Holy Roman Empire-Chapter 980 - 243: Prelude to the Restoration

Chapter 980: Chapter 243: Prelude to the Restoration

The chaos in Paris continued, and the victor was yet unknown, but Franz had already begun worrying about the selection of the new King of France.

The candidates would undoubtedly come from one of the three major royal houses, a point that was beyond question. Anyone else ascending to the throne simply wouldn’t command enough respect.

The first to be ruled out was the Bonaparte family. Despite having the most support within the military, who could ignore that Napoleon IV was the leader of the French resistance movement?

It turned out that passing the buck wasn’t an easy task. Political slogans aren’t to be shouted at random, and since Napoleon IV was unwilling to take on the responsibility of defeat and treason, he had no choice but to firmly hold on to the banner of “internal purge of national traitors, external defense of sovereignty.”

To seek a compromise, even if Napoleon IV was willing to switch his stance, the Anti-French Alliance wouldn’t agree!

Despite the short rule of the Bonaparte Dynasty over France, aside from the short-lived Napoleon II who didn’t stir up trouble, the remaining three emperors were all tricky characters.

The lessons of history were still fresh; nobody wanted another anti-French war. In this context, the troublesome Bonaparte Dynasty naturally became the first to be excluded.

The choices were reduced by a third, yet the difficulty in selection hadn’t decreased in the slightest. Theoretically speaking, the Bourbon and Orleans Dynasties were pretty much the same. However, in reality, Franz had to support the legitimate claimant, at least outwardly—his station demanded it.

If France were calm and a mere rubber stamp would stabilize the situation, Franz wouldn’t need to fret, he could just randomly appoint someone and be done.

Unfortunately, the current French crown was a hot potato that no ordinary person could handle. If not a person of great talent and strategy, then at least one had to be a master of internal struggle.

History had not told Franz which of the two French Dynasties possessed such a capability. Both had been reduced to exile, it was likely that the ‘Emperor of academics’ had long vanished. Unless there were an innate prodigy self-taught in governance, the crown was simply unmanageable.

Setting aside status, in Franz’s view, Napoleon IV was most suitable. Despite being a loser, he had a strong innate talent for internal struggle!

From grabbing power as soon as he took control, to suppressing domestic revolution, attacking internal interest groups, and skillfully absolving himself of blame before the final defeat—these actions were sufficient proof of Napoleon IV’s personal capabilities.

If the roles were reversed, Franz didn’t think he could have performed any better. France’s special circumstances had never given Napoleon IV the chance to establish his authority—all political struggle relied on clever strategies.

Regrettably, the most capable person was precisely the most inappropriate candidate.

Europe was a world that valued legitimate succession. Both the Bourbon and Orleans Dynasties seemed to have many members, but only a single digit had the right to the throne. Finding a “qualified monarch” from this scant number was an extremely slim chance.

Had time been turned back twenty years, Franz could have backed Henry V from the Bourbon Dynasty. Yes, the one who gave up the throne over a “piece of cloth.”

Not to mention other things, at the very least he was smart enough. A single test was all it took to know that the crown was a hot potato and he decisively chose to give up,

Unfortunately, this clever man had already met God. Even more tragically, he didn’t leave any descendants. The closest bloodline to the Bourbons was the Spanish royal family.

This didn’t mean that the Spanish royal family now had an opportunity. When the Spanish royal family restored its power, to obtain support from France, they had cut a deal with Napoleon III, voluntarily giving up their rights to the French crown.

Although the French Traditionalists claimed that this was announced under coercion by the Bonaparte Dynasty and held no legal effect, other political factions didn’t agree!

In the original timeline, with the situation tense, the Bourbon and Orleans Dynasties were both eager for restoration, leading to the two major political factions compromising and jointly supporting Henry V.

The current situation was different. It was clear to any intelligent observer that without the support of the Continental Alliance, the Revolutionaries who were most excited were doomed to fail. With the Bonaparte family ousted early, it left only these two vying for the throne.

The Orleans Faction insisted that the Spanish royal family had renounced its rights, and the other Bourbon claimants were distant relatives, so they supported Philippe, Count of Paris from the Orleans Dynasty for the throne.

The matter of the right of succession had confused the French themselves, and Franz was even more bewildered. Now the problem was: no suitable candidate was forthcoming, not even those who had many supporters.

“Pressure the French from the Foreign Office to force the Royalist Party to reach a compromise as soon as possible and choose a king. Otherwise, when the Revolutionary Party grows stronger, they’ll have cause to weep.”

If no candidate was forthcoming, then let the French freely play their hand. After all, things had reached this point; it couldn’t get much worse.

Minister Weisenberg explained, “Your Majesty, I fear the Royalist Party is not intimidated by the rise of the Revolutionary Party. They are already prepared, with no fewer than ten thousand Aristocratic Private Armies within the City of Paris.

Plus, as they control the army, even if all the Republican Armed Forces combined, they would not be their match, not to mention that the Revolutionary Party is still in the midst of infighting.”

The real reason the Royalist Party was powerful was that the French populace was not yet prepared to accept a republic, the main reason being “there is never a worst, only worse.”

Given the Paris Revolutionary Government’s current poor performance, even if all the French were supporters of the Republicans, they’d now be turning Royalist.

“The country isn’t mine; once I’ve made enough money, I’ll leave, and after I’m gone, let the floods come.”

In less than a year of ruling, the Revolutionary Government perfected the transformation from revolutionaries to bureaucrats. The worse things got, the more fiercely the bureaucrats looted, because they knew there would be no more chances if they did not make haste.

Wise members of the Republican Faction, driven to a second revolution, had been forced into a corner. The Paris Revolutionary Government had decayed, and the Royalist could restore power at any moment. It was too late for internal reforms; they had no choice but to rebuild from the ground up.

Remembering the performance of the French Royalist Party, Franz could only feel “exhausted” now. They were like a bunch of pig teammates; did they really think the throne of France was easy to occupy, that anyone could withstand the pressure?

The several million refugees outside were still desperately in need of aid, while the domestic economy was on the brink of collapse. The whole of France was a powder keg, a single spark could set it ablaze.

If it weren’t for the Anti-French Alliance holding a large number of prisoners of war, the flames of civil war would probably have risen already. Now a big group was still intent on ceaselessly fighting over the successor.

“Hmph!”

After snorting coldly, Franz said fiercely, “Tell them, by all means, we must establish a successor within the year, or else they can all wait to starve!”

If it were another target, Franz wouldn’t have resorted to this play. Threatening someone with food is like forcing them to be self-reliant or to find a new exporting country for grain, no matter how high the cost.

But France was different. If not for the war, they would have had enough food of their own. Even with their reduced territory, feeding the current population would not be an issue.

This meant France was only a short-term client; regardless of whether their food security was threatened, they would eventually be self-sufficient with their food supply. Offending them was a given.

If the Royalist Party didn’t get the hint, then it would be time to instigate a civil war within France, letting them fight until the skies turned dark, and then come in to clean up the aftermath.

…

Not only Vienna was monitoring the situation in France; all the countries of Europe were closely watching the developments in Paris. The fact that the Allied Forces didn’t intervene immediately was very surprising.

Even though nobody believed the French could turn the tides at this moment, if the Paris Revolutionary Government were to fall, and a new government failed to uphold the treaties, another storm would likely ensue.

London, Downing Street.

Unusually, amidst the turmoil in Paris, the British Government seemed exceptionally indifferent, as if it was none of their business.

In fact, it was true. Even if the British Government wanted to intervene now, they didn’t know whom to support or who they could support.

To put it bluntly, even if they were willing to provide help, the French wouldn’t dare to accept it. With the Allied Forces stationed just outside of Paris, anyone who colluded with the British would be the first to perish.

Not being able to intervene didn’t mean a lack of preparation, however. Napoleon IV’s Exiled Government was currently the British Government’s biggest chess piece. But this chess piece was a little too clever; simple deception wouldn’t work.

It should be known, Napoleon IV also had the experience of a successful restoration, having once successfully quelled a major revolution. Were it not for the fact that the Allied Forces hadn’t fully withdrawn, he would have returned long ago, and the Revolutionaries alone couldn’t have stopped him.

Prime Minister Gladstone: “The Bonaparte Dynasty shows no signs of acting, and Napoleon IV has more patience than we expected.

Now we must see if the Revolutionaries are up to the task. If a second revolution succeeds and seriously weakens the domestic Royalist Party, then we might still have a chance.”

The Anti-French Alliance disliked the Bonaparte Dynasty, but they disliked The Republican Government even more. If the situation became unmanageable and the Bonaparte Dynasty had to be restored, they would have to hold their noses and accept it, just like they did with Napoleon III’s restoration.

Once the Bonaparte Dynasty was restored, Britain would once again have a foothold on the European Continent. Although it couldn’t play a role in the short term, national competition isn’t about overnight victories; it’s about decades and even centuries of struggle.

“Prime Minister, I think it’s best to put this matter aside for now. Vienna is pressuring the Royalist Party to compromise and determine King candidates.

Though the French Royalist Party is split into three factions, they are united against the Republicans. If they compromise under Vienna’s mediation, the Bonaparte Dynasty will lose its chance.

In this context, it’s not suitable for me to jump the gun prematurely. If we misjudge, the already strained Anglo-French relations could become utterly irreconcilable.”

It wasn’t overreacting on George’s part. Mainly because France is the most likely, or rather, the only country on the European Continent that would oppose Austria.

As for the remaining countries, regardless of their strength, they lack the motive for opposition. Without hatred or significant conflicts of interest, who would bother to challenge the hegemon without reason?

Repairing Anglo-French relations is almost the first step to Britain’s return to Europe and the most important one. If they backed the wrong side in the succession, they could forget about taking that first step for decades.

“The situation indeed needs meddling right now. Just because we cannot interfere openly doesn’t mean we can’t maneuver behind the scenes.

There are plenty of people in France unhappy with Vienna. Let’s send someone to secretly contact them and invest in a selected few as a side move.

As long as the seeds of hatred are sown, they will eventually take root and sprout. Perhaps at some point, they will play a crucial role.”

Deep down, Gladstone didn’t want to go through all this trouble either. But there was no choice; Britain needed to protect itself.

Updated from freewёbnoνel.com.

Watching the Holy Roman Empire thrive while The Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets had its difficult days, without laying the groundwork, Britain might witness its own sunset.

Although this trouble might fall to the next officeholder or even the one after, as a competent Prime Minister, Gladstone still hoped to extend Britain’s hegemonic status for a little longer.