Chapter 727

At the critical moment of the Anglo-Austrian negotiations, his mother, Princess Sophie, brought him a piece of news, which attracted all of Franz's attention.

His uncle, Ferdinand I, was going to abdicate early and told him to prepare for his ascension.

In all honesty, Franz dared to swear in the name of God that he had nothing to do with it. As the legal heir of Austria, he was not in a hurry to force his uncle to abdicate.

The real decision wasn't made by Ferdinand I himself, but by the House of Habsburg.

Although Austria was known for being conservative, after so many years, the people's tolerance for the mentally retarded emperor had reached its limit. The Vienna rebellion was a factor in this regard.

For the House of Habsburg, it was a disaster. The emperor's prestige was swept away, and he was a joke. If this went on, the position of the royal family would be shaken.

At this time, Franz came out of nowhere as regent and took control of the power in a short time. He quelled the domestic rebellion, which gave many hope.

The Austrian Empire's national power continued to decline. The royal family also saw it and were anxious, but the archdukes were powerless. They didn't have the ability to turn the tide.

Franz's outstanding performance made their eyes light up. It seemed that the House of Habsburg was about to usher in a master of resurgence.

Then, they privately discussed that they couldn't let Ferdinand I continue to lose face as emperor. The House of Habsburg had been the laughing stock of the aristocratic circle for decades.

For the sake of long-term interests, they unanimously decided to let Ferdinand I abdicate early and replace him with Franz, who was more capable, to restore the glory of the House of Habsburg.

After the decision was made, everyone took turns to persuade Ferdinand I to abdicate. No, it should be to persuade Queen Maria Anna to agree to the emperor's abdication.

Ferdinand I was sometimes sober, and sometimes confused. Maybe he had just agreed, but then he immediately forgot. What he remembered most was the order to the chef: I am the emperor, I want to eat dumplings.

When he was sober, he wasn't much different from a normal person, except that his reaction was a little slower, and his IQ was a little lower than ordinary people. Once he fell ill, he didn't know anything.

The most important thing was that he fell ill several times a day. No one knew when he would be sober or fall ill. It was too unreliable to let him make the decision, so everyone decided to help him.

To avoid being a joke, they had to convince Queen Maria Anna. As long as she didn't object, Ferdinand I's opinion could be ignored.

There was no doubt that Empress Maria Anna had never been a power-hungry person. Because her husband was powerless, the Vienna court was more like a prison for her.

Especially after the outbreak of the Vienna Revolution, she was even more frightened, afraid that she would follow in the footsteps of Louis XVI.

Everyone happily came to an agreement. They wanted Ferdinand I to abdicate as soon as possible and let Franz take over the throne to clean up the mess.

That was true. Many people thought the Austrian Empire was a mess. Although the rebellion had been quelled, the problems within the country were still severe.

In the eyes of many people, one of the main reasons for the outbreak of the rebellion that affected the entire country was that the prestige of the monarch had been damaged. Ferdinand I was no longer able to obtain the recognition of the various Austrian people.

Franz was not averse to ascending the throne ahead of schedule. There were many things that were easier for the Emperor to do than for the Crown Prince.

Perhaps it was because they had endured enough, and they unanimously chose to cut the Gordian knot. The date of Ferdinand's abdication was soon determined, and so was the date of Franz's ascension to the throne. They were both on the 1st of September, 1848.

It was the end of June. There were only two months left. Franz had to arrange domestic affairs to ensure that he didn't make a fool of himself at his ascension ceremony.

…

Franz was generally satisfied with the results of the Anglo-Austrian negotiations. Not only did he extort a sum of money from the Kingdom of Sardinia, but he also got the support of the British on the Balkan issue and got the ticket to overseas colonization.

The only headache was the British's position on the German issue. Like all the Great Powers, everyone opposed Austria's expansion into the German Region.

Unlike the Kingdom of Prussia, Austria's influence in the German Region was too great. The House of Habsburg's name was too loud. Once the German Region was unified, the impact would be much greater.

Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Belgium used to be the House of Habsburg. The idea of unification that was prevalent in the German Region also existed in these countries.

Who knew if Austria had a way to integrate them? No matter what, no one was willing to take the risk.

The influence of the House of Habsburg was feared by everyone. Once Austria was ready to unify the German Region, it would face the same situation as Napoleon.

Before the unification of the German Region, the intervention army of various countries had already set off. This conclusion hurt everyone, especially the Greater Germans.

There was no other way. Austria, with only eight million people, was everyone's best ally. Austria, with a core population of more than fifty million people, was a nightmare for Europe.

After the unification of the German Region, Austria surpassed Russia in population and France in industry. It was a giant in Central Europe.

The British saw it clearly, so they encouraged Austria to expand into the Balkans. As long as the main ethnic group did not have an absolute advantage, internal friction was inevitable.

An Austria with serious internal friction would not be able to threaten the British Empire's hegemony in the world. They could still be good friends.

Franz comforted, "The British's position was already within our expectations. We should not be the ones having a headache now. The Kingdom of Prussia also wants to unify the German Region. They have less choice.

If we can't expand into the German Region, we can go to the Balkans and open up colonies. Austria's progress will not stop. "

This was also self-comfort. Prussia was just an excuse. In this era, the Kingdom of Prussia did not have the power to unify the German Region.

Austria itself had the power to unify the German Region, but the international environment did not allow it.

The British, who were most likely to stay out of it, were strongly against the unification of Germany, not to mention the neighboring Russia. How could they sleep soundly next to their bed?

Since they could not unify the German Region, Austria could only first solve the ethnic conflicts in their country, and then farm honestly and slowly accumulate strength.

The so-called expansion was just picking up leftovers. They had to give in to the Russians in the Balkans, and they had to compromise with the British and French to open up overseas colonies.

Felix suggested, "Since the British are against the unification of the German Region, we can settle for the next best thing. How about we divide the German Region with the Kingdom of Prussia?

If we can annex South Germany, we can even pay some price. At worst, we can give up the Regions of Italy in exchange for the support of the British and French. We can cede Austrian Poland to the Russians in exchange for their understanding. "

Metternich sighed and said, "It's not that simple. Many of the states in South Germany are our allies. How can we expand?

If we lay our hands on our allies, do we still want our reputation? In the future, who would dare to ally with us? "

If he had known that the international situation would become like this, he would have sent the Wittelsbach family to the Regions of Italy when he was building the Vienna System. Austria would have directly annexed the Kingdom of Bavaria.

Unfortunately, there were no ifs in history. In order to guard against the French, Austria supported their ally, the Kingdom of Bavaria, as a buffer. Now, this ally was blocking Austria's path of expansion.

Before the rise of nationalism, everyone did not feel the importance of the main ethnic group. After the great revolution, everyone understood the weakness of a multi-ethnic country.

The Hungarians wanted independence, the Italians wanted independence, the Poles wanted independence, the Czechs wanted autonomy …

Fortunately, nationalism did not permeate the entire society. It was only the capitalists and some of the nobles who wanted independence, so Austria suppressed them.

The greatest wealth of South Germany was none other than the 15 million people who lived there.

If they annexed the South German states, which shared the same religious beliefs, language, and culture, the majority of the ethnic group in Austria could instantly exceed half, and the risk of division would be reduced to a minimum.

Franz thought for a moment and said, "Everyone, don't just think about expansion. If we want to solve the ethnic problem, we can think of a solution internally.

There are more than 20 million illiterate people in the entire Austrian Empire. How many of these people know which ethnic group they belong to?

The Ministry of Education should compile a teaching material for me. Connect the ethnic groups in each region and find out that they are the root cause of the Germanic Race.

If they really don't have anything to do with the Germanic race, they can just use the racial integration as an excuse. I don't believe that their ancestors for eighteen generations have nothing to do with the Germanic race.

As long as they don't know which ethnic group they belong to, tell them that they are Germanic.

For ethnic minorities with cultural heritage, tell them about the Austrian System. Emphasize on the bloodline. Everyone is mixed-race and has multi-ethnic blood. This naturally includes Germanic blood. If they don't believe me, then tell them to go back home and look for their family history.

After so many years of ethnic integration, I don't believe there are many pure ethnic groups left.

First, clarify the ethnic relationship, then promote German, no, promote Austrian, to the whole country and gradually replace the local dialects. "

Franz was ready to be a rascal. If the main ethnic group was not enough, then he would make his own.

Whether or not they were really Germanic, he would try to fool them first. As long as they thought they were, then it would be fine.

As long as the bureaucrats worked hard, it would not take long for the Germanic Race to expand rapidly.

In history, the Kingdom of Prussia also went through a Germanization process. Their own Germanic people did not occupy a dominant position, and they relied on the assimilation of the language to become dominant.