The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1139: Thorn in the Flesh (Part )
Vienna, Hofburg Palace.

To be honest, Franz didn't have much affection for this palace. He preferred Schönbrunn Palace where he had lived for more than ten years.

The people around Franz also changed a lot. After all, there was no such thing as gender equality in that era. Most women were not even allowed to appear in the Hofburg Palace most of the time.

Only some women of noble status were allowed to enter unless there were grand balls and dinners.

Even when Madame Sophie entered the Hofburg Palace, there would be some gossip, as if the natural disasters and man-made disasters were caused by them, and even affected the country's destiny.

However, these people obviously chose the wrong target. Franz's mother was not a person who was prone to self-doubt. Madame Sophie would usually choose to fight back on the spot. The staff and scholars she brought with her would refute the other party until they were speechless. If some of them were stubborn and intended to insist, Count Schüssel would help them loosen up.

However, even Lady Sophie, who loved to meddle in politics in history, would not directly participate in the royal meetings and discussions of national affairs.

At this time, Mrs. Sophie had no interest in interfering in politics, but the prolonged civil war would always lead to some controversy.

For example, when Madame Sophie visited her "sisters"' homes, she was sometimes thought to be seeking refuge, and some even blamed her for making such a fuss when escaping. Have they forgotten the tragedy of "Queen Antoine"?

(Queen Antoine refers to the famous beheaded queen, Marie Antoinette. At that time, German nobles would mostly call her Queen Antoine in order to avoid the Habsburg family.)
The ladies may have just spoken carelessly, but they frightened their husbands. After all, at that time the Austrian Empire controlled the German Customs Union and the German Confederation, as well as the largest number of newspapers and clergy in Germany.

The Austrian Empire had the largest army in the entire German Confederation. If the Austrian Empire needed to deal with a family or a country in the German region, it would be too easy.

In addition, Madame Sophie herself is also notorious. After all, if Franz doesn't let her harm Austria, she will harm other neighboring countries.

Especially with the opening of the railway, the Austrian Empire's transnational law enforcement capabilities were greatly enhanced, and Madame Sophie became more confident.

It's really embarrassing to be thought of as someone seeking refuge, but I can't get angry at my sisters who have so little knowledge.

So Mrs. Sophie had no choice but to come back to settle the score with Franz.

"Franz! Why are those Hungarian traitors still alive? Are they worse than the French and the English?"

Franz shook his head.

"not at all."

"What are you still hesitating about?! Don't tell me you still want to be soft-hearted in this matter! Only by using thunderbolts can one show the virtue of a saint. Is that what you said?
The sooner the war ends, the less suffering the people and the country will suffer. You will sacrifice more lives and cause greater damage if you continue like this.

This is a civil war, you kill whoever you want to kill, you exile whoever you want to exile, just like you did in Prague and Vienna."

Madame Sophie could not understand Franz's actions. She felt that based on the latter's usual behavior, he should have stormed into Budapest long ago and crushed the rebels to ashes. It was even possible that he should have closed the city gates and carried out a thorough purge.

To be honest, Madame Sophie felt that the Habsburg way was outdated. Compromise is only necessary when one does not have enough strength. If one has enough strength, one should defeat the enemy in one battle, just like the Romans did to the Carthaginians.

Franz did have the ability to end the war quickly, and he could even let the Hungarians kill their own leaders without spending a single soldier. But what was the point? It was just a new compromise, and then the cycle would continue until the accumulated contradictions broke out again, or it would collapse directly under external pressure.

Franz could also adopt the so-called annihilation strategy, but the effect would still be very limited.

Before the war, Hungary had a population of nearly 700 million. After more than a year of war, natural disasters, and mutual killing among ethnic groups, Hungary's population was still nearly million.

Even if Franz had carried out a notorious massacre in Budapest and then framed all Hungarians who might have participated in the rebellion, there would still be more than five million Hungarians who would remember the massacre and the hatred.

Even if the Hungarians choose to forget, the great powers and ambitious people will help them remember, and by then it will not be as simple as fighting a few more days.

As the saying goes, the sword cuts the body and the heart cuts the soul. Franz not only has to kill people, but also has to destroy their hearts. Otherwise, not only will he fail to solve the problem, but he will also add to the problems.

However, it is useless to tell this to Madame Sophie. Not only her, but most people of this era will not understand Franz's true intentions. Instead, they will think that Franz is mentally abnormal or hesitant and will not achieve great things.

"Uncle Stefan is still in their hands."

Stefan Franz Victor Habsburg was the eldest son of the fifth brother of Franz I and the head of a branch of the Habsburg family.

Franz's reason sounded outrageous, delaying the war for the sake of one person, but in fact it was quite reasonable at this time. At least from Madame Sophie's position, she could not refute it.

Archduke Stefan was just thirty years old, healthy, and childless. His younger brother was weak and mentally handicapped.

If something happened to Archduke Stefan, it would mean that this bloodline would be cut off, which would be a major loss for the Habsburg family, which had few descendants.

If Franz launched an attack by force, what would be lost would not only be the descendants of the Habsburg family, but also the family's reputation, and Franz would not be able to escape the crime of murdering his relatives.

Although Madame Sophie did not care about this insignificant relative, she did not dare to instigate Franz to fight recklessly.

Franz didn't care about this archduke who was sitting on the wrong side of the throne, and even wished he would die soon.

Archduke Stefan and his father Archduke Joseph Anton Johan Baptiste have always been Hungary's biggest supporters. From the perspective of later generations, people prefer to discuss nationalism, national heroes, and politicians and capitalists.

However, from Austria's perspective at the time, it was these two people who really made the Hungarian Revolution out of control.

While serving as the Viceroy of Hungary, Archduke Joseph colluded with Hungarian nobles to sell official positions and titles, withheld taxes from the Hungarian region, and withheld military funds and other funds issued by the state.

It successfully kept the tax revenue in Hungary at around 2000 million florins for decades, but it also led to the decline of Hungary's military and its infrastructure lagging far behind other regions.

(The Viceroy of Hungary is the court minister stationed in Hungary, and has always been a member of the Habsburg family.)
(End of this chapter)