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

Chapter 1979 The Million Pound Sterling
Maximilian II of Bavaria, however, no longer had such great ambitions. His father’s philandering, which erupted in 1848, left an indelible impression on him.

In order to distinguish himself from his father, Maximilian II went to great lengths to cultivate an image of himself as a lover of literature.

In fact, his academic level is indeed very high. He even hosts a scholars' dinner every week, inviting well-known scholars from all over the world to discuss academic issues.

Bavaria at that time did indeed attract many academic talents, and even formed the famous Munich School.

However, the rate of scientific research results being translated into practical applications in Bavaria was alarmingly low. It's hard to say how much importance Bavaria placed on this, but at least the Bavarian government at the time didn't seem to care.

On the other hand, due to the large amount of debt left by his predecessor, Maximilian II had to constantly deal with the very money he despised.

The problem is that he himself also likes to spend money, which makes the Bavarian Kingdom's finances even worse.

In fact, Maximilian II had a lesser-known side; he was not the kind of person who was truly without ambition.

Historically, Maximilian II proposed a third path: a third German plan that would abandon the Greater German plan of the Austrian Empire and the Lesser German plan of Prussia, and instead have Bavaria lead other small and medium-sized states.

However, Maximilian II was quite incompetent. He couldn't even manage the liberals and conservatives within his own household, let alone coordinate the various German states.

Maximilian II himself lacked sufficient courage; he opposed the Church but dared not break with it or even confront it directly.

Historically, Maximilian II sympathized with workers and peasants, but he did nothing about it.

In this lifetime, thanks to Franz's initiative, he was the first to accept the Labor Protection Act on behalf of Bavaria, but since no one enforced it, he still accomplished nothing.

Maximilian II read extensively every day, including books and academic reports covering a wide range of fields such as natural science, philosophy, literature, economics, and history.

But he made almost no changes, and even the temporary workers and peasants who revolted could control him.

For Maximilian II personally, relinquishing power was a relief, and he cared even less about whether or not he would be exempt from taxes.

In fact, the royal family does enjoy certain privileges, because according to the current laws of the Austrian Empire, the royal family and nobles do enjoy certain reductions in fees.

However, this reduction is only limited to a certain amount and has absolutely nothing to do with commoners and nobles who do not run large companies.

In the Austrian Empire, it was not difficult for the truly wealthy to buy a noble status. Since it only affected a small number of rich people, the common people did not care at all. Moreover, they also had their own privileges in the empire.

Returning to Maximilian II, he was very happy with his current life because he could finally indulge his extravagant hobbies.

In fact, Maximilian II's hobby was architecture, but building houses, especially good houses, has always been an extremely extravagant hobby, with no upper limit.

It's comparable to Archduke Frederick's hobby of collecting ship models. Of course, unless it's a royal garden like the Old Summer Palace, ordinary buildings can't compare to the price of the main warships of various countries.

Franz did give the Wiltersbach family a fairly high annuity, but it was still not enough to sustain such extravagant hobbies.

However, Franz had a solution: since Maximilian II liked architecture, he could start an architecture company.

This would satisfy his hobby, add to his family's business, and divert the attention of the Wiltersbach family.

If they are truly capable, the gains can be quite substantial. If they are not, after all this turmoil, they should recognize their reality.

As for King William III of the Netherlands, he was not as docile as he appeared. Although he was repeatedly beaten down by reality, he never gave up his attempts to court disaster.

However, the previous turmoil in Amsterdam had indeed frightened William III, as a third of the city's area was affected and a tenth of its population died in the chaos.

The presence of over 20,000 corpses laid out in the square outside the palace forced William III to concede.

However, William III was the kind of person who never learned his lesson. Although he dared not touch nationalism again for the time being, he felt that his talents were definitely not limited to that.

This gorilla king actually wanted to build a business empire to show Franz what he was capable of.

Wilhelm III: "Frantz, I don't think I'm any worse than you."

"I think so too."

Franz's answer both excited and puzzled William III, because when William III said he was no worse than him, he had already implicitly admitted that he was inferior and was just being stubborn.

"I haven't proven my talent in front of others yet."

William III remained very insecure.

"No, my brother, your talent is as dazzling as the sun, and nothing in the world can overshadow it."

Faced with Franz's genuine praise, Wilhelm III became even more confused.

"Do you know what I'm thinking?"

"No, your eyes are full of wisdom. I believe in you."

William III rarely received praise, and he was well aware that people called him a gorilla behind his back—a triple insult to his intelligence, appearance, and character.

Franz's comment that his eyes were full of wisdom undoubtedly greatly satisfied his vanity.

At that time, Franz was undoubtedly the foremost figure among European royalty.

"Thank you for your compliment, I am flattered. I don't know how I can help you."

Franz took out an envelope and pushed it over.

"what is this?"

"Open it and take a look."

William III opened the envelope, inside was a check for ten million florins (equivalent to about one million pounds at the time).

"this?."

William III thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, so he took out his glasses and counted the money several times. Forget a million pounds, the Dutch royal family probably couldn't even come up with 100,000 pounds at that time.

"Ten million florins?"

William III was startled when he said it aloud.

"So much money? What do you want it for? I can't take it."

William III himself didn't know what to say; he only knew that his tongue felt stiff, as if it had been numbed.

"This is an investment for you."

Franz's words made William III's heart skip a beat; the Dutch royal family did indeed own a company.

During the reign of William II, the company was profitable enough to subsidize the royal expenses, but since William III ascended the throne, the business has plummeted and can barely survive.

After 1851, the company's business began to run into losses, and the great strife of 1859 caused him to lose everything, with debts of millions of florins causing him to wake up in the middle of the night frequently.

Although William III was the king, he had no influence in the Dutch Parliament.

If things escalate, the Dutch government might actually put him on trial. Although the Netherlands is now part of the Holy Roman Empire, most of the officials in the Netherlands are still the same people from the original Dutch government.

This is why William III was even more afraid that the Holy Roman Empire would make an example of him, since he no longer had much real power.

If he were in William III's shoes, he certainly wouldn't keep such a bunch of bloodsucking good-for-nothings. As for the so-called supreme immunity, that requires real power and value.

He not only distrusted Franz, but he also distrusted the former Dutch officials.

In Wilhelm III’s view, even if Franz did not have such thoughts, those traitors who defected to Austria would eventually be detrimental to him.

But William III really wanted the money, and the other party didn't seem to be faking it.

"invest?"

"That's right, I believe in you. That's why I'm willing to invest in you."

Franz's words struck Wilhelm III as a profound irony. "You believe me? Do you know how much I've lost?"

"I don't care. Besides, there's no such thing as a business where you only make money and never lose. I can always make it back later."

These words sounded somewhat out of place to William III, but he still nodded subconsciously.

Despite the heavy losses William III suffered, he never considered it his fault. Indeed, many external factors influenced his gains and judgment.

Franz's trust deeply moved William III, who was at a loss for words to express his feelings.

"Thanks."

Franz waved his hand.

"No need. This is an investment I'm making in you. And I need you to do something."

William III immediately became alert; he knew there was no such thing as a free lunch, but he felt much more at ease at this moment.

Okay. Please go ahead.

Franz sat up straight and cleared his throat.

"I need you to prove the superiority of the royal bloodline."

William III was momentarily confused, but then a possibility occurred to him. His eldest son had just come of age, and he felt that the Habsburg family was definitely planning to repeat their old tricks.

However, the Dutch royal family had no other options at this point, especially since the other party was willing to show such great sincerity.

"Marriage is no problem. I can send William to Vienna to marry Grand Duchess Anna."

Franz quickly dispelled William III's misunderstanding. The reason William III so readily agreed to the marriage was primarily due to his discord with his wife.

William III's wife did not call him a gorilla, but rather "an uneducated and money-grubbing peasant."

William III's wife was extremely disgusted with him and was unwilling to even maintain a superficial relationship, choosing instead to live separately.

Then William III chose the most incompetent approach: he deliberately distanced himself from his two sons, who were highly suspicious that they were not his biological children.

"I object."

Franz stated his position.

"What I need is you."

This statement led to another misunderstanding for William III. He had actually met Grand Duchess Anna. Grand Duchess Anna was good-looking, gentle, and most importantly, of noble birth, with a generous dowry.

Moreover, the Habsburg family was at the height of its power at that time, and no man would refuse such a marriage, even if it meant divorcing his wife.

The thought of being able to divorce his wife made William III's lips curl into a smile.

"I have no problem! Even if it means divorcing my wife..."

"Enough! I need you to prove your business acumen!"

Franz left some things unsaid; what right does a toad have to speculate?

"Business acumen?"

William III was somewhat puzzled.

“That’s right, you should prove that you can defeat your opponent in a fair duel without relying on privileges.”

William III immediately thought of the issue of tax exemption privileges. Although he was very excited, he was honestly a little scared.

After all, even with tax-free privileges, he still lost in market competition. Without those privileges, wouldn't he have lost even more miserably?

I thought that in my heart, but I couldn't say it out loud.

William III's face flushed red.

"Your Majesty, how can we be treated the same as those commoners? That is a right we were born with."

Wilhelm III was clearly not confident, while Franz pressed his advantage.

“Using your privileges to participate in business competition isn’t business; it’s power arbitrage. Don’t you even have that much confidence in yourself?”

Franz's words made Wilhelm III shrink back; he instinctively wanted to retort, but dared not. He could only utter a few sarcastic remarks.

"Without privilege, who can defeat those cunning Jews?"

"I can."

Franz spoke with such force that Wilhelm III was momentarily speechless, though he was skeptical, given the notoriously heavy taxes of the Austrian Empire.

"No doubt about it, I'm the highest taxpayer in the Austrian Empire. If you really think you're someone important, then prove it."

I believe you have the ability; don't tell me you don't even believe in yourself.

Franz's words left William III speechless. Being stripped of privileges was a disgrace for royalty, but daring to relinquish those privileges and compete "equally" with others was courageous and honorable.

Seeing that William III was speechless, Franz continued.

"This is both a test for you and an experiment for me. I want to prove that in this empire, as long as you operate within the law, you can make a profit, hard work should be rewarded, and anyone can realize their talents."

We don't have to be like the Jews to succeed.

"I dare, but you don't?"

At that time in Europe, Jews were a target, and many bullets would eventually be fired at the Jewish community.

These words sound too good to be true, but some of them are sincere. However, some of them are just to be taken with a grain of salt, since operating legally and making a profit are not directly related.

William III was provoked by Franz and also lost his temper.

"I dare! What wouldn't I dare!"

"Good! That takes guts! Sign it!"

Franz handed the prepared statement to William III, whose hand trembled as he signed it.

William III desperately needed the money, and he really wanted to prove himself.

Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna.

"Is that kind of person really worth that much money?"

Maria Amelia was one of the few who knew the inside story. She had long considered herself one of Franz's people, so she looked indignant.

Franz knew that Amelia was an ambitious woman. After all, she had suffered hardships and had once become a wandering princess. It would be strange if she didn't have ambition.

"not worth."

Franz's straightforward answer caught Amelia off guard. After all, in her mind, Franz always seemed to be omnipotent, and he always had a reason that was hard for others to understand.

But when everything settled down, it all seemed so natural and inevitable.

"Then why did you do that?"

"This is an investment, not only for William III, but also for the whole of the Netherlands."