; Wilhelm was planning the Prussian Nobles' Congress in November, and Joseph II, returning to Vienna, was wondering whether to convene a political conference to determine the position of Archduke Leopold.
Leopold now wields the de facto power of the Austrian Crown Prince, but nominally he is still an archduke rather than a crown prince.
In this way, the uncertainty of the name gives many people a space for reverie, and this reverie will undoubtedly greatly affect the political stability and unity of the Habsburg family.
Moreover, one of the agreements reached between William and Joseph II is that William has the status of fourth in line to the Habsburg family, and if Leopold cannot inherit the Habsburgs, where will William's succession be negotiated.
Therefore, after returning to Viana, Joseph II decided to establish Leopold's name as soon as possible, and before that, he had to prepare for his other two younger brothers, otherwise the disagreement within the Habsburgs would only make outsiders laugh.
"Leopold, Ferdinand, and you, Maximilian, I have gathered you here today because there is one thing I need to know about you"...
As he spoke, Joseph II's gaze swept over the faces of his three younger brothers in turn.
Leopold's face was a little nervous, but there was also some anticipation.
Ferdinand's face was a little puzzled, mixed with nervousness.
Maximilian did not show any mood fluctuations on his face, and he saw that the youngest brother of Joseph II met Joseph II's gaze with a calm face.
Seeing this, Joseph II sighed in his heart.
Joseph II also knew about his three younger brothers.
Archduke Leopold may be more than enough, but he is absolutely not enterprising.
And his second brother Ferdinand.
In front of everyone, it is more of a game of human attitude, and it is not impossible to say that he is a gentleman.
The only thing that bothered Joseph II was his third brother, Maximilian, the current Elector of Cologne and Bishop of Münster.
From an early age, the intelligent Maximilian was favored by Queen Teresa, of course, this favor was only due to a mother's favor for her intelligent son, and from the beginning, Teresa had no intention of raising Maximilian to be a suitable heir to the throne.
After all, his inheritance came last.
So, when Joseph II envied Maximilian for having a carefree childhood, Maximian was also full of jealousy for his brother.
This sentiment intensified with the childlessness of Joseph II and the gradual rise of Leopold to power in Austria.
In the face of Maximilian's ambition, Joseph II can be said to be insightful, but he did not deprive Maximilian of his inheritance, and he could not kill his brother because of such a thing.
But for the painstaking work of Joseph II.
Maximilian simply could not understand.
He saw that it was only the emperor's brother who was endlessly suppressing him, and when Queen Theresa was still there, it was Joseph II's advice that would make Maximilian the Elector of Cologne and Archbishop of Minsk, but these two positions not only did not make Maximilian happy, but further deepened the dissatisfaction in his heart.
Cologne is indeed a good place, not to mention the fact that the Elector of Cologne and Bishop of Minsk has consolidated Maximilian's dominance over Cologne, not only in terms of secular but also in terms of clerical authority, but Maximilian is not satisfied.
In his opinion.
It was Joseph II who saw the threat of his clever self to Leopold, so he sent himself far away to Cologne.
Otherwise, why did Leopold stay in Vienna, and even Ferdinand could return to Vienna every year without restriction, but unless he got an edict from Joseph II, he would have to stay in Cologne!
"I should have announced this news a long time ago, but I have been delaying it until now, and today I don't think there is any need to delay it, for the glory of the Habsburgs to continue, I feel that it is necessary to choose a person for the family who is worthy of the Habsburg responsibility, and this candidate, I am optimistic about Leopold" Before the three brothers could speak, Joseph II immediately said: "I have decided to officially appoint Leopold as Archduke of Austria, heir to the Holy Roman Empire and Supreme Commander of the Austrian army, starting tomorrow" After saying this, Joseph II's chest rose and fell sharply, and it was clear that this sentence had taken a lot of his strength.
After listening to Joseph II's words, Leopold's face was hard to hide his ecstasy, and although he tried his best to hide his expression, the smile on the corner of his mouth undoubtedly made his expression public.
Ferdinand, on the other hand, only changed his face slightly, and then nodded to Leopold with a smile to show his friendly attitude.
Only Maximilian's face was blue because of the words of Joseph II.
"Your Majesty the Emperor, you are now in the prime of life, I don't think you need to decide an heir so early" Maximilian tried to make a last-ditch effort, but was interrupted by Joseph II as he was halfway through his words "No, Maximilian, my own body knows for itself, even if my body is fine, but the Habsburgs must have his heir, if I can't arrange some things in time, then maybe a surprise will cause turmoil within the family, which I don't want to see, do you know what I mean?
Maximilian" As he spoke, Joseph II looked at Maximilian with a torch of light, and under the gaze of this gaze, Maximilian, who had a complaint, had to swallow back the words that were about to come to his mouth.
"Also, for some time to come, we must maintain a tacit relationship with Prussia, with which I communicated with the king in Frankfurt.
He demanded that he must be the third in line to the throne of our Habsburgs, or else he would take the throne of the Holy Roman Empire at all costs.
I think that Prussia's power within the empire has reached such a point that we must be jealous, and in order to pass on the throne of Habsburg for eternity, I have decided to temporarily allow Prussia to buy more time for the family to grow in power.
In this way, it is necessary to accede to Prussia's demands, and although we do not need to fully abide by this agreement, and there is a great possibility that it will be torn up in the future, but now we must stabilize our international situation, and the only thing that can reassure the Prussians is to make Leopold the heir, and to establish the Prussian one as Leopold's heir.
That way, we can buy more time."
After Joseph II's words, the room fell silent, and just as the atmosphere in the room became a little awkward, Joseph II waved his hand decisively and announced the end of the short meeting.
When the three younger brothers rushed out of the door of the room, looking at Maximilian's back, Joseph II thought for a long time.
On the next day, Joseph II summoned all the nobles of the city of Vienna, and in the presence of all of them, Joseph II decreed the canonization of Leopold as Holy Roman Crown Prince and Archduke of Austria.
When Leopold stood next to Joseph II, dressed in a formal crown prince dress, all the nobles applauded desperately, not including Maximilian.
In addition to appointing Leopold, Joseph II issued a decree recognizing the Prussian king's right to inherit the Habsburgs, and announced that in 1790, the next year, the emperor's niece Anna would marry King Wilhelm of Prussia.
Although, a few years earlier, the news that Anna would marry Prussia had spread far away in Vienna, everyone was surprised when they learned the news from the emperor, but compared to the fact that William would have the Habsburg inheritance, Anna's marriage was somewhat bleak.
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In the hall, because of the emperor's words, the nobles obviously moved, and the inheritance of the Habsburgs was too much to ignore, and no one could ignore the meaning behind this news.
Even if this inheritance did not mean that William could now inherit the Habsburg estates immediately, it did establish William's legal heirship.
Considering that the Habsburgs would be under the control of a Prussian, all the nobles present were horrified and worried.
It is true that Brandenburg and Viana had a long honeymoon period, but decades of war have not only reduced the former friendship to nothing, but also made the two countries hostile from top to bottom, and although diplomatic relations between the two sides have improved this year, this improvement has not been able to resolve the enmity between the two sides.
"Quiet!"
Looking at the hall where the atmosphere had become like a vegetable market, Joseph II shouted with some dissatisfaction, and when all the nobles had once again focused their attention on himself, the emperor said: "It is true that I understand the feelings of all of you, and my heart is filled with grief and indignation, but now we must accept the Prussian terms, and of course no one can say what will happen in the future, but this incident has sounded the bell for all of us, and I do not want Austria to remain in a state of arrogance.
I want everyone to understand that if we can't unite and develop our national strength, one day, we in Austria will be wiped out in the long river of history, which is what none of us want to see, so here, I want to tell you: Courage after shame, work hard!
” Joseph II's words were somewhat vague, but everyone understood the emperor's true intentions