Holy Roman Empire

Franz asked with concern: "Is it possible for the Tsarist government to use the opportunity of war to divert domestic attention and carry out serfdom reform?"

After contemplating for a moment, Metternich replied: "Your Majesty, this is almost impossible. The Tsarist government's finances are very difficult now, and they cannot raise so much war funds.

India is the most important colony of the British, and the London government cannot give up easily. Once this war breaks out, it will be protracted.

It is impossible for the Tsarist government to know this. What they are doing now is nothing more than adding obstacles to the British and delaying the time for the British to annex India. "

Obviously, the tsarist government also knew the strength of the British. As the biggest competitor, if they didn't hold back, would they still be considered enemies?

Launching a proxy war is a good choice. You can make a lot of money if you succeed, but it doesn’t matter if you fail. The Tsarist government is also very experienced in selling teammates.

Chapter 24 The birth of the eldest son

A wave of unrest, a wave of up again.

After entering the 19th century, the great powers competed fiercely for the North African market, and the international situation became increasingly unfavorable to the Moroccan government.

In the 50s and [-]s, a large number of cheap European goods poured into Morocco, which impacted the economy of the Kingdom of Morocco.

In order to reverse this situation, the Moroccan government raised tariffs. In 1852, the import tariffs of the Kingdom of Morocco were increased by an average of 20%, in an attempt to use high tariffs to protect the local market.

Obviously, this harms the interests of the major European powers. In December 1856, the British forced the Moroccan government to sign the Treaty of England and Morocco.

Through the treaty, the British obtained extraterritorial rights, the right to trade throughout Morocco, and the tariff was reduced to 10% of the commodity price.

Once Pandora's box was opened, the situation spiraled out of control and great powers flocked to claim the same rights.

The Moroccan government, which believed that it had the support of the British, rejected the requests of various countries without hesitation, which aroused strong dissatisfaction from various countries.

Colonial Secretary Josip Jelachic suggested: "Your Majesty, the Moroccan government has rejected the proposals of various countries. France and Spain can send troops to Morocco at any time. Do we have to take action too?"

The main reason why Morocco has attracted the attention of all countries is that it is too fertile. It not only has rich mineral resources, but also has 22 square kilometers of fertile land suitable for the development of agriculture. It is a major agricultural exporter in Africa, and the climate conditions are also very good.

Everyone is innocent, but pregnant is guilty.Without the protection of poisonous insects and beasts, the Kingdom of Morocco has become a fat sheep in everyone's eyes.

Franz shook his head and said: "Our interests in the Kingdom of Morocco are too small, there is no need to get involved.

In recent years, we have obtained too many benefits, which has caused dissatisfaction among European countries. What needs to be digested at this time. "

Although Morocco is good, it has to face the management of Britain, France and Spain. Instead of wasting time here, it is better to develop the unowned African continent.

Now Austria has also embarked on the old path of other countries, and has continuously sent expeditions to Africa to prepare for colonization. Many non-governmental colonial teams have independently established colonial strongholds outside.

There are also some colonial teams from the Federal Empire of Germany and the Kingdom of Prussia, which are also affiliated to the new Holy Roman Empire, and Franz is always willing to come.

Why do they have to be so clear when they are all Germans?As long as everyone recognizes him as the emperor, then everything is negotiable.

For example: Cameroon’s colonial stronghold was first opened up by Prussian nobles. As a result, the Berlin government now “dare not” to be interested in colonial activities.

There is no way, without the support of the country in the great colonial era, it is very dangerous to colonize overseas by individual strength. In order to fight against the British colonists, they naturally joined the new Holy Roman Empire.

Another example: the capitalists in Hamburg established a stronghold in the Comoros Islands, busy with the internal integration of the German Federal Empire, regardless of foreign colonization, and finally hung the flag of the new Holy Roman Empire.

All in all, there are as many as 41 overseas colonial strongholds counted by the Colonial Department, 27 of which were established under the leadership of the Vienna government and ruled the local area.

The remaining colonial strongholds exist only in name, and the strength of the civilian colonial team is limited. Many times, they just randomly enclose a piece of land to establish a so-called stronghold, or just fool an indigenous tribe into signing a so-called protection treaty.

According to the current standards in various countries, in the absence of conflicts of interest, everyone will acquiesce to each other.

Even if there is a colonial scramble, it is mostly negotiated first, and usually a sum of money is paid to buy a stronghold, and force is used only when there is no agreement.If there is no support from the country, then most of them will be directly treated as pirates and exterminated.

It is common for capitalists engaged in international trade in this era to visit pirates occasionally, and it is not wronged.

Compared with big colonial powers like Britain and France, Austria can only be regarded as a child's play. Even for small countries like Portugal and the Netherlands, the overseas colonial strongholds start at three digits.

Many cannot be said to be colonial strongholds, and it is more suitable to use commercial and trade settlements. There are more than a thousand people in these strongholds, and there are few people at all.

There is nothing surprising. If there is not enough interest, it is normal for the civilian colonial team to abandon these strongholds. If someone is willing to pay, they can buy them.

If the official promotion of colonial activities and bureaucrats were sent to manage the colonial strongholds, the rich and powerful British would become the first bankrupt colonial empire. Who would let them control too much territory and too many colonial strongholds?

Franz naturally wants to learn from everyone's successful experience, and by the way, lead domestic careerists overseas. There is no such thing as a prince in Europe, but it is not ruled out that some people have brain twitches.

Even if there is room for improvement in the country, it is impossible for Franz to allow them to establish an independent kingdom. The overseas colonies are different, and they can go wherever they want.

As long as he has the ability, if anyone has the ability to conquer a kingdom, Franz will also recognize it.Isn't it the throne? There are already several in the new Holy Roman Empire, and I don't care about adding one.

He is not afraid that someone will fight for independence overseas. If he wants to be a widow under the European cultural system, the first thing to look at is not fists but blood. Without blood, there will be no legal system. Even the arrogant Napoleon has a headache .

Even now, the legitimacy of Napoleon III's throne has been criticized by the outside world. The seemingly stable French regime is actually very fragile.

No matter how powerful the overseas development is, without his canonization as the emperor, the regime cannot be stable.

Franz didn't think that if he could be king, how many people would be willing to run to be president.Even if it is true, does his subordinate still want to become a nobleman?

……

In the evening, the Schönbrunn Palace was brightly lit, all the important members of the Habsburg family in Vienna gathered together, and the great nobles of Austria also came together, waiting for the arrival of the little life.

While waiting anxiously, Franz, who had always been prudent, also lingered, and the sweat on his forehead unconsciously burst out. It is winter in Vienna now.

"Frantz go back and sit down properly, don't sway in front of me, it makes me uneasy."

There were four people in the Vienna court who dared to reprimand Franz the Great in this way. Obviously, this could not be the Ferdinand I couple who had abdicated and lived in seclusion, and the result was obvious.

"Okay, mother!"

Franz replied casually, and returned to his seat anxiously after speaking.

"The queen is about to give birth!"

The doctor's voice came, and everyone rushed into the delivery room together.This is the rule. In order to ensure the legitimacy of the prince's lineage, supervision is essential.

This kind of supervision is directly related to the legitimacy of the next generation's lineage.If there are no witnesses, then the legitimacy is called into question.

After all, medical technology was limited in this era, and many nobles lost their fertility due to various reasons, or it was not easy for an heir to appear as a dead baby.

In order to preserve the family inheritance, Li Daitao borrowed planting from the outside world, which European nobles have done a lot.

It's just that this kind of operation is rarely successful, and those who have no way to prove their blood have lost their inheritance rights directly.

The next generation of nobles must be supervised, not to mention the next generation of the emperor.If it is a prince, it is the heir of the Habsburg dynasty, and it is impossible to fool around.

In the anticipation of everyone, the voice of "Wow, wow, wow..." sounded, and Franz rushed out before he could confirm the gender.

It's a pity that just after taking the first step, Grand Duke Karl dragged him back and said seriously: "Don't make trouble"!

After reacting, Franz stopped immediately. He really didn't need his help at this time.

"A healthy prince!"

The doctor's voice sounded, and everyone showed joy, which meant that the next generation of the Habsburg dynasty appeared.

Then everyone stepped forward one by one to confirm that they were responsible, and the matter was considered complete.At this time, a nanny has already stepped forward to nurse, and Franz continued to watch the soy sauce.

After accepting everyone's congratulations, dismissing the supervisory team, and greeting the suffering queen, Franz had the opportunity to get in touch with the little one.

It is a pity that he, who was disliked for his hands and feet, was deprived of the right to hold the child by the unanimous decision of the two hostesses.Not only him, but his father, Archduke Karl, was also disgusted.

There is no way this is the eldest son, everyone is very careful.The little prince was hugged by an experienced nanny most of the time, and Empress Dowager Sophie hugged him once, and she was extremely nervous, fearing that she might hurt the little guy.

Chapter 25 Friedrichshaw

The birth of the eldest son made many people breathe a sigh of relief, and the entire Vienna court was full of laughter, telling the joy of the new life.

Names in Europe are very random, so random that it is jaw-dropping. As far as Franz knows, there are people whose grandchildren have used the same name continuously for more than ten generations.

I really don't know how they usually get along. It's okay to say that father and son have the same name, and they can be distinguished by old and young. If you meet five generations living under the same roof, wouldn't this name directly make you collapse?

Considering the dire consequences, Franz decided it was better to be cautious.The unlucky names are excluded first, and the names of the two unlucky people who committed suicide and were killed in history are the first to be eliminated.

At the family meeting, Franz asked: "Do you think it would be better for the little guy to be named Caesar, or Peter, or Frederick, Leopold, of course other names can also be mentioned?"

Empress Dowager Sophie took the lead and said: "I think it's better to be called Rudolph, so as not to have too many duplicate names among nobles."

Franz finally understood that the origin of the name Rudolph in history was the one who settled the relationship.

But the situation is different now. Facing the precocious Franz, the influence of the Empress Dowager Sophie has been greatly weakened.

In terms of the right to name the child, he still has the right to speak. Now that he is discussing it, it is because Franz himself is also confused, and he is not sure what the eldest son should be called.

Grand Duke Karl suggested: "I think it's better to be called Karl. I am Old Karl, and he is Little Karl. This name sounds so kind!"

This suffocating reason directly made Franz ignore it. He is still not used to this kind of duplicate name. Even if he wants to duplicate his name, he cannot duplicate his own family name.

Queen Helen suggested: "Why don't you call him Franz, it's more convenient to call him that way."

Franz rolled his eyes, why did he feel like he was finding fault?Looking at her cautious expression, Franz was sure it wasn't asking for trouble.

The four people who have the right to speak in the court have their own opinions and no one can persuade anyone. Franz decided to ignore their opinions.

"Then call Peter!"

"why?"

"why?"

"why?"

As soon as the son's name was confirmed, he was collectively questioned by everyone.Looking at the three angry people, Franz felt that if he could not give a reasonable explanation, he might not be able to eat today.

"You guys have different opinions. For the sake of family harmony, let's rule them all out!"

Empress Dowager Sophie said seriously: "Very well, then let's rule out Peter, it's only fair!"

This proposal was supported by Archduke Karl and "Queen Helen", and "Peter" also lost the election in a three-to-one situation.

Franz said indifferently: "Okay, let's vote for the remaining candidate names. The name with the highest approval rate is the name of the little guy!"

Franz thought he was upright, so he didn't come up with a weird name for his son.After all, he is the crown prince, so he needs to save face.

Many people in Europe have a long list of names, don't feel strange, it is very likely that the parents have been arguing endlessly, and finally added all the names proposed by everyone.

A name is a men's team, which can only be regarded as pediatric, and there are also those who directly copy a football team.

As for the future, what to call it?Met cheating parents, isn't it all useless?

"Then vote!"

……

Everyone agreed to a democratic vote. In the end, "Frederick" won by two votes. Franz speculated that it might be that the Habsburg family had more Charles the Great.

……

Secretary of the Navy Felcos said excitedly: "Your Majesty, the construction of our first ironclad ship is completed, and we are waiting for you to name it."

It has to be said that this ironclad ship came at the right time, just in time for the birth of the crown prince.Needless to say, Franz knew that this was a deliberate arrangement.

Coincidence, where are there so many coincidences in the world?

If there is no accident, in the next few days, the Vienna government will receive a series of good news, and these good news will happen to be on the same day as the prince's birth.

There is nothing strange about it. Even the East can have auspiciousness, so how can the Western world be exempt from customs?Everyone is a bureaucrat, and no one is much worse than the other.

Franz said calmly, "Let's call it the Frederick!"

Since his subordinates are so sensible, of course he will not object.These are not too much. At most, the ironclad ship was built and waited for the crown prince in the dock for a few days.

The purpose is naturally to increase the sense of presence, otherwise, once the crown prince is born, the media of the entire New Holy Roman Empire will pay attention, who will remember the ironclad ship?

The new Holy Roman Empire is a land-power country, and the public's attention to the navy is very limited.Once the ironclad ship has missed the opportunity to attract attention, the next time there is a big news to attract everyone's attention, I don't know when it will be.

The domestic people are more concerned about the birth of the Crown Prince, while the eyes of the international community are fixed on the iron-clad ship "Frederick".

Everyone is playing with sailing warships. Austria suddenly produced an iron-clad ship, which made many people very abrupt. Will this iron lump not sink?

On December 1856, 12, the day after the birth of the Crown Prince, the ironclad Friedrich set off from the Port of Venice to begin its trial voyage.

Without the presence of the media, this is a military secret, and Franz will not expose the internal information of the warship for the sake of face.

Frederick's parameters:

Displacement: 8708 tons;

Captain length: 118 meters (107.2 meters between vertical lines);

Ship width: 17.6 meters;

Draft: 7.9 meters power;

Steam and sail hybrid power, 1 horizontal reciprocating steam engine, 10 coal-fired boilers, output power 5770 horsepower;

Maximum speed with single shaft and single propeller: 14.56 knots