The torrent of history is rolling forward. After the end of the Pudan War, the situation in Europe has also undergone earth-shaking changes. Reform seems to have become the mainstream of society overnight.
In addition to the Russians in the country of ice and snow, they are still doing their own way. Most countries on the European continent are carrying out social reforms. Austria is reforming, France is reforming, and Prussia is still reforming...
The reform is good, everyone is busy with internal reform, and they have no energy to do things. The situation in Europe has calmed down, as if it has returned to the Metternich era.
Franz knew that this was all an illusion. The contradiction did not disappear, but only temporarily lurked. With a bear who is ready to break the international order at any time, and John Bull who is afraid of chaos, how can it be possible to make Europe truly peaceful
The Austrian government has accelerated the pace of internal rectification. Today the official was warned and punished, and tomorrow the official went home in a daze, and occasionally an unlucky person was sent to court by the Anti-Corruption Agency.
Since the decree to clean up the officialdom was issued, the official life has been boring. Since March, dozens of officials have lost their jobs for various reasons almost every day, and one in 10 of them have been sent to court.
As far as Franz knew, this was still the government's mercy, otherwise the number would have easily expanded tenfold. Perhaps it is because the sky is high and the emperor is far away. The more remote the area, the more courageous the bureaucrats.
For example, in the province of Dalmatia, there is a mayor named Alighis, who believes that Latin is the best language in the world, and then promotes Latin for decades.
For such daring officials, the cabinet government is naturally rude.
With just this one piece of shit, one third of the officials in Dalmatia went home to grow potatoes, and 300 of them went to prison with him.
Prime Minister Felix was furious and dispatched all of them to the railway construction army to contribute to the modernization of Austria.
Since it is killing chickens to warn monkeys, how is it possible not to be cruel
The death penalty was not sentenced, and it was not the Austrian government that was soft-hearted. It is a negative teaching material for living and suffering, and it can shock people for a longer time than sending it directly to God.
Ordinary officials embezzle and accept bribes. Most of them are fined and confiscated when they are caught, and then they decide whether to go home or go to jail depending on the seriousness of the circumstances.
All officials who act against government orders, regardless of whether they are incorrupt or not, must go to prison, and they are the kind of "mainly cared for".
Any identity background is useless this time, and some typical characters are not going to prison alone but the whole family, and the nobles are no exception.
Felix's reputation as "Prime Minister Butcher" came into play, making the bureaucrats tremble with fear.
Not only is the government mobilizing, but the Austrian army is also rectifying military discipline. The Ministry of War has dismissed 12 generals and 361 school-level officers, and countless lower-level trash fish have been cleaned up.
Most of these people were driven home because of dereliction of duty and messing around, and a small number were sent to military courts for corruption and bribery.
I have to say that the military aristocrats still pay attention to their appearance, probably because they are afraid of being shot on the battlefield, and there are still very few people who deduct their military salaries. .
What makes people laugh and cry is that many incompetent generals with corrupt personal ethics have a good reputation in the army.
It is a pity that these talents went to the wrong studio. If they are in government departments, they may be raised as pigs. If they are in the army, they will consider themselves unlucky. If you find one and deal with one, don’t think of exceptions.
The officers and soldiers at the bottom don't know, but the upper echelons of the military have already noticed that the government is preparing for a big war.
Any individual or interest group that affects the combat effectiveness of the army will be defeated.
Just look at the current training situation. Marshals and generals often go to the training ground to supervise the training of officers and soldiers.
At the same time as rectifying the training of the troops, the military has set up training courses for officers' professional qualities, which are specially trained for officers.
In the evening, in a military camp outside Prague, the noble officers who were exhausted from training returned to the collective dormitory to rest.
Guernia asked, "Kasamen, you have always been well-informed, do you know when this special training will end?"
"Isn't this nonsense, Gernia. If I had known the news in advance, I would have tried to get away, and I would have suffered here with you." Kasamen replied weakly.
"No way, isn't your uncle at the headquarters, isn't there any news at all?" Guernia asked suspiciously.
"Yes, he told me that I have to behave well, otherwise I will be unlucky. Now that's the case, look at the poor Sarkes, the spanking is blooming. The people in the Military Law Department are really ruthless, a little I didn't give him any face." Kasamen replied with a wry smile.
"This is nothing, the next door, Ban Arta, jumped over the wall and tried to escape, but was shot in the right leg by the soldier on duty, and he was almost amputated.
Even so, he was sent to a military court in the name of desertion, and his life was over. "Gernia said with lingering fear.
…
Vienna Schönbrunn Palace
Prince Wendischgritz handed over a document to Franz, saying: "Your Majesty, this is a complete reform plan of our War Department, please take a look."
Austria's military reform plan, which was formulated by the deceased Archduke Karl, and Franz also participated in it. It is full of his personal goods, and now the Ministry of War is only perfecting it on this basis.
In the battle of 1848, the Austrian army showed a lot of deficiencies, and people of insight in the army proposed a reform of the military system. At this time, Franz threw out the reform plan that Archduke Karl taught him before his death.
Although Archduke Karl's influence in the army will continue to increase once this plan is implemented, Franz still chooses to carry out reforms under his banner.
In Franz's view, it doesn't matter how high the status of the dead military god is. Archduke Karl, the first person recognized by the Austrian military, has more influence than Franz's proposal.
The leaders of the reformists usually don't get good results. If it doesn't work, they will be retaliated by interest groups, and the dead don't matter, and revenge is out of reach.
Many generals in the Austrian army are now influenced by Archduke Karl. For example, the most prestigious Marshal Radesky has served as chief of staff for Archduke Karl, and Prince Wendischgritz is even more of a descendant.
Now is the best time for military reform. If ten or eight years have passed and the older generation has retired, it will be difficult to propose it again.
Thinking of this, Franz had a headache. The talents in the Austrian army are actually showing signs of incompetence. Now the generals in the Austrian army are no weaker than any other country.
However, these generals who became famous in the anti-French war are slowly aging, and there are not many up-and-coming generals in the younger generation.
After flipping through it, Franz asked with interest: "Kick out the over-aged officers in the army, are you going to retire the veterans?"
Let the veteran retire and think about it, but it will be difficult to do it.
People have made great military exploits for Austria, and they think they can continue to fight for the country. You let them go home on the grounds that they are too old, and it is unreasonable to say it
Moreover, in Franz's view, people are old and sophisticated. If there is a war, the quality of the junior officers is really not as good as that of the older generation.
Talents are born in troubled times. The older generation grew up in the era when Napoleon slaughtered Europe, and Austria was the main force in resisting Napoleon. After dozens of battles, big and small, the army was naturally honed.
They also had a lot of victories. Anyway, the Austrian army also defeated Napoleon head-on. Many military generals were dissatisfied with the French victory. In their opinion, if the government hadn't pulled the plug, they might have won.
The Austrian military soul was forged in that era. Historically, the Franco-Austrian War broke out. The original owner personally went into battle and commanded the battle, creating an epic defeat, and this arrogance was wiped out.
Without the army of the army, the combat effectiveness will naturally decline all the way, and in the period of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it will be able to bully Italy.
Prince Wendischgritz explained: "No, Your Majesty. These veterans are treasures in the Austrian army, and now they are training the next generation of officers for the Austrian army. How could the Ministry of War let them retire!
Our plan is to clear out the officers who are currently under the age of 16 and cannot serve in the army. "
Franz nodded, this is the dissolution of the legendary "Bottle Officer Corps". The number of such young officers in the Austrian army is not at all, and this is still the head of the royal family.
Franz himself is the beneficiary of this policy, but this does not prevent him from despising this policy, his butt decides his head.
He was the beneficiary at the beginning, and naturally he had to support it with both hands. Now that his position has changed, this policy can no longer bring him benefits, and Franz's position has also changed.
If they reach the age of service, the nobles will become officers with superhuman military accomplishments, and no one will say that the army is a place to believe in the strong.
But this bottle of officer corps is unbearable, but no Austrian soldier would think that their military literacy is not comparable to that of a nursing child.
Franz thought for a while and said, "Then let's change the overage age to underage, and cancel the ranks of all young officers who are under the age of service and who have not served in the army, and the royal family is no exception."
He doesn't think that the army is partly unclear, and mistakenly spelled "young age" as "over age". Obviously, this was to clear the bottle officer corps while leaving a back door.
The purpose is very simple. The face of the royal family must be taken care of. It cannot be generalized. All of them are kicked out. Franz's three younger brothers are now one of them.
But in Franz's view, this is superfluous. The bottle officer corps has no substantive role. For the so-called face, it destroys the principle of fairness in the army. It is really worth the loss.
"Yes, Your Majesty," replied Prince Wendischgritz
The royal family has taken the lead, what else can the nobles have to say? Anyway, it just makes the junior one less title, and there is no substantial loss.
The purpose of doing this kind of juvenile officer at the beginning was to inspire the next generation to study hard and always remember that he is an officer.
So far, this educational model has succeeded and failed.
The aristocratic children have indeed cultivated a heart that believes that they are superhuman, and they are competitive in their studies. If they surpass their peers through hard work, then after being stimulated, their progress will continue.
On the other hand, if you study hard and still can't compare to your peers, this arrogance will naturally fade away and become decadent.