War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

(Due to too many chapters being deleted before, Archduke Karl’s role is very small. Some people even don’t know who Archduke Karl is now, so some repairs have been made to this chapter.)

March 2, 1835.

Francis II, the last emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, passed away. Although he founded the Austrian Empire, he never publicly crowned him with this crown.

In this generation, the Austrian Empire joined the German Customs Union and at the same time created the Apennine Commercial League. It dominated the Near East crisis caused by the Turkish-Egyptian War. It continued to win in the struggle and its influence was expanding day by day. It looked like the hegemon of Central Europe.

But Franz II could no longer see it and could only pass away with endless regrets.

On the same day, Franz met Archduke Karl.

"Are you Franz?"

"yes."

"I heard you are a genius?"

"yes."

"I hope you don't disappoint."

"yes."

The first conversation between the two ended in a hurry.

Later, Archduke Karl came to give Franz several lessons. Of course, the former himself enjoyed the lectures, but the students in the class except the latter could not understand them at all.

Then Archduke Karl lost his job, and the next time he heard Franz's name was from his arrogant son (Friedrich).

Friedrich has been riding the halo of genius since he was a child. In his eyes, except for his father and eldest brother, all living beings are useless.

But for such a person to praise Franz without hesitation, Archduke Karl knew that there was another remarkable person in his family.

Similarly, his eldest son Albrecht also spoke highly of Franz, which made Archduke Carl more and more curious about this young man (child).

(After that, the two of them evaluated the war in Zhenla and Franz visited Archduke Karl’s house.)

After some exchanges between the two, Archduke Karl became more interested in this junior.

After that, just before the food crisis broke out, Archduke Karl learned of Franz's plan from Friedrich.

Archduke Karl realized the destructive disaster that the food crisis could bring. He did not hesitate to spend a large amount of money to rescue the market, and used his strong influence to give the Austrian Empire a hand.

Of course, if Solomon Rothschild had not come out to disrupt the situation, Franz would not need the help of Archduke Karl. But no if, he was still very grateful to this great-uncle.

When the crisis really broke out, Archduke Karl sold the grain at the price stipulated by law. He felt a little emotional after gaining both fame and fortune.

Even though he defeated Napoleon and turned the tide, creating a miracle in military history, he did not receive any gratitude from anyone.

Even his brothers and subordinates had no time to celebrate with him. They were more uneasy and fearful, as well as the anger of losing relatives and friends.

This time, Archduke Karl didn't feel that he had done anything, but those who used money to buy food were very grateful to him. Those people were celebrating, they were glad that because of his existence, they did not have to starve to death or beg.

For the first time, Archduke Karl began to re-examine the world. He seemed to take both Franz and the "On War" too lightly.

War may be much more complicated and cruel than he thought.

"The Art of War" was Franz's first physical gift to Archduke Karl. Although it was far less valuable than information on railways, stocks, and grain, it was equally valuable.

Only when reading the two books "The Art of War" and "On War" together can Archduke Karl feel relieved.

But there was one thing that Archduke Karl couldn't let go of. He didn't want to be a loser, even the strongest loser in history.

But there seems to be no chance in Austria. Even in the crisis, the senior officials still cannot accept him leading troops on the border.

(Crisis in Serbia and Hungary.)

The glory of regaining Belgrade in the end could only be given to a child like Franz. Archduke Karl knew that his era was over.

Napoleon Bonaparte, Mikhail Kutuzov, Wellington, Horatio Nelson, and himself. A bloody war with millions of soldiers and the European continent as its canvas was over.

(Archduke Karl did not feel that Gebhard Lebrecht von Blücher was qualified to rank with him.)

In fact, Archduke Karl has a high reputation in the Austrian military circles, but his experience is disappointing.

He became famous at a young age and became Field Marshal of the Austrian Empire at the age of only 25. However, what makes people convinced is not his identity, but his tactical level and achievements.

Every victory at the Battle of Aldenhofen, the Battle of Nervenden, the Battle of Watney, and the Battle of Fleurus was very rare because Austria obviously lacked talent in this aspect of warfare.

At that time, amid the overwhelming news of the defeat, Archduke Karl's victory seemed particularly dazzling. Because of this, his promotion seemed so natural.

Archduke Karl was not only a general, but also a reformer. From 1801 he became the chairman of the Austrian Supreme Military Council.

Archduke Karl was determined to implement military reforms, decisively abandoned the old military system, carefully absorbed Napoleon's army-building experience and combat ideas, and planned to reorganize the Austrian army and implement divisional organization.

It is a pity that the reform could not be carried out because it touched the interests of too many people. Those who opposed him kept making suggestions to Emperor Francis II. On the other hand, they actively campaigned to erect a permanent statue of him and call him the savior.

Although Archduke Karl rejected those vanities, he never thought about or did anything detrimental to the emperor or the country.

However, "great achievements shock the master" is not an empty talk. After all, Franz II could no longer trust his younger brother. Without the emperor's support, the reform naturally could not continue, and Archduke Karl had to resign.

Although the reform failed, it actually selected some talents for Austria, trained a group of qualified soldiers, and laid the foundation for the future Aspern-Essling battle.

In 1809, Archduke Karl defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Aspern-Essling. If Archduke John hadn't been too late to look forward and look back, the history of the world might even have been rewritten.

This was Napoleon's first defeat in a large-scale battle on a frontal battlefield since he commanded the army, and it was also the last time Archduke Karl won a victory in a large-scale battle.

In the Battle of Wagram in the same year, although Archduke Karl was defeated, it was not easy for Napoleon to win. The proportion of officers killed in battle was extremely high, and the casualty proportion was even higher than that of the Austrian army.

Although Napoleon himself took revenge, the death of a large number of outstanding officers also laid hidden dangers for his future downfall.

But at this time, Francis II was tired of the war. Austria sued for peace with France, and Archduke Karl left with his crown. From then on, the two brothers became strangers.

Later, Napoleon, the great devil, was finally hanged by various countries in Leipzig, and the commander-in-chief of the coalition was his former chief of staff, Prince Schwarzenberg.

The second time at Waterloo, it was the Duke of Wellington who witnessed the fall of the brightest star of this era who was also good at defense.

Archduke Karl thought more than once that if he had known better and been more tolerant at that time, maybe he would not be a spectator, but also a shining star on the stage.

In the following decades, there were no more wars in Europe, and the name Archduke Karl was gradually forgotten.

However, he was not reconciled until Franz sent him a strange poem.

"River is Red"

The anger rushes to the crown, and the rain stops by the temple. Looking up, looking up to the sky and roaring, with strong feelings. Thirty years of fame and dust, eight thousand miles of clouds and moon. Don't wait to see the young man's head grow white, and it will be empty and sad.

The shame of Austerlitz has not yet been resolved. My brother's hatred, when will it be destroyed? .. Be from scratch, clean up the old mountains and rivers, overturned Que.

(Archduke Karl is the younger brother of Grandpa Franz and is considered an uncle.)