On March 27, 1848, the Vienna Government announced the abolition of local customs duties and prohibited local governments from collecting them under any pretext. Hungary's representative in Vienna slammed the door and walked out on the spot.
Don't find it strange. Although the Hungarians had called for the abolition of local customs duties in their demands, they wanted Austria to abolish them unilaterally. They weren't saying Hungary would give up collecting duties on Austrian goods, too.
Otherwise, there would have been no need to argue about the matter at all. The abolition of local customs duties had already been proposed during Maria's reforms in 1795, and by 1848 they had been abolished everywhere else.
Because of obstruction by vested interests, Hungary had kept those tariffs in place. The truth of the matter and the version being spread to the outside world were worlds apart. The art of writing history with subtle insinuations was just as applicable in Europe.
Otherwise, the Vienna Government wouldn't have waited until after the Hungarian Revolution was suppressed to abolish customs duties between Austria and Hungary.
No sooner had one wave subsided than another rose!
The troubles in the Czech region had yet to be resolved when another piece of bad news reached Vienna: the Kingdom of Sardinia had declared war on Austria!
On the evening of March 23, King Charles Albert of Sardinia gave a speech in the palace square, declaring war on Austria. Because of the war, the news didn't reach Vienna until the 27th.
"Have the reinforcements we sent to Marshal Radetzky arrived?" Franz asked.
After suppressing the Vienna uprising, the Austrian Government had dispatched fifty thousand troops to reinforce Marshal Radetzky.
Franz had originally prepared those troops for a war with the Kingdom of Sardinia. Without that threat, there would have been no need for reinforcements just to suppress the rebellion in Austrian Italy.
Without reinforcements, things would probably have unfolded just as they had in history: Marshal Radetzky would have held the Italians off with a small force, then defeated them once reinforcements from home arrived.
But things were different now. The Vienna uprising had been put down early, while rebellions elsewhere had yet to break out. Austria still had the strength to commit troops to the Italian front.
"They arrived in the Venice region the afternoon before last, and they've already begun suppressing the rebellion!" Felix said, his face dark as thunder.
A puny Kingdom of Sardinia dared to challenge Austria at a time like this? It was like kicking the tiger in the teeth.
Franz shook his head. The anti-Austrian movement in Italy didn't involve just the Kingdom of Sardinia. Under pressure from public opinion, the Papal States, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, and the Kingdom of Naples had all been forced to join the war.
Austria's embassies in the various Italian States had already sent word, urging the government at home to heighten its alert.
"Send word to Marshal Radetzky. Let him fight as best he can and hold whatever ground he can. If he needs reinforcements, he'll have to wait another month!" Franz said after a moment's thought.
He had no intention of discussing military matters with the cabinet. Those men were all amateurs, and their military expertise probably didn't even measure up to his own.
The danger of amateurs leading professionals was too great. After the revolution broke out, the telegraph lines between Vienna and Italy had been damaged.
Franz didn't know the specifics of the situation on the Italian front. The only thing he could do now was delegate authority to Marshal Radetzky and ensure that his troops had the supplies they needed.
Historically, Radetzky had been the one to suppress the Italian rebellion and defeat the armies of the Italian States. Austria was in an even stronger position now, so there was no reason it should lose.
Ever since suppressing the Vienna uprising, the Austrian Government had been expanding the army and preparing for war. It wasn't just worried about putting down the revolution; it also feared foreign powers might take advantage of the chaos.
Sometimes Franz really wanted to send in the army, mow down all the nobles and capitalists who might rebel, and then carry out land reform. That would solve everything.
Unfortunately, that was impossible. Even the nobles who had taken part in the uprising had to be handed over to the Nobility Council for punishment, let alone those who hadn't rebelled.
So far, the Nobility Council had executed only twelve rebellious nobles. Their crime, unbelievably, was murdering nobles by underhanded means and trying to seize their titles under false pretenses!
Well, Franz had nothing to say to that. That outcome was already the result of Archduke Louis fighting fiercely for it at the Nobility Council, driven by the grief of losing his son.
Of course, Franz hadn't done nothing. At the very least, the estates of the twenty-eight noble families confirmed to have no surviving heirs had been temporarily nationalized. None of their collateral heirs could inherit a title until they proved they had nothing to do with the families' murders.
Unfortunately, it was an impossible problem. The moment someone applied to inherit a title, they had a motive for the crime.
You hadn't taken part in the uprising, but had any of your relatives or friends? If not, perhaps your neighbor had—or someone you knew. None of that could clear you of suspicion.
Franz had given the Nobility Council the authority to determine whether they had cleared their names. An applicant could inherit a title only if more than eighty percent of the noble councilors found them innocent and they were the legal first heir.
The relationships between nobles were a tangled mess, and there were heaps of relatives with inheritance rights. Everyone was prone to jealousy, so settling internal disputes was no easy task.
As long as the first heir could be shown to have a problem, the title and estate would pass to the second heir.
Because of noble intermarriage, the first and second heirs often belonged to different families—and might even be enemies. That made things even more difficult.
Everyone had a crowd of relatives and friends. It was hard enough to inherit a title yourself, but stopping someone else from inheriting one was easy as could be.
"Your Highness, if all the major Italian States join the war, Marshal Radetzky's forces may not be enough. Should we pull another contingent of reinforcements from elsewhere?" Felix suggested.
"The Italian States aren't of one mind. They only sent troops because of public pressure, and they're probably still haggling among themselves.
"Right now, it's the Sardinians who've stepped forward. I suspect they won't attack until the revolutionaries agree to unite with them.
"We already have forty thousand troops stationed in Italy. With these fifty thousand reinforcements, we may not be able to defeat the enemy, but we can certainly hold them off for a while.
"The situation at home is unstable, too. If we keep moving troops around, a rebellion could break out somewhere else, and we'd be rushing from one crisis to the next.
"Tell Marshal Radetzky not to fret over every city and patch of ground. As long as he wins in the end, it won't matter if he loses some territory for now."
Franz still resisted the temptation to crush the Italians quickly, choosing instead to advance steadily and cautiously.
Historically, Marshal Radetzky had been completely unprepared. Even when the Vienna Government ordered him to abandon Italy, he had managed to keep fighting. There was no reason he should lose now, with reinforcements at his back.
Franz wasn't sure how well the Austrian army could fight, but the Italian army's record reassured him.
Historically, Austria and Italy had fought one another countless times. Except when the original owner had personally led the army and lost against the Franco-Italian coalition, Austria had crushed Italy every time. Even the rotten-to-the-core Austro-Hungarian Empire of later years could still beat Italy senseless.
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