Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 146

Chapter 146: Chapter 33: Purifying the Ranks of Officialdom

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Translator: 549690339

The struggle over strategic direction exists in any country with ambition. It is an unsolvable issue with no right or wrong answer; it’s all about appropriateness.

At present, both the Balkan faction and the South German faction have sufficiently compelling arguments.

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From a developmental perspective, the land in the Balkan region is more fertile, resources more abundant, which could accelerate the Austrian Empire’s economic growth; whereas the Germany Region contains the population that Austria most needs.

Both sides are important, but considering the issue of ethnic integration, Franz still inclines towards prioritizing the South Germany region first.

Once South Germany is annexed, the stability of the Austrian Empire is assured. The government could use immigration to allow various ethnic groups to live together, hastening the pace of ethnic integration.

In Franz’s view, the best way to speed up ethnic integration is through intermarriage. When a couple marries, it’s equivalent to the merging of two families, and it can also influence a whole circle of relatives and friends.

With an increase in the number of such marriages, the next generation will be of mixed ethnicity; these people will naturally have the highest level of identification with the products of ethnic integration.

Metternich spoke slowly, “To move westward or southward first is a question that requires careful consideration.

The international situation is ever-changing. Even if we make a decision now, we may later encounter irresistible forces that require us to abandon it.

Russia might make a move against the Ottoman Empire, but that’s just a possibility; what ultimately happens remains unknown.

Despite the many Russo-Turkish Wars, the Ottoman Empire still stands firm. Who can guarantee that the Russians will be able to swallow them whole? I presume no one here believes that the Russians can do that, right?

If that’s the case, then we must consider the reactions of England and France. If they go to war with Russia for the Ottomans, then whether we choose to move west or south, we have a window of opportunity.

If England and France choose not to enter the war, our desire to annex the South German Region might be just a dream and even our intention to gain significant benefits in the Balkan Peninsula could be subject to their interference.”

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The historical Crimean War was filled with happenstance: Napoleon III had just restored his rule and needed a foreign military victory to solidify his position; the British wanted to strike Russia to ensure their interests in the Mediterranean.

Just then, the Russians coveted control over the Black Sea Strait, simultaneously harming English and French economic interests. Once the London Government and the Paris Government discussed it, they decided to hit them hard.

Subsequently, the suicidal Crimean War erupted, and it must be said that it was a contest of incompetence. Whether it was England and France or Russia, more people died from logistical failures than on the battlefield.

No matter how historians try to cover it up, it does not change the fact that once soldiers go to war, their greatest enemies are not the opposing forces but disease and logistics.

A self-destructive war ended with both sides seriously damaged. Russia lost in the Crimea War Field, but they reclaimed their pride in the Caucasus War Field, beating the Ottomans to the point of utter misery.

The end result of the war was no indemnities or land cessions, and ironically, the biggest loser turned out to be the victorious Ottoman Empire, which revealed its inherent weakness—becoming the next meal for the great powers to carve up.

England and France achieved a strategic victory, locking the Russians out of the Black Sea and dismantling the “Tripartite Alliance of the North,” thus ending Russia’s hegemonic status in Europe.

Franz greatly appreciated Engels’ assessment of it as a “grand comedy of errors.”

Under his “butterfly effect,” would history change? And to what path would it lead?

What if the Russians chose to change the battlefield? For instance, what if they focused their primary efforts on the Caucasus or launched a preemptive strike on the Bosphorus Strait, or even pushed straight through from the Balkan Peninsula?

All these “what-ifs” could happen. With the Russian-Austrian Alliance in place, Austria would not switch sides, and Russia’s strategic choices would be even greater.

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This is the situation where a single hair can move the whole body. If the Russians act in advance, and Louis-Napoleon-Bonaparte has not yet completed his restoration, and the French Government continues to be preoccupied with internal strife, it is unlikely that John Bull alone would enter the fray.

Without England, France, and Austria ganging up on Russia, Austria would have no chance to expand westward besides engaging in expansion in the Balkans.

“Mr. Metternich is correct. It’s too early to decide on strategic choices. What we need to do now is not to prepare for expansion but to address the internal issues of the government.

The first problem is the lack of executive capability in the government. From the Central Government to local governments, there’s a widespread lack of implementation, which is the biggest cancer in the current government.

If officials cannot thoroughly implement the commands of the government, what use are they?

The Austrian Government is not a retirement home for officials. Those incapable, inattentive to duty, or attempting to merely pass the time, should go home and grow potatoes!”

The conflict over routes would not be resolved in a short period of time, and Franz decisively chose to change the subject. He had long wanted to deal with internal affairs, but there had never been an opportunity.

In 1848, the government was too busy waging wars to attend to these issues, and only conducted a cursory reorganization, eliminating a few bureaucrats who were not clear-headed to establish authority.

In 1849, the government was extremely busy. Franz had just ascended the throne and needed to ensure domestic stability. He also initiated compulsory education, creatively adopted the civil service examination system, and identified pillar industries for the Austrian Empire.

Now that the government finally had some downtime, Franz naturally wouldn’t let the Cabinet be idle. If there were no other matters, then purifying the bureaucratic team was a good place to start.

Anti-corruption was a good weapon, but Emperor Franz could not advocate it himself, as the Austrian Government was rife with corrupt officials, which easily caused general apprehension.

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Indeed, since Franz had ascended the throne, the bureaucratic group in Austria had become much cleaner. Faced with a strong Emperor, many had consciously reined in their behavior.

With the upper echelons of the government becoming incorruptible, the middle and lower levels were definitely influenced. Anyone who could enter the political arena was no fool and knew what to do at what time.

During the reign of Ferdinand I, the Emperor was unable to handle government affairs, and power fell into the hands of the Executive Committee.

A group of power ministers were too busy struggling against each other and trying to win over subordinates to start a conflict over petty corruption.

If they couldn’t be all knocked down at once, then couldn’t those with poor execution be targeted? Franz wasn’t planning a massacre, just sending the incompetent officials home.

If one was unlucky enough to be caught for corruption, then there was no escaping the consequences, as Austria was a nation under the rule of law and would act accordingly.

Incompetence was scarier than corruption. Those who were both corrupt and incompetent were utterly unforgivable.

There was no need for many, just send home one percent of the incompetent officials and select a few unlucky ones as examples to the others, and Austria’s bureaucratic problems would be curtailed.

Franz wouldn’t entertain the immature idea of eliminating all corrupt officials. Such a strategy might be appropriate for a burgeoning nation, but in a well-established Empire like Austria, interest groups had long been intertwined.

As Emperor, there was no issue striking at a handful who lacked discretion and acted recklessly, as long as the pretext was appropriate, everyone would cooperate enthusiastically.

If he aimed to uproot entire interest groups, pushing them into a corner, they wouldn’t hesitate to replace the Emperor.

One could not expect bureaucrats to have integrity, but as long as they did not cross the line, Franz’s tolerance was quite high.

Clean officials were needed, corrupt officials were also needed, and even inept officials could be kept, as long as they were placed in the right positions, they could have an unexpected impact.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Prime Minister Felix answered.

He was already prepared to promote the performance evaluation system, a measure designed by the Austrian Government to prevent lower-level officials from slacking off — a performance assessment system for government achievements.

This standard was not very high, as long as one could complete the work within their responsibilities and act according to government regulations, they would be considered competent.

If one could achieve more on this basis, congratulations, prepare for a promotion.

On the contrary, if one did not act in accordance with government regulations and had no significant achievements to show, they were the incompetent ones to be purged.

Developing the economy was a political achievement, promoting national integration was a political achievement, popularizing compulsory education was a political achievement, and faithfully implementing the government’s edicts was also a political achievement.

The scope was broad, and any success in a certain area was considered a political achievement.

The Austrian Government aimed to strike down those unruly and incompetent officials.

If the Central Government asked you to promote the German language and you went on to promote a local dialect, who would be doomed if not you?

As a target of the government’s crackdown, naturally, investigating your wallet was inevitable. If any issues were found, it would serve as a perfect example to others.

How many officials lost their positions and how many were promoted as a result was not of great concern to Franz; he only cared about the end result.