Chapter 546

Palace of Vienna. Since the news of the fall of Mexico City, Franz's troubles came.

Although Maximilian I Of Castile was not welcomed in the House of Habsburg, Queen Sophie and Grand Duke Carr were not included.

Massimiliano was not a good emperor, but he was a good son. He performed well in Vienna and was loved by Queen Sophie and Grand Duke Carr.

When they heard that something happened in Mexico, they came to inquire about the news. Although Franz repeatedly assured that Massimiliano was safe and was in the Austrian embassy, they were still worried.

Now, Queen Sophie personally read all the telegrams related to Austrian Central America. She even sent telegrams to Governor Hummel in her own name.

This made Franz very unhappy, but he couldn't say anything because there was a reason. Parents loved their children so much that it was normal for them to do something out of line.

In order to let himself have a few days of peace, Franz did not hesitate to tour the country. Of course, it was only limited to Europe. Asia, Africa, and the United States were too far away. It was still risky to travel far in this era.

As soon as Franz left, Alexandrovich's European tour entered its last stop – Vienna.

The Austrian Hotel, the Emperor's Palace, had finally opened. It wasn't easy. Since it was built, it had received no more than ten customers. It might not even be able to open once a year.

In fact, there was not much difference whether it opened or not. There was no room charge anyway. According to the convention, the host was responsible for arranging visits between the royal families.

Of course, Franz still hoped to have a few more visitors. This was also an advertisement. This was how the Austrian Hotel's grade was pulled up. It was known as the world's first hotel.

Although it was still far from recovering the investment, the hotel's performance was still growing at a very impressive rate. Since the opening, the annual turnover had tripled and was still growing at a rate of 30% to 40% annually.

The Emperor's Palace was originally a palace. The level of luxury was self-evident. The garden landscape inside was even more unique.

Crown Prince Alexandrovich, who had just moved in, was not the least bit interested in these beautiful scenery. He was only left with deep sorrow.

The reason for Franz's trip didn't need to be explained to the outside world. Alexandrovich directly mistook it as Franz didn't want to meet him.

The emperor's words and actions all had political implications. Franz's refusal to meet him meant that the Russo-Austrian Alliance had come to an end. For Alexandrovich, this was a very bad thing.

This meant that his trip to Europe was a failure. Despite easing relations with the European countries, this still could not offset the impact of the collapse of the Russian-Austrian Alliance.

Since the Emperor was not present, Crown Prince Aleksandrovich was not interested in the following diplomatic meeting. They tentatively proposed a loan but were rejected by the Vienna government, so they ended the negotiation.

A beautiful "misunderstanding" led to the close contact between the top officials of Russia and Austria. The opportunity to eliminate the conflict was wasted.

A hundred years later, when Franz's daily records were declassified, this misunderstanding was revealed. It was listed by historians as the biggest "political blunder" of the 19th century. However, the history world was in turmoil again.

Franz, who was inspecting Württemberg, naturally didn't think so much. He couldn't turn back to Vienna because of Alexandrovich's visit. That would be too embarrassing. It would be better if Alexander Ii Of Russia came in person.

There was no problem with the Crown Prince. Anyway, Franz left his son in Vienna. Even if he was a little younger, he was still the Austrian Crown Prince. The two had equal status and could completely complete the task of receiving him.

There was also the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss. Now that there was a telegram, Franz didn't need to take the top government officials with him.

In terms of distance, Württemberg wasn't far from Vienna. Austria's transportation was developed, and it could be done in a day.

Not only Württemberg, but the distance between Austria and the mainland of Europe wasn't far. Even the farthest island, Cyprus, was only a thousand kilometers away from Vienna.

Such a small distance could theoretically be reached in three days. Of course, this was only in theory. Under normal circumstances, it would still take more than ten days to travel by ordinary transportation.

Franz's national tour definitely didn't include islands like Cyprus. The reason was very simple — seasickness.

Taking a special train from Vienna to any major city in Austria wouldn't take more than three days.

This was also the reason why Franz could come on a trip. If there was something, he could return to Vienna in time.

It turned out that the young and energetic Alexandrovich couldn't stand being tossed around. After staying in Vienna for a week and not seeing Franz return, he returned to his country.

No one would have thought that it was this inconspicuous Alexandrovich's visit to Europe that opened the prelude to the collapse of the Russo-Austrian Alliance.

A beautiful misunderstanding made the Russians think that the Government of Vienna had decided to abandon the Russo-Austrian Alliance, which prompted the Tsarist government to move closer to the British.

This was all in the future. Franz said it was an inspection, but in fact, it was more of a sightseeing tour.

If he really wanted to inspect, he wouldn't start with these states. Even though he was the Emperor of Shinra, he didn't have much say in the economic development of the states.

The rules of the game were like this. Franz didn't care about things that he shouldn't ask about. As long as the state's economic development was good, it was enough for him.

As an Emperor, as long as the country was prosperous and the people were at peace, then his position would be stable. Ambitious people were always a minority. In times of peace, these people were at most a group of people who talked big.

Compared to other European countries, the German Region was relatively conservative, and Austria was the stronghold of the conservatives. Many new ideas were born here, but they couldn't be carried forward here.

The main reason why Paris became the beacon of the free world and the holy land of revolution was that the Parisian people were more receptive to new ideas and more emotional than rational.

If anyone studied history, they would find that France had become a battleground for European thinkers. The earliest testing ground for any theory was Paris.

…

In Mexico City, after receiving the notice from Minister Compton that it was a holiday, the soldiers who had been eating bread for many days cheered.

The Mexican government had the ability to stop their people from doing business with the Austrian Embassy, but they didn't have the guts to stop the Austrian Embassy's personnel from traveling.

Groups of "Austrian soldiers" appeared on the streets of Mexico City. These people were the local tyrants. Even if they weren't Mexico City locals, they had lived there for many years.

When they mixed around with Maximilian I Of Castile, they picked up a lot of bad habits. In the Austrian Embassy, they naturally didn't dare to be presumptuous, but now that they were out, they didn't have to be afraid.

Of course, it didn't mean that they were unforgivable. In fact, under the control of Maximilian I Of Castile, these guards were good overall, except for their temper.

As the first batch to ask for leave, Captain Mikel and a few of his colleagues chose to improve their meals. They had enough of eating bread continuously.

…

"Bang!" A slap landed heavily on the table. Captain Mikel roared, "What, you don't want to sell it to us? Why? It's not like I'm not paying. "

The restaurant's waiter explained haltingly, but it didn't reduce the anger of Captain Mikel and the others. Instead, it made them even angrier.

This anger wasn't directed at the waiter, but mainly at the Mexican government. Unfortunately, he was in front of them, and he was caught in the crossfire.

This restaurant was recommended by Captain Mikel, and now he was very embarrassed. He raised his gun and sneered, "Don't talk nonsense, hurry up and serve me the steak."

With a gun on his neck, the waiter naturally didn't dare to refuse and quickly nodded.

This obviously angered the diners, and a few young officers ran over to argue. They looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, the age where a newborn calf was not afraid of a tiger.

"You bastards, how can you force us to buy it? They don't want to do business with you, that's their freedom! "

The words "bastard" and "freedom" completely infuriated Captain Mikel. They were hardcore royalists, and they didn't betray Maximilian I Of Castile at the last moment. This was enough to prove their stance, and their hatred towards liberalism.

Compared to reasoning, they preferred to use their fists. Without any hesitation, Captain Mikel and the others who wanted to vent their anger immediately took action. Soon, a few young men who were the first to stand out fell to the ground and wailed.

After the fight, finally, no one disturbed Captain Mikel and the others' meal. As for the people sent by the Mexican government to follow them, they pretended not to see anything from the beginning.

As long as they didn't cause any big trouble, it was better not to trouble their superiors for such a small matter. If it involved foreign soldiers, even if it was a crime, their superiors had no right to deal with it.

If they handled it well, they wouldn't get any credit, but if they handled it badly, they might become scapegoats. As a country that was transitioning into a semi-colonial society, it was hard for the Mexican government not to be afraid.

If that was the case, then it would be over. There were many conflicts between Mexico City and the big powers every day, and usually, the Mexicans would be at a disadvantage.

It was just that the protagonists were different this time. No matter what the identity of these soldiers were before, now that they wore the Austrian military uniform, they were Austrian soldiers, and the Mexican government couldn't do anything to them.

But the youths who were at a disadvantage didn't agree, and left with their bodies full of injuries. The few of them didn't let the matter rest, and instead, they were thinking about how to take revenge.

"Cole, we can't just let this matter go. If we don't take revenge, these bastards will become even more savage! "

Cole's man asked back, "Kendall, what are you going to do?"

Kendall wiped the trace of blood from the corner of his mouth, and sneered, "Of course …" He made a gesture of slitting his throat, and the conversation between the two stopped abruptly.

Don't underestimate them just because they were young, in fact, they had experienced the test of blood and fire, and were part of the radical faction in the Mexican government.

After pausing for a while, Cole slowly said, "We have to be careful with this matter, we can't leave any loopholes, and it's best to frame …"

…

Captain Mikel and the others, who were still wandering outside, didn't know that they were being targeted, and were looking for fun everywhere.

There were so many soldiers in the embassy, and they had to take turns to rest. The vacation was hard to come by, and if they missed this one, they could only wait for the next month.

In the middle of the night, the drunken group supported each other and set off on their way home. It wasn't that they didn't want to stay the night, but the wallet in their pocket couldn't take it.

The small amount of military pay couldn't afford to squander like this. It was okay to indulge once in a while, but they didn't have the qualifications to lead a befuddled life.

"Bang, bang, bang …"

The sound of gunfire instantly woke them up, and they immediately crawled on the ground. They immediately took out their guns and counterattacked in the dark.

Benefiting from the tense situation, the Mexican government tightened their guard, and the sound of gunfire attracted the patrolling police.

Captain Mikel escaped, but his companions weren't so lucky. Out of the eight people who came out, three were killed, and two were injured.

This was only the beginning of the conflict. There were also a few soldiers who suddenly realized that the owner of their house had changed, and a fierce conflict also broke out.

In just one day, this group of soldiers on vacation caused more than a dozen shootings in Mexico City, causing dozens of casualties.

Minister Compton, who received the news, wasn't angry. Instead, he was happy. He didn't have to worry about not having an excuse to interfere. With so many shootings, the Mexican government had to give Austria an explanation.

As for the people who died, Minister Compton could only regretfully express that he wanted to seek justice for them. No matter what, these people were also Austrian citizens that he had signed.

Especially the matter of the house changing owners, these were all "Austrian citizens," and they were robbed of their property. He couldn't just let it go.

Minister Compton was a smart man. The Austrian army hadn't attacked yet, and it wasn't the right time to provoke the Mexican government. If they angered them, they would drag them down with them, and that would be terrible.

In his opinion, finding an excuse to interfere, and under the threat of military force, taking the opportunity to carry out political blackmail on the Mexican government was the best choice.

If they really relied on the army to conquer Mexico, why would they need diplomats?

In order not to excessively provoke the Mexican government, Minister Compton avoided the important matters from the beginning, and refused to let go of the shootings, asking the Mexican government to hand over the murderers.

For the time being, the property of ordinary Austrian citizens was stolen, and even the tragedy of their families was not pursued. No, the Mexican government didn't even know that these people had become Austrian citizens.

Originally, Minister Compton was still hesitant to give the families of these soldiers Austrian citizenship. After all, many of them didn't meet the standards.

Now, there was no need to hesitate. They had to be Austrian citizens, and even their relatives who were killed in the purge could become Austrian citizens.

The more casualties, the more property lost, and the more confidence they would have when asking for compensation in the future.

…