Chapter 853 Declaration of War

Although later generations often referred to Josip Jelačić, Prince Windischgrätz and Marshal Radetzky as the three heroes who saved the Austrian Empire.

But in fact, Prince Windischgrätz and Jelačić's command level was really limited. It didn't take any experts to deal with them. Even Franz didn't take them seriously, and Albrecht privately belittled them as worthless.

Count Stadion was a man of both civil and military talents, but he was infected with the plague at this critical moment.

In fact, the plague was actually a strange disease that had not been discovered by medicine at that time. The doctors at this time were helpless, and in order to appear less incompetent, they put the blame on refugees and the plague.

Gabrentz was a famous general in later generations, but at this time, neither his ability nor his qualifications were enough to hold such a high position.

Heinau has the ability, but he is too reckless.

The remaining veterans of the Napoleonic Wars, such as Marshal Anton von Pinkrey and Tim Shidla, have no problem with loyalty, but their thinking is still stuck in the last century.

As for wild and young officers like Amherd and Heinrich Bellaim, there is even less hope. At this time, Benedek is just a small major.

Of course, letting the General Staff be above the War Department is only temporary, just to facilitate unified dispatch and command during the war.

Franz will not let a group of staff lead him by the nose.

Vienna, Hofburg Palace.

Metternich's exit did not bring the imagined peace. The domestic situation became more and more chaotic, and Count Korolaf's corruption and bribery were also exposed.

The huge amount made people angry. Count Korolaf knew that no one could save himself at this time, so he directly submitted his resignation and fled Vienna.

Prince Metternich and Count Korolaf, this fall, it is two factions that fell. However, the Regency Council still had no shortage of replacements. Count Fickelmont rushed into the palace to fill the vacancy of Count Korolav.

However, the earl had not stayed in the seat until the next day, and his glorious deeds of bullying men and women in his hometown spread to Vienna.

Pillersdorf did not stay in the Regency Council for a few days, and stepped down because of his anti-German nationalist remarks in the German Confederation.

The chaos continued, and quite a number of officials chose to resign, while quite a number of people chose to join.

The former were naturally those guys who were just eating and waiting to die, and saw that the situation was not good, so they ran away; the people who joined later were much more complicated, including nobles loyal to the country, shareholders of the Royal Overseas Development Company, and some people who had waited for decades to finally wait for the vacancy to be filled. Of course, there were also a large number of speculators and saboteurs.

However, even if more people resigned, the institutions of the Austrian Empire could still operate normally, and the total army of hundreds of thousands of replacements was not to be underestimated.

At this time, the people also split up. The continuous turmoil led to the destruction of the original order, and a large number of supervisory agencies were collectively offline.

Although this freedom made some people very happy, most people were indeed deeply harmed. First of all, the soaring prices, without government restrictions, merchants regained the freedom to set prices.

The prices of various daily necessities changed almost every hour, and even the coffin shop was following the trend. The prices directly doubled. Those who understand the reason understand that after all, the French Revolution has not been over for many years.

Secondly, there are crimes everywhere, from theft and robbery to murder and arson. Gangs began to fight openly, grab territory, and collect protection fees.

In order to reflect their aggressiveness, gangs began to change their names to be more down-to-earth. Names such as "Justice League", "Avengers", and "Heaven and Earth Society" appeared one after another on the streets.

The factory owners and bankers who were beaten badly by Franz in the past also came back to life. The workers' wages were directly cut in half, and the working hours were restored to the 18-hour work system.

All kinds of small loans, usury, and ancestral loans have all revived, and the two sides have joined forces to reconstruct the world.

But freedom is only temporary. After all, the royal family will not allow them to do so. The days when they were suppressed by Franz to the point of almost "not making money" are still vivid in their minds.

So these people found Solomon Rothschild, but the former underground king of Vienna did not want to get involved in this matter.

He knew very well that Archduke Franz was not so easy to deal with. How could he easily give up an opponent that he could not defeat even when he was at the peak of his career and led half of the European financiers?

Moreover, Franz's lackeys, Arties Bank and Sina Bank, did not mess around, so Solomon's own bank could not mess around.

As for reminding his peers? Don't be ridiculous! Peers are enemies. Solomon hopes that this group of people will be beaten to a pulp, so that even if he does not violate the rules of the game, he can make a lot of money. Why should he do this?

Solomon Rothschild was the most influential business tycoon in Vienna at that time. He refused to take the lead, so the Austrian bourgeoisie had to look for other agents.

So Gushan Kasser and Alexander Bach came into their sight. These two were representatives of the liberals in Vienna at that time.

They naturally understood what those businessmen and bankers wanted? That is to fix their power in the form of law.

That's right! They need a constitution to limit the imperial power and protect their own rights.

This coincided with the views of the liberals. The two sides immediately began to prepare for a larger march, or even an attack, to force the royal family and the government to compromise.

However, to be on the safe side, they united Northern Italy, Bohemia, and Hungary to put pressure on the Austrian imperial government and the royal family.

Northern Italy was heavily suppressed by troops, and the uprising was very unsuccessful. The Czech nationalists in Bohemia did not encounter official attacks, but the cross-border German nationalists had already overwhelmed them.

Hungary was the only one that was at ease at this time. Before the Viennese contacted them, the descendants of the Hungarians even seemed a little low-key.

However, how could they be willing to lag behind in such a matter of adding insult to injury to the Austrian Empire?

When Kossuth got the news of the chaos in Vienna, he immediately rushed to the parliament and began his famous February speech.

(I will think about this paragraph first and write it tomorrow.)

At the same time, the Hungarian government also expressed that it would support Pius IX's proposal. This heavy hammer was undoubtedly intended to tear the Austrian Empire in half.

At this time, the situation suddenly changed. The collapse of the Orleans Dynasty inspired countless traitors and ambitious people. They were waiting for this opportunity and were ready to overthrow Austria.

However, Franz was also waiting for this opportunity. His telegram was sent to Vienna on time. Mrs. Sophie widened her eyes when she saw the telegram, but she was soon relieved.

On February 28, 1848, the third day after the collapse of the Orleans Dynasty, the Austrian Empire announced that it rejected the unreasonable demands of Pius IX and formally declared war on the aggression of the Papal States. The Habsburg family will use the power in their hands to re-evaluate whether the pope is qualified.