Chapter 1301: The Emperor's Authority
Cobentzel felt considerably more settled as he entered the assembly hall.
Weimar had contributed troops and funds during the previous anti-French war, making it a relatively steadfast "Vienna faction." If Weimar were granted Prince-Elector status, the Imperial Diet would then have at least four votes firmly aligned with His Imperial Majesty.
Once all the Prince-Elector representatives had arrived, Archbishop Friedrich Karl, who presided over the meeting, began with a traditional, ceremonial opening. He then moved directly to the main topic: "Due to unfortunate circumstances, the Prince-Elector of Hanover is no longer able to fulfill his duties—"
He droned on with a string of pleasantries, then produced a letter: "His esteemed Imperial Majesty hopes to revoke this Prince-Elector position—"
Hertzberg, the Prussian Foreign Minister, immediately rose to his feet. "This is not in accordance with precedent."
He cast a glance at Cobentzel and declared loudly, "I propose that the Duke of Hesse inherit the Electorate. This is derived from the grandmother of His Majesty Louis X—"
He rattled off several names, successfully linking Louis X to the Hanoverian royal family by blood. After all, centuries of intermarriage had made all the royal houses of the German states relatives.
Cobentzel interjected bluntly, "If someone must inherit the Hanoverian Electorate, it should be the Count of Weimar."
He added, "This is also His Imperial Majesty's view."
"Who supports this decision?"
Cobentzel raised his hand without hesitation, a hint of smugness in his sidelong glance at the Mainz Foreign Minister.
There was no response.
He paused, startled, then quickly gestured to the Salzburg Foreign Minister, who merely offered him a polite smile.
More than ten seconds later, Archbishop Karl repeated the terms of the vote, then solemnly declared, "Only the Prince-Elector of Bohemia votes in favor."
He surveyed the room and continued, "Next, we will vote on the proposal from the Prince-Elector of Brandenburg. Who supports the Duke of Hesse receiving the Electorate?"
The representatives of Brandenburg, Palatinate, and three other Prince-Electors raised their hands almost simultaneously.
Cobentzel was stunned on the spot.
'How could this be!'
'All the Prince-Electors completely ignored the Emperor's wishes!'
'Especially the Prince-Elector of Salzburg – he was personally nominated by His Imperial Majesty!'
'He remembered that the vote for the Salzburg Electorate had passed unanimously.'
Little did he know, the Archbishop of Salzburg, having witnessed the scene of over a hundred thousand French troops besieging the Passau fortress, had been left with an unavoidable, massive psychological trauma. Salzburg was only seventy to eighty kilometers from Passau.
Moreover, with Austria having lost Innsbruck, all of Salzburg's trade routes were now controlled by Bavaria.
Between loyalty to the Emperor and the nation's finances, he decisively chose the latter.
'These damned traitors—'
Cobentzel gnashed his teeth and muttered in fury, then called out loudly to Archbishop Karl, "I demand that a compromise agenda be initiated!"
The so-called "compromise agenda" was a procedure within the Imperial Diet where, if a consensus could not be reached on significant matters, the vote would be postponed for private consultations.
While he could stubbornly cling to his single 'no' vote, blocking the measure would gravely offend Louis X, as Hesse was now a formidable state whose power could not be overlooked.
Archbishop Karl very cooperatively announced the activation of the "compromise agenda," with a new vote scheduled for two weeks later.
Before Cobentzel could breathe a sigh of relief, Archbishop Karl continued, "This meeting requires an additional provisional vote, proposed by the Prince-Elector of Palatinate."
"The content is this: a request for His Imperial Majesty to acknowledge the entirety of the Stuttgart Declaration."
"So, who supports this proposal?"
Once again, apart from Bohemia represented by Cobentzel, all five other votes were in favor.
Cobentzel immediately, flustered and exasperated, demanded another "compromise agenda."
'After all, this damned Declaration had completely carved up all of the Emperor's direct territories and even created two new kings.'
'Vienna, aware of its current weakness, had temporarily ignored this document, but he never expected these people to demand the Emperor's recognition of it.'
'This was absolutely unacceptable!'
Archbishop Karl nodded resignedly. "Very well, then. We will vote again in two weeks—"
Before he could finish, Cobentzel felt several icy gazes pierce him.
Indeed, while the German states might not care much about the French government's insistence that Hesse inherit the Hanoverian Electorate, the Stuttgart Declaration was their legal basis for acquiring Imperial territories and parts of Hanover.
For the Holy Roman Emperor to refuse to recognize it was to stand in opposition to all the states.
After confirming there were no other items on the agenda, Cobentzel fled the assembly hall as if escaping.
He had realized that the current situation had become extremely dire.
Returning to his residence, he immediately summoned all accompanying diplomatic officials to discuss how to break the deadlock.
Several days later.
Franz II's brow furrowed as he read the secret letter from his Foreign Minister.
Cobentzel requested 1.2 million Florins for diplomatic outreach expenses, as well as titles of nobility for over a dozen foreign dignitaries, in exchange for the Prince-Electors' cooperation in the Imperial Diet.
The Holy Roman Emperor and several senior ministers deliberated for an entire day, ultimately agreeing to Cobentzel's demands.
After all, both the succession of the Electorate and the Stuttgart Declaration were matters of life-or-death importance to the Empire.
Vienna's inner city.
Outside a café on Tuchlauben Street, not far from St. Stephen's Cathedral, Lukas von Scherer, dressed in a plain black linen coat, a worn dark grey felt hat, and eyes brimming with passion, clenched his fists and murmured to a dozen bystanders gathered around him:
"Our city suffers from poverty and hunger, yet the lords of Schönbrunn Palace have imposed three new taxes in a single week!"
"They've emptied everyone's last penny, not to aid the elderly and children, nor to disburse pensions to our wounded soldiers, but to send it off to states like Mainz and Bavaria."
"That's over two million Florins! Our Emperor, to make the Count of Weimar a Prince-Elector, unhesitatingly used our money for diplomatic bribes—"
He looked at a gaunt woman, pointing to the bread bag she held. "In the past two weeks, the price of bread has risen by a quarter. If the Emperor had been willing to use those two million Florins to stabilize bread prices, why would we be starving?"
His words immediately sparked a wave of agreement.
At the opportune moment, Lukas produced a stack of pamphlets from his coat and distributed them to the crowd. "To escape this hellish life, we must learn from the advanced, powerful France!"
"Look, everyone! This is the Declaration of the Rights of Man, issued by the French Crown Prince. It is the compass that will guide us toward enlightenment!"
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