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

Chapter 1309: Bandits in the Mountains

Vienna, Hofburg Palace.

Russia also wanted to take the opportunity to cause trouble, and Franz could understand that. After all, the Austrian Empire was now in the lead, and not causing trouble would be contrary to Nicholas I's logic.

What Franz didn't expect was that the Tsar chose to lead the army in person. It seemed that Nicholas I really wanted to replicate the achievements of Peter the Great.

But the timing was not good for Russia. After all, this opportunity was created by Franz, so how could he not be aware of it?

However, according to Franz's previous idea, Russia should not launch the attack until February or March of the following year.

By that time, the ice and snow will have melted, and the rebellion within Russia should have been almost settled.

More importantly, Britain and France should be at the end of their strength in the Spanish battlefield. At that time, Russia's attack on the Ottoman Empire would be the last straw that broke the camel's back.

However, Nicholas I was obviously a little too hasty at this time, including the matter of marrying his daughter.

Franz was speechless that such a major event as the marriage between Russia and Austria was decided so hastily.

Although it was a time of war, the emperor's wedding still needed to be carefully planned. After all, it concerned the reputation of two countries and two big families.

Franz's wedding was not a simple political marriage. For the Austrian Empire, its symbolic significance far outweighed its actual benefits.

At this special time, the Austrian Empire needed a cultural symbol that all Austrians could identify with.

It's a bit sad to say that in this empire that has existed for hundreds of years, the only bond connecting everyone is the royal family itself.

Therefore, Franz's wedding had to be a grand affair, not to mention that it had to be held during a war abroad, even if there was a natural disaster like a flood.

But the high-ranking officials of the Austrian Empire did not realize this. They just thought it was a waste of money and time, and that it would be better to recruit more soldiers and make more artillery shells instead of spending money on the wedding.

“Your Majesty, there is no need to rush to get married. The Russians have delayed us for so long, and we can also delay the Russians for a while.

The empire's financial situation is tight right now, so we'll hold the wedding when we have more financial resources.

Vienna is a great city and Princess Olga will not be bored."

Prince Schwarzenberg said earnestly that he felt that although Franz was young, he was a wise monarch and would follow his advice to postpone the wedding or keep the marriage simple.

After all, the Austrian Empire's internal and external wars cost a lot, and Franz's war strategy at this time was to use money and materials to attack.

Not to mention the massive amount of supplies transported to Spain, the compensation paid to the local people during the rebellion in Transylvania alone was an astronomical figure, plus the army's supplies, injuries, and resettlement of veterans.

The anti-bandit campaign in Transylvania is just a waste of money. If the anti-rebellion army had not been too brutal, I believe the people of Transylvania would have wanted to raise bandits of their own.

In fact, the bandits and robbers in Transylvania were only a few remnants of the Magyars, and most of them were native Transylvanians.

In fact, most of these people did not really want to rebel. In the eyes of local Transylvanians, supporting bandits and robbers at home was more like a survival strategy.

After all, as lower class people, their rights were not protected. In order to prevent themselves from being exploited to death by the nobles, they had to retain the minimum ability to resist.

In extreme cases, these bandits and robbers were their bargaining chips with the nobles and officials. However, Franz could not tolerate local separatist forces, and there was no place for bandits and robbers in his plan. The internal construction of the Austrian Empire was also very expensive. Infrastructure costs money. The United States, a construction maniac in the 19th century, was lucky to catch up with the First World War and jumped from a debtor country to a creditor country.

Franz has accumulated a lot of gold over the years, and he even worried at one point about how to put it into the market without causing inflation. However, compared with the huge gap in future infrastructure, this amount of money is really not enough.

Franz's reforms in the fields of economy, education, technology, politics, and military were all money-making beasts.

That is why Prince Schwarzenberg considered cutting the budget for the wedding celebrations, after all, in his opinion, this was a very low priority.

"The wedding must be held as scheduled, and the scale and cost must not be reduced."

However, Franz's answer surprised Prince Schwarzenberg, who did not expect the former to be so stubborn.

"Your Majesty, I must remind you. According to the Ministry of Finance's estimates, even if the war budget is not increased, our treasury funds will be exhausted within three years and a fiscal deficit will occur."

Franz nodded.

"Three years? That's enough!"

Franz was very confident. After all, France would not be able to last for three years.

Prince Schwarzenberg was speechless, but he could only do as Franz wished. After all, the latter was a very strict king and would never tolerate anyone who pretended to obey his orders but actually disobeyed them.

As for the war itself, the Austrian Empire's top leaders were still very confident. After all, the French were just defeated.

In addition, the Austrian Empire has not yet used its full strength, and the War Ministry even has a so-called Plan B.

France, the once invincible opponent, was now just a paper tiger. Without the loan from the British, they would not have been able to survive for even a month.

Even with the British behind the scenes, the French could hardly cross the Pyrenees. The French navy was a joke, and had to requisition large merchant ships to keep up appearances.

This is also one of the reasons why the French ambassador repeatedly emphasized that France was forced to join the war. If the Austrian Imperial Navy really launched an attack on the French coast, it would be a tragic situation comparable to a dimensionality reduction attack.

It’s not that France doesn’t have a navy, but if the Grand Western Fleet wants to enter the Mediterranean, it must first pass through the Strait of Gibraltar. At this time, the Austrian Empire occupied Ceuta and it was impossible for the French fleet to enter.

It's not that there were no people who supported Franz's wedding. Madame Sophie thought that instead of fighting a war, the wedding was the most important thing.

Madame Sophie did not understand the significance of this war. She just felt that the Austrian Empire did not lose, but did not win either.

Due to information asymmetry, Mrs. Sophie could not get a full picture of the war, so she had such outrageous ideas.

Franz naturally would not follow such outrageous advice, but he would let Madame Sophie help prepare for the wedding. After all, the latter would never take the wedding lightly and was willing to make it a success.

Putting the right people in the right positions is what Franz needs to do.

Franz's wedding will be held in two months. In addition to a grand wedding, the Austrian Empire will also organize corresponding celebrations.

The empire will also designate the wedding day as a holiday, on the one hand to allow more people to participate in the event, and on the other hand to strengthen people’s impression. After all, who doesn’t love the annual mandatory rest day?