January 13, 1843.

Vienna, Austria.

The advantages of railways are obvious, and the disadvantages of the absence of railways are constantly being magnified under a magnifying glass.

For example, when the German Confederation volunteers went to Luxembourg not long ago, the Hungarian government openly sent troops to rescue Austria in exchange, demanding that the latter provide 200 million florins for military expenses and also give it a tax exemption for five years.

The Magyar envoy confidently read out the written opinion of Hungary, which was unbelievable to the imperial high-ranking and generals who were about to gather for a celebratory feast.

Their hearts can be called mixed, and the news of this country within a country has been closed to such a terrible degree, I don't know whether to be happy or sad?

Seeing the surprised eyes on the other side, the messenger felt confused.

Could it be that Austria thought that it could fight the French by its own strength or by virtue of the stragglers of the German Confederation? After some brief reflection, Earl Andrew made a bold decision.

It is important to know that among the 420,000 imperial soldiers, there were 180,000 "Hungarians".

(The Magyars considered all peoples within St. Stephen's Crown Territory to be Hungarians or their possessions.) Croatia and Slovakia were important sources of troops for the empire.

The reason is simple, because these places are poor. There is an old saying in the East that says, "A good iron does not hit nails, and a good man does not serve as a soldier." ", the West is about the same. ）

Since the Austrians did not need them as allies, what about as enemies? At this time, Count Andrew did not think that Vienna would be able to withstand a two-sided attack from Hungary and France.

"Your Royal Highnesses, Your Royal Highnesses, Prince Metternich, and your ministers, I think you should be well aware of the strength of our Magyars.

Whatever the conflict, the wiser side will choose not to actively fight against the kingdom; At least we don't want to be co-opted by our opponents, and I ask you to seriously consider our proposal."

However, before Count Andrew could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Archduke Albrecht, who was struck by the arrogant and stupid "advice" of the other side. Having participated in the rescue of Hungarian "immigrants", he knows very well how ridiculous that so-called Hungarian government is.

(The Hungarian immigration incident, which was the previous episode.) In the name of saving the victims, Hungary sent refugees to the Americas to relieve local pressure, but in reality sold them into slavery. ）

"Are you serious?"

Earl Andrew was very unhappy that a "young man" had interrupted him, but since the other party had already taken the lead, he just took a compassionate summary of the situation.

"Of course, as far as I know, the Archduke Albrecht, the best general of the younger generation of the royal family, has been besieged by the French in Flement.

The so-called German Confederation Volunteer Army was nothing more than a combination of scattered sand and evil intentions, so it was defeated by the French army. This comes as no surprise.

And we Hungarians are completely different, each of us is a noble warrior. Also IMHO, it seems like I've never met you. Who are you? ”

Archduke Albrecht glanced at him with disdain.

"Friedrich Ferdinand Leopold."

As soon as this remark came out, the Grand Duke Friedrich was unhappy, and said in his heart: "You have learned to deceive people with thick eyebrows and big eyes." Sure enough, I've been fooling around with that little devil for a long time. ”

However, he did not expose his eldest brother, and the other VIPs in the room were all in the mood of eating melons and watching a good show, and they were all curious about what kind of medicine was sold in the gourd of the uninvited guest.

Earl Andrew said "oh" and then stopped talking, which made the surrounding "spectators" suddenly disappointed.

Although this man has a proud expression on his face almost every time he goes to Vienna, in fact he has neither knowledge nor attention to the place, which is why there is a joke that he does not know the royal family in public today.

"Earl, I have received your wishes. Why don't you take a break, the Imperial Regency Council will discuss the matter and inform you as soon as a decision is made. Prince Metternich "politely" issued an eviction order.

Although the Magyar envoy was ignorant, given the size of Waileitania and the deep ties to Neyletania, the diplomat wanted to be able to deal with the problem peacefully.

Of course, the use of force is not an option, but the Serbs to the south are not at ease as the empire grows and the tensions with their erstwhile allies, the British, deepen.

The attitude of Russia and the Ottomans is unknown, so it is not worth the risk to take this risk.

"You're laughing, Prince. I haven't booked a hotel yet. Earl Andrew said.

"Go and help Andrew book a room in the best hotel in Vienna." Count Korolav commanded to the man beside him.

"Sorry for wasting your good intentions. But I didn't want to stay in the city for too long, the air here made me very unhappy. Count Andrew sighed in disgust.

"What do you mean?"

"Please give me an answer at once, or I will inform our parliament truthfully that my trip to Vienna will be empty-handed."

In the face of another naked threat from Count Andrew, the guests around were a little unable to sit still, except for the two royal nobles present (Archduke Louis, Archduke Franz Karl), only Metternich was left to watch calmly and coldly.

Archduke Louis was studying porcelain, and Archduke Franz Karl was feeding seals and drinking.

"In that case, please take care of it." Count Korolav said decisively that he had no interest in bothering with the provocateur in front of him. If it weren't for the imminent negotiations, he would have wanted to humiliate the other party.

"I'll be back!" Earl Andrew left the sentence and walked away.

"What an idiot!" Count Latour was the first to say that he had long been tired of the Magyars' style, and that the military had always been the most powerful main fighting faction. After speaking, he laughed loudly, but was greeted by the strange eyes of the surrounding crowd.

"Well, Latour, it's not funny. The Kingdom of Hungary is our ally. Count Korolav reminded.

But the former obviously didn't understand the meaning, and said to himself.

"As soon as the negotiations are over, we should send troops to question them."

"God, how can you be as naïve as those belligerent Junkers? Although I don't know anything about marching and fighting, how can I replicate this quick victory without the blessing of the advantages of rail transportation?

You should be aware that there are too many unstable factors and potential crises inside and outside the empire. Once the civil war starts, it will inevitably be a protracted tug-of-war, and I am afraid that all kinds of bulls, ghosts, snakes, and gods that are usually too hidden will appear, and it will be too late to end the war. ”

In fact, it is clear to everyone present that the Hungarian question is like a sword of Damocles hanging over the head of the empire, and sooner or later it will dance.

Schönbrunn Palace.

Franz was not surprised by the Hungarians' actions, first of all, because of the poor information, which kept the two sides on the same starting line.

Franz bought the great nobles (land, money, power, as mentioned in the previous chapter), and these Hungarians living in Vienna were no longer of the same species as the Hungarians living in the territory of St. Stephen's Crown.

At least they thought so, so instead of anyone telling Earl Andrew the truth, they would tell him the wrong information

Secondly, Hungary is still parliamentary at heart, and even if some smart people find a problem, they are powerless to stop the "torrent".

On the contrary, as an oppositionist, they will be seen as aliens and spurned by their own people.

In the end, arrogance blinded the Hungarians to this ever-changing world. The nineteenth century happened to be the era of the most dramatic changes.

(End of chapter)