Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 158: Marriage?

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Undoubtedly, the Prussian government, which lacked confidence, was more urgent for Prussia to join forces, and soon the two sides reached an agreement on the issue of confronting foreign interference.

On November 11, 1850, Prussia and Austria signed the "German Treaty" in Vienna.

Interestingly, the treaty did not include the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein, occupied by the Danes.

Obviously, after a failure, the confidence within the Prussian government was seriously lacking. While opposing the British, it did not dare to offend the Russians again.

Since the Prussian government does not require it, Austria will naturally not have much trouble. Whether or not these two principalities can return to the arms of Germany, there will be no Austrian part.

Franz would not learn from the history of the Austrian government, but was actually fooled by the Prussians to send troops together.

What is an enclave for? Do you think Austria's defense pressure is not enough

Vienna Palace

Metternich said: "Your Majesty, the Prussian government has applied to us for a loan, and it seems that their financial crisis is greater than we expected."

Franz said without hesitation: "This is good news, since they have asked us for help, it means that they are blocked from seeking loans in other financial markets.

Find a reason to reject their loan application, everyone is not optimistic about their customer, why do we need to go to this muddy water? "

Pulling a handful that does not exist, Austria does not have so much capital to export, and Franz will not cultivate competitors for himself.

If there were national credit ratings for this era, they would be the lowest grade C.

Just look at the debt. Now the total foreign debt of the Kingdom of Prussia is as high as 370 million marks, and the annual fiscal revenue is only over 40 million marks.

In 1847, Engels published an article in the Polaris, pointing out the financial difficulties of the Prussian government, which roughly means: I will not be surprised if the Prussian government declares bankruptcy tomorrow.

What if the Prussian government has no money

The answer is very simple - cut your expenses and find a way to increase your income.

Whether it's cutting military spending or cutting investment in industry or domestic infrastructure, it's a good thing for Austria.

As for increasing income, this is not something that can be accomplished in a short period of time. They have just gone through a revolution, and they don't dare to extort money

"Yes, Your Majesty," Metternich replied

Carve up Germany? It is a pity that this issue is not suitable to discuss now. In case the radicals in Prussia know and start the war in advance, Austria is not going to be pitted and cry.

Don't doubt this possibility, not only the Japanese can do it, but the Prussian army in this era can also do it.

It's just that their officers are basically nobles, and they are a little bit higher in knowledge. They have a family and business and are not barefoot, and usually do not act blindly.

The most embarrassing thing about the warming of relations between Prussia and Austria is the Kingdom of Bavaria. Facts have once again proved that walking a tightrope is easy to fall, and now Maximilian I realized it.

Easing relations with Austria became the top priority before him.

In the palace of Munich

Maximilian I asked expectantly: "What can you do to get rid of our current diplomatic predicament?"

In this era, with the support of Britain, France and Russia at the same time, there is actually a worry about diplomatic difficulties. If this is said, it is estimated that many people will regard it as a joke.

Now that this joke has become a reality in the Kingdom of Bavaria, what if it has the support of foreign powers

People are just verbal support, but you actually take it seriously, so get ready to cry!

The suggestion was first made by the British, but now that the kingdom of Bavaria needs their actual support, John Bull begins to pretend to be confused.

"Your Majesty, let's get married!" Shoujian said decisively.

There is a tradition of marriage between the Bavarian royal family and Austria. Franz's mother is from the Bavarian royal family. The royal family relationship between the two countries is still good.

Now if you want to ease relations with Austria, the least cost is marriage. Marrying a princess in the past and becoming the queen of the Austrian Empire, the Wittelsbach family will not suffer.

Maximi I thought for a while and said, "Well, Franz needs a queen now, and Helen is just right."

It is not so simple to push the two royal families to continue their marriage. There are many great nobles who are interested in the position of the Queen of Austria, and it is difficult to achieve their goals.

But Princess Helen has an advantage - the Austrian Empress Dowager is her aunt, and this alone can defeat many opponents.

Of course, there are also shortcomings. Her background is too low, and she is not a direct line of the Bavarian royal family, and her relationship with the king is a little far away.

Maximilian I also wanted to find a princess of the nearest branch, but it was really unfortunate, the age gap was too large to be appropriate. You can't tell Franz to wait first, your wife is still breastfeeding in the arms of your mother-in-law.

Vienna

The news that the Bavarian royal family wanted to marry again came, and the Empress Dowager Sophie immediately welcomed it, and the two sides hit it off.

Unfortunately, Franz is not the Franz in history now, and the influence of the Queen Mother Sophie is much smaller than in history.

In history, Franz was able to succeed to the throne ahead of schedule, and the Queen Mother Sophie made great efforts, and for this reason, she also attracted a queen mother party to come out.

It's different now. Franz took the opportunity to suppress the Viennese rebellion to gain power. Naturally, she, the empress dowager, has no chance to perform.

If you miss the opportunity, if you don't establish party members, it will be impossible to interfere in politics.

If there is no chance, there is no chance, and human ambition is not innate. After Franz succeeded to the throne, the Queen Mother Sophie lived her own leisurely life, and had no intention of seizing power with her son at all.

Of course, it is also possible to seize power. The status of the Empress Dowager is indeed very high, but it is a pity that she met the powerful Franz, and naturally she could not become the Empress Dowager Cixi.

She doesn't care about other things. In Franz's marriage, she, as a mother, thinks she must take care of herself.

In this era, Europe is also an arranged marriage and free love. Is this a god Ma Dongdong? Not to mention the nobles, even the children of the commoners are very few who can freely decide on marriage.

Franz's treatment is not bad. As the emperor, his opinion must also be taken into account. If he himself is firmly opposed, no one can force him.

After receiving this news, Franz's whole person was forced. Why did he advance so much? Could it be that the two royal families have already started preparations for this marriage

After thinking about the current international situation, it turned out to be a political marriage. This is entirely because the Kingdom of Bavaria needs to ease relations with Austria.

Franz said straight to the point: "Mother, in the current international situation, Austria is not suitable for marriage to Bavaria."

Hearing this news, Empress Dowager Sophie's face turned gloomy, but she didn't open her mouth to object.

There are no fools in the royal family, and despite reluctance, the Queen Mother Sophie did not scold Franz.

From her standpoint, the interests of the Austrian royal family are obviously higher than those of the Bavarian royal family. There are husbands and sons here, and it is impossible for her to let Franz sacrifice the interests of the royal family to promote this marriage.

This is different from Napoleon's marriage to the princess of the Habsburg family while fighting Austria in history. That is because Napoleon was not born enough, and this marriage is urgently needed to improve the recognition of the nobles.

Now that Austria and Bavaria are married, Franz is only marrying the princess of the Wittelsbach family. It was originally a low marriage, and it would not be worthwhile to lose political benefits.

The Empress Dowager Sophie thought about it and asked, "Has the relationship between Austria and Bavaria deteriorated to such a degree?"

She has not cared about politics for a long time, and it is not clear that the Austrian government is intentionally distanced from the Kingdom of Bavaria. At this time, the Kingdom of Bavaria happened to be a traitor, and the relationship between the two sides is naturally not good.

Franz said calmly: "Yes, not long ago, the Bavarian government abandoned the covenant between the two countries and fell to the Kingdom of Prussia. Now that the relationship between Prussia and Austria has eased, the Kingdom of Bavaria will naturally have to pay the price."

Empress Dowager Sophie's expression darkened. In such a situation, she was really embarrassed to be caught in the middle.

Looking at his mother in a dilemma, Franz opened his mouth and comforted: "Don't worry, mother. This is just a normal conflict of interests between countries and will not affect the relationship between the royal families of the two countries.

It's just that at the juncture of conflicts, if the news of marriage comes out, it will have a very bad influence on the people. "

After hearing this explanation, Empress Dowager Sophie's expression softened a little. At the same time, there was also a trace of dissatisfaction with the re-marriage proposed by the family.

No matter how much she wanted her niece to be the queen, she couldn't possibly sacrifice her son's reputation. All parents were the same on this issue.

Empress Dowager Sophie thought for a while and said, "Then let's put this matter on hold and wait for two years."

European aristocrats get married late, Franz is not too old, and her niece is even younger, so it doesn't matter if it drags on for a few years.

Seeing that his mother still didn't give up, Franz didn't say anything. This is the best way to drag it down. If you reject it directly, it is estimated that it will not be long before a new marriage partner will jump out.

With this shield in place, at least a few years have been bought for Franz. During this period, he can still go out for a walk and see if he can meet a true love of the same status, if not, marry a beautiful princess.

There is always an ideal, but what if it is realized

Franz's personality is now decided, his personal conduct must be flawless, and he cannot be willful in his personal marriage. At least until his prestige is established, this character cannot collapse.

This is the price of being the emperor. If there is a choice, Franz will still choose to be the emperor.

The price paid is great, but the reward is also great! Being able to control one's own destiny in this dark age is not an ordinary difficulty.

Ordinary people have no pressure? No more pressure on the nobles

Not long ago, Austria also killed people, and how many nobles of the prominent side were sent to the guillotine. Did they really deserve it

How many people have been involved, and in the end they can't extricate themselves, and their heads are in different places

Franz knew all of these situations, but knowing that, he would not be able to overturn the case for these people. Voluntary or not, there is a price to pay for participating in a rebellion.

Looking at the people who are busy every day for firewood, rice, oil and salt, Franz feels that he is very lucky.