War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

Francis II's condition suddenly worsened, and as he lay dying he summoned his three brothers and Prince Metternich to his side.

Archduke Louis announced the will of Francis II.

Francis II's personal property was divided into three parts, one part was left to his eldest son, and the rest was given to his second son and eldest grandson.

Franz Joseph received land and estates worth 2.6 million florins, as well as all the palaces and estates of the Elthach family in Austria, as well as a well-equipped dragoon regiment.

Francis II left one hundred thousand florins to Archduke John and gave him instructions.

"My brother, you are no longer a member of the royal family. You can no longer spend money as you did in the past. After all, this is the last money that my brother can provide."

Archduke John is a celebrity in the royal family.

It’s not because he studied music with Beethoven, it’s not because he did business with the Rothschild family, it’s not because he fought with Napoleon, and because of personal reasons, Archduke Karl’s strategy failed and he successfully let Napoleon go. .

But this Archduke John did not love the country but the beauty, so he gave up his right to inherit the throne and his royal status to marry the daughter of a commoner.

He also defaulted on bank loans for a long time and was blacklisted by many banks.

However, Archduke John can be said to be the traffic king of Austria, and he always attracts widespread public attention, so his reputation among the people is not bad.

Franz II gave a coin to Archduke Karl, which was the money Franz II won from Archduke Karl when he was a child.

Archduke Karl has always been resentful about this, not because of the wealthy Archduke Karl's coin, but because he did not want to lose to Francis II.

Franz II was unwilling to return the coin to Archduke Karl because it was a trophy won by Franz II and Archduke Karl.

Archduke Charles was very good, and this coin was Francis II's only trophy.

But because of this, the two brothers have been at odds for decades.

Today Francis II returned the coin to Archduke Charles, who accepted it.

This means that the two brothers have turned their hostility into friendship and both have let go.

As for Francis II's younger brother, Archduke Louis, he did not have any gifts, he just told Archduke Louis.

"You are a good man, my brother. Thank you for your hard work over the years. You must live a good life. My descendants will be entrusted to you."

After saying this, Archduke Louis was already crying. He did not have the military talent of Archduke Karl, nor the communicative skills of Archduke John. He only did one thing in his life, and that was to guard his brother.

You are a good man. There is no better compliment for Archduke Louis than these words.

At the end, Franz II opened a box and found four identical wills.

"This is my last request, everyone. You are all my brothers, friends, and guardians of the Habsburg family. I hope you can keep a secret for me."

"My eldest son Ferdinand is not suitable to rule this country. But the family has family rules, and as the patriarch, I cannot break this sacred tradition. But times are changing, and some rules should also change."

"So I want you to do one thing. After Franz completes his coming-of-age ceremony at the age of eighteen, make this will public. He is a good boy and will definitely become a good emperor in the future."

"You have to help him and respect him, just like you do to me. The future of the family and this country is in your hands."

March 2, 1835.

Francis II, the last emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, the founder of the Austrian Empire, and the leader of the Habsburg family, passed away suddenly.

The flow of time will not stop at all because of someone's death.

Franz Joseph accepted this reality calmly, but he still felt sad for the grandfather with whom he had been living day and night for 5 years.

When Talia heard the news, she was so sad that she fainted.

As a person with a modern soul, it is difficult to understand what kind of feelings ordinary people in the old era had towards the emperor.

The emperor died, and all Austria was immersed in sorrow.

Even the busiest streets in Austria have become quiet.

People spontaneously took out candles and took to the streets to pray for the old emperor.

You must know that light sources at this time are not cheap, and many people are reluctant to light up at night.

These candles and kerosene lamps were most likely their only source of light.

At this time, standing at the highest point of the palace, overlooking Vienna, the candlelight was connected together, and the quiet candlelight moved slowly, spectacular and sad.

The death of the old emperor represents the end of an era, and the biggest problem facing Austria is the death of the people and the government.

Ferdinand I was crowned Emperor of the Austrian Empire in Vienna, and the royal advisors headed by Carl von Slote immediately became arrogant and domineering.

The first thing they had to do was to stop all railway construction in the Austrian Empire.

They produced countless evidence that railways would threaten human existence.

The reasons are absolutely ridiculous, such as:

The black smoke from the trains would spread pneumonia throughout Austria.

The human respiratory system cannot withstand speeds exceeding fifteen kilometers per hour. Once this speed is exceeded, a person's lungs will collapse, the circulatory system will become disordered, and even blood will fly out of the body.

There will be no grass growing on both sides of the railway. Cows that see the train passing by will not be able to produce milk, and hens will not be able to lay eggs.

Of course, all parties in Austria who have invested a lot of capital in the railway will not agree with their views.

As a result, Carl von Sloot's opinions were magnificently ignored, and he had no real power in his hands.

However, in order to establish his personal prestige, he asked the Austrian government to immediately withdraw the loans it had given to various countries in China and Italy to repay the debts of the Austrian Empire.

This was also a bad move, but fortunately the Austrian officials refused to carry out the orders of Slote, the royal advisor.

A furious Carl von Slote ordered the dismissal of all the emperor's advisers, including Friedrich List.

Friedrich List was very angry at Carl von Sluth's arrogant attitude, and Friedrich List had made enough money and was worried about leaving Austria and getting rid of Metternich's shadow. .

Just after receiving the dismissal order from Ferdinand I, he packed up his finances and ran away with his family overnight.

As soon as Friedrich List left Vienna, he received invitations from Prussia, Saxony, and Bavaria.

Friedrich List chose Prussia without hesitation, because having worked in the center of the Austrian Empire, he knew very well that in the entire German Confederation, only Prussia could compete with Austria.

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