Chapter 289: What Sentiment is There Between Nations?
Queen Mary, hearing this, immediately looked at Archbishop Brienne: "My brother is troubled by illness, and now this has happened in the Southern Netherlands. I believe we should help him deal with the rebellion."
She crossed her hands, pondering, "The Dutch should have considerable influence over the Southern Netherlands, and we have been supporting the Dutch Patriot Party. Now it's time for them to reciprocate."
Archbishop Brienne nodded at once. "Of course, Your Majesty. But in truth, I believe Emperor Joseph II can easily suppress the few thousand rioters in Brabant."
Joseph, recalling information about the Brabant Uprising, furrowed his brow.
'This is no rebellion Austria can easily resolve!'
Historically, Britain, Prussia, and the Netherlands quickly intervened in this chaotic situation. Subsequently, an uprising also erupted in Liège, in the eastern Southern Netherlands. The rebel forces in the Southern Netherlands alone numbered over twenty thousand, and with the addition of Prussian intervention forces and substantial funds provided by the Netherlands, their fighting strength was not to be underestimated.
In reality, the Austrian army, tasked with suppressing the rebellion, encountered fierce resistance almost immediately upon entering the Southern Netherlands. They were ultimately nearly annihilated by the combined Prussian and Dutch forces.
The Austrian commander, left with no choice, retreated to Luxembourg to establish defenses and urgently requested aid from Vienna.
It was then that Joseph II passed away. The newly enthroned Leopold II, seeing the unfavorable situation, was forced to revoke the reform measures of his brother, Joseph II, to stabilize the Southern Netherlands and the domestic situation.
Soon after, Austria mustered nearly all its forces from Hungary, Bohemia, Moravia, and Galicia, totaling an imposing army of 180,000 soldiers, along with over ten thousand troops from the Duke of Bavaria. This formidable host then marched grandly towards the Southern Netherlands.
Meanwhile, King William II of Prussia entrusted over 100,000 Prussian troops to the Duke of Brunswick and rallied Saxony, Mainz, Hesse, and other states to form an allied army, a total of 150,000 men, determined to intervene in the Southern Netherlands.
William II even demanded that newly allied Poland send troops to reinforce the Southern Netherlands. Prince Poniatowski prepared 30,000 soldiers, but out of a desire not to offend Austria, he continuously hesitated to deploy them.
Even so, the combined forces of the Southern Netherlands rebels and the Prussian allied army were comparable in number to the Austrian forces.
By the end of 1790, a large-scale, fierce battle erupted between the two sides. At the time, all the European nations believed this would mark the beginning of another Seven Years' War.
However, just as the war intensified, an internal conflict broke out between the Conservatives and Liberals within the Southern Netherlands rebel army.
Ultimately, the Liberal faction led by Vander Noot successfully seized power, while Vonck, a leader of the Conservatives, was forced into exile. The rebel army instantly plunged into disarray.
The Austrian army seized the opportunity to launch an attack, swiftly occupying key strongholds like Liège and Brussels. The Prussian forces temporarily retreated into Dutch territory.
Just as William II prepared to amass more troops for a counterattack, the French Revolution escalated, drawing the attention of both Prussia and Austria.
Subsequently, Louis XVI was guillotined, and the two nations immediately ceased hostilities, issued the Declaration of Pillnitz, and formed the First Anti-French Coalition. The armies previously arrayed on the Southern Netherlands front converged and transformed into a force to intervene in France.
One could say that Louis XVI selflessly used his own head to avert a potential "Second Seven Years' War."
Joseph's fingers tapped lightly on the armrest of his chair. Now that he had suppressed the French Revolution, the war sparked by the Brabant Uprising would very likely continue to escalate.
'In this great war, how could France maximize its interests with the least possible cost?'
At the head of the conference table, Queen Mary stated in a resolute tone, "At the very least, it would allow my poor brother to catch his breath. We would lose nothing by approaching the Dutch, and we would gain Austria's gratitude. Let us proceed with that."
Joseph shook his head inwardly. Austria's main attention was currently on Prussia, but that didn't mean they harbored deep friendship for France.
On the contrary, for Austria to become the hegemon of the European continent, France was the greatest obstacle. They consistently regarded France as their primary hypothetical enemy.
Historically, the swift formation of the Anti-French Coalition was not truly about "avenging King Louis XVI and his consort," which was merely a superficial pretext. The core factor was that Austria, Prussia, Britain, and their ilk sought to seize the opportunity, while France was weakened and in chaos due to the Revolution, to once and for all resolve the persistent threat France posed.
Had Emperor Napoleon not emerged out of nowhere later on, 19th-century France would likely have been utterly shattered by the Coalition Forces, perhaps even fragmenting into numerous small states.
'It mattered little that his own mother was an Austrian princess; that meant nothing. Austria wouldn't hesitate to act when it suited them. As for kinship, all of Europe's royal families were related, yet for centuries, any dispute over interests would immediately lead to fierce, brutal conflicts.'
'Therefore, there was no talk of sentiment between nations; only interests mattered!'
'Only by developing France into a nation of unparalleled strength could it truly secure its safety on a continent teeming with powerful states.'
Joseph quickly reviewed the historical trajectory of Austria, Prussia, and other nations in his mind, gradually outlining a general framework for France to profit from the momentum of the Brabant Uprising.
He looked at Queen Mary. "Your Majesty, we should indeed help Austria."
Seeing the Queen smile, he immediately continued, "But perhaps we could also use this opportunity to acquire Wallonia. As you know, that is a region of immense importance to France."
Wallonia was the large southern region of the Southern Netherlands, inhabited almost entirely by French-speaking people who were naturally very close to France.
Even more importantly, it boasted one of Europe's largest coal mines!
Coal was the lifeblood of the Industrial Revolution, and for France, naturally lacking in coal, it was even more invaluable.
The Saar region—Alsace and Lorraine, that is—could supply France with its most basic coal needs, but for the nation to truly take off during the Industrial Revolution, those reserves would prove insufficient.
This was also a crucial reason why, historically, no matter how desperately France tried, it could never truly compete with Britain and Germany during the First Industrial Revolution.
One could say that acquiring the coal from Wallonia and the iron from Luxembourg would lay the foundation for France's Industrial Revolution to soar.
Of course, France's immediate desire for Wallonia was primarily driven by its French-speaking population of over 1.5 million, and the Rhine River, which was practically on its doorstep.
Queen Mary fell silent upon hearing this. She hadn't expected her son to so calmly point out where France's true interests lay. In contrast, her own thoughts had only been of aiding her ailing brother.
She nodded slightly, acknowledging the Crown Prince's words.
Though she was Joseph II's sister, she was first and foremost the Queen of France. For her, the interests of France had to come first!
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