Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 525: The Unwanted Throne

In the spirit of the approaching Christmas holiday, the Austrian government decided not to immediately confront the Polish government. The news of Poland’s diplomatic note was suppressed, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs simply conveyed Franz’s warning.

There was no tradition in Europe of causing trouble during Christmas, and this year in Vienna was as lively as ever, with Franz hosting the customary court banquet.

Good times are always short-lived. Just after Christmas, Franz received bad news—King Otto I of Greece had died.

Compared to the original timeline where he was deposed in 1862, Otto I in this timeline was quite fortunate. With Austria’s rise to power, this pro-Austrian king naturally avoided being ousted for aligning himself with the wrong side diplomatically.

The headache now was that Otto I, from the House of Wittelsbach, had no children, and his brothers were unwilling to convert to Eastern Orthodoxy, leaving the Greek throne without an heir.

Now the question arose: who should inherit the Greek throne? Franz sent a telegram to the House of Wittelsbach, now the ruling family of Lombardy, hoping they would send a prince to take on this heavy responsibility.

The result was awkward—no one was willing to take on the mess. This is understandable, considering Greece’s dire current situation, which is burdened with heavy external debt and internal turmoil.

This was the aftermath of the Near East War. As one of the participating countries, although Greece stood on the side of the victors, it retreated midway under military pressure from Britain and France.

As a result, not only did they lose out on the spoils of war, but they were also severely punished by Britain and France, leaving them with enormous debt.

Nonetheless, Greece had shed blood in the Near East War, sacrificing thousands of lives and tying down some of the Anglo-French-Ottoman allied forces.

After the war, Russia and Austria helped Otto I retain his throne. The war left Greek public opinion strongly anti-British and anti-French, leading Otto I to naturally align with Russia and Austria.

However, with the changing international situation, Austria made deals with both Britain and France, taking over the French Balkans and securing Corfu from the British.

During the Mediterranean disputes, France and Austria jointly sidelined the British. In this context, with the support of the Austrian government, Otto I of Greece seized the opportunity to expel the British.

This “expulsion” was almost equivalent to the British voluntarily abandoning Greece. The country’s interests were simply too minor. Despite its strategic importance, the British were stretched too thin and couldn’t afford to focus on this peripheral area.

Ultimately, with Austria’s mediation, the Greek government paid a ransom, which led to the British “withdrawing their troops” from Greece.

This outcome was inevitable. After all, who would allow others to sleep beside their bed? Since the French abandoned the Balkans, Greece’s geographical position meant that the British could not maintain a long-term presence there.

Faced with constant Greek resistance, the British government lacked the energy to suppress it. The cunning John Bull decisively chose to sell for a good price, leaving the Greek government with a substantial debt to the British.

Nationalism is a double-edged sword. After driving out the British, Greek radical groups turned their attention to Austria, dreaming of restoring the Roman Empire.

This kind of radical thinking naturally led to suppression by Otto I’s government. Any reasonable person would know that such a plan was impossible, but idealists are exceptions.

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Unwilling to accept failure, these idealists wanted to overthrow Otto I’s rule. Without a doubt, this rabble didn’t pose a serious threat.

However, as the agricultural crisis broke out, Greece’s domestic economy also encountered problems. Many farmers went bankrupt during the first wave of the crisis, exacerbating social tensions.

Even though Austria had taken away a significant number of immigrants, many still remained, and Greece’s social order continued to deteriorate.

This created favorable conditions for the radical groups to rebel. If Otto I were still alive, suppressing this rabble would be relatively easy, but with the throne now vacant and the government in disarray, the situation was different.

The House of Wittelsbach had already invested significant resources in the Greek throne but had not received any returns, and now they were unwilling to continue investing.

This wasn’t what Franz wanted to see. If the Greek throne wasn’t settled quickly, it wouldn’t be long before Britain, France, and Russia would get involved.

If all countries got involved, it would be difficult for Austria to take a dominant position. If an anti-Austrian government appeared in Greece, Franz’s previous investments would all be in vain.

“Prime Minister, who is currently the most suitable candidate to inherit the Greek throne?”

Prime Minister Felix frowned and replied, “The best candidates would naturally be Otto I’s brothers, Prince Luitpold and Prince Adalbert, but both of them have explicitly renounced their claims to the throne.

There are plenty of other heirs further down the line, but because of their age, we’re not certain that Otto I’s nephews would be able to maintain control of the Greek throne.”

Otto I’s sudden death had left a mess behind. The Greek throne was now a difficult position to hold. Without certain capabilities, it would be impossible to manage the situation.

Otherwise, Franz would just casually persuade a member of the House of Wittelsbach and forcibly enthrone them.

Europe is a place where lineage matters, and when it comes to royal succession, the closer the bloodline, the better. Closer blood ties mean more legitimacy. If a successor ranked far down the line were to take the throne, it would be difficult for them to gain public support.

After pacing for a moment, Franz made his decision, “Continue to negotiate with them. If they are willing to inherit the Greek throne, they won’t have to convert to Eastern Orthodoxy, and we will take care of all the issues.”

Even though this might be a case of them holding out for a better offer from Austria, Franz decided to go along with it. After all, the Greek throne wasn’t particularly desirable.

Understandably, the House of Wittelsbach is worried about investing too much and not getting returns, wanting to find someone to share the cost.

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There are no free lunches in this world. If they take Austria’s benefits, they’ll have to serve Austria’s interests. The more they receive, the more they’ll need to give in return.

Even though Greece is small, Franz didn’t dare to take it lightly. It was still better to keep it under control. Otto I had done an excellent job. Despite some unrest in Greece, it wasn’t a significant issue.

Franz didn’t have high demands. He just wanted to continue Otto I’s population control policies. In this era, while the populations of European countries were rapidly increasing, Greece managed to remain steady, which was a unique situation.

As long as this continued, Greece, with a population of less than a million, wouldn’t be able to cause much trouble no matter how turbulent things got.

This was all inspired by the advanced experience of France. If it weren’t for the rapid economic development under Napoleon III, France’s population growth rate might have been even lower.

The approach became very convincing with a few adjustments to the unreasonable aspects of these policies and by promoting them to the Greek government, coupled with the Malthusian population theory.

Given the current state of Greek territory, it truly couldn’t support a larger population. In the short term, the results were quite evident.

Since the introduction of a poll tax, the Greek people’s enthusiasm for having children has significantly decreased. With fewer children to support, the population’s standard of living had risen.

Foreign Minister Wessenberg shook his head and said, “Your Majesty, it might not be wise for us to intervene too much. Anti-Austrian sentiment is growing among the Greek populace, and if we meddle, it could make things even more complicated.

Moreover, we can’t ignore the positions of Britain, France, and Russia. They certainly don’t want to see us control Greece. If they decide to interfere, the Greek throne could be delayed indefinitely.

Instead of taking such a risk, it might be better to wait and see how the situation develops. We can support whoever is willing to cooperate with us. If someone fails to understand the situation, overthrowing a government is much easier than establishing one.”

Franz understood the underlying message. It was nothing more than worrying that setting this precedent would affect the political structure of the empire.

There were many states within the Holy Roman Empire, and if the House of Wittelsbach could borrow the empire’s power to fight for the Greek throne, it might imply that other royal families could do the same and use the empire’s power to expand.

This is not unfounded worry, but something that will really happen. The relationships among European royal families are a tangled mess, and having succession rights to other countries’ thrones is quite common.

Currently, both the Polish and Spanish thrones are still vacant, and there are plenty of interested nobles domestically. However, without the support of the great powers, they can’t gain an advantage in the competition.

The Austrian government hasn’t supported any domestic noble family. Now fully supporting the House of Wittelsbach to secure the Greek throne. If this brings substantial returns, it’s acceptable, but if it doesn’t, it could spark a political storm.

According to custom, if the House of Wittelsbach wants to get the empire’s support, they can, but they must offer resources in exchange.

This system was personally designed by Franz. Even for their actions in Mexico, the royal family bore a considerable part of the military expenses.

Franz frowned, “This is indeed a problem, but it’s not difficult to solve. Whatever price the Empire pays, it must receive equal returns in the future.

We can clarify the terms beforehand. If House Wittelsbach is still unwilling, then so be it. I’m sure no one would object to bringing Greece back into the Catholic fold.”

Austria may be suppressing religion, but that doesn’t mean it can’t use religion to achieve its goals. There is no law that says the King of Greece cannot be a Catholic.

Even if such a law exists, it’s outdated and must be abolished. This is the era of religious freedom. How can they tolerate religious discrimination?

Franz wasn’t worried about the issue of returns. At worst, they could promote cotton cultivation in Greece. After all, in later times, Greece became a major cotton exporter, so it should be feasible now.

This would add a source of raw materials and create a market for surplus grain, which would certainly satisfy domestic interest groups.

With this in mind, Franz suddenly found a new perspective. Perhaps this agricultural crisis could be resolved ahead of schedule.