War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

"My stupid brother, what do you think of this matter?"

"My poor brother, I'm lying on the table watching!"

"My stupid brother, do you know what Montenegro means to us?"

"My poor brother, land is land, how can it be the ocean?"

"My stupid brother, haven't you heard those ministers saying how barren the land of Montenegro is and how barbaric the people are. It is a completely useless piece of land for the Austrian Empire."

"My poor brother, are we so useless that our father has abandoned us?"

The final decision of the Austrian Empire was to take over Montenegro, and Ferdinand I was crowned Grand Duke of Montenegro.

Although the Regent Council had objections to this, they had no intention of disobeying the emperor's order. What needs to be done now is to better integrate it into the Austrian Empire.

Franz could only lament that people are not as good as God. At the same time, he was also reviewing whether he had really been brainwashed by the political theory of "doing whatever it takes to serve the national interest."

There are actually three ready-made solutions for Montenegro.

First, "rule without governing", similar to the Principality of Liege, the Austrian Empire appointed officials, and there were also local parliaments. Both parties shared the same monarch to govern the country.

Because Metternich forcefully promoted the Austrian model in the Principality of Liège, Franz's previous ideas came to nothing and aroused opposition from elites such as local nobles and businessmen. This was supported entirely by Austria's prestige and the locals' dislike of the French.

Second, "vacate the cage for birds" and "divide and rule", dividing the local people into different categories and sending them to different areas like Bosnia.

Then use the railway to transport the Montenegrins to the plains of Vojvodina, which is easy to manage and can effectively prevent rebellion.

Third, "colonization" is what Austria has done historically. The result, of course, is to encourage local separatist forces and make them worse.

Franz does not intend to adopt the above three methods. It is a good idea to trade dragons for birds. As long as the Montenegrins are willing to leave their homeland, Franz does not mind providing them with a land with rich water and grass for them to farm and graze.

But without the Montenegrins, will the Montenegrin bandits disappear? And when the bandits in Montenegro arrive on the plains, are they no longer bandits?

not necessarily! The fundamental reason for the emergence of black bandits is the contradiction between man and land and the lack of the country's basic ecological niche.

Yes, Montenegrins need Montenegrin thieves. They cannot survive without robbing them. The government is weak and cannot effectively control the grassroots. The interests are intertwined. The common interests allow the local people to provide the soil for the survival of the separatist regime.

"Treat guests, behead him, and treat him like a dog." This trick of Huang Silang is good and will indeed produce immediate results, but the trick is just a trick after all. As the prince of a country, Franz can definitely use a more thorough method to reduce future troubles.

What Franz is more worried about is whether the Croatians will conflict with the Montenegrins, a brotherly nation that speaks the same language.

After all, the civil war between the Illyrians in history left a deep impression on Franz.

Of course, Franz still needs to observe and analyze how to solve the Montenegrin problem. If the two ethnic groups get along harmoniously, wouldn't it save a lot of effort?

Naturally, they still have to show enough sincerity and strength in the early stage. The Montenegrins can also enjoy the same treatment as the West Bosniaks, but they must accept the rule of the Austrian Empire.

Franz planned to let Colonel Gablenz (although he had served as a commander many times and even commanded battles involving tens of thousands of people, but his military title should actually be that of colonel) as the military attache stationed in Montenegro.

Due to the special circumstances in Montenegro, Franz suggested that the Jaegers from Tyrol or Zagreb should serve as security guards.

Mainly because these hunters come from mountainous areas and are better at mountain warfare.

Count Latour didn't have any objections. He originally planned to send grenadiers from the Italian area. After all, the Montenegrin bandits were said to be very powerful.

(Although everyone now thinks that the Italian army is very crotchless, in fact, Italian soldiers were once considered the benchmark of European armies.

The grenadiers here are not real grenadiers, but another title for elite troops. But the grenadier unit has not completely disappeared in this era, and most countries still have this organization. )

However, the hunters in Tyrol and Zagreb were not easy to mess with. As for Colonel Gabrenz, Count Latour seriously suspected that this man bribed Archduke Franz.

In fact, the reason why Franz valued this person so much was because he had no choice but to choose the bigger one among the dwarfs.

After the older generation of generals in the Austrian Empire withered away, they were completely supported by Archduke Albrecht alone.

Gablenz was talented and courageous, but his promotion was too slow and he only played an insignificant role in the Austro-Prussian War.

His troops performed well, but they could not turn the tide of the war, and his proposal was only discovered after the war was over.

Gablenz discovered a huge loophole in the Prussian army's tactics. He proposed a radical offensive strategy to break through the Prussian army's encirclement from the center, and then attack its left wing with all its strength and wait for reinforcements to arrive.

In theory, his tactics were feasible, and Moltke did make the mistake of leaving the center empty of troops. However, historically, it was not until after the surrender of the Austrian Empire that the secretary discovered this suggestion among the numerous battlefield documents.

However, no one knows whether this advice is useful, but Gablenz's courage has been tested by history.

As a senior commander, he fought hand-to-hand with the enemy in close combat. He was blinded in one eye and could still continue to fight. He only fainted when the troops were completely out of the battle.

Franz felt that this kind of person deserved a chance to prove himself. After all, historically, this person died of drunkenness after the end of the Austro-Prussian War.

Gablenz was very satisfied with this appointment. It would be better to say that he liked this life very much. At least it was much better than living in the Vienna City Defense Army and waiting to die.

This is not the first time that the Jaegers from Zagreb and Tyrol have cooperated. They have cooperated before in Serbia, Egypt, West Africa, and West Bosnia.

They were completely dissatisfied with the Montenegro Army. Especially for the veterans who participated in the recapture of Belgrade, they think that the number one mercenary in Europe and the strongest mountain people is a complete joke.

After all, when the Montenegrin mercenaries faced the Austrian regular army, they were no different from the Serbs who cried for their fathers and mothers.

The senior official sent to Montenegro by the Austrian Imperial Government was Franz Bruck, Baron Bruck's nephew.

(At that time, there were many people named Franz in Austria.)

However, this man did not take advantage of his uncle. On the contrary, being related to Baron Brooke was really unlucky for eight lifetimes.

As a model of "loyal minister" in ancient times, Baron Brooke reported all possible bribes to him with real names.

Therefore, the career of young people in the Brook family will be extremely difficult, and of course those who can get out of it will definitely be outstanding.