Make France Great Again-Chapter 139: The Austrian Conspiracy

After the brief meeting between Jerome Bonaparte and Hubner ended, Baron Hubner quickly returned to the Austrian Embassy and issued a telegram to Vienna.

The content of the telegram is as follows: Esteemed Duke of Schwarzenberg, I have obtained precise information from President Jerome Bonaparte’s mouth that the French Republic is unwilling to interfere with the Austrian Empire’s punishment of the Sardinian Kingdom.

The telegram was sent to the Vienna Telegraph Office by a nimble operator, who, after translating the message, hurriedly transcribed it and dispatched it to Mei Quan Palace.

Prime Minister’s Office at Mei Quan Palace.

The revolutionary storm of 1848 forced Prince Metternich, who had established the Vienna System, out of this office in a disgraceful manner [referring to Metternich’s escape in disguise].

A few months later, it welcomed a new master, younger and more ambitious than Metternich: Duke Felix Schwarzenberg.

Felix Schwarzenberg, born into a traditional military aristocratic family in Bohemia, was an imperial soldier stationed in the Venice region before becoming the Prime Minister.

However, Felix did not inherit the military genes unique to the Schwarzenberg Clan. From a young age, he was determined to become a politician with a military background, using his military status as a springboard to advance to Prince Metternich’s position.

Nevertheless, Felix’s political career was not easy.

If not for the revolution of 1848, and if he hadn’t met the then-Crown Prince, now Emperor Joseph Franz on the Lombardy battlefield, he might have spent his life in the barracks.

If Prince Windischgrätz hadn’t been his brother-in-law, Felix might have been sidelined after escorting the Habsburg family to Vienna.

Heaven granted Felix a series of opportunities, and he seized them firmly.

During the stalemate between Radetzky and the Sardinian Dynasty on the Lombardy battlefield, Felix, serving as Radetzky’s temporary advisor, seized the opportunity when he learned of his brother-in-law, Prince Windischgrätz, leading troops to Vienna to suppress rebels, to realize his ambitions. Felix voluntarily requested Marshal Radetzky to escort Franz Joseph.

Perhaps Radetzky saw through his temporary assistant’s mind, realizing it was not set on Italy, nor even on the army.

Radetzky agreed to Felix’s request and allocated some troops to escort Franz Joseph back.

With Felix’s encouragement, Joseph Franz decided to leave Lombardy and return to Vienna to reclaim his glory personally.

Accompanied by Felix and several thousand soldiers, a grand Habsburg entourage set out.

Along the way, Felix did everything he could to gain the trust of Empress Dowager Sophie—perhaps due to Felix’s determined character enhanced by Windischgrätz’s endorsement, Empress Dowager Sophie chose to trust Felix.

[It was known within the Habsburg Court that Prince Windischgrätz was Empress Dowager Sophie’s confidant.] freēwēbnovel.com

As the troops approached Vienna, Prince Windischgrätz’s 80,000-strong Bohemian army arrived, and the troops equipped with artillery swiftly suppressed the National Guard in Vienna.

Amidst the ruins mixed with blood and brain matter, the Habsburg family’s carriage returned to Vienna.

The city of Vienna was once again in the Royal Family’s hands. Subsequently, Felix and Prince Windischgrätz further discussed establishing Franz Joseph as Emperor.

They approached the then-Grand Duchess, Empress Dowager Sophie, to "persuade" her husband to abdicate in favor of Joseph Franz.

Under Windischgrätz’s military pressure and Empress Dowager Sophie’s manipulation, other Habsburg members unanimously agreed to "abolish" Ferdinand I in favor of Franz Joseph’s succession.

After Franz Joseph’s succession, due to his appreciation for Felix’s strong policies, combined with the support of Empress Dowager Sophie, Marshal Radetzky, and Windischgrätz, Felix Schwarzenberg, as a mere soldier, successfully rose to become Prime Minister of the Austrian Empire and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

[Equally, in neighboring Prussia, similar events occurred to those in the Austrian Empire. Princess William I incited Bismarck, accompanied by civilian troops, to orchestrate a coup, abolishing King Frederick William IV of Prussia. However, Bismarck lacked a prince and a brother-in-law controlling regular military forces. Relying only on peasant-formed civic troops, Bismarck decisively rejected Princess William I’s suggestion, for which the princess harbored grudges for a long time. In a sense, Schwarzenberg was the successful version of Bismarck in 1848.]

Although it was Felix’s first time serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs, he relied on his self-taught, proficient diplomatic skills, combined with the Austrian Empire’s still competent military, allowing him to navigate diplomatically by disguising under the mask of a great power.

Internally, he employed Josip Jelačić, Windischgrätz, and Radetzky to suppress revolutions in the Italian and Hungarian regions; externally, he allied with the German States against Prussia, allied with the Russian Empire to restrain Prussia, and even embezzled from fool Nicolai I’s 140,000 Russian Imperial Army to suppress the Hungarian revolution.

In less than a year, Schwarzenberg had largely cleared the Italian and Hungarian battlefields, while suppressing the Kingdom of Prussia, preventing it from becoming a nation on par with Austria.

At this moment, Imperial Prime Minister Felix Schwarzenberg was conversing with Minister of Justice Bach regarding post-war issues in Hungary.

"Prime Minister, I think the only way for the Empire to completely control Hungary and eradicate Hungarian tactics is to completely disband them into individual provinces!" Bach, wearing the characteristic attire of the Viennese middle class—tails, with a sash draped across his chest and a medal hanging at his chest, said aggressively to Schwarzenberg.

It’s hard to imagine that just a few months ago, the person before him, full of authoritarian rhetoric, was a liberal lawyer.

The saying "one’s position determines one’s perspective" applies at all times.

Compared to the middle-class aura of Bach, Schwarzenberg was dressed in a light blue Lev uniform, with a Glory Medal hanging from his right shoulder. His whole body exuded military traits, looking less like a qualified politician and more like a warlord who had usurped power.

"What after the provincialization?" Felix neither agreed with nor hastily denied Bach’s opinion, his speech calm, as if negotiating with Bach.

"After provincialization, we can discard Hungary’s original political system and mobilize a large number of administrative personnel from Bohemia and Austria to control Hungary! This can effectively prevent them from colluding!" Bach continued to Prime Minister Felix.

Prime Minister Felix, after pondering for a moment, spoke again: "Minister Bach, could you write down your entire plan and present it to me? I need to explain the specific implementation steps and methods to His Majesty."

Felix Schwarzenberg had clearly accepted Bach’s idea.

"Yes!" Bach nodded to Felix with a smile, delighted to have a Prime Minister as "understanding" as Felix Schwarzenberg.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

The sound of knocking came from outside the door, and Prime Minister Felix softly said, "Please enter!"

The Prime Minister’s secretary hurriedly entered with a white letter in hand.

"What’s happening?" Prime Minister Felix asked the secretary.

"Prime Minister, a telegram from France!" the secretary said to Prime Minister Felix.

Both Felix and Bach’s eyes were drawn to the letter in the secretary’s hand.

"Prime Minister, I’ll take my leave!" Bach decisively chose to avoid involvement in matters outside his duties.

Entrusted by Prime Minister Felix Schwarzenberg with the power to manage Austria’s internal affairs, Bach had no desire to get involved in diplomacy, the private domain of every Austrian prime minister. To rashly express opinions would only make Prime Minister Felix feel that he wanted to replace him as the new prime minister.

"Hmm!" Schwarzenberg nodded and did not ask Bach to stay.

After bowing to Prime Minister Felix, Bach left the prime minister’s office.

After Bach’s departure, with a stern expression adhering to the principle that there are no small matters in diplomacy, Prime Minister Felix said to the secretary, "Let me see the telegram!"

The secretary handed the telegram to Prime Minister Felix Schwarzenberg.

The content of the telegram was brief, yet it caused this Austrian "Iron Chancellor" Felix Schwarzenberg to frown repeatedly.

"Hmm? They’ve actually just abandoned the Sardinian Kingdom like this?" Upon reading the letter’s content, Felix Schwarzenberg exclaimed in surprise.

"Prime Minister, does the reply from France not meet your expectations?" the secretary cautiously responded to Felix Schwarzenberg, not understanding why, when the French Republic had agreed not to interfere in Austria and Sardinia’s politics, the Prime Minister was displeased!

"Do you think I asked Radetzky to incite a dispute on the border for what reason?" Felix Schwarzenberg asked the secretary in return.

The secretary cautiously replied, "To punish Sardinia?"

Prime Minister Felix Schwarzenberg shook his head, showing a face of disappointment mixed with disdain, explaining, "The Sardinian Kingdom is not worthy of the Empire’s special attention; everything I’m doing is for the French Republic!"

"Prime Minister, with all due respect! There seems to be no connection between the Sardinian Kingdom and the French Republic!" the secretary asked, puzzled.

"Once Marshal Radetzky incites a dispute at the border, the French Republic will inevitably ensure the safety of the Sardinian Kingdom for border peace. At that time, I can follow the wishes of France to propose a strategy to maintain the 1815 established boundaries!" Felix Schwarzenberg explained to the secretary, "The current president is a member of the Bonaparte family. Are they really willing to be constrained by the established boundaries?"

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m