Holy Roman Empire

The death of the emperor is a major event, not only to deal with the posthumous affairs, but also to consider the political impact.

Chapter 123 Throne

Napoleon III died at Versailles on April 1874, 4.This news quickly seized the attention of the Near East War, and everyone's eyes were on Paris.

Vienna Palace, Franz sighed deeply.A competitor just went away.

After adjusting his emotions, Franz quickly recovered.

"Napoleon III is gone, and the handover of power in France will inevitably involve some turmoil. In a short time, we don't have to worry about the threat from the west, and we must hurry up on the next step.

Those of us in Berlin and London can start to act.This change in the European situation is related to the international situation in the next few decades, and the situation must not be allowed to get out of control. "

It has to be said that the strategic layout is troublesome.A mistake in any place may trigger a chain reaction.

Including the death of Napoleon III is within the scope of calculation, if he persists for a few more years, Franz's European strategy will have to be overthrown and restarted.

Foreign Minister Weisenberg: "Your Majesty, the situation in France is even more chaotic than we previously estimated. Napoleon III has just died, and the French government is also caught in a power struggle.

Napoleon IV, who is about to ascend the throne, does not have enough prestige to hold down the elders in the government. Currently, several major factions are fighting fiercely.

If the internal struggle does not end, I am afraid that the French will not have the energy to intervene in international affairs in the short term, and our plan to lure the enemy may not work. "

The internal strife in the French government was deliberately created by Napoleon III. Only when the ministers under him fought, could the emperor's rights be guaranteed.

Napoleon III died too early, and the time to pave the way for Crown Prince Eugene was too short, before he had time to build up his prestige and convince everyone.

In this case, let the ministers below fight each other, and the little emperor will appear as an arbitrator.After a few years, the emperor's position is stable, and it is enough to replace the ministers below.

This is a very clever strategy, which can achieve a smooth transition of imperial power.It's just that the sequelae are also huge. The government has wasted a lot of energy in internal fighting, which will affect the development of the country.

The French family has a big business and a slow development is not a big problem.There is almost no foreign threat, and no country will think about it and run to invade France.

France, which is constantly fighting among itself, will obviously not jump out to make trouble.Even if you covet the resources of Belgium and the Rhineland region, there are many teammates who are holding back, it is difficult to become a reality.

As long as the main force of the French army does not come out, Austria will not be able to do anything to the French.According to the plan, it was to lure France to send troops to the Rhineland region, and Austria pulled European countries together to form an anti-French alliance.

Don't look at the strength of the French army, but now they are really not as capable as Napoleon's era. If there is another anti-French war, they will not be able to sustain it at all.

Franz nodded: "It doesn't matter, the possibility of this plan is very low in the first place, it is naturally the best, and it doesn't matter if it fails.

France is not our real enemy, and European countries are not our real enemy. Our real enemy will always be ourselves. "

Franz couldn't help being excited when he said the last sentence.After so many years of development, Austria has finally developed to the point where it ignores external threats.

The situation in continental Europe has been turned beyond recognition.In the situation of confrontation between Prussia and Russia, there is only one France left, which can no longer threaten the security of Austria.

From the very beginning, the Vienna government had two plans: to balance the power of Prussia, or to defeat France.

No matter which one is achieved, Austria will escape the crisis of fighting on multiple fronts.It is not easy to defeat France, so continue to implement the Prussia-Russia balance strategy.

This is learned from the British. While implementing the European balance policy, John Bull also maximized his interests. Franz naturally wanted to follow suit.

……

In Berlin, after receiving the news that Napoleon III was dead, William I almost went crazy with joy.

Russia and Austria are beating up the Ottoman Empire, and the French have killed the emperor again. It can be said that the biggest stumbling block for William I to ascend to the Polish throne no longer exists.

Foreign Secretary Jeffrey Friedman reminded: "Your Majesty, things are not so optimistic. The death of Napoleon III only means that the chances of French intervention are reduced, but it does not mean that there will be no intervention at all.

Although the Near East War held back part of Austria's energies, they still had the power to intervene.We also have to consider the reaction of the British, the London government does not want to see us really rise.

If we want to annex Poland, we'd better get the support of two of Britain, France and Austria, or at least their acquiescence. "

The excited William I woke up instantly, and it was too early to be happy now.Before the three major powers are settled, the annexation of Poland is like a mirror image.

"This is really a question, if we make a deal with France and Austria, how much will it cost?"

Interest is always the best way to solve a problem, if it cannot be solved, it must be that the interest is not big enough.Regardless of European countries' opposition to Prussia's annexation of Poland, as long as the interests are in place, opposition can also become support.

Choosing to buy France and Austria is also a practical need.The Russian Empire is a sworn enemy, and it is impossible for the Berlin government to buy it; the strength of the British is at sea, and the possibility of sending troops to intervene is very small.

Jeffrey Friedman thought for a while and said: "Based on the current situation, we can promise France and Austria to: support Austria's annexation of the Ottoman Empire and the German Confederation, and support France's annexation of Belgium as a deal.

When necessary, the French can also be promised to sell the Rhineland area, and Austria can be promised to sell part of the southern part of the Kingdom of Poland. "

A promise is a promise, and whether it can be fulfilled depends on the actual situation.Just like the division of the Ottoman Empire back then, Franz also promised most of the Balkan Peninsula to the Russians, but in the end most of the area fell into the hands of Austria.

The Vienna government also did not violate the agreement. The extra territory was bought by Austria from the French, not from the Ottoman Empire.

It's just that when it was Prussia's turn, the situation changed. France and Austria were a little too strong, and the possibility of accidents was small. The current promise is likely to become a reality in the future.

The room fell into silence, and everyone was weighing the pros and cons.From this aspect, they are not as courageous as Bismarck, who directly wrote a blank check to Napoleon III, and then turned their faces and refused to recognize anyone.

After hesitating for a while, Prime Minister Moltke broke the silence: "You can try to fight for it. As long as Poland can be annexed, the power gap between us and France and Austria will be greatly reduced, and the situation will be different then.

In the future we can also direct the eyes of the French to the Low Countries and the eyes of Austria to the Ottoman Empire.

Don't forget the reactions of other European countries. Perhaps the current promises do not need to be fully fulfilled. "

This is not the first time that this kind of thing has happened in continental Europe. If other European countries interfere and the transaction cannot go smoothly, France and Austria will have no way to accuse Prussia of breaching the contract.

This is similar to William I's plan. He has long been prepared to let the British finally come out to make trouble and prevent France and Austria from expanding into Central Europe.

After a pause, King William I made a decision: "Let's act, first establish the established facts, and then negotiate later, the result will be more beneficial to us."

William I preferred to annex the German Federal Empire if possible.It's a pity that the difficulty is too great, and it is impossible for Britain, France and Austria to agree.

Austria's German unification strategy is well known, even if it is for political propaganda, the Vienna government will fully interfere.

The French also want to annex the territory west of the Rhine, which is blocked by the German Confederation in the middle, and the Prussian Rhineland area is an enclave.If Prussia annexed the German Confederation and the territory became one piece, it would not be easy to pay attention.

Different from the original time and space, in order to prevent Austria from annexing the German Confederation, John Bull invested a lot of resources in the German Confederation, and he was completely treated like a son.

The close relationship between the two sides is still higher than that of Belgium and the Netherlands.The German Federation is also playing with the balance, the navy is all equipped with British equipment, and the army is basically equipped with arcane equipment.

Relying on good diplomatic relations, the Vienna government has no way to use force against the German Federation.If you want to unify the German region, the negotiations are over.As long as Austria can settle the European countries, they will not object.

The seemingly cooperative move is actually a very clever political method, and all the responsibility for undermining the unification of the German region has been shifted to international forces.

No matter what the final result is, the interests of the ruling class will not be damaged.You don't even have to worry about national defense and security. If you encounter trouble, you can justifiably ask Austria for help.

The Vienna government gave up the national policy of the German unification plan, and there are also factors in this regard.

The seemingly coordinated reunification actually hides many mysteries. To achieve peaceful reunification through negotiations, the government can only obtain a nominal reunification, and it will also plant hidden dangers for the division of the empire.

Franz is not someone who baited for fame and fame. Just a nominal right to rule is not worth Austria's betting on the entire empire.

Then everyone acted together. The more the German Confederation cooperates, the more European countries worry that after Austria unifies the German region, the integration strength will skyrocket in a short period of time. Everyone desperately prevents Austria from annexing the German Confederation.

……

In Warsaw, it seemed that overnight everyone was concerned about the succession of the Polish throne. Experts and scholars published comments in newspapers one after another, attributing all the problems encountered by Poland to the absence of a king.

This is not nonsense, they still have evidence.All the powerful countries in Europe have monarchs, either kings or emperors.

The republic country cannot even elect a representative, and the division of the American Civil War has been promoted as a negative teaching material in Europe. "Emperors do it in turns" is seen as one of the main causes of the American Civil War.

Who knows if it's true or not?Anyway, the monarchy countries are so propaganda, say a lot, everyone will believe it.

The more radical newspapers have begun to publicly accuse the government of deliberately preventing the birth of the king for the sake of power.

This statement cannot be wrong.The Polish government really does not want the king to appear and affect their rights.

But if the lid is lifted, it must never be admitted.This is the age of the monarchy, and a constitutional monarchy was established when Poland gained independence.

It is clearly written in the constitution, and the Polish provisional government cannot afford this crime.Looking at the crowd of demonstrators outside, Prime Minister Dombrowski knew he couldn't go on.

Chapter 124 Farce

In Paris, the French are holding a funeral for Napoleon III.The dense crowd outside is enough to prove the popularity of Napoleon III.

On this day, the French workers had a collective holiday, and the capitalists could not afford to have a holiday. Napoleon III's title of "Emperor of Socialism" was not a joke, and his influence among the workers surpassed anyone else.

Compared with the bleakness of the original time and space, the people spontaneously organized mourning activities. It has to be said that this is an irony.

Although there are many people attending the funeral, there are very few important guests.The sequelae of the Bonaparte family's unpopularity are vividly reflected here.

The royal families of all European countries seem to be very busy. Except for those who rely on the French to eat, the rest of the big nobles just send representatives to attend, and some don't even bother to send representatives.

Taking the Habsburg family as an example, Franz sent a collateral earl to deal with the matter.Even if the two countries are allies, it still cannot change the dislike of the royal families of the two countries.

The grievances and grievances here are just a messy account, which can't be cleared up for a while.Not only the Habsburg family, most European nobles are not friendly to the Bonaparte family.

The nobles also hold grudges. Napoleon swept across the European continent and lost many people's jobs. How could this account be forgotten?

If the Bonaparte family is also gone, everyone will feel better.The current result is just the opposite. The Bonaparte family is still brilliant. Seeing this upstart, it is too late for everyone to be jealous, so how can they support them.

In the original time and space, Napoleon IV died unexpectedly in Gilded South Africa, but there was a lot of trouble, and many people speculated that the British royal family planned the murder.

The reason is: when Napoleon IV encountered the Zulu warriors, Lieutenant Carey and his men were only 50 yards away from Eugene, but they withdrew to the camp without firing a single shot.

There must be something behind this obviously abnormal behavior. It's hard to say who planned it.

The Bonaparte family has too many enemies, and those who are capable of planning such low-level accidents are at least in the triple digits.

There is no way, the last direct heir died, and the Bonaparte family not only lost hope of restoration, but also lost the ability to track down the real culprit.

At the funeral, the atmosphere was a little weird.If someone pays attention, they will find that many people have gloating expressions on their faces. If it weren't for the wrong occasion, they would probably laugh out loud.

Yes, some people come just to see the joke.Napoleon III has just passed away and the crown prince Eugène, who is about to succeed him, is too young, and the French government is bound to have fierce battles.

For example: Victor Emmanuel II, the former king of the Kingdom of Sardinia, just came to watch the fun.Napoleon III kicked him out of power, and he hated him long ago, and now he came here to smash the scene.

He unabashedly put a smile on his face, completely ignoring Ou Ren's murderous eyes.Europe does not have the habit of killing kings, even if he is a former king, he is still a king.

As a member of a vested interest group, no matter how angry Ou Ren was, he would not be able to kill the king.It's still the funeral scene, so you can't do anything.

Perhaps in the eyes of many people, this approach is very unwise.If you have provoked him so much, you can't take action on the surface, but can't you retaliate secretly?

However, Victor Emmanuel II had reasons why he had to.Now the Sardinian Restoration Organization led by him has united with the Italian Revolutionary Party.

Now that the Italian independence movement is at a low ebb, as the publicly announced leader, Victor Emmanuel II must do something to inspire people.

Napoleon III's funeral was taken advantage of by him, and those who could sneak in had to be co-operated, and there were a lot of people who wanted to see the Bonaparte family make a fool of themselves.

Anyway, after attending the funeral, he left with the guests.It would be even better if the French want to intercept it, and they can also hype up public opinion. Countries that want to see the French joke will not give up this opportunity.

……

Franz didn't care about the farce at the funeral of Napoleon III, these were minor problems.That is to say, if you are a young four-year-old, you can't stand the stimulation. If you change to an old fried dough stick, you will never pay attention to it.

They have destroyed their country and taken away their throne, so why not allow them to have a little temper?

Didn't they just smile at the side, and didn't come out to make trouble and disrupt the order of the funeral, so just treat these guys as air.

If you want to settle accounts, the future will be long, so why rush for a while.As the emperor of France, isn't it too easy to fight a few clowns?

As long as their source of income is cut off, these guys in custody will cry soon.If they can't do regicide, then let them worry about daily necessities for the rest of their lives.

The life of the exiled monarch is not easy, and there are a large group of people eating with him. Without money, it is absolutely impossible.

Franz had seen this before. Massimiliano failed so badly, and there were hundreds of people who came here one after another.

If it weren't for Franz's brother who often gave money to help, and Empress Dowager Sophie also secretly subsidized it, let alone keeping the emperor's ostentation, it would not be easy to feed so many people.

These people are yelling that they want to counterattack Mexico, but if they really want to implement it, it is useless.But there's no other way, I still have to keep it.

Don't look at the incompetence of these people. Having these people and not having them are completely different concepts.Without the help of these people to wave the flag and to clean up the whitewashing, what would happen to the reputation?

Franz is willing to spend money to raise a group of idealist talkers, just to let these people spread the reform measures of Maximiliano everywhere, no matter whether they are practical or not, and whether they conform to the national conditions of Mexico, at least they look good on the surface.

People who eat melons who don't know the truth, can't think of deep-seated problems, and are easily led astray.

Of course, these people's activities in Austria are also restricted, and they can't go anywhere, and the articles they write are all selectively published.

A large part of them were sent by Franz to France for further studies, in the name of learning the experience of the restoration of the Bonaparte dynasty.

At present, the effect is good. Massimiliano’s Mexican Restoration Organization has been established and has attracted many Mexican students to participate.

It was a bad time, watching the domestic warlords fight so hard, these people finally found that it is better to be the emperor.

Affected by public opinion, many people thought about it carefully and found that Maximilian I did nothing bad.

As the newspaper said, the local warlords in Mexico were too powerful to carry out the emperor's order.

Because they opposed the emperor's reforms, conservatives and warlords rebelled together, and the revolutionaries were fools who were fooled.

Behind this, Franz sponsors Maximiliano's 20 Aegis every year. It can be said that public opinion is brought back by money.

The pressure on Victor Emmanuel II will be greater. One is talking but not practicing, and the other is taking practical actions to restore the country, and the expenses are not at the same level.

Although there are many sponsors behind the scenes, the amount is not large. Victor Emmanuel II, who has a large group of subordinates, is short of money.If the money is not enough, it is necessary to create topics, mobilize everyone's patriotic enthusiasm, or use big tricks to fool the donors into increasing investment.