The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1654 Father and Son

At 11 years old, Victor was already considered outstanding among his peers at the Royal Academy, even standing out from the crowd.

This surprised Franz, since historically this Grand Duke seemed to have nothing particularly special about him except for being extremely embarrassing.

However, Franz felt that this was not enough; only by becoming more outstanding could he prove Franz's correctness and the necessity of the Royal Academy.

The royal family members are the hallmark of the Royal Academy; the more outstanding their performance, the more popular they become.

In Franz's memory, Victor did not perform well in the royal academy. Could it be a sudden awakening?

Out of curiosity, Franz retrieved information on Victor and his playmates, and he quickly concluded that Victor had not suddenly awakened.

Victor was simply performing as expected; his friends were also among the top students at the Royal Academy. Ultimately, it was simply a difference in the educational levels of the two sides.

This is not to say that the children of other noble families did not receive a good education; it's just that different families have different philosophies on education, so their emphasis also differs.

Many of the teachers at the Royal Academy were selected by the royal family, and the curriculum was also determined by the royal family, so it was no surprise that Victor had an advantage and ranked at the top.

The other Habsburg offspring performed much worse, after all, they didn't have Victor's resources.

Fortunately, Franz was there, and he remembered the saying, "Education should never be neglected, no matter how poor we are." So Franz decided to find the best teachers in the Austrian Empire to provide one-on-one tutoring for these royal children during the holidays.

Franz declined the children's thanks, saying that it was all something an elder should do.

The aristocracy has been lax for too long; they must roll up their sleeves. Franz needed them to roll up, so he started with the royal family.
Based on the theory of top-down influence, Franz believed that the aristocratic class could be revitalized with the efforts of one or two generations. He needed a group of truly deserving nobles, not a bunch of good-for-nothings or scoundrels who spent their days fighting wits with the imperial government.

Of course, Franz would try to keep this scope within the aristocratic class as much as possible, rather than extending it downwards. However, the specifics depend on the institutional design, which cannot be explained in just a few words.

However, Franz's original intention was to let the involution of the aristocracy eventually benefit the common people and even the whole country, while eliminating those parasites in the aristocracy who were neither virtuous nor talented enough to hold their positions.

Victor still held Franz in high esteem. They didn't meet often, but almost every time Franz did the talking and Victor listened, a situation the latter had grown accustomed to.

In particular, Franz's actions completely flattened a huge mountain in Victor's heart, and the shock it brought was unparalleled.

Specifically, Franz's Sunshine Project was very successful, establishing his authority in Victor's mind while preventing him from developing further in the direction of being an outcast.

As for those artists who are too avant-garde, they might as well stay in the colonies for the rest of their lives; Franz's empire has no need for them or their art.

Franz's two sons had rarely seen him, so they were both afraid and curious. But children will be children, and when Franz took out his toys, they immediately became much closer to him.

Franz's feelings for the two little ones were strange, as everyone else regarded them as the future heirs of the empire.

However, Franz knew that this was basically impossible, or that they had to be prepared to be crown princes for 60 years.

“Father,” Karl Augustus von Habsburg called out to Franz after much hesitation.

Franz's thoughts were also interrupted by this sound; he realized that he should indeed spend today with his family.

The bells of St. Stephen's Cathedral rang out with a long, drawn-out note, and the choir was already in place. The smoke rising from the incense burners mingled with the flames of the candles, making the icons appear even more solemn and majestic.

Beneath this solemn and dignified facade lay a makeshift relief station, offering a glimmer of hope to those in dire need of assistance. They could receive warm food and water, as well as the protection of the church.

The crowds attending Mass are used to this; those who can afford it will leave a donation, offer some help, or send a blessing.

That year, the number of people who died of cold and hunger in Vienna finally dropped below three digits.

The carp industry in the Austrian Empire finally took off, no longer needing to be a mere "add-on." This was partly due to fish products like fish balls clearing up stockpiles, and partly due to the increasing variety of cooking methods that made carp a signature dish of the Austrian Empire.

However, the most important factor is that people have more money in their hands and their consumption habits have changed. Carp is no longer an expensive food that people cannot afford, but a common dish that can enhance the festive atmosphere.

Thanks to timely medical attention, Johann Strauss Sr. did not die like a stray dog ​​in history.

During the war in 1848, he firmly chose to stand on the side of the royal family, and Franz reciprocated by promoting Johann Strauss Sr. to Kapellmeister, which was one of the highest titles a musician could receive in the Austrian Empire.

From then on, Johann Strauss Sr. rose rapidly through the ranks, especially his "Radetzky March," which became one of the essential pieces for various large-scale celebrations in the Austrian Empire.

Johann Strauss Sr. had complex feelings toward his son, a mixture of paternal pride and anger at the challenge to his position.

Johann Strauss Sr. consistently used his power to suppress his son, criticizing Johann's works in various newspapers and magazines, and even forbidding him from using the Strauss surname.

However, Johann Strauss Jr.'s talent was unstoppable; at the tender age of six, he composed a complete piece on his first encounter with the piano.

His exceptional talent instilled fear in the elder Johann Strauss, a titan of the music world. In a fit of extreme fear, the elder Johann Strauss angrily smashed the piano, tore up the music repertoire, and demanded that the younger Johann Strauss never touch an instrument again.

Johann Strauss Jr. was then groomed to be a future banker until he touched the piano again at the age of 17, at which point he knew he was destined to be the best in the world.

After that, Johann Strauss Jr. spent two years building a band from scratch, and eventually defeated his arrogant father in what was arguably the greatest father-son showdown in music history.

Johann Strauss Sr. knew he wasn't as talented as his son, but he had been in the music industry for many years and had his own connections.

Johann Strauss Sr. used his influence to get all the top venues in Vienna to refuse admission to his son, and he even hired people to boo him.

However, none of this mattered against absolute talent, and Johann Strauss Sr. was still utterly defeated, while Johann Strauss Jr. rose to fame from then on.

It wasn't until 1848 that Johann Strauss Sr. reported his son for supporting the rebellion.