War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.

In fact, according to Franz's design, the Kingdom of Hungary was excluded to reduce resistance.

Unexpectedly, the Hungarians themselves have proposed it now. In fact, it is not only Franz who thinks so, but also Mr. Friedrich List, Austria’s newly hired special adviser on EU accession.

(Accession refers to joining the German Customs Union.)

Friedrich List took a deep breath and imitated the tone of an Austrian bureaucrat.

"God bless our emperor. The Hungarians voluntarily withdraw, so the pressure to join the alliance will be much less."

"Compared to the Hungarians, the aristocratic businessmen in Northern Italy are very interested in joining the Union. Many people expressed their willingness to give up protective tariffs in order to join the Union. If the German Customs Union only allows Netalenia to join and refuses The addition of Northern Italy will chill these people."

The concept of Netaleña will be used frequently in the future, so I will explain it.

Netalenia includes the historical Kingdom of Bohemia, the Kingdom of Galicia (i.e. the Kingdom of Galicia-Volen), the Kingdom of Dalmatia, the Grand Duchy of Austria (including Upper and Lower Austria), Bukovina Principality, Principality of Carinthia, Principality of Carniola, Principality of Salzburg, Principality of Upper Silesia, Principality of Lower Silesia, Principality of Styria, Moravia Margin, County of Tyrol, Fukuoka Larberg, as well as the Adriatic coastal territories such as the County of Gorizia, Trieste, and the Margin of Istria.

Friedrich List replied with a smile.

"Prime Minister, you are such a good person. But the tariffs between Netalenia and Italy should be an internal issue of Austria. As long as the government is determined and there is local support, then we will have great operations Space. There is not much actual difference between whether Northern Italy joins the German Customs Union or not."

"You are right, Mr. Lister. I will send someone to inform Northern Italy and ask them to wait for our good news."

Metternich paused and continued.

"You know, Mr. Lister. The economy in Northern Italy has been declining. If this is allowed to happen, the people will inevitably live in dire straits. At this time, if dangerous elements interfere, the people will be easily deceived."

"Yes, if the people can't even eat, how can we talk about loyalty to the emperor and loyalty to the country." Friedrich List replied.

Prince Metternich shook his head and said softly.

"Northern Italy's agriculture is self-sufficient enough. The key to the problem is not the farmers, but the merchants and nobles of Northern Italy. These people are always greedy. They take advantage of the poor farmers and citizens to benefit themselves. But in the end they have to pay It’s not them who pay the price, it’s those poor people who pay the price.”

"Then why should we help them?"

"To help them now is to help ourselves. If we can't appease them, we will suppress them. And now the Austrian Empire's national strength is already stretched thin. This time the empire can seize the life-saving straw of joining the alliance, thanks to you." Metternich said helplessly answer.

"Mr. Metternich, thank you for your trust in me. Although I was born in Württemberg, I am also a subject of the Empire. Serving His Majesty the Emperor is the duty of a subject of the Empire."

The reason why Friedrich List became a bitch in Austria was also due to the generous salary given by Metternich.

It is said that power is the best aphrodisiac. Compared with the American Consul General in Germany who has no real power, the identity of the Special Advisor to the Emperor of Austria is obviously more attractive.

Moreover, Austria has a system of granting official posts, and Francis II did not ask Friedrich List to resign from his position as the American Consul General in Germany.

In other words, he is now a "double champion."

More importantly, the corrupt life of the Austrian court was clearly more suitable for Friedrich List.

The economist had adapted to the life of the upper class not long after he arrived. He worked during the day and had drinking parties and dances at night. He was already enjoying himself.

It's a strange thing to say about people. The workload is obviously very heavy, but if you do a career you like and fulfill your dreams, you won't feel tired.

At this time, Friedrich List was in this state. In order to realize his ideal ambitions and want to form a German customs union, he formed an organization called the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

At that time, Lister and the members of the Federation were lobbying in various states, hoping to establish a customs union. However, the federation's petition was met with contempt and reprimand, and the Confederation Congress did not allow them to use the word "Germany".

The reason is that "there are no German merchants in the world, only merchants from Bavaria, Saxony, Württemberg and other places."

He was even slandered as an "extremely dangerous element" and forced to leave his homeland for the New World.

Now he has changed his identity and become an official of the Austrian Empire. It is really unpredictable.

Friedrich List was grateful to Prince Metternich, not least for using his power to help him recover lost property and justice.

It was even more because Metternich gave him the opportunity to fulfill his dream with his own hands.

The German Zollverein, with Austria, would be complete, great, and unstoppable.

The Germans now have their own motherland and can finally protect themselves between the hammer of France and the anvil of Russia.

Friedrich List actually didn't care about the other nationalities in the Austrian Empire.

Because he saw that in Vienna, a melting pot of nations, ethnic conflicts were far less acute than he had heard. The cultures and ideas of different nations are intertwined to form a brand new culture.

Moreover, he firmly believed that with the continuous development of transportation and commerce, ethnic exchanges within Austria would gradually strengthen and eventually a new nation would be formed.

As for language, he didn't think it was a problem, because the difference between High German and North German he spoke was even greater than the difference between Austrian and Danish.

Liszt once described that the Prussians spoke German as if they were holding a hammer in their mouths, while the Swiss spoke German without using their tongues at all.

Now he not only became an official in Austria, but also deeply trusted by the Prime Minister and the Emperor.

Although His Majesty the Emperor does not seem to understand economics very well, it does not matter. What is important is that the Emperor can provide him with this stage.

"Mr. Liszt, Countess Summer will have a ball tonight, so don't work too late." Metternich reminded her kindly before leaving.

"Okay, Prime Minister."

After Metternich left, Korolaf walked to Liszt.

"Mr. Lister, you know that although the empire's fiscal revenue is increasing every year, under the leadership of Prime Minister Metternich, the empire's debt is also increasing. The empire spends tens of millions of Fr. every year on maintaining stability. Lin, however, uprisings continue throughout the empire and surrounding areas, and even intensify, do you know why?"

"My Lord Count, why did you say this?" Friedrich List was a little angry. After all, in a sense, Prince Metternich was Friedrich List's benefactor.