In the Imperial Parliament Hall in Frankfurt, Joseph II delivered a passionate speech. In the speech, Joseph II expressed his gratitude to the members of the Imperial Parliament for their selfless contributions to the empire over the years. At the same time, the emperor also said that he
He will be committed to safeguarding the interests of the vassal states within the empire and leading the entire Holy Roman Empire onto a path of happiness and well-being.
The emperor's speech was welcomed by all members of the Imperial Parliament. The members expressed that they would unite around the ruling class of the Holy Roman Empire with Joseph II as the core, and would unswervingly support the policies proposed by Joseph II.
, will continue to support the democratic development of the vassal states within the empire.
To use the official cliché, this is a peaceful and progressive conference!
After visiting the Imperial Parliament, Joseph II put the focus of this trip on the agenda, which was the meeting with King William of Prussia!
Although the last meeting between Joseph II and William was several years ago, the emperor still had a clear memory of William, especially when William carried out a series of reforms in the country, the emperor was not far behind in attacking Austria.
Waiting for the Habsburg family territory to undergo reforms.
Of course, Joseph II's reforms were not as successful as William's. After all, in Austria, the power of the conservative forces was far beyond what the emperor could shake. In Prussia, with the authority accumulated by William in previous wars, William could not
Reform the entire kingdom from top to bottom without any worries.
"Your Majesty William, I am really apologetic for asking for a meeting this time!"
At this moment, William and Joseph II were in Frankfurt's city hall. Obviously, the relationship between Prussia and Austria was not very harmonious at this moment, so Joseph II also had the savvy to arrange the meeting place for the two monarchs in Frankfurt.
town Hall.
"His Majesty, the Emperor, is too polite. As a member of the empire, I should obey His Majesty's call. His Majesty is so polite that I would rather kill him."
After hearing what Joseph II said, William quickly said in a frightened tone, no matter how many conflicts he and Joseph II had. Now that the two were sitting together, William must show appropriate demeanor to show his
Sincerity.
"The Kingdom of Prussia has made great progress in recent years under your leadership. We all see this in our eyes. It is really gratifying for all the princes in the empire to have a successor to Frederick the Great!"
Joseph II's praises came to William as if they were free of money. Fortunately, William still had a clear mind at this moment. Otherwise, he might have been in high spirits after hearing Joseph II's praises.
"We admit that the Kingdom of Prussia has made some progress over the years, but this is all under the leadership of His Majesty the Emperor. Having an emperor like you is truly a blessing to our entire Holy Roman Empire!"
As the saying goes, everyone carries the sedan chair. Since Joseph II was so generous with his praise, William naturally reciprocated the favor and attributed all success to His Majesty the Emperor. However, how sincere the words are, it depends on each of you.
Got it.
"Your Majesty William, you don't have to be so polite. My invitation to you to meet this time is not to beat around the bush. As the leader of the Habsburg family, I hope to get your commitment!"
As he spoke, Joseph II sounded a little impatient, and his words went straight to the theme of this trip.
"Oh, I wonder what kind of commitment His Majesty the Emperor needs me to make?"
There was some joking on William's face. He could naturally understand the meaning of Joseph II's words, but he was unwilling to give up.
In fact, before William came to Frankfurt, he had speculated on Joseph II's motives for inviting him to meet. In William's view, the only thing that could make Joseph II proactively request a meeting with him was obviously the issue of the throne of the Holy Roman Empire!
I know that in the original history, the emperor died in 1790, but now it is the second half of 1789.
Seeing the joke on William's face, Joseph II was a little dissatisfied. As a promising king of Prussia, Joseph II believed that William must have understood the meaning of his words, but now William actually pretended to be stupid. This
How not to make Joseph II dissatisfied.
"Your Majesty William, what I need to reiterate is that in the hundreds of years of history of the Holy Roman Empire, except for some accidents, the emperor of the empire has always been a member of the Habsburg family, and now I do not want this tradition to be abandoned.
!”
As he spoke, Joseph II stared straight at William, and the threatening look in his eyes became more intense.
However, in response to this, William's face still had a calm expression, without even a slight fluctuation.
"Your Majesty the Emperor, I think you will not forget the Golden Seal Edict, which is regarded as the supreme code of law by the empire! I remember that it was clearly stated in the edict that the emperor of the empire should be elected by the electors. This is given to us by God.
The rights must not be deprived by anyone!”
Although William's words were spoken very slowly, they hit Joseph II's heart like a heavy hammer. Joseph II understood William's desire for the throne of the Holy Roman Empire, otherwise he would not have asked to marry William.
Meeting. From Joseph II's point of view, he did not want a tragic war like the Austrian throne succession war to break out after his death. He hoped that the throne of the Habsburg family could be passed down smoothly and steadily.
Go down, this is the main purpose of His Majesty the Emperor's request for this meeting!
But seeing the unruly expression on the face of the young monarch sitting opposite him at this moment, Joseph II knew that if he did not pay some price, I am afraid that after his death, the throne of the Holy Roman Empire would erupt into something bigger than before.
Several larger wars!
Thinking of this, Joseph II secretly hated himself. If Joseph II could give birth to a son, then he would not have these troubles at all. Although the electors have the right to elect the emperor, they do not have the right to elect the emperor.
In the case of direct heirs, if Joseph II can have a son, then his son will be the undisputed heir to the throne of the Holy Roman Empire, but now because Joseph II's first heir is his brother Leopold
Grand Duke, that’s why there are so many troubles.
Passing the throne to a son and passing the throne to a younger brother are completely different concepts, because the son is the natural first heir, but the younger brother is obviously not. In this way, if the electors do not agree that Leopold inherits the imperial throne, then
Austria has no legal recourse at all.
"Your Majesty William, I think that the elector system has lagged far behind the development of the times. Such a decadent system is obviously not suitable for the current situation. I think that the power of the elector should be abolished within the empire. Of course, as a
One of the few powerful countries in the empire, I think Prussia should get more living space, such as Saxony, Bavaria, etc."
As he spoke, Joseph II's eyes became a little playful. The Saxony and Bavaria he mentioned were both directly or indirectly under the control of Prussia. When mentioning these two princes, Joseph II obviously hoped to seduce them.
Arouse the greed in William's heart!
Indeed, Joseph II's idea was successful. In William's mind, he was not satisfied with Prussia's current territory. In William's view, although Prussia actually controlled Saxony, it still lacked a name that could control all of Saxony.
Incorporated into Prussia.
As for Bavaria, William didn't think so much. Although Joseph II said nicely at the moment, William believed that once he expressed his intention to annex Bavaria, Joseph II would have to fight against him even if he exhausted the full strength of the Habsburg family.
After all, because Bavaria's geographical location is right at the head of Austria, if Bavaria were to be annexed to Prussia, it would be equivalent to hanging a Damoryk's Sword over Austria's head.
So Bavaria was just an elusive bait thrown by Joseph II, and only Saxony was the real benefit! But William was not willing to annex Saxony now.
Although it is said that as long as the will of Joseph II is obtained, at least within the empire, Prussia will already stand on the moral high ground, but Saxony is different from other regions.
As one of the seven electors of the former empire, the elector of Saxony has broad support within the empire, and in Saxony itself, the current elector of Saxony has not committed any crimes that would make the people abandon him. If Prussia is at this moment
Forcibly annexing Saxony would only have the opposite effect.
"Your Majesty the Emperor, I am very grateful for your concern for Prussia, but I think that as a country with as long history as Prussia, Saxony and Bavaria should have their own ideas. If they forcibly remove the two electors based on our words alone,
It will definitely cause panic among the princes within the empire, and it will definitely affect the unity of the empire!"
Hearing this sentence, Joseph II secretly cursed the little fox in his heart! Now Prussia's ambition for Saxony can be said to be known to everyone, but William is still covering it up at this moment, which makes Joseph II's heart
He became even more dissatisfied with William.
In the view of Joseph II, the most important thing at the moment is to determine the throne of the empire, and everything else is unimportant. But now William is very tight-lipped, obviously Prussia has a big appetite!
Thinking of this, Joseph II hesitated a little. Although he hoped that Prussia could confirm the Habsburg family's right to inherit the imperial throne, it did not mean that Joseph II could tolerate Prussia's unscrupulous demands.
Everyone knows that raising tigers brings disaster! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation.)