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

The Fortress of Verona is located on the banks of the Adio River in the south of the city, including an entire fortress complex, an artificial moat, and a bridge.

Surrounded by the Adio River on three sides, the fortress can only be attacked from the southwest direction. It is a typical classical fortress.

The advantage of this kind of fortress is that there are only entrances and exits. As long as the opening is well guarded, the enemy will not be able to attack. The disadvantage is that because there is only one exit, as long as the enemy blocks the opening, you will not be able to get out.

In fact, the so-called four-corner fortress has this problem more or less, and the only fortress of Peschiera with two entrances and exits is also the only fortress captured by the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

(Four corners: Verona, Mantua, Peschiera and Legnago.)
As the most important stronghold of the Austrian Empire in northern Italy, Verona is not without strong defenses, but the empire's money has been mainly spent on the economy, scientific research and infrastructure over the years.

The defensive facilities of the Fortress of Verona have fallen behind the times, but although they are old, they do not feel dilapidated. There is no doubt that someone has carefully maintained them.

"It's beautiful! This is the best fortress in Northern Italy! But if possible, I hope it will remain deserted."

The person who spoke was a tall, hale and hearty old general with a kind face. He was the highest military officer in Northern Italy—Marshal Radetzky.

Standing beside him was a young man with an extraordinary bearing, and that young man's drunken father.

Franz could naturally hear the worry in the heart of the old marshal, but what should come will always come and cannot be avoided.

Franz: "Your Majesty, have you heard anything?"

"People's lives are so happy that they all forget the pain of the war. The empire's soft policy has also increased the ambitions of some people. They feel that this country is weak and deceitful.

And the most important point, since you decided to repair this fortress that has been ignored for decades, it is enough to prove that the center of the empire knows the situation here better than us. "

Historically, it has been in a semi-abandoned state since 1809.

Sure enough, it is a person who is old and mature, obviously it is his own judgment, and he also needs to bring the "Empire Center".

In fact, the old marshal knew the situation in northern Italy better than the people in the Regent Council. It had been too long to stay away from the flames of war. After the external conflicts were downgraded, the internal conflicts became the main ones.

Although the tariffs in the Northern Italy region and the Neletania region have been canceled after a series of reforms at this time, there are still many historical problems that plague this region. Coupled with the negative example of Hungary, people think there is no Extra thoughts are impossible.

"This is not the meaning of the Regent Council, but my idea."

Franz simply showed his cards directly, and he didn't think there was any need to hide anything.

The old marshal still looked unbelievable. Although he heard his old boss, Grand Duke Karl, that Franz was not an ordinary kid, he still couldn't believe his ears.

After all, the cost of such a large-scale infrastructure transformation can be called astronomical. Even if the country pays for it, it needs to be paid in installments, but the boy in front of him said that it was his own idea.. What does this mean? !

"What do you mean? But where did the money come from?"

"Let them go out by themselves."

Franz smiled and told the whole story of how he deceived these speculators and investment businessmen.

Radetzky found it unbelievable, but it seemed reasonable after careful consideration. Originally, everything in this country was developing well.

Coupled with the reputation of the Habsburg family, and the behemoth of the Austrian Empire as a guarantee, that little money seems really worthless.

Of course, it seems that this kind of thing can only happen in the Austrian Empire in this world, and indeed it can only be done by Archduke Franz. After all, he is very likely to be the future emperor.

"Grand Duke Franz, this is really a genius idea, but what if there is no turmoil in the country within five years? And compared to Italy, Hungary is the real problem."

Radetzky expressed his concern that if there is no large-scale turmoil within five years, Franz will have to pay a huge amount of money.

And what if the Italians shrink back after the turmoil in Hungary?
"Don't worry, the economy of the Austrian Empire will reach a new level in five years. It will not be a problem to pay back the money by then."

Franz can't tell the other party that he is a time traveler. After three years, not only Austria, but the whole of Europe will be bombed, so those people must not return the money.

Fortunately, the changes in the Austrian Empire over the years are obvious to all, and Marshal Radetzky knows that some pensions that should have been paid during the Holy Roman Empire have been fully paid.

Moreover, the army has replaced its equipment on a large scale three times in the past 8 years, and there has been no payment in arrears in the past five years. Where there is a doctor, there is a cure for death.”

In fact, it is also related to the reputation and style of the commander. Although Radetzky is "flirty", he always owes debts in his own name and never deducts the military pay of his subordinates.

In addition, Radetzky's style allowed Franz to redefine the word "flirty". The 79-year-old marshal found a 46-year-old Italian aunt as his lover.

This Italian aunt named Meirejiali was a miserable person. She had married two husbands and both died. Her only son died of dysentery in pain.

From then on, she was considered an ominous person, and the people in the village drove her to live outside the village.

Marshal Radetzky, who had just arrived in Lombardy, happened to lead troops through the village where she lived. The old marshal stayed overnight in a dilapidated house at the head of the village, not wanting to disturb the people or wrong him.

As a result, the two met again. Although the old marshal owed a lot of debt, he was still very generous with women.

A woman living alone naturally has a lot of vacant rooms, so she agreed to the old marshal's request for a place to stay.In that era, the landlord usually had to take care of the food, and Radetzky naturally didn't want to eat pancakes.

So the woman made some pumpkin balls with the only pumpkin and oil at home. The old marshal was very satisfied after eating and found that the people in the village didn't seem to respect the women in front of him.

At that time, Meirejiali was visibly destitute, unkempt, with countless patches of tattered clothes and a dirty apron. The house at home looked like a deserted hunting lodge, and there were only some picked up in the kitchen. Scattered leaves and oddly shaped pumpkins.

Marshal Radetzky had seen too many things in his life, and he quickly understood what happened to women.

It happened that he didn't know this land yet, and he had no one to take care of him, so he said to the woman.

"Ma'am, would you take care of me, an old man?"

"willing."

Then Meirejiali became Radetzky's nanny. Although the latter was more than seventy years old, he was as humorous as a young man, and he was a real nobleman and a real gentleman.

Meirejiali is a virtuous woman, she has the enthusiasm and simplicity unique to Italians, and she no longer discriminates against her in the military, and regards her as an "ominous" existence.

Like Fantine in Les Misérables, after being cleansed and able to fill her stomach, Merejiali becomes "plump" and "charismatic".

So she rejuvenated her second spring, and soon fell in love with the old marshal.It's just that worldly eyes frighten her, but Marshal Radetzky is a man of informality.

When the contract between the two expired, the old marshal found a woman again.

"Ma'am, would you like to continue to take care of me, an old man?"

"I do, my lord."

"This time it's a long-term contract!"

"how long?"

"lifetime!"