After returning from Prague Castle to the Bohemian Military Command, Jero Bonaparte and Franz Joseph received an invitation from Mayor Laine of Prague to attend a ball.
"Your Majesties, this is a ball we specially arranged in advance to welco your arrival! We hope you can grace us with your presence!" Laine said with extre humility to Franz Joseph and Jero Bonaparte, fearing that the two monarchs might not attend.
It is known that to prepare for this ball, Laine had already released news that the two emperors would attend, prompting a group of nobles residing in Bohemia to scramble for the privilege of attending. Through this ball, Laine had already garnered plenty of connections and money.
If he could persuade the two monarchs to attend, the future planning for Prague could be seen as imminent.
"Who will attend the ball?" Franz Joseph casually inquired.
Laine quickly listed so nas of attendees at the ball, and Franz Joseph’s expression gradually beca sullen as he heard the nas.
Because among the nas reported by Laine, a large portion consisted of barons of the Empire, most of whom were new nobles, or bourgeoisie aristocrats.
For Franz Joseph, a mber of the Habsburg Royal Family, attending a banquet full of barons really made him lose face.
The Austrian Empire harbored a love-hate attitude toward the new nobles; they loved the money in the hands of the new nobles but hated why the new nobles could have so much money.
Thus, the treatnt most new nobles received in the Austrian Empire was much lower than in France, and many of them couldn’t even et the Emperor in their lifeti. (Except for the Rothschild Clan, due to their direct lending to the Imperial Governnt, barely anyone dared to offend them, including Franz Joseph, who had to maintain superficial respect.)
That’s why Franz Joseph refused Laine’s invitation.
"But..." Mayor Laine wanted Franz Joseph to hear his difficulties, believing that His Majesty would surely help after knowing his plight.
"No buts!" Franz Joseph replied sternly to Mayor Laine, "Since you are a mber of the Imperial Governnt, you should know the rules of the Imperial Family! This matter I cannot agree to!"
After speaking, Franz Joseph issued an order for Mayor Laine to leave.
Mayor Laine dejectedly left, and Jero Bonaparte spoke to persuade Franz Joseph to give face to Mayor Laine, to et the new nobles of Bohemia.
Franz Joseph shook his head and told Jero Bonaparte that it wasn’t that he was unwilling to et the new nobles, but rather due to helplessness.
The Imperial Governnt was based on a strong alliance between the old nobility and civil servants; within this system, only a few new nobles held power, while most new nobles were still at a stage of having status but no power, hence their eagerness to gain authority.
However, the Emperor, as a beneficiary of this system, could not satisfy them, because once this fragile system was disrupted, the consequences would be unpredictable.
Historically, it was the defeat in the Franco-Austrian War that broke the alliance between old nobles and civil servants, causing the new nobles and forr opposition to unite and pressure the Imperial Governnt, which shifted the power structure of the Empire.
Now, Franz Joseph only needed to focus on maintaining the stability of the Empire to be sufficient.
...
Early the next morning, Jero Bonaparte and Franz Joseph set off for the second stop, Krakow.
Count von Winpfin escorted Jero Bonaparte and Franz Joseph onto the train heading towards the border region of Austria and the Kingdom of Poland.
The train quickly departed and arrived in the city closest to the border region of the Kingdom of Poland on the sa day, from which they transferred to carriages toward Krakow.
After nearly three days of intermittent resting, Jero Bonaparte and Franz Joseph finally arrived in Krakow.
They were greeted by Viereid, secretary to Grand Duke Maximilian and son of Prince Czartoryski.
Viereid, waiting quietly for a period in Krakow, rapidly deployed his Polish troops upon hearing of the arrival of Emperor Jero Bonaparte and Emperor Franz Joseph, and then appeared before them.
"Your Majesties!" Viereid bowed to Jero Bonaparte and Franz Joseph.
Jero Bonaparte opened the car door, curiously looking at Viereid, asking, "Are you here specifically to welco us?"
"I have been ordered by His Majesty Grand Duke Maximilian to specially welco your Majesties!" Viereid responded solemnly to Jero Bonaparte.
"How is Maximilian’s preparation going?" Jero Bonaparte questioned Viereid again.
"Are you referring to the coronation ceremony?" Viereid asked Jero Bonaparte again.
"Besides the coronation ceremony, I can hardly think of any other event!" Jero Bonaparte replied to Viereid, shrugging.
"The coronation ceremony has been prepared for a long ti, and now everything is ready!" Viereid replied to Jero Bonaparte.
"Good!" Jero Bonaparte nodded and then ordered Viereid, "Then let’s set off now!"
Faced with Jero Bonaparte’s order, Viereid hesitated for a few seconds, tentatively asking Jero Bonaparte, "Your Majesties, I have an inconvenient request!"
"What is the request?" Jero Bonaparte imdiately asked Viereid.
"Could you both stay in Krakow for one more day? Just one day!" Viereid pleaded with Jero Bonaparte and Franz Joseph.
Jero Bonaparte asked seriously, "Viereid, what do you want us to do?"
Viereid told Jero Bonaparte that even before they arrived in Krakow, he had promised Krakow’s nobility that the two monarchs would et with them before leaving.
Hence, Viereid hoped Jero Bonaparte and Franz Joseph could stay in Krakow for at least one day before leaving.
"Viereid, you are making decisions for us!" Jero Bonaparte coldly said to Viereid.
Standing nearby, Franz Joseph also showed an expression of disgust, as he personally disliked others making decisions on his behalf.
"I dare not!" Viereid quickly bowed his head and pleaded to Jero Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, the entire Kingdom of Poland is eagerly hoping to et you!
To them, you, His Majesty Emperor Napoleon, and His Majesty Emperor Franz Joseph are the fathers of Poland!"
Viereid’s sincere speech made the expressions of Jero Bonaparte and Franz Joseph gradually lose their coldness.
Then Jero Bonaparte rembered Prince Czartoryski far away in Paris and decided to save face for Prince Czartoryski by appeasing Franz Joseph for Viereid.
Jero Bonaparte sternly pointed into the distance and ordered Viereid, "Just get over there! I’ll discuss with Franz and give you an answer!"
"Yes!" Viereid moved away from Jero Bonaparte and Franz Joseph.
"Why not stay one more night?" Jero Bonaparte suggested to Franz Joseph, "This will give face to the newly ford Kingdom of Poland, and besides, the citizens of Krakow don’t harbor any ill-will towards us!"
After thinking for a mont, Franz Joseph replied to Jero Bonaparte, "Alright!"
Viereid was called over by Jero Bonaparte and inford of the temporary decision to stay one more night.
"Your Majesties, on behalf of hundreds of thousands of Krakow compatriots, I thank you!" Viereid responded excitedly to the two.
Under Viereid’s guidance, Franz Joseph and Jero Bonaparte arrived at the Krakow City Hall.
The officials of Krakow City Hall eagerly shook hands with the two monarchs.
That evening, a grand banquet was held in Krakow City Hall, where Jero Bonaparte and Franz Joseph respectively gave speeches celebrating the soon-to-be formally established Kingdom of Poland.
After finishing their speeches, Krakow’s nobles surrounded Jero Bonaparte, politely inquiring about the French Empire’s intention to invest in Galicia.
Yet Jero Bonaparte only smiled faintly and deflected with a couple of remarks, "France will consider."
Because, for France, Galicia holds no investnt value.
A country with a self-sufficiency rate of over 100% (currently French agriculture is regionally organized without a unified market institution) would not be interested in an area that can only produce agricultural goods.
Seeing that they couldn’t persuade Jero Bonaparte, the nobles turned to their old master Franz Joseph, hoping he would invest in Galicia as he did previously.
However, at that ti, the Austrian Empire was relying on huge investnts from the French Empire for industrialization, so there was hardly any spare capacity to invest in Galicia.
Although the grain in Galicia is good, within the Austrian Empire, there is still the Hungarian Plain, which is also a grain-producing area. Hence, Franz Joseph wasn’t interested in Galicia either.
The Polish nobles had to give up, and the banquet ended by 11 PM.
Early the next morning, led by Viereid, Jero Bonaparte and Franz Joseph took a carriage with soldier escorts and headed north. After spending a few days with stops along the way, they finally arrived near Warsaw.
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