Flowers, Swords and France

It is already a good time in July. The midsummer wind roams around the grass in the woods, gently brushing every scene, and the trickling spring water from the fountain also brings a hint of coolness to the earth.

This is indeed a good place to make people feel comfortable and cozy. Even the air seems to be filled with the melody of the violin, making people want to fall asleep.

But among the few people present, no one is in the mood to appreciate this beautiful scenery. Because, in the face of the surging tide of 1848, the entire Habsburg Empire is in a precarious situation.

On March 13, inspired by the victory of the February Revolution in France, riots broke out in Vienna, the capital of the Austrian Empire, and Prince Metternich, the then Prime Minister, was forced to flee. On May 15, the people of Vienna, who were still dissatisfied with the dynasty, launched an uprising again, forcing the Austrian emperor and his royal family to flee to Innsbruck from Vienna on May 17.

At this moment, under such a dangerous situation, how can the rulers of the huge Central European Empire calm down and enjoy this beautiful scenery?

"Your Highness, we must crush those ungrateful Prussians!"

In front of a young man in deep thought, Mr. Felix Schwarzenberg, who is well-known in the diplomatic community, shouted to him.

He was wearing an exquisite dress, and his slightly gray curly hair was combed very neatly. However, although his speech and behavior were very diplomat-like, his expression at the moment was very excited, without the usual calmness of a diplomat. His family was Bohemian, but it became one of the most trusted aristocratic families of the Austrian royal family. Although it looks strange, it is not uncommon in this era.

"Your Highness, at this very moment. These insidious Prussians are secretly colluding in various German states. They intend to use the recent unfortunate events as their own bargaining chips, and want to eliminate our influence in Germany while we are powerless. They intend to establish a German alliance that excludes us, and they are full of mobs that can make us surrender! These shameless people, we must never let their plot succeed." \u003c, 1800-1852), was born into a Bohemian noble family. His ancestors have always served the Habsburg royal family.

In 1804, Carl-Philip, the third son of the fifth generation Prince Schwarzenberg, was specially named a prince by the royal family for his outstanding military exploits. Later, he became the commander-in-chief of the anti-French alliance, and in 1813, he led his army to win the Battle of Leipzig, forcing Emperor Napoleon to abdicate for the first time. Therefore, the Schwarzenberg family had two princely branches at the same time in this era, and was one of the most outstanding nobles in the Habsburg Empire.

Felix Schwarzenberg was the second son of the sixth Prince Schwarzenberg. He joined the Austrian Army in 1818. He entered the diplomatic community in 1824 and served in the Austrian embassies in Portugal, Russia, France, England, Sardinia and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

In 1848, after the revolution in France spread to Austria, he advocated the suppression of the rioters. In November, he succeeded Metternich as Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. In December, he supported Franz Joseph to replace the mentally retarded Austrian Emperor Ferdinand I.

He had an extremely strong will and conservative tendencies, and was very disgusted with Prussia's erosion of Austria's superior position in the German countries. After serving as Prime Minister in the winter of 1848, he forced Prussia to temporarily abandon the idea of ​​excluding Austria and establishing a small Germany in November 1850. He signed the Treaty of Olmütz with Prussia, and King Frederick William IV of Prussia was forced to pay tribute to Austria under military threats.

He died in 1852. The young Emperor Franz-Joseph was very sad about this.

After hearing the call of the middle-aged man, the young man sat upright, frowned slightly, and remained silent. From the bottom of his heart, he did not want to carry out such mental and energy-consuming state affairs, and he did not want to discuss boring Prussians or Russians with people every day. However, he had no right to escape from all this, and could only sit quietly and listen to the speeches of his future ministers.

Because he was the crown prince of the Austrian Empire, Franz-Joseph, destined to inherit the ancestral heritage of the aging and famous Habsburg family, destined to rule this huge Central European empire, so even if he was only an 18-year-old youth who had not yet gotten rid of his childishness, he could only erase all his nature and try to play a ruler, an emperor.

Because of his age, his face at this time looked like both a teenager and a young man, delicate and a little more thoughtful after understanding the world, and his golden brown hair was also combed neatly, as if trying to make himself look more mature.

He can speak more than a dozen languages, but he has no thoughts; he only wants to protect his ancestral heritage, but he can't think of a way to adapt it to the new era. He can only hold on to it in silence with a sigh, as if he is the night watchman of the empire.

Except for appearing as a wise king in some movies with his wife as the protagonist and some fictional novels, he has no memorable achievements, and he has no good reputation in history - for a monarch who aspires to be remembered in history, what is more hurtful than this kind of "flattery"...?

Fortunately, at this time, our young man, His Highness Franz Joseph von Habsburg, who is in his prime and full of vigor, will not know that he is facing such a fate. This is his luck, or his misfortune.

"We don't have the energy to take care of them right now." After a moment of silence, the young man gave his own answer. "We have to take care of the housework at home in advance. At this moment, we have to pacify the thieves everywhere before we can take care of things outside."

"Your Highness, Germany's affairs are domestic affairs! Even if the Holy Roman Empire no longer exists, the Austrian Empire must speak its mind within Germany and must not give up its due status!" Felix Schwarzenberg said seriously He warned the young man, "If we give up Germany, then the Empire will be nothing..."

After hearing the minister's new round of earnest warnings, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince felt a sense of boredom, but he could only continue to listen helplessly.

"Although the empire has faced great crises before. But we have finally survived. The imperial army has been mobilized and will soon be able to clear the capital of the empire again. And Prince Windischgratz, and von Heinau The Baron and the others will pacify the entire Bohemia and Hungary. Even if there are still some die-hard resistance elements there, it will only be a matter of time. They will not live long. The king must not only focus on the immediate disaster. …”

[Referring to Prince Alfred Candidus Windischgratz, (z, 1787-1862). This man was also a Bohemian noble whose family served the Habsburg royal family. He had joined the imperial army since 1804 and participated in all subsequent anti-French alliance wars and the Battle of Leipzig.

March 1848. He participated in suppressing the Vienna riots. In June 1848, a riot broke out in Bohemia, and the prince's wife was killed by a stray bullet. The prince then led troops to bloody suppress the riot and declared martial law throughout Bohemia. He was called "The Executioner of Prague" by some self-proclaimed groups and was promoted to Marshal of the Empire in October 1848. \u003c-haynau, 1786-1853), the illegitimate son of the German Elector of Hesse. He joined the Habsburg Imperial Army in his early years and participated in the entire Napoleonic War.

During the 1848 riots. As a general of the imperial army, he participated in the suppression of rebellions in Hungary and Italy, and was known for his determination and cruelty. He was known as the "Executioner of Arad" and the "Hyena of Brescia".

Subsequently, as commander of the occupation forces, the Austrian troops commanded by Heinau suppressed all patriotic organizations in Hungary that persisted in resistance and carried out brutal revenge. Thirteen Hungarian generals were hanged, and thousands of civilians were killed or imprisoned.

Due to his meritorious service in battle, von Hainau was granted the title of Imperial Baron in his early years.

"Have the Russians decided to send troops?" His Royal Highness the Crown Prince suddenly asked.

He interrupted suddenly, partly because he really cared about the Russians helping him, and partly to interrupt Schwarzenberg's teacher-like tirade.

"Yes, His Majesty the Tsar has decided to send troops to Hungary to help us deal with the rebels there, a total of 150,000 people!" Schwarzenberg immediately replied, "With the help of such a large army, we will soon be able to Destroy those traitors!"

After hearing these words, a look of joy flashed across the crown prince's eyes, which was then suddenly replaced by some kind of anxiety.

"Have we fallen to the point where we need to borrow troops from foreign countries to suppress the rebellion?" He sighed softly.

"Your Highness, don't worry too much. This is just what the situation requires. As long as we get through the difficulties, with our wisdom and talent, we can make the country recover in a short time and regain the position it deserves..." The prince He immediately comforted the crown prince, "Although the Russians have helped us, they must have their own agenda. We must not rely entirely on them."

"Yes, we can't rely too much on them." The crown prince nodded slightly and repeated the prince's words in a low voice.

As before and in the future, at this time, the rulers of the Austrian Empire were in awe of the strength of the Russians and wary of their ambitions. At the same time, they were deeply afraid that the Russians would take away the Balkans they coveted. They dare not fight against the Russians alone, but after getting enough strong backing, God knows what they can do...

"The mob, the Prussians, the Russians, there are so many troubles in front of us." After another moment of silence, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince couldn't help but smile worriedly when he thought of the empire, which was facing internal and external troubles and was now facing a huge crisis. How could an eighteen-year-old young man not be worried about such a bad internal and external situation that he was facing now?

"But we will definitely be able to overcome these difficulties." Prince Schwarzenberg looked at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince firmly. "In the past hundreds of years, the empire has survived numerous crises unscathed, and every time it faced the challenge of It seems to be an unshakable enemy, but every time its enemies lie down before the empire. This is true for the Dutch, the Bourbon family, and even Napoleon!

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We will definitely be able to continue to persevere under God's blessing. Just be firm, firm! As the future emperor of the empire, as long as he can remain firm in these crazes, the empire will be able to overcome all difficulties. In Napoleon's time, the situation faced by our ancestors was much worse than it is now! As a result, Napoleon has disappeared now, but the empire is still standing. Your Highness, please mark my words! "

Then, he breathed a sigh of relief and changed into a tone full of expectation.

"Your Highness, we will take action next and ask His Majesty the Emperor to give way. Now that we know the situation we are facing now, we must also know that the empire must be handed over to someone who can make a clear judgment at this time. Your Highness, please don’t refuse, this is an obligation that must be fulfilled.”

Under the eager gaze of the middle-aged man, the young man nodded silently, and then he looked at Prince Schwarzenberg.

"Okay, that's right... I hope to be my prime minister when the time comes and help me accomplish what I am destined to accomplish."

Seeing that his warning to the young crown prince had taken effect, the minister couldn't help but feel relieved.

He is just too young. As long as we are here to help him, he can become an effective emperor and make this empire prosperous again. The minister thought.

"Your Highness, don't be too worried. Although the situation at hand is critical, we are not helpless." Prince Schwarzenberg lowered his voice and continued to advise His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. "Yes, we need to be wary of the Prussians and Russians, but apart from them, there are not no powerful countries in the world, and others will also be wary of them..."

"You mean the British and the French?" The crown prince immediately understood what he meant.

"Yes, that's right." The prince nodded.

"However, the British don't like to interfere too much in the affairs of the European continent," the crown prince expressed his hesitation, "and the French... they are currently in civil strife and have become a republic."

When the word "republic" was mentioned, the crown prince couldn't help but feel a little sarcastic due to the emperor's habit.

"Although the British don't like to interfere in the mainland, they don't like it even more when powerful countries are unscrupulous on the mainland, and now the Russians are close to being unscrupulous." The prince replied immediately, regardless of the fact that the Russians were helping them put down the chaos. , "As for the French... as long as they are useful to the empire, even the devil can deal with it, let alone a republic? As long as they are willing to resist the bad influences they are worried about, then they are good."

After hearing the idea of ​​the future prime minister, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince frowned his delicate and thin eyebrows.

But it soon stretched again.

"I understand." He nodded slightly. "I hope everything will be as promised." (To be continued...)

ps: I went back to look at the portraits of Franz Joseph when he was a child, and I still feel... really... good...