Chapter: 26 | Salvation

The hard days did not last long. After more than half a month of training, the noble officers finally seemed to have gained some military temperament.

But by now, the content of training had also changed: in addition to simple physical exercise, there was also a military command course.

This course was very targeted, and all the cases explained in it were street battles, which Franz carefully selected for the reason that he was personally interested in them.

Everyone had basic knowledge about the military, so it was not difficult for them to understand this course. Unlike the previous physical training, many people were highly interested in this course.

'This is what we are good at! What a shame to train us as if we are civilian soldiers!' these noble officers thought.

Albrecht sneered and said, "Well, I'm done! Assuming that the enemy is attacking Vienna, you people, every team as a unit, will make a defense plan, correspondingly.

Or assuming that the enemy has occupied Vienna, and we are carrying out a counterattack, every unit will formulate an operational plan, correspondingly.

The time limit is three days, and then I will give you a score. If you fail, it will prove that your military command ability is not adequate, and you are nitwits who will go back to the physical training!"

Feeling a chill from Albrecht's words, many people had a bitter expression and looked around to their teammates.

"Your military command ability is not adequate, and you are nitwits." With this comment, if you ended your military career, what could you do with your fame as a noble officer?

Everyone was young and full of spirit. Who was willing to admit that he was a Nitwit?

No one doubted that Albrecht would do what he said because he had a family tradition.

When Archduke Carr had carried out his military reform, he did the same thing: he turned a group of nobles who he thought were not suitable to serve as officers into soldiers and forced them to retire.

The rest of those retired noble officers' lives were really dull!

In the circle of nobles, their experience was still circulating, known as the shame of the Austrian nobles.

The nobles in the German region had retained the tradition of joining the army. Everyone was trained as an officer from an early age. After more than ten years of hearing and seeing, even if he was a pig, he was also a cultured pig with military knowledge!

In a word, the Austrian nobles in this period had not completely fallen, and everyone still had a sense of honor.

Even during the Austro-Prussian War, the combat effectiveness of the Austrian army was among the best in Europe.

Of course, the City Defense Army might be an exception, and it might represent the lowest level of the Austrian army because the prosperity of Vienna had eroded the willpower of the officers.

Who could explain all these complexities clearly? The most important thing then was to save these eight hundred young men and pull them back from the edge of corruption. Then, the coming Vienna March Revolution would no longer be a problem.

"What do you think, Albrecht? Are there any good ones among these men?" Franz asked.

"I'm afraid that my answer will disappoint you. The level of these men can only be said to be far too low. They still have too much to learn. Let's wait until they finish the training," Albrecht said, shaking his head.

"What about them being a platoon officer? Right now, if we send them down to the combat troops and have them command a company or a platoon, how much combat power can they inspire?" Franz asked with concern.

"Your expectation for them should be really low. Though now most of them are not suitable to be frontline commanders, if you had to use them, they could probably inspire sixty or seventy percent of the combat power of a troop," Albrecht said after a moment's thought.

 Franz sighed with relief after hearing his comment: with this fighting capacity, he could almost cope with what was to come.

"Then give them another try. Regardless of their capacity, at least these people are loyal and enthusiastic, and you don't have to worry about them becoming deserters!" Franz said with a smile.

At that moment, Franz felt it had been totally worth his coming personally. With the City Defense Army and the Royal Guard under his control, basically the overall situation could be managed.

"That's true, and they are better than the old cunning ones in the City Defense Army. Franz, what's the purpose of this, now that you do not have the fight to fight? Do you want to use them to replace the old cunning ones?" Albrecht asked in doubt.

"The influence caused by the removal of so many officers at one time is too great. We can arrange for them to serve as deputies in the Army in the name of training.

Then we will organize an armed training, which will let them command, and we will watch the result!" Franz lied without showing any emotion on his face.

Even he himself didn't believe that he would spend so much effort just to let these people replace the guys in the City Defense Army.

Fortunately, he was in Europe. If Franz dared to do something like this in the East as a Prince, everyone's first guess would be that he was planning a rebellion!

Albrecht did not ask again since Franz had not answered his question. Anyway, he had received the order from Ferdinand I personally that Franz was supervising the City Defense Army.

The possibility of rebellion did not need to be considered at all: it was just too stupid to do in Europe. Moreover, Franz did not have to do anything, and he would be Regent in two or three years.

The situation of Ferdinand I was clear to all: he couldn't possibly have an heir. When Franz was old enough, he would exercise the power of the Emperor as the crown prince, which was a little more powerful than that of the Regent committee.

If Franz really wanted to be an Emperor, he could wait for his uncle to die! So, after all, Franz had no reason to take risks to rebel.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for Albrecht to accompany him. This group of noble officers would neither respect nor follow him like they would a powerful prince!

"OK, whatever you want; anyway, as long as there's no messing around, I will cooperate with you!" Albrecht said helplessly.

In Albrecht's view, Franz was a teenager who was too anxious to make his name.

Albrecht had also experienced that feeling when he was young, and he knew that opposition was useless against it. The more you tried to stop him, the more he wanted to do it.

But at that point, what Franz had done was still within the scope of the rules, and he was not messing around.

On the surface, Franz was preparing to replace the rotten noble officers with young noble officers, which would not cause a strong objection from the nobility.

This was not out of line in everyone's eyes. The positions were still within their class, and these nobles did not rely on their military positions to survive.

Maybe the one who replaced an old cunning noble officer was his own son or brother, or even a distant relative.

If Franz wanted to promote civilian officers, Albrecht would not be so nice to talk with. It was not possible for him to abandon his class stand.

If Franz wanted to know what Albrecht thought, Albrecht would definitely tell him that he was thinking too much. It was inconceivable to promote civilian officers in that era.

Regardless of other external factors, for military literacy alone, the two types were not at the same level.

Unless the person was very talented, it would take years to turn an illiterate into a qualified officer.