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

Chapter 1582 Being Too Clever (Part 2)

Furthermore, the lottery industry is prone to corruption. Franz knew that Maximilian would definitely cheat on the payout rate, but if he could cheat the common people, wouldn't the officials cheat him too?
While the opaque operation facilitated his covert manipulation, it also provided opportunities for corrupt officials. In the absence of oversight, relying solely on personal morality is even less reliable than getting rich through the lottery.

Franz wrote down almost every problem he could think of, and even had the economists of the Austrian Empire list out the data for each one.

Franz did this partly to persuade Maximilian, and partly to make his current difficulties clear.

If Maximilian truly was a once-in-a-generation genius, then Franz would be happy to see him succeed. As the de facto head of the Habsburg family, Franz was not afraid that Maximilian would do better than him.

The officials of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies turned pale and then flushed, especially since Franz's mention of corruption issues was exactly what they wanted to hear, making them shudder.

Fortunately, His Majesty did not read the letter carefully, otherwise many people would have suffered.

In fact, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies is not without smart people. Many people know that this lottery industry is a huge pitfall, but because it is profitable, they selectively ignore the potential difficulties.

"Your Majesty, you are the true master of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and we will always support you!"

Several ministers who had previously advocated for developing the lottery industry stepped forward and said that after reading the letter, they knew they had no way out, so they all decided to take a gamble.

Most of the other officials were also good at reading the room. Seeing that Maximilian's expression had improved, how could they not know which side to take?

And so they all echoed the sentiment.

Seeing that he had finally gained the support of his ministers, Maximilian decided to put his ideals into practice.

However, they would never dare to expand their lottery business to other countries, so they could only try it out in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

However, Maximilian never finished reading the letter Franz wrote to him.

Franz thought he was writing a letter home, but Maximilian took it as a state letter.

Normally, correspondence between kings should not be known to outsiders, but Maximilian, as an idealist, felt that he should govern the country based on the principles of justice, openness, democracy, and freedom, so the contents of the letters were known to his ministers.

A month later, the Kingdom of Two Sicilies lottery officially went on sale, priced at 1 Grossen.

Somewhat surprisingly, it sold an impressive 50 florins, which is equivalent to enough for every person in the entire Kingdom of Two Sicilies to buy two tickets.

After deducting the payout and various costs, there was still nearly 20 florins left. Although the payout rate was faked, this result is still something to be proud of.

With 52 weeks in a year, a profit of 20 florins per week would amount to 1040 million florins per year. Based on this calculation, the lottery industry would become the largest industry in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Maximilian became even more convinced that he had found the right path.

But is this really the case?

Franz didn't believe it at all; even with the data right in front of him, he thought it was absurd. Were there really so many people in this day and age who were just bored and wanted to buy this stuff?

Moreover, without solving the most basic transportation and communication problems, this matter is simply unsolvable.

Franz's men found nothing unusual, and lottery sales in several major cities weren't particularly brisk, though many officials and nobles did participate. This was within Franz's expectations; after all, "what the superiors like, the inferiors will follow," and they would at least give Maximilian some face, but such a thing couldn't last.

In reality, these sales figures were entirely fabricated by various factions within the two Sicilies in order to clear themselves of suspicion.

After all, if things were to develop exactly as Franz predicted, Maximilian would begin to doubt himself and might even reread the letter.

In the end, none of those responsible will be able to escape punishment, but what if we can get off to a good start?

His Majesty the King will most likely choose to persevere, and they will find a chance to turn the tide sooner or later.

However, Franz was unaware of the intricacies of the matter, as his focus was not on the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies; he only occasionally offered guidance to his brother.

Franz was busy fishing domestically and outwitting the British and French.

Britain and France have been behaving much more quietly lately, given the internal conflicts that have erupted in both countries and the lack of time to attend to Austria.

Just as Franz was enjoying a rare moment of leisure, Archbishop Rauscher brought him more bad news.

Actually, it's not that bad. There's a primitive country on the island of Madagascar off the east coast of Africa that practices isolationism.

Due to the influence of the Austrian Empire, the pace of global colonization accelerated.

Although Queen Lanavarona I built an army of 100,000, it was no match for the European powers. Both Britain and France attacked Madagascar, suffering crushing defeats upon first contact and even having mounds of corpses piled up on the beach.

Even when ambushed, 600 British and French soldiers managed to kill 12000 native soldiers.

As long as they are willing to continue to build up their forces, or adopt a hit-and-run approach like they did with the Qing Dynasty, taking over Madagascar is only a matter of time.

The problem was that Britain and France were always sabotaging each other, and as a result, the native kingdoms always seized the opportunity to beat them up.

In recent years, at least several thousand Europeans have died in Madagascar. If missionaries, explorers, and smugglers are also included, the total number would probably exceed ten thousand.

Britain had previously proposed to the Austrian Empire a joint partition of Madagascar, with Britain contributing the navy and Austria the army.

Franz flatly rejected this scheme of getting something for nothing. Putting aside the British's deceptive cooperation model, Madagascar itself held little appeal for Franz.

What was Franz plotting against a colonizer who had none of the minerals and spices that colonizers loved most in this era, and who also had a large, barbaric, and warlike country?

Madagascar's strategic location is decent, but if he actually took Madagascar, wouldn't that be like revealing his hand to the British?
Franz didn't believe the British would stand by and watch Austria control the choke point of the Indian Ocean, nor would the Austrian Empire's naval power allow him to do so.

Therefore, Franz had been putting Madagascar aside, waiting for the right opportunity to take it down, since he remembered that the female Nero seemed to have no successor.

However, Franz never expected that Bismarck would persuade a bishop of the Austrian Empire in East Africa, and the two, each with their own dreams, landed on Madagascar.

They thought they had instigated a rebellion of the Sakalava people in western Madagascar, but they fell into a trap and both became prisoners of Queen Lanavarona I.