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

Chapter 1568 Hatred

As for escape safety, the Austrian Empire had already developed parachutes. However, at that time, Austrian aircraft were biplanes with open cockpits, making it difficult for pilots to climb out of high-speed aircraft.

Putting aside the potential safety hazards of the parachute itself, there's no point in using a parachute if the altitude is insufficient.

In particular, early parachutes opened very slowly, making it easy for people to land before the parachute had fully deployed.

Ironically, the most frequent accidents involving early parachutes were getting tangled in the wings or propellers after the parachute opened.

In addition, in actual combat, pilots may face situations such as loss of control of the aircraft, roll, dive, or even fire. In such situations, climbing out of the narrow cockpit is an extremely dangerous and time-consuming maneuver.

Therefore, the test pilots preferred to continue their gamble in the plane rather than eject.

Even during World War I, the survival rate for parachuting was extremely low.

London, England.

The grand World's Fair had just ended, and the government, the public, and manufacturers were still immersed in boundless joy when Babbage quietly arrived at a cemetery.

Joseph Clement, June 13, 1779 – February 28, 1844, died at the age of 64.

Babbage stood before the grave for a long time, but not with sorrowful mourning; instead, he was filled with rage. Even after so many years, even though the man was dead, Babbage could not forgive Joseph Clement's actions.

Babbage was once known as a genius of calculation, while Joseph Clement was known as a genius of mechanics. He was famous for his micron-level precision machining, invented many practical technologies, and was hailed as the "father of precision manufacturing." He served as the chief engineer and first president of the London Mechanical Society.

In 1823, Babbage persuaded the British government to invest £20,000 in the manufacture of the difference engine, and Joseph Clement served as the chief engineer at the time.

The two top geniuses in their respective fields sparked a synergy as soon as they met. Joseph Clement's team handcrafted more than 25,000 parts for Babbage and finally completed the prototype of the Difference Engine in 1832.

But this difference engine could not satisfy Babbage's thirst for computation; he wanted to build a more perfect Analytical Engine.

At this point, Joseph Clement stabbed Babbage in the back in his report to the British government, arguing that Babbage was a madman and that the Analytical Engine could never succeed.

The British government had had enough of Babbage's capriciousness and hysteria. The then British Prime Minister even publicly called Babbage's Analytical Engine a money-burning machine.

This time, the British government's decision to stop investing in Babbage's research made Babbage, who had staked his entire fortune on it, feel betrayed, and he was effectively bankrupt.

What angered Babbage even more was that Joseph Clement took advantage of his misfortune, seizing all the parts and blueprints of the Analytical Engine under the pretext that Babbage owed him wages, and using them to offset his own salary.

The two sides went to court multiple times as a result, and Joseph Clement was eventually betrayed and died in poverty, while Babbage went far away.

Babbage had previously won a gold medal at the World's Fair, but not for the Analytical Engine, which was, after all, a top secret of the Austrian Empire.

Babbage received widespread praise simply for presenting a simple calculator that he had completed many years ago. While his design was indeed ahead of its time, it was more likely that the judges were giving face to the Austrian Empire.

This simple calculator was just one of Babbage's early works. The Austrian Empire was not afraid of the British copying it, but Franz underestimated Babbage's bad reputation in Britain. The British government did not take his invention seriously at all, and the British judges even privately ridiculed Babbage as a "money-wasting machine."

Babbage threw his newly won gold medal at Joseph Clement's grave, spitting on it as he left. However, before leaving England, Babbage spent £500 to buy Joseph Clement's patents and manuscripts from his widow and apprentice.

As the uprisings in the Far East continued to expand, trade between East and West was finally affected, especially as the price of silk continued to rise.

John Sina produced a report.

“Your Majesty, if we sell our silk now, we will make a profit of 150%, and the French will have nowhere to sell their high-end silk.”

Seeing Franz shake his head, John Sina added.

"Lord Brooke also supports my view. The price of silk cannot rise indefinitely. Now is the perfect time for us to make our move, and at the same time, we can strike a blow against the French. Why not?"

John Sina was very confident, and his analysis was not wrong. But Franz was a time traveler, and he knew that this war would not end easily.

“Mr. John Sina, the corrupt Qing Dynasty is probably not as powerful as you think. And I hope that our Venetian silk can also sell for the price of Lyon silk.”

Franz said it with great certainty, but John Sina said it incredulously.

"How is that possible? The Qing Dynasty had a full 800,000 troops! Unless they encountered pirates like the British, on land, each of them could drown a village with a single spit."

It is clear that John Sina did not have a good idea of ​​how big the Qing Dynasty was. If it was only the size of France, then 800,000 people would indeed be frightening. Unfortunately, the territory of the Qing Dynasty was too large, and it was impossible for the so-called 800,000 troops to be gathered together.

However, this question was not important, and Franz simply smiled.

John Sina also realized that he was not a military expert, while His Majesty the Emperor was a truly invincible commander, and that his behavior was obviously a bit presumptuous.

“Your Majesty, although I am not knowledgeable in military affairs, Venetian silk will never sell for the price of Lyon silk. The upper class has a very low level of appreciation for Venetian silk, and there are indeed differences between the two in terms of feel and craftsmanship.”

Actually, 70 years ago, Lyon silk was not a luxury item, and its main competition with Venice was in terms of production volume and price.

Lyon silk production costs were once lower and output was greater due to advanced production tools, cheap labor, and organizational models.

With the development of modern chemical technology, Lyon silk surpassed Venetian silk in quality, winning market recognition with its wider range of colors and colorfastness.

France was once at its zenith, while Venice had long since declined, and Lyon silk even managed to penetrate the local Venetian market.

Especially during the anti-French war, Venice's silk industry suffered a complete crackdown by the French and never recovered.

Furthermore, it must be said that the French are truly adept at creating luxury goods. French businessmen, leveraging France's powerful influence, successfully packaged Lyon silk into a luxury item.

However, after the Austrian Empire took over, Venice's market was protected, and the scale and technology of its silk industry far surpassed what it had been before, at least not inferior to Lyon.

Even so, at that time, the same piece of silk produced in Venice could only sell for 80% of the price of silk produced in Lyon.

(End of this chapter)