Chapter 751

Otto I's fantasy did not last long before it was shattered. He did not need anyone to remind him that it was impossible.

Regardless of the public opinion in the country, they had sent troops to attack the Osman Empire and were responsible for the defeat of the Second Bulgarian War.

The British army had suffered heavy losses in this battle. Even Downing Street had changed owners. If they let them go, would the British still have any face left?

The Government of London could accept not winning against the Russians. The British had low expectations for the army, so it was not too shameful to lose to the Russians.

But after participating in this war, the British could not just watch the French show off their might and be reduced to spectators, right?

In any case, the British army desperately needed a victory to prove their strength. Unfortunately, Greece was the pushover they had chosen.

If not for this, the Greek government would not have gotten nothing out of the Government of London's public relations for so long.

Otto I said helplessly, "Can the army really not fight? Even if it's a draw, we still have the capital to negotiate! "

The Minister of War replied, "Your Majesty, ever since the defeat against the British, the morale of the army has been completely gone. There are people running away every day. If not for the restrictions of military law, I don't know how many soldiers will be left in the frontline. "

There was no other way. This army was pieced together and supported by nationalism and patriotism. Once this anger was released, they would immediately show their true colors.

It was simply a dream to expect this motley crew to defeat the enemy.

"Deserters?"

Otto I's eyes lit up. He seemed to have thought of something, but he could not grasp it. He kept muttering, "deserters," "deserters" …

Seeing that the king had fallen into a trance, everyone chose to remain silent.

After a while, Otto I said in a low voice, "What if we break up the army and break out of the encirclement?

As long as the British do not have evidence, they will not do anything to us! "

It had to be said that Otto I was a smart man. He did not foolishly ally with the Russians.

Greece's geographical location determined its strategic choice. Even if the Russians won this war, they could not escape the influence of Britain and France.

If they jumped into the arms of the Russians now, they would probably be finished before the war ended.

The Prime Minister reminded, "Your Majesty, this will cause great losses. Once these soldiers fall into the hands of the Osman, I'm afraid only a few will survive."

Since it was a civilian armed force, military discipline was naturally not good. There was revenge and resentment. At this point in the war, the seeds of hatred between the two sides had already sprouted.

At this time, the so-called breaking out of the encirclement meant that if they could not win, they should run!

Furthermore, they couldn't run back to the Greek Kingdom directly, or their enemies would follow them. They had to split up and take detours back to their countries.

The Greek army did not have a strong foundation. The army was made of more than half of the army was made up of the young and the young.

The Greek Kingdom did not have a strong foundation. This army was made up of most of the young men in their country. Once they suffered heavy losses, it would be a situation where every family would mourn and everyone would weep.

"We have any other choice. We can't beat the enemy on the battlefield, and the Russians are not willing to send reinforcements. We can't expect the neighboring Montenegro Principality to save us, can we? "Otto I asked.

This war could not be discussed on the negotiation table. Otherwise, they would not be able to bear the consequences of the British. Domestic nationalism was not to be trifled with. These people would not shed tears until they saw the coffin, and they were also sore losers.

Since they were going to lose, Otto I naturally had to find a way to escape.

If the army at the frontline could not win, everyone would break out of the encirclement. No matter how great the losses were, it had nothing to do with the king. At least he did not have to bear the political responsibility of failure.

…

Vienna

Empress Dowager Sophie gave an ultimatum to Franz. No matter what, the marriage must be set immediately. Even if it was not with her niece, he must find someone of equal status.

This was not only her personal will, but also the will of the House of Habsburg and the will of the people of the Empire. No one could stand the emperor continuing to be single.

Free love? Franz regretfully said that he did not have time to fall in love!

In that case, it was better to get engaged to someone he was familiar with than to marry someone he knew nothing about. What if he was cheated on?

The day after Christmas 1853, Franz was engaged to Princess Helene of the Wittelsbach Dynasty. The whole process was arranged by Empress Dowager Sophie, and Franz only followed the procedure.

Appearance was justice. Seeing that it was buy one get one free, Franz was very satisfied.

How messy was the European aristocracy? This question could not be answered. In short, apart from the fact that bloodlines could not be mixed, there were a lot of messy things. The concept of chastity was terrible.

Although this marriage was not a match of equal status, they were childhood sweethearts. The fiancée had entered the Palace of Vienna long ago, ensuring that she was the original.

After the engagement, Franz and Princess Helene were restricted by Empress Dowager Sophie from having intimate contact. Premarital pregnancy was not allowed.

Encountering a trust crisis, Franz was very helpless. He repeatedly promised that he was not a person who did not know the rules.

However, Empress Dowager Sophie did not believe in his character, and pointed out the things that he thought were confidential before. Obviously, there were not many things in this palace that could be hidden from the mistress.

Previously, it was to trick Franz into getting engaged to his niece, so he naturally did not care about these small things. Now that the overall situation was set, he had to guard it strictly and not make a fool of himself.

Franz had some doubts that he had been tricked by his mother, but after confirming it again and again, he had to admit that his willpower was too weak to resist the temptation.

He was sure that this was definitely not his problem. This must be the aftereffect of the trip to St. Peter's Castle. He was led astray by the aristocracy of Russia, which caused his willpower to decline.

These were all small problems. Anyway, he was responsible, so Franz was not afraid at all. Even if he was not responsible, he was also not afraid. The status of a son was always higher than that of a niece.

In the context of the marriage between the two families, all disharmonious factors must be nipped in the cradle. Franz was not worried that there would be trouble.

The importance of this marriage to the Wittelsbach Dynasty was much more important than the House of Habsburg. Maximilian II Of Macedon, who had just arrived in Milan, could not do without the support of the House of Habsburg if he wanted to sit firmly on the throne.

In addition to having a good relationship with Princess Hellen, Franz also agreed to this marriage because of political factors.

The annexation of the Kingdom of Bavaria worried the newly joined royal families of Saxony, Hesse, and Württemberg. Even if the Wittelsbach Dynasty was given the throne of Lombardy, it was not enough to make them feel at ease.

If it were not for the fact that these royal families did not have a princess of suitable age, perhaps the marriage partner would have been changed. Do not doubt Franz's moral integrity. In the face of politics, he often had no choice.

If he could not win them over through marriage, then the marriage with the Wittelsbach Dynasty could also play a role. The Lombardy Kingdom's right to speak in politics would be reduced, but it was still nominally a transfer of the same rank.

This problem was basically settled through negotiation. The House of Habsburg did not have a feud with the Wittelsbach Dynasty, so it was naturally feasible to eliminate the unhappiness through marriage.

Under the common interests, everyone became allies once again. At the same time, the royal families of Saxony, Hesse, and Württemberg could rest assured. The House of Habsburg had manners and would not swallow them all in one bite.

Franz could say with certainty that they were overthinking. Not annexing these states would not only reduce the difficulty of unification, but more importantly, it would cause indigestion.

Unification of the country was different from external expansion. Many extreme measures could not be used. In a situation where a great purge could not be carried out, if the people's hearts could not be won back, the country would not be stable for the next ten or twenty years.

The overthrown royal family and interest groups would want to restore the country. If they could not restore the country, they could still turn into revolutionaries and flip the table. Everyone would fall apart, and no one would have an easy time.

Specifically, one could refer to the February Revolution in France. Even Napoleon Iii could be elected president, which showed the role the Bonaparte Party played in the uprising.

The so-called usurpation of the fruits of the revolution was actually not accurate. From the beginning to the end, he was the leader of the revolution. He just hid behind the scenes and only jumped out at the last moment. Otherwise, how could Napoleon Iii have seized power so easily?

As an emperor, Franz did not want to leave any hidden dangers for his rule. The first thing he had to consider was stability.

In history, the second empire, Bismarck, advocated leaving so many states. Other than not being able to swallow them up, it was more for the sake of long-term stability.

Reality proved that this method was very effective. No matter how many conflicts there were between the local government and the central government, it was carried out within the scope of the rules. There had never been a case of a state rebelling.

The biggest gain from the annexation of these German states was not resources, strategy, or political interests. The biggest gain was the population, and a high-quality population at that.

According to the population statistics from two years ago, the total population of the Austrian Empire had exceeded 37 million. In Europe, it was only second to Russia. However, the main ethnic group only had a little more than 8.7 million.

In order to make the data look better, under Franz's instructions, the Government of Austria directly classified some mixed-race people with German ancestry as Germans.

Then, the number of the main ethnic group quickly expanded to more than 10.3 million, and the main ethnic group increased from 23.5% to 27.8%.

Well, this was a little too far-fetched. Many people with only a quarter or an eighth of German ancestry had become Germans. Franz was not such a rigid person. With a little more flexibility, the data looked much better.

This situation had finally been effectively solved. The number of main ethnic groups had finally exceeded 40%.

With the development of the economy and the acceleration of the population flow, this kind of inter-ethnic marriage would definitely increase greatly in the future.

One had to admit that this oldest method of ethnic integration was, in fact, the most effective and the least hidden danger of ethnic integration.

At present, the driving force behind this ethnic integration was the imbalance between men and women in the German Region. It was an urgent social reality that there were more men than women. This situation persisted until after World War II.

On the other hand, Hungary was the opposite. There were more women than men. In addition to the reduction in the number of young adults caused by the civil war, it was also due to the geographical environment.

Of course, the situation in Serbia and the Danube River Valley was more serious. Due to the war, the number of young adults there had decreased sharply.

If nothing was done, Franz could be sure that in the next 20 years, there would be negative population growth in these areas, especially in Serbia.

These social backgrounds had created favorable conditions for ethnic integration. How could Franz give up such an opportunity?

The problem now was how to get everyone to unite by marriage. This was a headache-inducing problem. In this regard, Franz had no successful experience to learn from.