Chapter 205 202. Candidates for Commander-in-Chief

On May 16, a simple and ordinary day, the old Marshal Ludwig underwent the world's first disc removal surgery.

The operation happened quietly, with no announcement and no alert to reporters. In fact, few people in Austria knew about it, but it touched the hearts of almost all Austrian senior officials. After all, the old marshal had been through death for so many years and had made great military exploits. Even if

No longer serving as the supreme commander of the entire army, he should also enjoy his old age in peace after losing his beloved son.

Worries are certain, but they are not entirely for the sake of worry.

The manor has admitted a lot of people today. Except for some surgeons who want to learn surgery, most of the country's power centers are gathered here. In addition to waiting for the results of Ludwig's surgery, they also hope to take this opportunity to have a good chat.

Let’s talk about the new commander-in-chief.

But since Ludwig frankly refused the appointment, this has always been a sensitive topic. It should be discussed after the king raised it, instead of others talking nonsense. So Franz did not speak, and no one wanted to

The first one spoke up, everyone stood together in twos and threes and just talked about their own things.

The entire living room is roughly divided into three levels of power ladder.

The top level is naturally Franz's royal family and the Prime Minister, the middle level is the cabinet ministers and members of parliament, and then there are the scattered local nobles. Most of those who can come here have some relationship with military affairs, and they are also

Some are old acquaintances of the old marshal.

The most eye-catching person among them was not King Franz, but Grand Duke Brecht Rudolf sitting next to him.

The eldest son of Archduke Karl, a famous general during the Napoleonic Wars, and the grandson of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II, received military education from an early age. He joined the Austrian Army with the rank of colonel 30 years ago and commanded the infantry regiment. Two years later, he transferred to the cavalry regiment and then

One year later, he was promoted to major general.

Although he played a less honorable role in 1948, he subsequently made outstanding achievements in the Italian campaign, and later served as governor of Hungary and marshal of the Eighth Army of Vicenza.

Brecht was different from the old Marshal Ludwig who was good at holding on. He was better at attacking. He was very precise in grasping fighter opportunities and would not miss any opportunity to attack the enemy. He also advocated reform of the bloated Imperial Army, railways,

Reserve military service, improved weapons, and the establishment of a sound staff are all his ideas.

After Marshal Ludwig announced that he would give up his post as commander of the Legion, the 49-year-old Brecht was the most competitive candidate. [1]

"Italy has been closely related to Prussia recently, and it is very likely that they will send troops together to retake the last bit of Italian land." Franz held a fruit plate in his hand, but he was not interested in the fruits inside. "Brecht, originally

I hope you go to the southern front."

"I'm going to deal with Italy?" Brecht was a little surprised, "But I'm not familiar with Lombardy, the southern battlefield this time."

"So I said it was the original"

Franz had the world's first-class army and many officers at his disposal, but he only lacked a leader who could lead the entire army. It was already difficult enough to separate the north and south lines, but now he also lost Luther.

As for the corner of Vichy, no matter how strong Brecht is, there is no way he can be broken in half and used.

"Your Majesty the King, I would rather go to the Northern Front to have a chance with Prussia." Brecht said, "The Prussian Federation is divided and there are a large number of anti-Prussian armed forces and troops in Nanpu. My personal suggestion is that after the troops are briefly assembled, they can quickly

We drove into western Bohemia, made contact with them, and headed straight for Berlin."

At this time, Lieutenant Colonel Baker, the king's staff officer, said repeatedly: "The marshal and I have the same idea. There is also the Kingdom of Saxony locally. We can ask them to fight together."

Both of them were top students in the military academy and had many years of experience in the army. They were very good at military affairs, but they were not very sensitive to politics.

"It's not that easy."

Franz easily pointed out the shortcomings of their simple plan: "The Bavarian army is not useful; the Hessian hussars are already a thing of the past, and now they may not even have uniforms; Baden is more

If you are pro-Prussian, you will definitely not try your best; the Hanoverian commander may be as capable as my son.

Among these federations, only the Kingdom of Saxony has some fighting strength, but the old king is too indecisive and may not take a stand until the actual war begins."

Although Franz had always looked down on Prussia openly, he had worked hard secretly. In just a few sentences, he summarized the appearance of the friendly forces, and his own worries were also faintly revealed between the lines.

"If Berlin cannot be captured, then quickly move the troops into Bohemia and annihilate the Prussian army there."

Franz agreed with this plan and intended to put Brecht in front of him as commander-in-chief.

However, the northern front has many valleys and canyons, which are easy to defend and difficult to attack. Strategically, it is more suitable for the old marshal who is good at letting go. It is not suitable for Brecht to carry out a rapid penetration attack. Even if Brecht can really stabilize the situation on the northern front,

But the southern front still lacks a frontline commander.

This commander will command an army of 80,000 people, facing the vast plains of Lombardy and the Italian army waiting for complete independence.

The southern front is easy to attack and difficult to defend. Although the Italian troops are vulnerable, they have the confidence brought by their previous victory in the War of Independence. France, not far away, is also an important combat force worthy of vigilance.

Although Edward insisted on peace, when the critical moment came, France would be happy to see Austria defeated. Once Austria gained the advantage over Prussia, the southern front would need to be prepared for the French army to join.

"Oh, I have a headache."

It was not difficult for others to see what Franz was thinking. They could see some clues from where Brecht was sitting next to the king. But they also knew that it was not enough for the imperial army to have a commander-in-chief;

After the division of troops, another legion will have to find a suitable commander.

For this position, those nobles and mid-level officers seemed to have their own ideas: "Major General Jedion has followed the old marshal through life and death for so many years. He must have seniority and qualifications, and military merit, so he should be the best candidate."

"Grand Duke Brecht doesn't want to see our major general."

"It is indeed a bit low in terms of military rank."

The Jedion they are talking about is the chief of staff of the old Field Marshal Ludwig. He is the same age as Brecht, but he has never been promoted well because of his family's abilities. The rank of Major General is in the Imperial Army, which is full of talents.

If you don't stand out enough, you can only command a certain corps, not the entire army.

"There is a vacancy in the position of Marshal. We can ask the Marshal to recommend Major General Jedion and raise his rank."

"Having said all that, why don't you recommend yourself?"

Suddenly, Jedion, who everyone was talking about, stood up: "You are also generals, not just major generals, but also lieutenant generals and generals. Why are you staring at me alone?"

"In terms of qualifications, we can't compare to you."

Jedion snorted: "Maybe we can still fight on the northern front. Holding on to the Bohemian defense line can always withstand the Prussian offensive. But I really can't fight on the terrain on the southern front. Not only do we have to defeat the Italians there,

It is really difficult for the army to defend France."

Everyone expressed their attitude, and everyone was silent. Looking at Franz in the distance who had no desire to discuss, they began to change the topic: "I really didn't expect the old marshal to retire at this time."

"His old injuries are becoming more and more serious, and his body cannot withstand frontline combat."

"He is the commander-in-chief, so there is no need to fight."

"You have to go to the front line, you have to ride a horse. How can his waist and legs withstand the bumps?"

"But I heard that the risks of surgery are very high, is it possible?"

"If it were me, I would definitely not want to have surgery. Just sticking a knife into your butt would be even more disgusting than losing a battle on the front line."

"The knife doesn't go into the butt, it goes into the lower back."

"That's pretty much the same. The position is too sensitive anyway, so I don't mind moving it."

"You've never experienced pain before, so you don't understand how terrible it is. The old marshal has been in pain for more than ten years, and it's getting worse and worse. My son has died these days. I'm afraid what if he lets out his breath while he's hanging on?

"

"."

All kinds of speculations filled the simple conversation, and finally they all converged on the head of the Director of the Military Medical Department, Edinson: "Doctor Edinson, you are the person who knows the most about surgery here. What do you think of the surgery?"

"how?"

Edinson had just been refused entry into the bedroom by the marshal, and he felt unhappy. Now that he was asked this question again, his face became even more ugly: "How do I know? I'm not Kawei. I mean, he invented surgery.

I didn’t participate and I don’t even know how the surgery was performed, so how can I evaluate it?”

"So that's it." Seeing that he was in a bad mood, everyone could only turn to the other side and do the next best thing, "What about Dr. Berget?"

Because Bergt had no experience in the army, even with a background of Krissy, he could only stand on the periphery of these aristocratic groups and just listen to the stories. Suddenly a question hit his head, which surprised him: "I

?I just came here with my father to see the world."

"Dr. Berget is still too humble. Who doesn't know that you went on Dr. Kawei's operating table a week ago and you are no less popular than him."

This round of rainbow fart slaps made Berget a little confused. He waved his hands repeatedly and clarified: "Don't make fun of me. I was just a third assistant doing odd jobs. I didn't even have the ability to go to the operating table to help pull the hook. I was so popular.

What's the use?"

"Then today's surgery"

After being baptized for two months, Bergt had fully recognized Kawei's strength and let go of the burden in his heart: "The operation process is very complicated. I am not even qualified to participate in the autopsy practice. I only listened to Dr. Kawei's simple explanation."

Let me tell you the story again. To be honest, the two assistants who were on the operating table that day were not able to participate in the cadaver practice of this operation."

This passage is enough to point out the difficulty of the operation, but there is still some ambiguity in it.

Because the candidate was appointed by Ludwig, he had little to do with Kawei. If possible, he also hoped to bring one or two young people with him to promote more talents for the future, but unfortunately it backfired.

Of course, Waterman, Orji, and Massimov must be more capable, which will not be detrimental to the operation itself.

At this time, the operation had begun. Compared with the heavy atmosphere in the living room downstairs, the bedroom was no less impressive. In addition to several doctors preparing to perform the operation, there were also two nurses, a housekeeper and two maids.

The nurse was brought by Kavi to deliver equipment and do some chores.

The housekeeper and maid have to deal with some more private tasks. For example, now, they need to undress the marshal who has inhaled a large amount of ether gas, and then move him to a special operating table. [2]

"Why is it empty in the middle?"

The housekeeper has worked at the manor for decades and is very concerned about the safety of the old marshal, so he is very dissatisfied with the shape of this weird operating table: "How can the marshal sleep peacefully on this operating table?"

Kawei ignored his suggestion: "Of course I have my reasons for designing this way. Everything is to make the operation go more smoothly."
To be continued...