For the sake of the approaching Christmas, the Vienna government did not rush to find the Polish government's bad luck, and even the news of the Polish diplomatic note was suppressed, and the Foreign Ministry only conveyed Franz's threat.

There is no tradition of doing things at Christmas in any European country, and Vienna is still so lively this Christmas, and Franz holds a court banquet as usual.

Good times are always short-lived, and just after Christmas, Franz received the bad news - Otto I of Greece is dead.

Compared to the original plane, he was ousted from power in 1862, and this plane Otto I was lucky. With the strong rise of Austria, it is natural that he, a pro-Austrian faction, will not be ousted because he is on the wrong side in diplomacy.

The headache was that Otto I, who was born in the Wittelsbach dynasty, had no children, and his younger brothers were reluctant to convert to Orthodox Christianity, and the Greek crown prince was always vacant.

Now the question arises, who should inherit the Greek throne? Franz had sent a telegram to the Wittelsbach dynasty, now the Lombard royal family, asking them to send a prince to do the job.

The result was very embarrassing, and no one wanted to take on this mess. It's right to think about it, Greece is in a very bad situation right now. The external debt is high, and the internal is also surging.

This was the aftermath of the Near Eastern War, and although Greece was on the side of the victors as one of the belligerent countries, it retreated under the military pressure of Britain and France.

Not only was the spoils gone, but they were also severely cleaned up by Britain and France, and they were saddled with huge debts after the war.

In any case, Greece also shed blood in the Near East War, paying tens of thousands of sacrifices and dragging down part of the Anglo-French Ottoman alliance.

After the war, Russia and Austria still pulled Otto I by the hand and helped him keep the throne. After the war, there was strong anti-British and French sentiment among the Greek people, and Otto I naturally moved closer to Russia and Austria.

With the changes in the international situation, Austria reached a deal with Britain and France, Austria took over the French Balkans, and the British got the island of Cofu.

In the Mediterranean dispute, France and Austria worked together to squeeze out the British. Against this background, Greece received the support of the Viennese government, and Otto I took the opportunity to expel the British.

This "expulsion" is similar to the voluntary abandonment of the British. After all, Greece's interests are still too small, and despite the strategic location, the British are too weak to take care of this scrap.

Finally, with the mediation of Austria, the Greek government paid a ransom in exchange for the "withdrawal" of British troops from Greece.

This is the inevitable result, on the side of the couch, there is no room for others. Since the French abandoned the Balkans, Greece's geographical position was determined that the British could not remain entrenched for long.

In the face of the constant resistance of the Greeks, the London government did not have the energy to suppress it, and the cunning John Bull decisively chose to sell it for a good price, and in the end, the Greek government owed a large debt to the British.

Nationalism was a double-edged sword, and since driving out the British, Greek radical groups have set their sights on Austria to restore the Roman Empire.

This radical thinking, naturally, was suppressed by the government of Otto I. Normal people know that this is an impossible plan, but idealists are the exception.

Idealists who were not willing to accept defeat and wanted to overthrow the reign of Otto I. There is no doubt that this rabble did not come to fruition.

With the outbreak of the agricultural crisis, the domestic economy of Greece also had problems, many farmers went bankrupt in the first wave of the crisis, and social contradictions intensified.

Although many immigrants were taken away by Austria, many remained, and social security in Greece continued to deteriorate.

This created favorable conditions for the radical groups to rebel, and if Otto I was still around, it would not be a big problem to suppress this rabble, the problem was that the throne was vacant and the government was in chaos.

The Wittelsbach family has invested a lot of resources for the Greek throne, but they have not been able to get a return for a long time, and now they do not want to continue to invest.

This is not what Franz wants to see, and if the Greek throne does not settle soon, it will not be long before Britain, France and Russia will join in.

With all the countries involved, it will be difficult for Austria to dominate, and if there is an anti-Austrian government in Greece, Franz's early investment will be all wasted.

"Prime Minister, who is currently the most suitable successor to the Greek throne?"

Prime Minister Felix frowned: "The best candidates are naturally Prince Lyutpod and Prince Adalbert, the younger brothers of Otto I, but both of them have clearly renounced their inheritance.

There are many heirs down there, but because of age, we can't be sure whether Otto I's nephew will be able to secure the Greek throne. ”

Otto I died suddenly, leaving behind a mess. The current Greek king is not easy to do, he does not have a certain ability, and he cannot control the situation at all.

Otherwise, Franz would have fooled a child of the Wittelsbach family and forcibly established himself on the throne.

Europe is a world of origin, and the succession to the throne is naturally the closer the bloodline, the better, and the closer it means orthodoxy. If there is an heir who ranks more than a dozen, even if he is on the throne, it will be difficult to gain the support of the people.

After a few steps, Franz made a decision: "Continue to send people to contact them, as long as they are willing to inherit the Greek throne, they can not convert to Orthodox Christianity, and we will be responsible for solving all problems." ”

Although it may have been a wait-and-sell to reap the benefits of Austria, Franz decided to give it. Who made the Greek throne unpopular?

The Wittelsbach family is worried that they will not be able to recoup the costs if they invest too much, and it is understandable that they want to find someone to share the costs.

There is no such thing as a free lunch, and if you take advantage of Austria, you have to do something for Austria. The more you get, the more you have to give.

Although Greece is small, Franz still does not dare to take it lightly, it is better to take it into his own hands. Otto I did a great job, and it didn't hurt even if Greece was a little messy.

Franz was not demanding, as long as he continued to implement Otto I's policy of restricting population. In this era, the population of all European countries is rising rapidly, and Greece can stay where it is, which is also a clear stream.

As long as it continues, Greece, with a population of less than one million, will not be able to make a few waves no matter how much it tosses.

This is all learning from the advanced experience of France, and if it were not for the rapid economic development of France after the succession of Napoleon III, their population growth rate would have been even lower.

It's just that the unreasonable part of it was modified, and then it was sold to the Greek government, and with Malthus's population theory, it was very convincing.

With the current land of Greece, it is true that it can no longer support a larger population. From a short period of time, the effect is very obvious,

Since the increase in the Dingkou tax, the Greek people's enthusiasm for childbirth has greatly decreased, there are fewer children to support, and the people's living standards have risen instead of falling.

Foreign Secretary Wesenberg shook his head: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid it's not good for us to get involved too much." Anti-Austrian sentiment is growing in Greece at the moment, and if we intervene, I am afraid it will make things even more troublesome.

Moreover, the position of Britain, France, and Russia has to be considered, and they do not want to see us control Greece, and if we make any peace with it, I am afraid that the Greek throne will be delayed indefinitely.

Rather than that, it is better to wait and see the situation. Whoever is willing to cooperate with us will support whoever is on top. It is much easier for someone to overthrow the rule of a country than to build a country if they are ignorant of the current affairs. ”

The subtext, Franz had already heard. It is nothing more than the fear that after setting this precedent, it will affect the political structure of the empire.

There are many states in the HRE Empire, and if the Wittelsbach family used too much power in the empire in their struggle for the Greek throne, does it mean that several other royal families can also use the power of the empire to expand?

This is not unfounded, but it will happen. The relationship between European royal families is a mess, and it is common for them to have the right to inherit the throne of another country.

Are the thrones of Poland and Spain still vacant? There are many interested nobles in the country, but they lack the support of the great powers, and there is no way to have an advantage in the competition.

The Viennese government did not support any of the country's great nobles, and now it is fully supporting the Wittelsbach family to secure the Greek throne, if it is richly rewarded, and if it is not rewarded, it will definitely cause a political storm.

According to the rules of the game, the Wittelsbach family can get the support of the empire, but they must come up with resources in exchange.

Franz devised this system of rules himself, including the operation in Mexico, in which the royal family bore a considerable part of the military expenditure.

Franz frowned: "This is indeed a problem, but it is not difficult to solve, how much the empire has paid, how much will it be rewarded in the future."

You can make it clear in advance, if the Wittelsbach family still doesn't want to. Presumably, no one will object to pulling Greece back into the arms of Catholicism. ”

Austria is suppressing religion, but this does not mean that religion cannot be used for its purposes. There was no law that meant that a Greek king could not be a Catholic.

Even if there were, this kind of code, which was outdated with the times, must be abolished. Now is the era of religious freedom, how can there be religious discrimination?

Franz is not at all worried about the return on investment. It's a big deal to promote cotton cultivation in Greece, which was a big cotton exporter in later generations, and it must be possible now.

The addition of both a raw material source and an additional grain dumping ground is enough to satisfy domestic interest groups.

Thinking of this, Franz suddenly opened a new idea, and this agricultural crisis may be solved in advance.

……