War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

To be honest, Archduke Karl had a very bad first impression of the young man in front of him when they met again.

The first time Archduke Charles met Alexander was at a ceremony when Nicholas I awarded him the Order of Santa Anna, First Class.

(The Order of Saint Anna, First Class, a high-level Russian medal, is often awarded to veterans who have served for many years and important foreign generals.)

Although Alexander was just a child at that time, he was meticulously groomed from top to bottom, showing both the vigor of a child and the rigor of a soldier.

So when Nicholas I wrote a letter, hoping that Archduke Karl could take his little daughter to a "blind date" with Alexander, he readily agreed.

But today's meeting made Archduke Karl very disappointed. What he saw was a disheveled libertine who smelled of alcohol and women's perfume. What was even more annoying was the way Alexander looked at his daughter, like a market scoundrel. .

However, Alexander didn't think so much. He was still evaluating Karolina's appearance in the future, and she might be the type he likes.

Alexander liked Uncle Karl quite a lot because he would not insist on line tactics like the old antiques in the Russian army.

Archduke Karl's skirmishing tactics and defensive tactics were evil in the eyes of Nicholas I, but in the eyes of Alexander, he was a hard-to-find confidant.

Starting from Napoleon, Europe's tactical thinking was to attack, attack, and attack again. This idea continued until World War I.

Archduke Karl's hobby is the iron barrel array, layer after layer of defense, digging ditches and building parapets, and he wishes he could build a bastion in his hometown opposite.

Since Nicholas I was a military fan, Alexander was forced to study military affairs since he was a child. Alexander's biggest hobby was to do the opposite of Nicholas I. If you attack, I will defend. When you confront me, I will launch a sneak attack.

As a result, Alexander suffered severe beatings from Nicholas I since he was a child.

Alexander's teacher was a conservative, but what's interesting is that he wanted his student to become a Russian monarch who advocated civilization and guided openness in the future.

Under his long-term instruction, Alexander became a liberal with great sympathy for the Decembrists.

The Decembrists launched a rebellion in the Senate Square that year, and Nicholas I had forgiven their sins (shooting the Governor of St. Petersburg, a reactionary rebellion.). He did not want to step on the blood of his subjects to ascend to the throne, and hoped to adopt a tolerant policy.

At that time, the cavalry of the Guards who swore allegiance to Nicholas I had been assembled, but Nicholas did not issue an order to suppress it.

Even after repeated urging from his officers, he only issued an order to expel.

However, the Guards were not expelled. Instead, they shot back the Guards cavalry. The deaths of dozens of Guards cavalry also strengthened Nicholas I's determination to suppress the bloodshed.

In the end, Nicholas I ascended to the throne of Tsar with the blood of Russians.

Nicholas I wanted Alexander to find a Prussian princess, so Alexander decided to find an Austrian princess, because Prussia and Austria were sworn enemies.

It's just that Nicholas I already knew Alexander's thoughts.

So arrangements were made, causing Alexander to misjudge and think that Nicholas I wanted him to marry a Prussian princess.

At this time, Alexander felt that he was full of masculine charm, unrestrained and unrestrained. The little girl must have been embarrassed to see him, and Archduke Karl must have admired him very much.

Alexander was thinking in his mind, "Let's have a meal, dance a little, set a wedding date, and then go back home and piss that old bastard off to death."

Archduke Karl looked at Alexander and his party, thinking they were here to greet him, but these people had taken out their luggage, and he couldn't help but feel a little confused.

"Alexander, are you leaving?"

"Oh, something unpleasant happened just now. There are too many Jews in this hotel arranged by Prince Metternich. I am not used to it." Alexander said.

Of course, Archduke Karl knew who was staying at the Caesar Hotel, and he also knew the Russians' attitude towards the Jews, he said quietly.

"There is something special about the Jews who live here. They are all partners of the imperial government."

"It's quite special. There is actually King Solomon in it."

Archduke Karl naturally understood what this meant. Alexander was complaining.

Archduke Karl also hated people like Solomon, but the vulgarity and frivolity revealed in Alexander's words and deeds just now refreshed his understanding.

"When did this kid Alexander become so unreliable?" he sighed in his heart.

Alexander's words just now made Archduke Karl feel very embarrassed. Prince Metternich happened to hear the news and rushed over.

"You should sort out your own mess."

Archduke Karl sullenly said a word and then left with Karilina. His guards followed closely behind, leaving behind a confused Alexander and a grimacing Prince Metternich.

Schonbrunn Palace, Franz's bedroom.

In 1836, Austria's fiscal revenue continued to increase and had reached 170 million florins, and with the improvement of railway transportation, revenue was likely to continue to increase.

It's just that as Austria's fiscal revenue increases, its expenditures also increase, and the increase is faster than the income growth.

The Army requires the replacement of new M1831 rifles and updated smoothbore cannons to cope with the war that may break out at any time in the future.

The imaginary enemy of the Austrian Army was the French Army. The French Army purchased a batch of new equipment. This made the Army faction headed by the Minister of War, Count Toural, unable to sit still and strongly demanded funding.

Even without appropriations, the War Department was quietly updating the Army's equipment.

These include the sale of obsolete weapons to Mexico and Chenla, but the limited scale of the transaction cannot satisfy the appetite of the Austrian Army. At the same time, Austria's lack of maritime transport capacity has resulted in the Army being pocketed by middlemen.

Austria's navy uses Venetian heritage, most of which were built during the Napoleonic Wars. Most of them are in a scrapped state and cannot carry out ocean warfare at all.

Because the imaginary enemy of the Austrian Navy has always been Barbary's human traffickers.

Therefore, the ships of the Austrian Navy are built around the three points of small, smart and fast.

The Austrian Navy's design concept of small boats carrying small guns has resulted in the Austrian Navy being the only navy in Europe that can sail on inland rivers.

However, this concept has long been outdated. Now is the era of cannons and giant ships. Whoever has bigger cannons and bigger ships has more say.

The Austrian Navy is still somewhat self-aware. They did not ask for the construction of first- and second-level battleships. They just wanted to build some fourth- or fifth-level battleships to maintain their absolute advantage over the Italian region and retain the ability to fight the French squadron. hope.

In addition to this, there were subsidies that had existed since the time of Francis II, free schools in Dalmatia and free food in Galicia.

The Governor of Galicia would regularly give some grain and poultry to the serfs in Galicia in the name of the country to reduce serf rebellion.

In fact the Galician serfs mythologized the Habsburg rulers, just as the Russian serfs liked to view the Czar as a loving father.

When Austria annexed Dalmatia, it exempted locals from military service. This was widely praised at the time, but now proved to be a bad move, which led to long-term poverty in Dalmatia.

The Croatian region, which is even more barren than Dalmatia, has maintained positive population growth through military service for the empire.

In Dalmatia, the Austrian imperial government had to allocate funds to help the poor.

The dredging of rivers, the restoration of the silver mines in Tyrol, and the maintenance of road traffic almost overwhelmed the Austrian Empire.

Of course, Austria's debt is not included in this list. If it is not repaid, it will not be repaid.