Joseph II did not last long, and less than three days after appointing Leopold as regent of Austria, His Majesty the diligent emperor died on his couch.
Faced with the death of Joseph II, Leopold originally wanted to block the news, but under the persuasion of Kaunitz, Leopold gave up this idea, and the day after the emperor's death, Leopold summoned all the high-ranking officials, nobles and diplomats in Vienna to announce the emperor's death.
The moment the news spread, the whole Vienna resounded with the sound of weeping, although the emperor's martial arts could not be called first-class, but his years of efforts for the revival of the empire were seen by everyone.
Joseph II had been burdened with so much weight since his accession to the throne that it had taken his breath away, and now he was finally able to free himself.
Before he died, the Emperor held Leopold's hands tightly, and although the Emperor could not speak, the look in his eyes carried too much, too much meaning.
In the Imperial Palace, after Leopold announced the news of the emperor's death to the public, Kautz officially announced the emperor's posthumous photo, and the Archduke of Austria, the king of Hungary, and the rulers of the Habsburg family territories will be officially succeeded by Leopold, and the position of Holy Roman Emperor requires Leopold to personally communicate with the electors of the empire, and then be crowned in Frankfurt.
On March 8, 1790, the first-hand news of Joseph II's death reached Wilhelm, who immediately summoned many important ministers of the Prussian government and military.
The death of Joseph II did not make William happy, you must know that although the emperor's ability is not very admirable, the emperor's character and morality are worthy of admiration.
At a meeting of the Prussian government, the General Staff headed by Ferdinand, upon learning of the death of Joseph II, immediately asked Wilhelm to order the entire army to be put into combat readiness, but the proposal was protested by the government officials led by Locks.
Locks thinks.
Now that Austria had lost a popular king, it was a time of national grief, and it was not a good idea for Prussia to take advantage of the opportunity to entangle Austria not only with the Austrians but also with all the continental powers.
"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, now Joseph II is dead.
And the successor to the throne is Leopold, this kid was captured by us during the Austro-Prussian War, we all know what he is capable of, so our staff believes that this is the best time for us to obtain benefits in Prussia, presumably that Leopold should be able to agree to some of our requests in order to be able to inherit the throne smoothly!
” "Prince Ferdinand.
I have to remind you that at this moment there are both benefits and risks in Austria, and perhaps that Leopold will compromise with us for the sake of temporary stability, but more likely it is that Leopold, who has just ascended to the throne, will not compromise with us in order to consolidate his position and prestige, and thus create a tough image at home.
This will be a very awkward place for us!
” Ferdinand was opposed by Viscount Lucas, Minister of Justice in the Prussian Cabinet, who was one of Locks' most important allies in the Prussian Cabinet.
After listening to Lucas's opinion, William nodded.
In any case, now that Joseph II had just died, there was no doubt that Prussia was suspected of bullying Austria at this time, and this would inevitably affect Prussia's international prestige.
And the Prussian blackmail was not necessarily satisfied, knowing that now Joseph II was dead.
The eyes of the whole world are all focused on Leopold, at this time, if Prussia makes some demands to him, even if he is willing to be satisfied, but for the sake of his own rule, he will definitely refuse Prussia's demands, but now is the time for Leopold to erect his own image, he will definitely not show his weak side to the outside world at this time.
"Well, be quiet, Prince Henry, what is your opinion?"
Just when Ferdinand hinted that several artillery battles in the staff were preparing to launch a counterattack on the cabinet.
William's words were undoubtedly an edict to stop the war, and then everyone's eyes shifted to Henry.
Henry's status is quite special, he is the head of the Prussian king's ** department, and William's grandfather, but also an older generation of politicians with the same name as Locks, and his opinion will play a decisive role.
"Your Majesty.
I think it is all the more important for us to immediately send an envoy to Vienna and at the same time to explain to Leopold the determination of our Prussia to fulfill the agreement we have signed with Joseph II!
” Henry's words made the cabinet side rejoice, and Ferdinand naturally had no good feeling for his old partner, but Henry ignored it, and continued: "The agreement signed last year between His Majesty and Joseph II in Frankfurt greatly guarantees relations between our country and Austria, and at this juncture I believe that not only must we not act against the Austrians, but on the contrary we must show our goodwill so that the Austrians will change their views on us, which will help us improve relations................"
"Who wants to improve relations with those damned Austrians" Just before Henry's words were finished, a sentence suddenly shook the audience, and I saw that on the noble seat on the side, a young nobleman was staring at the people around him with wide eyes, and he didn't understand why everyone reacted so much to his words.
Well, the young nobleman made two mistakes, and these two mistakes were the reason why everyone looked at him like a panda.
One is that this nobleman actually interjected when Prince Henry was speaking, everyone knows what Henry is, and this nobleman's words and deeds are undoubtedly a slap in the face.
And the second point, I am afraid that the whole of Prussia knows that the fiancée of His Majesty Wilhelm, their king, is an Austrian and a descendant of the Habsburgs, which is undoubtedly ironic.
Even the time-tested Henry didn't expect that someone would dare to interject when he was talking, and he was so mentally retarded when he said this, Henry was stunned for a moment, but he was only stunned for a moment "Of course, if you disagree, you can elaborate after I have finished speaking, and before that, please listen to me!
Moreover, Leopold has not yet ascended to the throne of Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and if he wants to ascend to the throne, he will necessarily need the support of our Prussia, so as to lay the foundation for friendly relations between our country and Austria, and we have reason to believe that Leopold will adopt the same friendly attitude as we do when he comes to power!
” With that, Henry glanced at William, who smiled back "Very well, in that case, then I appoint the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Cabinet, Elstner, as a special envoy to Vienna, and at the same time appoint the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, and Culture as a special envoy to Bavaria, and tell the Duke of Bavaria that I need his position to stand with me!"
...................................
Cologne, Maximilian received the news from Vienna that Joseph II had died, and the time was just a few days after he left Vienna, this news made Maximilian a little crazy, if Joseph II had died a few days earlier or Kaunitz had not been so ruthless, then he would definitely not have fallen into such a passive situation now.
"Whoa..............
He swept away everything on Maximilian's desk, and everything was knocked to the ground at once.
"Damn Kaunitz!
Damn Leopold!
You are all liars!
You stole my stuff!!
” Looking at the hideous face of Maximilian, several other people in the room shuddered, these people were Maximilian's henchmen, and they were also the real power figures in Cologne, including Bishop Francid of Cologne Cathedral.
"Your Excellency, I actually think that now is our best chance!"
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"Oh?"
Hearing Francid say this, Maximilian's face showed a look of doubt.
"Your Highness, you think, now that His Majesty Joseph II has just passed away, as a close relative of His Majesty the Emperor, you are going back to Vienna for the funeral, and once you return to Vienna, our opportunity will come!"
France's words made Maximilian's eyes roll, and he thought about it "Hehe, Francid, you kid has a lot of ideas, don't worry, if I can have that day, you will definitely be my prime minister!"
"Thank you, Your Highness, for your attention!"
Maximilian's words made Francid's heart bloom, and a smile like a flower bloomed on his face, but it seemed so disgusting to the rest of the room.
As Maximilian's confidants, the men in the room were naturally aware of their master's desire for the Austrian throne, which had turned over time into an almost pathological obsession.
In any respect, Leopold's legitimacy to inherit the throne is stronger than Maximilian's, you must know that Leopold is not only the eldest brother of Joseph II, but he is also the crown prince of the empire, in any respect, Maximilian's status is not half a little worse than Leopold's, but these gaps seem to exist in Maximilian's opinion.
What's more, now that Leopold has Joseph II's posthumous photo in his hands, Leopold is the best heir to the throne, both legally and reasonably.