Riding the momentum of victory in the world war, and with the backing of Mexico’s local power brokers, Count Bruno entered Mexico City on October 16, 1905. Without comparison, there would be no sense of contrast. Thanks to years of incessant internal warfare, the Mexican people had long since exhausted their patience with the republican government. As a result, the restoration proceeded even more smoothly than anticipated. Once the general trend gathered momentum and formed a tide of the times, it was no longer something any individual could resist. Maximilian I’s many years of effort had not been in vain. He still had a group of supporters within Mexico, and many of them were former overseas students. Whether in terms of vision or mindset, they were far more open and progressive. Having witnessed the prosperity of the European world, these people all harbored the desire to change Mexico’s current condition. They could be described as natural reformists. Unlike Maximilian I, who had grown up sheltered and pampered, Bruno had carried the title of exiled crown prince from a young age and had shouldered the burden of restoration early on. With Franz’s direct involvement, Bruno received an imperial style education from childhood. Whether in breadth of vision or personal capability, he far surpassed his father. Several years earlier, shortly after arriving in the Americas, Bruno had already established contact with these supporters. Through these connections, he quietly built his presence within the Mexican government and military. However, lacking full family backing at the time and wary of international intervention, Bruno remained patient, focusing on quietly accumulating strength. The victory in the world war changed everything overnight. The Holy Roman Empire rose as the new world hegemon, and the Habsburg dynasty once again stood at the pinnacle of global power. Against this backdrop, even neighboring countries that wished to interfere did not dare act rashly. The international environment necessary for restoration was now firmly in place. Moreover, during the world war, Bruno took advantage of support from the Holy Roman Empire to eliminate his rivals. The current abundance of royalists across Mexico did not mean that the population was overwhelmingly loyal to the monarchy. Rather, those who were not royalists had already been removed. It was precisely by borrowing the tiger’s might of the Holy Roman Empire that Bruno was able to lead his recruited mercenaries and advance into Mexico City in a grand procession. To outsiders unaware of the details, it appeared as though Holy Roman troops themselves had marched in. Bruno clearly had the full backing of the Holy Roman government, and anyone who failed to align with him now would simply be too late. With each change of ruler comes a change of officials. At a moment of dynastic transition like this, choosing the wrong side could be fatal. Followers, royalists, and opportunistic speculators together formed the backbone of Bruno’s ruling apparatus. A provisional government dominated by opportunists was clearly unstable in its organizational structure. But Bruno had no alternative. Even knowing full well that many were merely riding the tide, he still had to make use of them. … “What did my father say? Has the loan been secured?” Count Bruno asked with concern. Restoration required money. Mexico itself was already buried under debt. During the republican era, fiscal bankruptcy had occurred more than once, not to mention the devastation brought by war. Mexico now was like a house with all four walls torn down, with only a few remaining pillars, themselves riddled with cracks. Having taken over the reins of the state, these problems naturally fell onto Count Bruno’s shoulders. Without resolving the fiscal crisis, even a successful restoration would not last long. “His Majesty wants you to complete the restoration as soon as possible. As for funding, he told you not to worry. He will find a way to resolve it,” the elderly man replied unhurriedly. The old man could not help but admire Bruno’s caution. It was not as though the telegrams lacked encryption, yet Bruno still insisted on sending someone to retrieve them in person, and on destroying them immediately after reading. Still, his caution made sense. The closer one came to the critical moment, the more vigilant one had to be. At present, the support behind Bruno’s restoration came only from the imperial family, not from the Holy Roman Empire as a state. Even within the Holy Roman government itself, opposition voices were far from insignificant. What Bruno was doing now was exploiting an information gap. He draped himself in the tiger skin of the Holy Roman Empire, leading the outside world to believe that he had obtained the full backing of the Holy Roman Empire. The willingness of all sectors in Mexico to cooperate stemmed primarily from their fear of the world hegemon’s reputation. Once they realized that Bruno’s actual backers were only the imperial family, the situation would change completely. No matter how powerful a single family might be, it could not compare to a state, especially not when that state was the world’s hegemon. If the full strength of the Habsburgs were truly brought to bear, pacifying Mexico would hardly be difficult. As long as they were willing to pour in money and resources, no amount of trouble would be insurmountable. This, however, was Maximilian I’s legacy. Over the past several decades, he had repeatedly reached out for funds, yet failed to produce a single result worth showing. In the eyes of others, this amounted to nothing but a waste of family resources. With that impression firmly entrenched, criticism never ceased whenever Bruno sought assistance from the family. No one truly had much confidence in their restoration plan. The prevailing view was that even if the restoration succeeded, it would be short lived and unable to secure lasting rule. Especially at a time when new constituent states were being carved out, a group of cousins stepped forward to compete for political resources. The older generation was clearly more willing to invest those resources in the construction of constituent states rather than in supporting the father and son’s restoration. Both sides were family, and in this broader context, Franz could not possibly give Bruno excessive support. For the sake of family unity and stability, Franz adopted an ostensibly impartial approach. As long as a family member possessed sufficient ability and genuine ambition, the family would provide assistance. With strength dispersed in this manner, the level of support Bruno could obtain was self-evident. On the surface, this appeared to be a fair distribution. In reality, those cousins still had political capital accumulated by their fathers within the government, something Maximilian I could not provide. Wearing the crown of Emperor of Mexico certainly conferred prestige, but it also cut off Bruno’s opportunities for advancement within the Holy Roman Empire itself. When his parents were still alive, he could at least rely on them. Now, he could only rely on his elder brother. Even so, it was merely a drop in the bucket. Franz had many brothers. The second generation alone numbered more than a dozen nephews, and the third generation already counted several dozen members. Even with family affection taken into account, very little ultimately fell to Bruno. If not for Maximilian I’s standing, Bruno would have found it difficult even to borrow the tiger’s might. Had Franz not been restraining matters from behind the scenes, the Holy Roman government would have stepped forward long ago to make its position clear. The title of world hegemon was not something that could be casually invoked. With limited resources at hand, Bruno had no choice but to be especially cautious. Whenever core secrets were involved, he preferred to send messengers on extra trips rather than use anything other than the governor’s office’s dedicated communication channels. After receiving a definite reply, Bruno felt no joy. Favors diminished with use, and family bonds were no less vulnerable to erosion. If all goodwill was exhausted now, life would only become harder once the older generation passed away. Although everyone expressed themselves with great subtlety, Bruno, being perceptive, could clearly sense the growing distance between himself and his cousins. After a moment of contemplation, Bruno said, “Very well. Since the funding issue has been resolved, let us prepare to launch the reform plan.” “Your Highness, should we not proceed with the restoration first?” As an old retainer who had followed Maximilian I for decades, Philibert had devoted his entire life to the cause of restoration. Leaving aside the question of ability, his loyalty was something no later generation could hope to match. Now, after finally seeing the first glimmer of hope for restoration, he was told that social reforms had to come first. This was something he found extremely difficult to accept. “Restoration is actually very simple. There are plenty of people who would gladly risk everything for this opportunity. With a single order, a grand ceremony could be held tomorrow. But that would be meaningless. Without tangible achievements, how could we win the support of the people? Many things can be done now, but once restoration is complete, they will become extremely troublesome. While the situation is still chaotic, this is precisely our best opportunity to push through reforms. Anyone who dares to stand up and oppose us can be eliminated outright. Once restoration is complete and the situation stabilizes, dealing with these hardliners will become far more difficult. This is my uncle’s own experience. When the Vienna Revolution broke out, Austria was also plunged into chaos. It was precisely because he persisted in carrying out sweeping reforms amid disorder that today’s Holy Roman Empire came into being.” With Franz the Great’s classic example brought into the discussion, Philibert swallowed whatever further arguments he had wanted to raise. After years of wandering and hardship, no one wanted the country to become strong more than he did. Since there was a ready made template, why not learn from it? From Bruno’s every move, it was clear that he was deliberately imitating Franz. Back then, Franz had used the rebels’ hands to eliminate the most active capitalists and had dealt a heavy blow to the hardline aristocracy. Only then did he create the conditions for the rise of a new nobility. Bruno’s approach was much the same. During the recent world war, he had relied on the strength of the Holy Roman forces to eliminate a large number of opponents. Now was precisely the moment when Mexico’s hardliners were at their weakest. The lucky few who had survived had been thoroughly shaken by this round of social upheaval and dared not cause trouble in the short term. … Just as Mexico’s reform campaign was getting underway, a farce erupted almost simultaneously in the United States. Faced with astronomical war reparations, Congress descended into total chaos. Lawmakers were arguing fiercely, and public disputes were even more intense. The most eye-catching confrontation was between the federal states of the Midwest and those of the East, who launched verbal battles through the newspapers. One side accused the other of monopolizing the government and provoking a misguided war for their own benefit, forcing others to pay the price. The other side insisted that the United States was a single entity. Since the war had been launched by the central government, responsibility naturally lay with the central government, and reparations should therefore be borne jointly by all federal states. As for the central government itself, it effectively no longer existed. The impeachment process had barely begun when the Roosevelt administration promptly walked away. With the old government gone, the new one failed to materialize. Disputes over how to distribute the burden of war reparations only caused tensions between the federal states to flare ever higher. As domestic conditions continued to deteriorate, the presidential election process was also affected. Candidates, afraid of being forced by public opinion to take sides, could only deliver their speeches by radio. This was not a team anyone wanted to stand with. The atmosphere in the United States had already begun to resemble the prelude to the outbreak of the Civil War. Radical media outlets had started openly calling for independence. In several federal states, crowds of people were already taking to the streets in groups, demanding that their state governments secede from the United States.
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