On May 16, a simple and ordinary day, Marshal Ludwig underwent the world's first disc removal surgery.
The operation happened quietly, without any announcement or alerting 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 has been through life and death for so many years and has made great military exploits. Even if he no longer serves as the supreme commander of the army, he should still enjoy his old age in peace after losing his beloved son.
Worries are a given, but they are not entirely for the sake of worry.
The manor admitted a lot of people today. Except for some surgeons who wanted to learn surgery, most of the country's power centers were gathered here. In addition to waiting for the results of Ludwig's surgery, they also hope to take this opportunity to talk about the new commander-in-chief.
But it has been a sensitive subject ever since Ludwig came out and turned down the appointment. It should be discussed after the king proposes it, instead of other people talking nonsense. So Franz didn't speak, and no one wanted to be the first to speak up. Everyone stood together in twos and threes and just talked about their own business.
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 the people who can come here have some connection with military affairs, and 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 Charles, a famous general during the Napoleonic Wars, and the grandson of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II, he received military education since childhood. He joined the Austrian Army with the rank of colonel 30 years ago and commanded the infantry regiment. Two years later he was transferred to the cavalry regiment, and 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 perseverance. 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 the reform of the bloated Imperial Army, including railways, reserve military service, improved weapons, and the establishment of a sound general staff.
After Marshal Ludwig announced that he would give up his post as commander of the army, 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 regain 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 in his hands and many officers at his disposal, but he lacked a leader who could lead the entire army. It was already difficult enough to separate the north and south lines, but now the Ludwig corner is also missing. No matter how strong Brecht is, there is no way to break it in half and use it.
"Your Majesty the King, I prefer to go to the northern front to have a chance with Prussia." Brecht said, "The Prussian Federation has a divided heart, and there are a large number of anti-Prussian armed forces and troops in Nanpu. My personal suggestion is to 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 are top students in the military academy and have been in the army for many years. They are very good in the military, but they are 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 has always looked down on Prussia openly, he has worked hard secretly. In just a few sentences, he summarized the appearance of the friendly forces, and his worries were also faintly revealed between the lines.
"If Berlin cannot be captured, then move the troops quickly 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 line 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, and it is not suitable for Brecht to perform a quick and interspersed attack. Even if Brecht could really stabilize the situation on the northern front, the southern front still lacked a front-line 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 spoke of peace, when the critical moment came, France would be happy to see Austria defeated. Once Austria gained the upper hand over Prussia, the southern front would need to be prepared for the addition of French troops.
"Oh, I have a headache."
It was not difficult for others to see what Franz was thinking. Some clues could be seen from the fact that Brecht was sitting next to the king. But they also know that it is not enough for the imperial army to have the commander-in-chief of the entire army. They also need to find a suitable commander for the other legion after the division.
For this position, the 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 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 Marshal Ludwig. He is the same age as Brecht, but he has never been promoted well because of his family's ability. The rank of major general is not outstanding enough in the Imperial Army, which is full of talents. At most, it 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 yourselves?"
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 fell 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 getting worse 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. Putting a knife directly into your butt is 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 it's okay not to move."
"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 hanging in the air? "
"."
Various speculations filled the simple conversation, and finally they all converged on the head of the Military Medical Department Director 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 bad. Now that he was asked this question again, his face became even more ugly: "How do I know? I'm not Kavi. 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 military, even with Krissy's background, he could only stand on the periphery of these noble groups and listen to the stories. Suddenly a question hit his head, surprising him: "Me? 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 Bergat a little confused. He waved his hands 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'm 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, it has little to do with Kavi. 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.
The operation had begun at this time, and compared to the heavy atmosphere in the living room downstairs, the bedroom was not inferior at all. In addition to several doctors preparing for surgery, there are 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."
The housekeeper felt unhappy, but he didn't feel like saying anything, so he could only write it down silently. I thought the matter would be over, but Kawei's request was not so easy to satisfy: "Take off your pants too."
"Take off your pants? Why do you need to take off your pants?"
"Because the scope of the operation determines that just taking off clothes is not enough to complete the operation, and even preoperative disinfection cannot be done." Kawei was really annoyed, but in order to maintain the relationship between doctor and patient, he had to explain again, "Quickly Take it off, the anesthesia has started, we are in a hurry."
The housekeeper couldn't stand it anymore: "You can take it off if you want, but they have to leave!"
Kawei followed his fingers and looked at the two nurses he brought with him: "They are nurses and must stay here to assist in the operation."
"No, no! As a marshal, he is destined not to let civilians like them see his body."
Kawei knew that the status of nurses in the 19th century was very low [3], and the word "angel in white" was a new word that only appeared many years later. In fact, even in modern times, nurses are not respected by everyone. This kind of thing happens from time to time.
It was because of his extensive clinical experience that he specifically asked for a statement after Ludwig underwent surgery and before anesthesia.
"The operation has started. Now that it has started, I have the final say. This was discussed with the old marshal before." Kawei took out a statement and did not take the butler's words seriously at all. "If you have any opinions, , and when the old marshal wakes up, I will tell him, please don’t affect my work now.”
"You have no right to talk to me like that!"
"I am the Baron."
"Not even the Baron!"
"I'm sorry, you are not qualified to stand here." Kawei lifted up his sleeves, "I just need to take off my pants. I can do it for you."
(End of chapter)
