I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1352 The Grand World Expo
If compensation were to be paid according to the investment agreement, the state of Bern would immediately go bankrupt.

These aristocratic councilors who have taken root in Bern will suffer heavy losses, and may even go bankrupt.

At the same time, opposition political forces will certainly use this incident to launch a purge against them, such as liberal civic organizations.

A knock on the door broke the silence in the hall.

Without permission, someone broke in, disregarding the rules.

The state legislator was about to explode in anger, but when he saw that the person who came in was the manager of Arlens Bank, he had no choice but to suppress his anger: "What do you want?"

Arens Bank is the largest bank in the Bern region and a major financial backer of several influential members of parliament.

The bank manager gave him a cursory nod, then went straight to Senior Congressman Frey and said anxiously in a low voice, "The bank is experiencing a run; you must find a solution as soon as possible!"

It turned out that Arens Bank had also invested millions of francs in the railway project. After news of problems with the project spread, people worried that the bank would collapse and began queuing to withdraw their deposits.

Frey was shocked and hurriedly asked, "How long can you hold out?"

The bank manager glanced at the surrounding councilors and said with a dark face, "Based on the current situation, it will take at most half a month."

Frey was busy dealing with the bank run with a group of members of parliament, which interrupted the parliamentary discussion.

Count Elach, the deputy speaker, had no connection with the bank and was about to go home when an official approached him, bowed, and said, "Your Excellency, the Milan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent a note demanding that we properly handle the investment losses of the Milan City Bank."

Count Elach was immediately at a loss.

He was in charge of the state's foreign affairs, but there was no way he could come up with 187 million francs to compensate the Milanese bank right now—they had previously invested 75 francs.

Milan, however, is a powerful nation that Switzerland simply cannot afford to offend.

Just as he was at his wit's end, another official handed him a document and bowed, saying, "Your Excellency, this is our list of exhibits for the Karlsruhe World's Fair next month. Please sign it."

"The World Expo?" Count Elach's eyes suddenly lit up. He waved to the official in front of him, "You see, I'm leading a delegation to the World Expo. As for the Milan matter, please go to Mr. Joachim."

Before he could finish speaking, he dashed out of the council hall, muttering to himself, "What a mess, I need to find a way to hide..."

That afternoon, Count Elach hurriedly boarded a carriage and headed to Lausanne.

Although this route is a detour, once you enter France, there's a well-developed rail system. Once you reach Lorraine, you can catch a train. Therefore, the overall journey is slightly faster than going directly to Baden from northern Switzerland.

Of course, more importantly, he needed to go to Morez to pick someone up first.

A week later.

Northern suburbs of Morez.

On the speeding carriage, a voluptuous body pressed tightly against Count Elach, and she said in a sweet voice, "My dear, Baden is so far away. I had to go to great lengths to keep my husband from suspecting anything."

The deputy speaker immediately smiled indulgently.

One of his greatest achievements was having a French mistress, who came from a minor noble family. This gave him considerable prestige within the Bernese Parliament.

He took out a pearl necklace and hung it around her neck: "Oh, my dear Dorian, this is a gift for you, do you like it?"

The woman kissed him on the cheek and smiled even more sweetly: "Of course I love it! God, it's so beautiful, how much does it cost?" "Five thousand bazens," the deputy speaker waved his hand generously, "not expensive at all."

He immediately recalled the railway project default and sighed inwardly, realizing that he might not be able to afford such an expensive gift for Dorian in the future.

The two were inseparable throughout the journey, and after more than ten days, they finally arrived in Karlsruhe.

Count Erlach first settled his lover before heading to the Royal Palace in Baden to meet with Swiss officials who had come to attend the World's Fair. Karl Friedrich attached great importance to the fair, so he set up the venue directly on the Royal Palace Square.

He watched with a relaxed expression as his servants placed boxes of cocoa, cheese, silk, and exquisite clocks on the Swiss display stand, but suddenly noticed that most of the other officials had furrowed brows.

He pulled aside a Zurich canton official with whom he had a good personal relationship to ask him in detail, only to find out that Switzerland had already descended into chaos in less than 20 days since he left.

Several banks faced a run on their investments in railway projects, plunging their investors and workshops into crisis.

Zurich had already suffered damage from the war, and now its finances are on the verge of collapse, leading to large-scale demonstrations by citizens around the parliament building.

Count Elach had thought the situation in Bern was alright, but the next day he received news that liberals in Vaud and Jura were using the incident to rally locals to form their own parliaments and even recruit troops.

The cantons of Vaud and Jura are not among the thirteen cantons of Switzerland, but rather “subordinate cantons” under the rule of the canton of Bern, similar to colonies.

If these places rebel, the canton of Bern will be in big trouble.

Count Elach, however, smiled as he gazed at the street scene of Karlsruhe, stretching out his arms: "Enjoy this last holiday."

He knew very well that causing such a huge mess had ruined his political future, and he had no intention of returning to Switzerland for the rest of his life. He simply decided to settle in Baden. Although it wasn't as bustling as France, it was absolutely paradise compared to Switzerland.

Two days later, the World Expo officially opened.

The Baden government spared no effort in organizing this grand event, and the city of Karlsruhe was filled with jubilant crowds and the sounds of various musical instruments.

The palace was filled with colorful ribbons and flowers.

Even though a single ticket cost as much as 4 francs, five or six thousand people still flocked into the Expo site. Many more citizens climbed trees outside the Royal Palace, peering inside.

King Karl Frederick of Baden delivered the opening speech, followed by a address from the French Minister of Industry.

Count Elach and his mistress were squeezed into a corner, where they overheard people around them saying, "This is a huge event. Even the British are here."

"It is said that France sent two ministers, which shows how important this is."

"Why is the French pavilion closed?"

"There are probably too many exhibits, and they haven't been organized yet."

At 10:00 a.m., the World Expo entered the free visit phase with a booming cannon salute.

People have a whole month to admire the incredibly valuable exhibits or those representing the most advanced technologies from all over the world.

Count Elach and his mistress walked past the steam-powered cotton gin that had been shipped all the way from America, the somewhat broken French of the American officials filling their ears:
"This machine can do the work of 80 workers, and it almost never makes a mistake!"

(End of this chapter)