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

Chapter 1184: Enemies Emerge Like Mushrooms After Rain
Except for the Galician Legion, the prisoner camps of other legions were already overcrowded. Although these prisoners were just serfs who had just picked up guns, they had seen blood.

It is difficult to guarantee that there will not be a few extreme examples among these prisoners of war. Their impact on the entire war situation may be so small that it can be ignored, but if left unchecked, they are very likely to cause disaster.

The mines and road construction teams were all overcrowded, and they couldn't kill or let go, which was very troublesome.

As for why the Galician Legion did not have this problem?
Of course, it is the "smart" Jews, the "modest and noble" Poles, and the "smart, confident and determined" Ruthenians. Each of these ethnic groups has its own unique skills, so the small issue of prisoners of war is naturally not a problem.

In short, the issue of prisoners of war was once again on the table, and Austria had to allocate a considerable amount of troops and logistics to manage this group of people.

According to Franz's estimation, the Hungarians would definitely make some big moves, and Kossuth's actions could be said to have completely opened Pandora's box. The scale of the civil war would inevitably be much larger than previously expected.

"So what's the point?"

"Transylvania."

Prince Schwarzenberg was a smart man with strong execution ability. He immediately began to organize and coordinate the relevant matters regarding the continued deployment of troops to Hungary.

But there was a dispute within the General Staff about Franz's judgment on Transylvania.

It is an indisputable fact that Transylvania's military strength is weak, but Transylvania's importance is undoubtedly the lowest.

At least no one thought that the situation in Transylvania would have much impact on this war. After all, the Magyars were not thieves, and they had already established their own country at that time, so it was impossible for them to leave the land of Hungary.

If the Magyars really left Hungary, they would be like rootless duckweed, just like a fish leaving water, which would be a dead end for them.

In fact, throughout 1848, the General Staff had a strong presence, but its role was not as great as imagined.

Although Franz had made a lot of arrangements long ago, and even deliberately established many seemingly strange telegraph routes.

However, the lag in intelligence could not be avoided, and the strategy formulated by the General Staff using outdated intelligence was naturally full of loopholes.

Fortunately, at this time, most of the generals of the Austrian Empire had strong subjective initiative, and crushed their opponents in military technology and tactics. The quality and morale of the soldiers were generally higher than those of other countries, so there was not much negative impact.

Archduke Karl's last battle was fought entirely under the command of the General Staff. Although the strategic goal was achieved, he suffered heavy casualties and the main force of the French army successfully escaped.

Considering the successive victories on other fronts, this can only be considered a failure.

Since it was nominally Archduke Karl who was in charge of the operation himself, few people discussed it and pointed out the problems.

Essentially, it is because of the insufficient level of science and technology, so the generals on the front line must have sufficient autonomy, otherwise the General Staff will not only fail to play its due role, but will even hinder the war situation.

Back to the Transylvanian issue itself, although Transylvanian nationalism was stunted by Franz's intervention, it was hit hard by attacks from both sides in 1848.

However, Transylvania is a mountainous area after all, and many separatist forces have survived tenaciously (this has been mentioned many times before, so I will not repeat it here).

In addition to the native troubles in the homeland, the Austrian Empire also had to face invasions from surrounding troubles. After all, Romania was not only Transylvania, but also Wallachia and Moldavia.

After the Vienna Peace Conference, Russia launched a comprehensive sweep of Moldavia, while Wallachia was occupied by the Bucharest Eagle released by Franz. The nationalists who escaped from both places eventually came to Transylvania, which was in turmoil. Coupled with the chaos in Transylvania itself, it had become a vibrant land.

This time, Franz not only wanted to take care of Hungary, but also Transylvania.

In addition, Transylvania is Kossuth's only way to survive. If he wants to escape, he can only choose Transylvania.

Historically, after the Russians entered Transylvania, they often turned a blind eye to the Hungarian rebels, and many key figures escaped right under the Russian noses.

Franz will not let history repeat itself. He does not want to comfort himself by replacing his enemies with scarecrows.

(Historically, the Austrian imperial government could not catch anyone, so they wrote names on straw men instead of hanging war criminals.

In the end, all these war criminals were pardoned, all their properties were returned, and they even received state compensation, and no one was punished.)
Compared with the troubles on the battlefield, the international impact brought about by Kossuth's declaration of emperorship was even worse.

Due to the complexity of the Austrian Empire itself, Kossuth could have claimed to be the Hungarian emperor elected by the Hungarian people.

Although this was unfounded, Kossuth was able to turn the war into a war of a vassal state against the suzerain state with the tacit approval of the great powers.

The Austrian Empire and Hungary did not have a simple suzerain-suzerain relationship, but the great powers could use this non-excuse as a reason for intervention.

Fortunately, Kossuth was crowned the emperor of the Hunnic Empire, so when facing foreign invasion, Franz only had to drive them out.

No matter what, it is a scandal for someone to secretly proclaim himself emperor in a monarchy, and there will definitely be people who will take advantage of this opportunity to make a big fuss about it.

All Franz could do was to quickly declare the Hungarian government illegal and Kossuth a liar, and then strike hard at Hungary and severely punish these people as a warning to others.

Franz even considered whether to torture Kossuth.

It seemed that not doing so would not be enough to prove the position and determination of the Austrian Empire, but Franz was a civilized man after all, and Austria was a civilized country. It would be better to do less of this kind of behavior that was simply for venting anger.

As for public debate and point-by-point rebuttal, or even obsessing over legal issues, these are the worst options, because doing so will not cause any loss to the other party, but will only cause more trouble to one's side.

In case of improper operation, it is possible for others to take advantage of it and find a breakthrough, forcing you to be pulled into the enemy's area of ​​expertise.

Franz increasingly felt that the Habsburg family's ancestral motto of "never prove yourself" was very prescient.

Instead of wasting time proving your innocence, it is better to beat the other party until he admits his mistake.

What neither Franz nor Kossuth expected was that shortly after Kossuth became emperor, dozens of emperors appeared in Transylvania.

The banner of a republic is too heavy, and freedom, equality, and democracy are too difficult to achieve. However, it is easy to become a dictator, as it only requires suppressing or controlling dissidents and concentrating power in one or a few people.

In Transylvania at that time, a few people and a few guns could do this.

As a result, those who claimed to be kings and hegemons emerged like mushrooms after rain.