Chapter 922: The Empire's New Inner Circle
Twelve days later, a Hungarian rebel force of nearly a thousand men stormed Târgu Mureș, a strategic town south of Essenmarkt.
Due to the massive redeployment of troops elsewhere, the garrison within the city numbered fewer than three hundred soldiers.
It took the rebels only two days to seize the settlement.
Simultaneously, Serbian rebels swept through Timisoara, advancing relentlessly until they were finally halted at the Temes fortress.
The Romanians were also active, launching strikes across the eastern provinces.
In an instant, the southeastern reaches of Austria were engulfed in the flames of war. The Hungarian Noble Diet, which had originally controlled the region, was thrown into a frenzy of panic. They scrambled to divert their meager remaining forces from the north to suppress the southern uprisings while racing to Brno to plead for help from the Emperor.
Emboldened by the rebels' string of victories, more factions that had previously been hovering on the sidelines decided to join the fray.
From Torontal all the way to Essenmarkt, almost every town was answering the call of the independence movement. The countryside had long since become the primary base of operations for the insurgent armies.
Even Slovakia was beginning to show signs of restlessness...
The various ethnic groups within the empire were sharply divided, separated by language and culture. Regions like Hungary, Slovakia, and Bohemia had originally been sovereign duchies or kingdoms, bound only by their shared submission to the Holy Roman Emperor.
When the empire was strong, these divisions were manageable. However, at the first sign of instability, every faction immediately began contemplating their own path to independence.
In northern Austria, within the city of Brno.
Minister of the Interior Cobentzel emerged from the Emperor's temporary palace, wearing a somber expression. He walked briskly, intending to seek out the representatives of the Hungarian Diet for a private discussion.
Just moments ago, the Hungarians had actually requested that His Majesty redeploy Bajzáth's Corps back to Transylvania to crush the rebellion.
According to their reports, the rebel forces now exceeded ten thousand men and were growing rapidly.
The Emperor, with the staunch support of Baron Thugut, had rejected the Hungarian Diet's request. Bajzáth's Corps was the primary force defending the Klagenfurt fortress; moving them was out of the question.
As Cobentzel was about to board his carriage, a young man dressed in black approached him. The youth bowed, hand over his chest, and addressed him politely. "Your Excellency, my master invites you to join him for a talk about old times."
Cobentzel narrowed his eyes, his brow furrowing. "I am very busy. So, please tell me, for whom are you speaking?"
The young man scanned their surroundings, stepped forward two paces, and whispered a name.
Cobentzel's pupils constricted instantly. He stood frozen for a few seconds before nodding slowly. "The address."
Twenty minutes later.
Cobentzel's carriage came to a stop before an inconspicuous villa in the northern district of Brno.
He stepped down from the carriage, and a servant immediately came forward to greet him, leading him up to the second floor.
The large doors at the end of the hallway were pushed open, and Cobentzel immediately spotted an elderly man sitting in a lounge chair: Count Kaunitz.
This was the legendary statesman who had served three successive rulers of the empire—Empress Maria Theresa, Joseph II, and Leopold II—as the Minister of State.
Cobentzel straightened his collar and stepped into the room.
As he moved past the frame of the door, his gaze swept across the room, and he realized several other people were present.
They were all figures of significant influence, and their presence startled him—
Stadion, the Assistant to the Minister of Finance.
Spielmann, the Minister of Justice.
Trauttmansdorff, the Assistant Foreign Minister.
The Marquis of Becerelar, a senior advisor to the Military Committee.
And even his own uncle, Johann Karl von Cobentzel, who had always been more obsessed with art than politics.
Beside his uncle stood his cousin, Ludwig von Cobentzel, the imperial envoy to Russia.
Only the blond, sharp-nosed young man standing behind Kaunitz was an unfamiliar face.
Behind him, the servant quietly closed the door.
Cobentzel let out a soft breath and bowed deeply to Kaunitz and the others.
After the men returned the greeting in turn, Kaunitz spoke, his voice thin and lacking its former strength.
"Your Excellency, you should be well aware that the empire has reached an extremely perilous moment."
He gestured toward the others in the room. "We must make a decision."
Cobentzel's heart pounded against his ribs. He replied cautiously, "I... I'm not entirely sure I understand your meaning..."
Kaunitz's physical condition was clearly fragile; he rested for several seconds before continuing.
"The empire was mistakenly dragged into a war. Now, the situation is clear: we have no hope of defeating France."
He gasped for air, then raised a hand toward the young man behind him. "This is my son-in-law, Metternich. From now on, he will serve as the spokesman for the Kaunitz-Rietberg family. Clemens, you explain the rest."
"Yes, father-in-law."
The young man stepped forward and gave Cobentzel a polite nod.
"Your Excellency, the rebellion in the southeast has already shaken the foundations of the empire. If we do not suppress it immediately, the empire will collapse from within long before the French ever breach Klagenfurt."
He picked up a letter from the table and handed it to Cobentzel. "This was written to my father-in-law by Archduke Charles."
'In the letter, he states clearly that Napoleon could launch an assault on Klagenfurt at any moment. He needs at least thirty thousand reinforcements sent to the fortress just to have a chance of holding the enemy at bay.'
The young man sighed. "The riots in Vienna may have been quelled, but as you know, those disturbances exhausted the empire's final reserves of strength."
"General Grassalkovich is currently purging the recruitment camps. They won't be able to provide a single new soldier for at least three months."
"Furthermore, the mutinies in those camps have made the populace even more hostile toward the conscription orders."
"In short, the fortress will fall before long."
Cobentzel swallowed hard, turning his gaze back to Kaunitz. "You... you intend to suggest that His Majesty seek a ceasefire?"
Metternich took up the thread. "Ending the war as soon as possible, while the imperial heartland has not yet been overrun, is the most advantageous outcome. Yes, as much as I hate to say it, this is the only viable path."
"Once the French withdraw their troops, Archduke Charles's army can immediately march to Transylvania to crush the rebellion."
Cobentzel swallowed hard once more.
He knew the current climate in Austria. Whoever proposed surrendering to France would see their political career end instantly.
More importantly, he was part of the faction led by Thugut, the very man who had pushed for the war. He would surely be caught in the inevitable purge.
His mind drifted back years, remembering how Baron Thugut and Baron Walter had used him and others to scheme against Kaunitz and force him from power.
'Count Kaunitz is seeking his revenge...'
Cobentzel's uncle, Johann von Cobentzel, finally spoke. "Johann, Count Kaunitz hopes you will withdraw your support for Baron Thugut."
"Baron Thugut, Baron Walter, and Count Rheinfels will bear the full responsibility for the failure of this war."
"The House of Cobentzel has already decided to fully support Count Kaunitz's decision."
Metternich added, "Everyone gathered here believes that after Baron Thugut is dismissed, you are the most suitable candidate to serve as the Minister of State."
Cobentzel's eyes widened in shock.
'Minister of State? They were offering him the most powerful position in the empire beneath the Emperor himself!'
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