Just entering 1856, Franz received the good news that the Empress was pregnant. Now the entire Viennese court revolves around Princess Helen, and everyone attaches great importance to the new heir of the Habsburg dynasty.

Franz sometimes couldn't help but wonder, what if she was a princess? Of course, it's not that he doesn't like his daughter, it's that politically he needs an heir.

Although the Habsburgs had a precedent for an empress, it did not mean that conservative Austria was willing to accept another empress.

Since Princess Helen was pregnant, Queen Sophie has become nervous, and women in this era are pregnant in the ghost gate, and they can't be careful.

"Franz, now that Helen is pregnant, you have to keep a certain distance from her, too close will affect the safety of the fetus. You know what I'm talking about, right? ”

The embarrassed Franz could only nod passively, he really wanted to reply: Am I a person who doesn't know proportion?

There is no way in the eyes of his mother, he is still just a child who has not grown up, and the result of the argument is criticism.

Franz changed the subject and said: "By the way, mother, how are the preparations for Massimiliano's marriage?" ”

Massimiliano's marriage was to Princess Charlotte, the daughter of King Leopold I of Belgium, and it was a purely political marriage without the slightest impurities.

Franz attached great importance to several followers and brothers, and strictly militarized management, and immediately suppressed any situation where ideas broke down.

Queen Sophie said confidently: "Don't worry, I'll take care of it." It's just that after Massimiliano's wedding, how do you arrange him? ”

The children of the royal family in Europe also need to do things, and simply being a rice borer is a useless performance.

Franz replied: "It depends on what he likes to do and how far he has gotten to his personal abilities." ”

How to place this younger brother, Franz didn't know the bottom in his heart. Historically, Massimiliano had just gone out to do things, and it didn't take long for him to be fooled by liberalism.

When he was governor of Italy, he directly shook the foundation of Habsburg rule in the region.

Historically, Franz thought that the best fit for Massimiliano would be to be an artist or a botanist.

This was determined entirely on the basis of his personal abilities and hobbies, but Franz did not dare to say this proposal, and in the eyes of the Queen Mother Sufi, Massimiliano was still very good.

If this younger brother is not allowed to run into the wall a few times, it is estimated that he will be directly let be a rice borer at home, and it is estimated that the outside world will think that Franz is suppressing his younger brother.

Besides, was Massimiliano really willing to accept his arrangement? You must know that in history, he went to Mexico to be the emperor.

If he didn't have ambition, how could he run away and wade into that muddy water? Franz is a country that has been fooled by liberalism.

As an emperor, he is not afraid of the country's conservatism, but what he is most afraid of is that his freedom is too much and he has lost the most basic binding force.

Franz is not prepared to go over this pool of troubled waters, if Massimiliano's personal ability is against the sky and has the talent of the heavens and the earth, then the investment will return the cost.

Not to mention Massimiliano, even Franz himself does not think that it can settle Mexico's internal contradictions, otherwise the crown will not easily fall on Marciliano's head.

……

Vienna Palace

Metternich said worriedly: "Your Majesty, the situation in the Gulf of Guinea is becoming more and more complicated, with the gathering of forces from various countries, and armed conflict may break out at any time.

Two months ago, an infantry battalion of the Portuguese went out to determine the gold mineral rights, and there were more than 500 civilian armed men, but all of them disappeared, and there is no result so far.

Now there are different opinions, some say that they discovered the super gold mine and were wiped out; Others say that they have met with the devil and that they have all been killed......"

The situation in the Gulf of Guinea was created by Franz, and if it weren't for the hype of the Vienna government, there would not have been so many gold prospectors.

Order has not yet been established on the continent, and order is barely visible in the colonial strongholds of various countries, and once it is out of the strongholds, it is completely out of control.

If you don't find a gold mine, even if you don't find it, you won't be too busy. Once the gold mine was discovered, it was time for a rush.

When a small colonized armed team discovers a gold mine, it is kept secret at first time, and then it is sold to the colonial government, and free mining is non-existent.

didn't have enough strength, he was slaughtered outside, and he didn't know who the murderer was.

In the beginning, when the gold mineral rights were determined, the colonial government sent a few people to explore on the spot. Now there is no army with him, and it is strange that he has not been swallowed by someone.

This is the first time that a government army has been attacked. If you can't extinguish the mouth, the slightest rumor leaks will lead to a catastrophe.

Franz asked: "Could it be the black hand of the army of a certain country?" ”

The fighting power of the Portuguese army was not very good, and it was easy to defeat a battalion of Portuguese infantry, but it was not easy to kill them all.

The devil said, Franz even abandoned it, Austria colonized Africa for so long, and did not find these extraordinary creatures, how could they be born all at once?

Metternich replied, "I don't know, but I'm sure there was a mole in the colonial ranks." If there was no one to work with them, they would not have been able to annihilate them all.

Now that so many people are alive and dead, there is obviously a serious problem, and some people are covering up the truth. ”

What the truth is that Franz does not care, the problem is that it is Austria that is most doubted now. There were not many armed forces in the Gulf of Guinea that could do this, and the Austrian colonial forces there had the strength to do so.

There were twelve armed regiments of more than 500 men registered in the Austrian colonial strongholds, all of which were formed by the German states or several nobles.

These people have the strength to do this, and with so many suspects under their hands, it is inevitable that they will be suspected.

Franz was not worried about this suspicion, and the Portuguese could not do anything without evidence.

Moreover, if the troops are missing, it is not necessarily that the whole army has been wiped out, but it is also possible that they have lost their way and are wild men in the jungle.

Although this is a small chance, there is a precedent. Some colonization teams lost their way in the jungle.

"The truth doesn't matter to us, the place where the Portuguese disappeared is not under our control, and we are not obliged to investigate it for them.

The problem now is that we must stabilize the situation in West Africa as soon as possible, otherwise the continuation of conflicts among countries is likely to lead to even greater contradictions.

In the event of a major firefight in the area, the situation will spiral out of control, and many people who originally wanted to migrate to the Gulf of Guinea will give up and migrate to the Americas instead.

Without enough population, it is very difficult for us to control the West African region. In order to stabilize the situation on the ground as soon as possible, we must work with governments to establish the most basic order on the ground. ”

It's not that I don't want to find out the real culprit, but I don't dare to continue to investigate. Franz could only be sure that the Austrian government forces did not attack the Portuguese, and it is difficult to say whether the civilian armed forces did it.

In the event of a conflict over a giant gold mine, Franz would not be surprised if they did something murderous. In the face of interests, everyone's moral discipline is often not online.

If you find out your own head, it will be a big trouble. A bad one would lead to an even bigger political crisis, and Franz had no interest in doing this kind of self-inflicted thing.

Except for the Portuguese themselves, it is estimated that all governments of the world have the same attitude, and if they investigate carefully, everyone is worried about setting themselves on fire, so it is better to pretend to be confused.

Metternich replied: "Your Majesty, the situation in the Gulf of Guinea is very complicated, and it is very difficult to divide territory at the negotiating table.

The best way to do this is international condominium, where everyone forms a colonial government based on the common union, and as for the gold mines, the civilian armed forces compete freely, and everyone has their own means. ”

Whether this was the best option, Franz was not sure, the only thing that was certain was that it was the best option for Austria.

Free competition, the large number of people will definitely prevail. And this kind of order only exists in the area controlled by the colonial government, once it is in the wild, who can control it?

Franz smiled and said, "Yes, no matter what kind of order it is, it is better to have order than not to have order." ”

……