Chapter 644

Since Christmas was approaching, the Government of Vienna was not in a hurry to find trouble with the Polish government. Even the news of Poland's diplomatic note was suppressed, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs only conveyed Franz's threat.

European countries did not have the tradition of making trouble at Christmas. This Christmas, Vienna was still so lively, and Franz held a palace banquet as usual.

Good times were always short-lived. Just after Christmas, Franz received bad news – Otto I of Greece was dead.

Compared to the original space-time where Otto I was kicked off the stage in 1862, this dimension was considered lucky. With the strong rise of Austria, he, as a pro-Austrian, would naturally not be ousted because he stood on the wrong side in diplomacy.

The headache was that Otto I of the Wittelsbach dynasty had no children. His younger brothers were unwilling to convert to the Eastern Orthodox Church, so the position of the Greek crown prince had always been vacant.

Now the question was, who should inherit the Greek throne? Franz had sent a telegram to the Wittelsbach dynasty, which was now the Lombard royal family, hoping that they could send a prince to take up the heavy responsibility.

The result was very embarrassing, and no one was willing to take up this mess. Thinking about it, Greece's current situation was very bad. External debts were high, and internal turmoil was also surging.

This was the sequelae of the Near Eastern War. As one of the participating countries, although Greece stood on the side of the victors, it actually retreated under the military pressure of Britain and France.

Now, not only did they lose the spoils of war, but they were also beaten up by Britain and France. After the war, they were saddled with huge debts.

In any case, Greece still shed blood in the Near Eastern War, paying tens of thousands of sacrifices to delay part of the army of the Fao and Tasman Alliance.

After the war, Russia and Austria still helped Otto I and helped him keep the throne. After the war, the Greek people had strong anti-British and French sentiments, so Otto I naturally moved closer to Russia and Austria.

With the changes in the international situation, Austria reached a deal with Britain and France. Austria took over the French The Balkans, and the British got Corfu Island.

In the Mediterranean dispute, the Fao and Austria worked together to exclude the British. In this context, Greece obtained the support of the Government of Vienna, and Otto I took the opportunity to expel the British.

This "expulsion" was similar to the British voluntarily giving up. After all, Greece's interests were still too small. Even though its strategic location was important, the British were too busy to care about this piece of scrap.

In the end, under the mediation of Austria, the Greek government paid a ransom in exchange for the British to "withdraw" from Greece.

This was an inevitable result. How could he allow others to stay by his bedside? Ever since the French abandoned the Balkans, the geographical position of Greece determined that the British could not occupy it for long.

Faced with the constant resistance of the Greeks, the London government did not have the energy to suppress them. The cunning John Bull decisively chose to sell it for a good price. In the end, the Greek government owed a large debt to the British.

Nationalism was a double-edged sword. Ever since the British were driven out, the Greek radical groups had set their sights on Austria, wanting to restore the Roman Empire.

Such radical ideas were naturally suppressed by the government of Otto I. Normal people knew that this was an impossible plan, but idealists were an exception.

The idealists, who were unwilling to accept defeat, wanted to overthrow Otto I's rule. Without a doubt, this motley crew did not amount to much.

With the outbreak of the agricultural crisis, Greece's domestic economy also had problems. Many farmers went bankrupt in the first wave of the crisis, and social conflicts intensified.

Although many immigrants were taken away by Austria, there were still many left. Greece's social security was deteriorating.

This created a favorable condition for the radical groups to rebel. If Otto I Germany was still here, it wouldn't be a problem to suppress this group. The problem was that the throne was vacant, and the government was in a mess.

The Wittelsbach family had invested a lot of resources for the Greek throne, but they didn't get any returns. Now they didn't want to invest anymore.

This was not what Franz wanted to see. If the Greek throne was not settled soon, it would not take long for Britain, France, and Russia to get involved.

If all countries got involved, it would be difficult for Austria to take the lead. If there was an anti-Austrian government in Greece, Franz's early investment would be all for nothing.

"Prime Minister, who is the most suitable person to inherit the Greek throne?"

Prime Minister Felix frowned. "The best candidates are Otto I's younger brothers, Prince Liutpold and Prince Adalbert, but both of them have clearly given up the right to inherit.

There are many successors after that, but because of his age, we can't be sure if Otto I's nephew can sit firmly on the throne of Greece. "

The sudden death of Otto the First had left a mess behind. It wasn't easy to be the king of Greece. Without a certain ability, he couldn't control the situation at all.

Otherwise, Franz could just trick a member of the Wittelsbach family and force him to take the throne.

Europe was a world where birth mattered. The successor to the throne was naturally the closer the bloodline, the more orthodox it was. If the successor was ranked in the top ten, even if he got the throne, it would be difficult to gain the support of the people.

After a few steps, Franz made a decision. "Continue to send people to contact them. As long as they're willing to inherit the throne, they don't have to convert to the Orthodox Church. We'll take care of all the problems."

Although this might be a bid to get benefits from Austria, Franz still decided to give it to them. After all, the Wittelsbach family wasn't popular.

It was understandable that the Wittelsbach family was worried that they wouldn't be able to recoup their investment and wanted to find someone to share the cost.

There was no free lunch in the world. If they took benefits from Austria, they had to do things for Austria. The more they got, the more they had to pay.

Although Greece was small, Franz didn't dare to look down on it. It was better to have it in his own hands. Otto I did an excellent job. Even if Greece was a little chaotic, it didn't matter.

Franz didn't ask for much. He just wanted to continue to implement Otto I's population restriction policy. In this era, the population of Europe was increasing rapidly. Greece being able to stay where it was was also a clear stream of people.

As long as this was maintained, Greece, with a population of less than a million, wouldn't be able to do anything.

This was all learned from France's advanced experience. If it wasn't for the rapid economic development after Napoleon Iii succeeded the throne, their population growth rate might have been even lower.

All he did was modify the unreasonable parts of the plan and sell it to the Greek government. Coupled with Malthus's population theory, it was very convincing.

With Greece's current land, it really couldn't support any more people. In a short period of time, the effect was very obvious.

Ever since the tax was increased, the Greek people's desire to have children had greatly decreased. There were fewer children to support, and the people's living standards didn't decrease.

Foreign Minister Wesenberg shook his head. "Your Majesty, I'm afraid it's not good for us to get involved. Currently, the anti-Austrian sentiment among the Greek people is growing. If we get involved, I'm afraid things will become more troublesome.

Moreover, we have to consider the positions of Britain, France, and Russia. They don't want us to control Greece. If we get involved, the Greek throne will be delayed indefinitely.

Instead of that, it's better to wait and see. Whoever is willing to cooperate with us will be supported. If someone doesn't understand the situation, it's much easier to overthrow the rule of a country than to build a country. "

Franz had already understood the hidden meaning behind it. He was simply worried that this precedent would affect the political structure of the empire.

There were many states in the Shinra Empire. If the Wittelsbach family used too much of the empire's power to fight for the throne, wouldn't it mean that the other royal families could also use the empire's power to expand?

This wasn't a groundless worry. It would really happen. The relationship between the royal families in Europe was a mess. It was common for royal families to have the right to inherit the throne of other countries.

Currently, the throne of Poland and Spain were still empty. There were many big nobles in the country who were interested, but they lacked the support of the big powers and couldn't gain an advantage in the competition.

The Government of Vienna didn't support any of the big nobles in the country. Now, it was fully supporting the Wittelsbach family to sit on the throne of Greece. It would be fine if they got a generous reward, but if they didn't, it would definitely cause a political storm.

According to the rules of the game, the Wittelsbach family could get the support of the empire, but they had to give resources in exchange.

This system was designed by Franz himself. The royal family had paid a considerable part of the military expenses, including the operation in Mexico.

Franz frowned and said, "This is indeed a problem, but it's not difficult to solve. The empire has to pay the price in return.

We can make the problem clear in advance. If the Wittelsbach family still doesn't want to, then forget it. I think no one will object if we bring Greece back into the embrace of Catholicism. "

Austria suppressed religion, but it didn't mean that they couldn't use religion to achieve their goals. There was no law that said the Greek king couldn't be a Catholic.

Even if there was, this outdated law must be abolished. It was an era of freedom of religion. How could they discriminate against religion?

Franz wasn't worried about the return on his investment at all. At worst, he could promote cotton cultivation in Greece. In the future, Greece was a major cotton exporter, so it should be possible now.

Not only would there be a raw material source, but there would also be a place to dump food. This was enough to satisfy the interest groups in the country.

Thinking of this, Franz suddenly had a new idea. This agricultural crisis could be solved in advance.

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