But no matter what Alexander's mood was, at this moment he still had to face the fact that his father Leopold II had died, and in the palace where the body of Leopold II was placed in the Vienna Imperial Palace, not only Alexander, but also countless Viennese nobles and ministers were gathered in the palace.
The ministers wept bitterly, and even fainted for a time, and the whole sky over Vienna was filled with mourning, and at this moment several ministers came up to Alexander and said: "Your Highness Alexander, look, His Majesty Leopold II has just passed away, is it not inviting His Highness Franz out to participate in the funeral of His Majesty the Emperor!"
Hearing the minister's words, Alexander was stunned for a moment, and then looked up, only to see several Viennese nobles led by Christopher standing in front of him, and this Christopher was Kaunitz's eldest son and the current deputy prime minister of the Austrian government.
Although Kaunitz gradually withdrew from Austrian politics due to his age and health, his position as prime minister was not cut by Leopold II, and Kaunitz's eldest son, Christophe, was promoted to the position of deputy prime minister of the Austrian government.
And after Alexander entered Vienna, he did not attack the Rietberg family, after all, this family headed by Kautz had penetrated into all aspects of Austria, and it is no exaggeration to say that this family controlled 70% of the political power of the whole Austria.
It was precisely because of these scruples that after entering Vienna, Alexander only purged the families of a few of Franz's hardcore men.
For political predators like Ritterberg, however, they have chosen to tolerate it temporarily.
After being stunned for a while, he only saw Alexander's face flushed.
His eyes were fixed on Christopher as if they were spewing flames of rage.
But as Kaunitz's eldest son, Christopher has never experienced any storms and waves, and don't forget that Christopher also has a well-known political fox in the upper echelons of Europe - Kaunitz, such a family education and years of political experience have long made Christopher evolve the ability to not change his face no matter what major matters he faces.
"Your Highness, His Majesty the Emperor is newly mourned, and as the son-in-law of His Majesty the Emperor, His Royal Highness Franz has the right to attend the funeral of His Majesty the Emperor, no matter how great the fault may be.
His Royal Highness Franz has always been the concubine of His Majesty the Emperor, and this cannot be changed, and we hope that His Highness will carefully consider our opinions!
” In the face of Christopher's aggressiveness, Alexander could not hold back any longer.
Franz was imprisoned by himself, and even at the time of the trial of Franz, Alexander, who was present, said: "Whatever happens, unless my rule is overthrown."
Otherwise you will never be above the ground in the sun.
And now Christopher and the others are undoubtedly asking Alexander to go back on his word, so how can Alexander bear it.
"Christopher, Franz was convicted of treason, he has been sentenced to life in prison, which means that he will live forever in that dark prison, and now.
You actually want me to let that traitor go, what a motive you have!
” Alexander, who was furious, looked quite frightening, but Christopher and the others were not afraid, and Christopher was not only followed by his younger brother Dominic.
At the same time, several cabinet members of the Austrian government followed Christopher.
In Alexander's view, Christopher's people were not just challenging his authority.
At the same time, it is also challenging his personal endurance.
"Christopher, I can tell you unequivocally that releasing Franz is definitely not negotiable, and there is no way I will allow Franz to appear in the sun!"
Hearing Alexander say this, Christopher's face did not show any dissatisfaction, and he said to Alexander indifferently: "Your Highness, I have come to discuss with you the affairs of His Highness Franz, not that your consent is required to release His Highness Franz to attend the funeral of His Majesty the Emperor!
After deliberations within our government, there are too many doubts about the treason case of His Royal Highness Franz, which coincided with the death of His Majesty the Emperor, so the government decided to overturn the previous trial of His Highness Franz and declare His Highness Franz acquitted!
” "Christopher, daring!"
"Your Highness, don't forget, I have already said that this matter does not require your consent, our government has already made a decision, and we just came to inform you!"
Looking at Christopher's slightly arrogant face, Alexander was eager to immediately take out his knife and kill this hateful fellow.
Unfortunately, upon entering the palace containing the body of Leopold II, everyone unloaded their weapons, even Alexander.
But even this time, Alexander still clenched his fist tightly, he really wanted to use his fist to teach the arrogant guy in front of him a hard lesson.
"Your Highness, if you can't bear it, you will make a big plan, and now is not the time to turn your face with the Kautz family!"
Seeing that Alexander was about to make a move, Daniel, who was standing next to Alexander, hurriedly dissuaded Alexander, hearing Daniel's dissuasion, Alexander's face suddenly became clear, of course he knew that now was not the time to turn his face with Kaunitz, but now Christopher's actions are all challenging his Alexander's bottom line!
"Christopher, you have to think clearly, I still have more than 100,000 troops under my command!
Do you think you can turn the world upside down?
” "Your Highness Alexander, to be precise, you only have the Hungarian army at your command, and after my consultation with those Austrian generals, it has been unanimously decided that it is in the interests of the whole of Austria to release His Highness Franz!"
Alexander's expression was shocked, no wonder Christopher could have such courage to propose the release of Franz despite the danger of turning against him, it turned out that Christopher had unknowingly attracted a large number of Austrian generals in Alexander.
Immediately, Alexander seemed to think of something.
He said to Christopher with a frown; "If I'm not mistaken, I've appointed Karl commander-in-chief of the army.
There's no way Carl agrees with your plan!
” Christopher replied with a slight smile; "Indeed, His Royal Highness Karl's loyalty to you is really worthy of the admiration of inferior people, but in this matter, His Royal Highness Karl also believes that the evidence of His Highness Franz's treason is insufficient, so His Royal Highness Karl also agreed to release His Highness Franz to attend the funeral of His Majesty the Emperor!"
Hearing Christopher say this, Alexander was really panicked, he didn't expect that Carl, who was trusted by him, would actually betray himself and collude with Christopher and others, which was absolutely impossible in Carl's opinion.
After all, after Alexander took over Vienna, Karl chose to support Alexander, and now why would he choose to oppose Alexander?
Alexander had previously led 40,000 Hungarian troops to besiege Vienna, and after the conquest of Vienna, Alexander's Hungarian army had less than 33,000 men.
After that, in addition to a part of the Hungarian army that Alexander left in Vienna to garrison, the other part of the 22,000 Hungarian army was sent by Alexander to the south to conquer Franz, even after Franz was defeated and escorted back to Vienna.
The more than 20,000 Hungarian troops were still stationed in various towns in southern Austria to suppress the situation in various places, and the reason why there was no need for Austrian troops to garrison the places was that Alexander could not believe these Austrian soldiers.
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In addition to the 10,000 Hungarian troops in Vienna, Karl led more than 20,000 Austrian troops.
This meant that once Karl was really on the opposite side of Alexander.
Alexander would have no advantage at all, and even if Karl colluded with the Austrian ministers in Vienna who were dissatisfied with Alexander, Alexander's regime would collapse immediately after less than three months.
Alexander looked up, and he remembered that Karl had entered the palace shortly after him, and sure enough.
In front of the body of Leopold II, Karl was half-kneeling there motionless.
Alexander ignored Christopher and Daniel and others around him.
Walking quickly in front of Karl, he saw Alexander's hands tugging at Karl's collar and shouting: "Carl, how can you betray me!"
Sensing Alexander's actions, Karl seemed to be awakened from his deep grief, and he looked at Alexander blankly for a moment before saying calmly: "Your Royal Highness the Regent, I have not betrayed you, but His Majesty the Emperor has passed away, and all those who are the children of His Majesty have the right to attend His Majesty's funeral, even if they are a sinner!"
"But......
But ..........."
But for a long time, Alexander could not say a single reason.
Karl was right when he said that in all countries, even a prince who had been deprived of his inheritance had the right to attend his father's funeral after his father's death.
"Alexander, have you ever wondered how Franz treated us back then!
He's jealous, and he can't wait to kill all of our brothers!
Now to release him is not to raise tigers for trouble, what else can it be!
” Alexander yelled at Karl angrily, but at this time Karl was completely distracted by grief, and only heard muttering; "Alexander, our father is dead, no one can threaten your position, you are already the regent of the empire and the Archduke of Austria, can you not tolerate a Franz who has completely failed" The conversation between the two brothers attracted the attention of everyone in the palace, and Christopher led his own family of nobles around the periphery to watch the excitement.
Without waiting for Alexander to speak, Karl was heard to continue: "Our brothers have been fighting for too long, how did my father die, I don't want to say more, is it possible that at the funeral after the death of my father, our brothers still want to let the whole of Europe see the joke!"
"Carl, what do you mean by this, do you think that I killed my father?"
Hearing Karl's words, Alexander was horrified, he didn't expect Karl to say such a thing, you must know that this sentence can completely cause Karl to think that Alexander killed Leopold II.
Alexander didn't say that, but only heard his words after he landed.
A cold light immediately flashed in Karl's eyes, and he whispered to Alexander: "I don't want to say anything about it, but why did my father die not long after you left the palace?
And before that, the father didn't have anything!
And why did my father take his crown for the last time before he died, isn't it afraid that someone will take something!
” As he spoke, Karl's expression became more and more excited, and under Karl's forced gaze, Alexander took several steps back, and Alexander's unusual behavior immediately caused an uproar among all the Austrian ministers in the palace, obviously this scene made people think of Alexander's panic after the conspiracy was revealed.
"I didn't!"
Seeing that the ministers in the palace cast suspicious looks at him, and even many of them were hostile.
At this moment, Alexander had a sense of powerlessness under the attention of everyone.
Oh, yes!
What he did is so puzzling why Leopold II died shortly after he left the palace, is it a coincidence?
Leopold II's ill health was unknown until Alexander's conquest of Vienna, and after Alexander's entry into Vienna, although Leopold II handed over all Austrian state affairs to Alexander on the grounds of ill health, everyone thought that this was a choice that Leopold II had to make under the general trend.
After all, Alexander had a strong army, while Leopold II had no soldiers.
It was for this reason that Leopold II's ill health was understood by everyone as an excuse, a cover-up, and everyone thought that His Majesty the Emperor was in good health.
But now His Majesty the Emperor has died suddenly, and in the eyes of many nobles and ministers, it is obvious that Alexander killed Leopold II for his own selfishness.
This view spread in the upper echelons of Vienna shortly after the death of Leopold II.
Even Karl had to maintain a certain suspicion of Alexander in such a situation.
A terrified Alexander knew that he had been drawn into a conspiracy at this moment, and this conspiracy theory was obviously released by someone with a heart after the death of Leopold II, otherwise it would not have been in such a short time.
Even Carl, who he had always trusted, doubted himself.
"It's a conspiracy, a complete conspiracy!
We can get a doctor to check it out!
” Alexander roared at the strange eyes of the courtiers.
But after he finished yelling, no one answered him.
For these nobles, they may have seen or carried out more conspiracies than they had ever eaten, and at a time when conspiracy theories are rife, it is clear that not many people will believe Alexander's explanation, and even if the doctor's diagnosis is that His Majesty Leopold II died of heavy soldiers, one would still suspect that Alexander deliberately bribed the doctor to make it in order to calm people's minds.
"Okay, Alexander, I don't want to argue with you, Christopher said a lot, since we didn't fulfill our filial piety before the death of our father, then after his death, we must not let the countries see the joke, let's release Franz, no matter what he has done, he is the eldest son of his father and our brother after all!"
Karl seemed unable to continue arguing with Alexander, but he waved his hand to Alexander, and after Karl finished speaking, Alexander knew that his brother had made up his mind.
After a moment Alexander seemed to think of another person, and his gaze immediately looked to the other side, where it was none other than Alexander's former staunch supporter and his second brother, Ferdinand.
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It's just that when Alexander looked at Ferdinand, he seemed to notice Alexander's gaze, and Ferdinand quickly lowered his head like an ostrich, obviously in this matter, Ferdinand had no intention of getting involved.
At this time, Alexander was really desperate, and at this moment he very much wanted to send all the ministers in this palace to Leopold II for the funeral, so that these ministers could personally ask Leopold II to prove his innocence.
But this idea is obviously not advisable, if Alexander does this, then anyone can guarantee that from tomorrow onwards, the whole of Austria will set off a wave of opposition to Alexander, after all, these nobles and ministers in the palace represent the entire Austrian government and eighty percent of the Austrian aristocracy.
"Your Highness, you still agree, now the situation is unfavorable, let's agree first, and then think about it in the long run!"
Seeing that the situation was not good, Daniel hurriedly rushed to Alexander's side to persuade him, and seeing that Alexander was still indignant, Daniel continued: "Just now, His Royal Highness Karl only agreed to release His Highness Franz, and did not agree to the acquittal of Franz by Christopher and others, if we are under pressure now, then there is no doubt that everyone will be pushed to Christopher's side, which is extremely unfavorable to us, so please let His Highness endure the pain for a while.
You will have a long time in Vienna in the future, and when this matter is over, you will be able to deal with those who oppose you today one by one.
Your Highness!
” Hearing Daniel's words, Alexander took a few deep breaths and then said: "I declare that the sinner Franz is allowed to attend the funeral of His Majesty the Emperor, but that his treason has been pronounced by the Holy Law, and there is no room for overturning!"