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

Chapter 1238 Governor of Galicia (Part )

Franz did not expect that the Russians and the British would reach a consensus so quickly, and because everything happened so quickly, he did not even have the chance to stop it.

Franz also hoped that the Russians could hold on a little longer in the front to buy more time for the Austrian Empire.

The Treaty of Unkar-Iskelesi was eventually abolished. The reason why Russia had been attacking the Ottoman Empire from the western front was not only because it was closer to Constantinople, but also because there were more Slavic compatriots here.

Rather, the marching roads on the Eastern Front were too difficult and the supply lines were even more difficult to guarantee.

Sea transportation is the only way to ensure smooth supply on the Eastern Front at this time. However, once Russia loses its hegemony over the Black Sea, it will have no choice but to continue attacking from the Western Front.

If Russia attacks from the western front, it will have to win the support of the Balkan nations, because the Balkan terrain is too restrictive and it is impossible to capture Constantinople overnight.

Although Franz was not very interested in the Balkans, it was impossible for him to accept the Russians' complete occupation of the Balkans. After all, no one wanted to have a gun pointed at his back all the time.

Moreover, will the Russians be satisfied after seizing the buffer zone? Will they take advantage of the situation and move westward? This question has been debated for hundreds of years, and no one can give a definite answer.

However, the Austrian Empire could not tolerate such a situation, and Franz would not pin his future on the character of others.

And once the situation becomes out of control, it is hard to say whether the British will join forces with the Russians.

After all, when the Ottoman Empire was at its peak, the British were its loyal allies. Even if Franz was not attacked from both sides by Britain and Russia, he had to consider the possibility of being thrown to the front line to be used as a gun.

As mentioned earlier, if Russia wanted to move westward, the Austrian Empire would be an obstacle that had to be removed.

On this point, the contradiction between the two sides is irreconcilable and impossible to reconcile. The Austrian Empire can neither secede from the German Confederation nor give up Northern Italy and Illyria.

At this time, Belgrade was already part of the Austrian Empire, and after years of operation, it was already as solid as a rock. On the other hand, the Bucharest Eagle did a good job, and the Russian forces in Wallachia were basically eliminated.

Russia had basically no chance of success in attacking the Austrian Empire from the southeast, and fierce fighting between the two sides would only occur in the north, that is, Galicia.

The historical Austrian Empire was also aware of this, so they chose not to develop the region. However, the largest oil field in the Austrian Empire was in Galicia, and it was also the second largest grain producing area in the future of the Austrian Empire.

Franz wanted not only to develop, but to develop spectacularly. He planned a large number of cities in Galicia, connecting them with railways.

These cities will attract a large number of immigrants to promote the development of the region.

At the same time, these cities are also strategic nodes for defending the country. It is better to build them well than to build fortifications aimlessly.

This will neither expose one's own strategic intentions nor make other countries feel hostile.

The special thing about the Galicia region is that it was once part of Poland, while the other two parts of Poland were in the hands of Prussia and Russia.

As long as the Austrian Empire develops Galicia well, it will easily attract immigrants from the other two places.

Galicia's resources are well distributed, and both agriculture and industry can be developed here. The main problem now is that the infrastructure is too backward, and building roads is the best option at this time.

Railways, roads and waterways can greatly improve local transportation, and at the same time bring a large number of jobs and create a group of farmers. However, future industry still depends on foreign population, after all, Galicians are still very attached to the land.

After the death of Count Stadion, the selection of a new governor was put on the agenda. The most popular candidate was Agnol Gowuchowski, the next governor of Galicia in history.

Western historians believe that Agenor Goluhovsky was an outstanding governor and a conservative, but this evaluation comes from the values ​​of modern democracy.

Agnor Goluchowski was a Polish nobleman, but loyal to the Austrian Empire, known for his brutal and swift suppression of rebellions by Polish nobles before 1849.

In 1849, he succeeded Count Stadion as Governor of Galicia. At the beginning of his tenure, he began to control public opinion. Before the Battle of Magenta, he had been a loyal supporter of the new despotism of the Austrian Empire.

The Battle of Magenta was a decisive battle in the Second Italian War of Independence in 1859, which ended in victory for the French.

From 1860 onwards Agnor Goluhovsky changed his strategy and began to promote Galician autonomy.

The reason given by Agnol Goluchowski was to replace the Polish dream of independence with autonomy, which was the only way to avoid a recurrence of revolution.

Western historians have evaluated him as having successfully saved the Austrian Empire's rule in Galicia, avoided the occurrence of crisis and saved the people from war.

However, Agenor Gowuchowski's behavior was also a betrayal, as his behavior caused Galicia to always be outside the Austrian imperial system.

Agnor Gowukhovsky's only achievement was the so-called autonomy, and Galicia was still a large rural area with an illiteracy rate of 90%, comparable to that of Russian serfs.

Regardless of his loyalty, what Franz needed was a governor who was good at development and construction, and preferably had some knowledge of military affairs, rather than a police chief or opinion leader.

In addition, Franz was very disgusted with local family power. The Gowuchowski family had a huge influence in the local area. If Agenor Gowuchowski became the Governor of Galicia, it would probably create a local clan as happened in history.

Agnor Gowukhovsky's influence continued many years after his death. His family members and old friends held positions of leadership in many important departments, and his son even became the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Austrian Empire.

The Goluhovsky family and the Yasuski family controlled the politics and economy of Galicia respectively, and their existence greatly restricted the development of Galicia.

At this time, the Yasuski family had been destroyed by Franz. If the Gowukhovsky family was allowed to dominate the country, Franz was not sure what kind of monster he would raise.

Franz still remembers Luca Ambras from those days. He was a very easy-going and well-mannered boy. He was kind and pious.

Franz even felt that he was not a dude, but a good man like the prototype in religious stories.

However, such a person, under the influence of his family, still raised the banner of rebellion. In his last letter to Franz, he wrote:
"Blocking someone's path to wealth is like killing their parents, and destroying someone's job is like murdering them for money."

However, he turned a blind eye to the dirty deals his family was involved in. How could someone so smart not know what his family was doing?
It's just selective blindness.

How many people's parents were killed and how many tragedies were caused by the rise of the Ambras family? How many people's sufferings were caused by their good life?
The Ambras family simply occupied a few bishop seats and monopolized the local theocracy.

What if there is a family that holds both financial and political power?