Make France Great Again-Chapter 141: The Habsburg Fresh Young Man

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister has arrived!"

With the attendant’s announcement, the young emperor, seated at the desk near the window, finally put the quill pen dipped in ink back into the holder, turned his chair to face Prime Minister Felix Schwarzenberg.

Looking at the somewhat weary-looking young "cherubic" emperor before him, Felix Schwarzenberg bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty!"

The young emperor showed a serious expression, gesturing formally at the sofa beside him, "Prime Minister Felix, please have a seat."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Felix Schwarzenberg sat on the hard-backed sofa.

"Prime Minister Felix, is there something you wished to discuss with me?" The 19-year-old Franz Joseph, still unable to shed the vigor of youth and disliking political rhetoric, asked Felix Schwarzenberg directly.

"It’s like this..." Prime Minister Felix Schwarzenberg first explained Bach’s plan for the division of Hungary to Franz Joseph.

Affected by the 1848 revolutions in Europe, Franz Joseph’s aversion to the Hungarian nation had reached its peak, and now he only wished to turn the Magyar nation into a mere term of history.

"Excellent! Prime Minister Felix, I believe, following your proposed plan, it won’t take many years before we can completely turn that cursed Magyar group into history!" Showing a rare bit of emotion, Franz Joseph clenched his fist as he spoke to Felix Schwarzenberg.

"Your Majesty, such behavior diminishes your noble stature!" Felix Schwarzenberg had to cautiously remind Franz Joseph to adhere to the Austrian codes of conduct.

In the Austrian Empire, keeping noble etiquette was a standard every Austrian noble must master.

Franz Joseph quickly relaxed his fist, continuing with a stern face to speak to Felix Schwarzenberg, "Pardon me, Prime Minister!"

Subsequently, Franz Joseph began presenting his own "opinions" regarding Bach’s plan for the partition of the Kingdom of Hungary, speaking fiercely to Felix Schwarzenberg, "Prime Minister Felix, I believe before formally dividing Hungary, we must address the issue of the Hungarian rebels!"

"Your Majesty, the Hungarian rebels have already been defeated by the Empire’s allied forces with the Tsar!" Felix Schwarzenberg did not understand what Emperor Franz Joseph meant, or perhaps he hadn’t expected his monarch to be so "ruthless."

"Prime Minister! If we don’t completely eradicate the root of the Hungarian rebellion, then the Empire’s reforms towards Hungary will never succeed!" Franz Joseph insisted, "We should behead all those rebel leaders!"

Felix Schwarzenberg was stunned by Franz Joseph’s fierce words; he never imagined Franz Joseph would have this side to him.

Apart from a small portion like Kossuth, who were middle class, the majority leading the Hungarian Kingdom’s rebellion were small rural nobility of Hungary.

Resolving the issue as per Franz Joseph’s directive would only deepen the hostility among Hungarians and make it exceedingly difficult for the Austrian Empire’s policies in the Hungarian region.

"Your Majesty!" Felix Schwarzenberg maintained a deferential attitude, reluctantly replying, "I believe we don’t have to kill them all!"

"Are we to wait for a second and third rebellion?" Franz Joseph declared decisively, "The Empire has been too lenient with Hungary, allowing them to pression the Empire. Only by exterminating those Hungarian rebels can the Empire achieve true peace and stability!"

Franz Joseph’s adamant stance compelled Felix Schwarzenberg to desist from arguing on this matter; after all, he was merely the Empire’s Prime Minister, and how could he vehemently oppose the Emperor of the Empire’s policies?

The greatest tragedy of the autocratic system lies therein!

Originally intending to capture the Hungarian nobility’s gratitude by apprehending the major figures while pardoning the minor ones, thus facilitating more seamless provincialization of Hungary, Felix Schwarzenberg found himself unable to alter Franz Joseph’s determination to execute all involved mid-to-high level Hungarian officials, a rebellious thought flashed across Felix Schwarzenberg’s mind amidst feeling constrained by the Emperor.

Felix Schwarzenberg’s silence assured Franz Joseph of his "righteousness," he self-assuredly spoke to Felix Schwarzenberg, "I initially planned to send Albrecht to Hungary as the executioner, but Albrecht is unwilling to take on that duty. Now I have no choice but to send Marshal Hainau to Hungary to execute those damned rebels, what do you think?"

Emperor Franz Joseph appeared to be seeking the opinion of Prime Minister Felix Schwarzenberg but was actually just informing him.

"Your Majesty, Marshal Hainau is undoubtedly the best choice!" Felix Schwarzenberg, realizing he could not change Emperor Franz Joseph’s mind, could only respond in line with his thinking.

"Excellent! The transfer of Marshal Hainau is in your hands!" Emperor Franz Joseph said to Felix Schwarzenberg.

"Yes!" Felix Schwarzenberg replied.

He then explained to Emperor Franz Joseph the contents of the upcoming treaty between the Austrian Empire and the Sardinian Dynasty, which included: 1. The Kingdom of Sardinia renouncing its claims to Lombardy and Venice. 2. The Sardinian Dynasty needing to pay the Austrian Empire an indemnity of 70 million francs. 3. The Kingdom of Sardinia needing to establish an alliance with the Austrian Empire. 4. The Sardinian Dynasty needing to acknowledge the territorial boundaries of 1815.

"We’ve fought two wars with those damned rebels, and now we’re only asking them for 70 million francs? We’re also going to form an alliance with them?" Emperor Franz Joseph said to Felix Schwarzenberg, eyes wide in disbelief.

Emperor Franz Joseph could hardly believe his ears—it was clearly the Kingdom of Sardinia that provoked first, but in the end, it was the Austrian Empire that spent money and lives, and even then, the war indemnity wasn’t enough to cover the cost of the two military campaigns.

The first, third, and fourth clauses of the treaty didn’t seem like punishments for the Kingdom of Sardinia; they seemed more like deliberate protections for the Sardinian Dynasty.

In his bones, Emperor Franz Joseph, who upheld the politics of power, clearly didn’t understand the intention of Prime Minister Felix Schwarzenberg.

Felix Schwarzenberg could only patiently explain to Emperor Franz Joseph: "Your Majesty, the Empire’s enemy has never been the Kingdom of Sardinia! Back then, Prince Metternich incorporated the Republic of Genoa into the Kingdom of Sardinia to prevent France from sharing a border with the Empire, with the Kingdom of Sardinia acting as a buffer for the Austrian Empire!

If we are too harsh on the Kingdom of Sardinia, it might lead them to turn to France! Then, the Empire’s territory would share a direct border with France, allowing the French to sweep straight into the Apennine Region. Should our support not arrive in time, I fear..."

Felix Schwarzenberg left the sentence unfinished; he didn’t need to speak further for Franz Joseph to understand.

The upcoming scenario might resemble when Napoleon penetrated deep into the Apennine Peninsula.

However, the French military was certainly nothing like the army led by Napoleon, and the Austrian military also couldn’t find someone with the extraordinary command abilities of Grand Duke Karl, and Marshal Radetzky’s longevity was equally a significant concern.

"Prime Minister Felix, how can you guarantee that the Kingdom of Sardinia won’t betray the Empire again?" Emperor Franz Joseph again inquired of Felix Schwarzenberg.

"Your Majesty, the Sardinian Dynasty declared war on the Empire last year not only because the former King himself wished to expand the Sardinian Dynasty, but more importantly, because the revolutionary wave on the Apennine Peninsula forced them to make a choice! Either be abandoned by the subjects they governed or ride this wave to declare war on Austria!" Felix Schwarzenberg paused, then continued: "Now, we have suppressed this wave! Sardinia has to make a choice again, and we only need to refrain from pressing them so tightly that they are pushed toward France! Now, with a new king ascended, we can choose someone from the Habsburg Clan to ally through marriage with them, so they won’t turn to France."

Upholding Prince Metternich’s pragmatic philosophy, Prime Minister Felix Schwarzenberg decided to sacrifice another princess from the Habsburg Clan.

In Felix Schwarzenberg’s view, receiving great blessings requires paying a great price. Since the princesses of the Habsburg Clan were imbued with God’s will to be part of the Habsburg Clan, they should dedicate everything to the Habsburg Clan.

After a long silence, Emperor Franz Joseph spoke again: "Prime Minister Felix, you remind me of my mentor, Prince Metternich!"

"To be compared to Prince Metternich is truly an honor for me!" Schwarzenberg feigned a look of being flattered in response.

"There’s one more thing!" Emperor Franz Joseph brought the letter on the table before Schwarzenberg and said: "This is a letter from my mentor in London, stating his desire to return to the Empire. I believe that the Prince is quite lonely in London; now that Austria’s revolution has ended, I hope my mentor can return to Austria to enjoy his old age. Prime Minister, what do you think?"

Hearing that Metternich wished to return to Austria shocked Felix Schwarzenberg since his position as Prime Minister was obtained from Metternich. When Emperor Franz Joseph stated it was just for Prince Metternich to return to enjoy his old age, Felix Schwarzenberg felt relieved again.

"Of course, I support Prince Metternich’s return. As an outstanding statesman who served Austria for over 30 years, roaming alone outside is indeed a great tragedy for both the Empire and the Prince himself."

R𝑒ad lat𝒆st chapt𝒆rs at f(r)eew𝒆bnov𝒆l.com Only