Chapter 32 Time Flies
Franz II's condition suddenly worsened, and on his deathbed he summoned his three younger brothers and Prince Metternich to his side.
Archduke Louis announced Franz II's will.
Franz 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 manors worth 2.6 million florins, all the palaces and manors of the Erthhazy family in Austria, and a well-equipped dragoon regiment.
Franz II left 100,000 florins to Archduke John and instructed him.
"My brother, you are no longer a member of the royal family. You can't spend money recklessly like in the past. After all, this is the last money your brother can provide."
Archduke John is a celebrity in the royal family.
It was not because he had studied music with Beethoven, it was not because he had done business with the Rothschild family, and it was not because he had fought with Napoleon, and because of personal reasons, Archduke Karl's strategy failed and successfully let Napoleon run away.
Rather, Archduke John did not love the country but the beauty, and gave up the right to inherit the throne and the royal identity to marry a commoner's daughter.
He also defaulted on bank loans for a long time and borrowed money everywhere, so he was blacklisted by many banks.
However, Archduke John can be said to be the king of traffic in Austria, and he always attracts widespread attention from the people, so his reputation among the people is not bad.
Franz II handed a coin to Archduke Karl, which was the money that Franz II won from Archduke Karl when he was a child.
Archduke Karl has always been brooding over this, not because Archduke Karl, who is rich, wants this coin, but because he does not want to lose to Franz II.
And Franz II was unwilling to return the coin to Archduke Karl because it was the trophy won by Franz II and Archduke Karl in the competition.
Archduke Karl was very good, and this coin was the only trophy of Franz II.
But because of this, the two brothers had been at odds for decades.
Today, Franz II returned the coin to Archduke Karl, and Archduke Karl accepted it.
This means that the two brothers have made peace and both have let it go.
As for Archduke Louis, Franz II's younger brother, 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 well, and my descendants are in your hands.".
After saying this, Archduke Louis was already in tears. He did not have the military talent of Archduke Karl, nor the communication skills of Archduke John. He only did one thing in his life, that is, to guard his brother.
You are a good man. For Archduke Louis, there is no better compliment than this sentence.
In the end, Franz II opened a box, which contained four identical wills.
"This is my last wish, 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 its own 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 18, make this will public. He is a good boy and will definitely become a good emperor in the future."
"You must 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.
Franz II, the last emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, the founder of the Austrian Empire, and the head of the Habsburg family, died suddenly.
The torrent of the times will not stagnate at all because of someone's death.
Franz Joseph accepted this reality calmly, but he still felt sad for his grandfather who had been with him day and night for 5 years.
Talia, who heard the news, fainted with sadness.
As a person with a modern soul, it is difficult to understand what kind of feelings ordinary people in the old times had for the emperor.
The emperor passed away, and the whole of Austria was immersed in sorrow.
Even the busiest streets in Austria became quiet.
People spontaneously took out candles and went to the streets to pray for the old emperor.
You should know that the light source at this time is not cheap, and many people are reluctant to light a lamp at night.
These candles and kerosene lamps are most likely their only light source.
At this time, standing at the highest point of the palace, overlooking Vienna, the candlelight is connected into a piece, and the quiet candlelight moves slowly, which is spectacular and sad.
The death of the old emperor represents the end of an era, and the biggest problem facing Austria is the end of the government.
Ferdinand I was crowned as the Emperor of the Austrian Empire in Vienna, and the royal advisers headed by Karl von Slote immediately became arrogant and domineering.
The first thing they have to do is to stop all railway construction in the Austrian Empire.
They produced countless evidences to prove that railways will threaten human survival.
The reasons were ridiculous, such as:
The black smoke from the train would spread pneumonia throughout Austria.
The human respiratory system cannot withstand speeds exceeding 15 kilometers per hour. Once this speed is exceeded, the lungs will collapse, the circulatory system will become disordered, and even blood will fly out of the body.
The railway will be barren, cows will not produce milk and hens will not lay eggs when they see the train passing by.
Of course, the various forces in Austria that have invested a lot of capital in the railway will not agree with their views.
So Karl von Slote's opinions were ignored gorgeously, and he had no real power in his hands.
But in order to establish his personal prestige, he asked the Austrian government to immediately withdraw the loans to the Central Italian countries to repay the debts of the Austrian Empire.
This was also a bad move. Fortunately, the Austrian officials refused to execute the order of Slote, the royal adviser.
Karl von Slote, who was furious, ordered the dismissal of all the advisers hired by the previous emperor, including Friedrich List.
Friedrich List was very angry at Karl von Slote's arrogant attitude, and Friedrich List had made enough money and was worried that he could not leave Austria and get rid of Metternich's shadow.
Just as he received the dismissal decree 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 he had worked in the center of the Austrian Empire and knew very well that in the entire German Confederation, only Prussia could compete with Austria.
Thanks to the book friend 20170929104451757 for the reward and the book friend lxa-X for the monthly ticket, as well as the support of all the readers.
The current plot is a two-line operation. I don’t know what you think of it. If you think it’s not good, I will talk about it one by one.