Albrecht felt that a quick victory was the least sacrificed, and he knew very well that the French army at this time could hardly be said to have too strong a will to fight, and that the entire French Second Republic would collapse if Paris was captured.

What the British called the "new Confederacy" would have collapsed, and the Ottomans could hardly pose a real threat to Austria.

Archduke Karl's strategy was much more conservative, and although the forces of the German Confederation miraculously defeated the French in Belgium, this did not mean that the improvised troops could really wrestle with the French.

Archduke Karl believed that the French so-called five-way army could only make great progress by attacking Belgium.

Only then will it be possible for the French to commit further forces, and only then will it be worthwhile for Austria to concentrate its forces on a war of annihilation, a war of annihilation sufficient to end the war.

Moreover, it was not necessary to encroach on French territory, which would ensure to the greatest extent possible that the war would not prolong and that French retaliation would be avoided as much as possible.

If the war goes on for too long, then there will be no winners. Austria and France were both defeated, so they fell into the hands of the British.

What the British face, Archduke Karl still knows very well. Although there was nothing wrong with the character of the Duke of Wellington himself, the qualities of British merchants, British soldiers, and especially British sailors were not to be complimented.

Coupled with Franz's propaganda and first-hand intelligence, Archduke Karl had reason to believe that the war was not a crown in the stinking ditch at all, but a conspiracy by the British to disrupt the continent.

From the perspective of later generations, it may seem that the crown in this stinky ditch has extraordinary significance and is acceptable, but from the perspective of people at that time.

In particular, from the point of view of the royal family, it was completely intimidating, and even Frederick William IV, who had a very liberal leaning, could not accept it, let alone the traditional aristocracy of Archduke Karl.

However, Archduke Karl also agreed with Franz that Austria and the Habsburgs could not accept the crown, but they could not be forced to give it up.

Of course, Archduke Karl did not know what the Greater German plan was, he only knew that it would affect the reputation of the Austrian Empire and the honor of the Habsburgs.

So fighting a beautiful war of annihilation and getting France out of the war is the best course of action at this time.

As for the losses of the German Confederation, this was not in the consideration of Archduke Karl. For he did not feel that the Germans outside the Austrian Empire had anything to do with Austria.

The use of the troops of the German Confederation to deplete the forces of the French was a matter of course for Archduke Karl, and it did not burden him in any way.

Archduke Johan, who mingled with the German nationalists, was an outlier in his eyes, and the royals mixed with the liberals were crooked.

However, Archduke Karl never counted on the brother of Archduke John in his life, and if it were not for the latter, the former would have ended Napoleon's empire long ago.

Originally, so many years have passed, and Archduke Karl has forgotten the glory and regret of the past.

But at this time, when he heard that Archduke John had gone to Frankfurt again and mingled with the Jews and German nationalists in the National Assembly, the blue tendons on Archduke Karl's forehead couldn't help jumping when he thought of this.

With the exception of Belgium, the French have struggled to achieve much in other respects. Alsace-Lorraine is French territory, they can't slaughter their own nationals, right?

As for the Swiss mountains, they were also not part of the territory of the Austrian Empire, and the local conditions were simply not enough to support a large-scale corps operation.

All it was necessary to hold the main pass and send a few small forces to harass the other side's logistics, and it would not be long before the French would be defeated like the Swiss Free League.

In the direction of the Kingdom of Sardinia, Archduke Karl personally visited the northwestern defense line that the Savoy dynasty had built for several generations. He felt that as long as the Kingdom of Sardinia did not surrender, it should not be a problem to hold France for a few months.

But it didn't matter if the French broke through the Sardinian lines, and his old subordinate, Marshal Radetzky, was stationed in northern Italy.

Due to the need to stabilize the situation, the Northern Italian Legion recruited a large number of displaced people, and by this time it was already the largest corps in the entire Austrian Empire.

With the national strength of the Austrian Empire at this time, both the strategy of Archduke Albrecht and the strategy of Archduke Karl were sufficient to support it.

It may not be possible to let these improvised recruits go to conquer the city, but it is enough to defend the territory of the country.

Finally, there was the maritime threat of the French, which seemed to the Austrian side, and especially the Austrian Army, to be a complete joke.

With such a long coastline and railway connections, Austria's defenses were almost negligible. The Austrian Navy was established late, but it had a hand in dealing with invasion at sea.

After all, the Barbary pirates were not vegetarians, and they had been ravaging the Mediterranean for hundreds of years, plundering everywhere, and the Austrian Coast Patrol had accumulated a wealth of experience in dealing with these pirates.

The only possible way for the British and French fleets to threaten Austria was to send troops to land on the Apennine Peninsula, which was not very suitable for warfare, especially since the passes from the south to the north were in the hands of the Austrian Empire.

In addition, the famine on the Apennine Peninsula could not be solved by the British and French, and once the Austrian relief food was cut off, the hungry and angry people would eat the Anglo-French army alive.

Pius IX and the Papal States were also huge problems, and the ecclesiastical power in France was not inferior to that of Austria and Spain.

Richelieu, Robespierre, Napoleon and other strongmen were naturally not afraid when they were in power, but the French Second Republic at this time really did not have that confidence.

By that time, the civil strife is likely to be even more serious, and the French Order Party has begun to take shape.

The supporters of the Orleans dynasty and the supporters of the Bourbon orthodox dynasty were united by this time, and their union was much faster and more powerful than in history.

After all, the Count of Chambor (Henry V) took root in Switzerland, and then Louis Philippe hunted Alsace-Lorraine, and the continuous natural and man-made disasters strengthened people's nostalgia for the old dynasty.

Compared to France at this time, the reign of Louis Philippe was really not too bad. Even the famous French satirical newspaper "Stupidity" published a cartoon on the front page called "The Return of the Yali King".

However, at this time, Friedrich, the commander of the Austrian Imperial Navy, was not a commander who was willing to be beaten passively, and he had already prepared a big gift for the British and French.

It is better to cut off one of its fingers than to hurt its ten fingers. This applies most of the time, except that Franz wanted more than just a finger cut off.

A great man once said, "Strike with one punch, lest a hundred blows come." ”

At this time, if Franz wanted a stable environment to solve domestic and development problems, then he had to beat Britain as the world's policeman.