Holy Roman Empire

With the conclusion of the Prusso-Russian War, Frederick’s marriage was also put on the agenda, a significant event for Austria.

Hanover had long failed to gain control over the German Federation Empire, and the Duchy of Baden had played a great role in this. Without them leading a group of small states to oppose the Central Government in the Imperial Parliament, the German Federation Empire wouldn’t have been so severely fragmented.

Of course, Austria had also exerted significant effort. Without the support of the Vienna Government, the Grand Duchy of Baden wouldn’t have been able to pull together so many allies.

This marriage alliance was actually Franz’s way of encouraging the Grand Duchy of Baden not to be timid and to continue opposing Hanover, assuring them that Austria would have their back should trouble arise.

In the face of the United Kingdom fiddling with the North German Empire, such support was especially crucial. Otherwise, once Hanover and Prussia formed a dual kingdom, those small states really wouldn’t be able to hold on.

In fact, Franz was also quite conflicted.

On one hand, he did not want to see the North German Empire consolidated as it would increase the difficulty of unification; on the other hand, he wished to use George I’s hands to clear these small states, to avoid future troubles.

Supporting the Grand Duchy of Baden was also a necessity. Despite the large number of German regional states, they were mostly minor powers, weak, most on the level of town mayors, and some even village chiefs.

The Baden Duchy was one of the taller ones among the short, with combined strengths roughly half of Hanover, and could somewhat counterbalance with Austria’s support.

No matter how small, having the status of an independent state granted them at least one vote in the Imperial Parliament.

If there were no meetings, that would be that, but when real issues arose and a meeting was needed, having more people meant more trouble.

From a management standpoint, reducing the number of states was undoubtedly a good thing. Such a hateful task is not something Franz would do personally, otherwise, there would be no Liechtenstein Teritory.

Now, by supporting the Baden Duchy, there was also the intention to deliberately infuriate George I, tempting him to resolve issues through violent means.

Whether George I was shrewd or not brave enough, he simply did not take the bait.

As the Central Government was not strong, the smaller states naturally did not follow its lead.

At first, everyone was wary of Hanover’s strength, but seeing George I’s inaction, they grew bolder and simply used the Imperial Parliament to bypass the Central Government.

This was the fundamental reason why the German Federation Empire could not be unified— small state rulers were used to their freedom and unwilling to relinquish their powers.

The Habsburg dynasty cared about face; the Crown Prince’s marriage was certainly not to be taken lightly, and the event had to be grand.

Specific preparations did not require Franz’s attention; there were specialized staff responsible for this, and he only needed to communicate with the Baden royal family as an elder and determine the date.

Frankly speaking, if not for showing importance, Franz wouldn’t even personally bother with this.

Helplessly, recent work had been too overwhelming, even he as the idle Emperor felt the busyness.

He needed to pay attention to the Prusso-Russian negotiations, tinker with the new Vienna System, and keep an eye on the refugee resettlement issue, as well as the Tsarist Government’s ongoing Great Purge...

Compared to before, Franz had been working overtime every day lately, with working hours exceeding eight hours a day, without a day off for five consecutive days.

If he continued to be so hardworking, Franz seriously doubted he would end up depressed. If not for his sons being too immature, he would definitely have drafted a sturdy replacement.

He had just finished a phone call with the Grand Duke of Baden, finalizing Frederick’s marriage, and before he could take a rest, another issue came knocking.

...

Foreign Minister Wessenberg: "Your Majesty, the Embassy in St. Petersburg has just sent a message, Crown Prince Alexandrovich has called a halt to the Great Purge.

The Tsarist Government has pinned the assassination of Alexander II on members of the People’s Party, and Crown Prince Alexandrovich announced the execution order for the assassins in his capacity.

Those suspects arrested by the Tsarist Government, with the exception of those already identified as problematic, are being released one after another."

Pinning the blame on the People’s Party meant the Great Purge was ending. The Revolutionary Party was already subject to a manhunt, and usually, having more accusations doesn’t weigh one down.

Of course, this time might be an exception. The crime of regicide made the People’s Party notorious while simultaneously pushing them towards damnation.

If nothing unexpected happened, the remaining members of the People’s Party would certainly change their name and continue the unfinished revolutionary cause.

If they kept using this label, they wouldn’t be able to pull in any sponsorship internationally, because monarchies wouldn’t sponsor regicides.

This was politically correct; in an era when monarchies were strong, politicians wouldn’t make such an obvious mistake.

Franz nodded, "It looks like the Tsarist Government is about to reshuffle internally, and if nothing goes wrong, the path of Russian reform will be halted. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Crown Prince Alexandrovich is not his father, Alexander II; he doesn’t have the determination to continue the reforms; this is also good news for us.

Since the Russians have come to a conclusion, let’s hand over the members of the People’s Party we’ve captured to the Tsarist Government. There’s no need for us to overstep our bounds."

The situation inside Russia was very clear. As Alexander II deepened his reforms, more and more interest groups were affected, and the power of the opposition grew daily.

The reforms could continue because the Tsar controlled the military. Alexander II’s top-down reforms were completely pushed through by force.

If Crown Prince Alexandrovich wanted to continue deepening the reforms, the best action now would be to escalate the "regicide case", using it as a pretext for widespread purges to suppress the conservatives opposing the reforms.

Alexander II had liberated the serfs and granted them land, so his reputation among the populace was very good.

Using the "regicide case" as an excuse to take action, the conservatives, even if they wanted to rebound, would not be able to gain the support of the public.

A few isolated nobles and capitalists were not really a big deal. Eliminate a few leaders, and the rest would make the right choice.

Crown Prince Alexandrovich just had to eliminate the most active agitators and then he stopped the big purge, which was undoubtedly giving up his biggest trump card.

Of course, one couldn’t say his decision was wrong. The opposition was strong; if the great purge had been expanded, it would have undoubtedly led to major chaos.

Crown Prince Alexandrovich lacked his father’s prestige and military genius, so it’s not surprising he chose compromise when it wasn’t certain he could control the situation if he deepened the reforms.

After Alexander II’s reforms, the contradictions in the Russian Empire had eased and the most dangerous time had passed. It was not difficult to want to be a peaceful emperor.

If there was no intention to deepen the reforms, then continuing to suppress the opposition was pointless. Making a move and then immediately withdrawing was sufficient proof of Crown Prince Alexandrovich’s political skills.

For Franz, a weakened Russian Empire was the best Russia. If the Tsarist Government completed its internal reforms, it would become a real menace to Austria.

It was just fine for Alexandrovich to hold back, otherwise Franz would have to think of ways to sabotage them, which would ruin Russian-Austrian relations.

With the end of the great purge, as the actual executors of Alexander II’s death, the members of the People’s Party were naturally going to pay a bloody price.

It wasn’t just the members of the People’s Party caught by Austria who were doomed; it was estimated that those captured by other countries would hardly escape walking to the gallows.

Even fleeing to the hostile Prussia would be useless, as the Berlin Government, to avoid suspicion, would only work harder and use them as a gift to the Russians.

A pardon was impossible. If the assassination had failed, there might have been a chance for clemency, but now that Alexander II was gone, nothing said could help.

Not only did the Tsarist Government not want to spare them, but the Russian people below wouldn’t let them off either.

No matter how you look at it, to the common people, Alexander II was a hero.

Even though his image was tarnished by the defeat in the first Prusso-Russian War, he later redeemed himself with victory, and the stain was erased.

"Yes, Your Majesty," the Minister of Police responded.

The unfortunate members of the People’s Party didn’t deserve everyone’s sympathy; they needed to be responsible for what they had done themselves.

As fellow monarchies, everyone stood united in striking down "regicides."

Fortunately, the People’s Party was just a small organization within the revolutionary parties. If it had been a group with numerous members, there would have been a bloodbath.

Time and again, it has been proven that a rabble cannot make a significant impact. The rash actions of a few overzealous youths doomed the future of the People’s Party of the Russian people.