Vienna, Austrian Empire, 1834.

With blue skies and clear rivers, this is a city to live in, but it doesn't look like the capital of a powerful country in the nineteenth century.

The relatively gloomy sky, accompanied by severe haze, and black rivers, although somewhat unenvironmentally friendly, is definitely a symbol of the strength of a country in this era, such as London, England.

The exterior is a classic Baroque building, but the interior is designed from the Rococo period. The antique furniture is varied, from Oriental porcelain to Baltic rough beeswax.

It was owned by none other than Franz II, the last monarch of the Holy Roman Empire and the first monarch of the Austrian Empire.

Franz II was now faced with a choice, a difficult choice: whether to choose a good heir, or to stick to tradition.

Perhaps because of the next generation, Franz II has been doting on this special grandson since Franz was born. A healthy, unarmed baby boy is his hope and the hope of this empire.

(True, the Austrian Empire at that time did face the problem of having no qualified heirs.) ）

But today, Franz II's eldest grandson was in the children's room, taking out the five letters, and expelling a combination that he could not ignore.

“A.E.I.O.U”

It was a phrase left by Frederick III at Stephen's Cathedral and is still engraved on the shrine today.

At the same time, this was the only way Franz Joseph could think of to get the attention of the old emperor.

"Austria is predestined," murmured Franz II.

Frederick III was the last Holy Roman Emperor to be crowned by the Pope in Rome. However, he was not a good emperor, and in the face of the Hungarian invasion, his own lack of strength, the passivity of his princes, and the fact that his allies stopped to watch and watch, made him have to rush west.

wanted to carry out reforms and get rid of the accumulated evils, but the result was that it was not possible in the opposition of the great nobles.

In the end, he had to live a life of seclusion, taking pleasure in studying the stars and alchemy.

Why not Franz II? His grandmother, Empress Teresa, was so dazzling that her successors were overshadowed.

Even more terrifyingly, the radical reforms of Joseph II (the previous emperor) and the shock therapy of Leopold II (the previous emperor) plunged the whole of Austria into chaos, and at the same time, the old enemy France also had a figure like Napoleon.

In that era called "Napoleon", Franz II and the Holy Roman Empire, who opposed Napoleon, naturally became the backdrop of the times. The two capitals fell, married a daughter and sued for peace, and dissolved the Holy Roman Empire.

Franz II had too much reluctance in his heart, but his legal heir, his eldest son Ferdinand, seemed unable to bear the burden of reviving the empire. His second son also had no talent for governing the country.

However, the eldest grandson of Franz II, a special child. Franz Joseph behaved strangely, but he showed great intelligence from an early age. It's just that Franz is too young, and the Austrian Empire has no precedent for the eldest grandson to inherit the throne over the eldest son.

Franz II still remembers the War of the Austrian Succession caused by the Edict of State.

But on the other hand, there are things that are deeply rooted in the soul that he will not be able to forget for a long time. That is the dream of a strong country, which is the dream of every emperor.

How can an emperor in this world not want to expand his territory and prosper the country? Don't talk about the emperor, even ordinary people hope to live in a strong country. Who wants to live in a country where wars rage, people don't have a good livelihood, and they go out with gunfire?

But Franz II, he didn't do it, and let the country go into decline step by step. He also knew in his heart that he didn't have this opportunity, so he could only hope for the next generation.

The eldest son of the mentally retarded, or the second son of the autistic? They obviously don't have that ability, at least not better than they do. Franz II really didn't want the declining Austria in front of him to be the pinnacle of the empire in the future.

Unbeknownst to Franz II, the Austrian Empire survived in name only three after the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, and was replaced by Austria-Hungary, a doll empire, which disappeared into history after World War I.

At this time, the eldest grandson, Franz Joseph, did not know how entangled Franz II was. His soul comes from later generations, although there are neither computers nor mobile phones in the nineteenth century, but he was born into a royal family, and he should be able to be a gentleman.

It's just that he soon understood that the identity he got through was the famous tragic emperor in history - Franz Joseph. His love affair with Princess Sissi is well known to the world.

But his brothers, his father, his mother, his sons, and his wife went before him. His empire became the backdrop for the rise of Germany and France, and then completely collapsed in World War I.

Franz Joseph's life can only be described as a tragedy, but not enough. He was the last monarch of the Austrian Empire and the first of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which fell to pieces two years after his death.

However, at this time, it was not these things that worried Franz the most, but the debt problems of the country and the family. The arrears of more than a billion florins are really exaggerated.

At this time, the annual revenue of the Austrian Imperial Government was about 110 million florins, and the annual fiscal expenditure was more than 100 million florins. By this calculation, it would take more than a hundred years for the Austrian Empire to pay off the money, even if the arrears did not accrue interest.

Franz did not feel that sorrow came from it ....

Fortunately, the current Franz Joseph was born early enough, but this body doesn't seem to be able to do anything. All he could think of was to try his best to please the old emperor and attract the old emperor's attention.

After all, the old emperor held real power, unlike Ferdinand, who had to approve the regency council for decrees. If the old emperor is happy and rewards some estates and industries, then Franz will have start-up capital, coupled with his vision far ahead of the times, he will definitely be able to make a lot of money.... At least that's what Franz thought.

The reason why Franz was so anxious was that he was getting closer and closer to the first point in time to change the fate of the Austrian Empire.

The establishment of the German Customs Union in 1834 and the refusal of the Austrian Empire to join it marked the death knell for the Empire.

Franz II, on the other hand, was apprehensive and decided to ask God. Of course, it is not really to go to heaven and ask God, but to go to church and ask God's messengers.

Since ancient times in the East, when emperors are undecided, they always like to ask for divination. Even in modern times, there is nothing to look at the constellations, ask tarot about small things, and gossip about big things.

This is true in the East as well as in the West, so Franz II appeared at the entrance of St. Stephen's Cathedral.