August 1, 1848.
With the Treaty of Strasbourg officially taking effect, the Second War against France ended in victory, and Ferdinand Karl Leopold Joseph Franz Marcelin von Habsburg, Emperor of the Austrian Empire, formally announced his abdication.
Franz Joseph Karl Ludwig Anton von Habsburg would officially ascend the throne as Franz Joseph I on August 8, 1848.
Vienna's streets had been transformed. Prosperity and elegance stood alongside solemnity and vitality, and the city looked nothing like a place that had just suffered a devastating catastrophe.
The city's main streets and all the buildings lining them had been given a fresh coat of paint.
Franz strongly opposed this destruction of historic landmarks, but in this era, painting the streets and surrounding buildings was precisely what showed where public sentiment lay.
After all, only the streets had been painted by the government, while the people had taken the initiative to paint the buildings along them.
First of all, the imperial government, the Church, and the royal family had spent years building up Franz's reputation, so he had undoubtedly made a deep impression on the people.
Franz's actions over the years had also earned him a great deal of prestige. More importantly, his conduct and decisions during the war and disasters had made him extremely popular with the people.
In particular, he had won the support and respect of the nationalists, who were exceptionally good at stirring things up.
Of course, Franz couldn't truly be loved by every single person, with flowers blooming wherever he went. It was just that those who disliked him or opposed Austria had already been weeded out.
In 1848, Vienna had suffered catastrophe after catastrophe, and the opposition had long since emerged and been eliminated. As for those who had kept their heads down, it was hard for