Vienna Palace

Intelligence leader Tyron Hui reported: "Your Majesty, Britain and France have failed in negotiations on the Suez Canal. The Paris government decided to leave the British alone and dig the Grand Canal alone."

This is expected. The Suez Canal is not only of great significance to Austria, but also to the French. With such a great investment in the early stage, it is naturally impossible for them to give up because of the opposition of the British.

The gap in strength between Britain and France is not as great as that at the end of the century. Now the French are still obsessed with the position of world hegemony.

Moreover, they also have the strength to match their ambitions.

The total strength of the French Army's standing army is as high as 400,000, which is only the only two countries on the European continent, Russia and Austria; the total tonnage of the French Navy is more than six floors of the Royal Navy, close to the scale of seven floors.

At the same time, it has world-class navy and army. The French are the most balanced development among the great powers, and their comprehensive national strength is not weaker than any other great power. With such strong strength, it is difficult for them to be at peace.

The only pity is that this is already the pinnacle of the French, and their national strength is no longer enough to support them to go further.

In order to compete with the Russians for hegemony on the European continent, France has too few populations. In this era of dominance in the sea of ​​people, the slow population growth rate directly led the French to amazement.

If you want to compete with the British for maritime hegemony, the construction of the Continental Army has diverted resources and cannot dominate the country's strength, so you will naturally not be a match for John Bull.

The French, who are in the game, only saw their strength, but not their potential for development. They have been left behind by their competitors and are still dreaming of becoming the world overlord.

From this strategic perspective, the difficulties faced by France and Austria are somewhat similar. Both must develop the army and navy at the same time and cannot concentrate their efforts on one side.

Austria's advantage lies in its larger population, larger local area, and more advantage in resources; its disadvantages are also very obvious. If multi-ethnic countries cannot complete ethnic integration, it will be a big problem when nationalism awakens.

After sorting out the trump card in his hand, Franz thought he was happier than Napoleon III. No matter how many nations there were in Austria, they were still peaceful than the French people!

Learning from history, Napoleon III did a good job in history. He was driven off the stage by the hot-headed people after just one defeat. However, the original owner lost the French-Austrian War and the PASAC War in history, and the gap can be seen by sitting firmly on the throne.

Since taking power, Franz has promoted language and writing unity while promoting cross-ethnic marriages.

At present, it is best to use the language uniformly. German is basically popular in towns, and there is no need to think about it in the countryside. Except for children who receive compulsory education, the older generation can speak a few words of German and are activists.

In any case, there are still nearly seven levels of people in the country who speak German. In ethnic minority areas and the newly occupied Balkans, the popularization rate of folk German is the highest.

Needless to say, although the official literacy rate has exceeded 67%, the current social situation of most of them is illiterate and has not been changed.

Franz doesn't think he can write a few words, even an intellectual. This 67% can be understood as 67% of the people who can write their own names.

If you want to truly unify your language and writing, you have to wait until the generation who receives compulsory education grows up. This kind of thing is unhurried.

In contrast, the number of mixed-race children has increased much greater. With the advancement of industrialization, exchanges between people of all ethnic groups have increased significantly, and marriages have naturally increased.

In theory, as long as three million couples are cross-ethnic marriages, all races of the entire new Holy Roman Empire are tied together.

As everyone becomes relatives, the national concept has faded. To put it bluntly, except for extreme nationalists, who would discriminate against their relatives and friends?

Franz ordered: "Continue to stare at the French. Digging the Suez Canal is not only a huge investment, but the risks are also unknown. The French government will inevitably raise funds in the capital market."

Investing in the Suez Canal is a huge profit. Once this golden waterway is opened, it will be a source of wealth. Franz will naturally not miss this opportunity.

Theoretically, after being opposed by the British, in order to reduce the risks, the French would most likely win over Austria to join.

However, the French could not give up the controlling stake in the canal, and Franz did not expect to obtain the controlling stake.

In this case, the Vienna government can get only three or four levels of investment, which seems to be quite a lot, but there are more people who share the cake. As emperor Franz, you must pay attention to your eating habits.

Instead of taking it from government investment, it is better to secretly buy some shares in the capital market. Anyway, this is an investment that only receives dividends, the more secret it is, the better.

"Yes, your majesty!" Tyron replied

After a pause, Franz asked, "What's the news about the Kingdom of Prussia?"

Tyron replied: "The Kingdom of Prussia is still undergoing reforms. Frederick William IV's rule is a bit unstable, and the domestic undercurrents are surging. He himself is not in good condition and has not appeared in public for a long time.

The specific situation is still uncertain, and the Prussians blocked the news. However, based on William Frederick Ludwig's frequent activities in politics, we can infer that Frederick William IV's body is probably not good."

After hearing this news, Franz realized that the famous William the Great in history was about to take the stage of history.

But one step slower, and then one step slower. At this time, the Prussian Kingdom had lost its time.

The pattern of three-point Germany was created by Franz. How could it be easily broken when the Vienna system is reestablished?

Now both Britain, France, Russia and Austria hope that the European continent will be stable, and this is not something that can be controlled by personal power. Unless he can cheat and let everyone's brains get into the water together, there will be a chance.

Historically, the Prussian Kingdom unifies the German region, which was to establish the Napoleon III government in the context of the wind. It was not only one wind, but three consecutive winds were used to create opportunities for them.

The current international situation is even more serious. Unless France and Austria can be allowed to fight in Italy and Britain and Russia in India at the same time, there will be no room for them to play.

After thinking for a while, Franz ordered: "Terron, find an opportunity to get rid of Bismarck, the Prussian ambassador to Russia. Do it naturally and don't expose it to us.

If there is no right opportunity, then just mess with him first and let him lose the opportunity to go further."

That hero, my enemy.

Although Franz has always abides by the rules of political struggle and rarely plays with these conspiracies, it does not mean that he will not play with conspiracies.

To be on the safe side, he decided to get rid of the iron-blooded prime minister first. Without him, the helmsman, even if other radical members came to power, the Prussians would not be able to make a big fuss.

The Prussian Kingdom has limited national strength and cannot afford to lose in the championship. As long as there is any operational mistake, it will be done.

William Frederick Ludwig is not a simple guy. Without a chance of winning, he will not take risks with the radicals at all. Not all prime ministers are Bismarck who can force the king to make concessions.

"Yes, your majesty!" Tyron replied

...
Chapter completed!