Thirty thousand wasn't a small number. But as Prince Schwarzenberg had said, spread those thirty thousand men evenly across Spain, and their numbers would be negligible.
Forget attacking—whether they could even hold the place was a question. At most, a force of that size could be called a police unit. If word got out, other countries would surely laugh at them.
But Franz knew very well that if they wanted to conquer Spain quickly and effectively, they couldn't rely on force alone.
These men really were going there to serve as police. After all, the Austrian Empire had plenty of enemies within its own borders, and they were even more ruthless by comparison.
If they couldn't solve the problems of public order and logistics, Spain would never become stable.
For now, the priority remained supplies and logistics. Letting them run short at this point would be an extremely unwise move. Franz had to make a show of it.
As for the attack, he wasn't in any hurry. Behind the scenes, Franz was quite different: he was secretly sending people to contact the Spanish Government Army's generals and warlords.
As long as they could be bought off, Franz didn't want to meet them on the battlefield. He could offer a large sum of money, along with passage to the United States, Mexico, Colombia, or Brazil.
But among the options Franz offered, there was no amnesty. Leaving Spain was the bare minimum he would accept.
The power brokers in most regions were willing to deal with the Austrian Empire. But they wouldn't give up the power they held.
Some feared Franz wouldn't keep his promises. Others feared he would settle old scores later. But most simply didn't want to relinquish their power and hard-won positions.
They were willing to deal with the