Chapter 696 The mantis catches the cicada and the oriole is behind
Karl's troops stationed in the Vienna area reached 25,000 troops, which did not include the 10,000 troops under Alexander's other brother Ferdinand. The Hungarian army loyal to Alexander in Vienna only had 20,000 troops, including one
In order to maintain order in the execution ground, Alexander took thousands of troops outside Vienna. However, there were less than 3,000 Hungarian troops stationed in Vienna, and the rest of the troops were all in the Hungarian army camp outside Vienna.
After Karl's defection, Alexander instantly fell into an extremely unfavorable situation. At this moment, outside the city of Vienna, on Alexander's way back to Vienna, there were not only more than 10,000 Austrian troops led by Karl, but also tens of thousands of Viennese people who had organized themselves.
armed forces.
And because what just happened was so sudden and unexpected, even the 10,000 Hungarian troops near the execution ground were unable to respond from beginning to end. At the moment, the only ones Alexander could command were the thousands of Hungarian soldiers around him.
"Your Highness, we cannot hesitate. The situation is out of control now. The top priority is that we must find a safe place. It is impossible to return to Vienna now. It is not far from Wagram. We can go there first!"
Daniel said to Alexander eagerly, and it wasn't until he heard Daniel's roar beside him that Alexander seemed to wake up. He looked at Daniel gratefully.
"Daniel, you have not let me down. Today, even though all my brothers have betrayed me, you are still the only one who cares about me wholeheartedly! Then let's do what you arranged!"
Alexander chose to trust Daniel without hesitation, but this was a helpless move. After all, the only one around Daniel who could pay attention to him was Daniel.
With this sudden change, Alexander also knew that it was impossible to return to Vienna. Moreover, even if he returned to Vienna, what could he do?
Karl has rebelled. Although Alexander's other brother Ferdinand has not made any move yet, the army under Ferdinand's command only has 8,000 people. Of these 5,000, only 3,000 are Ferdinand.
The soldiers came from Tuscany, and the rest of the soldiers were also Austrians.
Originally, the capital of a country did not need to station so many troops. You must know that before, all the troops in the Vienna area combined, and the strength even reached 55,000. This is simply unbelievable. At present, the total number of troops in Austria is also
It's just over 100,000 yuan.
But the reason why so many troops were gathered was precisely to stabilize Alexander's rule over Austria. Although Alexander had occupied Vienna for several months, Vienna had never really welcomed the ruler. It was this crisis
This feeling led Alexander to deploy heavy troops around Vienna.
But who could have imagined that Alexander's previous actions to stabilize his rule would now become his biggest threat.
"Your Highness, without further ado, come with me quickly!"
After Daniel shouted loudly, he dragged Alexander down the high platform. Under the steps, more than 3,000 Hungarian troops also completed their assembly.
After Alexander got on the horse, Daniel immediately ordered:
"The whole army is marching eastward. If there are any obstacles along the way, we will kill them without mercy!"
While issuing military orders, Daniel did not forget to send people to the Hungarian military camp outside Vienna to order the troops there to go to Wagram. As for the locations of the Hungarian army and Ferdinand's army in Vienna, Daniel also sent messengers.
, of course Daniel also knew that it was really unknown whether these messengers could convey the general order to the two armies.
After the arrangements were made, Daniel rushed to the front of the army and commanded the army to fight a bloody path among the chaos!
"Your Highness Karl, Alexander is leading the army to flee eastward. It seems that it will not be difficult for His Highness Franz to return to Vienna. Here, on behalf of the Rietberg family and all the Austrian people, I would like to express my gratitude to you!"
Dominic stood next to Carl and said, seeing Dominic's face, Carl was filled with disgust.
His feelings for Franz Karl were actually very weak. After all, before this, Franz had never had a good attitude towards his younger brothers when he was the heir.
Precisely because Karl supported Alexander in his heart, when he learned that Alexander had captured Vienna, Karl directly agreed to support Alexander's rule without much weighing.
Originally, Karl was not prepared to oppose Alexander, but until he saw Franz being led to the guillotine not far away, the family affection in his heart made it difficult for Karl to express his feelings for a while. And at this time, he
The troops under his command suddenly mutinied and demanded that Franz be rescued.
The torment of family affection in his heart made Karl hesitate, but when Karl hesitated, others did not hesitate. When Karl did not speak, several generals immediately thought that Karl had acquiesced, and thus ordered the army to open fire on the Hungarian army.
Order.
But by the time Karl figured it out, it was already a done deal. Facing Karl's troops who had already launched an attack, the Hungarian troops on the periphery could only choose to fight back. In this case, even if Karl regretted it, it was already too late.
.
And just after Dominic finished speaking to Karl, the second son of Kaunitz triumphantly left Karl's side and walked towards Franz in the distance, who responded like a hero to the cheers of the people of Vienna.
"Your Highness, the Kaunitz family has gone too far. This situation was entirely caused by them. You also know what kind of character His Highness Franz is. After what happened to His Highness Alexander, you will accept it from His Highness Franz."
All you get is suspicion!"
Beside Karl, a staff officer said softly.
Anyone who is in power will have a group of confidants, and obviously this advisor is one of Karl's confidants.
After hearing the words of his cronies, Karl frowned and said:
"But now that we have fought Alexander, if we regret it now, it will not help at all. What can we do if we don't move towards Franz!"
After Karl finished speaking, the staff officer looked around cautiously. When he saw that all the people around him were Karl's own people, the staff officer immediately said:
"Your Highness, actually now is our best opportunity, the situation is so chaotic right now. As long as you kill His Highness Franz, then you will be the only heir to that throne. After all, His Highness Alexander is unpopular and has been abandoned by the people.
, we can definitely declare Alexander a traitor!
In this way, after the death of His Highness Franz and the rebellion of His Highness Alexander, you are the only one who can sit on that throne!
I just noticed that there are only a small number of generals who are loyal to the Rietberg family, and most of the generals who are loyal to you have been left in the military camp.
As long as you raise your own flag, you will immediately gain the loyalty of more than 20,000 troops! Coupled with your reputation, it will not be a problem for you to take over Vienna by then!"
This counselor's words made Karl, who was already in chaos, completely confused.
Seeing that Karl was unmoved, the staff officer said anxiously:
"Your Highness, now is no longer the time to hesitate. If His Highness Franz really gains the morale of the military and the people, you will have no chance at all if you want to take action! And how did His Highness Franz treat you before? Is it possible?
Have you forgotten? You can’t think that His Highness Franz’s character will fundamentally change, right?”
Thinking of Franz's cold attitude towards him when he was a child, and of Franz's jealousy and secret conspiracy when he showed his prominence in the army, Karl's teeth were already gritted together.
"Your Highness, this opportunity must not come back again. We have no time to hesitate!"
After hearing this urging, Karl finally made up his mind
"Okay, issue my order immediately and mobilize troops loyal to me to arrest Franz immediately. If no one can be caught alive, I will allow the army to open fire! And now, immediately send people to the military camp to mobilize the troops.
, I have no room to retreat this time!”
As Karl's order was issued, the troops loyal to His Highness the Grand Duke immediately began to gather in the direction of Franz.
The Austrian troops that were originally resisting Alexander also changed their direction after receiving Karl's order, which allowed Alexander to break out of the siege without paying much cost.
"What's going on? Why did those Austrian troops withdraw?"
Seeing this scene, Alexander rushed to Daniel in surprise and asked Daniel.
"Your Highness, I think those Austrians may be impatient to rush to defend Franz and return to Vienna!"
Daniel answered noncommittally and then said anxiously:
"Your Highness, now is not the time to be distracted. It is a rare opportunity for us. It is best to get to Wagram as soon as possible!"
After hearing what Daniel said, Alexander put aside the doubts in his heart and continued to lead his army to escape towards the escape route opened by the Austrian army.
"Your Highness, Lord Dominic, that's not right. Why are all those soldiers gathering here? Don't they have to attack Alexander?"
A general loyal to Franz asked standing next to Franz, and at this moment Franz was standing on a carriage that appeared from nowhere like a hero to greet the cheers of all the people of Vienna.
Franz is surrounded by dead men loyal to the Rietberg family and some of Franz's former cronies. After all, Franz is not completely out of danger at this moment, so although Franz tries his best to appear friendly to the people,
gesture, but most of the crowd was blocked more than a hundred meters away from Franz.
"I said Anton, don't worry too much. I think Archduke Karl must be afraid that something might happen to His Highness Franz, so he sent these soldiers to protect us!"
Dominic stood under the carriage and said to the officer named Anton next to him.
Franz, who was standing on the carriage, also felt that it made sense after hearing what Dominic said. After all, Karl had already turned against him before. If Karl wanted to harm him at this time, there was no need at all. Before, he had only
Unless Karl changes sides, Franz will definitely die on the guillotine, even if tens of thousands of the people of Vienna are mobilized to spontaneously form an armed force.
But how can these ragtag armed forces compete with the regular army.
"Well, Anton, you are overthinking it. Karl has already switched sides. We don't have to worry too much, but Karl is indeed a big problem. I will deal with it after my position is stable!"
As he spoke, a cold look appeared in Franz's eyes.
Franz did not forget that Karl surrendered immediately after Alexander captured Vienna. If Karl had not led the army that had just withdrawn from the front line of the Austro-Prussian War to surrender to Alexander, then how could Franz surrender later?
He was defeated in the Battle of Graz and captured by Alexander.
After speaking to Anton, a smile appeared on Franz's face again. He raised his arms and waved to the people of Vienna who cheered his name.
But when Franz and his party were less than half an hour away from the city gate of Vienna, Franz and Dominic suddenly discovered that they had been separated from the people who supported them.
Surrounding them were all Austrian soldiers under Karl.
The speed of travel suddenly stopped
"what happened!"
Franz shouted dissatisfiedly to Anton and Dominic who were standing at the lower level of the carriage, and Dominic and Anton also had doubtful looks on their faces.
They believe that there are still Hungarian soldiers in the city of Vienna blocking their march, but they have not reached Vienna yet, and there are only 3,000 Hungarian troops in the city of Vienna. Not to mention that some of the officers among them were killed by Ritbe
The Ge family bought it.
Just when Franz and Dominic were confused, they saw that the Austrian soldiers who had turned their backs to them had turned around at the officer's order and pointed their guns at Franz and his party.
This scene shocked Franz and his party.
"What do you want to do! Do you want to rebel? Let Karl come to see me!"
Franz jumped out of the carriage with the help of his attendants, and then shouted at the Austrian soldiers thirty meters in front of him.
But Franz's roar did not cause any commotion among these soldiers. Even Dominic and Franz's cronies who wanted to come forward to argue were pushed back by the bayonets of these soldiers.
This scene made Franz feel bad. As for the people's armed forces who supported Franz, they were blocked by layers of Austrian soldiers.
"His Royal Highness Franz, I am the staff officer of His Highness Carl. His Highness Carl hopes that you can make a wise choice, otherwise, we cannot guarantee your safety!"
Suddenly, a passage opened up among the Austrian troops that had surrounded Franz and his party, and an officer with the rank of colonel on his shoulders walked in calmly.
Seeing this colonel officer, everyone who knew Karl knew that this officer was Karl's absolute confidant and had followed Karl all the way up from being a soldier.
"Andre, I don't want to say anything more to you. You guys should get out of the way immediately. I want to return to Vienna immediately!"
"Your Highness Franz, I'm afraid you won't be able to return to Vienna. All the soldiers here are loyal to His Highness Karl, and we all agree that in the face of today's chaotic Austria, there are only people as wise and wise as His Highness Archduke Karl.
Only then can we lead Austria to rise again!"
"What. You........."
Franz's face had turned the color of pig liver, and it could be said that all Andre's words were treasonous.
After a long time, in the whisper of Dominic, Franz's expression recovered a little and he said:
"As the biggest contributor to my rescue, as long as I return to Vienna, I will retain Karl's position as Commander-in-Chief of the Austrian Army, and I will also appoint Karl as Prime Minister of the Austrian Government. In this case, you can rest assured!"
Dominic just analyzed in Franz’s ears that Andre might come to him to ask for benefits. After all, before Karl defected, Franz did not promise any benefits to Karl. So if Andre comes now
It is very possible to come and ask for benefits for Karl.
Hearing Franz's words, Andre laughed dumbly and said;
"My Highness Franz, you don't think I'm here to get benefits from you! Well, we won't use any skirmishes. His Highness Karl doesn't want any casualties, so I still invite His Highness Franz.
It would be better for you to surrender immediately, otherwise it will be difficult for me to do so!"
After Andre explained what he said, Franz and Dominic's expressions changed drastically. They now realized that what Karl wanted was not the position of head of government, but what he wanted was the future crown of Austria!
"I count to three, if His Highness Franz still refuses to let your people put down their weapons, then I can only take tough measures!"
As he spoke, Andre raised his hands flat, and the Austrian soldiers standing in the back row immediately began to reload ammunition.
"Haha, I didn't expect that today's experience would be any better than what I have experienced in these years. I thought Karl was an unambitious person, but it wasn't until today that I realized that it turns out that those who seem to have the least ambition are often
He is the person with the most vicious heart!
Karl is very good, he can endure until now, I lose, haha!"
As he said this, Franz burst out laughing.
"Come on, Andre, I have lived enough. I no longer have any attachment to this bad world. If Carl dares to kill his own brother, he will not die well in the future!"
As he spoke, Franz rushed toward the gun pointed at him.
At this time, Andre happened to count to three, and then he saw Andre's arm suddenly waved down, bursts of gunshots rang out, and Franz's body was almost smashed into sieves by the aimed rifle.