The Christmas of 1879 was especially lively. Apart from Prussia and Russia who were at war, the people of Europe had a good year.
According to the usual practice, the Government of Vienna assigned annual tasks to all departments after the New Year.
The only exception was the Immigration Department. Everyone knew that it would be impossible to complete the Great Immigration Strategy when the domestic economy was in full swing.
Therefore, the Immigration Department's task in 1880 was to continue the previous year's unfinished task, and there was no punishment.
In this regard, the Government of Austria was still very pragmatic. The tasks of each department were made after research and combined with the actual situation. They wouldn't act blindly for the sake of "political achievements".
Entering the new year, Franz felt that he had aged another year. He had reached the age of knowing his destiny, and he had to admit that he was getting old.
Based on the average lifespan of this era, this age could be considered as old. If it was among the people, this age would already be considered retired.
It was still better in the countryside, but in the cities, people at this age would basically be unemployed. No factory would hire people at this age.
The decline of physical strength and the lack of dexterity in their hands and feet wasn't something that could be changed by one's willpower. It was fine for those who were engaged in mental labor, but for those who were purely manual labor, apart from a few positions, most of the jobs were cut off from them.
There was no need to worry about retirement. The heavy physical labor and expensive medical system helped everyone get through the "crisis of old age".
"Franz, when do you think Frederick The Great's marriage will be held?"
Queen Helen's voice pulled Franz back from his deep thoughts.
"Isn't it a little too early?" Franz replied without thinking.
"What early?!" As if sensing that Franz wasn't interested in her son's marriage, Helen said with dissatisfaction, "Frederick The Great is already 24 years old, and Victoria is also 18. The Baden royal family has already sent a telegram, can't you be more careful?! "
Franz was stunned. He was just saying it casually! He had never seen Helen so angry after being married for so many years. He didn't expect it to be because of this matter.
Whether it was the menopause of a woman or the strength of being a mother, Franz didn't have the time to think about it.
"What are you thinking? What I mean is that it's too rushed to talk about marriage right after Christmas.
Moreover, Prussia and Russia are at war, and the European continent is covered in rivers of blood. At this critical juncture, it is too inauspicious to let Frederick The Great get married. "
After being an emperor for so many years, Franz finally realized how good he was at finding excuses. It was as if he had returned to the time when he was coaxing his girlfriend in his previous life.
The woman's inexplicable anger came and went quickly.
Hearing Franz's explanation, Queen Helen's anger subsided, but she still grumbled, "This damned war is really annoying."
She then pointed at Franz and said, "Why do you men always like to fight and kill? Why can't you sit down and have a good talk?"
Feeling a little guilty, Franz rolled his eyes and replied without a change in expression, "Because we have to support you guys!"
"The world is only so big. The gifts of nature cannot satisfy the needs of all humans. In order to survive, everyone can only fight for it.
The Prussia War was the result of the sublimation of contradictions. No one could make any concessions, and retreating would mean disaster. "
This wasn't nonsense, but there was sufficient theoretical basis. According to the analysis of the data collected by the Government of Austria, sociologists generally believed that 70% of the world's population was currently in a state of hunger, which meant that more than one billion people in the world didn't have enough to eat.
Whether it was accurate or not, there was no need to argue. Most people were in a state of poverty, and it was difficult to even maintain a living. This was the reality of society.
Even the European continent, which claimed to be a civilized world, had more than 200 million people living in poverty, not to mention the areas that had not developed their industries.
Of course, compared to other regions, Europe was still much better off due to the influence of colonization. Most people could barely fill their stomachs as long as they worked hard.
There were many reasons for hunger, including exploitation by the ruling class, insufficient regional food production, colonial rule …
The problem of human hunger couldn't be solved even in the 21st century, and it was even more impossible to solve in this era.
All they could do was sweep the snow in front of their own door. While developing the country, they could also go out and plunder. That way, they could basically fill the stomachs of the people.
If the first Prussia War was said to have elements of a struggle for face and morale, then the second Prussia War was completely a struggle for survival space.
The main factor that led to the outbreak of the war was profit, and hatred had long since retreated to a secondary position.
If the Tsarist government wanted to restore its status as a major power, rush out of the Baltic Sea, and reclaim lost land, it had to defeat the Pu Bo Federation.
Vice versa, if the Pu Bo Federation wanted to go further, it could only expand eastward.
It could be said that the war was already doomed when the Government of Berlin decided to abandon land and sea. This was determined by geographical location. If it didn't become a colonial empire, it could only expand eastward.
Although the German Federal Empire in the west wasn't very powerful, its geographical location was special. Westward expansion was equivalent to declaring war on Britain and Austria at the same time, or in other words, declaring war on Britain, France, Russia, and Austria.
To the south was the more powerful Austria, and to the north was the Nordic Federation. Geographically speaking, the Government of Berlin could be considered to be facing Russia on its way north.
Empress Helen wasn't interested in politics. Unless it was necessary, she usually wouldn't participate. In her opinion, these problems were far less important than having a grandson as soon as possible.
"Do as you see fit. If Frederick The Great complains, I'll tell him it's your idea."
In the end, she still loved her son, and Empress Helen didn't want Frederick The Great to be wronged. It wasn't a big deal for ordinary people to get married when Europe was in a bloodbath, but as the crown prince of Austria, it was inevitable that he would be affected if he got married at this time.
As long as she thought about the awkward scene of the wedding guests not coming to send their blessings, but to talk about the Prussian war instead, Empress Helen felt uncomfortable.
Franz smiled slightly and made a very confident judgment. "Don't worry, the Prussian war won't last long. If all goes well, it will end at the end of this year, and at the latest it will be dragged on until 1882. "
If the Prussian war was decided, then the war might end at the end of the year. If there wasn't a winner, then the war would end after two years.
They hadn't entered the 20th century yet. If they wanted to continue like a world war for four or five years, even the national strength wouldn't be able to support it!
As a parent, there wasn't a single one who wasn't anxious to have a grandson. Franz was also forced to delay his son's marriage. As a member of the royal family, marriage had to serve politics.
Since that was the case, it was natural to maximize the benefits. With such a huge sacrifice, it would be a great loss for Frederick The Great if he didn't get a generous amount of political resources.
After the Prussian war, the situation in Europe changed dramatically, and it was the best time for Austria to infiltrate the German Confederation. Frederick The Great's marriage happened to be an opportunity for all parties to come into contact openly.
The things that had already been discussed could also be brought out into the open, and the final political outcome that was achieved could not be without Frederick, the person involved.
He made contributions to the unification of the German Region and accumulated political prestige, which was very important for Frederick The Great to inherit the throne in the future.
It wasn't easy to be a second-generation emperor, especially when the father was especially powerful. The outside world would compare them, but how could political achievements be so easy to make?
Franz was in a great era of change. In this special period, there was no way to replicate the achievements he had made in the future.
…
Just as Franz was worrying about his son, there were changes in the Prussian war. After many hardships, the Prussian army finally gained the upper hand in the Ukrainian war.
Mao Qi, who was good at fighting outside, fully utilized the advantage of the Prussian army's speed. He used a series of tactics such as encirclement to attack reinforcements and diversion. He constantly mobilized the Russian Army and concentrated superior forces to fight the Russians.
After a series of military maneuvers, in the months from the end of 1879 to the beginning of 1880, the Prussian army annihilated more than 200,000 Russian Army. It was called the "Great Victory of Warren" by the European media.
In terms of tactics, the Prussian army was successful, but in terms of strategy, it was only a slight advantage. The Russians lost most of Warren, but kept the strategic Brest. Mao Qi's Kiev offensive wasn't completely successful.
A small regret was nothing. In any case, the south was won. The other battlefields were much worse. In particular, the northern coast was attacked by the Russian navy. Many port cities were reduced to ruins under the artillery fire.
The central battlefields weren't much better. Although they didn't suffer losses on the battlefield, the Russian Army kept sending Cossack cavalry to wreak havoc, which annoyed the Government of Berlin.
Perhaps it was because of their talent, but the Cossack cavalry wasn't much stronger than the Prussian cavalry on the battlefield. But once they turned into bandits, their combat power skyrocketed.
Once, after a Cossack cavalry regiment robbed, they accidentally fell into the encirclement of a Prussian cavalry regiment and two infantry regiments. In the end, they defeated the Prussian cavalry regiment and broke out of the encirclement with some of the loot.
Although the Prussian army came in a hurry and didn't have time to tighten the encirclement, the Cossack cavalry's combat power still shocked the Prussian army.
This wasn't an isolated case. If one analyzed carefully, they would find that when it came to protecting their own loot, the Cossack cavalry was always able to outperform themselves.
If there were successes, there would naturally be failures. In order to suppress the arrogance of the Russians, the Prussian army had set up many traps and successfully ambushed these "bandits".
Profits moved people's hearts. No matter how big the risk, it couldn't stop the Cossacks' dream of getting rich.
Moreover, the Tsarist government was very generous this time. Not only did they keep all the loot, they also offered generous rewards. Anyone who participated in the robbery would receive a reward of three rubles.
Looking at the combined losses of the Prussian and Russian armies, Franz came to a conclusion: "It was a draw."
The Russian soldiers suffered more casualties, and the Prussian civilians suffered more casualties. No one had the upper hand.
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