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

Chapter 1832 Bright Light
"Just a change of name but not substance? You mean you're saying it'll go back to the way it was in a few days?"

Your words seem wise and insightful. You don't need to make any effort or take any risks.

You can simply shake your head and say, "Nothing can be changed," and you can drink here in peace.

If things go wrong in the future, you can say, 'I told you so.'

Even if things get better in the future, you can still say, "It'll be over sooner or later."

You always seem to be right because your words can never be disproven.

But this is not wisdom, it's just sophistry. You are a coward who dares not do anything.

Besides, you're also an idiot who thinks you know everything. Why choose this particular time to clean yourself?
Because the war is over. The external enemies have weakened. Politics is not just slogans like those of you.

A truly great ruler not only knows what is right, but also knows how to do the right thing at the right time.

If sweeping reforms are implemented when the country is facing internal and external difficulties, it will not only fail to help anyone, but will also cause greater losses to the country and its people.

Talia added a box of sugar cubes to the water in the pot and continued.

"Maybe. What a convenient word! You've used just one word to negate the efforts and suffering of countless people."

It may not be the same as yes. Before making your bold assumptions, have you conducted any investigation? Do you have any evidence? Have you met the victim?

No. You're just spouting nonsense while drinking heavily.

Your denial of justice is nothing but self-deception. You yearn for justice more than anyone else, but having witnessed darkness, you now fear the light.

Are there good people in the Beggars' Sect? Do they support disabled orphans?

Don't you know where those disabled orphans come from? It's the work of the Beggars' Guild. They even keep reopening the children's wounds to gain more sympathy and increase their profits.

Are those good people in the Beggars' Guild using this blood-stained money to uphold justice and protect beggars?

Do you think those leaders of beggar gangs would actually beg on the streets?

Is the emperor's justice naive, and the Beggars' Sect's evil genuine?
You consider yourself to be looking down on all living beings from a high vantage point, but you have never truly cared about the suffering of ordinary people.

You are a complete sinner. You think you are exposing the hypocrisy of power, but in reality you are an accomplice to evildoers.

What you call wisdom is nothing but the wisdom of a coward, the philosophy of a loser.

You lack the courage to resist, the ambition to win, and even the spark of hope. That's why you want to deny everything to prove you're right.

But you're wrong. Not everyone is like you. And you shouldn't try to make everyone like you!

At this moment, the sugar water boiled, and Talia felt that she had finished her lecture, so she splashed the boiling sugar water at John Nesteroy.

Talia ignored John Nesteroy, who was screaming in pain from being scalded by the boiling sugar water, because the secret police nearby would make him realize his mistake.

Talia was actually a little confused. No emperor, not even the likes of Robespierre who claimed to be democratic and free, would allow people to talk nonsense. How could Franz, the legitimate emperor, allow these guys to talk nonsense all day long?

"This is disgusting."

Once on the street, the atmosphere became lively again, with people decorating the streets with lanterns and colorful decorations, and children playing a game of hanging scarecrows.

Hanging the scarecrow is a dark game that originated in the Middle Ages, which simulates execution.

However, the scarecrows at this time had the names of corrupt officials such as Kurt, Krim, and Eisenheim written on them.

Shops and vendors on both sides of the street started their promotional activities. They felt it most keenly because the heavy burden on their hearts had completely disappeared.

Vienna's commercial taxes are really low, but the protection money paid to the mafia and the coordination fees paid to the police are a huge burden that always weighs on their heads.

Now that these two mountains have disappeared, many small business owners are willing to pay more taxes, because they are genuinely afraid that the two mountains will return.

However, the tax officials couldn't make that decision, and they certainly wouldn't dare to collect taxes arbitrarily, since their superior in the tax department was Baron Brooke.

They certainly didn't want to risk a ruthless boss paired with an emperor who loved to fight and kill.

A long line was forming outside the official donation center in Vienna, with many businessmen and factory owners genuinely wanting to donate something to the country.

Because the official fundraising office of the Austrian Empire was officially operated, and in recent years it had been relatively prosperous.

Therefore, there weren't many fundraising projects, and most of the fundraising efforts were directed towards remote areas, so remote that it made people wonder if they were still in Austria.

"Hello, is there a channel for donating to the royal family?"

The receptionist shook his head vigorously, saying that government fundraising is for public works projects or relief for special groups, and the royal family is not short of money, so why would they have such an option?

"What about the Imperial Government?"

"No, that's not possible either. However, there are some public works projects here that you could take a look at."

An elderly person patted the person in front of them on the shoulder.

"Let me tell you! Do you have any special channels? We'd like to donate some money to the country and the royal family."

At this point, the staff shook their heads, since there really were no special channels, and the donation office was personally overseen by the emperor.

Inspectors come to fish every now and then, and the department head has changed more than a dozen times in eight years. They don't want to be hung in the square to dry.

Ultimately, those who came to donate could only contribute to those public works projects, which Talia watched with great satisfaction.

"It seems the people still have discerning eyes."

She suddenly realized that the fundraising law Franz had enacted was really necessary, at least it made the entire fundraising process much more standardized.

It seems to have transformed from a kind of almost ostentatious charity into a binding and rewarding public contract.

Franz allowed the public to receive some returns from donations, such as tax breaks, but the entire process of tax breaks was rolling and not a one-time reduction.

In fact, many people oppose Franz's approach, since most people believe that direct reduction or exemption is more effective, has a stronger impact, and is simpler to implement.

However, Franz knew very well that most people were just pretending to be confused; what they really wanted was a new type of tax avoidance tool.

But what Franz was most opposed to was turning charity into a business. It's not that the way capital is operated is not advanced, but it depends on where it's used.

Once charity becomes a business, it's hard to believe that people can stay true to themselves and not further capitalize on or instrumentalize it.

People only know about the alienation that capital causes to individuals, but few realize that its alienation of organizations and groups is even more intense and rapid. After all, we are all just a mob.

In addition to tax reductions and exemptions, certain differentiated powers can also be granted.

However, in the Austrian Empire of the 19th century, there was no need to be too particular about the wording; donations could grant certain privileges.

For example, the reduction or exemption of military service is very important for people at the bottom of society.

Military service may not seem like much to modern people, but if we look at how South Koreans view military service, we can roughly understand what it really represents.

Furthermore, Franz would add that no matter how much Koreans describe military service as bitter and hellish, it is practically a picnic in Korea compared to military service in 19th-century Europe.

In addition, the Austrian Empire would grant donors priority access to relief and priority employment in public works projects.

This is what the East calls "good deeds bring good fortune." If they donate money to others in need today, they will have priority in receiving relief and employment opportunities when they encounter difficulties in the future.

Franz would also grant all donors limited oversight and advisory rights, allowing them to appoint representatives to question the progress of donated projects and the whereabouts of funds.

An accountability mechanism would be in place, allowing donors to claim compensation from the construction company should any human-caused safety or quality issues arise in a fundraising project.

However, Franz did not intend to completely relinquish his power and hand it over to the so-called foundation and special organizations for full management.

Franz knew very well that in this day and age, if he dared to let go, these monopolies could make a mess of everything in a matter of days.

As long as Franz retains control of the regulatory system, there shouldn't be any major problems, unless they're willing to risk their lives.

Franz never intended to curry favor with so-called democrats, so he didn't need to offer any pledge of allegiance.

Because of the rules established by Franz, the merchants and people who had donated money earlier did not turn back immediately, but instead opened the door to a new world.

Several projects that were still raising funds received a large amount of donations and supplies in a short period of time, which will usher in a new era of people's self-reliant construction.

From Talia's perspective, Franz was like a prophet. The decree, which was set many years ago, had such a miraculous effect at this moment and had eliminated so many possible problems.

Actually, it was just a limitation of the technology of the time; otherwise, Franz could have performed an even more extreme maneuver.

However, we can only guarantee that the general direction is correct, but it is already a significant step forward for this era.

Trial plays were quietly gaining popularity in Vienna's major theaters, and seeing the vulgar praise for Franz in them finally made Talia understand the personality cult that Franz spoke of.

Franz was almost deified; he was worshipped, feared, and grateful. His portraits and postcards became bestsellers.

It's everywhere, like a form of spiritual pollution.

However, Talia herself was still very proud, after all, he was her student.

People often ask Talia who her best student is, which is an incredibly stupid question.

In Vienna at night, people gathered with candles toward the Hofburg Palace, unorganized and seemingly drawn by some mysterious force.

There was no pushing or shoving, no commotion, but hundreds of thousands of people came from all directions and stood in front of the palace gate.

From afar, it looked like a golden ocean. Franz took Olga's hand, thinking that perhaps seeing all this would make her feel better.

When Franz and Olga appeared on the balcony of the Hofburg Palace, the whole city erupted in cheers, the crowd's shouts drowning out everything else.

"Long live His Majesty the Emperor! Long live Her Majesty the Empress!"

The deafening roar forced a faint smile onto Olga's pale face, but it couldn't withstand the onslaught of the night wind.

"Cough cough."

Olga's handkerchief was instantly stained red, but the people in the distance couldn't see these details; they continued to cheer.

"I'm sorry, I thought seeing this would make you happier and help you recover faster."

Franz said apologetically, and Olga shook her head.

"I'm fine. I'm very happy. Marrying you back then was probably the best decision I ever made in my life."

"Alright. Let's go back."

Franz raised his hand to signal for quiet. He knew this was a good opportunity to further enhance his reputation, but he wasn't going to say anything now; his wife needed more attention.

However, the citizens of Vienna chose a different way; they knelt on the ground and swore allegiance in the most primitive and devout manner.

This sent chills down the spines of the foreign spies and anti-Obama activists lurking among them, and their legs involuntarily went weak, causing them to kneel down.

It was as if an invisible hand was pressing down on them, and they could only barely support themselves with their hands to avoid falling face-first to the ground.

Of course, there were also people with red eyes who silently watched all of this.
The cleanup work in Venice had already begun before the operation in Vienna concluded.
Vienna, Royal Academy of Sciences.

Joseph Zeller further improved the internal combustion engine, this time achieving a breakthrough in military technology.

A small internal combustion engine designed specifically for aircraft has a power output of over 25 horsepower, which is an unprecedented breakthrough.

Actually, there wasn't much change; they simply increased the strength of the materials, which significantly improved the overall structural strength.

In the past, structures with strength that could only withstand 10 to 15 atmospheres of pressure were prone to mechanical damage due to shock.

After the materials were replaced, the structure was strong enough to withstand 50 atmospheres of pressure, and the previous explosion problem was solved with the development of the chemical industry.

The introduction of the concept of octane rating led to a new fuel revolution, as engineers in the past only knew that gasoline seemed less likely to cause problems.

Now that they have octane ratings as a reference, they can reconstruct the composition of fuels and develop fuels with higher octane ratings.

The development of electrical engineering has also changed the way ignition is performed.
A massive amount of technological advancements led to this revolution. When Joseph Zeller replicated the lightweight internal combustion engine originally designed for the military using ordinary materials, they obtained a super internal combustion engine with over 40 horsepower.

40 horsepower was nothing short of a monster to scientists at the time, so they named it Monster One.

"Your Majesty, this is a miracle in the history of human engineering! Just a few years ago, a 15-horsepower internal combustion engine was the size of an ox, but the monster before you now weighs only one-eighth of that, yet possesses the terrifying power of 40 horsepower."

Joseph Zerer explained excitedly.

"Your Majesty, do you know how terrifying 40 horsepower is? Just one of these monsters can pull a heavy field gun weighing over 1200 kilograms."

It is equivalent to six tall draft horses or 20 strong soldiers.