As soon as there was a civil uproar, the whole world knew what the French wanted to do. The two countries began to prepare for war, and the rest of the neighbors were not idle.

Switzerland conscripted 50,000 militiamen for six months of military training; Spain expanded its infantry divisions by five and declared them to be used to suppress colonial rebellions.

The Austrian government announced a six-month postponement of retired officers and soldiers this year, while conducting anti-invasion drills across the country.

Although it is not explicitly stated, everyone knows that it is aimed at the French. The situation on the European continent suddenly became tense, and the French government, which was at the center of the storm, was embarrassed.

Interpretation?

Even though they knew that most of the French targets were Belgium and Germany, everyone still raised their vigilance, for fear that the French would play in the dark.

Affected by the tensions in Europe, the Austrian Foreign Ministry was lively. European countries have taken a stand in the hope that Austria will be able to counterbalance France's ambitions.

Franz has never been interested in the same diplomatic rhetoric, and after flipping through it casually, he frowned and asked, "Is there any substance?"

This kind of meaningless spiritual support, which can only be taken out to fool children, has no meaning to us. ”

The specific support is not mentioned, anyway, they are supporting Austria and the French in the confrontation, it is best to go up directly and fight the French to the death, everyone is at ease after losing both.

Naturally, there is no content in the diplomatic note, but Franz will also make up for it, and he will do the same in his position in other European countries.

Meaningless support is also better than none. At least it proves that Austria's popularity is not bad and it is not isolated by everyone.

When necessary, it can also be used to boost morale, increase one's own righteousness, and gain an advantage in public opinion.

Foreign Secretary Wesenberg: "Yes! The Duchy of Baden invited us to garrison our troops to defend against the French invasion; Belgium proposed a military exercise between the three countries to deter the French ambitions. ”

Since ancient times, inviting foreign troops to settle in has been a very politically risky thing.

Baden bypassed the central government to invite Austrian troops, but Franz was still slightly surprised. But given the complex relationship between the two countries, he doesn't find it strange.

Although the Holy Roman Empire collapsed for decades, the signboard did not fall, especially after the rise of nationalism, and the Holy Roman Empire was the legal basis of the ideas of Greater Germany.

Generally speaking, nationalism is the main force opposing the presence of foreign troops, but in the eyes of Baden's nationalists, Austria is also a member of the German nation.

The internal hidden dangers are gone, and the external German federal government has no right to interfere in the internal affairs of Baden, and if the central government is dissatisfied, it is better to send troops to guard the frontier.

The Imperial Diet was still in progress, the states were arguing over the distribution of troops, and Hanover, as the central government, was under pressure to defend the Rhineland, and it was too difficult to reinforce Baden.

In addition to these factors, the core factor for the Baden government to dare to invite Austrian troops was because of the in-law relationship between the two countries.

If Austria swallowed anyone, it would not be possible to turn around and deny that it had swallowed Baden, otherwise the Habsburgs would not be able to mix in the aristocratic circles.

After a little thought, Franz shook his head: "Neither proposal is realistic. The garrison of Baden at this time would not only irritate the French, but also worsen our relations with the German Confederation.

Once the French advance eastward, the German Confederation is the best meat shield, and what we need to do now is to encourage them to fight the French as much as possible, not to carry the pressure of the French for them.

Belgium's exercise plan is even more unreliable, the troops involved in the exercise are too expensive and expensive, after all, the French have not yet attacked, and they do not have the courage to take the initiative to find the bad luck of the French.

The small number of troops involved will not only not deter the French, but will also stimulate their ambitions. Perhaps the French government will strike first and directly kill the troops participating in the exercise. ”

Undoubtedly, these are excuses. In the final analysis, there is only one real reason, Franz is unwilling to be the main one and rush to the front line of resistance to France.

Humanity cannot stand the test, don't look at what everyone says beautifully, if you really defeat the French, the object of everyone's defense will become Austria.

Rather than being thankless, it is better to sit at home and wait for the situation to unfold. After the two countries were severely beaten by the French, the situation was very different when they came to help.

Prime Minister Karl worried: "The situation in France has changed too suddenly, some people can't understand it, and it always feels like someone is manipulating it behind it."

The French, guided by public opinion, stimulated their self-esteem, and it is understandable that they advocate tough measures against Belgium and Germany.

But what are the Italians running to join in? I don't believe they have such a strong sense of belonging to the French government. ”

It has been less than 20 years since France actually annexed Italy, and the older generation is still alive, and the younger generation also grew up in that special era, and it is a joke to talk about a sense of belonging.

The Bonaparte family is from Italy, but their roots are too shallow, and they have no strength in the Italian region at all.

Nothing but the influence left by the Napoleonic era, so to speak. Influence is to be transformed into strength, and it cannot be completed without cooperation.

The Italian capitalists, who originally supported the French government, were directly pushed to the opposite side because they lost in the process of competing with French capital.

If it weren't for the power of France, Italy would have been in ruins. At least the royal families of the states that have been set up want to regain power.

Foreign Secretary Wesenberg explained: "The Embassy in Rome has figured out the problems of the Italian region.

Behind it is the shadow of the Italian independence organization, and their involvement is to provoke a continental war and create opportunities for the independence of the Italian region.

In terms of the source of funding for the event, the signs are directed at the British. Combined with the current international situation, the British government did have a motive to provoke a war on the European continent. ”

The best way to check the funds for the event is that the Italian independence organization has two major funders, and the Austrian government has not contributed money, so it must be out of the pocket of the British government.

Even if other countries have the heart and the guts, if the news leaks and provokes the European war, it can crush people.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Mark Leo von Joseph: "The truth doesn't matter anymore, the point is is that war can still be avoided?"

If possible, we should finally push back the clock by another ten years, even five years, and then we will be able to kill the French in one fell swoop. ”

Settle the French at once, this is the most ideal state. The fact that the war against France did not really solve the problem is enough to explain a lot.

On the European continent, it is easy to defeat a country, but it is difficult to solve a country completely. Regardless of the cost to be paid on the battlefield, the key is international intervention.

If France, a large European country, cannot be solved at one time, it will be a long time to stay.

Austria did not ignore the power of European intervention, which meant that after a battle with the French, there would be one more mortal enemy to the west.

Otherwise, Austria would have fallen into the hands of the French as early as the time of the Paris Revolution, and there would have been no need to wait until now.

Wessenberg shook his head: "I'm afraid this question has to be asked to the French. If they were to implement the Central European strategy, this war could not be avoided.

As things stand, we have to prepare for the worst. A mere deterrent may not dampen the ambitions of the French. ”

Austria's plans for the development of the Near East have begun to show their true face, and ordinary people do not feel it deeply, but they cannot hide it from shrewd politicians.

The tsarist government was deceived into Central Asia, half because it wanted to recover Central Asia and wash away its previous humiliation; The other half is forced to be helpless.

Watching Austria's neighbor grow and the Russian Empire deteriorated, anyone could feel the pressure.

If there is no choice, then Russia and Austria will definitely part ways and end up on opposite sides because of a strategic conflict.

As a result, the British sent to the door at this time, and the tsarist government, which had planned to stop after recovering Central Asia, did not resist the temptation of India after seeing the waste materials of the British army.

Strategically, the decision of the tsarist government was not wrong. Fighting the British on land definitely has a better chance of winning than fighting Austria; The gain from defeating the British was also greater than the gain from defeating Austria.

Anyway, as long as India is annexed, the shortcomings of the Russian Empire will be filled, and naturally there is no need to be afraid of Austria.

The Russians took the initiative to attack, the British passively responded to the battle, and among the great powers, France and Austria were left to do so.

After the outbreak of the production capacity crisis, as soon as the British provoked it, the French interest groups and careerists who had suffered heavy losses could not help it.

The problem has been singled out, and politicians can't be ostriches if they want to. If the Sino-European strategy is not completed, France will always be at a disadvantage in the future international competition.

Franz, who had been silent for a long time, said slowly: "Don't look forward to it, at this point, the French government has no choice."

Unless the French government is a bunch of people who have no ambition and only want to eat and wait for death, war will break out sooner or later.

From now on, the country will enter a state of three-level alert. All military-industrial enterprises must be put into operation from now on.

Local governments should register retired officers and soldiers in their jurisdictions, and the government should ensure that 500,000 reservists can be mobilized within a week after the outbreak of war.

The Governors of the Middle East and the Governors of East Africa were ordered to prepare for war at the first level, and in the event of an invasion of Central Europe by the French, they would seize the Suez Canal and Egypt.

The governments of the states were informed that an Imperial Council would be convened on the 11th of the following month to discuss the question of defending against the French invasion. ”

Regardless of the direction of the French attack, Franz made up his mind anyway and headed for the Suez Canal.

As for the rest of Africa, which is not strategically located and separated by vast deserts, Franz is not interested for the time being.

For the Viennese government, the impending war was both a disaster and an opportunity.

Prior to this, the Vienna government only had the right to issue notes and customs duties, and the command of the army belonged to the emperor, and the central government had no right to intervene.

Although the judicial system was unified, in order to ensure judicial fairness from outside interference, the judicial system of the new Holy Roman Empire was independent of the government, including the courts, anti-corruption bureaus and other judicial departments, which were only responsible to the emperor.

Against this backdrop, the central government is naturally powerless against the highly autonomous state governments.

The Vienna government never issued a formal executive order to the state government, except through economic influence.

Theoretically, if the state government is angry, the central government can also intervene.

Unfortunately, Austria has enjoyed the dividends of expansion, and in recent years Austria has generally developed well, and the reputation of the state governments is good, and the central government has not had the opportunity to intervene at all.

Now it's different, once the war breaks out. There is no way for the state government to refuse the integration of the central government, especially the states that are on the front line, and they cannot withstand it without the support of the central government.

Exactly how to do it is a matter between the Cabinet and the state government. Power struggles have always been fought for, and no one will send them to the door if they stand still.