Tsar Aglini unfortunately paid for his burly stature, standing in the crowd, he was hit in the head by a foreign object and died on the spot. This made the fifth empress in Russian history - his wife Linda, also known as Empress Diana. After the explosion, people were amazed to find that the Russian empress was miraculously unscathed, and she herself said that this was because "God had given her a task that had never been greater".

After the funeral, a grand enthronement ceremony was held in St. Petersburg.

The reason why it is grand is that the coronation ceremony is not inferior to that of any other country in Europe, and the whole of Russia is joyfully celebrating the enthronement of the new empress. Almost everyone, whether nobles, officials, or commoners, bowed to her, and the new empress's connections and status in the hearts of the people were evident.

Beneath the surface of the pomp and circumstance was a kind of desertion, the desertion of no heads of state coming to the ceremony, the ambassadors of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the United States, the special envoys of Japan, the special envoys of Turkey, only these nameless ambassadors and envoys came to congratulate them. This situation, although expected, made the new Empress of Russia very angry, and she secretly vowed that sooner or later she would make these countries bow down one by one.

After the coronation, to Linda's amusement, her subjects were eager to compare her to the famous Catherine the Great. Coincidentally, Linda's origins and experiences have many similarities with Catherine the Great, Catherine the Great is a Prussian princess, and Linda is an Austrian princess, both are married to Russian princes and nobles, and the status of Russian empress is an important springboard for their political careers, and both ascended the throne as emperors when they were over thirty years old. The slight difference is that Catherine led the Guards coup to the throne, while Linda died in an accident because of her husband.

"My subjects, let me lead you to the light and to the strong!" Wearing a Russian crown, Linda stretched out her arms and told thousands of Russians on their knees that she would be their savior.

For this kind of declaration. The envoys were not surprised, nor were they surprised by the domineering gestures of the new Russian empress, most of whom regarded this coronation as a pre-eminent act, and that a figure like Catherine the Great would only appear once in a thousand years, and now less than three hundred years have passed.

People don't realize what kind of ambitions and means are hidden under that beautiful and generous face, a figure like Catherine, an incarnated demon king.

Three days later, Vienna, thousands of miles away from St. Petersburg. Another long-awaited moment has arrived.

People have forgotten how long the throne, a symbol of supreme power, has been vacant, and today, its owner has finally returned in the eyes of all.

Trembling, 86-year-old Franz Joseph I ascended to his throne above the main hall with the support of his attendants. It was still pale and sparse hair, and it was still a visibly upturned beard, but it had changed a pair of godless eyes, a tired ground hole, and a weak body.

Glancing weakly at the nobles and dignitaries from Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, Dalmatia and other states in the hall, the old Austrian emperor laboriously announced the opening of the Imperial Council, which was also one of the few remaining imperial councils of the Austro-Hungarian Empire under his auspices.

"After the tragic death of Carl and his wife. I am deeply saddened! After a hard word. The old Emperor Ao had to stop and rest for a while, which showed that this old body was so close to running out of oil.

"My health is deteriorating, and it is already very difficult to take care of government affairs. Therefore. Appointing a new heir to the throne as soon as possible is a need for the stability of the country! I've heard different suggestions from everyone before, and I have the right person in mind! ”

Hearing this, the people below finally breathed a sigh of relief, regardless of whether the heir was what they hoped for, at least Austria-Hungary would not have a situation where there would be no successor.

"Who do you think is the ...... in the world today? Ahem...... Ahem......" After a sharp cough, the old emperor continued: "Who is the most suitable person to rule the Austro-Hungarian Empire?" ”

Look at me, I'll look at you, this is the most hotly debated and divisive question in Vienna and in the whole of Austria-Hungary in the last two weeks. Even people on the other side of the world are watching for its answers.

None of the two or three hundred people in the hall answered, because Emperor Ao just said that he had a suitable candidate, and now he stood up and proposed to meet Emperor Aohuang's wishes, if the proposed candidate was not the person that Emperor Ao wanted to announce, it was very likely that he would be hated and even summoned by the future crown prince, so no one would jump out at this time to be stunned.

However, this atmosphere still surprised many people present, and even the most trusted attendant of the Austrian Emperor, Count Parr, did not say anything. Baron Condra, who had been wounded in the bombings in Washington, was similarly silent, and the atmosphere was a little worryingly cold.

After waiting for two or three minutes, Emperor Ao saw that no one had raised an opinion, so he once again uttered his weak and hoarse voice:

"Who is the most famous, illustrious, and convincing person in the world today?"

This time someone finally answered, and the answer was very consistent: "Of course, you are the great, famous, and incomparable Your Majesty!" ”

Judging from the expressionless reaction of the Emperor Ao, this was obviously not the answer he wanted.

"I'm already old, and now there are many young people in the next generation, to be honest, I am very optimistic about the German emperor, because he is the best commander, the most magnanimous nobleman, the most far-sighted monarch I have ever seen, and we all know the relationship between our Austro-Hungarian Empire and the German Empire, so I wonder if I should give up the throne to the German Emperor Gianlugi Wilhelm III!"

There was an uproar as soon as this statement came out, and before that, a few people had proposed that Austria-Hungary be brought under the rule of the German emperor, which would make the German-Austrian alliance stronger and possibly even form a greater German empire. However, opponents argued that the Kaiser, no matter how capable he was, was unfit to rule Austria-Hungary, first, because he was not a close relative of the Habsburgs and did not directly contribute to Austria-Hungary. Second, even if he became Austrian Emperor, his focus would only be on the rich and powerful German states, while the relatively backward states of Hungary and Dalmatia would be ignored, which would be detrimental to the future development of Austria-Hungary. There are many other reasons for this, but the most important one is that these old nobles and dignitaries were afraid of losing their existing power and wealth, because the Kaiser was known to be a very decisive and resolute man in politics, as the recent suppression of the domestic coup d'état made the world known. Once he was in charge of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, changes and the appointment of cronies and newcomers were inevitable, and that kind of cold-blooded purge might be repeated in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

While there were some drawbacks to bringing the Russian Empress to power, the old nobles at least had no need to worry about their own precariousness, as the kind, well-liked Empress had hinted at it to most of them, and it was even more satisfying that she had pure Habsburg blood.

Therefore, by this time, the nobles and ministers did not care about the poor health of the old Emperor Joseph, so they shouted in the hall, and a few bold magnates even shouted "No Berlin!" Refuse William! "Destiny should be in your own hands! ”

The old Emperor began to cough violently again. It was only then that it gradually quieted down. It's just that judging by the reaction of the crowd, the opposition is the overwhelming majority.

"This is just a suggestion from myself, and the reaction doesn't have to be so drastic! I also know that many people feel that Karl's sister, now the Empress of Russia, is suitable for the role of the heir to the empire, and I have no objection to this! However, after all, this is related to the fate of our country, so it should be carefully considered, ahem! ”

After all, Jiang is old and spicy, after Emperor Ao said these words. The mood of the crowd quickly calmed down. It seems that this is just a trick of the old emperor to ask for directions.

"Personally, I still admire Linda, now Queen Diana! It's just that. She has become the Empress of Russia, and we must all know our relationship with Russia very well! At present, there is nothing to do, but the enmity and conflict between us and the Slavic peoples for many years cannot be smoothed down at once! Let's share a monarch with the Slavs, I don't know if everyone will agree, and the people will agree, and our ancestors, and those soldiers who died in the war with the Slavs, will they agree? ”

Emperor Ao's words made the entire hall suddenly silent, and those who shouted the loudest just now were obviously Linda's supporters, and they also bowed their heads silently at this time.

Let the Emperor of Japan rule China. Or let the Chinese leader rule Japan, I am afraid that in the same way, except for a few people who can benefit from it, no one will be happy.

In contrast, allowing the Kaiser to rule Austria-Hungary is like letting North Korea rule South Korea, or South Korea ruling North Korea, and the opposition is mostly to those whose interests are at stake, but the support of the people often does not outweigh the self-interest considerations of those in power and those in power.

"Actually. Whether a country is stable and united does not depend on how great the monarch is, what matters is whether his people are willing to accept his rule! In this respect, both the Empress of Russia and the Emperor of Germany were lacking, and as for Prince Geta of Hungary, the Austrians were very strangers to him, and as for the other princes, they seemed to have problems in this respect! ”

After slowly swallowing these words, many people present already understood what the old emperor meant, although he was old and sick, his mind was still very clear. Don't look at the fact that these nobles and dignitaries are respectful to themselves now, in fact, there are few people who keep to themselves, and after they return to heaven, if the chosen heir cannot suppress these people, then this multi-state, multi-ethnic country is not far from being divided.

"Well, how about we make a list of candidates and then vote on them?"

Then there was an uproar, voting, the word is unfamiliar to most people here, because this is a country that pays attention to imperial power and status, big and small things are decided by the superiors, and only the parliament will use the so-called voting, of course, most of the time it is only a formality.

Franz did not stop the crowd from talking, but gasped with a little difficulty, and his feeble gaze barely wandered through the crowd.

After a few minutes, someone below suddenly asked, "Your Majesty, is it a referendum, or is it a vote of all the royal family?" ”

Everyone looked for the voice, and the question turned out to be Prince Marika of Bohemia, this prince is a mountain this year, he looks quite talented, and he is also one of the candidates for the crown prince who has been very popular before.

The hall was so quiet for a while that he could even hear a needle falling on the ground, and the Emperor Ao coughed lightly and said slowly: "Each family in the royal family has one vote, each state assembly has one vote, and the autonomous province does not participate in the vote!" ”

Although he felt that something was wrong, none of the nobles and dignitaries present had a better opinion, so he finally accepted the decision of the Emperor. In a week's time, the vote will be officially held at the Royal Palace in Vienna, with representatives from the royal families and state parliaments.

"Oh? I'm also a candidate? When he got the news, Chen Tian was a little surprised, he didn't expect that the Emperor Ao would personally nominate him, and he had never shown it to the public before.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Colonel Shiffert did not mean to compliment, for he then told Chentian, "At the Imperial Council of the Emperor, most of the nobles and ministers opposed this proposal, and although it was voted on in a week, it seems that there is little hope that this proposal will be passed!" ”

Chen Tian was not disappointed, "I'm not interested in the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it's a super hot potato!" If they choose me, then I will continue to allocate resources from Germany to Austria-Hungary in the future, hmph, how can there be such a cheap thing! ”

"Yes, Your Majesty! It is a big problem to calm down those chaotic peoples, and it will take at least a few decades to improve the economy, develop industry, and allow Austria-Hungary to catch up with Germany! Schiffert also did not seem to be optimistic about Austria-Hungary, which was also in line with the majority of Germans' perception of this ally—a poor, backward, complex mess that would only hold Germany back at any time.

"Well, but instead of quitting the competition, we have to go all out in this one! Let's all take action, to win over what can be co-opted, what can be divided, what can be destroyed, and let the competition for the throne of Austria-Hungary be as fierce as possible, understand? ”

"Yes!" Schiffert knew that this kind of activity was not to make it possible for Chentian to ascend to the Austro-Hungarian throne from impossible, but to pave the way for Germany's later strategy against Austria.

"Presumably the Russians are also going to be active, we must hurry up, and we don't have to be stingy in terms of funds!" After telling him, Chen Tian remembered that there was another very important thing today, that is, to accept the doctor's sub-rehabilitation examination, if everything went well, the doctor would arrange rehabilitation training for him from tomorrow, as for the final recovery to what extent, now even Chen Tian himself is not clear.