The navy's shipbuilding plan was rejected by Franz, but the navy's budget in 1851 was raised again by more than one million guilders, reaching a height of 12,681,000 guilders.

The Austrian government's attitude towards attaching importance to the navy can be seen in general, but no matter how much it attaches importance to it, it cannot change the essence of Austria as a land power.

In 1851, the army's military spending rose even faster, soaring to 61,246,200 guilders, and the grand reserve strategy was officially launched, according to the plan, from now on, the reserve will be increased by 200,000 per year.

In 1851, the total military budget of the Austrian Empire was nearly twenty percent higher than in 1850, and war was approaching.

How could the actions of the Russians, as neighbors, be concealed from the Austrian government? Not long ago, Nicholas I also imposed a war tax under the pretext of expanding to distant lands.

If there is no Russian-Austrian secret treaty, people may still be suspicious and cannot determine the war goals of the Russians. The Austrian government, which knows the truth, is 99 percent sure that the Russian-Turkish war will break out again.

In this case, it is natural for the Austrian government, as an ally, to follow suit. How would Austria's strategy have gone without the Russians breaking the situation?

Thanks to the big moves of the Russians, the Austrian government has not made any waves in increasing military spending. In the eyes of the outside world, this is a normal reaction, and neighbors like hairy bears should be vigilant no matter how vigilant they are.

The situation in Europe has always been affected by one trigger, and the arms race is also contagious, although Russia and Austria have no intention of provoking an arms race, but everyone still follows up.

Governments have increased their military spending, with the exception of the British, who have never participated in the arms race.

Not all countries were in such a good financial situation, and the Kingdom of Prussia, which was in financial difficulties, did not follow up this time.

Frederick William IV was not a fool, and the Kingdom of Prussia simply could not support the arms race with Russia and Austria. Military spending has already exceeded half of the fiscal revenue, and if it continues to increase, it will only go bankrupt.

The French, who were also in financial difficulties, followed suit, and although the French government did not have money, the private consortium had money, so it was enough to borrow from the bank.

This is the legacy of the old empire, which has sufficient financial resources, which is why France was able to become the second country among the great powers to complete industrialization after Britain.

Belgium completed industrialization close to the British, but their industrial system was imperfect and many industries did not exist.

Although Belgium was the first to industrialize, it still did not compare with several powers in terms of industrial strength, but had advantages in some areas.

Vienna

Prime Minister Felix spoke: "Your Majesty, due to the influence of the Russians' preparations for war, except for the Kingdom of Prussia, which is in financial difficulties, has not yet moved, and all European countries have begun to expand their armaments for war.

Just a week ago, with the support of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, the French government passed the law of military expansion, and the French army was expanded by another 50,000, and after the expansion was completed, their total strength reached 436,000, second only to Russia.

For our strategy ahead, the threat from the French has risen to the top of the list, and we must be vigilant and ready to respond. ”

France has always been a traditional army power in Europe, and the Habsburgs have been fighting for hundreds of years, and the French army reached its peak during the Napoleonic era.

When it comes to the French, everyone is wary. Upon learning of France's plans to expand its army, the Austrian government immediately convened a cabinet meeting.

Franz frowned, he knew that this was not a trivial matter, and the threat of the French could not be taken too seriously.

"How many troops are there in mainland France?" Franz asked with concern

It didn't matter how many French soldiers they had, they also had a lot of colonies, and they always needed to be garrisoned. The key was to look at the forces they were concentrated on home, and this was the presence that could pose a threat to Austria.

Prime Minister Felix replied: "Before the expansion, it was 221,000, and after the expansion is completed, it is uncertain, and the worst case scenario is that all 271,000 troops remain on the mainland." ”

Franz breathed a sigh of relief, after the Russians made a move, Britain and France would definitely help the Ottoman Empire, and it was obvious that there would not be so many French troops left on home at that time.

Since the reserve system is rotten, it will take a certain amount of time for the French to expand their army before they can develop combat effectiveness, and this is the opportunity.

What worries him the most is that the French government will restore the reserve system and return to the Napoleonic era, and the war mobilization mechanism that can recruit millions of troops at any time is the most threatening.

Obviously, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was not very good in military terms. Otherwise, during the Franco-Prussian War, it would not have been possible to mobilize only 220,000 troops and hastily fight a decisive battle with the Prussians, and be beaten all over the ground with more than twice the superior force.

Perhaps because the loss was too unjust, the French were not convinced after the war, and the British provoked it, and France and Germany became inseparable mortal enemies.

Franz asked uncertainly: "If the French just use so many troops to intervene, we should be able to hold back, right?" ”

Professional questions, but also professional answers.

Franz believed that he still had a certain military level, and this level was mainly reflected in strategy. If it is specific to tactics, it is estimated that there is no problem in commanding battles below the regimental level.

Now this kind of movement is the battle of hundreds of thousands of troops, or the chief of the General Staff, Marshal Radesky, has more say, he has fought with the French army at its peak, and has personal experience.

Marshal Radesky thought for a moment and replied: "Your Majesty, the current French army is no longer as invincible as it was in the Napoleonic era.

With equal forces, we can have a decisive battle with the French.

If we wait for the Kingdom of Bavaria to build the railway and then take military action, we will be able to reach Baden within a week and keep the French out of the country. ”

Ever since he saw the Austrian government's strategy for a railway network, Marshal Radesky saw the enormous military use of railways.

Since railways can be used to transport goods, they can also be used to transport troops, and at the same time, they can effectively provide logistical support.

The South German region is not a tiger's den, Austria has been operating in these areas for many years. Sending troops is almost a sweep, and with nationalists as the leading party, it is difficult for these small states to resist.

As long as the speed is fast enough and these small states are not given the opportunity to collude with the French, there will be no major changes.

It didn't even take too long, only two or three months, and after the political leveling of the national leadership, the armies of these German states could be transformed into a resistance to the French invaders together with the Austrian army.

With the support of the local population, Austria was in an invincible position. The current France is no longer the era of Napoleon, and it can be pushed all the way through.

Prince Wendy Schretz, Minister of War, said: "Not only in South Germany, but also in the Lombardy region with the Kingdom of Sardinia if the French intervene, so that we can fight on two fronts. ”

Marshal Radesky shook his head and said: "It doesn't matter, they beat theirs, we beat ours."

If France dares to send the main force to the Italian region, it is a big deal not to fight the Italian region, and we will fight directly to Paris.

In terms of distance, we are more advantageous. I don't know if we can capture Paris, but we can bet with the French government.

If we lose the bet, it will be a Lombardy, and if we win, the price to pay for the French will be great. ”

Looking at the controversy between the two, everyone tacitly did not participate. This is exactly what Franz wants, and if there is no contradiction between the War Department and the General Staff, he will have to be replaced.

It has nothing to do with trust, it's the instinct of the Emperor's Balancing Technique.

If you let your subordinates collude, then they will be deceived and concealed, and there are not one or two emperors who have been set aside in history.

In the same way, you can't let your subordinates fight, everyone is busy fighting, who is going to do things?

Prince Wendy Schgretz thought for a moment and retorted: "The French are not papier-mâché, how can they conquer it in a short time?"

Once Paris could not be conquered and the war reached a stalemate, the superiority of the French in fighting on home soil was manifested, and they could quickly mobilize hundreds of thousands of cannon fodder.

These cannon fodder units have not been trained, but when defending their homes and the country, they can still rely on morale to make up for the lack of training.

At that time, we will still have to withdraw in vain due to logistical supplies, and it will be difficult for Italy to recover. ”

Not to be outdone, Marshal Radetzky said: "Even if we can't conquer Paris, we can make the French demoralized."

They can concentrate their forces to defend Paris, and they will have no defenders in the rest of the region, and if they will not compromise, we will burn and loot all the way, destroying the industrial and commercial system of their northeastern regions.

Don't dare to say anything else, create millions of homeless people to come out, encourage these people to rob, to plunder, and spread the chaos throughout France.

They are too busy to take care of themselves at home, can they still not withdraw their troops from the Italian region? Is it possible for a Kingdom of Sardinia to stop us from recovering Italy? ”

Sure enough, the old guys are ruthless characters, if they really do this, it is estimated that the French will not be able to recover for more than ten years, and Austria and France have become mortal enemies, and the mainstream of international contradictions in the future will be Austrian and French contradictions.

What if Franz was given the choice? Of course I did it, but I became an enemy anyway, what's the difference between being fifty and doing a hundred?

If you make a feud, you will make a vendetta, who is afraid of whom? It's a big deal to pretend to be a grandson to the British, just don't challenge sea power, Austria's geographical location dictates that the threat from the sea is almost zero.

After lying down the French once, the military spirit was beaten. The Austrian Empire, after the unification of South Germany, was completely reborn.

Metternich acted as a peacemaker and said with a smile: "Don't be so angry, as long as we choose the right time and create the established facts, the French are likely to acquiesce."

They are not fools, and if I put in three or four hundred thousand troops in the South German region, how could they risk sending troops if they did not have the same strength?

Besides, if the French want to intervene in us, the best route for sending troops is from the Rhineland, and the Kingdom of Prussia will dare to borrow it from them?

When we do it, the Kingdom of Prussia will most likely follow, and the French oppose our unification of South Germany, so are they willing to watch the Kingdom of Prussia unify North Germany?

They had their eye on the lands west of the Rhine in the German Confederation, and a strong Prussian kingdom was not in their interest.

In the future, we and Prussia will remain allies in dealing with the French. ”

After listening to Metternich's explanation, everyone was overjoyed. Persimmon looking for soft pinching, bullying the soft and afraid of hard is the theme of this era.

What the French wanted was not in the hands of Austria, and even if they interfered in the unification of the German regions, it was essentially for the sake of profit.

On the contrary, the Kingdom of Prussia wanted to keep the territory west of the Rhine, and had to fight to the death with the French. Want to compromise? Will the nationalists in the country say yes?

Franz said slowly: "Well, the French problem is over. The problem now is the arms race in the countries of Europe, and our good neighbor, the Kingdom of Prussia, can no longer hold on.

It seems that this Prussian-Danish war was not fought in vain, and it will be difficult for the Kingdom of Prussia to get out of the predicament in the short term, which is also a good thing for us.

Judging by the current situation, the Russians should start the war in 1851, and no later than 1852, should we escalate the arms race? ”

There is no doubt that the only countries on the European continent that can threaten Austria are Russia, France and Prussia. Now that the Kingdom of Prussia is in a financial crisis and cannot keep up, it is Russia, France and Austria to escalate the arms race at this time.

Prime Minister Felix gritted his teeth and said: "Your Majesty, we can bet that after the Russians provoke the war, Britain and France will send troops to intervene, and the opportunity to unify the South German region will appear."

Now escalate the arms race, first eliminate the Kingdom of Prussia, and then say, one less competitor, we have one more chance of success.

If you lose the bet, it's a big deal to implement the Balkan strategy first, and you won't lose anything! ”

How is it possible not to lose? In Prime Minister Felix's view, it would have been a loss-making business not to go west to Germany and to carve up the Balkans.

But in order to gain the support of the Balkans, he also gave up. If the fighter plane appears, it will unify the South German region, and if it does not appear, it can only fight rabbits in the grass and go to the Balkans to make up for the losses.

Marshal Radesky said excitedly: "Your Majesty, this risk is worth taking, if you lose, it will be tens of millions of guilders, and if you win, it will be South Germany!" ”

If you really lose, it's a big deal to spend tens of millions of dong on military spending. This is not a complete waste, but it has increased military strength.

The Austrian government is not an iron head, and it has to rush upward.

If the international situation is unfavorable and it is impossible to advance westward, you can go to the south to bully the Ottoman Empire and make up for the losses. Even if Russia really went to the Far East to eat ice, Austria would not be afraid to do it alone.

Thinking of this, Franz had already made a decision in his mind.