War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

The previous blind date was so successful that Mrs. Sophie decided to strike while the iron was hot and settle their marriage beforehand.

Franz thought that was not bad. After all, it was not a bad thing after the relationship with the Russians became public.

On the contrary, it can deter to a certain extent those young people who want to sow relations between the two countries, and at the same time, it can also make other powers avoid threatening either Russia or Austria.

In fact, if you want to win the Crimean War, no matter how much supplies Austria provides to Russia, it is not as practical as the Russians building a railway to Crimea themselves.

There is a joke in this war, that is, the transportation cost for the Russians on their own land is higher than the cost for the British and French coalition forces across the ocean.

After the marriage between the two countries, Franz can micro-manage the future layout to a certain extent.

But Franz didn't want to get married too early, because 1848 was coming soon, and Austria would become very unsafe and there would be a lot of uncertainty.

Franz did not want to increase the possibility of an accident, so he felt that the wedding should be postponed as much as possible.

"Franz, what are you thinking about? It's normal to get engaged this year and get married next year. What the hell is a three-year date?!"

Mrs. Sophie was furious. She didn't know what Franz was thinking, but it would be troublesome if the Russians thought this was humiliating them.

"Mother, I think it's too early to get married! Besides, there are still many hidden dangers in the country."

"Why are you so early? Others have sons as old as you! Even if the sky falls, it won't be your turn to bear the burden. Let's get married first and talk about anything later."

"No, Mother. Believe me, our situation is not safe.

Austria's rapid development has affected the survival of the Hungarian government. They are unwilling to give up their privileges and embrace the new era. Sooner or later there will be a war between us. "

The attitude of the Hungarian people is becoming more and more arrogant, and Mrs. Sophie is very aware of it, but those radical incidents all broke out in Hungary, at least so far they have not affected Austria.

Moreover, everything in the Austrian Empire was developing at a high speed at this time, and even if there was a real fight, the Hungarians would have no chance of winning.

"Then you should get married as soon as possible. Then we can also use the power of the Russian Empire to help us attack the Hungarians from both sides."

"Mother, that is definitely not a good idea. The Romanov family will not give up their ambitions just because the other party is their in-law.

Moreover, the most difficult thing in the world to repay is a debt of gratitude. You don’t want people to say one day that our Habsburg family repays kindness with hatred, right? "

Mrs. Sophie became more and more confused as she listened, but she had a bad feeling that her son was planning some big plan.

Thinking about it carefully, it seemed that seven or eight years ago, Franz had foreseen everything today. She didn't want to admit it, but she did give birth to an incredible monster.

"Franz, I don't know what you are thinking, but you are not the only one in the history of the Habsburg family who is ambitious and difficult to understand.

But what happened to them? Frederick III had to live in isolation, and Joseph II died. I don't want you to join in for the entertainment of future generations. "

Franz naturally understood Mrs. Sophie's intentions, but he couldn't tell the truth because it was all too sensational.

"Mother, doesn't the archbishop always say that I am a born saint? I will succeed."

"Whether you will succeed or not, first tell me how to stabilize the Tsar's family and make the 24-year-old girl wait for you for three years. I don't know how to say it.

If you are too old to have children, don't think about using an illegitimate child to inherit the throne. Do you understand? "

Mrs. Sophie was very dissatisfied. She still hoped that Franz could get married as soon as possible to avoid long nights and dreams.

In fact, after the latter learned about the history of the Habsburg family, he really didn't care much about whether his descendants could inherit the throne. After all, there was no particularly sensational incident of fratricide in this family.

As for having no descendants, it would be nice. After all, the path Franz is going to take is very hated by people. Naturally, no one dares to do anything when he is alive, but that may not be the case after his death.

It's a relief to be free from worries.

In fact, Grand Duchess Olga Nikolayevna had no children in history, but Franz did not know it because this princess was not famous in history.

"It's actually easy to stabilize the Tsar's family. Nicholas I was so proactive because he saw the benefits that would come from marrying Austria, so we can give the betrothal gift first."

"I would like to see what kind of gold and silver can stop the Tsar's mouth."

"A railway from Moscow to the Sevastopol Fortress, three new steel battleships."

"What about Olga?"

"She'll be willing to wait."

"Why?"

"A poem."

Russia, St. Petersburg.

Nicholas I paced back and forth in his office. Sometimes he wanted to shout excitedly, and sometimes he was tearing his hair and not knowing what to do.

Because the gift sent by the Austrians was too precious, and it happened to be what Russia needed most urgently. Although the railways and battleships were not in his hands, they gave the entire country hope.

Russia's finances have always been very tight, and the cost of building railways for the Russians is much higher than that of other European countries, almost ten times that of Austria.

As for the battleships, the Austrian battleships are probably not as good as the British, but they are still armored battleships and are worth looking forward to.

Note: At this time, Russia did not have the ability to produce iron-clad warships. Even during the Crimean War, they were unable to manufacture large-scale iron-clad warships.

The marriage between the two countries will also facilitate the further expansion of trade. Once Franz becomes the emperor of the Austrian Empire, Russia's economy will inevitably improve.

It's just that all this comes at the expense of his daughter's happiness. Nicholas I civilized future generations with cruelty, but he was unwilling to rise in such a way.

Nicholas I couldn't figure out why Austria set the wedding date three years later. The reason given by the Austrian side was that the body and mind were still immature and needed experience.

If this sentence were applied to the brothers Ferdinand I and Franz Karl, it would not feel inconsistent, but isn't this generation of Habsburg family full of talents?

Albrecht, Friedrich, and the collateral lineage Ambrosius were all outstanding talents, and Mrs. Sophie's four sons were even more extraordinary, ranging from saints to unparalleled geniuses.

Suddenly Nicholas I thought of something. Albrecht and Friedrich were an army genius and a naval genius, but the two were comparable to idiots in terms of human sophistication.

Albrecht was still unmarried at his age, and he always taught people about science and military matters during every blind date. Friedrich is said to have snatched an Arab as his wife, and has now become a joke among the aristocracy.

If the latter's father had not been Archduke Karl, he would have been expelled from the family or executed with honor long ago.

The same is true of Ambrosius

Judging from this situation, Mrs. Sophie's sons may not fare much better.