Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 228

Chapter 228: Chapter 115, Prepare for a Rainy Day

Translator: 549690339

The Holy Roman Empire was reestablished, and there was a mess of things to deal with. The restructuring of government administrative organizations, as well as the distribution of rights and obligations between the state governments and the Central Government, all required Franz’s personal involvement.

The restructuring of government administrative organizations essentially transformed the Austrian Central Government into the Central Government of the New Holy Roman Empire, which had direct jurisdiction over the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Bavaria.

Taking into consideration the issue of domestic stability, Franz exercised considerable restraint in the allocation of power. Aside from taking command of the military and foreign diplomatic rights, he refrained from seizing any other powers.

Of course, this didn’t mean the Central Government was unable to intervene in local affairs; it’s just that under normal circumstances, the Central Government would not interfere with the internal affairs of the sub-states.

Should a sub-state encounter problems, such as local rebellions or coups, significant upheavals would naturally warrant intervention from the Central Government.

Beyond these issues, the most troublesome was the allocation of financial income. Local governments were definitely expected to hand over a portion of their financial revenues to the Central Government, and the specific ratio became a contentious point.

The state governments naturally hoped to contribute just a few percentage points to the Central Government’s finances and freely allocate the remainder; whereas the Central Government desired a larger proportion, determining the allocation to local governments based on actual needs.

The struggle over finances was, in essence, a struggle for power, which made the issue more complex and difficult to unravel in a short period.

The specifics would have to wait until the constitution was drafted, at which point things could finally be clarified. Franz advocated for legal governance and would not act without a legal basis.

Even in the power struggle between the Central Government and the state governments, any action had to be lawful. Franz would absolutely not allow any breach of the rules to occur.

Belvedere Palace

Prime Minister Felix reported, “Your Majesty, the reserve forces have been fully mobilized; the wartime economic system has been lifted, and the domestic economy is resuming normal operations.

Overall, the western advance strategy has come to a successful conclusion. However, numerous problems have been exposed, and it’s fortunate there was no outbreak of a major war, or else our troubles would have been much greater.

The main issue was the lack of organizational experience and the weak coordination capabilities of the various departments.

By the conclusion of the Paris meeting, we had mobilized a total of 1.247 million reservists, along with 542,000 active troops, making a combined force of 1.789 million people.

The logistics of supporting a mobilization of this scale were far more challenging than the departments had estimated. It’s a good thing that war did not break out in the end; with so many troops in combat, our preparations could have only lasted three or four months at most.

This is the final statistical report, please review it.”

Having finished, Prime Minister Felix still seemed somewhat shaken. The sudden demonstration of power by the Austrian Empire to other nations was not as glorious as it appeared on the surface.

For such a large force, calculating 15,000 bullets per ton, if each person fired just one bullet, that would be 119 tons of ammunition gone.

Not to mention fighting in a war, even just the monthly routine training would consume thousands of tons of ammunition, and that doesn’t even include the artillery.

Indeed, after the Austrian mobilization of so many troops, there was a severe lack of artillery. While it was easy to establish reserve infantry, technical services like the artillery were not so simple to stockpile.

Being able to operate artillery didn’t automatically make one an artillerist; missing the target was equivalent to wasted effort. Qualified artillerists, in addition to having certain knowledge, had to be trained with sufficient ammunition.

Franz nodded and thought to himself: The current consumption is considered small. A few years from now, when weapons undergo updates and upgrades, the consumption of weaponry and ammunition could increase by several times, and that would present a much bigger problem.

Having taken the report, Franz glanced over it briefly and understood why Prime Minister Felix was so emotional; the expenditure was indeed astronomical.

A single armed parade and demonstration cost an astounding 137 million shields, and if one included the cost of mobilizing the reserve forces and consuming various materials domestically, the total expenditure reached 211 million shields.

Seeing this figure, Franz suddenly realized why, after the Crimean War, the countries of Europe were all trying to avoid war as much as possible.

This was without even engaging in battle; if actual combat had ensued, the final cost of military expenditure was unfathomable.

Of course, the 211 million shields on the report wasn’t entirely in cash expenses; most were accounted for in material costs, only they were directly converted for ease of calculation.

Franz, concerned, asked, “Has the Cabinet considered the practicalities of enfeoffing a group of meritorious individuals to the Balkan Peninsula?”

The absence of a war didn’t mean there were no persons of merit. Such a large-scale military movement would naturally produce some distinguished individuals, just not as many as an outright war would.

Rewards must be given for merit, and while Franz, a great noble, would not bestow titles on himself, he was not stingy when it came to ennobling the small landowning knights; this was, after all, the main goal for the majority who enlisted.

Prime Minister Felix answered, “Your Majesty, in this westward strategy, since war did not break out, everyone’s military exploits are quite limited.

It is almost impossible to obtain titles and lands within the Empire. The Cabinet suggests granting fiefs in the Balkan Peninsula and relaxing the conditions accordingly.

Also, we are preparing to encourage domestic nobility to exchange their fiefs for lands in the Balkan Peninsula to strengthen our control over the area.”

Would any nobles be willing to exchange? The answer is no!

No one is a fool; why would anyone give up well-developed land to start anew somewhere else?

However, there is a type of person who is willing to go: the emerging near-nobility, whose military merits have just fallen short of crossing the threshold into nobility, unable to overcome this hurdle.

In this era, becoming a noble is extremely difficult. For example, in this war, the number of soldiers and officers who could cross the nobility threshold wouldn’t exceed double figures. Spread across so many armies, perhaps not even one per division.

Since Franz’s military reform, there have been no shortage of individuals stuck in this situation; even some who have qualified to become generals based on their military merits still have not been granted noble titles.

Title signifies social status, and the Balkan Peninsula is right next to Austria. Whether it’s the Two Principalities of the Danube Basin or Serbia, they boast fertile plains that merely lack effective development.

Those with vision and ambition naturally wouldn’t pass up this chance. Once these people moved, Austria’s foundation of rule in the region would be established.

For their own benefit, they would spontaneously maintain Austrian rule and suppress the remnants of the Ottomans.

As for whether Austria could attain sovereignty over these lands, this question could be disregarded. Even without sovereignty, it wouldn’t affect everyone’s actual status, as the Ottoman Empire had no capability to reclaim these territories.

To foster independence and support a puppet regime, one must have individuals to support. Didn’t the Austrian army undertake any measures in the region? The first to be brought down were the original ruling class.

The Ottoman Empire’s nobles were captured, Ottoman officials were captured, Ottoman merchants were captured, and those who supported the Ottoman Empire were also captured…

In short, anyone with connections to the Ottoman Empire, threatening or potentially threatening Austrian rule, were all sitting in prison.

Put another way, the upper echelons of society were swept away, leaving only serfs and commoners, individuals who could write their own names were considered intellectuals.

To incite them to agitate for independence, we must first let them understand what the word “independence” means, which is not something that can be accomplished in a short time.

Franz was certain that if Austria ended its military control over the region now, social order would immediately collapse.

As liberators, the old establishment had been overthrown; naturally, a new system had to be established, and it was far more reliable to do so with our own people than with foreigners.

Franz thought for a moment and said, “Let’s do it this way, establish a ruling foundation locally as soon as possible.

If England and France were defeated in the Near East War, so be it; if they won, or perhaps fought to a standstill, then our troubles would begin.

They would not stand idly by and watch us swallow such a big piece of the pie. If the Russians couldn’t get Constantinople, they would likewise covet our gains.

In the face of interests, the reliability of alliances is not guaranteed, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the British stirred up the Tsarist Government to make a foolish move.”

This was not Franz’s mistrust without cause; the nasty reputation of Mao Xiong was not unfounded but built on countless facts, making vigilance necessary.

The British betray their allies, the French betray their allies; at least they have some semblance of decency, not going too far—at least it’s passable on the surface. When Mao Xiong betrays an ally, it’s earth-shattering.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Prime Minister Felix replied.

Balkan Peninsula

Since the Paris conference concluded, the British had the resources to teach the insubordinate Greeks a lesson.

Thinking you can escape punishment by not flying a government flag, but rather the flag of a civilian militia? Dream on! Don’t you know who is the master of trickery in this regard?

Since the Greek people were resorting to tricks, the British decided to explain the situation to them properly, of course, this time with their fists.

By October, the British reinforcements had arrived, three infantry divisions plus a division formed from the remnants of the defeated forces on the Balkan Peninsula, totaling 51,000 British troops.

Together with 16,000 Sardinian troops and 12,000 Ottoman troops, the three-nation Allied Forces set out to look for trouble with the Greeks.

The result was, of course, self-evident; the Greek “civilian militia”, which couldn’t even defeat the Ottoman Army, naturally collapsed instantly.

The Kingdom of Greek was too poor; after foolishly playing at having a navy, there was naturally no money left to update the land forces’ equipment. After blindly expanding their ranks, they couldn’t even provide a rifle for every soldier.

At first, the Ottomans were unprepared, and their forces were engaged at the front; the Greeks naturally advanced like a hot knife through butter. Once the Ottoman Empire reacted and diverted some forces from the front, their offensive was halted.

The British, now taking their turn to cut them down, did so not only to punish the ne’er-do-wells but also because they were an easy target.

John Bull also cared about face; after fighting for so long, they knew Mao Xiong was no easy foe, and fighting a splendid war was too difficult. They let the French deal with tough adversaries, as the British Army was limited in size and could not afford to stake everything on it.

In order to recover from the loss of reputation caused by the Sofia campaign, the British Army Department ordered Major General Oliver to redeem himself by restoring their public image against the Greeks.

Once the British were determined, the Greeks could not withstand the pressure; they were first driven out of Thessaloniki, and now they have retreated to Veria, and before long, it wouldn’t take much time for them to be pushed back into their own country.

Otto I was in a frenzy, the troops could not, under any circumstances, be recalled back to the country. This was not just about a military defeat, but more importantly, the loss of their “neutral status” would mean the flames of war reaching the Greek Peninsula.

On the chessboard of great power games, the Kingdom of Greek was just a mere pawn, now on the verge of becoming a sacrificed piece.

With concern, Otto I asked, “How is it, General Menshikov, would you consider deploying troops?”

The Russians bore a grudge, as at the critical moment of the second Battle of Bulgaria, the Greek people only cared about seizing territory for themselves, failing to attack the vulnerable Constantinople as requested, which could have ended the Near East war much earlier.

No matter how many reasons the Greek people had, in the eyes of the Russians, this was a betrayal, and it was impossible for them not to hold a grudge.

Moreover, the Russians were busy too, attacking Constantinople on one hand, and on the other, locked in fierce battle with the English and French navies on the Crimea Peninsula. Whether they had the capacity to assist Greece was itself a question.

The Foreign Minister answered, “Your Majesty, the Russians have put forth a condition: unless we declare war on England, France, and other countries by openly joining the alliance, they will not deploy troops to our aid.”

Seeking help from allies presumes that you are allies in the first place, right? The Kingdom of Greek had only an agreement with Austria and Russia, a gentleman’s agreement that even they had not fully adhered to. Could they really expect the Russians to take it seriously?

Otto I’s expression darkened, and he said angrily, “Did you not explain our difficulties to the Russians? Greece’s geographical position dictates that we cannot afford to be enemies with the English and French, or else we will face immediate ruin.”

As he said this, there was a lack of confidence in Otto I. What comes around goes around; initially, the Greek were wary of offending England and France while trying to seize territories, neglecting the bigger picture. Now, they needed others to consider the bigger picture for them.

“Your Majesty, the Russians are quite clear in their stance; they believe that since we have entered the war, we have already positioned ourselves against England and France,” the Foreign Minister explained.

Menshikov said, “If we still consider them allies, then we should formally join the alliance.”

This was the truth; by sending troops to attack the Ottoman Empire, not only did Greece tie up Ottoman forces, but it also interrupted their ability to gather resources in the area.

All these gaps had to be filled by the English and French. Although Greece had not declared war on them directly, their actions had already caused losses.

Otherwise, the British would not have come to fight them directly. The fact that they were not attacking Greek territory was not because the British dared not, but rather due to political necessity.

Rashly attacking a sovereign nation might draw criticism from public opinion. The British also cared for their reputation; considering how weak Greece was, the British Army needed to bolster their record of military accomplishments with them, and it was not worth breaking their guise.

Otto I was troubled; if Greece joined the alliance, their mainland would soon receive the attention of the English and French navies, and it was uncertain how many port cities would be destroyed in the fires of war.

Yet, if they refused to join the alliance, the Russians would not deploy troops to rescue them.

Considering the current situation, it wouldn’t take long for the frontline Greek forces to be defeated and retreat back to Greek soil, and for the enemy to follow suit and invade.

At that time, Greece would still be dragged into the war; he couldn’t possibly abandon the frontline troops, preventing them from returning to their homeland, could he?

If that happened, he guessed that the citizens would probably rise up against him immediately.

In a stroke of whimsy, Otto I asked, “If we demilitarize the troops returning to our homeland as a neutral country, is it possible that the British might halt their advance?”