The Rise of the Empire

"You know? Mary, when I see Albrecht, I think of his father. I have to say that his father is the most outstanding among this generation of European royal families." After attending the funeral of Crown Prince Ferdinand and his wife, Emperor Fritz returned to Ganquan Palace with a melancholy look on his face. However, he was a little tired and did not rest. Instead, he chose to chat with his daughter whom he had not seen for a long time.

There were only Emperor Ao and Princess Mary in the entire hall, and everyone else was screened out.

"I am very sad now, but at the same time a little nervous and excited. I am sad for Ferdinand's accident, but at the same time I am happy that the empire has a chance to choose! You know? Since the end of the Austro-Prussian War, This empire has been half-dead for decades! I tried my best to hope that it can restore its past glory, but all failed. But now there is an opportunity, or a challenge, do you think I can't be excited and excited?" Old Emperor He said something that seemed to be far from good.

"However, I suddenly discovered that even if we succeeded, there was no one qualified to inherit the country. Ludendorff left first, and now Fritz. There is no second generation in the entire Habsburg royal family. A suitable candidate. Someone suggested that I choose Karl. But he is still too young and does not have the ability to control the entire situation. If one day I leave and there are problems in the country, what should I do?" The Austrian Emperor seemed to be saying Talking to himself, he seemed to be asking Princess Mary.

"If one day, the new crown prince encounters difficulties, will you help him?" Emperor Ao asked after looking at the surprisingly calm daughter in front of him.

"Father, I am now the Princess of Bavaria and the wife of Ruprecht. And my status as an Austro-Hungarian princess has very limited political significance." Princess Mary said.

"But you are still the Grand Duchess of Bohemia and Moravia. You theoretically have administrative and military power in these two regions." The Austrian Emperor said.

"But I have no power in domestic politics, and I am not very interested in who will inherit the Austro-Hungarian crown." Princess Marie said.

"Are you really not interested? Aren't you afraid that the new emperor will decide to take back everything I gave you one day?" The Austrian Emperor suddenly became interested.

"However, I don't see anyone who has this ability, father. If anyone really has this idea, my daughter and Ruprecht will face this challenge." Princess Mary smiled slightly.

"Ruprecht is so confident, and you are just like him now. I just don't know how long you can maintain this confidence. Maybe a month, maybe forever, who knows for sure." The Austrian Emperor sighed and said.

"Mary, don't think that I don't know what you are doing. I have lived for more than 80 years. I have experienced too many things and seen too many things. You have ambition. But lack of ability, maybe because of this , you finally chose Ruprecht. Your bloodline and his ability are really a good choice. But the difficulties you face are very great. Maybe one day, I will bring you all in, I really hope You can live a peaceful life." Ao Huang said seriously.

"Father, some things are unavoidable. We either reach new heights or fall into the mortal world." Princess Mary replied.

"Okay, then let me see if your abilities match your ambitions. Although Ferdinand is not a talent, decades of accumulation and experience can ensure a balance with you. And I'm really not sure about another person.

"

"People always have to experience something to grow, right? War is always the most tempering thing for people. Well, I will let Karl participate in the military, but I will think about the crown prince again. "After speaking, Emperor Ao signaled to Princess Mary that she could leave. He needed to rest.

Ferdinand's unexpected death really disrupted Fritz's plan. It's not difficult to move Serbia. You can just find an excuse. But as an empire without a suitable heir, there will be a problem, Ferdinand. After all, Nan has been the crown prince for decades, and he has all the prestige, ability, and connections. If the Austro-Hungarian Empire can win this time, then the huge profits gained through the war may really allow this empire to rise again. At least it's not a big problem to maintain it.

But now, there is a problem in choosing the next heir. Originally, his brother's grandson Karl could be the heir. However, this heir was opposed by some people. They questioned Karl's ability. Some of these people were military personnel. People on the other side, the reason they put forward is this, if Karl becomes the crown prince, then he will be the deputy commander-in-chief of the imperial army, but to let a man who is just 25 years old be the deputy commander-in-chief of the army... Well, some generals don't understand.

Some people in the government say that at this time of crisis, adding other factors to the original political system is unstable. To put it bluntly, I am not convinced. It is impossible to say that everyone is operating behind this!

And Fritz also knew who was operating it. His precious daughter was very unfriendly to, or rather contemptuous of, Karl, the would-be prince. So Fritz was caught in a dilemma. On one side was Archduke Karl, who had legal possessions but no foundation and average ability. On the other side was the most important foreign military force of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. How did you let Fritz choose?

And Fritz was really worried that even if he could pull Karl up, he might not be able to control the political situation in charge of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. And if the incarnations are close, it seems like, maybe, maybe Princess Mary is a better choice? But this idea just popped up. Because there are many people who are hostile to Princess Mary, and generally speaking, there is no unified opinion on the issue of heir in domestic politics. Therefore, in order to stabilize the situation, Fritz finally chose to temporarily put the crown prince's position on hold. .

"Ruprecht, my father seems to be aware of our plan." After Princess Mary returned, she immediately asked her entourage to send a secret message. She is still a little unclear about her father's attitude, although the final choice of the Austrian Emperor is still unclear. Although the princess was satisfied, the warning in what Emperor Ao said to him was also very obvious. This made her a little uneasy.

"Don't worry, His Majesty the Emperor's attitude will improve a lot in two months." Looking at the telegram, Ruprecht replied directly without caring. "War is the best litmus test. Those who fail will be eliminated directly. There is no need for us to worry about small roles."

Compared to Ferdinand, who was somewhat arrogant and dreamed of a great power, Karl was indeed far behind. After taking power, he could secretly negotiate peace with France, but supporting the French in taking back Alsace and Lorraine was very problematic. He wanted to negotiate peace. , I don’t want to lose any interests, I want my allies to lose their interests in exchange for my escape, this... How can there be such a good thing in the world?

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