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

Chapter 1975 Fantasy
"But do we really have the ability to stop a rebellion of that scale?"

Prince Albert did not distrust Franz; it was simply that a massive rebellion involving nearly a million people was unfolding in Australia.

This number is almost equivalent to the total number of British immigrants in Australia, and considering what happened in India before, he really couldn't imagine how big the losses would be.

The British regular army, mainly stationed in Australia, numbered less than 2000 men, and was quite dispersed, with only one or two companies in each major colony.

Local security relies mainly on militias and outsourced companies. These people are good at dealing with the indigenous people, but they can't handle larger gangs, let alone organized armies.

Franz, however, said it without any concern.

"Don't worry. You won't lose a single penny of your share of the profits. All you need to do is make sure your country's customs officials don't keep an eye on us all the time."

Prince Albert gave an awkward smile.

"That's no problem. No one will interfere with our business anymore."

"I hope so."

Franz didn't want to put on such a sour face, but the British government was indeed keeping a close eye on things. Both the colonies and the customs authorities in Britain were doing their utmost to strangle him.

Franz knew the reason: they were truly out of money.

However, the connection with the British royal family cannot be severed, and Victoria and her husband cannot remain shirking their responsibilities indefinitely. This is human nature; once the desire for something for nothing becomes a habit, it creates path dependence.

However, the underlying logic of business is "value exchange" and "risk sharing". One-sided contributions will not only fail to gain respect, but will also be regarded as foolish.

Regarding the issue of the collapse of the Southern Ming Dynasty and the rampant banditry, Franz didn't think it was a problem. This was because Prince Albert had no idea what colonies were like; he only used London as a benchmark for judgment.

Although London is known as the city of sin, it still falls short compared to the continent of criminals.

At this time, Australia was teeming with bandits. The nominal supreme ruler was the British government, but in reality, the local areas were controlled by various gangs, families, and companies.

Furthermore, Britain's own belief in low-cost small government exacerbates this situation.

At that time in Australia, many gangs and gold mining companies acted as both police and judges; sometimes, the police were involved in the gold mining themselves. The Australian police were essentially gangsters.

In addition, Australia itself is a penal colony for criminals, and many guards assume that the locals are criminals. It is like a desert version of the Dark Forest. Compared to this, even the west is not so wild.

On this continent, almost everyone commits crimes, because those who don't can hardly survive. Not committing crimes proves that you haven't yet integrated into this land.

Those seemingly honest shepherds might turn around and feed their sheep with the corpses of tourists.

In this vast land, with the technology available at the time, pursuing the truth was almost an impossible task.

One million may sound like a lot, but it's negligible in the grand scheme of Australia. Moreover, the power vacuum left by Zhu Qiongying's death won't be easy to fill, and countless warlords with ulterior motives won't easily reach a settlement.

Especially in a country as large as Australia, it would be very difficult for these people to get together even after reaching a reconciliation.

Of course, this has its advantages, namely that Franz doesn't have to worry about their survival. Australia has enough land to be invincible, and its population of nearly one million already provides a solid foundation.

Australia's population is growing rapidly, but soon the remnants of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will arrive.

The outcome will depend on their abilities.

Franz may have pity for the innocent, but he cannot actually bring an organized army or regime to his own land.

It is precisely because of this that Franz is not worried about the operation of those gold mines.

Of course, you can't reveal everything about business matters, since the premise of value exchange is that you yourself have value.

However, Prince Albert did not leave, and looked troubled.

"Your Highness, please speak plainly."

The cooperation between the two sides should continue, and Franz has no need to embarrass the other party.

"Actually, I have a mission."

Prince Albert was still somewhat troubled.

"Appreciate further details."

"You are aware of the financial situation of our government."

Franz remained silent, but both sides knew perfectly well that the Austrian Empire's intelligence network should have been aware of the situation in Britain long ago.

Prince Albert continued.

"Our government would like to borrow approximately £2-3 million from your country, with an interest rate of 8%."

Franz ignored Prince Albert's eloquent speech, arguing that strategies differ between nations and even across different eras.

“Your Highness, two or three hundred million pounds is not something you can just talk about.”

At this time, Austria, or rather the Holy Roman Empire, did not want to, nor did it need to, be a creditor of the British.

Prince Albert said with great certainty.

"I believe in your country's strength and that you are confident you can come up with the money."

Franz shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but I believe you and your government should be aware that our country has already distributed all the money."

This is actually what the British government finds most incomprehensible, because in their view, money should be invested in the capital market so that it can generate more money.

The more children you have, the more invincible you become. As long as you have money, you'll never lack people to help you make money. Moreover, this way you can make money indefinitely, like a perpetual motion machine, without taking any risks.

Giving out the money—1.8 billion florins at once—is not only a waste of resources but also a great disrespect to money and capital.

However, when it comes to blatant disrespect, Franz seems to have shown little respect for the objective laws of the market. The entire Austrian Empire went further and further down a path that defied these objective laws.

Is it really okay for you to do this?
It's useless for the rich to take it, and if the poor take it, they won't want to work. Don't those who work hard feel disheartened seeing the country do this?

All economic experts agree that this is fostering lazy people and cowardly people without ambition.

Ultimately, this will only lead to economic collapse, with everyone bearing the consequences.

Franz was indifferent to this because his country's fundamental logic differed from that of modern capitalist countries.

If Franz had foolishly copied later models, that would have been truly foolish. In the end, he would have simply followed the same overused and stale path.

Seeing that it had no effect, Prince Albert tried another approach.

"What you're doing is unethical."

"How to say?"

"Giving money to everyone is a travesty of good and evil. Such an approach is the greatest insult to diligence and kindness. Do you know what people call you?" Prince Albert looked at him with exasperation. Franz had better let him speak, or he might choke on his words.

"what?"

"Imaginary imperialism! Aren't you building a crazy egalitarian ideal? Do you know what those lumpenproletariat will do? They'll take your money and buy knives and guns."

They'll take your land today, and they'll cut off your head tomorrow.

Don't forget the great rebellion in France.

Many people are now predicting that you will die from your own madness.

It's clear that Prince Albert meant well, and if the Holy Roman Empire were a capitalist country, his words would indeed have some merit.

However, the Austrian Empire was not essentially a capitalist country, and his analysis using capitalist logic was fundamentally flawed.

The French Revolution was indeed a shadow in the hearts of many nobles and kings; they would feel uneasy just hearing the name.

But Franz was different, because he understood it quite well.

From the ruler's perspective alone, even if they were to cultivate lazy people, it wouldn't necessarily shake their rule.

On the contrary, feeding the bourgeoisie will surely shake the foundations of the system, since they are the real potential ambitious ones.

Different organizations and individuals, due to their differing interests, all liked to portray the French Revolution as a great revolution initiated by ordinary people.

At the same time, the common people of France, or rather the French lumpenproletariat, have been burdened with too many accusations, such as massacres, terror, purges, foreign aggression and expansion, economic deterioration, and the decline of people's livelihoods, all of which have been attributed to the third class.

But what many people don't know is that the French third class is not just made up of farmers and artisans; the people who truly lead and control it are not the sans-culottes.

The bourgeoisie is far from being as rational, restrained, honest, trustworthy, egalitarian, free, diligent, frugal, wise, scientifically minded, creative, and constructive as they portray themselves.

In fact, the most fanatical people after seizing power are this group. Their seemingly crazy actions can be fully explained by applying the logic of the bourgeoisie, and all sorts of seemingly unreasonable issues suddenly become reasonable.

Free competition, product differentiation, winner-takes-all
Franz should indeed guard against others rebelling, but he didn't want to go in the wrong direction.

"Many people want to cut off my head, but ultimately it depends on whether they have the ability. Fantasy imperialism, huh?"

Interesting.

However, according to the Habsburg family's precepts, an emperor should not be restrained by others.

Having said that, Prince Albert stopped trying to persuade her. Actually, he had another matter to discuss: Victoria really wanted her children to marry into the Habsburg family.

Regardless of how bad Franz's reputation was, his personal abilities, credibility, prestige, and achievements were unmatched.

According to the Victorias, the Austrian Empire would remain powerful, at least as long as Franz lived.

They had to admit that Franz might be more astute and cunning than the carefully selected ministers in the British government.

Although many experts and scholars say that Franz would eventually die from his madness, there have been many tyrants in history, but few have actually been punished.

Franz is an exceptional figure even within the broader context of European history. What tyrants fear most is not tyranny, but incompetence.

Franz is clearly not the latter, so he is worth investing in.

Especially at a time when Britain is clearly on a downward spiral, the British royal family should also consider its future.

Regardless of whether we'll ever use it, at least we won't lose money.

However, Franz's attitude changed Prince Albert's mind. Franz was too determined, and the so-called investment was unlikely to be effective.

The gathering of guests from all walks of life in Vienna certainly gave the state funeral a lot of prestige, but the security pressure was also at its peak.

Franz urgently mobilized 100,000 troops from various regions into the city, causing some inconvenience even to the citizens of Vienna.

Besides the guests and the military, the development of railway and communication technologies, as well as the early development of the tourism industry, also contributed to the prosperity.

At this time, people from all over Europe who love to join in the fun flocked to Vienna, and the train station was operating at full capacity every day.

Vienna at this time had been expanded several times its original size, but it still felt very crowded after nearly a million people flooded in at a short period of time.

Although the price control order has been lifted, prices in the Austrian Empire cannot be raised arbitrarily, and the rate of increase is also regulated. Unless a special permission is granted, the rate of increase cannot exceed 100%.

Anyone who violates this rule will be dealt with as disrupting market order.

This crime could be serious or minor, but the citizens of the Austrian Empire knew it was best not to commit a crime, otherwise they might be sent abroad or to a remote area.

Moreover, at this time, the people of the Austrian Empire were relatively wealthy, and merchants did not need to rely on overcharging customers to make a living.

However, the result was that the city was overcrowded, and many tourists had to stay in the surrounding areas, and some even had to stay in temporary livestock sheds.

The surge in the influx of people has overwhelmed Vienna, but what worries Franz the most is security.

If someone were to plan a terrorist attack at this time, there would be many more funerals.

In fact, there were indeed people who planned to do this. The Austrian Empire was not lacking in opponents and discontented people, given its large population.

With the addition of too many new territories, various hatreds and ideologies have mixed and fermented together.
Of course, Franz knew all this long ago, which is why he had always been strongly opposed to holding a grand celebration at this sensitive time.

However, the fact that it was done proves that Franz had made thorough preparations.

In fact, Franz had been keeping an eye on those people, and he did not prohibit sting operations, so many people who were preparing to do big things were deliberately gathered together and then disappeared inexplicably.

There were some things Franz hadn't anticipated, namely that Kossuth, who was far away in London, actually had followers in Austria.

But this group's thinking was too simplistic. They knew that storming the palace or having a heavily guarded force was unrealistic, so they chose some of the most densely populated areas of Vienna.

The Royal Opera House, Coal Street, Coal Market, and several churches with large crowds.

Their plan was good, but their problem was that their ambition was too great; they wanted to create a truly shocking effect.

Swords and knives can't do that, so these guys need explosives.

This is their weakness, and with a weakness, they are naturally easier to deal with.

At that time, the police in Vienna were all truly top students; they could be considered real experts in their time.

Some people also targeted the school, but the security guards at the gate of the Austrian Imperial School were all legitimate veterans.

These people may not be good at other things, but beating up a few cowards who only dare to target children is nothing.

As for the protection of heads of state, it can only be described as meticulous.

However, even the tightest protection can't stop some people from courting disaster.