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

Chapter 659 Franz's Helplessness
Prince Metternich did not realize his mistake, and most of Franz's suggestions were selectively ignored by him.

However, the superficial skills are still very good, and even Franz believes that the prince has accepted his suggestion.

Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.

"Grand Duke Franz, your words don't seem to be as easy to accept as you imagined."

Adjani said jokingly that Franz knew that the other party would not be aimless, and it seemed that something went wrong in a certain link.

"What do you want to say?"

Adjani didn't continue to hide, and said straight to the point.

"Our Prime Minister is still supporting the Swiss Orthodox Union, while investing in the Papal States unabated."

This made Franz a little surprised, because according to the information from many sources, the Austrian imperial government should have indeed cut the funding of two places.

Let Prince Metternich pay out of his own pocket?That's impossible!And he can't afford it. The transfer of tens of millions of funds in the nineteenth century can only be done by the state.

"How is that possible? I haven't heard of any recent changes in the Papal State and the Swiss Confederation? And the most important thing is where does the money come from?"

Adjani: "Our Prime Minister is also known as the 'Prime Minister of Europe' after all, he has been in the diplomatic arena and in Austria for decades, is it not easy to hide it?

As for the money. Your education fund and colony development funds of course! "

The new basic education is jointly responsible for the imperial government and the church. One of Franz’s goals in doing so is to save money. Because of the church’s own financial resources and its obsession with education, the government can do a lot with very little money.

But the disadvantage is that the church is very independent, and they don't rely on the state's financial support. At the same time, due to Franz's special status, the former dare not make too many demands.

So even if the government defaulted on funding, Franz's basic education plan was still advancing steadily, and he naturally had no way of noticing it.

In the eyes of those bureaucrats, Franz was the emperor who didn't know when, and Metternich was now the real prime minister. After weighing the pros and cons, almost all chose to remain silent.

There are those who want to speak out, but let alone those small officials who are as big as sesame seeds and mung beans, even local officials who want to give Franz a gift may not have the opportunity.

Similarly, neither the businessman-based intelligence network (Vienna Chamber of Commerce and Industry) formed by Franz nor the secret police organization hired with a lot of money were willing to get involved in the struggle between the future emperor and the current prime minister.

The reason is very simple, not seeking merit but seeking no fault.Especially in political struggles, it is more dangerous to stand in line before the situation is clear than not to stand in line.

As for the Bavarian Mutual Aid Association controlled by Mrs. Sophie, it may be very influential among the people, but it is not fart on the table, and it is impossible to get access to this level of information.

The same is true for the intelligence network of the church. Their first task is to monitor public sentiment, targeting civilians and nobles, as well as those enemies who may threaten the rule of the empire. Their ability to collect intelligence from foreign governments may be a little stronger than that of their own country. .

The Violet Knights in Adjani's hands are completely different. Their direction of collecting information is completely based on Franz's needs. Apart from external, it is also internal, and it belongs to an organization that is completely loyal to Franz, and does not involve choosing sides. The problem.

The staff is even more diverse, in addition to socialites, dancing girls, live-in nannies, cooks, handymen, and even eunuch singers.

After years of training, these people have penetrated into all walks of life, and some even became the "Mrs. Pompadour" in the Netherlands.

In the colonies of the Austrian Empire, Franz has arranged multiple forces to check and balance in order to maintain stability and relative loyalty.

Although Franz is responsible in the end, due to some balancing measures, the information between these forces is not transparent enough, and there are even some gaps.

The result is that the government did not respond much to the reduction of funds, but first became suspicious of each other.

At the same time, due to the rapid economic development and the relatively smooth construction of the colonies, this contradiction has actually been greatly alleviated, and even some colonies have completely gotten rid of their dependence on government funds.

But this is not good news. The colony can develop independently without the support of the mother country, which is something Franz has been trying to avoid.

It's just that Austria's plate is too big. Ten clerks are needed just to collect information, and a total of [-] clerks are needed to complete the work of keeping secrets.

If Franz had to do everything himself, I am afraid that 24 hours a day would not be enough.And some emphasis will inevitably lead to some omissions. At this time, decentralization of power is required, and it is difficult for people in the nineteenth century to have the vision and judgment of Franz.

The result is an endless stream of problems and some untraceable hidden dangers, which have created the current situation.

Tens of millions of funds were missing, but Franz didn't realize it at all.

But what made Franz most angry was Metternich's approach, which was not only obsequious, but also self-righteous.The latter never realized the trouble his approach might cause.

In fact, there is something that makes Franz even more angry. Adjani's intelligence shows that Prince Metternich has neither increased troops nor built blockhouses in the Papal States that are already under the actual control of Ferrara, Bologna, Ravenna, and Ancona. , and did not engage in construction, development of agriculture and commerce.

Franz could understand even quietly building a railway in the Papal State.And our Prince Metternich actually used Franz's money to bribe those cardinals, those church priests, and those scumbags.

This made Franz feel as uncomfortable as if he had eaten Xiang Xiang. He really didn't know whether it was because he understood the rules of the game too much, or if he was empiricism.

But the most outrageous thing is its operation in Switzerland, which sent a large amount of materials and funds to Ticino just like in history.

As a result, the other party just sent a receipt, and the officials of the Austrian Empire went home happily.

Although this state of Ticino is apparently a member of the Orthodox Alliance, it has actually been bought into the Freedom Alliance long ago.

As a result, the money and weapons directly solved the urgent need of the Freedom Alliance. The foundation for maintaining the Freedom Alliance under Franz's gold and dollar offensive was already in jeopardy.

But at this time, Metternich's funding directly gave the Liberty League on the verge of collapse a big sip, and those weapons and equipment made Dufour ecstatic.

You must know that due to the arms embargo agreement of the four countries of Austria, France, Prussia, and Sarawak, the Freedom Alliance can only rely on the British to import weapons.

But the British guy has a character of being unprofitable and not early. The weapons sold are not only expensive, but most of them are obsolete and obsolete.

Although they are still using obsolete products from the Austrian military, they are so much better than those [-]th-century antiques that the British sold to the Swiss.

Franz had thought that the war might not be possible if this continued. As a result, Prince Metternich's wave of poverty alleviation may cause a brainstorm between the two factions in Switzerland in the future.

Although the Swiss Orthodox Alliance is now at a great disadvantage, they don't know it themselves, and Franz will not let Switzerland continue to pretend to be neutral.

(End of this chapter)