Chapter 685

There were always two sides to a coin. The agricultural crisis caused the price of agricultural products to plummet. Farmers had a hard time, but workers' lives became better.

The reduction in the cost of living directly stimulated the development of the industry. Labor conflicts decreased. The most typical example was the number of demonstrations in Paris, which decreased by one-fifth compared to the same period last year.

In this respect, the mainstream of the world had completed the transition from agriculture to industry. The major European countries developed with industry as their core.

Due to the butterfly effect, after the division of the United States, the domestic market shrank sharply. It did not rush to the forefront of this industrial revolution. The birthplace of the second industrial revolution remained in Europe.

The first industrial revolution was naturally Austria, marked by the Sleepless City of Vienna, which opened the prelude to the era of electricity.

The spread of electricity was beyond imagination. Since Vienna was the first, Paris and London immediately followed.

Although it was somewhat irrational and did not consider the actual situation, blindly following the trend due to public opinion, it played a vital role in promoting the development of electricity technology.

After London and Paris completed the urban lighting network, electricity technology became the symbol of urban modernization. The difference between a big city and a small city could be seen by looking at the street lights in the urban area.

Power stations rose from the ground around the city. Rows of power lines became the symbol of civilization. The thick black smoke told of the glory of the industrial age.

In the Palace of Vienna, Franz was hunting with his family. It had to be said that Duke Carr's proposal was constructive. It was indeed much more convenient to put the hunting ground in one's own home.

In terms of area, the Palace of Vienna was the largest palace in the world. Of course, in terms of area, the Palace of Vienna was still a little brother.

Franz was not an extravagant emperor. He would not build a huge palace. Vienna was the private territory of the House of Habsburg. Most of the land belonged to the royal family. The increase in the area of the palace was not high.

After the palace expanded, the difficulty of defense naturally increased. Naturally, the royal guards had to be expanded. Franz would not admit that it was to expand the private armed forces, although that was the truth.

This was a small problem. The royal guards were completely under the emperor's control and had nothing to do with the government. In theory, it could be expanded to one million.

Obviously, this was impossible, for Franz was not so rich as that. Although he was the emperor, the annual income of the royal family was already the highest in Europe.

By scrimping and saving, Franz managed to expand the Royal Guard to a division. This was the last guarantee. Having a private armed force was the greatest guarantee of the emperor's power. At least, he could launch an armed coup at any time.

In this respect, the government of Vienna was in danger, with an emperor who was always on guard against them. If he accidentally crossed the line, the Emperor could flip the table at any time.

This was the lesson brought by the Vienna Revolution. Franz quietly strengthened his control over the army, especially the army in the capital.

Any political force that attempted to infiltrate the army would have disastrous consequences. Austria, which seemed peaceful, was also full of swords and sabers behind it.

Bang, bang …

After a series of gunshots, there were only a few bullets. Franz's marksmanship was still as stable as ever. Even though the prey was more than 200 meters away, his shots still hit the target.

Franz was not annoyed that he had missed his prey. As an emperor who cherished life, he could not bear to kill, so he magnanimously let the prey go.

At first, there were a few kids who believed this explanation, and they even looked at him with admiration. As they grew older, it was better not to mention it.

This was not a big deal. The vast majority of recruits on the battlefield were at this level. To be able to accurately hit the enemy from two hundred meters away, apart from sharpshooters, it was luck players.

To be able to guarantee effective damage to a moving target within two hundred meters was an elite division. This was the problem with the gun. The recoil was too great, and the bullet was easy to deviate.

With the current technology, there was no way to solve this problem. By reducing the recoil slightly, the cost would go up.

Looking at the motionless Massimiliano, Grand Duke Carr walked up and slapped him on the head. "Massimiliano, don't have a dead face. You have to be energetic when hunting.

You have to learn from Franz. Every time he comes out, he comes back empty-handed. Isn't he just as happy? "

The older he got, the more willful Grand Duke Carr became. Now, even Empress Dowager Sophie found it difficult to restrain him. If he didn't like someone, he could slap them.

Franz knew that if he didn't intervene, Massimiliano might get beaten up again. It wasn't that he hated Massimiliano for not living up to his expectations. In fact, Grand Duke Carr didn't have any expectations for Massimiliano. He just didn't want to see his precious son sink.

After hesitating for a moment, Franz decisively chose to ignore it. If he was beaten, then so be it. No one could interfere with the father's education of his son. When Massimiliano was a child, he hadn't been beaten. Now was the time to make up for it.

Ever since he was forcibly escorted back to the country, Massimiliano had fallen into a state of autism, shouting every day that he wanted to go back to Mexico. After the doctor confirmed that he wasn't mentally ill, it was just a psychological problem.

In order to get rid of the shadow in his heart, Empress Dowager Sophie thought of many ways, but none of them worked. In the end, it was the violent method that worked. The pain woke up Massimiliano from his self-paralysis.

Franz didn't have any doubts about Carr teaching Massimiliano a lesson. Since he was a child, he naturally needed to make up for it now. But why did he bring him along?

Franz had always avoided talking about those glorious achievements. Things were different now. There was a group of little guys watching.

In the end, Franz still didn't have the courage to defend himself. In the face of the facts, any defense seemed pale and powerless.

Franz didn't reject Massimiliano as his younger brother. Aside from being a little too idealistic, Massimiliano was still very good. He was much better than those ambitious people.

Even idealism could be used as a negative example. If there were no accidents, in the next few hundred years, his legendary story would be told within the House of Habsburg to educate the next generation.

Looking at his happy second son, Franz glared fiercely, as if to say, "What are you laughing at? Are you itching for a beating?"

Feeling Franz's murderous gaze, little Peter immediately covered his mouth with his little hand. With his many years of experience, he could tell that if he continued, the thickness of the homework would increase again.

Franz was reasonable and usually wouldn't beat people up. The most common punishment was to assign homework. A special teacher would watch over them, and they could only go out to play when they finished.

This kind of punishment was more lethal than being beaten up. The "pain" of being beaten was only for a while. They were all biological children, and they couldn't bear to hit them too hard. If the amount of homework was increased, it could last for a long time. Peter had personally experienced the pain of rushing for a month.

The men were on one side, and the women were on the other. Hunting was a bloody thing, and it was usually done by them. It wouldn't be good if the women were disturbed.

Franz didn't speak, and the other two younger brothers didn't dare to show up. When Archduke Carr was angry, except for Franz, the emperor, the brothers were often beaten up together. They looked at Maximiliano from a distance, as though they wanted to help him even if they wanted to.

It seemed that he was provoked, and Massimiliano almost fell off the horse. He grabbed the reins and replied in a panic, "Got it."

The best medicine for heart disease was time. Not hearing the idiotic slogans of "I want to go back to Mexico" and "The Mexican people need me," Franz nodded with satisfaction.

Recently, Franz had been worried sick about Massimiliano's condition. It was not easy to be an emperor, and there were a lot of inferior products in the House of Habsburg.

This was the result of him forcefully suppressing it. Otherwise, he would have had a gay younger brother. He really didn't know how they educated him. Franz was very suspicious that there was something wrong with the education these brothers received in the original timeline.

As it turned out, education could change a person. Massimiliano was too close in age. Before Franz succeeded to the throne, he was already an idealist and couldn't be pulled back.

The other two younger brothers were different. With his intervention, they received a strict aristocratic education. No special talents were discovered, but their comprehensive abilities still exceeded the average level of aristocratic children. In society, they would be high-level elites.

Their main job at the moment was to be responsible for the communication and reception of the House of Habsburg with the outside world. In other words, they were responsible for building a good relationship with the European royal families. There were no weddings or funerals, and they were the ones who needed to appear.

In general, Franz was still satisfied. There were no major mistakes in this area of work, and part of his workload was reduced. He didn't need to worry about these small things.

As long as they didn't cause trouble, any member of the royal family was useful. Including the failed Massimiliano, he was also the link between the House of Habsburg and the Belgian royal family.

"Your Majesty, the empress wants you to go over."

Franz nodded. "Got it. Tell the empress we'll be there soon."

Looking at Grand Duke Carr's stern face, Franz rode forward. "Well, father, it's almost time. Maybe it's time to eat."

Grand Duke Carr's anger came and went quickly. After listening to Franz's words, he nodded and slapped Massimiliano. "What are you looking at? Hurry up and go!"

…

Looking at the group of laughing hostesses, Franz asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Why are you so happy?"

Empress Helen smiled. "Charlotte is pregnant."

Everyone showed a look of joy. Even Massimiliano's unchanging face showed a smile.

It was always a good thing, especially for the royal family. The butterfly effect had a huge impact. Maximilian I Of Castile, who had received his bento box early in the original universe, naturally had no descendants. Now that he had lived for a few more years, the situation had changed.

It was normal to think about it. Princess Charlotte was not old. When Massimiliano died in the original universe, she was only 27 years old. Now, she was only in her 30s.

In this era, she could be regarded as an elderly pregnant woman, but the problem was not too big. Maximilian I Of Castile was still alive. Naturally, Princess Charlotte did not go crazy. She had always been in good health.

This news had little impact on Austria. Unless Empress Helen was pregnant, the people would not be in the mood to care so much.

But for Mexico, thousands of miles away, the situation was different. Although Maximilian I Of Castile returned to his country dejectedly, he did not announce his abdication.

Soon after the Austrian army retreated, a civil war broke out in Mexico. Blood flowed like rivers on all sides. There was no time to care whether the emperor, who had lost his home, abdicated or not.

Seeing that Massimiliano was not in a good state, no one in the House of Habsburg would provoke him. The issue of abdication was put aside.

Now, if the child in Charlotte's belly was a boy, he would be the legal heir to the throne in Mexico. The crown prince that Maximilian I Of Castile had set up was not legitimate enough.

Franz stopped thinking about it. It did not matter. Mexico was a mess. Who would dare to jump into the fire pit!