Chapter 81 The Mess
To be honest, Archduke Karl had a bad first impression of the young man in front of him.
Archduke Karl first met Alexander at the ceremony where Nicholas I awarded him the Order of St. Anna, First Class.
(The Order of St. Anna, First Class, is a kind of Russian high-level medal, often awarded to veterans and important foreign generals who have served for many years.)
Although Alexander was a child at that time, he was meticulously dressed, with both the vigor of a child and the rigor of a soldier.
So when Nicholas I wrote a letter hoping that Archduke Karl could bring his little daughter to "dating" Alexander, he readily agreed.
But today's meeting disappointed Archduke Karl very much. He saw a rogue who was disheveled, full of alcohol and women's perfume. What was even more annoying was the way Alexander looked at his daughter, like a street rogue.
However, Alexander did not think so much. He was still evaluating the future appearance of Carolina, maybe she would be the type he liked.
Alexander liked this uncle Karl very much, because he would not stick to the line tactics like those old antiques in the Russian army.
Archduke Karl's skirmisher tactics and defensive tactics were evil in the eyes of Nicholas I, but they were hard-to-find confidants in Alexander's eyes.
Since Napoleon, the tactical thinking in Europe has been to attack, attack, and attack again, and this thinking has continued until World War I.
Archduke Karl's hobby is the iron barrel formation, layer upon layer of defense, digging trenches and building breastworks, and he wanted to build a bastion in his hometown opposite.
Since Nicholas I was a military fan, Alexander was forced to learn military since he was a child, and Alexander's greatest hobby was to do the opposite of Nicholas I. If you attack, I will defend, if you are just head-on, I will sneak attack.
As a result, Alexander has been beaten by Nicholas I since he was a child.
Alexander's teacher was a conservative, but interestingly, he wanted this student to become a Russian monarch who advocates civilization and guides openness in the future.
Under his long-term teachings, Alexander became a liberal who had great sympathy for the Decembrists.
The Decembrists launched a rebellion in the Senate Square that year. Nicholas I had forgiven their sins (shooting the Governor of St. Petersburg, reactionary rebellion.). He did not want to ascend the throne by stepping on the blood of his subjects and hoped to adopt a conciliatory policy.
At that time, the Guards Cavalry who swore allegiance to Nicholas I had assembled, but Nicholas did not issue an order to suppress it.
Even under the repeated urging of his officers, he only issued an order to expel them.
However, the Guards were not expelled. Instead, they shot and repelled the Guards Cavalry. The death of dozens of Guards Cavalry also made Nicholas I determined to suppress bloody rebellion.
In the end, Nicholas I still stepped on the blood of Russians and ascended the throne of the Tsar.
Nicholas I hoped that Alexander would find a Prussian princess, and Alexander decided to find an Austrian princess, because Prussia and Austria were mortal enemies.
But Nicholas I knew Alexander's idea a long time ago.
So he made arrangements, which made Alexander misjudge that Nicholas I wanted him to marry a Prussian princess.
At this time, Alexander felt that he was full of manly charm, unrestrained and uninhibited. The girl must have felt embarrassed when she saw him, and Archduke Karl must have admired him very much.
Alexander thought to himself, "Let's have a meal, dance, set the wedding date, and go back to the country to piss off that old bastard."
Archduke Karl looked at Alexander and his group, thinking that they were here to greet him, but these people took out their luggage, and he couldn't help but feel a little confused.
"Alexander, are you leaving?"
"Oh, something unpleasant happened just now. There are too many Jews in this hotel arranged by Prince Metternich, and I'm not used to living there." Alexander said.
Archduke Karl certainly knew who lived in the Caesar Hotel, and he also knew the attitude of the Russians towards the Jews, and he said without showing his expression.
"The Jews living here are a little special, they are all partners of the imperial government."
"It's quite special, there is even King Solomon inside."
Archduke Karl naturally heard what this meant, this was Alexander complaining.
Archduke Karl also hated people like Solomon, but the vulgarity and frivolity revealed in Alexander's words and deeds just now refreshed his cognition.
"When did Alexander become so unreliable?" He sighed in his heart.
Alexander's words just now made Archduke Karl feel very embarrassed, and Prince Metternich happened to hear the news and rushed over.
"Your mess, solve it yourself."
Archduke Karl said with a gloomy face and left with Karinina. His guards followed closely behind, leaving behind Alexander with a confused face and Prince Metternich with a bitter face.
Schönbrunn Palace, Franz's bedroom.
In 1836, Austria's fiscal revenue continued to increase and reached 170 million florins, and with the improvement of railway transportation, revenue is likely to continue to increase.
However, while Austria's fiscal revenue increased, expenditures also increased, and the rate of increase was faster than the rate of revenue growth.
The Army requires the replacement of new M1831 rifles and updated smoothbore cannons to prepare for future major wars that may break out at any time.
The imaginary enemy of the Austrian Army is the French Army. The French Army has purchased a batch of new equipment, which makes the Army faction headed by the Minister of War, Count Tural, unable to sit still and strongly demand funding.
Even without funding, the Ministry of War is quietly updating the Army's equipment.
This includes selling obsolete weapons to Mexico and Zhenla, but the limited scale of the transaction cannot satisfy the appetite of the Austrian Army. At the same time, Austria's lack of maritime transport capacity has led to the Army being profited by middlemen.
The Austrian Navy uses the legacy of Venice, most of which were built during the Napoleonic Wars. Most of them are already scrapped and cannot be used for ocean-going naval battles.
Because the imaginary enemies of the Austrian Navy have always been the Barbary human traffickers.
Therefore, the ships of the Austrian Navy are built around the three points of small, flexible and fast.
The design concept of the Austrian Navy, which is a small boat carrying a small gun, has made the Austrian Navy the only navy in Europe that can sail in inland rivers.
However, this concept has long been outdated. Now is the era of cannons and ships. Whoever has a bigger gun and a bigger ship will have more say.
The Austrian Navy was somewhat self-aware. They did not ask to build first- and second-class battleships. They just wanted to build some fourth- or fifth-class battleships to maintain their absolute advantage over Italy and retain the hope of fighting the French squadron.
In addition, the subsidy policy that has existed since the time of Francis II is free schools in Dalmatia and free food in Galicia.
The Governor of Galicia would regularly give some grains and poultry to the serfs in the Galician region in the name of the country to reduce the rebellion of the serfs.
In fact, the serfs in Galicia deified the Habsburg rulers, just as the serfs in Russia liked to regard the Tsar as a kind father.
When Austria annexed Dalmatia, it exempted the locals from military service, which was widely praised at the time, but now it has been proved to be a bad move, which has led to long-term poverty in the Dalmatian region.
Croatia, which is even poorer than Dalmatia, has maintained a positive population growth by serving in the empire.
In Dalmatia, the Austrian government had to allocate funds to help the poor.
The dredging of rivers, the repair of the Tyrolean silver mines, and the maintenance of road traffic almost crushed the Austrian Empire.
Of course, Austria's debts were not included in this, and they would not be repaid.