The Austrian empire was like a frail elderly man who could easily die from overeating. This was why Franz had been willing to divide Sardinia with France even at a disadvantage. If the French government had been slightly courageous, Austria could have torn off a pound of flesh from Sardinia.

In fact, it didn't really matter as to how much land Austria gained from Sardinia. The main significance behind dismembering Sardinia was to show the world that the Austrian Empire was still one of the Great Powers and an attack on its sovereignty wouldn't go unpunished. The political significance of this action was great since it would serve to deter the restless Prussians.

As for whether the French would grow stronger due to this? Franz didn't believe that it had anything to do with him. If the French grow stronger, the British and the Russians would be the ones who needed to worry. Would the French still be stupid enough to attack Austria, unprovoked?

Since being baptised with blood by Napoleon, the vigilance of all the countries in Europe against France had remained extremely high. Before it managed to escape the diplomatic isolation, any military action by France would lead to joint suppression by all the countries in Europe.

Foreign Minister Metternich advised, "If the French are willing, we can jointly decide to leave some land in Sardinia as a buffer between our two nations. The most troublesome are the British, who have only made vague promises regarding neutrality in this war.

In addition, we recently received word from our embassy in London that a British consortium is secretly negotiating a loan contract with Sardinia. In fact, some time ago, Sardinia borrowed 3 million pounds from the British government, which makes it even more likely that the British will likely stand with them."

Prince Metternich had always shown little interest in territorial expansion. This conservative politician believed that Austria was already large enough and that the government's attention should be shifted towards solving the internal ethnic conflicts, so he had always opposed territorial expansion. Due to this policy, Austria had seen little territorial expansion in the past few decades.

Franz may be indifferent to Metternich's political views, but he had great respect for the latter's diplomatic views and international vision. His title of the "Greatest Diplomat of the 19th century" was well-deserved. In fact, the collapse of the Vienna system was not due to a failure in diplomacy. It was due to the extreme conservatism in Austria which led to the revolution in Austria being especially severe.

Historically, Prince Metternich had resigned soon after the revolutions began and the British used that opportunity to trick the new and inexperienced Viennese government. If Marshal Radatzky hadn't held his ground, Austria would've lost Lombardy-Venetia as early as 1848.

Minister-President Schwarzenberg said, "There is no need to worry too much. Even if the British support Sardinia, they cannot personally enter the fray with the watchful Russians around."

This was not a statement made due to arrogance, but a statement made based on judgment of the current international situation. Historically, the Viennese government had spared Sardinia despite their unprovoked act of war. In addition to intervention from Britain and France, the main reason was because they were worried that France would grow stronger by fully annexing a weakened Sardinia.

Franz said, "Lord Minister-President is correct, but we should still make some preparations in advance. The most important thing is the result of this war. If we can overwhelmingly win this war, we will naturally dominate the post-war negotiations!"

He wanted to remind the confident Minister-President that the war was not over yet. Still, he didn't berate him. Austria was a Great Power while Sardinia was a regional power at best. The difference between the two was so vast that it was only normal for him to look down on Sardinia.

After a slight pause, Foreign Minister Metternich proposed, "Your Imperial Highness, the Russians have promised to help us suppress the Hungarian rebellion. Should we request them to send their reinforcements as soon as possible?"

After briefly looking around the crowd, Franz shook his head and said in a grave tone, "No! This is an internal matter of Austria. If the Russians help us suppress the rebellion, we will have to rely on the Russians diplomatically in the future.

A favor is the most difficult thing in the world to repay. The situation in Hungary is still within our tolerance, so there's no need to involve the Russians. Still, we can spread rumors that the Russians are sending troops to Hungary and to cause discord amongst the rebels."

It's two completely different things to say that you're going to do something, and to actually do it. If the Russians really sent reinforcements to help Austria suppress the Hungarian rebellion, how would future history books record it? Austria would be deemed just a nominal Great Power like Spain. It was enough to just spread rumors, scare the Hungarians, and cause them to make mistakes.

As the winner, Franz could write whatever he wanted in the history books. If Austria became enemies with Russia in the future, he could even turn Russia into the villain by saying that "Russia was eyeing Hungary but the future emperor, Franz the Great, destroyed the Russian plot before it began." In fact, if he didn't know the truth and read it in a history book, he would have believed it.

There was nothing wrong with this since European nations have a tradition of spreading lies and rumors about other nations, especially about Russia, which had never been considered a "European nation." It wasn't until the end of the Napoleonic Wars that Russia finally integrated into European society.

Minister-President Schwarzenberg reported, "Your Imperial Highness, there is news from the front lines in Venice. Sardinia is acting very cautiously and has not ventured to attack. If this continues, our plan to entice them may fail.

Marshal Radetzky has asked us to deploy troops to suppress the Hungarian rebellion so that the Sardinians will believe that we are unable to send reinforcements to Venice. Furthermore, it would be best if we could quickly gain an advantage on the Hungarian battlefield to force Sardinia to attack us in Venice in a decisive battle."

Franz rubbed his forehead in thought. Historical data was deceptive. While it was true that the Sardinian army was unskilled and ill-equipped, that didn't mean that they could be bulldozed, at least the Austrian army wasn't skilled enough to do so.

The Sardinian Commander, Marshal Franzini, had decided to fight steadily rather than fighting a decisive battle, even if it meant that he would lose more men and spend more supplies. He did not venture near Venice with his main army which left the Austrian army frustrated. They might manage to defeat the enemy, but it was impossible to completely destroy them.

Originally, Franz had been planning to suppress the Hungarian rebellion after defeating Sardinia, but now it seemed impossible. In that case, he had to start with the Hungarians to force Sardinia in a decisive battle, The Sardinians were aware that if Austria suppressed its internal rebellion, they would have no chance of victory.

"Hasten the preparations for the war. How long will it take to deploy soldiers to Hungary?" asked Franz.

Minister-President Schwarzenberg answered, "Your Imperial Highness, the strategic supplies are almost ready, and the military deployment is also nearly complete. Only the integration of the newly established provinces directly under the Central Government will take some time. As soon as next Saturday, May 5th, we can launch an attack!"

-TO BE CONTINUED-