In November 1913, when the 13 countries recognized Yuan Shikai's government, Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic......

"Quick, is there any response from the UK?"

"Mail, it's Vienna mail."

"How's the Cabinet going? Lord Earl wants to see the results in three days. ”

"Baron Charried, how is the land statistics done?"

This is the former Czech Cabinet in Prague, which is finally alive again after decades of silence, but at this time it is not the territory of the Przemes family, but the personal domain of Ernst Franz.

In fact, the situation at this time was completely unexpected, all he wanted was to control the Czech region, so that it would not cause trouble for himself in the First World War, and at the same time, it was a rare opportunity to shuffle the cards he needed to gain his own interests in the Czech region.

The result was obvious, Archduke Ferdinand and Emperor Franz seized the opportunity to split it off from Austria-Hungary in an instant, leaving it to Ernst to toss around. This was a bad thing for the kingdom, but it was a good thing for the Habsburgs, and it was self-evident that the family and the state were more important.

The dual system of the Austro-Hungarian Empire has made it clear that the Habsburgs were not very secure in their rule here, and that it was the local nobility who stood in the way. Now that Ernst is reshuffling the Czech Republic with notoriety, it gives Emperor Franz and Archduke Ferdinand hope that the whole region will be controlled by Ernst, so why don't they take the opportunity to support it now?

The denial of the title of Count of Austria-Hungary in Ernst was only a gesture that left the Austro-Catholic nobles without a chance to threaten the royal family. What can be done by the Habsburgs has been done, and now Ernst is rebelling and wants to quell the rebellion.

The attitude is obvious, but at this time, how could Austria-Hungary get the troops to go to the Czech region to quell the rebellion? The regular army of the empire will not move, the only thing that can be used is the private army of the nobles, and now they are still insufficient to protect themselves, who dares to easily arrange soldiers to go out? What's more, the Czech region is the Czech region, they are them, and when it comes to their own interests, who cares about the life and death of others.

The result was an outrage in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but it was only indignation, and they did not even speak out directly about the royal family's conspiracy.

In this way, the Czech region was abandoned like the three regions, and Ernst, who understood the meaning of Vienna, took the opportunity to prepare for the establishment of a state, and it was up to Ernst to return to the bosom of Austria-Hungary.

The common people of Austria-Hungary did not think much of this, and did not even cause social unrest, and some opportunists even wanted to go to the Czech regions, wondering whether Emperor Franz would give the position of Emperor Franz to Ernst Franz in the future. It's not impossible, but anyone who is well-informed knows what happened more than a decade ago.

What was Ernst doing at this time? Maria had been in a mood for several days at the new Moravian castle, so Ernst had to put aside her trip to Prague and stay in Moravia for the time being.

In Maria's room, she sat in front of the dresser, and Ernst stood behind her, trying to speak, but in the end she could not say anything.

Why is there a situation that both sides know, Maria's biggest concern is that Ernst and Nicholas II will only face each other, and once Ernst becomes the so-called Grand Duke of the Czech Duchy, then he will inevitably be at the forefront of the fight against the Russian army, who does not know that this Grand Duke is a trick played by the Austro-Constitutional royal family?

"It's a game of chess, whether the pieces are alive or dead, there's nothing in the way for the player, and I think you should understand that, Maria."

Is it really okay? Don't say that Maria is even Ernst himself who says that he is weak, but at this moment he can only say this, is it possible that he also bluntly said that Maria must make a choice?

In fact, at this time, Maria should really make some choices, which will be related to the outcome of the war, if Maria must protect Moravia or even the Czech Republic, then the Russian army wants to take this place, which will inevitably slow down and even affect the overall situation, leading to the defeat of the Russian Empire.

Of course, this did not affect the lives of Nicholas II's family, after all, there have been few cases of killing the other king's in Europe since ancient times, especially since the emperors of European countries have different marriages and kinship with Nicholas II. But for a family that has controlled a country, what is more sad than the loss of territory?

Seeing that Maria was still silent, Ernst hesitated slightly and said, "You haven't seen the city of Maria in Siberia yet, let's go and see it after a while!" Things in the Czech Republic will keep me busy and I won't have time to take care of you, so it's not bad for you to go there and relax. ”

Ernst never had the luxury of standing behind a woman, and since the current situation is embarrassing for Maria, then let her withdraw from this game of chess! Ernst believed that even if he failed, he would not have nothing, and he still had the glory of his family, a huge aristocratic network, and a fortune of millions of pounds.

Maria looked at Ernst in surprise, she naturally understood what Ernst meant, the only place to escape at this time was the neutral Siberian city of Maria, but ...... Leave like this yourself?

As if guessing Maria's thoughts, Ernst smiled slightly, stepped forward and touched her little head, kissed her forehead lightly, and said softly: "Manage it well, both I and His Majesty Emperor Nicholas II need to regard it as the last retreat." ”

For the first time, I was so intimate with Ernst, and at the same time, my face was slightly red, and at the same time, I was very focused because of the words that followed, whether I left, I would never have to suffer such torture again. Ernst was right, it would be the last retreat for Dad and him, and he had to run it well!

Innocent Maria did not think that it would be better if it was Ernst who went there, but if it was Nicholas II, then how would the emperors of Europe treat the former emperor of the Russian Empire?

Maria left Moravia for Siberia on 26 November 1913, and Ernst left Moravia for Prague, where the founding of the Czech Duchy was imminent.

Ernst himself did not expect that he would suddenly ascend to the throne of a country before the war, and he did not expect that the time of his founding would be so short and so rapid.

The British and French wanted to see the Austro-Hungarian Empire divided, even if it was only a small trick of the Austro-Hungarian royal family, so they called back as quickly as possible to recognize the Czech Duchy and the status of Archduke of the Czech Duchy of Ernst Franz.

Britain and France were like this, and the German Empire, which was the best ally of Austria-Hungary, naturally would not deny it, and not only that, but the German Empire also pulled the Czech Duchy into its strategic alliance for the first time, and a large amount of military and economic support was already on the way.

At this time, it is estimated that the Russian Emperor Nicholas II had the most complicated feelings, but he also did not hesitate to recognize the legitimacy of the Czech Duchy and the status of the Grand Duke Ernst.

The Czech Principality was officially established on January 1, 1914, with Prague as the capital of the Duchy, and because of the chaos in Europe, there were not many kings who actually attended the coronation of Ernst, but almost all the countries of the world were represented, and Pope Pius X of the Vatican also came in person.

This is an old friend of Ernst, whom he met when he was still living in the Vatican, but unfortunately Ernst's history is not very good, and he does not know that this good old man will become the successor of Leo XIII and the 258th Pope of the Vatican.

Prague is quite a beautiful city, even more beautiful than Vienna and Berlin, and there are so many places to see here that it is also called a tourist city.

Not long after his arrival, Ernst lived at Prague Castle, the former royal palace of the Czech Republic, with a magnificent and artistic architecture of churches and castles, where Pius X and emissaries from various countries also lived.

To tell the truth, Ernst hadn't seen Masséna since his first day here, because his busyness had left him with little time to rest for a month, and the founding of the country itself was a very troublesome affair, not to mention that everything needed to be prepared in just one month.

Andrei is also very busy, after all, the upcoming Czech principality is largely related to the military, and he is now the first military person in Ernst, whether it is the reform of the army or the establishment of the problem, he has a lot of headaches.

Although there were many difficulties, fortunately everything went smoothly, and it is not surprising that the coronation ceremony in a few days will go very smoothly, and in the future Ernst will be called by a Grand Duke.

At this time, the Balkans were still not calm, and Archduke Ferdinand was also preparing to pay a military visit to the Kingdom of Serbia to avoid some domestic controversy, which was the beginning of the First World War.