His Majesty the Holy Roman Emperor's temporary residence was filled with Austrian ministers, all with their heads bowed in silence.
Everyone knew the tide had turned, yet no one wished to be the first to utter the word "surrender."
The young man behind Kobzl suddenly leaned forward. "Your Highness, how many troops do we have left?"
Archduke Karl shot Metternich a vicious glare and said coldly, "The troops withdrawn from Vienna, together with soldiers continuously gathering from the front, will allow us to muster at least fifty thousand men before the French Army arrives."
Indeed, half a month earlier, after Franz received his warning, he had not considered strengthening Vienna's defenses at all. Instead, he had immediately decided to flee the capital. Under his orders, Raul led Vienna's defenders in a diversionary attack against Gérard Corps, which had remained behind to encircle Vienna.
Gérard had only twenty thousand soldiers. To deal with Raul, he had no choice but to temporarily loosen his surveillance over the other areas. Franz II seized that chance to escape from Vienna's northwest through the "Forest Wall"—a hilly region dozens of kilometers wide, thickly blanketed in trees.
Metternich immediately shrank back behind Kobzl. He knew Archduke Karl did not have fifty thousand troops at all, but the figure was already low enough. Sure enough, Franz II's expression grew tense. He first looked at his younger brother, then finally turned to General Raul. "How likely are we to hold Pressburg?"
The latter lowered his head. After a long while, he said quietly, "If... the Russians are willing to send reinforcements, then we can probably... hold out for several months." Only then did Franz II notice that the commanders of the English and Russian allies had not come to Pressburg. Just as he was about to ask why,