Chapter 123 Abduction
February 1, 1868.
Ernst walked through Schönbrunn Palace as if he were at home. The servants were used to it and no one stopped him or led him.
Since last year, Ernst has been traveling back and forth between Hechingen, Berlin and Vienna. The Ernst family has their own castles and manors in Hechingen and Berlin, and Prussia is the territory of the family (Hohenzollern), so it doesn't matter where he stays.
As the second most important market for the Hechingen Consortium after the German region, the Austro-Hungarian Empire naturally deserves Ernst's personal attention.
Unlike in Hechingen and Berlin, Ernst simply bought a small property in Vienna, not far from Schönbrunn Palace.
During his stay in Vienna, Ernst would visit the Austrian imperial palace when he had nothing to do. Basically, he would either go on a long journey or stay in Schönbrunn Palace during the day, and return to his residence to rest at night.
…
"Erste, Ferdinand (Maximilian I) and the other two haven't caused you any trouble, have they?" asked Queen Mother Sophie with a smile.
"Queen Mother, don't worry. My father-in-law and mother-in-law are living well in East Africa. Their whereabouts are sent to Europe by telegram every day, and I have arranged guards to protect their safety. The conditions in East Africa are just a little worse than in Europe, and there are not many entertainment venues, but the scenery is still good." Ernst replied respectfully.
"Really? Are there telegraph lines from Europe to East Africa? I wasn't aware of that." Queen Mother Sophie said in surprise.
"Queen Mother, maybe you are too worried about your father-in-law's safety, so you didn't notice that I mentioned the telegram from East Africa in my last telegram," Ernst explained.
"So that's it! I only knew that Africa was a relatively desolate place, but I didn't expect there was a telegraph to Africa." said Queen Mother Sophie.
"In fact, there are telegraph lines laid by other European countries in North Africa, which is Egypt. East Africa is not too far from Egypt, so I built a telegraph line through Egypt. All messages can be transmitted from East Africa to Europe within one day." Ernst said.
"Ernst, in that case, could you send someone to deliver the daily news about Maximilian I and others here?" asked Queen Dowager Sophie.
"Of course no problem. In fact, the news will always arrive in Trieste first, and the second stop is Vienna. After all, I don't stay in one place all the time, so the news will be backed up and sent to me. Starting tomorrow, I will arrange for the staff in Vienna to send the news from my father-in-law and mother-in-law to Schönbrunn Palace." Ernst said.
"Thank you so much, Ernst. As a mother, who wouldn't love her son?" Queen Mother Sophie sighed.
"Your Majesty, you are too polite. This is what I should do as a junior. You are all my relatives, and your affairs are naturally my business as well." Ernst said quickly.
In the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the person with the most power was naturally Franz, but in Schönbrunn Palace, the person whose words had the most influence was certainly Queen Mother Sophie. Apart from politics, Franz could not disobey the will of Queen Mother Sophie, so of course Ernst had to try his best to please Queen Mother Sophie.
"You only know how to talk sweet words! If you really have no bad record and you performed the best among the group of guys, it would not be your turn to be Karina, don't you think? Karina." Queen Mother Sophie lowered her head and asked the little Lolita in her arms.
Karina stared at the two people talking with her big watery eyes, and suddenly heard her grandmother ask her. She said without thinking: "Grandma, are you going to give me away? Don't you want Karina anymore?" Karina said shockingly, and her eyes revealed clear stupidity.
"Silly girl, you are just talking nonsense. You and Rudolph are my grandmother's treasures. How could I give you away?" Sofia said while rubbing Karina's hair. "In the future, you will have to grow up and start a family. You can't always be under my protection. I am old and I don't know how long I can last!"
As he said this, he hugged Karina and Rudolph next to him in his arms.
Little Rudolf is only eleven years old, three months younger than Karina. Unlike Karina, little Rudolf may be the crown prince because of his status as the crown prince.
The education he received was more rigorous, and he was brought up by Queen Mother Sophie since he was a child, so he looks a little restrained.
After all, little Rudolf still had access to his parents, but Franz was a rather conservative person, and Queen Elizabeth (Princess Sissi) was deprived of his right to education.
Karina had rarely seen her parents since she could remember, and had only met them a few times when Maximilian I visited Europe.
Therefore, Karina has been closer to her grandmother since she was a child. In addition, Queen Mother Sophie's worries about Maximilian I made her feel even more sorry for Karina. Anyway, Karina would not have to bear the future of the empire like Rudolf, so her education would not be strict.
In contrast, Rudolf was in a miserable situation. Queen Dowager Sophie directly copied the same approach she used to educate Franz on Rudolf.
There is nothing wrong with doing this, but the bad thing is that Rudolf's family and Franz's situation were different at the time.
Queen Dowager Sophie and Archduke Karl had no conflicts after all. Queen Dowager Sophie was very strong, while Archduke Karl was rather dull (due to inbreeding), without any wildness, and mediocre. One was strict, while the other was kind, so the relationship between the two was pretty good, and their children were also mentally normal.
Rudolf was completely different. His father was rigid but indecisive when it came to the family (the same was true in politics, but the environment at the time was basically acceptable), and his mother, Princess Sissi, was incompatible with the court, and the relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was tense.
Anyway, Rudolph was destined not to experience a harmonious family environment, so he was a little timid. Faced with the different personalities of his parents, he was naturally more easily influenced by his mother.
When Ernst saw little Rudolph, his eyes lit up. Wasn’t this one of his goals?
Ernst stretched out his hands, pinched little Rudolph's chubby face and said, "Oh! Who is this? He's so cute!"
Ernst was not talking nonsense. In his previous life, Ernst liked children more, except for naughty ones of course.
Little Rudolph and Karina are obviously good kids at the moment, and most adults like children with such personalities.
"Ernst, as I remember, you are only a few years older than his siblings! You look like an adult." Queen Mother Sophie said happily as she watched Ernst teasing Rudolf.
In fact, this made Queen Mother Sophie even more satisfied with Ernst. Ernst was now eighteen years old, which would have been an adult in his previous life.
Of course, in this era, people reach adulthood earlier, but that means people of this era need to take on responsibilities earlier. The farmer's son needs to go to the fields, and the noble's son needs to start learning to be a mature successor.
At present, there is no doubt that Ernst is qualified to be a successor. He has a good family background and will definitely be a prince in the future. He has also made achievements in his own business. In addition, he is very self-disciplined and has no bad record. In the eyes of traditional people like Queen Mother Sophie, he is naturally excellent in all aspects.
"Queen Mother, no matter how old I am, I will always be a little kid in front of you elders," said Ernst.
Ernst is targeting Queen Mother Sophie's grandson, but Queen Mother Sophie doesn't know it yet.
As one of the tragedies of the Habsburgs in the previous life, Rudolf's suicide was indeed a pity, and as Rudolf's future brother-in-law, Ernst naturally wanted to help Rudolf.
Of course, Ernst also wanted to see what the future of the Austro-Hungarian Empire would be like if Rudolf did not die! And whether the fate of Archduke Ferdinand, Franz's unlucky nephew who was shot dead by a Serbian youth, would change.
As for the butterfly effect, Ernst is not afraid of it at all now. Judging from Franz's extraordinary waiting time in his previous life, even if Rudolf is alive in this life, he will have to wait until after 1916 to get power.
By 1916, the opportunity was gone. At the current rate, the East African colonies would have developed by then, and East Africa was far away from Europe.
As long as they do not take sides in advance, neither world war will affect East Africa. Moreover, unlike the United States, East Africa is an important force near the Indian Ocean and will be the object of contention between the two sides (after all, it can threaten two important sea routes, the Suez Canal and the Cape of Good Hope).
So Ernst was not worried about World War I and World War II at all. What he was really worried about was the start-up stage of the East African colonies.
The risk is currently the greatest. Other powerful countries have the ability to interfere in the situation in Africa. Fortunately, European capitalism has not yet developed to the stage of capital export (looking for raw materials and markets around the world).
That is to say, at present, the colonists are mainly plundering raw materials, and all industries are located domestically. If Ernst does not publicize the resources in East Africa, they will naturally not attract attention.
The capital export stage means that the great powers have completed domestic industrialization, and the domestic market and profits are saturated, so capital must go around the world to conquer cities and territories.
So after 1880, Europe and the United States launched a frenzy of dividing up the entire world. In just over a decade, more countries in Asia became colonies or semi-colonies; Africa was divided up; Latin America actually became a semi-colony. By the end of the 19th century, the capitalist world colonial system was finally formed.
Therefore, East Africa had to be large enough to protect itself before 1880 and to be able to become independent by the end of the 19th century.
…
"Rudolf, do you want to go to Prussia and live with me for a while?" Ernst asked half-seriously.
The little guy didn't say anything, but turned to look at his grandmother.
"Ernst, you must be kidding! Even if you like children, Rudolf is the future emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and he doesn't have time to play with you. If you really want to have a baby, why don't you have one with Karina after you get married in the future?" Queen Mother Sophie joked.
Ernst said seriously, "Queen Mother, I am not joking. I think that as a future emperor, you should see more of the outside world, especially in the current era of rapid development and accelerated industrialization. Many things are different from before. The emperor must keep pace with the times, otherwise it is easy to be out of touch with the times."
"You are exaggerating! Franz went through the same thing in his life. It's not impossible for Rudolf to see the outside world when he grows up." Queen Dowager Sophie retorted.
Ernst would not give up easily until he achieved his goal, and continued to persuade: "Queen Mother, it is not a bad thing to let Rudolf go out and see the world in advance. Emperors are lonely. Apart from the experience passed down by their fathers, they have no other channels for reference. After all, there are only a few people in the world who can be the king of a country. This is what I think. Take Rudolf to the Prussian royal family to communicate with Crown Prince Frederick, Prince William and other future Prussian monarchs."
Ernst continued, "Queen Mother, everyone has seen the development of Prussia over the years. Others may not know, but I am very clear about the development of Prussia's domestic industrialization. It is no exaggeration to say that Prussia's industry is currently capable of competing with France, and Prussia's development speed is still accelerating. It is not long before it surpasses France. From my personal experience with the heirs of the Prussian royal family, they are all young talents of the same generation, so letting Rudolf come into contact with them will help improve his abilities."
"But Prussia's development is based on Austria's temporary failure, otherwise Prussia would never have achieved such success, Ernst!" Queen Dowager Sophie strongly retorted.
"Queen Mother, Prussia did have some tricks, but the last war was definitely not an accident. Take the application of technology for example. Prussia's firearms were at the forefront of Europe last time. At the same time, technological products such as railways and telegraphs also played a huge role."
"This is enough to show that understanding industry and technology will be a compulsory course for a monarch in the future, and among all European countries today, the Prussian royal family is definitely in the forefront. It is true that Vienna is one of the cultural and artistic centers of Europe, but the level of industry and science can directly enhance the national strength." Ernst did not forget to give Vienna a title.
"But wouldn't it be the same to hire teachers in related fields?" said Queen Mother Sophie.
"Just like when we look at landscape paintings and when we actually see them, the impact on us is different. Take Schönbrunn Palace for example, Queen Mother. If we look at Schönbrunn Palace through paintings, it is definitely not as profound as living here. If we want to understand the times and feel the development of industry and technology, we still have to visit the actual place to feel more deeply."
This statement made sense, and the example was very good and easy to understand. Queen Mother Sophie was a little shaken, but still said, "But Rudolf can't fall behind in his studies!"
Ernst struck while the iron was hot and said, "It is entirely possible to have a palace teacher follow them. While learning, they can communicate with the princes and at the same time appreciate the conditions in various places."
"The most important quality for a monarch is not how well he studies. There were many illiterate monarchs in the Middle Ages, but some of them were still able to be good kings. Some monarchs with extensive knowledge may not be able to govern the country well. After all, Rudolf will be an emperor in the future, not a scholar."
…
After Ernst's bombardment of words, Queen Dowager Sophie reluctantly agreed to let Rudolf follow Ernst to see the world, but she had to discuss it with Franz first.
(Why Karina doesn't have many scenes at the moment is because they haven't gotten married yet and they are too young. We'll talk about it in a few years. It doesn't matter if Rudolf is a boy.)
(End of this chapter)
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