"What? Grand Duke of Austria...Grand Vizier, are you kidding me?"
Henry Chu was immediately shocked when he heard this.
This is going to be roasted on the fire!
Because he was leading thousands of Goan Portuguese people to Europe, he asked Ahmed Koprulu whether he could get a territory to arrange for them. You don’t need to be rich, just Wallachia or Moldova. And he doesn't want to work for a lifetime. He can work for a few years and arrange the Goan people who come to Europe with him.
But I never expected that Ahmed Koprulu would directly throw the super hot potato of Austria to Henry Zhu!
This is Austria!
The heart of the Holy Roman Empire, the core of the Habsburg dynasty, the heroic city of the Catholic world's resistance to the Ottoman Empire... is handed over to Henry Chu to rule. Doesn't this put Henry Chu in danger?
The Protestant lunatics in the Czech Republic and Hungary are difficult to deal with, but the Catholic fanatics in Austria are easy to deal with? Can you live a good life by becoming an archduke for them?
Seeing Henry Zhu's reaction, the Grand Vizier understood what he meant without the need for an interpreter, so he smiled and said: "King Henry, you are the most suitable candidate...because you brought thousands of Portuguese Everyone is Catholic, and Austrian Catholics are more receptive to them.
In addition, you yourself are not a Christian, or even a prince from the Ottoman Empire, but a wealthy Eastern prince with Roman aristocratic blood, and you believe in God because of your mother. Because you didn't want to see Austrian Catholics forced to convert or be massacred, you spent a huge sum of money to buy the position of Archduke of Austria from His Majesty the Sultan! Under your governance, the Austrian people can be protected from the ravages of the Ottomans, can maintain their faith, can pay lower taxes than during the Habsburg family's rule, and nobles, priests, wealthy businessmen, and even elect parliament and prime ministers ...I don’t think the Roman Emperor would object to an Austria that poses no threat to anyone, right? So you are the candidate who is acceptable in all aspects! "
Ahmed Koprulu's calculation was really sophisticated... He wanted to throw Henry Chu and his Goans into the empty city of Vienna to act as a buffer. Considering Henry Zhu's special status, Roman Emperor Louis would probably welcome Archduke Henry.
In addition, Austria was indeed a jealous hot potato for the Ottoman Empire.
Because both the Czech Republic and Hungary had strong Protestant forces, and the local nobles wanted to establish their own country - they had no interest in becoming the provinces of Bohemia and Hungary in the Roman Empire.
And Austria is the territory of Catholicism, and Louis XIV's inheritance rights to Austria are ranked after Carlos II. Carlos II is a fool and has no way to leave descendants... In this case, The Austrian nobles would inevitably regard Louis XIV, who also believed in Catholicism, as their legitimate monarch.
Once the Austrian issue was mishandled and triggered a major uprising among the Catholic nobility and civilians, the Roman Emperor Louis would have to go to war with the Ottoman Empire!
However, the Ottoman Empire could not easily give up part of the Austrian territory it had acquired (now the Ottoman Empire only controls eastern Austria), especially the iconic city of Vienna.
Because showing weakness to the enemy is also a very dangerous behavior...it is very likely that the princes and Poles in other parts of Germany will think that the Ottoman Empire is nothing more than this, and thus have the idea of invasion.
So Ahmed Koprulu came up with a way to let Henry Zhu "purchase" the position of Archduke of Austria, and let Henry Zhu take over this hot potato and powder keg, and serve as a good Grand Duke for the Austrian people for a period of time... ....As long as Henry Zhu can stay in Vienna for ten or eight years without getting into trouble, Ahmed Koprulu should rest easy and close his eyes.
...
"My lord, do you really want to buy Vienna? This land is very hot! And... you are also the prince of the Ming Dynasty!"
On the way to Rome, Zhu Lundun, the Ming Dynasty's special envoy to the Ottoman Empire, discussed "purchasing" the Austrian Archduke's position with Henry Zhu in the carriage.
"I know, but it's cheap!" Henry Chu smiled, "It only cost 1 million taels... Where can I find something cheap?"
In fact, Henry Chu didn’t spend a penny!
However, in order to take into account the face of the Ottoman Empire, Ahmed Koprulu publicly announced that he had sold the Austrian Archduke's position to Henry Chu, asking for a price of 3 million pesos (equivalent to 1 million taels of silver).
"But, but..." Zhu Lundun shook his head repeatedly. He was not optimistic about this investment.
You bought Austria for 1 million, and you still want to sell it for 3 million? Who buys it? No... maybe someone will actually buy it!
"Your Majesty," Zhu Lundun asked in a low voice, "do you want to transfer Vienna to Emperor Louis?"
Henry Chu chuckled: “You can’t lose in this matter… First take half of Austria, and then get the title of Archduke of Austria, run it for a few years, and when the brand is erected, maybe you can transfer it out. ...Louis most likely will not take over. He does not want the Ottoman Empire to show its weakness so quickly. Once the Ottoman Empire is weak, the German states will have to oppose him. His Roman emperor did not have twenty or thirty years I can't sit still at all, so there is no need to worry about him sending troops to attack Vienna. What we have to worry about now is the Austrian rebellion."
When Henry Chu first started, he really regarded Vienna as a super hot potato. But when I thought about it carefully, I realized that the risk wasn't very high. After all, there wasn't much investment. And even if you don't get it, the most you can do is run away in despair, it won't be a big loss.
What if it goes down?
Zhu Lundun asked: "My lord, do you have any way to prevent them from rebelling?"
Henry Chu smiled and said: "Let's give it a try... wait until we meet Louis and discuss it with him. If not, I will become a Catholic and allow the Pope to send cardinals to Austria. In this way, as long as The pope does not need to break the rules of the house, and the people of Austria will be easily appeased."
"How can the Pope be so easy to talk to?" Zhu Lundun asked.
Henry Chu smiled: “The Pope was not so easy to talk to in the past, but now... Hehe, when Louis arrived in Rome, the Pope lost his territory, and from now on he has to be the same as Patriarch Constantine. , it all depends on the emperor’s words, it’s miserable to think about it!”
"You deserve it!" Zhu Lundun said with a smile, "What kind of blasphemy is there for breaking some etiquette? He has been entangled with us for so long, and now he has become a puppet."
Henry Chu also laughed. The Pope had suffered a huge loss this time. He had lost all the power he had gained since Pepin dedicated his soil. He is probably cursing Emperor Louis in the Vatican Palace every day now, right?
.......
Henry Zhu and Zhu Lundun's journey to Rome went very smoothly. In the territory of "Eastern Rome", Henry Zhu's own Goan knights escorted them. After arriving in "Western Rome", they were escorted by the cavalry of the Republic of Venice, which had become a vassal of Western Rome, and soon arrived at the city of Rome, which had once again become the "center of the world".
Because it has become the "center of the world", the city of Rome, which was originally a bit cold, has now become very lively, with a large number of soldiers and nobles crowded in. Moreover, many houses in the city that have been in disrepair have also received new owners and are now busy with renovations.
Louis has not been officially crowned yet, so he is still Louis XIV. When he is crowned Emperor of the Roman Empire, he will be Louis I.
In order to make himself look more like a Roman emperor, Louis planned to rebuild the ancient Roman palace on the Palatine Hill. Before the Palatine Palace was rebuilt, his residence in Rome was the Colonna Palace, which was magnificent and filled with various works of art.
The later Roman emperor, who had already put on a purple robe and a laurel gold crown, received Zhu Henry and Zhu Lundun in a room at the end of the magnificent Colonna Gallery. Also present was Olympia Mancini, Louis' mistress and Henry's aunt.
