"Hot-air balloon?" Honecker asked in surprise. "That thing used for high-altitude performances?"
"Yes." Ramsdorf nodded. "It can monitor enemy movements from the air, far more efficiently than Hussars.
"This time, we have the same weapons as the French, and far more troops than they do—if the British are included, we outnumber the French Army by more than double—as well as ample military funds. We will surely wash away the humiliation of three years ago!"
At that moment, the speaker also raised his voice. "The goddess of victory will forever favor us! Long live united Germany!"
A wave of excited cheers immediately rose through the hall.
Vienna.
Before the main gates of Schönbrunn Palace, Austria's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ludwig von Kobzl, frowned at the empty square, seeming to mutter to himself, "The British are late. We must do everything we can to stop him from seeing His Majesty the Emperor."
"There was a torrential downpour just now, and the roads are muddy. Delays are unavoidable," said Count Bellegarde, the newly appointed chairman of the War Committee, beside him. "Perhaps Lord Hawkesbury may even bring good news."
"Everyone knows he wants to drag us into a war." Anxiety colored Kobzl's voice. "And the Empire can no longer withstand one."
He glanced at the chairman of the War Committee. "That is also why I asked you to meet him with me."
"I heard Prussia is very likely to join the war," Count Bellegarde said. "Those war fanatics have raised 150,000 troops. God, their entire country only has eight million people. If only we had such a high mobilization rate."
Kobzl shook his head. "Reforms are underway at home. At the very least, we must wait until everything has stabilized."
Under the efforts of his elder brother and Metternich, Austria had implemented