What Talk of Affection Could There Be Between Nations?
Queen Mary immediately turned to Archbishop Brienne: "My brother is suffering from illness, and this has happened in the Southern Netherlands. I believe we should help him deal with the Rebellion."
She crossed her arms and pondered, "The Dutch people should have considerable influence in the Southern Netherlands, and we've been supporting the Dutch Patriots' Party; now it's time for them to repay us."
Archbishop Brienne immediately nodded. "That is certainly possible, Your Majesty, but in reality, I believe His Majesty Joseph II could easily suppress the several thousand rioters in Brabant."
Joseph frowned as he recalled information about the Brabant Revolution.
This is not Rebellion that Austria can easily resolve!
Historically, United Kingdom, Prussia, and the Netherlands quickly intervened in this turmoil, and then an uprising broke out in Liège in the eastern part of the Southern Netherlands. The rebel army in the Southern Netherlands alone numbered more than 20,000. With the help of the Prussia intervention forces and the large sums of money provided by the Netherlands, their fighting power was not to be underestimated.
In reality, the Austria army that quelled the rebellion encountered fierce fighting as soon as it entered the Southern Netherlands and was almost annihilated by the Allied Forces Prussia and the Netherlands.
The Austria commander was forced to retreat to Luxembourg to establish defenses and urgently requested assistance from Vienna.
At that time, Joseph II died, and the newly enthroned Leopold II, seeing the situation was not good, had no choice but to withdraw his brother Joseph II's reforms in order to stabilize the Southern Netherlands and the domestic situation.
Subsequently, Leopold II provided considerable benefits to the Hungarians under his rule, including a complete reversal of the reforms implemented there, which ultimately gained the support of the Hungary Nobility.
Soon after, Austria assembled almost all its troops from Hungary, Bohemia, Moravia, and Galicia, totaling 180,000 men, along with the Grand Duke of Bavaria's more than 10,000 troops, and marched in a grand procession to the Southern Netherlands.
Meanwhile, in Prussia, King William II handed over more than 100,000 Prussian Army to the Duke of Brunswick and rallied Saxony, Mainz, Hesse, and other countries to form Allied Forces of 150,000 men, determined to intervene in the situation in the Southern Netherlands.
William II even demanded that Poland, a newly allied nation, send troops to reinforce Southern Netherlands. Prince Poniatowski prepared 30,000 troops, but hesitated to send them because he did not want to offend Austria.
Even so, the Southern Netherlands Rebel Army and the Prussia allied Allied Forces were roughly equal in number to the Austrian Army.
At the end of 1790, a large-scale battle broke out between the two sides, which was considered by the European Continent countries to be the beginning of another Seven Years' War.
However, just as the war was escalating, infighting broke out between the Conservatives and Liberals within the Southern Netherlands Rebel Army.
Ultimately, the Liberals Van der Noot successfully seized power, the Conservatives Onck went into exile, and the rebel army was thrown into chaos.
Taking advantage of the situation, the Austrian Army launched an attack and quickly occupied key cities such as Liège and Brussels, while the Prussian Army retreated to the Netherlands.
Just as William II was preparing to amass more troops for a counterattack, the France Great Revolution escalated, attracting the attention of Prussia and Austria.
Then Louis XVI was beheaded, and the two countries immediately ceased hostilities, issued the Declaration of Pillnitz, and formed the First Anti-French Alliance. The troops from both sides then joined together on the Southern Netherlands East Indies front, becoming a force to intervene in France.
It can be said that Louis XVI selflessly used his own life to avert a potential "Second Seven Years' War".
Joseph tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest of his chair. Now that he had suppressed the French Great Revolution, the war triggered by the Brabant Revolution was likely to continue to escalate.
In this great war, how can France maximize its own interests with minimal losses?
At the head of the conference table, Queen Mary said firmly, "At least it will give my poor brother a break. There's nothing we can do by going to greet the Dutch people, and we'll even gain Austria's gratitude. Let's do it."
Joseph shook his head inwardly. Austria's main focus was on Prussia at the moment, but that did not mean they had a deep friendship with France.
On the contrary, France was the biggest obstacle for Austria to become the dominant power in the European Continent. They always regarded France as their biggest hypothetical enemy.
The reason why the Anti-French Alliance was formed so quickly in history was not just a pretext to "avenge Louis XVI and his wife." The core factor was that Austria, Prussia, and United Kingdom wanted to take advantage of France's chaos and weakness caused by the Great Revolution Depression to eliminate this major threat to France in one fell swoop!
Had it not been for Napoleon's sudden rise to power, 19th-century France might have been utterly devastated by the anti-French Allied Forces and even fragmented into a host of small states.
Don't be fooled by the fact that her mother is an Austria princess; it doesn't prove anything. When Austria wants to take action, it won't hesitate. As for kinship, all the Royal House in Europe are related, but over the centuries, whenever there's a conflict of interest, they'll immediately start fighting like dogs.
Therefore, there's no need to talk about feelings between countries; there are only interests involved!
Only by developing France into a powerful nation can it achieve true security in the continent of Europe, where powerful countries abound.
Joseph quickly recalled the historical trajectory of Austria, Prussia, and other countries in his mind, and gradually outlined a general framework for profiting France by taking advantage of the Brabant Revolution.
He looked at Queen Mary: "Your Majesty, we should indeed help Austria."
Seeing the Queen smile, he immediately added, "But perhaps we can also take this opportunity to acquire Wallonia, you know, it's a very important place for France."
Wallonia is a large region in the South Southern Netherlands, and its inhabitants are almost entirely French speakers, naturally very close to France.
More importantly, it has some of the largest Coal Mine in Europe!
Coal was the lifeblood of the Industrial Revolution, and it was all the more precious to France, which was naturally short of coal.
The Saar Region —also known as Alsace and Lorraine —could supply France with its most basic coal needs, but its reserves were insufficient to support its takeoff during the Industrial Revolution.
This is also a major reason why, no matter how hard France tried in history, it could never compete with Britain and Germany in the First Industrial Revolution.
It can be said that securing coal from Wallonia and iron from Luxembourg laid the foundation for France's Industrial Revolution.
Of course, France's current desire for the Wallonia is mainly due to its more than 1.5 million French residents and the nearby Rhine River.
Queen Mary fell silent upon hearing this. She hadn't expected her son to so calmly point out France's interests. In contrast, she had only thought of helping her ailing brother.
She nodded slightly, agreeing with the Crown Prince's statement.
Although she was Joseph II's sister, she was first and foremost the Queen of France, and for her, the interests of France had to come first!