War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

The battle of Saarburg was a great victory, but it was also a tragic victory. The German Allied forces lost more than 15,000 people here, and more than 8,000 of them are buried here forever.

But Albrecht had no time to grieve, let alone stay.

Because Metz was still in the hands of the French at this time, the entire Lorraine was still under French control.

If the French could not be driven from Lorraine, the plan would only be three-quarters complete.

In Franz's plan, the French should have no bargaining chips in their hands before they could accept peace unconditionally.

Franz was not prepared to help Louis Philippe or the Count of Chambord recover. He had no illusions or delusions about being able to control France.

And what the Austrian Empire needs more than expansion is a peace agreement.

At this time, both Britain and France were under tremendous pressure, but Austria was not much better, especially when it came to dealing with the Magyar rebellion.

Almost all traditional aristocrats believed that peace must first be achieved before fighting foreign aggression. They were very dissatisfied with the results of the all-out war that resulted from Franz's opposition to British and French intervention. Some even contacted Britain and France to surrender.

However, it was this group of people who were the most opposed at the beginning who are now using various personal connections to persuade Franz to go further.

After all, in their view, Britain and France had suffered heavy losses, and Russia was Austria's staunch ally. As for Prussia, William IV's poor performance throughout 1848 was completely unworthy of its status among the five major powers.

(The five major powers refer to Britain, France, Russia, Austria, and Prussia.)

Austria Vienna.

In a high-end coffee shop, a group of nobles who were once considered the most prestigious in the entire empire were gathering together.

But they don't just come for coffee.

"Britain and France have suffered heavy losses, and the Russians are on our side. The Prussians are unworthy of their virtue. Now is the best time to rebuild the empire."

The first person to speak was Harder Landsberg, who was originally a lieutenant general of the Austrian Empire and one of the senior commanders of the Vienna City Defense Force.

During the turmoil in Vienna, he chose to stand still. When he heard that the Hungarians were coming, he still stood still. During the rebellion of Lieutenant General Molka, he still chose to stand still.

Although Franz was unhappy to see this kind of person, he could not do anything to him due to the negative impact of tradition and the wide range of strikes.

After the Austrian Imperial Government chose to reject the peace agreement between Britain and France, Lieutenant General Harder chose to resign in order to confront the atrocities of the Imperial Government.

But the most excited person in the entire cafe at this time was Count Harder Landsberg.

"Are the Russians really worth trusting? They are just a group of barbarians outside of civilization. Even if they look the same as us, dress the same as us, and have faith in God, they still cannot change their barbaric nature. "

The speaker was very worried. He was Duke Mark von Altenburg, the former Financial Undersecretary of the Austrian Empire. His family was originally famous for its military and diplomacy, but by this time it had long declined.

It can be seen from his name how persistent and eager his parents are for money.

"The Russians all publicly declared that Archduke Franz was the only legal heir to the Western Roman Empire, and were ready to marry their princess over.

The Russians are still very sincere when it comes to our unification of Germany. "

The person who spoke this time was the former Foreign Minister of the Austrian Empire, Johann von Weissenberg. In fact, the nobles in this cafe were basically former high-ranking imperial officials.

However, because they were dissatisfied with Heinau's retaliatory purge in Vienna and the Austrian imperial government's refusal to accept the peace agreement proposed by Britain and France, they all chose to resign angrily.

Although their actions directly caused the situation in Austria to become more turbulent, it was a good thing in the long run.

After all, as long as these people don't make any big mistakes, it will be difficult for Franz to remove them from the core of power, and as long as nothing happens, their status will be inherited by their relatives.

During the decades of their reign, there is a high probability that a new group will be cultivated to fill the vacancy caused by the catastrophe of 1848.

Even if Franz puts new people in, those new people will have to choose to move closer to them, or form a new faction of their own.

"Now the German states are in chaos. Even without the support of the Russians, we can unify Germany."

Harder Landsberg spoke firmly, as if he had witnessed everything. But he was not the only one who had this idea, someone next to him immediately added.

"That's right! Now, except for our Austrian Imperial Government, the governments of other states in Germany are in a state of paralysis or semi-paralysis. They are simply unable to cope with new challenges!"

"Especially Bavaria and Hanover have simply lost the face of their nobility. Let alone controlling the situation, they have completely become the puppets of the rebels."

Former Foreign Minister Johann von Weissenberg was not to be outdone.

“The National Assembly was elected by the Germans because the German nation needed an emperor.

I think Archduke Franz should accept the title of German Emperor and rebuild the Holy Roman Empire. "

"That's right! Archduke Franz must have thought this way, which is why he resisted the public opinion and did not adopt the policy of settling domestic affairs first before attacking foreign countries.

After all, compared with the entire German region, the St. Stephen's Crown Territory is not worth mentioning in terms of economy, population, and resources. "

Seeing the angry crowd around him, Duke Mark von Altenberg couldn't help but say.

"This does not mean that the Austrian Empire will give up the St. Stephen's Crown Territory after unifying the German region. The St. Stephen's Crown Territory is Austria's property.

But the Magyars always tended to maintain their military strength. In addition, they often used their power and military strength to launch rebellions.

For this reason we need the power of the German states. Only with fists can these barbarians understand who is the boss!

As long as Austria unites Germany, the rebellion in the crown territory of St. Stephen will no longer be a problem! "

Duke Mark von Altenburg's conclusion immediately aroused applause from the whole house.

"Long live the Austrian Empire!"

But during this period, some people also made different voices.

"How are we going to deal with the Hungarian cavalry? Those barbarians on the steppes know nothing but drinking, whoring, and fighting, but they are undoubtedly the deadliest killers on horseback."

The Hungarian hussars are indeed a model of European cavalry and a major reliance of the Austrian Empire in many wars.

But in fact, the Austrian military aristocracy, especially the Germans, looked down upon the undisciplined Hungarian hussars, which was inconsistent with their war philosophy.

Especially after the Hungarians had been attacking Pressburg for several months without making any progress, it was difficult for the Austrian military nobles to awe the Hungarians.