War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

1843, Ireland.

The summer is extremely hot, and the potato late blight that was still raging everywhere seems to have disappeared out of thin air. But instead it was unusually hot, and most people chose to stay home.

In fact, poor people prefer heat to cold, because cold consumes precious fuel, while hot only requires drinking water, and there is no need to do farm work.

Except those who had suffered from late potato blight before and had to walk into the fields under the scorching sun. Fortunately, potatoes are a very hardy crop and do not have high seasonal requirements. You can plant them now and harvest them before winter comes.

But going for weeks without rain is still worrying.

Scathach stayed at home and watched the grass turn from green to yellow, and then to die. She thought, "If the plants on the entire island of Ireland turn yellow, will no one call Ireland the Emerald Island?" Maybe it’s called Topaz Island? What about in winter? White Jewel Island? Or Diamond Island sounds better.”

The more Scathach Jennings thought about it, the more annoyed he became. Finally he couldn't sit still and asked his brothers and sisters to go out to collect hay.

Although the children were reluctant, they still gave in under the strong power of their sister. Scathach didn't want to wait until winter to collect hay, because every household was collecting it at that time, and children like them couldn't get it.

Another underlying logic is that since it is too hot to sleep in summer, it must not be too cold to sleep in winter.

At this moment, Shaka's head was shining with the light of wisdom. As the eldest brother in the family, Patrit did not want to mess around with his younger brothers and sisters.

Selling the pigs at home for a good price is the most important thing in his mind. After all, after reading books and gaining knowledge, he feels that money is the most important thing, whether he wants to live with dignity or save Ireland. , money is necessary.

Shaka's parents were talking in their hut, and they also wanted to sell the pig at a high price. But the purpose is different. They don't consider dignity or big things like saving Ireland.

They just want to live and keep their families alive.

"It's so hot in the summer, and it must be even harder in the winter."

"Yes, there will definitely be people in the village who can't bear it."

"Sell the pigs at a good price and rent a few more acres of land next year."

They seem to have been used to it when someone dies, and they take the opportunity to rent a few more acres of land at a high price. In this way, your family will have fewer hungry meals in the coming year.

If placed in some prosperous times, some people would definitely accuse them of being cold-blooded, ruthless, and plotting against the dead, but at least they and their children survived.

Under the scorching sun, some people are struggling for their own lives, some are trying to earn their lives for others, some are planning for winter, and some are planning for spring.

In the church in Queen Village, Father Cloven is keeping a diary. He wants to record everything here. This was more than just fulfilling the Archbishop's orders, it was something he felt he had to do.

Someone has to know what's going on here.

“It has not rained for four weeks, and the heat wave is making people breathless. Those who were affected by the disaster (before) have not received relief, and the officials and nobles here have not done anything substantial.

People had to fetch water from wells that were about to dry up, and some livestock were already sick. If those lives are not saved, I am afraid that their owners will not be able to repay the land rent in the coming year.

On one side are the farmers' withered crops, on the other side are the green pastures of the landlord's family. There is no shortage of water here, but farmers lack canals."

What he didn't know was that even in villages with canals, landowners would cut off the canals leading to farmland for the sake of their own cattle and sheep.

Vienna, Royal Military Academy.

Several international students from Switzerland have become so stupid that professors expressed their inability to do anything.

Pastor Belit is a clergyman who knows nothing about military command, as the professors had expected.

But as one of the top commanders of the Swiss army, General Ulrich Salis did not even know the most basic common sense of marching and fighting. This is simply incredible.

Especially in this era, he actually knew nothing about the application of artillery, and his tactical thinking was still stuck in the American Revolutionary War.

Letting these people lead the troops in a war will undoubtedly result in the entire army being annihilated, or simply being defeated without a fight.

The professors’ evaluation is that it’s not impossible for them to rush the ducks to put it on the shelf, but the final result will be very uncertain. At the same time, the Austrian Empire and General Dufour have very beautiful records, have received many awards, and are indeed good at mountain warfare.

At the same time, he also has rich combat experience. Even if he is placed in an army such as the French Army or the Austrian Army, he can still be regarded as an excellent commander.

Of course, this man was not invincible. At this time, Austria was not the poor and weak Austria-Hungary that it would be later, and there were still some generals with strong military virtues.

It's just that these people are not suitable to go to Switzerland to command operations, because once these senior generals are involved, it will violate Austria's original intention not to directly participate.

There is indeed a commander who is capable and experienced and does not belong to the Austrian military.

Vienna, Abrecht Palace.

"Grandpa Karl, I would like to invite you to Switzerland for a vacation."

Archduke Karl held his forehead.

"Franz, have you confused John and me? I don't like mountain climbing, and I don't like snow either."

"But you like fighting, or you're good at it."

Franz's words were very abrupt, which made Archduke Karl frown.

"What do you mean? It makes me look like a war maniac."

"There may be a war in Switzerland in the future, and it will be a very disparate war, and the Austrian Empire will not send a single soldier to it.

But other countries may not do this, and the local people’s will to fight is not firm. I need you to hold on as long as possible to give the Austrian Empire an excuse to intervene. "

In fact, after the news of a possible civil war in Switzerland came out, Austria increased its intelligence collection efforts on it. But judging from the known intelligence and all aspects of the situation, the independent alliance's winning rate is almost zero.

The alliance is too loose and has no stable economic source, let alone unified coordination and command. People were overly optimistic about the prospects of war, thinking that relying on the intervention of the great powers would allow them to achieve independent status.

Rather than unify Switzerland, they want to separate. Moreover, judging from the situation between ourselves and the enemy, the Orthodox Alliance (the new name of the Independent Alliance) is also at a disadvantage. The fall of Friborg State is almost inevitable. The only problem is the length of time.

Historically, the canton of Friborg only held out for three hours before surrendering to Dufour's army.

The personnel, terrain, and international situation were all at a disadvantage. Only then did Franz understand why Metternich had to stop the war between the two sides.

If the two sides start a war, I am afraid that the war will be over before the Austrian army arrives in Switzerland. Austria could send troops to Tirol, but crossing the Alps was not an easy task.