Chapter 745

The re-establishment of the Holy Roman Empire was a mess of things. The reorganization of the government, the division of rights and obligations between the state and central government, all required Franz's personal involvement.

The reorganization of the government actually turned the central government of Austria into the new central government of the Holy Roman Empire. The central government directly governed the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Bavaria.

Considering the stability of the country, Franz was still very restrained in the distribution of power. Other than the command of the army and diplomatic power, he didn't touch any other power.

Of course, this didn't mean that the central government couldn't interfere with the local government. It was just that under normal circumstances, the central government wouldn't interfere with the internal affairs of the state.

If there was a problem in the state, such as a local rebellion or a coup d 'état, the central government could naturally intervene.

Apart from these problems, the most troublesome one was the distribution of financial revenue. The local government definitely had to hand over a portion of its revenue to the central government. This specific proportion became the focus of contention.

The state government naturally hoped that a few points would be enough for the central government's expenditure, and the remaining funds would be freely distributed. The central government, on the other hand, hoped to get a larger proportion and allocate it to the local government according to actual needs.

Behind the financial struggle, there was more of a struggle for power, which made the problem more complicated. It was difficult to clarify in a short period of time.

As for the specifics, they would have to wait for the constitution to be enacted before it could be clarified. Franz advocated the rule of law. Without legal basis, he wouldn't act rashly.

Even if the central government or state government seized power, it had to be legal. Franz would never allow anything that broke the rules to happen.

Fairspring Palace

Prime Minister Felix reported, "Your Majesty, the reserve forces have all been demobilized. The wartime economic system has been lifted, and the domestic economy is returning to normal.

All in all, the westward strategy has come to a successful end. However, many problems have been exposed. Fortunately, a war didn't break out. Otherwise, we'd be in big trouble.

It's mainly reflected in the lack of organizational experience and the weak coordination of various departments.

By the end of the Paris Conference, we've mobilized a total of 1.247 million reserve troops, plus 542,000 active troops, a total of 1.789 million people.

The logistical difficulty of such a large-scale mobilization is far beyond the estimates of various departments. Fortunately, the war didn't break out. Otherwise, with so many troops fighting, our preparations would only last for three to four months at most.

This is the final statistical report, please take a look. "

After saying that, Prime Minister Felix still had some lingering fears. It was clear that the Austrian Empire's sudden eruption of power was not as glorious as it seemed on the surface.

With so many troops, based on the calculation of 15,000 bullets per ton, and each person firing one bullet, that would be 119 tons of ammunition.

Not to mention the war, just the daily training over the past few months would consume an average of more than a thousand tons of ammunition every month, and this did not include the artillery.

In fact, after Austria mobilized so many troops, there was a serious shortage of artillery. It was easy to establish an infantry reserve force, but it was not so easy to prepare artillery.

Just because he knew how to fire a cannon didn't mean that he was an artillery soldier. If he couldn't hit the target, it would be useless. A qualified artilleryman, other than possessing a certain level of knowledge, also needed to be fed ammunition.

Franz nodded and thought to himself, "The consumption is still small now. In a few years, when the weapons are upgraded, the consumption of ammunition will increase by several times. That will be a big problem."

Taking the report and looking through it, Franz understood the reason for Prime Minister Felix's lament. The cost was too high.

After an armed parade and demonstration, the military expenditure was as high as 137 million guilders. If the domestic reserve mobilization and various material consumption were included, the total expenditure was as high as 211 million guilders.

Seeing this data, Franz suddenly understood why European countries were trying to avoid war after the Crimean War.

Furthermore, the war had yet to break out. If the war had really broken out, who knew how much the final military expenditure would have skyrocketed?

Of course, the 211 million guilders wasn't all in cash. Most of it was in material expenditure. It was just that for convenience of calculation, it was directly converted into cash.

Franz asked with concern, "The cabinet is preparing to enfeoff a group of meritorious officials to the The Balkans. Have you considered the actual situation?"

There was no war, but it didn't mean there were no meritorious officials. With a military mobilization of this scale, there would be people who made meritorious contributions. It was just that there weren't as many meritorious officials as there would be if a war broke out.

Those who made meritorious contributions had to be rewarded. Franz wouldn't confer great nobles, but he wouldn't be stingy with small farmers or knights. These were the goals that most people fought for when they joined the army.

Prime Minister Felix replied, "Your Majesty, the war didn't break out in this westward strategy, so everyone's military achievements are very limited.

It's basically impossible to get a title or land in the country. The cabinet suggested that the fief be placed in the The Balkans, which can relax the conditions.

At the same time, we are also planning to encourage the country's nobles to change fiefs and go to the The Balkans in order to strengthen our control there. "

Were there nobles willing to change fiefs? The answer was no!

No one was a fool. Who was willing to give up a fief that had been developed and start a new business?

But there was a group of people who were willing to go, and that was the new quasi-military nobles who were stuck at the threshold of nobility due to their military achievements.

In this era, it was very difficult to become a noble. For example, in this war, the number of officers and soldiers who could cross the threshold of nobility would not exceed two digits. There might not even be one in a division.

Since Franz's military reform, there were many people who were stuck. Even if some people had crossed the threshold of a general with their military achievements, they still couldn't get a noble title.

The title of nobility meant social status, and the The Balkans were next to Austria. Whether it was the two duchies of the Danube River or Serbia, they were all fertile plains, but they lacked effective development.

People with foresight and ambition naturally wouldn't give up this opportunity. Once these people passed, the foundation of Austria's local rule would be established.

For their own interests, these people would spontaneously defend Austria's rule and suppress the remnants of the Osman.

As for whether Austria could get the sovereignty of these lands, this problem could be ignored. Even if they couldn't get the sovereignty, it wouldn't affect their actual status. The Osman Empire didn't have the ability to recover the lost land.

If they wanted to make the local independent and support a puppet regime, they also needed someone to support them, right? It wasn't that the Austrian army didn't do anything in the local area. The first to be overthrown was the original ruling class.

The nobles of the Osman Empire were arrested, the officials of the Osman Empire were arrested, the merchants of the Osman Empire were arrested, and the people who supported the Osman Empire were also arrested …

In short, as long as they had anything to do with the Osman Empire, or threatened Austria's rule, they were all in prison.

In other words, the local upper class had been swept away, and the remaining people were either serfs or commoners. These people who could write their own names were considered intellectuals.

To encourage them to become independent, they first had to know what the word "independent" meant. This wasn't something that could be done in a short period of time.

Franz was sure that if Austria ended its military control over the local area, social order would immediately collapse.

As liberators, the old system had been pushed away, and a new system naturally had to be established. Using one's own people to establish a new system was much more loyal than using outsiders.

Franz thought for a moment and said, "Then let's do it this way. Quickly establish the foundation of the local rule.

If the British and French lose the Near Eastern War, then it's fine. If they win, or maybe it's a draw, then we'll be in trouble.

They won't let us swallow such a big piece of benefits. If the Russians can't get the Constantinople, they'll also be jealous of our gains.

In the face of benefits, alliances aren't necessarily reliable. If the British instigated it, the Tsarist government might do something stupid. "

This wasn't Franz's petty heart. The Hairy Bear's bad reputation wasn't groundless, but it was built up from countless facts. It was hard not to be vigilant.

The British cheated their teammates, the French cheated their teammates. Everyone still had some manners and wouldn't go too far. At least it was still acceptable in terms of face. When the Hairy Bear cheated his teammates, it was earth-shattering.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Prime Minister Felix replied.

…

The Balkans

Since the end of the Paris Conference, the British had the energy to teach the disobedient little brother of Greece a lesson.

Did they think they could escape punishment by not using the flag of the government and using the flag of the civilian armed forces? Dream on! Didn't they know who they were fooling? Trying to play tricks, didn't they know who was the master in this aspect?

Since the Greeks were playing tricks, the British decided to reason with them. Of course, this time they used their fists to reason with them.

By October, the British army's reinforcements had arrived. Three infantry divisions plus a division of defeated soldiers from the The Balkans had a total of 51,000 British troops.

Together with 16,000 Sardinian troops and 12,000 Osman troops, they formed a three-nation coalition army and went to find trouble with the Greeks.

The result was self-evident. The Greek "civilian armed forces" that couldn't even beat the Osman army were naturally defeated.

The Greek Kingdom was too poor and went to play with their navy. Naturally, they didn't have the money to replace the weapons and equipment of the army. After blindly expanding the army, everyone couldn't even get a gun.

At first, the Osman were unprepared. Their army was fighting at the front line, so the Greeks were naturally unstoppable. When the Osman Empire reacted and transferred some of its troops from the front line, their attack was blocked.

Now the British were attacking them, not only to teach the traitors a lesson, but more importantly, because they were a pushover.

John Bull also wanted to save face. After fighting for so long, they knew that the Hairy Bear wasn't someone to be trifled with. It was too difficult to fight a beautiful war. It was better to leave the tough bones to the French. The size of the British army was limited, and they couldn't throw in all their money.

In order to redeem the loss of reputation caused by the Battle of Sofia, the British Ministry of War ordered Major General Oliver to perform meritorious deeds and regain face with the Greeks.

The British were ruthless, and the Greeks naturally couldn't stand it. First, they were driven out of Thrace, and now they had retreated to Veria. It wouldn't be long before they were forced to return to Greece.

Otto I was anxious. No matter what, these troops couldn't return to Greece. It wasn't just a failure in the war. More importantly, their "neutral status" was at stake, and the flames of war would spread to the Greek peninsula.

In this game of chess between the great powers, the Greek Kingdom was just an ordinary chess piece, and now it was about to be abandoned.

Otto I asked with concern, "How is it? Is General Menshikov willing to send troops?"

The Hairy Bear was very vengeful. At the crucial moment of the Second Battle of Bulgaria, the Greeks only cared about their own territory and didn't attack the empty Constantinople as they had requested. Otherwise, the Near Eastern War would have ended long ago.

No matter how many reasons the Greeks had, in the eyes of the Russians, this was a betrayal. It was impossible not to hold a grudge.

Moreover, the Russians were also very busy. They had to attack Constantinople, and at the same time, they were fighting with England and France on the Crimean Peninsula. They didn't even have the energy to help Greece.

The Foreign Affairs Minister replied, "Your Majesty, the Russians have made a condition. Unless we openly join the alliance and declare war on England and France, they won't send troops to help us."

Even if they wanted to ask for help from their allies, they should at least ask their allies first. The Greek Kingdom only had an agreement with the Austrians and Russians. This was a gentleman's agreement, and they didn't even fully implement it. How could they expect the Russians to take it seriously?

Otto I's face darkened, and he said angrily, "Didn't you tell the Russians about our difficulties? Greece's geographical position has determined that we can't make an enemy of England and France. Otherwise, we will face a disaster immediately. "

When he said this, Otto I still didn't have enough confidence. Back then, the Greeks were afraid of offending England and France, and they wanted to fight for territory. They didn't consider the big picture, but now they needed someone else to consider the big picture.

"Your Majesty, the Russians' attitude is very clear. They think that since we have joined the war, we are already standing on the opposite side of England and France.

General Menshikov said that if we still treat them as allies, we should directly join the alliance, "the Foreign Affairs Minister explained.

This was the truth. Greece's attack on the Osman Empire not only restrained the Osman army, but also interrupted their gathering of supplies.

These gaps had to be filled by England and France. Although Greece hadn't declared war on England and France, their actions had already caused them losses.

Otherwise, the English wouldn't have personally come to beat them up. Now, they didn't directly attack the Greek mainland, not because the English didn't dare, but because it was a political necessity.

Attacking a sovereign country rashly could easily be criticized by the public. The English also cared about their reputation. After all, Greece was so weak, and the English army needed to use them to make achievements. It wasn't worth it for them to tear off their disguise.

Otto I was in a difficult position. If they joined the alliance, the Greek mainland would soon be visited by the English and French navies. Who knew how many port cities would be destroyed in the war.

But if they refused to join the alliance, the Russians wouldn't send troops to save them.

Based on the current situation, it wouldn't be long before the Greek army at the frontline would retreat to the mainland, and the enemy would be able to follow and kill their way in.

When that time came, Greece would still be dragged into the war. He couldn't possibly abandon all the troops at the frontline and stop them from returning, could he?

If that really happened, the people would probably immediately rebel against him.

Otto I asked whimsically, "If we disarm the troops that are returning to the country as a neutral country, will it be possible for the English to stop?"

…