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

Chapter 1614 Worry
Because of Franz's reputation as a "tyrant," the whole incident did not cause much of a stir.

In fact, the Czech nationalists did not suffer a major blow in absolute numbers in 1848. However, since the number of Czech nationalists was not large to begin with, and Franz's open policies led to a several-fold increase in the number of Germans in Bohemia, life was very difficult for the Czech nationalists at this time.

Several professors and students who advocated Czech independence were exiled to Africa by Franz. After a few years, they not only no longer wanted independence but also firmly supported the rule of the Austrian Empire.

As for Czechs in cities, the vast majority of them don't speak Czech at all, but in rural areas, thanks to education, especially the younger generation of Czechs, almost all of them can speak fluent German.

Of course, Franz was well aware of the principle of using both kindness and severity. He actually opened up a path for the Czechs to rise in social class, but they had to follow Franz's design step by step to improve themselves.

Economically, as one of the most industrialized regions in the Austrian Empire, Bohemians had more opportunities to work in factories.

Not everyone enjoys rural life, and with the development of the times, the profits of small farmers in the Austrian Empire were decreasing due to a lack of economies of scale.

If Franz hadn't artificially slowed this pace, they wouldn't have felt pressure, but rather eviction from banks, and many farmers would have gone bankrupt.

Especially for those serfs who have just been freed, it's just a matter of moving from one cage to another.

Of course, the Austrian Empire at this time did not lack jobs. If they wanted to, finding work to make a living was not a problem, especially since Franz had forcibly set a minimum wage standard.

Although Franz did a lot, they were still causing him trouble. At this time, the extreme Czech nationalists were not able to organize hundreds of people to lie in front of the railway tracks in protest, but they were still willing to organize a dozen people to carry out an assassination in the city streets.

The assassination attempt by a dozen or so people posed no threat to Franz, but since the battle was taking place in the city, civilian casualties were inevitable.

To put it simply, they achieved their goal: they humiliated the Austrian Empire with only a dozen or so lives lost, but they were also branded as a terrorist organization.

In the Austrian Empire, terrorist organizations and cultists were treated the same, with human rights being tacitly stripped from them, whether during trials or in battle.

The so-called deprivation of human rights is to directly deny the fact that the other person exists as a human being. For such people, any means used will be considered necessary and legal.

This wave of actions has essentially ruined the lives of extreme Czech nationalists. However, due to Franz's previous actions, the number of Germans in Bohemia has surpassed the number of Czechs. Although this interrupted the development of Czech nationalism, it created a breeding ground for extreme Czech nationalism.

Moreover, this kind of extreme nationalism is difficult to eradicate; it takes time to heal the wounds, and once the Austrian Empire falls into a disadvantageous position, everything will come back to hone itself.

Franz was already used to this situation, and it didn't even stir a ripple in his heart.

Fanny von Arnstein seized the opportunity to climb into Franz's carriage, since in such a chaotic moment Franz couldn't very well refuse her request.

She was still wearing that light blue, tight-fitting, low-cut dress. At first, Fanny von Arnstein tried to act like a startled bird until Franz let her sit opposite him.

Fanny von Arnstein simply stopped pretending, took off her shawl, placed a report in front of Franz, and then bent down to begin her explanation.

"Your Majesty, the rebels in the East have proposed fair trade, but the British, who pride themselves on free trade, have no intention of accepting their proposal and even intend to support the Qing Dynasty."

Perhaps we can support the rebels on the condition of a trade monopoly, which would not only weaken Britain but also bring us huge benefits.

In fact, those rebels have a very good impression of our Austrian Empire because of their protection of His Majesty the IX. Perhaps we can… “No, we only care about making money. The center of our empire is not in the East. We can accept some laborers and refugees, but we must not put them all together.”

Franz maintained his previous principle and did not intend to interfere in the civil war in the East. The Austrian Empire would only take the opportunity to make money, since the money would fall into the hands of other countries if the Austrian Empire did not make it.

In fact, Franz once thought that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was an opportunity to overtake Austria by taking a shortcut. The Austrian Empire might be able to bring in a group of Chinese laborers to alleviate the labor shortage in its colonies and at the same time complete the second step of its strategy toward Australia.

However, Franz underestimated the fighting spirit of the Chinese people, resulting in a red alert being issued in the colonies of Southeast Asia.

The strongest force under Rama IV of Siam was the Chinese Labor Corps led by Chinese merchants, which gave Franz a major headache, forcing him to hand it all over to the Southern Ming.

However, among these massive numbers of Chinese laborers were many Qing dynasty loyalists. After arriving in Australia, they clashed fiercely with the Southern Ming regime. The two sides even engaged in a bloody civil war over the issue of whether or not to cut off their queues, a conflict no less brutal than that in China.

As a result, Franz not only failed to complete the second step of his plan, but also severely weakened the Southern Ming regime in this struggle.

Australia's strategy was important to Franz's overall plan, so he decided to abandon his ideas about China and focus on executing the original plan.

The small number of Chinese laborers who fled here could not pose much of a threat if their organization was broken up. Conquering Australia did not require too many people, since the number of British was not large either.

Inside the carriage, as the carriage swayed, Fanny von Arnstein's two slightly long white rabbits were faintly visible under the light blue silk, and the strong perfume made Franz somewhat distracted.

He began to miss his former maids; if it were in the past, his maids would have sternly rebuked Fanny von Arnstein for her unreasonable behavior.

However, at this moment, the little maid beside Franz was staring intently at Fanny von Arnstein's chest.

Unfortunately, this is a bit too stimulating for a child.

Franz didn't want to change maids frequently, but unfortunately he had very few people he could use.

Fanny von Arnstein, standing before me, certainly had her own ideas, though she probably had more ideas about herself than about the economic policies of the Austrian Empire.

"Don't you have anything more insightful to say?"

Fanny von Arnstein sat back down and said.

"Your Majesty, it is because you are so insightful that we experts seem so incompetent. To be honest, we all thought your currency reform would not succeed and might even trigger war and an economic crisis."

But as it turns out, you were right. Most countries in Germany and Italy chose to accept reality, and Britain and France were powerless to interfere with your reforms.

Thus, our country's predicament was resolved.

Fanny von Arnstein picked up her glass of red wine and took a sip.

"I've heard you have a magical ability to turn lead into gold; I'd like to see it for myself."