Unable to persuade Maximilian, Franz directly threw his other two younger brothers into the barracks for closed-off education. Perhaps having learned her lesson, Empress Dowager Sophie did not interfere this time.
Before Franz ascended the throne, the Austrian military had always been a place for aristocratic dandies to gild themselves. Now, the Austrian military was still a destination for dandies, but instead of gilding themselves, they found every day dragging by like a year.
Not to mention the closed management—once they entered the barracks, they had to bid farewell to the glittering nightlife of the cities and spend every day training deep in the Alps.
Because of the strict management system, many families treated the military as a school for educating the next generation. The number of dandies active in Vienna had also fallen to a historic low.
The statutory term of military service was only two years. Due to population growth, ordinary soldiers could usually retire after one year of service and return home as reservists.
Sons of the nobility were an exception. Their service began at three years. Training officers took more time than training ordinary soldiers, so their terms of service were naturally longer.
The training for noble officers was stricter than that of ordinary soldiers, with far more subjects as well. Usually, they spent their entire first year in either the Alps or the Balkan Mountains.
Daily training left them exhausted half to death, so naturally they had no energy for wild thoughts. Given enough time, many bad habits would be corrected in the army.
Maximilian was originally only a little over a year younger than Franz. By the time of the military reforms, he had already finished his gilding and become a naval officer, missing this chance to be tempered.
The training was simply too