I'm back, there are a lot of things going on at home, and I'll adjust my state as soon as possible and make up for the previous chapters :)

*******

"When I first met Your Majesty, Your Majesty was a well-known shipbuilding genius in Europe, and then German warships roamed the sea, subverting Great Britain's maritime hegemony that had been maintained for more than 300 years; When he met His Majesty again, His Majesty was already the tactical organizer of the German High Seas Fleet, and then there was the greatest and most brilliant naval victory of the Steam Age; Time flies, time is like weaving, in a blink of an eye, His Majesty is the king of Ireland admired by all people, is the world's admired ruler, just ten months to make a barren and backward country a new look...... I have heard that Your Majesty respects the example of Napoleon the Great, and with His Majesty's ability, he is no better than that Gallic genius, not to mention that His Majesty is young, and his future achievements must be limitless! ”

The new Austrian Emperor's beautiful words, if you face a mediocre person, it is not difficult to make the other party fluttering and forgetful, but for a monarch who has a city in his chest, no matter how gorgeous the words are, they are just a cloud of smoke. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Seeing that Natsuki always had a calm smile on his face, and his eyes were still as calm as water, Karl I did not continue to tout, but strongly recommended Natsuki to taste the fragrant tea in the cup.

The authentic West Lake Longjing, the authentic tea-making skills, just like the delicious Chinese food that Xia Shu tasted in Stockholm, immediately made him refreshed and happy.

After pondering for a while, Natsuki finally showed a satisfied smile and praised repeatedly: "Good tea!" Good tea! ”

Karl I laughed along, like a schoolboy who had been praised by his teacher.

Savoring the aftertaste of the fragrance in his mouth, Natsuki said kindly: "I am a novice in governing the country, and to be honest, Ireland can have today's development to a large extent thanks to the support of its allies. The post-war international situation is very complicated, and it is difficult for a single country to resist all kinds of abnormal fluctuations in the international market. ”

Karl I restrained his smile a little, and said very seriously: "Participating in the alliance has indeed benefited, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of Bulgaria have all developed to a certain extent after the war, but the speed of development is far from comparable to that of Ireland, so I have been thinking about what is difficult for ordinary people to see through the economic miracle of Ireland." ”

Natsuki squinted his eyes lightly, unlike the handsomeness of the old Austrian Emperor Franz I and the melancholy of the unlucky Grand Duke Ferdinand, Karl I had a dignified public face, except for his deep gaze, he could hardly see that he had an aristocratic temperament, and when he didn't put on a score, he looked more pleasing to the eye.

"If you want to talk about the mystery, there are some of them, but the situation of each country is different, some may follow the example of Ireland, and some will not be effective at all."

Karl I asked directly: "With your Majesty's insight, how can Austria-Hungary get rid of its inherent social ills and usher in a period of vigorous economic development?" ”

When it comes to statecraft, Natsuki doesn't think he has a better skill than Bismarck, but he has decades of "foresight". Ireland's economic miracle may seem glorious, but it is a sword that needs to be bold and decisive, but also cautious, so as not to make a wrong move and lose everything. If the Mandate of Heaven allowed him to govern the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he would have a way to reconcile social contradictions and stimulate economic development, but the person in charge of this dualistic monarchy was the young man who had just ascended the throne in front of him. So, he replied vaguely: "Throughout history, some social ills are born and destroyed together with the country, unless the dynasty is changed, the links can only be reconciled, and there is no way to eradicate and get rid of them, while other social ills can be resolved through reform and adjustment." ”

The other party did not want to explain in detail, but Karl I did not give up, and he further asked: "Then let's talk about the national problem that has been a headache since the birth of this empire!" As Your Majesty is aware, this dual empire is dominated by Germanic and Hungarian peoples, and is inhabited by Czechs, Poles, Ukrainians, Romanians, Croatians, Slovaks, Serbs, Slovenes, and Italians, most of whom are gentle and good, and who live in peace under the administration of the Austrian and Hungarian governments, but there are also some - if only one-tenth, one-twentieth of the total population of this country, then millions, - for the so-called equitable power, With the covert support of hostile countries, they have repeatedly instigated ********. His Majesty the late Franz-Joseph I spent his whole life trying to resolve the ethnic strife under the Empire, which made this vast empire appear stable and peaceful, and during the Great War, the Imperial army suffered humiliating defeats on both Serbian and Russian fronts, and its combat effectiveness was completely disproportionate to the level of training and weaponry of its soldiers, and there were a large number of desertions on the battlefield, while armies composed of single or small nationalities performed much better than ours. How can we make great strides in social development when we look at social development through military operations, where various nationalities attach importance to their own interests, and where different degrees of antagonism and resistance exist in various economic fields? ”

From Karl I's tone, Natsuki heard the complaints, the helplessness, and the desire to change the status quo. Multi-ethnic coexistence has always been a social problem, and despite the fact that Austria-Hungary had only a dozen ethnic groups, far fewer than China, with its 56 ethnic groups, and Russia, with its more than 100 ethnic groups, its structure was much more complex and tricky. In Austria, only 36% of the Germans dominated, while in Hungary less than half of the Hungarians were in the ruling class, the more populous Czechs, Poles and Italians were trying to gain a greater say in the Austrian part, and the Serbs, Croatians, Ukrainians, and Slovenes, who belonged to the broad category of "Slavs", were encouraged by Russia to return to the Slavic world or establish an independent Slavic state. This gradually became the biggest threat to the stability of Austria-Hungary after Serbia gained full independence.

Natsuki thought for a moment and asked rhetorically: "As long as everyone lives a prosperous life and is not oppressed, how many are willing to risk losing their heads to make a split and fight for power?" ”

This is true, but it leads to another social ill of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, that is, the disparity between the rich and the poor. In the past half century, the economic development of the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire was relatively rapid in Europe, and by the time of the outbreak of World War II, its total economic output ranked fifth in the world, second only to the United States, Germany, Britain, and France. In addition to the economic development centers near Vienna, the Austrian hinterland, the foothills of the Alps, the Czech Republic and Budapest, and the central Hungarian plain and the Carpathian region, the rest of the empire was in a state of low industrialization and scarcity, with many people starving or leaving their homes to seek subsistence jobs in the cities, while the wealthy middle and upper classes lived in luxury, investing money and energy in the field of music and art.

In contrast, the differences in class and regional development are more difficult to reconcile than those of ********.

Thinking about Natsuki's problem, Karl I's eyes flickered, he once thought that he had found a way out of the problem, but after thinking about it carefully, he found that he was still going around in a dead end, and finally sighed: "If I had a choice, I would rather rule a country as simple and simple as Ireland." ”

Natsuki smiled: "Isn't it a more fulfilling thing to govern a country that is eight times larger than Ireland and has a population more than ten times larger?" ”

Emperor Xinao smiled bitterly: "With His Majesty's talent, I find it difficult to take care of, how easy it is for me to do it!" ”

While pouring himself tea, Natsuki said in a narratory voice: "It's really difficult, but Your Majesty has accepted the Creator's arrangement and has become the one who decides the fate of this country and all the people, no matter how difficult it is, you must go step by step." Economy, industry, finance, politics, and military are all very complex and require great effort to deal with them. ”

Karl I frowned: "Your Majesty is referring to the development of the economy, thereby improving the living conditions of the people, right?" ”

Natsuki replied in a flattering manner, "When it comes to mind and vision, Your Majesty is not inferior to anyone. ”

Karl I felt that this compliment could not be accepted, and explained: "When you think of the current course of development of Ireland, it is not difficult to guess what your majesty means. ”

Drinking the hot West Lake Longjing and looking at the charming sea view outside the window, Xia Shu said: "The industrial economic foundation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is much stronger than that of Ireland, it is like a high-quality machine, add some lubricating oil to the gears and shafts, add enough fuel to the furnace, it can run quickly, and when the time comes, there will be a profit, and the salary standard for the workers will be appropriately raised, what problems will there be to worry about?" ”

This analogy is very simple to understand, Karl I must have spent a lot of thought on the subject of developing economy and industry, and the government officials and advisers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire must have given him a lot of ideas, these suggestions should be able to solve some existing problems, but the Austro-Hungarian Empire has such a large plate, after all, it does not have the opportunity to carry out empty glove white wolf operation, and must follow the objective law of economic development, capital investment and trade market are the two major problems that need to be solved at the moment.

Natsuki still did not give a positive answer to Karl I's doubts, but talked to him about the Three Emperors Alliance. In the history of Europe, there have been countless collaborations, some of which were far-sighted, some of which were forced by the situation, some of which followed the rules, and some of which were unconventional. Germany, Austria and Russia entered into the Three Emperors Alliance twice, which can be said to be a game of one person, and this person is Bismarck, a genius in German politics and diplomacy. The conclusion of the Three Emperors Alliance played a role in suppressing France, deterring Britain, and restricting Russia, and won a wonderful period of stable development for the emerging Second German Empire, but unfortunately the contradictions between Russia and Austria in the Balkans were difficult to reconcile, and the Three Emperors Alliance soon disintegrated, and then only more than 20 years later, the Balkan powder keg detonated a major war that swept Europe and affected the world.

Natsuki mentioned the Three Emperors Alliance here, not to establish a new military alliance on top of the Allied camp, but to establish a special cooperative relationship in the fields of economy, trade and social development. After all, Ireland's measures to stimulate the industrial economy by stimulating domestic demand are not inexhaustible magic, only with Ireland's more than 80,000 square kilometers of land on four million people, domestic demand is really limited, and Ireland's industry is still in the stage of development and accumulation, most products do not have first-class international competitiveness, if you can attract several countries to establish a trade alliance, the effect is similar to the customs union before the establishment of the Second German Reich, the economic and trade of these countries have the effect of unblocking the economy.

"I intend to sign an agreement with King Alfonso XIII of Spain in the fields of economic, trade, military and other fields, and if His Majesty is willing to join in, it will form a very interesting triangular relationship!"

Karl I quickly thought about the suggestion made by Natsuki, and after a while, he nodded again and again: "Interesting, indeed very interesting." ”

(End of chapter)