The following is "The Story of World Emperors: King Friedrich" compiled by Kao.com. I hope you like it!
More than two hundred years ago, in the development of the German nation, a monarch emerged who attracted the attention of the world.
His talents and strategies, and his conquests in the south and north, made Prussia stand out from many states and became a powerful country in Europe competing with Britain, France, Russia, and Oui, thus laying the foundation for the unification of Germany. . This monarch was Frederick II, the third king of the Kingdom of Prussia. Because of his outstanding achievements and prestige, his contemporaries respectfully called him "King Friedrich".
Friedrich was born in the royal palace in Berlin on January 24, 1712. On that day, there was a lot of joy inside and outside the palace. His grandfather, Frederick I, the founding monarch of the Kingdom of Prussia, was even more overjoyed and immediately expressed his intention to pass on his name "Friedrich" to his grandson. More than ten years ago, this old king was just the head of one of the hundreds of vassal states in the Holy Roman Empire. Later, because he actively served the Roman emperor during the Spanish Succession War, the emperor named him King of Prussia in 1701. Prussia was also upgraded from a princely state to a kingdom. However, among European countries, the Kingdom of Prussia is still a small country that cannot be ranked. At present, the old king is old and weak, and his days are numbered. Although his son William succeeded him, his two grandsons died in infancy, and the Prussian throne may not be male. Just when the old king was anxious about this, another little grandson was born, and there was a successor to the throne. How could he be unhappy! A week later, the bells of Berlin rang together, and the old king officially named his grandson Friedrich.
A year later, on February 25, 1713, Friedrich Sr. died of illness. When William succeeded to the throne, he was the "military king" Friedrich William I who advocated force.
In order to enhance national strength, William I turned against his father's extravagant style, governed the country diligently and thriftily, developed production, and gave Prussia a completely new look. Subsequently, he used the accumulated financial resources to vigorously expand armaments and established a strong army of more than 80,000 people. He had no interest in court etiquette, economic culture, and was only keen on military activities and spent all his surplus money. In the army. Therefore, people called him the "Soldier King".
William was too obsessed with the army and wanted to train his son to be a "military king." Little Friedrich has been smart since he was a child. He loved to play the game of beating the snare drum when he was 3 years old. When he was playing with his friends at the age of 6, he became the captain of a team. By the age of 12, he was familiar with the tactics of command. He was like a natural born. Military strategist. The father was sincerely happy about this and put more emphasis on training his son. He equipped his son with various weapons, let him participate in artillery combat drills, and instilled in him military and national management knowledge.
However, due to the mentality of "hating iron but not steel", the violent father was too strict and emphasized martial arts over literature to an extreme degree. An increasingly sharp emotional confrontation arose.
Little Friedrich’s mother, Queen Sophie Drodia, was the sister of King George II of England. She was a virtuous character, willing to seek knowledge, and was very interested in literature and music. The little prince was educated by his mother and loved reading and French literature and art since childhood. The queen specially hired a French court teacher to teach the prince French and French literature. However, William opposed his son's study of "the stuff of literati and scholars", especially French romance works. One day, the little prince was studying French literature with the palace teacher. King William suddenly broke into the house. The violence of the attack made both teachers and students shudder. Just when Friedrich was about to explain, William had already yelled at the teacher: "You bastard, you let my son learn these messy things!" He picked up the scepter in his hand while cursing. He hit the teacher head-on and then kicked him twice, driving the teacher out of the study. The little prince. He was so frightened that he ducked under the table. His father turned around, grabbed him by the hair, dragged him out, and slapped him again.
Influenced by music from his mother since childhood, Friedrich was fascinated by musical instruments, especially playing the fife. And this is what my father hates the most. Therefore, whenever he plays an instrument, someone is sent to look out. But one time, he was accidentally discovered by his father. William yelled: "You rebellious son, how dare you disobey your father's orders!" He kicked his son downstairs and smashed all the instruments. From then on, the relationship between father and son completely broke down. Friedrich was often punished corporally. His father beat him with a whip at every turn. Even when eating, the rice bowl became his father's weapon of violence. Sometimes his father would lock him up and give him only bread and water. The conflict between father and son became increasingly serious, and the old emperor threatened to abolish his status as prince and establish a new crown prince. Friedrich had a stubborn personality and could not tolerate his father's domineering attitude, so he secretly planned to escape to his grandmother's home in England.
After all, the deterioration of the relationship between father and son is not good for the country and the royal family. The father wants to use marriage to restrain his son's unruly personality. Unexpectedly, this caused a storm.
William decided to stabilize relations between his neighbors by getting his son engaged to Elisabeth Christina, the niece of the Empress of Austria. But Queen Drodia insisted on opposing it. She wanted her son to marry a British princess. Under the influence of his mother, young Friedrich had admired his British cousin since he was a child. Therefore, he resisted his father's decision.
In August 1730, Friedrich took advantage of the opportunity of visiting Anschweig with his father and attempted to escape Prussia and go to England via France. That day, as soon as he and his best friend Kate set off on horseback, they were targeted by people sent by his father. They were captured when they were about to reach the border. At that time, King William was on a yacht on the Rhine River. Long Yan was furious when he received the news. . As soon as the father and son met, William refused to tell the difference and wanted to execute his son on the spot. Fortunately, the courtiers begged hard and spared the prince's life. His father was still angry and ordered Friedrich to be imprisoned in the Kusterling Fortress. The 18-year-old prince is ready to experience the pain of life behind bars. There was only one bed and two chairs in the cell, and he was only allowed to read the Bible and hymns on weekdays. In order to prevent him from committing suicide, he was given only wooden utensils when eating, without knives and forks. The father also requested the convening of a "special military court" and prepared to execute his son through a military trial. The terrible news spread like wildfire. The ministers stationed in Prussia were shocked and united to petition for Friedrich's aid. An old Prussian general knelt before the king and remonstrated, willing to die for the prince with his own life. But the stubborn King William remained unmoved. Finally, it was Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI who interceded, and he gave up the idea of ??sentencing his son to death.
The young prince was not relieved because he was exempted from the death penalty, because his "conspirator" Kate was sentenced to death. For this reason, Friedrich was so miserable that he cried for two hours, and kept mumbling: "Let my father kill me! It's none of Kate's business! As long as I can save him, I am willing to die myself." !" But the father paid no attention to it. Not only did he want to execute Kate, he also wanted to torture him in front of his son.
At dusk on November 6, 1730, several swordsmen led Kate to the temporary execution ground in front of the prince's iron window. Friedrich grabbed the prison window bars and shouted in despair: "Dear Kate, forgive me! For God's sake, forgive me a thousand times!" Kate replied loudly: "Please don't mention it. Forgive me, my prince, and I will die for you!" Before the priest standing behind him finished praying, Kate's head fell to the ground. When Friedrich saw this tragic scene, he immediately fainted in the cell. King William's goal was achieved, which was to "break his son's heart to pieces and thereby heal his spirit."
The priest gave Friedrich an autographed letter that Kate left before her execution, which read: "Your Highness, please obey God's command, abide by the teachings of your father, and then become a wise king. Let Prussia live in the forest of wealth and power! If this happens, I will die in despair!" Friedrich was deeply moved and determined to put aside the personal grudges with his father to focus on the cause of the country and the nation. He wrote an "emotional" letter home to his father, asking "the most generous king and the most loving father to forgive me."
He also expressed his complete submission to the marriage arrangement arranged by his father. After receiving the letter, William turned his anger into joy, not only released his son, but also got him married in time, allowing the crown prince to live freely with his bride in the Rheinsberg Palace.
It was Liguan far away from the capital, with beautiful scenery and pleasant climate. Friedrich lived there happily for 4 years. He could study French literature and art freely according to his own preferences. He often invited friends with similar interests. Either talking eloquently, reciting poems or playing music, or swimming among the green grassy pavilions. He called himself a "friend of the Enlightenment" and especially admired the great French writer Voltaire, who was the standard bearer of the Enlightenment. Life gave birth to his grand ambition to dominate Europe in the future.
In May 1740, King William died of illness just after he turned 52. The 28-year-old Friedrich succeeded him as King of Prussia. Friedrich II.
Friedrich disliked his father's violent personality and was incompatible with him in his hobbies, but the father and son had one thing in common, that is, they believed in the army and advocated force. and strengthened the army left by his father to prepare for further expansion. In October of the same year, the Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria, Charles VI, died. Since there was no male heir, the eldest daughter was adopted. Maria Theresa succeeded to the throne. Frederick II was so proud of his achievements that he looked down on the 23-year-old Austrian queen. He took advantage of the opposition of various countries to the queen's succession and launched the Silesian War.
One night in December, a grand masquerade ball was being held in the Prussian palace. Princes, nobles, envoys from various countries and gorgeously dressed beauties were dancing. As the host, Frederick II was even more joyful, chatting and laughing with the guests, and did not look at all. However, as soon as he returned to his palace late that night, he ordered the 30,000-strong Prussian army to launch a blitzkrieg against Austria's Silesia with lightning speed.
Friedrich personally led the army to the junction of Prussia and Austria. Since Spain, France, Bavaria and other countries that opposed Queen Theresia's succession were on the side of Prussia, the Prussian army was in an advantageous position, but it still retreated steadily despite strong resistance. In May 1742, during the Battle of Chotusitz, the Austrian army was trapped in a tight siege by both sides, and the Prussian army achieved a decisive victory, forcing Queen Theresia to seek peace talks in June. An agreement was reached on September 11: Austria ceded Silesia and the earldom of Graz to Prussia.
Prussia repaid a loan of 1.7 million thalers to Britain on behalf of Austria. At the end of the First Silesian War, Prussia expanded by one-third.
In order to strengthen her position, Queen Theresia successively concluded alliances with Britain, Saxony, and Sardinia. Friedrich closely watched his opponents' every move and also formed alliances with Bavaria, Hesse, the Palatinate, and France.
In August 1744, Friedrich, who was overjoyed with his success, launched the Second Silesian War. He led an army of 80,000 people to quickly occupy Saxony, and then marched straight in to capture the city of Prague in Bohemia, Austria. In June of the following year, the two sides resumed fighting at Hohenfriedberg. The Prussian army was brave, adept at fighting, decisive and swift, and defeated the four-power alliance including Austria and Britain. In December, Friedrich repeated his trick of negotiating a separate peace and concluded the Prussian Peace Treaty with the Empress: Austria finally confirmed Prussia's ownership of Silesia, and Prussia recognized Maria Theresa's husband, Franz. Archduke Stefan was the Holy Roman Emperor.
When Friedrich returned to the court after victory, the Prussians gave him the title of 'Great King' for the first time. After the two Silesian Wars, Prussia gradually became stronger and stronger, forming a Prussian empire within the territory of the Holy Roman Empire. , the situation of Austrian confrontation.
Faced with the threat of Prussia, Austria uncharacteristically alienated its maritime ally Britain, and formed an alliance with its feuding France. The sensitive Friedrich followed suit and in 1756. A mutual assistance treaty was signed with Britain in March, and a new confrontation between the two alliances formed in Central Europe.
When the Russian Queen Elizabeth learned that Britain had formed an alliance with Prussia, she was furious and decided to send 80,000 troops. Support "girlfriend" Maria Theresia. Russia's tough attitude intensified the atmosphere of war.
Friedrich was not intimidated by the other party, and he still targeted Saxony first.
At the end of August 1756, the Blitzkrieg broke out, and Saxony fell and soon surrendered to Prussia.
The following year, the situation changed, and Austria switched from defense to offensive war. The Russian army also began to move to the battlefield. Friedrich decided to focus all his efforts on attacking the Austrian army. On May 6, the Prussian army attacked Prague and won great victories in November and December of the same year. With his army, Frederick II became famous in Europe, and the British praised him as "the greatest hero in the world". In the summer of 1758, with the arrival of the Russian army, the situation began to turn against Friedrich.
In August 1759, the Russian army devastated the main Prussian army at the Battle of Kunersdorf. Friedrich himself was hit in the chest by a stray bullet. Fortunately, the bullet was not strong and was blocked by the snuff box on his body, so he escaped from death. This failure made the king secretly pessimistic. He hid 18 powerful opium pills in his shirt, preparing to swallow the poison and die for his country in case the entire army was wiped out.
A few months later, 35,000 Russian and Austrian troops invaded Berlin, the capital of Prussia. , the whole country was in a critical situation.
At this critical moment, the Russian Empress Lisaveta died of illness and Peter III came to the throne. A miracle suddenly happened. Such changes. Peter III has a blood relationship with Germany. His mother Anna is the eldest daughter of Peter the Great. In order to penetrate the power into the German coast, Peter the Great married Anna to a man named Carl Friedrich in northern Germany. They gave birth to a son, Karl Peter, in 1782. After Peter was born, Anna died of illness. Anna's sister Elizabeth became the empress of Russia in 1741. Since she had no son, the empress gave birth to her nephew. Karl Peter was brought to Russia from Prussia and designated as the heir to the throne. Peter lacked talent and did not like to study. He had been in Petersburg for 18 years and could not speak Russian well. However, he was deeply attached to his birthplace and his father's origin, Prussia. I admired Friedrich Erdu to the ground. After taking the throne, he immediately ordered the Russian army to cease fire, release all Prussian prisoners of war, and abandon all areas occupied by Russia during the war. On June 8, 1762, a peace treaty was concluded with Prussia, and 20,000 troops were sent to cooperate with the Prussian army to fight against Austria. Prussia recovered from the desperate situation. Friedrich relieved the north of its worries and prepared to assemble a large army to march south to Silesia.
Unexpectedly, things changed. Peter III was deposed by Queen Catherine on June 28 of the same year. On July 17, he was stabbed to death in the palace. The 33-year-old empress stepped on her husband's body and ascended to the throne of Russia as Catherine II. This sudden change was like a bolt from the blue, knocking King Friedrich, who was standing on the celebration platform, to the edge of a cliff. He thought that the empress would change her husband's foreign policy. Catherine II was originally dissatisfied with Friedrich, believing that he held great prejudice against women. But while sorting through Peter III's belongings, she found many letters written by Friedrich to her husband. After reading it, she realized that Frederick II was not as bad as the outside world said, but a wise emperor with great achievements. He also had no prejudice against women. In his letters, he repeatedly advised Peter III to be kind. Queen, harmonious husband and wife relationship.
After discovering these letters, Catherine II's views completely changed. In addition to the years of war, the country was in urgent need of recuperation. Therefore, she decided to approve the peace treaty signed by her husband and Prussia, and took the initiative to express goodwill and friendship to Frederick II. . At this point, Prussia was truly out of danger. This miraculous turning point that turned danger into safety has historically been called the "miracle of the Brandenburg royal family."
On February 15, 1763, the Austro-Prussian Treaty of Huberzburg was signed, and Austria gave up its demand to recover Silesia. The "Seven Years' War" is over. Prussia resisted the three major powers in Europe with the power of one country, making it powerful throughout Europe and laying the foundation for its future dominance of Germany.
After the war, Frederick II devoted more than ten years to Prussia's economic revival. He established a strict management system, which is characterized by centralization and unity and emphasis on practical results. The king held great power and did not tolerate rashness and neglect in subordinate institutions, so that "management and the army formed the cornerstone of Prussia." He attached great importance to agricultural production and urban revitalization, and reformed Prussian law. After several years of hard work, Prussia stood up from the ashes of the war. The entire society was prosperous, and the national population surged from 2 million to 6 million.
Friedrich II reigned for 46 years and had a great impact on the historical development of the Kingdom of Prussia. The enlightened monarchy he implemented was conducive to the progress of the country. He has a famous saying: "The king is the first servant of the country." He dedicated his life to government affairs with extraordinary energy, fought on the battlefield, and truly fulfilled his promise with actions. However, he admired martial arts so much that he fought for years and expanded abroad, which not only brought war disasters to the people of neighboring countries, but also made the majority of domestic farmers bear heavy taxes and suffer the pain of war.
In July 1785, Prussia, Hanover, and Saxony formed the Triple Alliance. Later, 15 other vassal states including the Palatinate, Zweibrücken, and Mainz joined in succession to form the Alliance of German Princes. This marked the imminent demise of the Holy Roman Empire and the unification of Germany had become an inevitable trend. This was another contribution that Friedrich II made to the German nation a year before his death.
At the end of the summer of 1785, Silesia held its annual military parade as usual. Friedrich, who was over seventy years old, was skinny and exhausted, but he still had the energy to go to the military parade. Unable to mount a horse, the review was conducted on foot.
One year later, on August 17, 1786, 74-year-old Friedrich II died of illness. "palace". This most prominent monarch in Europe finally ended his nearly half-century rule over the Kingdom of Prussia.