The Outbreak of the First Sino-Austrian War

On March 27, 1848, the Vienna government announced the abolition of local tariffs and prohibited local governments from collecting customs duties under any pretext. The Hungarian representative in Vienna slammed the door and left on the spot.

Do not be surprised; although the Hungarians had proposed the abolition of local tariffs in their conditions, their demand was for Austria to abolish them unilaterally, not for Hungary to also cease collecting tariffs on Austrian goods.

Otherwise, this issue would not have needed debating at all. As early as the Maria reforms in 1795, the abolition of local tariffs had been proposed, and by 1848, they had already been abolished everywhere else.

Due to the obstruction of interest groups in Hungary, this tariff remained in place. The truth of the matter and the propaganda spread to the outside world were two completely different concepts; the art of "Spring and Autumn" writing—using subtle phrasing to obscure the truth—was just as applicable in Europe.

Otherwise, there would have been no need to wait until after the Hungarian Revolution was suppressed for the Vienna government to finally abolish the tariffs with Hungary.

One wave had not yet subsided when another rose!

The problems in the Czech region had not yet been resolved when more bad news reached Vienna: the Kingdom of Sardinia had declared war on Austria!

On the evening of March 23, King Charles Albert of Sardinia delivered a speech in the palace square declaring war on Austria. Due to the nature of the war, this news did not reach Vienna until the 27th.

"Have the reinforcements we dispatched to Field Marshal Radetzky arrived?" Franz asked.

After suppressing the rebellion in Vienna, the Austrian government had mobilized 50,000 troops to reinforce Field Marshal Radetzky.

This had originally been prepared by Franz to deal with a war against the Kingdom of Sardinia; otherwise, suppressing the rebellion in the Austrian-held territories of Italy would not have required reinforcements.

Without these reinforcements, it was estimated that, just as in history, Field Marshal Radetzky would have had to maneuver against the Italians with a small force, waiting for domestic reinforcements to arrive before finally defeating them.

The situation was different now. The Vienna rebellion had been suppressed early, and rebellions in other places had not yet broken out, leaving Austria with the strength to commit to the Italian front.

"They arrived in the Venice region the day before yesterday afternoon and have already begun suppressing the rebellion!" Felix said, his face ashen.

A tiny Kingdom of Sardinia dared to challenge Austria at a time like this; it was simply like pulling teeth from a tiger.

Franz shook his head. This anti-Austrian wave among the Italians was not just joined by the Kingdom of Sardinia; the Papal States, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, and the Kingdom of Naples had all been forced by public opinion to participate in this war.

The Austrian embassies in the various Italian states had all sent word, urging the home country to strengthen its defenses.

"Send an order to Field Marshal Radetzky: tell him to use his own judgment. Let him fight wherever he can, and if he needs reinforcements, tell him he will have to wait another month!" Franz said after some thought.

He had no intention of discussing military matters with the cabinet; these people were laymen, and their military competence was likely not even on par with his own.

The risks of laymen leading experts were too great. After the revolution broke out, the telegraph lines between Vienna and the Italian region had been sabotaged.

Franz was not clear on the specific situation on the Italian front. The only thing he could do now was delegate authority and ensure logistical support for Field Marshal Radetzky.

In history, it was he who suppressed this Italian rebellion and defeated the armies of the various Italian states. Now that Austria held an even greater advantage, there was no reason for them to lose.

Since suppressing the Vienna rebellion, the Austrian government had been expanding its military and preparing for war, not only to suppress the revolution but also out of fear that foreign powers might take advantage of the chaos.

Sometimes, Franz truly wanted to send troops to simply wipe out those nobles and capitalists who might rebel, then carry out land reform, which would solve all problems.

Alas, this was impossible. Even the nobles who had participated in the rebellion had to be handed over to the Nobility Council for disposal, let alone those who had not yet rebelled.

As of now, only twelve rebellious nobles had been executed by the Nobility Council, and the charge was actually for using despicable means to kill other nobles in an attempt to muddle through and seize their titles!

Well, Franz had nothing to say. This was still the result of Archduke Louis fighting tooth and nail in the Nobility Council, driven by the grief of losing his son.

Of course, Franz had not done nothing. At the very least, the assets of the twenty-eight noble families confirmed to have no heirs had been temporarily nationalized, and no collateral heirs were permitted to inherit titles until they could prove they had nothing to do with the murders.

Regrettably, this was an unsolvable puzzle. As long as one submitted an application to inherit a title, one had a motive for the crime.

If you did not participate in the rebellion, had your relatives or friends? If not, had your neighbors, or perhaps someone you knew? None of these could clear you of suspicion.

Franz had given the power to clear them of suspicion directly to the Nobility Council. As long as more than eighty percent of the noble councilors determined you were innocent, and you were the legal first heir, you could inherit the title.

Relationships among the nobility were too chaotic. There were piles of relatives with rights of inheritance, and everyone suffered from the "green-eyed monster" of jealousy; internal problems were hard to settle.

As long as it was proven that the first heir had issues, the title and fief would fall to the second heir.

Because of noble intermarriage, the first and second heirs were often not from the same family, and might even be hostile, which made things even more difficult.

Everyone had a group of relatives and friends. While it was hard to inherit a title oneself, it was not difficult at all to block others from doing so.

"Your Highness, if all the major Italian states join the war, Field Marshal Radetzky's forces may be insufficient. Should we mobilize another batch of reinforcements from elsewhere?" Felix suggested.

"The various Italian states are not of one mind. They only sent troops due to public opinion, and I suspect they are still haggling with each other.

The ones who jumped out first were the Sardinians; I suspect the Sardinians only launched their attack after the revolutionary party agreed to merge with them.

In the Italian region, we have already deployed 40,000 troops. With these 50,000 reinforcements, it should be no problem to maneuver against the enemy for a period of time, even if we don't defeat them immediately.

The situation at home is also unstable. If we continue to draw away troops and a rebellion breaks out elsewhere, we will be exhausted from running back and forth.

You can tell Field Marshal Radetzky not to worry about the loss of any single city or territory. As long as he can achieve victory in the end, it doesn't matter if he loses some ground for now."

Franz still resisted the temptation to defeat the Italians quickly and chose to play it steady.

In history, Field Marshal Radetzky had no preparations, and even when the Vienna government ordered him to abandon Italy, he was still able to hold on. There was no reason for him to lose now that he had received reinforcements.

Franz was not entirely confident in the combat effectiveness of the Austrian army, but thinking of the track record of the Italian army put his mind at ease.

In history, Austria and Italy fought many times. Except for the times when the original owner personally commanded and lost to the combined French-Italian forces, Austria had always thrashed Italy—including the extremely decadent Austro-Hungarian Empire of later generations, which could still thrash Italy.