In the midst of the prosperity of Vienna lies Schönbrunn Palace, which has been home to the great Habsburg family since the Thirty Years' War. No matter how prosperous the city is, it can't compare to its magnificence; But it's not the heart of Vienna either, it's just one of the most showy flowers in the midst of a thousand flowers, dotting Vienna. It is the most beautiful symbol of the Habsburgs, but it brings with it endless corruption and contradictions......

Today, in addition to Emperor Franz, Minister of the Seals Erenthal, and Hungarian Prime Minister Tisza István chatting here, a familiar figure was also ushered in.

Franz was armed with an edict and could move through the palace unimpeded.

He went straight to the palace, met the emperor and the other three, and saluted them.

"My dear Franz, how is the reform going?"

The old emperor was the first to speak. He was no longer in good spirits, but instead coughed incessantly, marking that his body was no longer long from the day of withering.

As for the two people around him, Ehrenthal may have returned to report work, but the empire is already mired in the quagmire of the Great War of the Century, and diplomacy seems to have little effect.

What a Hungarian prime minister, it's not a good bird. In Franz's mind, this kind of person who harms the interests of the empire, no matter how great the power and ambition are, is nothing more than a bunch of rotten wood, and sooner or later he will be hanged by the royalists and the Democratic Party.

Tisza István may have been a capable man, since he had served as Prime Minister of Hungary from 1903 to 1905 and from 1913 to the present day. In just eight years, he served as prime minister twice, which is probably the only case in the empire.

But this did not prevent Franz from discriminating against the Hungarians, he only looked at the emperor and the foreign minister, and the Hungarian prime minister did not give him a straight eye, so he bluntly said:

"Your Majesty the Emperor, the reforms have been quite effective. But the soldiers at the front were a little nervous. ”

"Oh? There was nothing missing in our front, and even the generals said that even the reserves were not put into battle, and the enemy country could not enter at all, thanks to General Kuster, this is a record that we could not fight at all in the previous year. All fronts are going very well, why do you say that you are a little nervous? ”

The one who spoke was the foreign minister to the left of the emperor - Ehrenthal. He sat upright, looking imposing.

But in Franz's eyes, even the most dignified people in the political arena would tremble with fear at gunpoint.

Because of this, he was quite disdainful, even if he broke a leg, it didn't affect him to stand up at all.

His eyes were full of pride, he looked directly at Ehrenthal and said why:

"You know, Foreign Secretary, Marshal Kuster will be in full force for a day."

"Of course I know this, no one knows military affairs better than him, he is the most considerate subordinate and the most discerning person."

Ehrenthal said admiringly. Even if he is not interested in the military, he knows that absolute military strength can make people surrender, and Kuster is one of the people who has mastered the mysteries of war.

"So, why don't we launch a counteroffensive and send more troops to the front, first the Peloponnese, and then the Apennines."

"Uh... Mr. is in charge of military reform, so it is natural to reduce troops, but as for increasing troops, I am afraid that he will not have this right. ”

Ehrenthal said with some embarrassment. Usually he is in the political arena, helping the emperor mediate between various forces, and by the way, he has some royal marriages, and he has a lot of experience.

But he was really stumped now, because whatever he said was met with opposition.

If he agrees, his political enemies will use this as an excuse to ridicule him, especially since the emperor is still around, and there is no room for nonsense.

If you don't agree, it will be even more serious, and the military forces led by Kuster have expanded rapidly in the war, and even involve politics, and they will not even be allowed to sign a treaty.

But even if they commit a great crime, they can't be punished, unless they want to fight a civil war. The military power is deep-rooted, and what is more fatal is that they can unite, unlike the Hungarian gang of bear cub aristocrats, the interests of these soldiers are unified, no matter what nationality, they will fight for the same interests in the end.

In order to appease the military class, they can only sell their titles in exchange for favor.

And the Franz in front of him is the second-in-command of those soldiers, who holds considerable power, and the empire has no choice but to make him one of the members of the cabinet.

At this juncture, if Ehrenthal says the wrong word, it will lead to a catastrophe in the country, and the negative impact is huge.

On the contrary, even if he is right, and he is particularly right, there is no pay, only the insatiable demands of the soldiers.

Ehrenthal had to look at the coughing old emperor beside him, begging him to help her.

The emperor glanced at him, his eyes were full of helplessness, stretched out his hand to cover him, and said reluctantly:

"My minister, you're right, it's time for us to attack. But the domestic forces really terrify me! ”

"Rest assured, the Hungarians will not move under the pressure of our army."

I'm worried about you!

In the emperor's mind, tens of thousands of grass and mud horses were galloping, pouring from the endless plains to the winding and rugged mountains.

Under the shortness of breath, the lung disease suddenly attacked, and he coughed a few times.

Franz seemed to sense the Emperor's displeasure in the sound of coughing, and he said in a rare calm tone in a reckless manner:

"Rest assured, the army is always loyal. And I, too, will always be your most sincere warrior, in keeping with the pace of Marshal Kuster. ”

However, this sentence not only did not eliminate the emperor's scruples, but also made him cough even more severely.

The Hungarian prime minister, who had been silent, was also quite frightened when he saw this scene, and after saluting a few people, he hurried out of the palace without saying a word.

"What cowards the Hungarians are!"

As soon as the door was closed, Franz said a word of disdain, and then turned back again, respectfully with some anger towards the enemy:

"My emperor, if we don't attack again, we won't be able to get a piece of the pie, and we can only sit back and watch the green tumor become brilliant again! More than half of our army is a reformed new army, which far exceeds the combat effectiveness of other countries, and we also have nearly 4 new armored divisions, which is even more powerful than the Germans! ”

If the two people in the seat insist on finding faults, they can find a big problem in it.

Kuster and Turkey have a good relationship, there is no need to make a big move, and even the Turks at the negotiating table may return the favor.

Although the new army is strong, it only has a strength of 1.4 million troops, and it has to take into account two fronts, which is quite far-fetched.

Moreover, the Apennine Peninsula and the Peloponnese Peninsula are mostly mountainous, and the terrain is complex and rugged. It's okay to eat loss.

But the two of them obviously considered politics more than military, and the emperor had to say:

"Since the minister said so, then feel free to do it."

"Long live the Emperor! I wish you good health. ”

Franz gave a loud compliment, then turned and walked out of the hall.

The Emperor took out his handkerchief tremblingly, wiped his sweaty forehead, and said to Ehrenthal:

"Be careful in the future, don't go against the soldiers. Also, hurry up and get Custer back, he can still know a little bit about people. ”