Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 24: Showdown

"What? Franz, do you really want to go to serve in the army? No, you can't; you have to stay at home and study. Honestly!" Princess Sophie said angrily.

Her expression was as if Franz, the little boy, wanted to find an excuse to skip classes, which was absolutely disobedient!

Franz explained, "Dear Princess Sophie, this is not service. I will only be in the Army for three months' experience."

"Experience of three months? Is that necessary? In half a year, you will officially begin to serve in the Army; what's the urgency for experience?" Princess Sophie asked.

Franz knew that it was time to explain it clearly because if there was no proper reason, his mother would not approve his going. As for his father's attitude, it didn't really matter. He was never the one, in this family, to make any decisions.

"You know, a revolution broke out in Sicily! From the intelligence analysis I collected, it seems the European continent will soon go through a period of revolutionary intensity.

In case of anything unexpected, I must learn about the army as much as I can, so as not to be caught unprepared!" Franz explained.

"Do you think Austria may have a revolution?" Princess Sophie said with a concerned look.

Franz nodded and said, "Yes! The situation of the domestic economy is alarming. The struggle between the nobles and the capitalists is very fierce, and the conflict may intensify if the economic condition doesn't improve soon!"

Listening to Franz's serious analysis, Princess Sophie looked solemn and nervous: what a scary term "revolution" was to her.

"You should share these opinions with the government because, if they are prepared beforehand, the power of the capitalists will be too weak to do anything!" Princess Sophie thought for a moment and said.

Looking at her expression, Franz knew that she was still dubious, so he added, "No, no one should know the situation. Before anything comes up, we had better keep silent and stay away from the nobles and the capitalists, because it's highly possible that we'd just draw the fire against ourselves, now that the struggle between them has turned white-hot."

Since politics were always dark, Franz, who wanted to be the emperor, could aid others behind the scenes, but not go into battle in person. Instead, he just left the fight to others!

Looking at Franz, Princess Sophie's face changed, and she said in disbelief, "Are you going to take advantage of this opportunity to seize power?"

Franz knew that Princess Sophie was tempted because no one liked put his fate in the hands of others, much less the Regent Committee, which had controlled the Austrian regime for more than ten years.

The existence of the Regent Committee for such a long time was enough to make the Vienna Court feel uneasy. Even Ferdinand I, when he was himself, knew that this situation was unfavorable to the royal family, especially Princess Sophie.

Anyone who had lived in the court since childhood, even the stupidest person, would have a sharper political sensitivity than an ordinary person.

In history, the reason why the Court of Vienna let Metternich go was not only dissatisfaction with his political reform, but also concerns about his power.

Franz patiently analyzed the situation. "It depends on the specific reality, but the current situation is very unfavorable to the government. The capitalists want Prime Minister Metternich to leave and be replaced with a weak government. Meanwhile, the nobles are also unhappy with him and ready to replace him.

Under these circumstances, it is hard to say whether Prime Minister Metternich can survive this political crisis. When all the energy of the top of the government is involved in the political struggle, who will have the time to care about the lives of the people at the bottom?

As you know, if a person is hungry enough, he'll do anything. There have been hunger riots in France, and the situation in Austria is similar. If the economy cannot improve, the riots will be the least of our concerns.

Not long ago, at a banquet held by the capitalists, the revolutionary party showed up and publicly announced their revolutionary ideas, but the police didn't arrest anyone.

We have reason enough to believe that the revolutionaries have already joined in with the capitalists, but as to the level of cooperation between the two sides, that I don't know!"

After a moment of silence digesting what Franz had just said, Princess Sophie looked around and asked, "Does the Vienna government know? I mean, the Regent committee!"

"They should know, I think, because there were so many people attending the party. I've gotten the news, they must have too!" Franz said calmly.

Princess Sophie looked at Franz carefully, as if she didn't know him anymore, and now she was re-recognizing him.

Well, Franz's performance that day surely had surprised her greatly. These words sounded more like the analysis of a politician who has experienced the many vicissitudes of life than of a 17-year-old boy.

After a long time, Princess Sophie asked, "Franz, when did you draw this conclusion, and when did you start preparing for this?"

Before Franz could answer her questions, Princess Sophie added, "These situations seem to have been under your control all the time... From the time when the initial conflict between the capitalists and the nobles began until now, you have been preparing for the aftermath; are you not afraid that things could get out of control?"

Fear! Yes, Franz saw fear in Princess Sophie's eyes.

Anyone, including Princess Sophie, who found that a teenager had carried out so many schemes to seize power and was playing with a group of politicians, would feel fear for sure!

Franz explained seriously, "Dear Princess Sophie, this is the only way for an emperor. From the moment of my birth, my life was destined to be extraordinary.

As for the schemes you mentioned, I just followed the patterns: from beginning to end, these things have had nothing to do with me, which means no matter how the situation develops, I am an outsider!

The Austrian Empire was already sick. In this ancient empire, 99% of the people were working hard for survival.

There were even millions of people out there who couldn't feed themselves adequately. Such a country would surely explode from a single spark! In the face of such a situation, what would you do?"

Princess Sophie's face was pale. "But you can get burnt playing with fire. It will not be too late to solve these problems when you succeed to the throne!"

Franz looked at Princess Sophie with an anxious face, and his heart trembled. Soon he recovered, shook his head, and said, "I'm afraid there is no time for me: even if I don't intervene, the domestic political struggle will still continue. When Prime Minister Metternich steps down, there will be no one else in Austria who can repair this country!"

In a panic, Princess Sophie said something she didn't believe: "Then you can also support Prime Minister Metternich!"

She immediately regretted her words: she wanted Prime Minister Metternich to leave but told Franz to support him.

Even in private, the relationship between them was strong, as the history books indicated they'd been good teachers and friends.

Still, political struggle was never about relationships!