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

The Austrian Empire's declaration of war was too sudden. Under normal circumstances, such an important decision would not have been completed within a few days.

First of all, the royal family passed this crazy resolution. Archduke Louis and Archduke Franz Karl were both people with no independent opinions. Under the strong pressure of Mrs. Sophie, they easily accepted the proposal to declare war on the Papal States.

Secondly, the Austrian Imperial Government was also tortured a lot during this period. Count Raikkonen and Baron Kiel were already marginal figures, and they did not understand the core mechanism at the top.

One of these two people was the Minister of Transport and the other was the Minister of Education. Both of them are typical technocrats. They have long been accustomed to the "yes, yes, yes" chat mode.

Moreover, they are more concerned about the country than abroad, so they do not particularly understand the consequences of declaring war on the Papal States.

Actually declaring war with the Papal States was a huge risk, as those countries that had previously claimed to support Pius IX would most likely intervene in the war.

If the six countries of France, Britain, Prussia, Spain, the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the Ottoman Empire, which had previously issued a joint declaration, went to war with Austria, there would undoubtedly be a war that would affect the entire Europe.

If this trend continues, it is possible that the Austrian Empire will be divided.

But the reality is that France has just collapsed, Spain is mired in civil war, the Prussian government has been beaten to pieces by nationalists, and the Kingdom of Sardinia has begun to fear the power of the Papal States.

As for the British, they were somewhat beyond their reach, and the Ottoman Empire had already declined.

Franz felt that the French provisional government would immediately announce that it would not participate in any war and invalidate the Orleans Dynasty's war threat.

For the French interim government at this time, stabilizing the domestic situation was the top priority, rather than participating in the struggle for European hegemony.

Although the Royal Party was excluded from the provisional government, and the Duchess of Orleans and the Duchess of Berry quietly left Paris, the orthodox faction was still strong in the south, and the remaining forces of the Orleans faction were still active.

France's rash dispatch of troops to Austria will cause great turmoil, and behind Austria is the German Confederation and the Holy Alliance.

Then when it comes to the root, the Papal States were actually the aggressor, and Austria was just forced to declare war. This fully applies to the mutual defense clauses of the two alliances.

Judging from the previous battle records, the German Confederation had an advantage against France, and the French Provisional Government at this time was a mess.

Not to mention launching a large-scale war, they are now unable to provide food rations for the citizens of Paris. They originally wanted to imitate the Orleans Dynasty and suck blood from the colonies.

As a result, news of the collapse of the dynasty spread to the colonies. Not to mention fully supporting the mainland, basically all the governors began to think of independence.

The two jackals, the British and the American, came over after smelling the smell of blood, but the two beasts still wanted to save some face, and they were willing to pay to buy it from the French Provisional Government.

The U.S. government was prepared to offer $350 million to purchase Texas, and the Americans thoughtfully left two states for the French.

The problem is that Arizona and New Mexico are both inland and not connected to the ocean. If Texas is lost, these two states will be in vain.

Moreover, there were hundreds of thousands of French people in Texas at this time, and taxes paid every year amounted to tens of millions of francs, and the French investment in the local area was calculated in the hundreds of millions.

The British plan to directly take over all the French colonies as they did during the Napoleonic Wars, and the price is much higher than that of the Americans.

One hundred million pounds, it can be seen that this is a very sincere figure, but of course the British are not so kind. They require 30 years to pay off.

This is a bit outrageous, because the French Provisional Government at this time did not know whether they could survive for 30 years.Although the Orleans Dynasty was overthrown, the internal and external crises did not disappear, but tended to intensify. After all, when Louis Philippe was still there, at least the external crises were not so serious.

Therefore, Franz felt that the French Provisional Government should declare neutrality in the war between Austria and the Papal States as soon as possible.

However, the reality is that the French provisional government is very stubborn. It keeps asking Austria to return the land of the Papal States, but it does not declare war or send troops.

If the French Provisional Government really launches an attack on Austria, then Franz would not mind driving the reverse again for France.

After all, there were discord within the French provisional government and there were a lot of potential enemies. Franz had at least three trump cards.

There is really no need to be too polite with an enemy like this who likes to seek death, and Franz doesn't have time to do Tai Chi with others at this time.

If France does not retreat, the Spanish will naturally not retreat. Although Spain is in chaos at this time, Queen Regent Christiana and her daughter Isabella II are holding on to a sense of luck.

That is, they can use this opportunity to divert domestic conflicts. They feel that Spain and Austria are not bordering anyway.

As for the so-called war, Spain does not need money or soldiers, but if the Papal States wins, they must have a share of the credit.

In fact, there is another reason, that is, the Spanish church is very influential, especially Isabella II, who is extremely superstitious.

Sister Petheni and Father Clarit were Isabella II's most valued mentors and advisors, and they were also members of the Society of Jesus, nominally under the leadership of the Pope.

Sister Petrini and Father Clarit naturally received orders from the Vatican. Although they hated the new pope, war with Austria did not seem to affect their interests.

William IV of Prussia mentioned earlier that he could not protect himself at this time and did not want to get involved in the dispute between Austria and the Papal States.

In the Rhine region, due to the interaction of the Archbishop of Cologne and the German nationalists, William IV had lost control of the region.

Prussia's high literacy rate also became a problem for them, because as long as someone wrote a few words on the city wall at night, it could trigger a riot the next day.

Newspapers, books, and pamphlets had a much greater influence in Prussia than in Austria. Various ideas and doctrines continued to dye people into various colors, and the Prussian government was completely helpless.

Similarly, industrialization has also created a group of people - the working class, whose organization and discipline are unmatched by farmers.

Due to the high price of grain in the German Confederation over the years, land annexation in Prussia became more serious.

A large number of landless peasants entered the factory, but in the current economy, workers were unemployed in large numbers, so they became the most terrible enemy of the Prussian government.

The mainstream thinking at that time believed that poor people were the result of laziness, stupidity, and bad habits. Their poverty was God's punishment for them, which was actually providence.

As the incarnation of God's will, the king with divine power cannot naturally help these poor people, so under the guidance of this kind of thinking, they are naturally opposed.

At this time, two more people wrote some pamphlets and spread them in Berlin. William IV had a big head and it was naturally impossible for him to go to a decisive battle with Austria at all costs.