Chapter 436: Daily Life |
After the Cuban crisis erupted, the Francisco administration both dispatched reinforcements to suppress the rebellion and invited European countries to intervene.
The treaty signed by Britain, France, Austria, and Spain had only been in effect for a few years, and it clearly delineated their respective spheres of influence.
While this treaty wasn’t international law and hadn’t been recognized by all countries, with the backing of Britain, France, and Austria, it was more convincing than international law.
Typically, the great powers resolve colonial issues through force, resorting to legal measures only when force fails.
Undoubtedly, Spain was facing internal problems and lacked the capacity to confront the federal government in the Americas militarily, so they had to resort to diplomacy.
As global powers, Britain, France, and Austria naturally couldn’t tolerate anyone challenging their authority. Since the four-nation treaty established clear terms, the Americans had to comply.
Whether the federal government acknowledged it or not was irrelevant; it was already assumed they agreed.
The order in the Americas was painstakingly established by Britain, France, Austria, and Spain. Even though Spain had declined, Britain, France, and Austria couldn’t let the Americans run amok.
This is the official explanation, but the real reason is apprehension. Indeed, Britain, France, and Austria were wary of the United States. It might sound unbelievable, but it was true.
Currently, the strength of the U.S. federal government is comparable to that of a medium-sized power. Its land area exceeds the combined territories of Britain, France, Austria, and Spain. If the South hadn’t seceded, its overall national strength would surpass that of Spain.
The current order in the Americas is essentially a shackle placed on the Americans. Otherwise, the British wouldn’t have readily allowed French and Austrian influence to expand into North America, nor would the three countries have let Spain continue to occupy Cuba.
Everyone understood that it was impossible for one country to suppress the United States on its own; a joint effort was necessary to curb this potential threat.
In the original timeline, when everyone failed to maintain this balance, it led to France withdrawing from Mexico and Spain losing Cuba, leaving Britain to barely hold the line.
In reality, by that time, Britain couldn’t suppress the United States either. The fact that there wasn’t a direct confrontation was because the Americans were smart enough to recognize Britain’s weaknesses and avoided rash military confrontation, waiting for Britain to decline before taking over its hegemony.
Now, the situation has changed. Potential is just potential, and until it is fully realized, the U.S. federal government remains tightly restrained.
So far, American actions have been limited to probing. Whether it was supporting the Mexican rebels, collaborating with Indian tribes, or this time supporting the Cuban rebellion, it was all testing the waters.
Earlier actions were more subtle, but in supporting the Cuban rebellion, they took a bigger step, trying to gauge how much the great powers would tolerate.
At Schönbrunn Palace, Franz was feeding fish. These were ordinary fish, the kind that could end up on the dinner table at any time.
Since he became the master of this palace, the fish in the artificial lake have been fortunate. The diligent Franz often came to feed them, so they no longer had to worry about hunger.
Of course, it would be even more perfect if they didn’t end up on the dinner table.
There’s no other choice; the fish in the artificial lake reproduce too quickly. If not controlled, they would disrupt the ecological balance.
Therefore, every three years, catching some of them is necessary to prevent overpopulation.
Watching the lively little ones, Franz instructed his eldest son, “Frederick, keep an eye on your brothers, and don’t let them fall in again.”
Clearly, these energetic little rascals had fallen in more than once. Young and fearless, they were at the age of recklessly getting into trouble.
Influenced by Western culture, their hands-on abilities were cultivated from childhood, but the results were still not ideal.
Franz judged that his sons did not have the potential to become scientists.
The eldest son liked to build things and had already constructed his own little wooden house. Franz had visited it, and the interior space was about 2-3 square meters.
Playing in it is fine, but living in it was out of the question. The layout was quite square and boxy; if one had to describe it, it somewhat resembled a large coffin.
Clearly, Frederick lacked much artistic talent and didn’t understand architectural aesthetics.
The second son, Peter, was even more adept, with a talent for shipbuilding. Up to now, every small boat he had personally built had invariably sunk during test runs on the artificial lake.
As a consequence, Peter, the captain of the trial voyages, had fallen into the water numerous times. If it weren’t for the diligent lifeguards, he would have bid farewell to the world long ago.
There was an upside, though; through his repeated dunkings, Peter learned how to swim and seemed to be developing into quite a swimmer.
The two youngest ones were still too young to show any discernible traits. However, based on Franz’s experience, they likely wouldn’t be the docile type either.
None of this really mattered, as these were just hobbies. Career planning was unnecessary for them; there was no need to worry about employment or future development.
Even if they had no abilities at all, they would still lead a happy life as privileged heirs. At worst, they would still be Archdukes, proving once again the importance of being born into the right family.
“I did it!”
Following the direction of the voice, Franz saw someone in the middle of the artificial lake, dancing on a black, roughly boat-shaped object, celebrating.
Franz’s face darkened. Could they be any more ridiculous? If word got out, it would be embarrassing. Franz ordered, “Photographer, capture this moment.”
This was one of Franz’s guilty pleasures: capturing moments of his children’s antics to show them in the future and mock them mercilessly.
Cameras in this era were not easy to use; a slight mishap could leave one covered in dust. Therefore, Franz did not handle this risky task personally.
Being an emperor, naturally, he employed a lot of people. This also contributed to society by creating jobs.
After this little incident, Franz lost interest in continuing to feed the fish. He figured it was a good way for them to diet by eating a little less; after all, the fish wouldn’t starve from missing one meal.
“Click, click, click,” a few sounds later, Franz knew the photographer had completed his task. He called out to the excited little captain, “Peter, get back here!”
Hearing Franz’s call, the exhilarated Peter snapped back to reality. He steered his blackish little boat towards the shore.
“Father, look, this is the warship I built with my own hands. How about calling it the Franz?”
Looking at the beaming child, Franz smacked him on the head and said, “You call this a warship? It looks to me like you stole the kitchen’s iron pot.”
Peter’s so-called ship did indeed resemble a large iron pot. It had merely been modified in shape, essentially a big piece of iron beaten into form with a couple of wooden sticks as makeshift oars.
The idea of naming it the Franz had already been dismissed by Franz. Naming wasn’t something to get hung up on.
For context, in Europe, it’s common to name dogs after ancestors, not as an insult, but as a cultural tradition.
Only the most important people receive such treatment. Usually, it’s to honor the most significant elders in one’s life that pets are given the same name.
Regardless of whether Franz could accept sharing his name with cats and dogs, currently, there were many pets named Franz in Austria, including numerous cats and dogs, along with other pets sharing the name.
Hearing Franz’s words, Peter’s face turned bright red, indicating that the guess was probably close to the truth.
Franz didn’t continue with the topic, as a simple warning was sufficient; overemphasizing it wasn’t necessary.
Patting Peter’s little head, Franz said, “Our little captain, building a ship isn’t that simple. You’ve seen warships before; do you think one person can hammer one out?
For now, you should focus on studying hard. Once you have enough knowledge, you can continue your shipbuilding endeavors. If you can graduate with honors, I might even give you a shipyard.”
Perhaps enticed by the promise of a shipyard, Peter vigorously nodded his little head and confirmed with Franz, “You said it, you can’t go back on your word!”
It seemed he was determined to pursue his shipbuilding dream. Franz neither supported nor opposed this. Having a son interested in shipbuilding wasn't an issue.
As long as his sons weren’t idealists, Franz didn’t interfere with their hobbies. If Peter wanted to spend his time building ships, that was a minor issue.
Franz smiled slightly and looked at the little guy with affection, saying, “Are you questioning my credibility? Do you really think my credibility is less than a shipyard in your eyes, little Peter?”
“Of course not, you…”
