The strategy of a large reserve has been adopted, and an increase in military spending is inevitable. In the short term, the increase in military spending is not obvious, and if Austria's fiscal revenue does not rise, it will also be a heavy burden in the future.

No matter how cheap it is to maintain a reserve, the cost of military spending will not be less than 15 percent of that of the regular army. Weapons and equipment can be used from the old goods eliminated by the regular army, and soldiers' salaries can be saved, but training expenses cannot be saved in any way.

Under normal circumstances, the Austrian reserve forces have no less than two months of training every year, and after the training is completed, the government will pay a condolence allowance to some extent.

According to the calculation of 200,000 new reserve soldiers every year, this expenditure is equivalent to an annual expansion of 30,000 troops, and the total number of reserve troops will be capped after reaching 2 million, which is equivalent to an increase of 250,000 troops on the current basis. (Deduct the existing 500,000 reserves)

If Austria's fiscal revenue had grown at a rate of growth in the past, it was estimated that it would not last long, and the plan would have been aborted.

Franz couldn't help but rejoice that the industrial age had come, otherwise Austria, an agricultural country, really couldn't afford to raise so many soldiers.

"Considering that the future overseas colonial strategy will require close cooperation between the army and the navy, I have decided to establish a General Staff, with Marshal Radesky as the first Chief of the General Staff." Franz threw a bombshell

There is no doubt that this general staff is independent of the army and navy, and nominally only coordinates the cooperation of the army and navy, but in fact, in wartime, this general staff is above the army and navy.

How can I coordinate if I don't have the right? Do you still want to send someone to reason with the troops below?

Especially this first chief of staff, Field Marshal Radesky, as a highly respected presence in the Austrian army, can he still overhead the General Staff?

"Your Majesty, our colonial overseas strategy has not yet reached the time to be implemented, is it too early to set up a general staff." Prince Wendy Schretz objected

To oppose, there must be opposition. The addition of a General Staff, which in many places overlaps with the powers of the Army and the Navy, will inevitably greatly crowd out their powers.

Compared to Prince Wendy Schgretz's fierce reaction, the Admiralty Chancellor, who does not have much presence, does not matter.

It was a matter of time before the establishment of an organization to coordinate the two armies, and the fact that Marshal Radesky, who was born in the army, as chief of the general staff, certainly demonstrated the dominant position of the army.

The Chief of the General Staff, who is also from the Army, will find it difficult to meddle in the Navy. In the case of a mismatch in the profession, the famous Marshal Radesky will never interfere, right?

The establishment of the General Staff also marked the Austrian government's formal determination of the overseas colonial strategy, and the construction of the navy became inevitable.

With Austria's international status, the navy must be among the top five in the world, otherwise it will have no confidence when it goes out to grab territory.

Compared with this benefit, some rights are damaged, which is completely acceptable to the Admiralty. Not to mention anything else, this year's naval military spending can be increased by several million.

Franz casually found a reason to explain: "It's better to prepare early, so you don't have to be in a hurry." Now that the European continent is still in balance, it is unknown when this situation will be broken.

Although we judge that the Russians may do something against the Ottoman Empire, there is a chance that if the Russians go to Central Asia to expand, or if they go to the Far East to expand.

Our original strategic plan was not feasible to be implemented. Then the overseas colonization strategy can also be prioritized in the first place. ”

The Russians were stupid enough to let go of the Ottomans, who were close at hand, and went to Central Asia or the Far East to eat soil.

Regardless of whether Prince Wendy Schretz can accept it or not, it will be Franz to save face if he copes with it. Take it out and discuss it with everyone, that is to reflect democracy, and by the way, check and fill in the gaps.

If everyone is against it, it proves that the plan is not credible. Either it's too advanced for everyone to accept; Either it is not in line with Austria's national conditions and cannot be implemented.

In this case, Franz will naturally take it back from the good. If Prince Wendy Schretz opposes it now, then the resolution is passed.

Considering that the generals of the army might boycott the General Staff, Franz also specifically selected the respected Marshal Radesky. No matter how reluctant he was in his heart, he had to cooperate in the face of Marshal Radesky.

As long as the first generation of the Chief of the General Staff sat firmly, everyone in the back got used to it. In peacetime, the power of the General Staff was actually not great, and Franz would not let them train the command to grasp it.

Checks and balances are necessary, and the General Staff can command the entire country's armed forces during wartime, but the system of recruitment, training, and logistical support for soldiers is still in the hands of the Army and Navy Department.

In history, Franz had been prepared for the kind of thing in Germany where the General Staff directly overthrew the emperor.

In addition to these checks and balances, the palace guards and the city defense army in Vienna were also directly responsible to the emperor, and neither the War Department nor the General Staff had command authority.

……

Munich

Originally thinking that with the support of the Great Powers, the Kingdom of Bavaria would be able to integrate the small states of the German region, the reality gave Maximi I a blow to the head.

Everyone did not want to be annexed by Austria and Prussia, and they would not want to be annexed by Bavaria. In normal times, everyone has a good relationship, and that is to huddle together to keep warm and resist the threat from Austrian.

This is also the reason why Prussia is poorly staffed in the German Confederation, the Austrian threat is separated by Bavaria, and everyone still does not feel it obviously, but everyone feels the threat of Prussia as a neighbor.

"Did Württemberg refuse our wooing too?" Maximi I asked with a frown

"Yes, Your Majesty." The Foreign Secretary replied dryly

Württemberg is also considered a "great power" in the German Confederation, second only to Austria, Prussia and Bavaria in terms of territorial area.

The Kingdom of Bavaria wanted to stand on its own, and it could not have done so without Württemberg's support. Apparently no one wanted to be a stepping stone to others, and the Württemberg government did not want to become a vassal of Bavaria.

Even if everyone is only a nominal merger, in fact Württemberg still retains almost all the rights, that will not work.

No one is stupid, and if the German Confederation were now all united, Austria, which was the dominant power, would likewise retain their rights, and for no other reason would simply not swallow them.

In the same way, if Prussia annexed the small states except Austria, they could not swallow it and had to make compromises.

The same is true of the Kingdom of Bavaria now, and despite the fact that the remaining German states are not large, they are in fact almost all economically developed and densely populated areas.

So when Maximi I threw out the favorable conditions, everyone simply refused. With Austria and Prussia watching, it is impossible for Bavaria to threaten them with force.

Do you really think that with the support of the great powers, you can make everyone back down? Don't forget that the Austrians or the Great Powers, no one compromised them!

No, Prussia can only be regarded as a quasi-great power, with the military strength of the great powers, but not the national strength of the great powers.

To some extent, the Kingdom of Prussia maintained a strong army because it was afraid of being annexed by Austria.

If there was a choice, Frederick William IV was not willing to slap a swollen face and become fat. Now the Prussian government's finances could go bankrupt at any moment, but their military spending was never less than a penny.

Undercurrents were already surging within the Kingdom of Bavaria, so how could there be so many German exchange organizations in Austria that did not play a role?

The news that the Bavarian government wanted independence had been spread, and a demonstration against the country's secession was already being planned.

In order to avoid suspicion, the people responsible for planning this march were German nationalists, and Austrian-related organizations and individuals were only waving their flags and shouting.

……

Berlin

Since the end of the Prussian-Danish War, the Kingdom of Prussia has embarked on a path of reform. The first issue facing the government is finance.

Unlike in history, the Prussian-Danish War dragged on a little longer, which means that military spending increased by 50 or 60 million guilders.

Theoretically, as long as they get the money raised for them by the people of Germany, they can basically fill most of the holes.

Obviously this is impossible, let alone getting the rest of the money. At present, the embassies and offices of the Kingdom of Prussia in various states are often harassed by people collecting debts.

In the face of these people, they can't touch it, they can't scold it, and they are reasonable people who insist on it - liars.

As a last resort, these staff members did not even dare to go out to buy groceries, for fear of being hit by UFOs, and all their living problems were solved by the government of the country where they lived.

In order to divert the attention of the people, the Prussian government even did not hesitate to make concessions and proposed a "three-country responsible cabinet" together with the Kingdom of Bavaria.

Unexpectedly, it aroused the jealousy of the great powers, and under diplomatic pressure, this plan died just after it was implemented.

It would not have been possible to say that Frederick Wilhelm IV had no resentment in his heart. It's a pity that he has no place to send it when he is angry.

In this series of measures, the Prussian government behaved in a decent manner, and did not make any major mistakes, and the responsibility for the failure could not be blamed on them.

The reaction of Austria, Bavaria and other countries could not be more natural, everyone thinks about the problem from the perspective of their own interests, and no one owes anyone.

"Prime Minister, how far has the matter of borrowing money from the British progressed?" Frederick William IV asked with concern

"Your Majesty, I am afraid that it will not be possible to borrow money from the British, and they have put forward an unacceptable condition." Prime Minister Josef von Ladowitz replied with a wry smile

"What kind of conditions, there is no room for negotiation?" Frederick William IV asked suspiciously

Joseph von Ladowitz sighed and said: "The British demand that we permanently withdraw from the German Confederation!" ”

"What?" Frederick William IV asked incredulously

Withdrawal from the German Confederation? If the Kingdom of Prussia withdrew from the German Confederation, then the dream of the Kingdom of Prussia as a great power would be directly shattered, and it would be a medium-sized country at its current size.

Frederick William IV was sure that once Prussia withdrew from the German Confederation, the British would then unite France and Russia to force Austria to do the same.

By then, the remaining German states, once united, would be a medium-sized state. In the complex international situation, this newly established country may not be enterprising enough, but it is definitely more than enough to protect itself.

After a pause, Frederick William IV reacted and said casually: "No, we absolutely cannot accept such conditions, we must contact the Austrian government as soon as possible, presumably they are not willing to leave so gloomily!" ”

There is no doubt that Frederick Wilhelm IV undoubtedly thought crookedly, directly believing that the British were preparing to forcibly break up the German Confederation.

Don't look at them all the time to break the Austrian-dominated German Confederation, but the German Confederation has really split, and the most worrying thing will definitely not be Austria.

Even without the German Confederation, the Austrian Empire was also a great European empire, but the Kingdom of Prussia was not, and if they wanted to go further, they had no chance.

Chancellor Joseph von Ladowitz analyzed: "Your Majesty, we can't rush this issue, the Austrians will not give up the German region either, we just need to leak the news to the Austrian government through some channels."

The British wanted to think about it, but they couldn't really make it a reality.

Even if Britain, France, and Russia join forces to put pressure, as long as we and Austria do not let go, they will not be able to do anything, and they will not start a war against us because of this matter, right? ”

There is also the problem of the initiative in the union of Prussia and Austria, and if Prussia is sent to the door like this, will it not lose the initiative in the alliance?