Upon leaving the residence of Archduke Carl, Franz displayed a satisfied smile on his face, clearly having enjoyed a very pleasant exchange with the Archduke. He had also become Archduke Carl's new student.
Archduke Carl had indeed intended to further deepen the reforms of the Austrian Army, but sadly, he lacked a strong supporter within the Central Government. The emergence of Franz perfectly solved this problem.
As the future heir to the Empire, it was only natural for Franz to approve of his military concepts and support his reforms.
The current Austrian Emperor, Ferdinand I, was mentally unfit and completely incapable of handling state affairs. As the Crown Prince, Franz could take over as regent once he came of age.
That time would not be too distant, as there were already too many people dissatisfied with Prime Minister Metternich, including Archduke Carl, who all wished for his departure.
The appearance of Franz at this time was just right; there could be no better choice than supporting the Crown Prince's regency. With the support of the military, Franz would be able to assume power early, provided he wasn't too foolish.
In their conversation, Franz also interwove some personal interests, such as the Prussian staff system, military training of the new era, and tactical command, among other topics.
Many of these fresh proposals deeply interested Archduke Carl. How many of them would be incorporated into his new military concepts remained an unknown.
In the end, Franz still proposed that Archduke Carl should draft a military reform plan for the Austrian Army.
Franz would never admit that his military uniform had added points to his favor; otherwise, the conversation would not have gone so smoothly.
Could it be that Archduke Carl was truly amazed by his proposals and would then fall before his regal imposing manner, going all out to support him?
Don't dream; that's impossible!
The reason they had gotten along so well was mainly that their ideologies were similar. Franz was the heir to the Empire, and from childhood, he had aligned himself with the military.
Archduke Carl intended to guide him in military understanding, and Franz was very cooperative, creating the illusion that he was one of Carl's admirers.
To better implement his own concepts, Archduke Carl did not mind taking on a future Emperor as a student; their alliance was a complete match of political interests.
Perhaps the young Archduke Carl was not up to par in politics, but by this time, he had become a cunning fox. He had already guessed the majority of Franz's intentions.
In Archduke Carl's view, Franz was after his influence within the military. In return, Franz must support his military reforms in the future.
Carl saw Franz's inclusion of personal interests as a child's play for attention. These military concepts were likely fiddled with by some ghostwriter.
If they were usable, they'd be adopted; if not, they'd be discarded. After all, these were minor details that would not affect the political cooperation between the two men.
The European laws of succession were very well-established. For an heir like Franz to openly ally with a military power like him was not problematic at all.
Even Franz's good relationship with the current Prime Minister Metternich was historically seen as a mentorship, and yet nobody saw an issue with that, did they?
Franz had originally been the second in line to succeed but had still become the Crown Prince. That was because his father — Franz Carl, also had mental issues. Having learned the lesson from Uncle Ferdinand I, nobody dared to allow another unfit Emperor to emerge.
The Austrian Empire cared about its reputation; his father had publicly renounced his right to the throne on multiple occasions, whether that was his true intention is unknown, but the words had already been spoken.
Now Franz was openly forming alliances, but this was merely for educational purposes; as Austria's heir, how could he not study military affairs?
In the following days, Franz made frequent visits to Archduke Carl, ostensibly to study military matters.
In the 19th century, Austria was still a world dominated by the nobility, where Franz got to meet many key military figures such as József Jellacic, Windischgrätz, and Radetsky.
(Note: The three saviors of the Austrian Empire; Radetsky suppressed the Italian revolution; Windischgrätz suppressed the Prague uprising; József Jellacic suppressed the Hungarian revolution.)
While Franz was not yet able to bring these people under his command, at least they had become acquainted, which might prove useful at some point in the future.
Everyone was happy to see this; becoming friends with the future Emperor was an offer no one could refuse.
This was also Franz's predetermined strategy, to actively align with the army; only with the army's support could he quash rebellions in the shortest possible time when future turmoil arose.
"Franz, there's a military meeting tomorrow, are you interested in attending?" Albrecht Friedrich Rudolf asked.
(Note: The eldest son of Archduke Carl and the last great general of the Austrian Empire, he was awarded the title of Field Marshal by Austria, Germany, and Russia.)
"Albrecht, forget it. Your meetings are too dull. I don't want to listen to a bunch of old men bickering!" Franz said nonchalantly.
At first, he was quite interested in attending such military meetings, but after a few visits, he became disappointed.
There were many nobles in the Austrian army, some of whom were talented, but many more were just passing the time.
If he were to pass time in the army, it wouldn't take ten years for him to become a general, and he might not even have to report for service.
Besides the position of Marshal, which had some value, the Austrian Empire was already overrun with generals; with so many time-passers, the so-called military meetings were not very formal.
The real problems would never be discussed in such meetings; they would not be held if not for the sake of tradition.
"Well, if you're not interested, then I'll be going!" Albrecht said indifferently.
Franz smiled faintly; he dared not underestimate Albrecht, who was a central figure in the March Revolution, and directly caused Uncle Ferdinand I to abdicate.
How could there not be inside deals in this? As the direct person responsible for the events of the March Revolution, he was exiled from Vienna but returned to the center of power not long after.
Franz didn't mind continuing such trades; after all, he was the ultimate beneficiary. If his uncle hadn't abdicated early, who knows when he would have ascended to the throne?
The foundation of the Austrian Empire was still very solid; if it weren't for problems with the Vienna Government, it would not have declined so rapidly.
At that time, the Austrian Empire was among the five great powers of Europe, alongside England, France, Russia, and Spain, while Prussia was not yet a major power, merely an emerging one.