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

Chapter 1557 Another Storm Begins (Part 1)

Regardless of the fierce competition between the Americans both on and off the field, Brazil and Peru brought rubber and quinine, but the prices were still staggering.

In fact, thanks to the San Andean Federation, South American countries saw a significant increase in profits after controlling the prices of rubber and quinine.

So at this time, the South American countries were very assertive, but what they didn't know was that Britain and France were trying to plant quinine and rubber, and the British had even made some small breakthroughs in quinine cultivation.

In addition, the Brazilians brought many kinds of rare plants and wood. The wood will be made into various furniture, but they themselves don't know what those rare plants can be used for, so the price depends entirely on whether there is demand.

When Olga offered to buy all the rare plants under the guise of decorating her garden, the exhibitors from Brazil and Peru did not hesitate and immediately signed the contract.

In fact, the Austrian Empire had sent several expeditions to South America, some officially organized and others spontaneously formed by civilians.

After all, the pursuit of wealth, excitement, and the exploration of the unknown has always been human nature.

However, Franz could only say that these people's research results were very limited, and that they were mixed with a large number of fraudsters and speculators.

There are dozens of rumors about immortality, and many nobles and merchants within the Austrian Empire have become interested and taken action to achieve it.

Franz completely ignored this; it was better for these people to pursue such illusory things all day long than for them to spend their days figuring out how to outwit Franz.

As for the so-called rare plants brought by the Brazilians and Peruvians, the Austrian Empire already had samples of most of them. However, in order to avoid unnecessary suspicion and competition, the plant experts sent by Franz intended to acquire them all.

Is it also about monopolizing research resources? Science knows no borders? But scholars do have their own circles! Competition and infighting within the scientific community have always existed, and are even more brutal than outsiders imagine.

This time was also somewhat different; the Qing Dynasty also sent people to participate in the World Industrial Exposition, instead of just Xu Rongcun and his Huzhou silk reeling business.

These people set off before the Taiping Rebellion broke out, so they still acted like the superior nation of China and deliberately chose a booth facing south.

However, the Qing Dynasty exhibits were rather uninspired, consisting mainly of silk, porcelain, tea, and some antiques and calligraphy.

Several Qing Dynasty officials occasionally let out disdainful snorts. They showed no interest in the products in the entire venue and simply drank tea with their braids coiled around their necks.

Surprisingly, in the final awards ceremony, the Qing Dynasty won so many awards that they were overwhelmed.

Equally outrageous are the armor from Siam and the javelins from the Kingdom of Dahomey. If Franz were here, he would surely suspect that those weapons were made of vibranium to earn such an honor.

However, in reality, these so-called awards were more like they were distributed based on national relations. In the end, Britain swept half of the major awards, followed by France and the United States. Although the Austrian Empire performed poorly, it still managed to achieve a respectable fourth place.

Other smaller countries also received awards, but the smaller countries of the German Confederation were quite dissatisfied with them.

"Why are the awards we receive about the same as those received by the Maori?"

Luxembourg's representative, Matero, slammed his fist on the jury's table and shouted.

"This is the consensus of the judges. You have brought quite a lot, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's excellent."

The jury responded coldly.

"What do you mean? Are you saying our clockwork mechanisms are inferior to those straw ropes?"

Matero said angrily.

“That’s a Madabakka, it’s a craft item,” the receptionist calmly pointed out Matero’s mistake.

"That's grass too!"

"But the Madabakka embodies exceptional craftsmanship and the ultimate skills of artisans, which are more in line with the theme of the conference than the watches and machines you brought."

And you have already won the silver medal at the conference.

The receptionist remained calm and composed, as he had encountered this situation more than once or twice, to the point that he had developed a prejudice against people from the German region.

Fortunately, he always managed to get away with it, but this time, Luxembourg's exhibitor, Matero, threw the silver medal on the ground and kicked it hard.

"Screw your silver medal! German craftsmanship is number one in the world!"

"Get this madman out of here!"

The reason for this incident is largely due to the growing national consciousness in the German region.

Not only Luxembourg, but also many other small countries within the German Confederation felt they had been treated unfairly and resolutely withdrew from the award.

This approach not only put the British in an awkward position, but also made things difficult for the major powers within the German Confederation, as well as those countries with less close ties to the Confederation.

This is the case in Austria, Prussia, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, and the Duchy of Alsace-Lorraine.

The Germans in the Netherlands, Denmark, and the Duchy of Alsace-Lorraine were already restless; if they were given another excuse, the tragedy might repeat itself.

The most difficult situation was that of the Netherlands, because at that time there was no clear distinction between the Dutch and the Germans, so everyone's stance was very flexible.

Dutch nationalists can seamlessly switch between two nationalities, becoming whatever benefits them.

Dutch nationalism suffered a major blow in 1848, so many people have since become German nationalists.

The Dutch government is a typical weak government, and King Willem III of the Netherlands has turned himself into a weak king through several twists and turns. The people have no goodwill towards this king who vigorously promoted Dutch nationalism and then quickly defected to the enemy.

If it weren't for the support of the German Confederation, Wilhelm III would probably have been overthrown by the angry populace long ago.

Because of their proximity to Britain, the Dutch were among the first to receive the news. Large numbers of nationalists took to the streets demanding the prize be withdrawn in support of their brother nation, but William III and the Dutch leadership were unwilling to relinquish the honor they had secured, and even less willing to antagonize Britain.

Typically, at this point, the government will choose to wait and let the situation cool down before taking any action.

However, in this era of ethnicity, anything related to ethnicity can drive people to madness, the degree of which depends on the strength of the ethnicity.

At this time, the German nation was undoubtedly very powerful. The angry people stormed into the city hall, surrounded the Rotterdam Royal Palace, and even sang "The German Song".

This made Wilhelm III and his confidants, who were hiding in the Austrian Empire's embassy, ​​tremble with fear, as Austrian officials and soldiers were either singing along with them, or looking solemn and respectful, and some even gave a military salute.

Some people think this was a conspiracy by the Austrian Empire, but that would be unfair to innocent people.

The Austrian Empire itself did not support any nationalism, including German nationalism, and any person or group that promoted nationalism would be suppressed.

However.