Originally, Franz only used the opening of colonies to cover the military preparations for the American Civil War, but the American Civil War did not intervene, and a new round of Austrian colonial expansion broke out first.

First of all, the African continent, don't look at the three infantry divisions seem to be small in strength, but if they are invested in overseas colonization, they can sweep away a dozen indigenous tribes.

If you open the map, you can see that the colonies from West Africa to the Congo region are already connected.

To the south, the Austrian colonial powers had advanced their sphere of influence along the river to Zambia; The east penetrated into Uganda and Kenya.

In the Middle East, Austria used the Sinai Peninsula as a springboard to penetrate its tentacles deep into the Arabian Peninsula, and has fooled many tribes into signing land purchase treaties, and Austrian colonial strongholds have appeared in the Persian Gulf region.

As soon as the Suez Canal was opened, these areas would fall into Austrian hands.

In Central America, Austria mainly infiltrated and did not play a war of annihilation at the beginning. The resettlement of a group of immigrants from the United States could not be controlled by Austria.

In Nicaragua, for example, ethnic Germans make up four tiers of the white population, making them the largest ethnic group in the region. There were also Austrian troops stationed there, and the government could not afford not to be pro-Austrian.

The new Holy Roman Empire has added an autonomous province of Lanfang, and Franz doesn't mind adding a few more, and peace **** is also a good way to expand.

Of course, this only works in a sparsely populated place like Central America, where the number of whites is only a few hundred thousand, and it is divided into five or six countries.

Even if it is not included in the imperial system, it can become a pro-Austrian country. Far from areas that are difficult to rule on the mainland, direct annexation is not necessarily a good thing in practice, and loose alliances are not unacceptable.

In the South Seas, how many islands the Austrian colonial government occupied, Franz did not know, anyway, it was four figures, and the multi-island country really did not build.

The expansion of the South Seas has stopped, and now watch Prussia and the German Confederation perform.

The unbridled Malaysian region of the German Confederation stook its grounds, and it looked like George I had leveled the government in London.

The Kingdom of Prussia chose to fight Indochina for a very simple reason: Indochina was fertile enough and there was plenty of room for expansion.

Sumatra, while good, is still too small compared to Indochina, and the Dutch already occupy a lot of territory.

On the European continent, Prussia could beat the Dutch, but in the South Seas the situation was reversed, and the nascent Prussian navy had no confidence.

After opening the world map and taking a closer look, Franz was surprised to find that the world was about to be divided.

This is not a good thing, it means that conflicts between countries will occur from time to time in the future. The emerging empires, in particular, are bound to challenge the world order and seize living space.

Franz dismissed this idea again, and in the current situation, it was too difficult for a new empire to emerge on the European continent.

The coexistence of Russia, France and Austria simply cannot tolerate the rise of the fourth pole. The second-class Spain is still mired in internal contradictions, and they are already an old empire, and they still have a lot of legacy.

Not to mention Prussia, which was forced to go to the path of overseas colonization in order to solve the problem of industrial raw materials and markets. Establish the German Second Empire, unless someone hangs on them.

Another potential stock, the Kingdom of Sardinia, this time is dying before the teacher is ready. Not to mention the unification of the Italian regions, they themselves became the nourishment of the French.

……

Schönbrunn Palace

Franz is taking care of his children, and today he is a father of three.

Although he was only seven years old, as the crown prince, Frederick had no chance of being a rice borer. Every day, there is endless homework to be done and knowledge to learn.

Frederick, who seemed to have been struck and dejected, walked up to Franz and asked, "Father, why do you want to go to school and you don't have to?" ”

Franz patiently explained: "It's very simple, because I've already done all this homework, so I don't have to read it now."

Your younger brothers are still too young, you see William can't speak clearly, how can you study? When they get a little older, they'll go to school with you. ”

Frederick complained, "But I have too much homework, and many children have only three homework. ”

Yes, there are only three subjects in compulsory education in Austria: German, mathematics, history, and all other subjects are elective.

The German language and history are additional, and the German language contains patriotic education. History, of course, is the Greater German version, proving from the source that all the Austrian peoples are branches of the Germanic peoples.

Whether ordinary people believe it or not, the nobles believe it anyway. Their ancestors were basically from Germany, and then they represented the various nationalities of Austria.

History is unquestionable, and the cultural world is still arguing. Franz did not intervene, anyway, as long as two generations of assimilation and education were carried out, it would be impossible to repeat it later.

It doesn't matter if the textbook proves to be wrong, it is understandable that too much time has passed, and there are errors in the materials that have been handed down.

The government does not confirm or deny that professional issues make historians slowly quarrel, in short, they are all academic issues.

Discuss it casually behind closed doors, and the people don't care about it anyway. It is impossible to revise the textbook without a unified answer.

Franz explained: "It is only the basic education provided by the state, and if possible, you have to learn more homework.

The world is cruel, Frederick. The amount of knowledge learned also means the level of status in society.

As the crown prince of the empire, you were born to stand at the top of the world, you must be the best, and naturally there are more things to learn. It's something you have to have, and that's how I've come to be. ”

Happy Education? Born into royalty, insulated from pleasure.

Cultivating hobbies? It's better not to dream, as the crown prince is the emperor by profession, and there is no need to think about employment at all.

This is one of the most enviable and difficult professions.

As long as the emperor is cultivated in strict accordance with the process, he may not be able to produce geniuses, and he will not be able to cultivate stupid white sweetness.

Franz did not need a genius heir, because geniuses usually had quirks and were not suitable for the profession of emperor.

As the heir of the empire, as long as you can maintain the operation of the empire step by step, have certain basic knowledge, and will not be fooled.

As for governing the country, isn't there still a cabinet?

The fault tolerance rate of a big empire is very high, only the emperor does not toss around, and the cabinet officials who climb up step by step by relying on their political achievements from below, no matter how poor their ability to govern the country is, they will not make people angry.

Besides, if the cabinet doesn't work, it can be replaced. As an emperor, he just needs to throw the guy who messed up with them out at a critical moment.

In short, if the emperor doesn't interfere indiscriminately, things won't be much worse. At the same time, he is putting a tight spell on the bureaucrats, occasionally arresting a few corrupt officials who are not long-sighted and killing an example, that is, a good emperor.

Looking at Frederick, who looked depressed, Franz just smiled slightly and didn't say anything.

A maid hurriedly ran and said, "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother has invited you over." ”

Franz also knew that she was the most favored maid beside the Queen Mother Sophie.

"Elena, what's going on, you're in such a hurry?"

Elena ran a little hurriedly, a little out of breath, and said in a hurry: "Grand Duke Massimiliano is going to Mexico to be the emperor, but he is opposed by the queen mother, and there is a fierce quarrel, you go over and take a look!" ”

Franz instantly had a headache, and he also had a headache for this unconscious brother.

Franz had already had the information about Mexico handed over to him in order to make him retreat, but he did not expect that he would still make the same choice in history.

Needless to say, as a good brother, Franz arrived at the scene as quickly as possible.

The roar of the Queen Mother Sufi was heard in the distance, and it was obvious that she was very angry with Massimiliano. As a member of the royal family, the most basic international common sense, the Queen Mother Sophie still knows, judging by her amateur political vision, this is a huge pit.

Seeing Franz coming in, the Queen Mother Sophie stopped growling, eased her emotions and said: "Franz, give your precious brother a general idea of the situation in Mexico, this idiot actually wants to go to Mexico to be the emperor." ”

Franz comforted: "Good mother, this fool has been handed over to me, you can dissipate your anger first." ”

Looking at the dejected Massimiliano, Franz knew that he was very unconvinced. Massimiliano, who has been smooth sailing, naturally has a sense of arrogance, such as wanting to challenge the hell dungeon now.

"Massimiliano, who asked him to go to Mexico to be emperor? Don't tell me you don't even have supporters. Franz asked

Massimiliano replied: "The Mexican constitutionalists, and Napoleon III, have promised to support me in succeeding to the throne. ”

Obviously, Massimiliano is not really stupid, theoretically with the support of France and Austria, coupled with the strength of the Mexican constitutionalists, it is not difficult for him to sit on the throne.

Franz asked sternly: "If you want to wear the crown, bear its weight first!" Massimiliano, why do you think you can sit on the throne of Mexico? Prove your ability to convince me of your policies.

The Habsburgs would not put an ignorant fool on the throne, or one day the fool would be guillotined, and we would not be able to afford to lose that person. ”

Stimulated, Massimiliano immediately replied: "You wait, I'll prove it to you!" ”

Franz did not continue the sarcasm, the pit had already been dug. There is no perfect governance plan in the world, and no matter what kind of plan Massimiliano comes up with, Franz can pick out the thorns.

If not even an idealist could fool him, how could Franz be able to achieve the revival of Austria?