Minister-President von Schwarzenberg proposed, “Your Imperial Highness, in view of the current internal unrest in Austria, I propose that we double the City Defense Force immediately and conscript an army of 200,000 soldiers to suppress the rebellions across the Empire!”
On the point of suppressing the rebellion, everyone was in agreement since no noble liked the revolutionaries.
“Lord Minister-President has put forward a very sound proposal. The City Defense Force needs to be improved. The useless garbage that ran with their tails tucked between their legs during the rebellion will be forced to retire by my command! The young officers with whom I participated in the field training exercise are fit to replace them.
It is also imperative that we quickly form a counterinsurgency army. Lt. General Albrecht proved himself during the suppression of the rebellion. I believe he is the right person to take charge of this army!”
Franz did not hesitate to voice his support. He not only took the opportunity to clean up the cancer in the City Defense Force and replace them with men loyal to him, but also to seep his hands into the 200,000-strong counterinsurgency yet to be built.
Minister-President von Schwarzenberg suggested, “Your Imperial Highness, it is of great importance that we form an effective counterinsurgency army. I am afraid that Lt. General Albrecht is too busy with the cleanup in Vienna, so it is better to let Marshal Radetzky or Prince von Windisch-Grätz return to take charge of the army.”
Both of these men were big shots in the Austrian army and held the rank of Field Marshal. In front of them, Archduke Albrecht, a mere Lt. General, had no say. Still, Franz wasn’t a political novice who could be swayed so easily. Not to mention, Prince von Windisch-Grätz was Minister-President von Schwarzenberg’s brother-in-law, so it was definitely impossible for Franz to let him come to Vienna and take charge of an army of 200,000 soldiers, or there might be a coup against his uncle soon.
Franz smiled and answered, “These two are indeed the best candidates. Unfortunately, a rebellion has already broken out in Milan. If we recall Marshal Radetzky at this time, who will take responsibility for suppressing the rebellion?
In my opinion, it would be better to appoint Marshal Radetzky as the Governor-General of Lombardy-Venetia, so that he can be fully responsible for presiding over the counterinsurgency work there. In addition, we can send him 50,000 soldiers as reinforcement so that he can suppress the rebellion as soon as possible.
Not to mention, Bohemia (modern-day Czech Republic) is also showing signs of instability and unrest. Similar to Marshal Radetzky, if we recall Prince von Windisch-Grätz at this time, who will take responsibility for suppressing the possible rebellion?”
Their respective posts needed them to command the army and suppress the rebellion: this reasoning was very sound. No one dared to arbitrarily recall Marshal Radetzky or Prince von Windisch-Grätz anymore. Otherwise, if a problem occurred on the Italian or Bohemian front, they would be held responsible for it.
Austria was still ruled by the Habsburgs. Even Minister-President von Schwarzenberg, who was very strong willed, had to make concessions in front of Franz. Political struggles could be very complicated, but also very simple. This concession by the Minister-President meant that in the near future, the government would revolve around Franz, and the cabinet would remain subordinate to him.
Seeing that no one objected, Franz continued, “Next, considering the special situation of Hungary, I propose the appointment of Lt. Marshal Jelačić as the Governor-General of Croatia and the commander of the City Defense Force of Zagreb.
In addition, I propose the appointment of Lt. Marshal von Haynau as the Governor-General of Slovakia and the commander of the City Defense Force of Pressburg. Both of them should be informed to prepare to suppress the imminent rebellion in Buda.”
Franz’s plan was very simple; he would use the competent generals in Austrian history who successfully suppressed the rebellion, while the idiots who failed would not even be mentioned.
Minister-President von Schwarzenberg cautioned, “Your Imperial Highness, there has yet to be a rebellion in Hungary. If we take action now, it will have adverse effects!”
He did not expect that while the government in Vienna was still negotiating with the Hungarians, His Imperial Highness was already preparing to suppress the rebellion, something which would undermine the negotiation. However, once the Hungarians really rebelled, this early action would prove to be very useful.
Croatia and Slovakia were technically the lands of the Kingdom of Hungary, but the people there leaned toward Austria. Controlling these two places in advance was a smart move for suppressing the Hungarian rebellion.
Franz shook his head and asked, “Lord Minister-President, do you think it is a good idea to let Hungary go on like this? The previous governments have made many concessions to them over the years. If we continue like this, we might as well let them be independent!”
Franz’s words were not nonsense. Hungary was currently nominally part of the Austrian Empire, but the tax revenue in Hungary was beyond the reach of the central government in Vienna. In fact, there were even tariffs between Austria and Hungary. Even still, the Hungarians claimed that Austria was exploiting them. In Franz’s view, this was nonsense.
The government in Vienna had certainly gained some benefits from Hungary, but this should be considered protection fees because Austria had been responsible for Hungary’s security. Without Austria’s protection, Hungary would’ve already been annexed by the Russians or the Ottomans, neither of which were acceptable to Hungary or any country in the world.
After the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, it was found that the Kingdom of Hungary with a population of more than ten million people actually only had 500,000 people of majority Hungarian descent. In fact, these 500,000 people were the nobles and the capitalists descended from nobles. These 500,000 people were the ones who truly exploited and oppressed the Hungarians.
Therefore, at this point, his goal was not to suppress the revolution but to bring a revolution to the Kingdom of Hungary and liberate the more than ten million oppressed Hungarian people. Afterwards, there would be bread, milk, clothes and land for them.
Minister-President von Schwarzenberg replied, “Your Imperial Highness, Hungary is our granary! They are an indispensable part of the Empire; we can’t let them be independent or it won’t be long before His Imperial Majesty's subjects will starve!”
Franz smiled and said, “I agree. I only said that Hungarians want reform, which is not wrong; however, it must be based on the premise that Hungary fully integrates with Austria.
They just want the benefits without paying anything in return. Instead of arguing with them every day, it is better to solve this problem once and for all!”
The best way to integrate a subject nation is to look for some way to create a common identity for them to identify with more than their current identity. Diplomatic integration usually isn't ever successful in the long term without that.
Thank you for this chapnya!
Thanks for the chapter