The Deceased Are Like This

The condition of Francis II suddenly worsened. On his deathbed, he summoned his three younger brothers and Prince Metternich to his side.

Archduke Louis announced the last will and testament of Francis II.

The personal wealth of Francis II was divided into three parts: one portion left to his eldest son, and the remainder distributed between his second son and his eldest grandson.

Franz Joseph received land and estates valued at 2.6 million Florin, the entirety of the Esterhazy family's palaces and estates in Austria, and a well-equipped dragoon regiment.

Francis II left 100,000 Florin to Archduke John and gave him a charge.

"My brother, you are no longer a member of the royal family. You cannot continue to squander money as you did in the past; after all, this is the last sum your brother can provide."

Archduke John was a famous figure within the royal family.

It was not because he had studied music with Beethoven, nor because he had done business with the Rothschild family, and certainly not because he had fought against Napoleon—only to cause Archduke Charles's strategy to fail due to personal reasons, successfully letting Napoleon escape.

Rather, this Archduke John preferred beauty over the empire, having renounced his right to the throne and his royal status to marry the daughter of a commoner.

He was also notorious for long-term defaults on bank loans, borrowing everywhere until he was blacklisted by many banks.

However, Archduke John could be called the "king of traffic" in Austria; he could always attract widespread attention from the public, so his reputation among the common people was not bad.

Francis II handed a coin to Archduke Charles; it was money Francis II had won from Archduke Charles when they were children.

Archduke Charles had always harbored a grudge over this. It was not that the wealthy Archduke Charles lacked this single coin, but rather that he did not want to lose to Francis II.

Francis II had been unwilling to return this coin to Archduke Charles because it was a trophy won from their competition.

Archduke Charles was exceptionally talented, and this coin was the only trophy Francis II had ever taken from him.

But precisely because of this, the two brothers had been at odds for decades.

Today, Francis II returned the coin to Archduke Charles, and Archduke Charles accepted it.

This meant that the two brothers had turned their swords into plowshares; both had let go.

As for Francis II's youngest brother, Archduke Louis, he had no gifts for him. He simply told Archduke Louis:

"You are a good man, my brother. Thank you for your dedication all these years. You must live well; I entrust my descendants to you."

After these words, Archduke Louis was moved to tears. He lacked the military talent of Archduke Charles and the social skills of Archduke John; he had done only one thing his entire life, and that was to watch over his brother.

"You are a good man"—for Archduke Louis, there was no higher praise than this.

Finally, Francis II opened a box containing four identical wills.

"This is my final request, everyone. You are my brothers, my friends, and the guardians of the House of Habsburg. I hope you can keep a secret for me."

"My eldest son, Ferdinand, is not suited to rule this country. But the family has its rules, and as the head of the family, I cannot break this sacred tradition. Yet times are changing, and some rules should change as well."

"So I need you to do one thing: after Franz completes his coming-of-age ceremony at eighteen, make this will public. He is a good child and will surely become a good emperor in the future."

"You must help him and respect him, just as you have done for me. The future of the family and this country is entrusted to you."

March 2, 1835.

Francis II, the last Holy Roman Empire emperor, the founder of the Austrian Empire, and the head of the House of Habsburg, passed away.

The torrent of the era would not pause in the slightest due to the death of any one person.

Franz Joseph accepted this reality calmly, yet he still felt sorrow for the grandfather he had spent every day with for five years.

Upon hearing the news, Thalia fainted from grief.

As someone with the soul of a modern person, it was difficult to understand the kind of sentiment ordinary people of the old era held for the emperor.

With the emperor's passing, all of Austria was immersed in sorrow.

Even the most bustling streets of Vienna fell silent.

People spontaneously took candles and walked into the streets to pray for the old emperor.

One must know that light sources were not cheap at the time, and many people were reluctant to light lamps at night.

These candles and kerosene lamps were likely their only source of light.

Standing at the highest point of the palace, overlooking Vienna, the candlelight merged into a single expanse. The quiet flames moved slowly—spectacular and mournful.

The death of the old emperor signaled the end of an era, and the greatest problem facing Austria was the instability that follows the passing of a leader.

Ferdinand I was crowned Emperor of the Austrian Empire in Vienna, and the royal advisors, led by Karl von Slut, immediately became arrogant and domineering.

The first thing they did was to halt all railway construction within the Austrian Empire.

They produced countless pieces of evidence to prove that railways would threaten human survival.

Their reasons were absurd, such as:

The black smoke emitted by trains would spread pneumonia throughout Austria.

The human respiratory system could not withstand speeds exceeding fifteen kilometers per hour. Once this speed was exceeded, human lungs would collapse, the circulatory system would become disordered, and blood might even burst out of the body.

The land on both sides of the tracks would become barren, and cows that saw the train pass would be unable to produce milk, while hens would be unable to lay eggs.

Of course, the various factions in Austria that had invested massive capital into the railways would not agree with their views.

Thus, the opinions of Karl von Slut were magnificently ignored, and he held no real power in his hands.

However, in order to establish his personal prestige, he demanded that the Austrian government immediately recall loans made to various countries in Central Italy to repay the debts of the Austrian Empire.

This was another blunder, though fortunately, the officials of the Austrian Empire refused to carry out the orders of Karl von Slut, the royal advisor.

Furious, Karl von Slut ordered the dismissal of all advisors hired by the late emperor, a list that naturally included Friedrich List.

Friedrich List was incensed by the arrogant attitude of Karl von Slut, and having earned enough money, he had been fretting over how to leave the Austrian Empire and escape the shadow of Metternich.

Upon receiving the dismissal decree from Ferdinand I, he packed his belongings overnight and fled with his entire family in tow.

No sooner had Friedrich List left Vienna than he received invitations from Prussia, Saxony, and Bavaria.

Friedrich List chose Prussia without a second thought, for having worked at the center of the Austrian Empire, he knew full well that within the entire German Confederation, only Prussia could contend with Austria.

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The current plot is operating on two fronts; I wonder what you readers think of this. If you find it unsatisfactory, I will tell the stories one by one.