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

Chapter 1200: Restless Allies
At this time, the task of the Austrian Empire was to connect these railways together, at least to ensure that major cities had railways passing through.

Historically, the Austrian Empire obviously did not pay enough attention to Transylvania, Galicia and Illyria, so it was one step behind before the war broke out.

But why do countries still maintain the model of the Austro-Hungarian Empire?

The answer is that as long as there is no war, it is enough. The railways in the eastern part of the Austrian Empire were designed for economic development. Moreover, with the advancement of technology, the improvement of train capacity and the decline of the economy, some problems in the past have been covered up.

Franz obviously did not intend to make the same mistake, and if history was on its way, the next major war would be the Crimean War in the Near East.

Historically, the Austrian Empire did not participate in this war, but the Crimean War determined the fate of the Austrian Empire.

The Austrian Empire turned its only ally into its mortal enemy and was fooled by Napoleon III. The so-called fait accompli was easily overturned by the great powers. "Losing everything" is a perfect way to describe the Austrian Empire's experience.

Of course, whether the Crimean War will happen again in this life is a question. After all, according to the treaty, as long as the Russians want, the Ottoman Empire must prohibit the British and French fleets from entering the Black Sea. In this way, Russia will gain an absolute dominant position in the Black Sea.

But precisely because of this power, there will be a war between Britain and Russia in the Middle East sooner or later. Franz hopes that this war will come as late as possible. After all, Austria still needs time to develop.

The Austrian Empire won a great victory in the war of 1848. The economy was not greatly affected, but instead increased income, and the people's support for the government and the royal family reached a new high.

But in fact, Franz had been preparing for this war for more than ten years. If there was another war, the British and French might not be so desperately defeated by him.

Moreover, the variables of the war are constantly increasing. Take overseas colonies as an example. Except for Bagamoyo, the core of the Austrian Empire's overseas colonies, they were built relatively close to the inland.

Franz was well aware that the Austrian colonial troops had no chance of success within the range of the British Navy. Comparatively speaking, the British Navy had no chance of success if it went inland to attack the fortresses built by Austria.

But the success of such tactics was largely due to the British's lack of intelligence and confidence.

If the British had been prepared in advance, or if they had pushed down their naval guns from the beginning and fought to the death with the Austrian colonial army, the outcome would have been unknown.

In addition, due to the policies implemented by Franz in the colonies, the relationship between the Austrian Empire and those black tribes and black countries could not be good, and there was no guarantee that they would not be bribed by the British.

Similarly, in order to rapidly develop the colony and increase the labor force, Franz introduced a large number of Irish people.

In the short term, these Irish people may still remember the hatred of being persecuted by the British for hundreds of years, but as time goes on or when new conflicts arise, there is no guarantee that there will not be traitors or sanctimonious people among them.

The Austrian Empire has a short coastline, which is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Because the coastline is short enough, it is easy to defend, but because the coastline is too short, it is easy to be blockaded. After all, there are only two or three places where the Austrian Navy can attack.

In addition, the advantages of weapons will continue to decrease. Scenes like being helpless in the face of airships in previous wars will definitely disappear, otherwise it would be too unworthy of the name of humans as a fighting race.

But both Britain and France were in economic crisis, and having just lost the war, they might not want to start a war at this time.

In comparison, Franz was more worried about Russia. After all, in so many wars, Russia had been invincible.

It is very difficult to make the Russians, who have tasted the sweetness, give up. In fact, the Russians' industry is so poor that they are always at a disadvantage in trade.

Therefore, economic colonization has never been the first option. In contrast, the Russians prefer more direct and naked plunder. In fact, in Trabzon and Erzurum on the Black Sea coast, the Ottomans are disappearing one village after another.

The land they vacated will be given to subsequent Russian immigrants. This is the only way the Russian government has come up with to absorb the two provinces in the shortest time possible, and it is also what they have been doing.

The Russians changed all their original crops to tea, cotton and potatoes. The first two cash crops were used to make money, while potatoes were used to make a living.

Everyone must accept Russian-style transformation, otherwise they will disappear from this world forever.

The Russians did not care about the escape of peasants from the provinces of Trabzon and Erzurum, but they would set up checkpoints at the border and rob the fugitives of their belongings.

However, this had long been commonplace in the 19th century, especially in Russia. Even the Ottomans who were expelled and looted did not find it strange.

Russia, St. Petersburg.

In fact, Nicholas I and the Russian high-level officials were relatively satisfied with the results of the Third Conference of Vienna. After all, Russia gained two provinces at no cost and also made a huge profit from the Ottoman Empire.

Although this debt was inflicted on the Ottoman Empire, everyone knew that it was the British who were really hurt, after all, the latter were the ones who actually paid the money.

In fact, this so-called pain was not as severe as most people imagined. After all, the British had already figured out the trick of changing times, and in the end the debt still fell on the Ottomans.

At this time, the Russian high-ranking officials were very fond of farming because trade with the Austrian Empire had brought them sweet profits, which were much higher than the profits they earned from exploiting the serfs.

Moreover, the products of the Austrian Empire sold very well in Russia. In addition to various novelties and luxury goods, textiles, ironware and steel were also very popular.

What the Russians found most incomprehensible was that the goods sold by the Austrians to Russia were much cheaper than the goods produced by Russia itself.

But they don’t need to understand and are too lazy to understand. They just buy it and that’s it, saving time and effort.

Nicholas I himself was also very satisfied. After all, he was one step closer to Constantinople. Although the direction was a bit strange, it was a victory after all.

As long as it's a victory, he likes it.

In addition, the strength demonstrated by the Austrian Empire is fully worthy of the status of Russia's ally. The coexistence of Eastern and Western Rome was the dream of Nicholas I.

Especially when the emperor of the Western Roman Empire was his son-in-law, he highly praised this strategy.

Nicholas I was well aware that it was impossible for his generation to rule the world, but recovering Constantinople and having Eastern and Western Rome coexisting was definitely a height that his predecessors had never been able to reach.

However, after hearing the news that a large number of Albanians had converted to Christianity, Nicholas I could no longer sit still.

If you say that this matter has nothing to do with Austria, he would never believe it even if you kill him.