Austria's Famous Generals

Leaving the residence of Archduke Charles, a satisfied smile graced Franz's face. It was clear that the two had enjoyed a pleasant conversation, and he had officially become the Archduke's new student.

Archduke Charles had long intended to deepen the reforms within the Austrian military, yet he lacked a powerful supporter in the central government. Franz's appearance had solved exactly that problem.

As the future heir to the empire, Franz's endorsement of his military philosophy and his support for the reforms were only logical.

The current Austrian Emperor, Ferdinand I, was mentally ill and utterly incapable of handling state affairs. As the Crown Prince, Franz would be able to act as regent as soon as he came of age.

That time would not be long in coming; there were already too many people dissatisfied with Prime Minister Metternich, and Archduke Charles, among others, wanted him gone.

Franz had appeared at the perfect moment. There was no better choice than supporting the Crown Prince's regency, and with the military's backing, Franz could seize power early, provided he wasn't too foolish.

During their conversation, Franz had also slipped in some personal ideas, such as the Prussian General Staff system, modern military training, and tactical command.

Many of these fresh proposals had piqued the Archduke's interest, though it remained to be seen how many would be incorporated into his new military philosophy.

In the end, Franz requested that Archduke Charles draft a comprehensive military reform plan for the Austrian army.

Franz would never admit that the uniform he wore had added to his appeal; otherwise, the conversation would not have gone so smoothly.

Could Archduke Charles truly have been so stunned by his proposals that he bowed before his "imperial aura" and pledged his full support?

Don't dream; that was impossible!

The reason the two sides had enjoyed such a pleasant talk was primarily because their philosophies aligned, and Franz was the heir to the empire who had identified as a soldier since childhood.

Archduke Charles intended to guide his military understanding, and Franz cooperated fully, creating the illusion that the Franz before him was one of his admirers.

To ensure his own philosophy could be better implemented, Archduke Charles did not mind taking on a future emperor as a student; the alliance was entirely based on political interests.

Perhaps the young Archduke Charles had been mediocre in politics, but by now, he was an old fox; he had long since guessed the majority of Franz's intentions.

In the eyes of Archduke Charles, Franz was merely seeking influence within the military, and in exchange, Franz would have to support his military reforms in the future.

As for the personal ideas Franz had slipped in, he viewed them as a child trying to save face to attract his attention—he didn't even know which ghostwriter had come up with those military concepts.

If they were useful, he would use them; if not, he would discard them. In any case, these were minor details that would not affect their political cooperation.

European succession laws were quite comprehensive; it was no big deal for an heir like Franz to openly join forces with a military powerhouse like him.

Even Franz's relationship with the current Prime Minister, Metternich, was quite good; historically, they were mentors and friends, and no one had found that problematic, had they?

Franz had originally been second in line to the throne, yet he still became the Crown Prince. That was because the man before him—his father, Franz Karl—also had mental issues. After the lesson of his uncle, Ferdinand I, no one dared to produce another mentally disabled emperor.

The Austrian Empire cared about its reputation. His father had repeatedly expressed his renunciation of the throne in public; whether it was his true intention was unknown, but the words had already been spoken.

Now, Franz was openly forming cliques—no, this was merely for the sake of study. How could the heir to Austria not study military science?

In the days that followed, Franz ran to Archduke Charles's residence every few days to kill time, under the guise of studying military affairs.

In the 19th century, Austria was still a world of aristocrats, and here, Franz came into contact with many key figures in the military, such as Josip Jelačić, Windisch-Grätz, and Radetzky.

(Note: The three great heroes who saved the Austrian Empire; Radetzky suppressed the Italian revolution, Windisch-Grätz suppressed the Prague uprising, and Josip Jelačić suppressed the Hungarian revolution.)

Franz was not yet capable of bringing these men under his command, but at the very least, they had become familiar faces, and perhaps they would prove useful at some point in the future.

This was a situation everyone was happy to see; no one could refuse the chance to become friends with the future emperor.

This was also Franz's established strategy: to actively move closer to the military. Only by gaining the support of the army could he suppress rebellions in the shortest possible time during future upheavals.

"Franz, there is a military meeting tomorrow. Are you interested in attending?" asked Albrecht Friedrich Rudolf.

(Note: The eldest son of Archduke Charles and the last great general of the Austrian Empire, who held the rank of Field Marshal in the Austrian, German, and Russian armies.)

"Albrecht, let's skip it. Your meetings are too tedious; I don't want to listen to a bunch of old men bickering!" Franz said dismissively.

At first, he had been very interested in attending such military meetings, but after going a few times, he had been disappointed.

The Austrian army was filled with a large group of aristocrats; some were talented, but most were just there to slack off and make up the numbers.

If he wanted to slack off in the army, he could become a general in less than ten years, or he could even avoid reporting for duty entirely.

Aside from the rank of Field Marshal, which carried real weight, the Austrian Empire was already crawling with generals. With so many people just going through the motions, the so-called military meetings were not very formal.

The real issues were never brought up for discussion at such meetings; if not for the sake of tradition, such meetings would never be held at all.

"Fine, since you aren't interested, I'll be going then!" Albrecht said nonchalantly.

Franz smiled slightly. He dared not underestimate Albrecht; historically, he was a central figure in the March Revolution who directly forced Ferdinand I to abdicate.

How could there not be backroom deals involved in that? One must remember that as the person directly responsible for the March Revolution, he had been exiled from Vienna, only to return to the center of power shortly thereafter.

Franz did not mind continuing such transactions; after all, he was the ultimate beneficiary. If his uncle had not abdicated early, he didn't know when he would have been able to ascend the throne.

The Austrian Empire still had a solid foundation; if the Vienna government hadn't run into trouble, it wouldn't have declined so rapidly.

At this time, the Austrian Empire was still ranked alongside Britain, France, Russia, and Spain as one of the five great powers of Europe, while the Prussians had yet to erupt and were merely a quasi-great power.