War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

"A general led two brigades of troops to pursue eight hundred fleeing insurgents from Genoa to Rome. In the end, hundreds of them escaped, only 26 prisoners were captured, and he suffered nearly a thousand casualties. The most important thing is This is a matter of Sardinia and the Pope, why should we, the Austrian Empire, provide money and people?" Count Korolaf said indignantly.

There was no division-level unit in the military system of the Austrian Empire. An infantry brigade had two infantry regiments, approximately 5,000 men.

"My Lord Prime Minister, this is also for the sake of stability and unity around the empire. As for military operations, I don't understand. You might as well ask Count Tural for his opinion."

At this moment, Count Latour wanted to get under the table or hide in a corner without being discovered.

This military operation in Italy seems like a farce performed by a group of third-rate screenwriters and extras, constantly slapping the Austrian military in the face.

Moreover, Count Tural did not want to get involved in the fight between Metternich and Count Korolaf at all.

However, after hearing Friedrich List's words, he knew there was no way to escape.

"Ten thousand versus eight hundred is a huge advantage. General Li Qi may have been careless. Although the process was somewhat tortuous, the final result was that our Austrian Empire won." Count Tural replied awkwardly.

"Tular, let me tell you. Prince Metternich accepted a bribe from General Reach, so this incompetent general could repeatedly escape the punishment he deserved. More than 100,000 soldiers and civilians died because of his incompetence. If the coffins were connected together, they would fit from Vienna to Budapest."

Friedrich List was a little unbelievable, but when he saw Count Korolaf's indignant look, it didn't seem like he was being hypocritical.

In fact, he had heard a lot of rumors about Prime Minister Metternich in Vienna recently, such as accepting bribes, being a philanderer, and using his personal relationship with the emperor to influence government affairs.

"Do you have evidence?"

"Of course." Count Korolaf finished speaking and threw a document in front of Friedrich List.

"It contains detailed records of the private gifts received by Prince Metternich and his family over the years."

Friedrich List took out his glasses from his coat pocket and looked through the document carefully.

After just reading two pages, he was shocked. The document records all the dirty information about Metternich from 1801 when he served as a diplomat in Dresden to the present.

The bribes received included: gold, silver, horses, real estate, mansions, jewelry, art, factories, ships, and ordnance.

The number is unbelievable.

In fact, Metternich suffered here to a certain extent.

For example, if someone wants to bribe the emperor, the emperor will naturally not accept the bribe directly, so Metternich's white gloves are needed.

Another example is that the property confiscated by Prince Eltehazy should have been sold into the state treasury.

But Francis II liked it and didn't want the money to enter the treasury, so after a series of operations by Metternich, it became royal property.

Friedrich List was greatly shocked in the Hall of Mirrors, and Korolaf knew it was time when he saw this.

"I know it's hard for you to accept it at the moment, but that's the fact. And, Mr. Lister, do you know why Prince Metternich is so keen to join the German Zollverein?"

"Isn't it for the empire and His Majesty the Emperor?"

"Mr. List, you are an expert, haven't you discovered the business opportunities in the German Customs Union?"

"Business opportunities?" Friedrich List was a little confused for a while, because in his eyes, there were many business opportunities in the German Customs Union, so how did he know which business opportunity Korolav was talking about.

"My lord, the Austrian Empire has not officially joined the German Customs Union. Moreover, there are many business opportunities in the alliance. I wonder what you are referring to?"

"Of course it's a railroad franchise."

These words really shocked Friedrich List. You must know that there is currently only one railway in the entire Austria.

In 1824, Franz Anton received a special 50-year license from the government, allowing him to build a 139-kilometer (approximately 86-mile) horse-drawn railway line.

The line will connect Budejovice on the Vltava River in southern Bohemia to the Danube port city of Linz in Upper Austria, 48 miles to the south.

Although Anton received a franchise for this railway, the imperial government demanded huge returns from him.

Even so, Franz Anton still made a handsome profit.

Seeing how profitable it was to invest in railways, the entire German region went crazy.

The small and medium-sized countries of the German Federation were particularly enthusiastic about this, and they rushed to build railways to prevent important trade routes from passing through neighboring countries and bypassing them.

This is in sharp contrast to the anxiety generated by the German countries in order to control the emerging trade routes and their crazy investment in railway construction.

In Austria, there is no sense of tension at all.

Only in 1830, engineer Franz Xaver Repp teamed up with banker Solomon von Rothschild to apply to the government for approval of a more ambitious steam locomotive railway project.

The line would connect Vienna with the steel and coal mining regions of North Moravia and the salt pans of Galicia further to the east.

Once this railway is opened, Moravia, Silesia, Galicia and Bukovina will be connected.

However, His Majesty the Emperor rejected this proposal because the black smoke emitted by the steam locomotive might cause pneumonia.

Korolav, now the Austrian Empire's finance minister, raised the matter again.

Has His Majesty the Emperor changed his mind? Friedrich List immediately realized that this was a huge opportunity.

These words came from Count Korolaf's mouth and were very credible.

"And the Chancellor of Finance of the Austrian Empire will definitely not take away my money." Friedrich List thought to himself.

"But we still have to formally sign the contract." Friedrich List said to himself.

I also thought that it was now a great time for the Austrian Empire to join the German Customs Union. If it could obtain an important franchise, wouldn't it skyrocket from there?

Became the general manager, married Bai Fumei, and reached the pinnacle of life.

"Sign a contract? Mr. Lister, I mean to sell the railway franchise. His Majesty, the Emperor, recently intends to restart Austria's railway construction plan. Even if His Majesty the Emperor doesn't want to, Metternich will bring up the old matter again."

Friedrich List was a little confused. The emperor allowed the construction of railways. Shouldn't he seize this opportunity to find a high-quality line and take a gamble?

"Your Majesty, Earl, shouldn't we seize this opportunity to invest in the construction of railways? This is a business that serves the country and the people, has lasting merits, and can also make a lot of money."

Korolaf waved his hand and smiled, "Have you ever seen a gambler who always wins?"

"No, what do you mean?" Friedrich List asked with some confusion.

"No matter how lucky a gambler is, there will be a day when his luck runs out. But those who open casinos will make profits no matter what."

"You mean, the license to sell the railway franchise?"

"Yes, the current railway market is very good. But who can guarantee that it will always be like this? Rather than risking our fortune and life, it is better to sell this opportunity. At least it can guarantee that we will make a profit without losing money." Korolav used Looking expectantly at Friedrich List.