April 25, 1868,

Representatives of a large number of interest groups gathered in Houston today, as if they had agreed in advance.

The representative of the Yankees and the leader of the younger generation of the Boston Consortium - Liam Lawrence.

Representative of the Second French Empire, Minister of Foreign Affairs - Henri René de Talleyrand.

Representatives of Great Britain, Austria-Hungary, and the Kingdom of Prussia are also here today.

The first to arrive at Houston-Smith Harbor were Minister René and representatives of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

"It seems that the economy of the whole world is not very good."

"Yes, there are no cargo ships or passenger ships coming in or out of Houston or even the whole of Texas."

"I remember the last time I came by boat, Port Smith was no less busy than the Port of London."

"Is it so prosperous? Looking at it now, this Smith Knight is really cocooned. ”

"Don't make up your mind so early, after all, you and I have both seen that man's methods."

This is René's second visit to Houston, and the last time René came to Houston was because he heard about the plane.

Unexpectedly, after such a long time, European countries still have not succeeded in replicating an aircraft that can fly for more than one minute.

The Austro-Hungarian delegates were visiting Houston for the first time, and looking at the huge port in front of them, they did not doubt what Minister René had said—it used to be busier than the port of London.

Port Smith is almost closed and does not have many staff, but today we received news that a large number of diplomats have arrived, and the port has reopened.

"Mr. John, long time no see."

"Minister René, long time no see."

Greeting Chancellor René and the representative of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was John Müller, the president of the fledgling Heroines Company.

The two had known each other for a long time during the Franco-Mexican War, and the Minister René had been operating with John's army as the French ambassador at that time, and now they were not so inhibited when they met again.

"Mr. John, now that the economy is in a recession, your hero company shouldn't be very comfortable, right?"

"Yes, the environment of the world is like this, what can we do, we can only go with the flow, you see, Smith Harbor has only one or two berths."

"I remember the last time I visited, there were forty or fifty berths in Smith Harbor, and this time there were hundreds of berths, but it was so deserted."

"No way, this is also something that can't be helped."

The three of them sat in a carriage and chatted with each other, and the Austro-Hungarian representatives, who were not very familiar with John, did not interject much, and kept looking out the carriage window and observing Houston, which is known as the largest city in Africa.

"The last time I came to Houston, there were still people coming and going, and it was so lively, and the square was full of people watching the plane show."

"There don't seem to be many people in the whole city now."

"It's really lifeless, it's a pity that it's such a good urban environment."

Chancellor René couldn't help but sigh when he saw that the roads in Houston were empty and all the shops were closed, and John responded to Chancellor René with a smile without saying a word.

The carriage fell silent.

As he walked, the faces of the representatives of Austria-Hungary showed more and more puzzled expressions.

"Mr. Müller, why are there so many slogans along the way?"

"It's just a simple city decoration, just like the flowers and plants in the manor, for decoration."

"Decorative?"

The Austro-Constitutional delegates looked at the colorful slogans on the side of the road, their English was not bad, and these slogans were definitely not decorative.

Red Sign: Long Live Texas!

The slogan of this game is normal.

Green slogan: Hardship is the only way to survive!

It is also more understandable.

Yellow slogan: Have more children and work more, no children, no pension, no work, no food.

Pink slogan: Surpass Europeans in terms of working hours!

Big black slogan: Exactly the same salary, he works for 14 hours, you work for 16 hours, I work for 18 hours, who do you say the company fires first?

What kind of slogans are these?

Are these really "decorations"?

The carriage soon brought the three to the Smith Building, where the two diplomatic representatives entered the conference room, where Tom was sitting in the main seat, waiting for the two diplomatic representatives to arrive.

Tom has recently been exhausted by the sudden economic crisis, and his three-hour working day has been cut short again due to lack of energy, and now he only works an hour a day.

Because the "entertainment" time is getting longer and longer, the "entertainment" partners have also changed from Milia alone to four people of different nationalities, and there is more and more trend of "entertainment activities", Tom, who is tired these days, is a little depressed.

"Long time no see, two deputies."

"Long time no see, Knight Smith."

The two representatives looked at Tom who was speaking without "neutrality" in front of them, and saw the world-famous painting behind Tom - "Tom Smith Hears the Death of Massimiliano I", and couldn't help but admire Tom's "loyalty".

"We're here for three main things."

"There are three things, the first of which is about the throne of the Second Emperor of Mexico."

"There are three candidates, as follows:"

"Daughter of Emperor Franz Joseph I of the Austro-Hungarian Empire - Gisela Louise Marie."

"Agustín de Iturbide, adopted son of Massimiliano I, Second Emperor of Mexico, and grandson of the former First Emperor of the First Mexican Empire."

"Son of Archduke Carl Ludwig - Franz Ferdinand."

All three were members of the Habsburg family, and all three were relatively young, given that sending older royals might cause Tom to be dissatisfied.

"The second thing is about the knighthood of Tom Smith, and the Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, His Majesty Joseph I, has decided to make you a Marquis of Mexico and to control the whole of Mexico."

"The third thing is about your marriage, Lord Marquis."

"You are still a marquis, how can you be a marquis of Austria-Hungary at the age of 18 without a spouse?"

"We have brought a list of candidates for the Marquises and their catalogue for your visit, Your Excellency."

From knight to marquis, this can be said to be the first time in the history of European aristocracy.

If it had been placed a hundred or two hundred years ago, it would have been news that would have shocked the whole of Europe.

But now, in North America in the second half of the nineteenth century, it is just a title to appease Tom.

Since Tom had "carved up" Mexico with the European powers, he had not said anything except to urge the "United Mexican States" to pay back the money.

Austria-Hungary also did not dare to rashly arrange for the Second Emperor of Mexico to ascend to the throne.

Now in the eyes of Austria-Hungary, the bankruptcy of Hero Company due to an "unexpected" bombing is a good time to bring the Habsburg Emperor of the Second Mexican Empire to power.

The appointment of Tom as a marquis was only a nominal favor to Tom, and he did not want Tom to oppose the new emperor's accession to the throne.

Tom opened his wife's "shortlist" with great interest, wanting to pick a wife who was pleasing to his eyes.