Holy Roman Empire

Benjamin asked Fox to serve as Secretary of the Army because of his ability to adapt.

The same battle report, after changing a statement, the situation changed suddenly.

The level of asking for help was originally because the frontline suffered a defeat and couldn’t hold it back, but it instantly turned into a defense against Fa Ao from grabbing the spoils.

There is no doubt that this statement is more acceptable to the British people.In the event that the British army suffered heavy losses on the battlefield in the future, an excuse has been found to deal with the censure of all parties.

No matter what kind of defeat, if the blame is thrown on France and Austria, the responsibility of the London government will be lightened by half.

Even the opposition parties have nothing to say. The British Army is so small. The main force of the colonization is the cannon fodder army. It is normal that they cannot win the army power.

Prime Minister Benjamin: "Let's just announce it to the public! Order Ismail to teach me a lesson for those Muslims. We can't let the blood of the boys be shed in vain."

……

Foreign Secretary Edward: "The Foreign Office has just received a piece of news that may help us.

The French are restless again. They have obtained the right to develop the Panama Canal from the Colombian government and are preparing for a canal company. It seems that they are preparing to do something. "

Looking at each other and smiling, Prime Minister Benjamin made a decision: "That's right, the French forcibly seized the right to develop the canal from the Colombian government, blatantly trampling on the sovereignty of a country.

For world peace and stability, the government should inform the media as soon as possible to expose the shameless behavior of the French. "

This is when a pillow was brought in from a drowsy state. The London government was worried about how to divert the public's attention, and the French made big news.

It doesn't matter whether the French legally obtained the right to develop the canal, the point is that it is illegal for the London government to need the French now.

It doesn't matter if the reason is a little far-fetched, it's a topic if there is controversy.As long as the trouble lasted for a few months, the people would forget about this small defeat.

Anyway, Britain and France have been hostile for hundreds of years, and the civil war has never stopped.Everyone has become accustomed to spraying each other, and this small issue will not affect the relationship between the two countries.

Prime Minister Benjamin doesn't care even if it has a slight influence. As long as it can divert the public's attention, offending the French is not worth mentioning at all.

The issue of the Panama Canal, in the eyes of Prime Minister Benjamin, is nothing but a farce created by the French.

The Austrians are right next door, and they have long regarded the Panama region as their sphere of influence. How could it be possible for the French to gain control of the canal.

Can't we jointly develop it again?

Unlike the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal has less strategic significance to France and Austria, and there is no indispensable argument.

The Americas have not yet developed, and even if the Panama Canal is opened, there will be no lucrative benefits in the short term.

If there is not enough interest, how can we cooperate?

The opening of the Panama Canal is not a beneficiary of Britain and Austria. Based on the principle of self-interest, the London government does not want to see the opening of the Panama Canal, and the Vienna government must also do the same.

Now everyone can watch the fun, and when the French canal is almost dug, everyone jumps out to make trouble, just to pit them.

……

At the Vienna Palace, Franz seemed to be being talked about, and sneezed a few times today.

Apart from sneezing, there are no other symptoms.Franz didn't see a doctor. He fully distrusted the level of medical care in this era. He could not take medicine or try not to take it.

Unlike later generations, almost all medicines now have side effects.Many drugs themselves are immature in their production technology, and they are rushed to the market.

Many people actually did not die of illness, but were cured.This is not because the doctor is irresponsible. The main reason is that everyone's physique is different. Most people can resist the side effects of drugs, and some people can't.

If you are wealthy and have a professional doctor at any time, most of them can find the problem and stop taking the medicine with side effects in time.

Ordinary people can't do it. Even if there is a problem, many people will continue to take the drug. It is impossible to think that the side effect of the drug will cause the death to aggravate. This is also the reason for the endless emergence of medical accidents.

These problems are difficult to solve, and it is impossible to manage them.There are too few types of drugs in this era. If drugs with serious side effects are banned from the market, many diseases will become unavailable.

Not only the composition of the drug itself, but also the reason for the underdeveloped industrial technology.In the industrial production process, whether it is temperature, raw material quality, dosage errors added, it may lead to increased side effects.

Problems that cannot be solved, naturally, can only be put on hold.For the patient, it is better to gamble than to wait to die. No hope is the most terrifying thing.

In order to establish a complete medical and health system, Franz has worked hard for many years, but unfortunately it still only covers 70.00% of the population.

This is still just an ideal number. The only patients who can be effectively treated are the upper middle class.

Ordinary people can only look at minor illnesses at most, and for slightly more serious diseases, they must rely on God's blessing.It's not that medical resources are insufficient, but that there is no money in the pocket.

The most important thing is to see a doctor, and it may not be reliable.For example, Franz often sees a doctor, but he rarely takes medicine, especially western medicine produced by chemical industry.

Many times, he would rather drink a bowl of Chinese medicine.In any case, Chinese medicine is still competitive in this era. Although it is a little slower, the side effects are small!

For the sake of his life, Franz has raised a professional medical team, which includes both Chinese and Western medicine.

The Western medicines used by the royal family are specially produced. Some medicines have high technical requirements and are directly produced in the laboratory to ensure the quality of medicines to the greatest extent.

……

Colonial Secretary Stephen Hui reported: "Your Majesty, the British have decided to send an additional 8 troops to the African continent. It is now certain that the defeat of the British army that was circulated some time ago is true.

The size of the British Army is limited. If they want to increase their troops, they must draw some from the mainland, and then draw some colonial troops from India.

It will take at least a month for these troops to reach the African continent.We can tear a piece of meat from Ethiopia before the British arrive, you see? "

Franz shook his head: "No need, we have already eroded a lot in Ethiopia, and if we continue to grab territory, the British will be anxious.

Moreover, Ethiopian natives are not so easy to deal with.In order to cause trouble to the British in the past few years, we have helped them improve their combat effectiveness.

Now is the time to test the results, just in time to see if our investments have been in vain and learn from our experience. "

Compared to other parts of Africa, Ethiopia is indeed progressing.Although the instructors who helped them train the army gave them very low evaluations, that was only relative to the Austrian army.

If the British did not increase their troops, Franz was still very optimistic about the "Warrior Emperor", and they would have no problem dealing with the Indian colonial army.

Now things have changed, and the London government seems to be getting serious.The core factor that determines the outcome is not how strong Ethiopia is, but the importance of the British.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Stephen replied.

Foreign Minister Weisenberg: "Your Majesty, the Panama Canal Company established by the French has proposed a commercial cooperation with us. They hope to import 20 laborers from Austria within three years to dig the canal.

The price they give is good, each worker pays a transfer fee of 30 Aegis, and they are responsible for the transportation. "

This is what everyone agreed. If the French capitalists want to make money from the stock market, they need the cooperation of the Austrian government. Naturally, they need to pay a benefit fee. Otherwise, the canal plan will not even have a chance to start.

The introduction of labor is just a pretense.Nominally the money, which is the wages of laborers, actually fell into the pockets of the Vienna government.

Franz: "Promise the French, and the labor will be recruited from the indigenous people of the Somali peninsula, and the insufficient part will be supplemented by other regions. In the future, if there is a similar situation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can directly agree."

The peak period of labor export has ended, and now there are not many indigenous people in Austrian Africa, and some of them are thugs raised by the colonial government.

If it wasn't for the new occupation of the Somali Peninsula, Franz suspects that the Austrian African continent might not be able to gather enough 20 laborers.

Chapter 199 Marriage Considerations

In the Vienna Palace hunting ground, Franz's marksmanship is as stable as ever.

Maybe he loves life too much and can't bear to kill, so every time he shoots, the unlucky ones are the surrounding flowers and plants.

"Franz, how many times have I told you that guns don't work that way, so you can't aim!"

A familiar voice sounded, breaking the harmonious atmosphere.There is no doubt that the person who came is the Archduke Karl, and no one else has dared to be so presumptuous.

Franz said plausibly: "Hunting is for games, so why take it so seriously?

Recently, the prey has been reduced a lot, and if the scourge continues like this, it will be extinct soon. "

You can't lose face. After so many years of political edification, Franz has long cultivated the ability to keep his face intact.

No, in the shortest possible time, he found a suitable excuse.The hunting ground of the palace is not large, and there are not many wild animals on it.

Archduke Carl also loves hunting, and many smart wild animals have run away.The ones left behind are relatively stupid, and now the harvest of hunting has become smaller and smaller.

Of course, running is not necessarily a good choice.There is no wildlife protection law these days, and it may be faster to run out and die.

Archduke Carl nodded thoughtfully: "No wonder my harvest is getting smaller and smaller. It turns out that the prey has decreased. It seems that we really need to pay attention."

After a pause, he became enlightened: "No, Franz don't change the subject for me, you've already played it all.

Just because of your poor marksmanship, if you go to the battlefield, don't you know how many comrades you will accidentally injure, don't you feel ashamed? "

Franz retorted: "Don't worry, father. This kind of assumption can't happen at all. If I really need to go to the battlefield, do you think the marksmanship is good or bad? It matters?"

Seemingly annoyed, Archduke Karl glared at Franz and cursed angrily: "You can do as many things as you like. Anyway, don't say that your marksmanship was taught by me, I can't afford to lose that person."

Franz responded very cooperatively: "No problem, if you didn't say it just now, they don't know now."

Archduke Karl's face changed greatly, as if he had lost face.Looking at the expressions of everyone who wanted to laugh but didn't dare to laugh, he snorted coldly: "Humph!"

This bickering pattern has happened many times.Especially as he got older, the Archduke Karl liked to find fault with his sons, and Franz was no longer surprised.

When it comes to marksmanship, Archduke Karl is still proud of himself.Even compared to the sharpshooter in the army, he is not much worse.

Using a special sniper rifle, Archduke Karl can achieve effective hits from 500 meters away, and he is the well-deserved number one marksmanship in the royal family.

This is also the most depressing place for Archduke Karl. His marksmanship has no heir.

The younger generations of the Habsburg family all have a game mentality about learning marksmanship, and most of them are a bit better than Franz.

In Franz's view, this is the normal situation. There are so many sharpshooters, and ordinary people are the mainstream.

The Habsburg family has always been good at politics and diplomacy, and a sharpshooter is an exception. How can it be wholesale?

In fact, the previous generation of the Habsburgs should be regarded as the hardest generation.

Uncle Ferdinand suffered from a congenital disease, and his father, Archduke Carl, had no political talent.

In Franz's generation, the situation improved slightly.Even if there is an idealist like Massimiliano, everyone's IQ is still normal.

The next generation is still young, and the level of ability cannot be fully determined, but Franz thinks it should be progressive, at least without congenital diseases.

Thinking about it is right, with such a small probability, how can it be so easy to encounter it every time.Unless it is a family genetic disease, there is no way, no matter who you marry, the probability of the disease is high.

Parents are not easy to be, Franz has experienced it firsthand.Franz was also worried about the marriage of his sons.

In particular, the marriage of the eldest son, Frederick, was a big trouble.Political marriage is necessary, which is the responsibility and obligation of the crown prince.

Franz will have a headache with whom to marry.Not only political influence, but also the upbringing of the marriage partner must be considered.The queen is not so easy to be, even the preparatory queen needs a certain personal ability.

Otherwise, it is not a help, but a burden that drags the legs.It is often said on the Internet in later generations that marrying the wrong woman destroys three generations. Now the crown prince has married the wrong wife, not only destroying three generations, but also destroying a country.

Franz didn't expect much help, just asked for no trouble.

It is difficult to meet this requirement.Now Franz finally understands why the European royal family likes to marry later, because they are forced out.

Every political marriage is a test for the royal family. Once the wrong choice is made, the disaster will be irreversible.

Love god horse, put it aside first!According to past experience, the marriages of most royal family members have nothing to do with love.

A good match will block most of the love.Lower the standard, the second son can still play like this, as long as he doesn't inherit the throne, that's fine.

The crown prince has nothing to do. Not only is the royal family opposed, but all sectors of society will oppose it. The most troublesome thing is that the people cannot accept it.

Who knows how much sadness is behind the romantic love story of the royal family that has been passed down in later generations, and who knows how much trouble it will cause politically?

No one knows how many people shed blood and sacrificed in order to make a beautiful love story.

This is a responsibility and obligation. To enjoy the benefits of being a royal family, you must pay for it, and marriage is only part of it.

……

In the Vienna Palace, a stack of photos appeared in Franz's hands. All of them were photos of princesses from various countries, and there were information notes on the back, which were carefully selected by Queen Helen.

Well, there really isn't much to choose from.She just excluded those who were not in good health and age, and the rest were here.

The youngest is only five years old, and the oldest is no more than 20 years old.Franz was a little speechless, and could only sigh: This is looking for a wife in a kindergarten, the younger one is a student, and the older one is a teacher.

Of course, this is not only to find a wife for Frederick, the daughter-in-law of several other sons may also be among them.Lowering the bar is only possible if there are no suitable candidates.

Lowering the bar is easy to say, but very difficult to do.At least Queen Helen firmly opposed it, she believed that this would bring great trouble to her son's life in the second half of his life.

……

Chapter 200 Marriage Objects

After reading the information, Franz had to admit that Frederick was really unlucky.There are too few objects suitable for him, and there is not much room for choice.

Under the current international situation, the most suitable marriage to the Habsburg dynasty is the Russian royal family, but unfortunately there is no suitable age princess.

The daughter of Alexander II has been married, and the daughter of Alexander III has not been weaned yet. It is unknown whether she can support her, and Frederick naturally cannot wait that long.

There is no princess in the French royal family. Of course, this has no effect. The Bonaparte family was not considered by Franz.

As the stronghold of conservatives, the Austrian people simply cannot accept the reserve queen from the nouveau riche, or the Austrian aristocracy cannot accept a woman whose blood is not noble enough to be the wife of the crown prince.

The Bonaparte family got rich too late, and Napoleon I offended too many people, and Napoleon III was the elected emperor, all challenging the traditional system of blood inheritance.

In the eyes of the orthodox nobles, this is an improper position.The Bonaparte family was therefore rejected by the European aristocracy, and even though the French Empire was at its peak, they were still not accepted by the mainstream circles.