War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

The scandal that occurred in Milan made the top leaders of Vienna very angry. Such a large-scale riot, with such a large number of casualties, and occurring in a core city, had only happened in Hungary before.

However, they seemed to only intend to deal with the local officials and garrison, feeling that this was caused by the incompetence of the officials and the negligence of the garrison.

But Franz's view is just the opposite. Both local officials and the garrison are very capable. After all, a riot of this scale will turn into a massacre if not careful, just like the French in Lyon and Alsace-Lotus. I'm like that.

The great powers can make a big fuss about this, and even secondary powers like the Kingdom of Sardinia are not considered effective. As long as they have enough strength, they can also propose to the Austrian Empire to let Lombardy become independent (Milan belongs to the Lombardy Region).

Although it sounds like a joke now, historically it was this small country with an area less than one-eighth of France that unified Italy and eventually expelled the forces of Austria and France.

In fact, riots/uprisings often occurred in Europe in this era, and due to technical limitations, not many of them could be detected and stopped in advance.

Whether it was the workers' uprising in Britain, the assassinations of political figures and celebrities by radicals, or several large-scale uprisings in France (workers' strike in Lyon, peasant tax uprising in Provence), the Silesian uprising in Prussia, the Polish uprising in Russia, or even It was a Decembrist coup.

The actual results of the above are much worse than what happened in Milan, so Franz felt that local officials and the army should be rewarded.

Franz knew very well how difficult it was for those Italian officials to serve. They were constrained by local forces all day long, and there were not many capable people under his command. Although he had the emperor's decree as a guarantee, the most he could do was to hit the obvious places. They are just separatist forces (local overlords).

But in fact, local businessmen, churches, and gangs have long formed an interest group, and under the banner of tradition and religion, they coerce people and corrupt and morally kidnap officials.

This is one of the main reasons why local people cannot serve as the highest administrative and military governors.

As for the military, this kind of extremely restrained security warfare often causes huge losses, and at the same time causes great psychological pressure on the soldiers.

Long-term depression can even drive ordinary people crazy. As a high-risk profession as a soldier and with little social status at the time, it is difficult to say what these people will do in the future.

Franz did not intend to let this group of people shed blood and tears, and even die without money and no way to rest in peace.

However, the national system cannot be changed arbitrarily, and naturally it cannot start from wages and pensions, so it can only appear in the form of awards, otherwise it will only arouse the jealousy of the armies in other regions.

Of course, Franz was not prepared to pay for this money alone, so he applied for this job from the imperial government.

In fact, Lombardy was nominally the territory of Archduke Franz Karl. As the eldest son of the former, it was understandable that Franz Joseph went to inspect the people's situation and express condolences to the army.

The higher-ups of the empire were a little uneasy because there had just been an uprising in the area and Franz might be in danger, which would be a heavy blow to both the royal family and the empire.

Franz didn't think so. If those royal guards were really that weak, then he might die even if he stayed in the palace.

Look at the Archduchess Louise of Parma who goes against the grain all day long and offends the most radical people in France, but she still raises a group of young people and lives a luxurious and corrupt life.

Franz sympathized with the aunt's plight, but did not agree with her actions.

But Franz doesn't plan to go to Parma this time, he just wants to solve what happened in Milan.

Because Franz's attitude was very resolute, the empire had no choice but to agree. Both the imperial government and Mrs. Sophie felt that Franz needed a guardian.

Franz Joseph then boarded the train to Milan with his father, Archduke Franz Karl.

Franz was so confused by this operation that he didn't know who would be watching whom next.

Franz even suspected that Mrs. Sophie was planning something, but the latter denied it and said that she just hoped that the former and his father would strengthen their relationship.

The train was a bit boring. There were more than a thousand people on the train, all of them were guards and servants. The railway company even made temporary modifications to accommodate the two royal princes.

A giant bulletproof glass window was installed in the middle car, allowing a clear view of the scenery outside the window.

Archduke Franz Karl shouted with excitement as he watched the scenery passing by outside the window.

"Look! Franz! The tree moves!"

"Father, it's the train that's moving."

"Look! Franz! The bird is flying backwards!"

"Father, we are the ones moving forward."

"Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow!! It's so fast! It's more fun than riding a horse!"

"Father, you might consider sitting down for a drink and then some sleep, we're here."

"Nice offer, a shot of tequila."

Adjani immediately stepped forward and filled a glass for Archduke Franz Karl.

"Please enjoy."

"Thank you." Usually, his chamberlain or his own servant poured wine for him. Archduke Franz Karl was still not used to it, so he instinctively looked at it twice before saying to his son.

"Franz, won't you have a drink?"

Adjani, a good-hearted person, immediately picked up the bottle, and Franz quickly held down the glass.

"I'd like some juice, please."

Adjani glanced at Kagura, who immediately lowered her head and walked backwards.

"When will you grow up like this?" Archduke Franz Karl said meaningfully.

"Father, increasing age has nothing to do with whether you drink alcohol."

"Why doesn't it matter?"

“Age is only a function of the passage of time.”

"Then why does time pass?"

"Because that is an objective law!"

"What are the objective laws?"

Franz held his forehead and did not want to continue with this endless question: "Father, you drink too much."

"I don't have much"

"Drunk people are like this."

"Okay, then I'm going to have a rest. You can eat and drink well!"

The Lombard government held a grand welcome ceremony at the station, after which the two royal princes were arranged into a palace of the Habsburg family.

Then there was the overwhelming gift list and boxes of gifts. After all, they are members of the royal family, especially since the father and son are the first and second heirs to the throne.

In fact, the nobles and businessmen in these places usually have no chance to give gifts to the father and son, and usually those things will not be accepted.

This time, these people were surprised, because the two grand dukes accepted everything. But think about it, after all, the father and son in the legend are not normal.

Adjani actually didn't understand. After all, the gifts given by these gentry in Lombardy were too shabby compared to the gifts she received in Vienna.

And no matter how generous the gift is, Franz rarely accepts it.

Faced with Adjani’s questions.

Franz’s answer was “take it from the people, use it for the people.”