Chapter 354

The Paris Conference, because of Austria's interference, caused the Kingdom of Sardinia to lose its bargaining power. It ended with lightning speed, which was very rare in diplomatic history.

The French, who were in the limelight, once again became the focus of public opinion. The Kingdom of Sardinia had not yet been swallowed, and the threat of France once again attracted everyone's attention.

This small problem naturally did not attract the attention of the Government of Paris. The threat of France was not just a day or two. It had been going on for decades, and everyone was numb to it.

Let them say it, anyway, they would not lose a piece of flesh. At this time, the French were still celebrating this diplomatic victory.

Franz could only attribute it to the French's Italian complex, just like the House of Habsburg's Swiss complex. They always wanted to annex these areas.

In his opinion, these areas could be very limited in terms of benefits other than emotional benefits.

Of course, the French did this in line with Austria's interests. With them taking the lead, Britain and Russia's fear of Austria was reduced by a level.

People's thoughts were complicated, and most of the time, they relied on subjective judgment. In terms of overall national strength, Austria was not weaker than the French, but in everyone's subconscious, they still thought the French were a greater threat.

This was not something that could be changed in a day or two. In history, Bismarck used this subconscious to isolate the French.

If it wasn't for William II's failure, the Government of London realized that Germany was a greater threat, and the Allies would not have been established.

Now that the French were complacent, they probably never dreamed what price the Government of France had to pay in order to eliminate the threat of France.

In order to win over the Russians, the Government of France sent out a large amount of money in the form of loans, which slowed down the domestic economic development.

In order to win over the British, they did not hesitate to deliberately show weakness and give up the naval arms race in the early 20th century. Of course, the lack of financial resources was also a factor.

Many people thought that the British were good at diplomacy, but in fact, the French were also very good at diplomacy. Under the circumstances of absolute disadvantage, they still roped in Britain and Russia to form the Allies.

It was just that the French loved infighting too much, and the cabinet changed too frequently. Many strategies could not be implemented because of power struggles.

After tricking Napoleon Iii, Franz felt refreshed. No, this could not be considered a trap. It should be called a win-win situation. Everyone was taking what they needed.

Now, the arrogant France was still at its peak and did not feel threatened. The French still dreamed of dominating the world, and naturally did not care about other people's jealousy.

In the face of tangible benefits, what's the big deal about stirring up hatred? Back then, when Napoleon challenged the entire European continent, the French were not afraid. Now that they were just showing off, it was even more impossible for them to be afraid.

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Palace in Vienna

At the cabinet meeting, Franz announced the new appointments.

"After Prince Metterne and Marshal Radkiss resigned, Ambassador Weisenberg took over as Foreign Minister, and Marshal Edmund took over as Chief of the General Staff."

Originally, Chief of the General Staff Franz was more interested in Marshal Julius Jacob von Heinau. Unfortunately, the Tiger of Habsburg was on the verge of death, so he could only settle for the second best.

Everything he did was to maintain the rule of the House of Habsburg. In order to get rid of the hidden danger once and for all, he did not hesitate to bear the infamy of suppressing the rebellion. He was a model minister.

Everything he did was to maintain the rule of the Habsburg Dynasty. In order to solve the hidden danger once and for all, he did not hesitate to bear the infamy of suppressing the rebellion with blood. He was completely a model minister.

Under Franz's strong intervention, Marshal Julius became a positive figure. It was proven that a person's mood did affect their life.

It was proven that a person's mood did affect their lifespan. Under Franz's butterfly effect, many people's fates were rewritten.

Grand Duke Louis asked with concern, "Your Majesty, what about my resignation?"

The previous two retirements had been approved, but when it came to him, he was suddenly stuck. Grand Duke Louis did not want to continue. It had nothing to do with the desire for power, but his body could not take it anymore.

Europe did not have a cultural tradition of sudden retirement. Basically, when one's body could not take it, everyone would choose to retire.

Franz explained, "Wait for two months. I'm going to let Prince Wendisch Gretz take over as Interior Minister. I need to familiarize myself with the affairs in advance.

After the transfer of Prince Wendisch Gretz's position, the Minister of War will be replaced by the Governor of the Balkans, General Albrecht, and the Governor of the Balkans will be replaced by Lieutenant General Morkes. "

This was a rule established after Franz succeeded the throne. If it was a cross-departmental appointment, he must first familiarize himself with the affairs to avoid making a fool of himself.

Important personnel appointments were personally handled by him as the emperor. Franz did not ask about the lower positions.

There was a limit to one's energy, and Franz did not think he was superhuman. These hundred and eighty people were enough to manage the central government and local officials. The rest was naturally left to them to manage.

The appointment of Interior Minister was decided by Franz at the last minute. No one knew about it in advance.

It had been discussed in the cabinet meeting before. There were too few suitable candidates, and choosing Prince Wendisch Gretz was a helpless move.

This was not the decline of Austrian talents, but the decline of the talents of the Austrian nobility. It was inevitable that this would happen. Where was the population base? How could there be talented people from generation to generation?

Due to medical technology, many families were facing the danger of losing their heirs. In the absence of new blood, the class of great nobles was destined to be unable to control power for a long time.

The time when the old and new powers were replaced was often the bloodiest time. If this could not be grasped, it was easy to cause unrest in the country.

"As an emperor, when using people, you can't look at their status, but you also can't ignore their status." This was the sentence that left the deepest impression on Franz when he received the emperor's education.

Now he had a deep understanding that to govern a country, it was necessary to promote talents. At this time, it was obvious that one could not look at their status.

But when it came to the balance of power, it was necessary to look at their status. Otherwise, in the end, it would become a monopoly, and the emperor would become dispensable.

Relatively speaking, the so-called class was actually not important. This identity could be changed. Franz suppressed the bourgeoisie, but not the capitalists.

The main reason for suppressing this class was that the bourgeoisie was too aggressive.

Once it became big, driven by interests, it would turn the country into a money politics that was more in line with their interests.

The emperor and the nobles were feudal tumors, so they had to be purged. If they were lucky, the emperor could become a rubber stamp. If they were unlucky, they would go to the guillotine.

Since they were destined to stand on the opposite side, they could only be suppressed.

However, the bourgeoisie itself was a combination of contradictions. The internal struggle was more intense than the external struggle, and everyone's competition was far higher than cooperation.

As long as they were not allowed to gather together and form a union of interests, the threat would be controllable.

Franz did not object to doing business and making money in peace. If they wanted to participate in politics, it was fine. As long as they entered the system according to the rules, he would not object.

If they used their money to corrupt government officials and tried to manipulate national politics behind the scenes, they had to be suppressed.

…