Archduke Ferdinand and Duchess Sophie, who were rare for lunch, were present, and they would have their own events and banquets at this time of the day, and Archduke Ferdinand seemed to be in a good mood during the meal.

No one knew why, except that the Sufi lord went to Archduke Ferdinand's study not long after seeing Ernst and Lenna return, and then Archduke Ferdinand was in such a mood.

Archduke Ferdinand did not know what his daughter was thinking at this moment, and he recalled the conversation he had just had with Lenner, and looked at Ernst with admiration in his eyes.

"Prince Ernst wants to gain their loyalty."

These are the original words of Lennard, in which there is no provocation or bias, just a simple description of the process, Archduke Ferdinand is very clear, so he does not have any inner turmoil in such provocative words.

Ernst wants to provoke himself? If it is purely from the words, but he did not shy away from Lenner, then it means that Ernst is not worried about thinking too much, and the corners of Archduke Ferdinand's mouth can't help but rise every time he thinks of this.

If it weren't for Ernst's second son, I believe he would be the best candidate for the future Austro-Hungarian Emperor, even though he was far inferior to Karl in many things, but Karl's biggest weakness was that he was too idealistic about the world.

Archduke Ferdinand even saw that Emperor Franz had the same idea, but his suspicions would not be confirmed, because Emperor Franz would not reveal anything about the matter anyway, after all, he was the one who forced Archduke Ferdinand to give up his heir's right to inherit the throne in the first place.

It is estimated that Ernst would not have imagined that Emperor Franz and Archduke Ferdinand would have such a high evaluation of him, in Ernst's own eyes he is an ordinary time-traveler, and he is far inferior to the geniuses of this era in terms of political ability and military ability.

These words are true, but the emperor of a country does not need any political ability, military ability, politics has prime ministers, military generals, as a country's monarch the most important thing is to have self-knowledge, arrange the right people in the right position, this Ernst did a very good job.

Although he will not be a great emperor, at least he is very qualified, much more qualified than Karl, he understands the hardships of life, and is much better than a royal like Karl who has not been exposed to poverty.

"There's an auction in the second block this afternoon, how about it! Interested? ”

Speaking of the auction, Ernst suddenly remembered the battle situation in the East, motioned to Messimilian to wait a while, and asked Ferdinand: "Dad, how is the battle situation in the Manchu Qing Dynasty now?" ”

The day I came to Vienna was the day when the Eight-Nation Alliance attacked Yanjing, and now two days have passed, I believe that the battle situation should have a new result!

Although he didn't understand why Ernst suddenly became interested in the war situation in the East, he replied based on his second son, who he valued: "Yanjing has now been captured, but their empress dowager and emperor have escaped from Yanjing." ”

said that when Cixi and Guangxu fled, Archduke Ferdinand's face was full of sarcasm, Ernst knew very well how he felt at this time, if it was replaced by Archduke Ferdinand, it is estimated that the moment when Yanjing was captured was when he committed suicide.

Archduke Ferdinand was too tough and too strong, he couldn't bear to be the king of the country, it would be different if he was replaced by Karl, and in fact, it was very rare for monarchs and crown princes of various countries to have such an attitude, even Napoleon. Of course, this is not a good thing, because they don't understand the old saying in the East: leave the green mountains without worrying about no firewood.

Thinking a lot, but in fact it was only a blink of an eye, Ernst hesitated and asked, "If you can have some treasures from the East, Dad, you can help me collect some." ”

"Treasure? Gold and porcelain, silk? ”

"No, paintings, calligraphy, bronzes, and porcelain are fine, but silk is not required."

Silk is not wanted, the Duchess of Sophie and the Lord of Sophie are very disappointed and puzzled in their eyes, after all, in their eyes, only silk and porcelain are the things they value most.

Although he didn't understand why Ernst was interested in calligraphy, painting, and bronzes, Ernst rarely opened his mouth once, and as a father, he had no reason to refuse.

"I'll inform the Empire's commander in the Far East, but it will take a while to get it back......"

"It doesn't matter the time, 100,000 pounds, if it's not enough, I can continue to add more!"

If just now Archduke Ferdinand just regarded this matter as an interest of Ernst, but as the words of 100,000 pounds were spoken, Archduke Ferdinand's face began to become serious, and even the Duchess of Sophie and the Sophie lord and Mesimilian looked at Ernst in shock.

Although they didn't speak, the meaning in their eyes was clear - are you crazy?

It's a bit crazy to spend £100,000 on this mess, even if you have money, you can't waste it like this! This is what Archduke Ferdinand thinks at this time, but it is estimated that no one would have imagined that this thing would grow to a sky-high price in less than a few years.

Archduke Ferdinand did not ask why, he just looked at Ernst silently, and Ernst looked at Ernst without fear, a little ...... Archduke Ferdinand withdrew his gaze, and although he did not speak, Ernst knew that he had agreed to his request.

"Ferdinand......"

Duchess Sophie tried to speak, but was stopped by Archduke Ferdinand, who was very clear about her husband's personality.

After lunch, Messirian looked at Ernst blankly, and then said: "I didn't expect you to be so rich, 100,000 pounds, how much is converted into gold krona?" 250,000 gold crowns? 160,000 gold crowns? ”

"It's 250,000 gold crowns, stupid!"

The Sophie Lord was far calmer than Maisimilian, after all, she knew a lot about Ernst from the Duchess Sophie, and understood that he was rich, although she never expected Ernst to give 100,000 pounds to satisfy her interests**.

Yes, in the eyes of the Sofi Duchess, the Sufi Lord, and the Messilians, Ernst was for his own interests** and not for any other purpose.

Make hay? Some mess to make money? The only use may be to collect it yourself! However, it is estimated that Ernst is the only one who likes these things in the whole West, and the other nobles should still prefer red wine, oil paintings, and porcelain in comparison.

Ernst naturally does not explain such a thing, and cannot explain it at all. Can he say that there will be a large number of Oriental tycoons in the future, and these things can be sold to them?

Of course, it was a long-term business, and it was estimated that the East would be in a state of war for a short time, and no rich people would buy these things, but Ernst had enough money in his hands, and he was fully capable of collecting some things that would appreciate in value in the future.

The invasion of China by the Eight-Nation Alliance was a shame for the previous life, but for Ernst in this life, this is an opportunity and an opportunity to make a fortune.

Is there a suspicion of a traitor in doing so? Is it unpatriotic?

If Ernst had been reborn in the East, then he would naturally not have done so, but he is now the second son of the Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary, what exactly is a traitor and what is a traitor?

Ernst would not do anything about that land, but at the same time he could not let his interests be violated, and Ernst was still willing to do some war like this, after all, this kind of thing was not something he could influence.

In the future, if Ernst has a great influence in Europe in the future, then he will already be benevolent and righteous if he does not take the initiative to invade the East. Counting on him to help? I'm sorry that now he is a member of the Habsburgs, and the interests of the Habsburgs are the interests of Ernst.

Perhaps the only thing he can do is to be kind to the overseas Chinese living in Europe in the future, after all, they are also half of Ernst's fellow countrymen, as they should be!

In the midst of the quarrel between Maisimilian and the Sufi lord, Ernst went to Archduke Ferdinand's study, where he knew that Archduke Ferdinand must have a question to ask him. Even if he wasn't prepared to answer those questions, he had to do it.