Military Preparations

Chapter 42: Military Preparations

"Your Highness, in view of the current domestic situation, I propose that we immediately double the size of the Vienna City Defense Force and assemble a grand army of two hundred thousand to suppress the rebellions across the country!" Prime Minister Felix said, his tone brimming with murderous intent.

On the matter of suppressing the rebellion, everyone's stance was unanimous; no aristocrat had any love for the revolutionaries.

"The Prime Minister's proposal is excellent. The City Defense Force is currently being reinforced, and as for those useless cowards who did nothing during the Vienna uprising, I believe we should order their immediate discharge! As for forming the suppression army, there is no time to lose. Lieutenant General Albrecht performed admirably during the suppression of the Vienna rebellion, so I believe he should be the one to take charge."

Franz did not hesitate to push his own agenda. Not only did he seize the opportunity to purge the deadwood from the City Defense Force and replace them with his own men, but he also reached his hand into the command of the soon-to-be-formed suppression army.

"Your Highness, the formation of a suppression army is a matter of great importance. I fear Lieutenant General Albrecht alone will be overwhelmed. It would be better to have Field Marshal Radetzky and Prince Windisch-Grätz return to take command of the situation," Felix argued.

(Note: Field Marshal Radetzky and Prince Windisch-Grätz were two of the three heroes who saved Austria; the former suppressed the Italian rebellion, while the latter suppressed the uprisings in Prague and Vienna.)

These two were titans within the Austrian military. If they returned, Albrecht would be forced to the sidelines. Furthermore, Prince Windisch-Grätz was Felix's brother-in-law, making it even more imperative that he not be allowed to return.

However, this did not stump Franz, who immediately replied, "These two are indeed the best candidates, but unfortunately, a rebellion has already broken out in Lombardy. If we pull Field Marshal Radetzky away now, who will be responsible for suppressing the rebellion there? I believe it would be best to appoint Field Marshal Radetzky as the concurrent Governor of Lombardy and Venice, giving him full authority to oversee the suppression of the rebellion in the Italian region. We shall also mobilize fifty thousand troops from Austria to reinforce the Italian front, striving to crush this rebellion in the shortest time possible. Furthermore, the Bohemian region (Czech) is currently unstable. If we pull Prince Windisch-Grätz away, who will be responsible for suppressing the potential uprisings there?"

The front lines required their command to suppress the rebellions—this was a powerful argument. Since Franz had raised it, no one dared to suggest replacing them lightly; otherwise, if something went wrong on the front, they would have to bear the responsibility.

Austria was still the Austria of the Habsburg Family. Even though Prime Minister Felix was a powerful figure, he had no choice but to concede in the face of Franz's persistence.

Political struggle is incredibly complex; today's concession meant that in the years to come, the Austrian government would revolve around Franz, with the cabinet relegated to a supporting role.

Seeing that no one objected, Franz spoke again: "Considering the special circumstances in Hungary, we must also take action. I propose appointing Josip Jelačić as the High Official of Croatia, while concurrently serving as commander of the City Defense Force; and appointing Julius Jacob von Haynau as the High Official of the Slovak region and commander of the City Defense Force, in preparation for suppressing the Hungarian rebellion."

(Note: Josip Jelačić was one of the three heroes who saved Austria; his primary achievement was stabilizing Croatia and participating in the suppression of the Vienna and Hungarian rebellions. Julius Jacob von Haynau was an Austrian Field Marshal known for his brutal suppression of the Italian and Hungarian rebellions, earning him the titles: The Hangman of Arad, The Hyena of Brescia, and The Tiger of the Habsburgs.)

Franz's plan was very simple: to preemptively employ the heroes who had historically suppressed the rebellions, rather than relying on the pack of fools who had failed, only to end up feeding their heads to the enemy.

"Your Highness, the rebellion in Hungary has not yet occurred. If we act now, I fear it will cause significant negative repercussions!" Felix said after some thought.

He had not expected that while the Vienna government was still negotiating with the Hungarians, the Crown Prince would be preparing to suppress a rebellion; this was effectively sabotaging the negotiations.

However, should the Hungarians truly revolt, these arrangements would prove invaluable. In this era, both Croatia and Slovakia were territories of the Kingdom of Hungary, yet the people there were inclined toward Austria. Controlling these two regions in advance would be extremely useful for suppressing a Hungarian rebellion. Historically, during the suppression of the Hungarian rebellion, the province of Croatia alone provided an army of forty thousand.

Franz shook his head and said, "Prime Minister, do you think it is good to let the Hungarians continue to stir up trouble like this? Over the past many years, the Vienna government has made concessions to them time and again. If we continue to concede like this, we might as well let them be independent!"

This was no idle talk. Nominally, Hungary was part of the Austrian Empire, yet the tax revenue from the Hungarian region had nothing to do with the central government in Vienna. There were even tariffs between Austria and Hungary. Yet, they constantly claimed that Austria was oppressing and exploiting Hungary—to Franz, this was utter nonsense. The Vienna government had indeed gained certain benefits from Hungary, but did Austria not deserve to collect a "protection fee" for safeguarding Hungary's security? If they left Austria, Hungary would either be annexed by the Russians or the Ottomans, and the final result would only be far worse than it was now.

On the surface, Austria's industry was more developed, while Hungary primarily developed agriculture, becoming a market for Austrian goods. But in reality, this era was one of survival of the fittest; as the weaker party, one could not demand too much from the strong. For the ordinary Hungarian populace, the Habsburg Family was actually the guardian of their interests. Under the current system, the only ones whose interests were truly harmed were the Hungarian capitalists and aristocrats, and they were the only ones who kept wanting to stir up trouble.

After the Great Revolution, someone once remarked: in the Kingdom of Hungary with its ten million people, there were only five hundred thousand "Hungarians." In reality, the ones truly exploiting and oppressing the Hungarian people were those five hundred thousand capitalists and aristocrats. Now, Franz was preparing to wipe out these parasites and distribute their land to the Hungarian populace. Therefore, this was not a suppression of revolution, but rather bringing a revolution to the Kingdom of Hungary—a revolution that would truly liberate the ten million ordinary Hungarian people.

Bread would be there, and milk would be there too. In this respect, Franz considered himself to be engaged in a sacred cause.

"Your Highness, that is not the way to put it. Hungary is our granary, and as a sacred and indispensable part of the Empire, we absolutely cannot let them be independent!" Felix said sternly.

Franz smiled and said, "Prime Minister, there is no need to be so nervous. I am merely stating the facts. If the Hungarians want reform, they may have it, but it must be built upon the premise of integrating into Austria. To want all the benefits without intending to pay the price—where in the world is there such a good deal? Rather than bickering with them every day, it is better to resolve it once and for all!"