Chapter five hundred and second door-to-door persuasion
What Schwarzenberg fears most now is foreign interference, whether it is direct military intervention or indirect political interference, which makes him feel anxious. Especially so-called allies like Russia, once they officially intervene in Austria's internal affairs, they will
becomes very troublesome.
But now we are afraid of whatever comes. Alexander Gorchakov actually had direct contact with Archduke Franz Karl. This signal is very bad.
Of course, Schwarzenberg did not completely believe Princess Sophie's lies. This woman's words were completely untrustworthy, and every word she said could be false. At least Schwarzenberg did not believe that the Russians would have the guts to intervene directly.
Regarding the internal affairs of the Busburg family, he believed that the Russians would not be so overbearing.
Schwarzenberg believed that the Russians saw the dire situation in Austria and heard some gossip about the instability of the throne of Ferdinand I, and then made preparations in advance to pay a courtesy visit to Archduke Franz Karl as the crown prince.
.
After all, according to the rules, this Grand Duke is the first in line to succeed!
As for the PY deal that the Russians had reached with Archduke Franz Karl or Princess Sophie, he thought it was unlikely. The Russians would not look so ugly, because it would not be of any benefit to Russia at all!
But this time Schwarzenberg thought wrong, or he was too subjective and too confident. Alexander Gorchakov did come to see Grand Duke Franz Karl, although he did not reach any agreement with Princess Sophie.
Transaction, but the intention is also very obvious, that is to cheer up and support the Grand Duke.
At least Princess Sophie received a very clear hint from Alexander Gorchakov: Russia respects the inheritance rights of Archduke Franz Karl and recognizes him as the first heir to Austria. Anyone who dares to use illegal and coercive means will
If you threaten the Grand Duke, Russia will not stand.
Why did Duke Alexander Gorchakov do this? The reason is very simple. Maybe Schwarzenberg thinks that this kind of eating is ugly and not good for Russia, but his position is that Russia needs the Holy Alliance and needs
Only on the premise that Austria is an ally.
But once Duke Alexander Gorchakov felt that Austria, as an ally, was not so indispensable, or that a weak Austria was more in line with Russia's interests, then his behavior would be explained.
Neither Ferdinand I nor Archduke Franz Karl were out-and-out imbeciles. Such imbeciles would not be able to control Austria. If imbeciles like them were to govern, they would definitely need a bunch of other people.
support.
For example, the Regency Council. If the Regency Council was still run by an old fox like Metternich, the damage to Austria would not be that great. But now Metternich has collapsed, and the whole family has fled to London.
It is conceivable that if Archduke Franz Karl succeeds to the throne, a brand-new regency committee will inevitably be needed. Who will be on this regency committee? Wendy Schretz and Schwarzenberg may be among them. In addition,
Archduke Franz Joseph may also be selected, but what matters most to Alexander Gorchakov is that Princess Sophie may also be selected.
After all, Archduke Franz Joseph is still too young, and the royal family cannot fully trust Wendy Schretz and Schwarzenberg, so they have to let a few serious royals in to support the show. But now the Austrian royal family can
How many people can do it?
That is really the stupidity of the old and the young, and even a shrewd woman like Princess Sophie can still tell it. And as a Grand Duchess or Queen, it is more appropriate for her to come forward to support Archduke Franz Karl.
Alexander Gorchakov hopes to see such a result, because he knows Princess Sophie's methods too well. With her, she is enough to contain powerful people like Wendy Schretz and Schwarzenberg, and avoid the royal family's true
's become a rubber stamp again as in the days of Metternich.
Moreover, Alexander Gorchakov knew very well that neither Schwarzenberg nor Wendy Schretz was willing to support Archduke Franz Karl. This was actually inconsistent with Princess Sophie's ambition. Naturally, both
I can't even urinate in one piece.
A regent committee that is not harmonious in face and heart is bound to not be monolithic, and this will give Russia an opportunity to interfere in Austria's internal affairs under the pretext of supporting Princess Sophie, so that Austria can serve Russia's interests more.
Serve.
Doesn’t this contain much more benefits than a so-called powerful ally? Anyway, Duke Alexander Gorchakov thought it would be more beneficial, so naturally he immediately contacted Princess Sophie to find out more about it.
Just bait.
In fact, these thoughts cannot be hidden from Princess Sophie, but for a woman who is completely disappointed with her husband and completely loveless, what is the only thing that can interest her besides wealth?
Isn’t that just power!
In the past, Princess Sophie's goal was to be the queen. She only dreamed of becoming the queen and mother of the country one day. But now the situation is completely different. She seems not only to be a short-term mother of the country, but also to control a lot of things.
With actual power, she can truly intervene in the court and become one of the strongest women in Austria.
This temptation was so great that she couldn't believe it was possible. Therefore, she neither agreed nor completely rejected Duke Alexander Gorchakov's overtures. Instead, she
The ambiguous attitude prevaricates the past.
Because she also wanted to see the attitude of the powerful people like Wendy Schretz and Schwarzenberg. If the conditions offered by these powerful people were not particularly bad, she felt there was no need to be too greedy. After all, the Russians were not
Good bird, working with them feels a bit like seeking skin from a tiger.
So when she heard that Schwarzenberg came to visit, Princess Sophie was extremely excited. She thought that the other party was also here to give conditions, and she imagined that as long as the other party's conditions were not too bad, she would immediately agree.
However, Princess Sophie was immediately disappointed, because Schwarzenberg would not give her any generous conditions at all. In fact, they were not even conditions. What Schwarzenberg brought was more like admonishment, and it was to come.
Advising her to give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
"It would be better for His Highness the Grand Duke to have less contact with the Russians!"
This was Schwarzenberg's first sentence. Before Princess Sophie could react, he added: "Even madam, you'd better have less contact with Russians! Especially that Alexander Gorchako