pretend, scare the Hungarians and force them to divide their troops to defend, then it doesn't matter.

As a winner, Franz can write whatever he wants. If the future turns against Russia, he can even reverse black and white and say: under the leadership of the great Franz the Great, the Russians' conspiracy against the Hungarian region was smashed.

On the surface, there is nothing wrong with it. Europe has much to say about its dark past. Russia was only integrated into European society after the anti-French war.

Turning over the dark history of the Russians and saying that they were plotting against Hungary, Franz would have almost believed it if he hadn't known the truth.

"His Royal Highness, there is news from the front line in Venice that the Kingdom of Sardinia is very cautious now and has not sent troops to attack rashly. Our lure of the enemy may fail if this continue on. Marshal Radetzky asked us to send troops to suppress the Hungarian rebellion as soon as possible. It is best to quickly gain an advantage on the battlefield and force the Kingdom of Sardinia to risk a decisive battle." said the Minister of War suddenly.

Franz rubbed his forehead helplessly. The historical data are all deceptive. It is a fact that the Italian army's combat effectiveness is not good, but it does not mean that they were truly easy to deal with. At least the current kingdom of Sardinia is not so easy to deal with.

Badoglio, the Sardinian marshal, knew that he would need to fight steadily and would rather suffer greater losses than to fight an all out battle to the death.

Marshal Radetzky painstakingly arranged the pocket formation, the enemy's main force did not come in at all. If they were to fight now, it might be possible to defeat the enemy, but it would be impossible to inflict heavy causalities or completely wipe out the enemy.

Originally, Franz planned to suppress the Hungarian rebellion after defeating the Kingdom of Sardinia, but now it is obviously impossible to do so. The only option is to take out the Hungarians first and force the Sardinian kingdom to send troops for a decisive battle.

Many people understand the truth of the current situation. If Austria suppresses the internal rebellion, then the Kingdom of Sardinia will not even have a chance of winning.

"Let's speed up the preparation steps. Once the preparations are completed, send troops to suppress the Hungarian rebellion. How long will it take Prime Minister?" Franz asked suspiciously.

"His Royal Highness, the strategic materials are almost ready, and the deployment of the army is basically completed, except that several newly established provinces directly under the central government will take some time to integrate. May 5th, is the day we will be able to attack!" Felix thought about it and said.