Chapter 1 The king from another world?

Author: Seven Years Period

Chapter 1 The king from another world?

1834, Austrian Empire, Vienna.

With blue sky and clear river water, this is a livable city, but it does not look like the capital of a powerful country in the 19th century.

The relatively gloomy sky, accompanied by severe smog, and black rivers, although not environmentally friendly, are definitely a powerful symbol of a country in this era, such as London, England.

The exterior is a classic building in the Baroque style, but the interior is designed in the Rococo period. The antique furniture on display is even more diverse, ranging from oriental porcelain to raw beeswax stones from the Baltic Sea.

Its owner was Francis II, the last monarch of the Holy Roman Empire and the first monarch of the Austrian Empire.

Francis II was facing a choice at this time, a difficult choice: choose an excellent successor, or stick to tradition.

Perhaps because of being separated by a generation, Franz II has been doting on this special grandson since Franz was born. A healthy baby boy without any intellectual disability is his hope and the empire's hope.

hope.

(Yes, the Austrian Empire at that time was indeed facing the problem of having no qualified heir.)

But today, the eldest grandson of Franz II was in the children's room. He took out five letters and made a combination that he couldn't ignore.

"A.E.I.O.U."

Those were the words left by Frederick III in Stephen's Cathedral, which are still engraved on the shrine.

At the same time, this was the only way Franz Joseph could think of to attract the attention of the old emperor.

"Austria is doomed," Francis II murmured.

Frederick III was the last Holy Roman Emperor to be crowned by the Pope in Rome. However, he was not an excellent emperor. In the face of the Hungarian invasion, his own strength was insufficient and his princes were passive and sabotaged.

The allies stopped to watch, leaving him to hunt hastily.

He wanted to carry out reforms and eliminate long-standing shortcomings, but ended up being unable to do so amid the opposition of the great nobles.

In the end, he had to live a solitary life, enjoying studying astrology and alchemy.

Why not Francis II? His grandmother, Empress Theresa, was so dazzling that it made subsequent successors look dim.

What is even more frightening is that the radical reforms of Joseph II (the previous emperor) and the subsequent shock therapy of Leopold II (the previous emperor) plunged the entire Austria into chaos. At the same time, Napoleon also appeared in France as an old enemy.

Such a person.

In that era called "Napoleonic", Francis II and the Holy Roman Empire, who opposed Napoleon, naturally became the background of the era. The country was in trouble, he married his daughter to seek peace, and the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved.

Francis II had too many unwillingnesses, but his legal heir, his eldest son Ferdinand, seemed unable to bear the burden of reviving the empire. His second son also had no ability to govern the country.

However, the eldest grandson of Franz II was a special child. Although Franz Joseph behaved a bit strangely, he showed extremely high intelligence since he was a child. However, Franz was too young, and the Austrian Empire still had

There is no precedent for the eldest grandson to inherit the throne over the eldest son.

Francis II still remembered the war of Austrian succession caused by the state edict.

But on the other hand, there is something deeply rooted in his soul that he cannot forget for a long time. That is the dream of a powerful country, which is the dream of every emperor.

Is there any emperor in this world who doesn’t want to expand the territory and make the country prosperous? Not to mention the emperor, even the common people hope to live in a strong country. Who wants to live in a country where wars are raging and the people are in dire straits?

A country with gun wars?

But Franz II failed to do this and allowed the country to decline step by step. He also knew in his heart that he had no chance, so he could only place his hope on the next generation.

The mentally retarded eldest son, or the autistic second son? They obviously don't have that ability, at least they won't do better than themselves. Franz II really doesn't want the declining Austria in front of him to be the pinnacle of the empire in the future.

What Francis II didn’t know was that the Austrian Empire in history had only experienced three monarchs, and it existed in name only after the Austro-Prussian War in 1866. It was replaced by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a doll empire, and was defeated by World War I

Then it completely disappeared in the long river of history.

At this time, Franz Joseph, the eldest grandson, did not know how entangled Franz II was in his heart. His soul came from later generations. Although there were neither computers nor mobile phones in the 19th century, he was born into a royal family, so he should be able to

Just be a dandy.

However, he soon understood that the identity he obtained through time travel was that of the famous tragic emperor Franz Joseph. His love affair with Princess Sissi was well known to the world.

But his brothers, parents, heirs, and wife all passed away before him. His empire successively became the backdrop for the rise of Germany and France, and then completely collapsed in the First World War.

Franz Joseph's life can only be described as tragedy, but it is not enough. He was the last monarch of the Austrian Empire and the first monarch of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Two years after his death, Austria-Hungary

The empire fell and was shattered into pieces.

However, at this time, what worried Franz the most was not these things, but the debt problem of this country and this family. The debt of more than one billion florins was really exaggerated.

At this time, the Austrian Imperial Government's annual fiscal revenue was approximately 110 million florins, and its annual fiscal expenditure exceeded 100 million florins. Based on this calculation, even if the debt did not accrue interest, it would take more than a hundred years for the Austrian Empire to

Pay back the money.

Franz felt sad.

Fortunately, the current Franz Joseph was born early enough, but this body seemed unable to do anything. All he could think of was to try his best to please the old emperor and attract his attention.

After all, the old emperor holds real power, unlike the later Ferdinand, whose decrees have to be approved by the regency council. If the old emperor is happy and rewards some manors and industries, then Franz will have start-up capital, plus his own

If you have a vision that is far ahead of the times, you will definitely make a fortune. At least that's what Franz thinks.

The reason why Franz is so eager is that the first time point that will change the fate of the Austrian Empire is getting closer and closer.

In 1834, the German Customs Union was established, but the Austrian Empire refused to join, which sounded the death knell for the empire.

On the other hand, Francis II, who was worried, decided to ask God. Of course, he didn't really go to heaven to ask God, but went to the church to ask God's messenger.

Since ancient times in the East, emperors have always liked to seek divination from immortals when they were indecisive. Even in modern times, they read horoscopes for nothing, ask Tarot for small things, and gossip for big things.

As it is in the East, it is also the same in the West, so Francis II appeared at the door of St. Stephen's Cathedral.

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