Back in reality, the brawl in the Hall of Mirrors continues.

"Your Majesty rules the world with the nobles, not with the people."

The aristocracy, as the ruling class of the country, was clearly in opposition to the ruled commoners. And as members of the ruling class, they wanted the emperor to put the interests of the nobility first.

At the same time, the side that supported joining the German Customs Union, Prince Metternich, Count Korollav, Baron Brooke were also nobles, and even the emperor himself.

It's just that those who keep saying that they want to rule the world with the emperor do not represent the interests of the state and the ruling class, but their own interests.

Their purpose is twofold, one is to block the passage of the petty aristocracy and the common class, and the other is to use the power in their hands to collude with domestic and foreign forces to squeeze their own people to the maximum.

To sum it simply, the attributes of this group of people are bureaucrats, landlords, and compradors.

Although it was said by a group of villains with selfish intentions, it sounded fine at the time.

At this time, Austria was no longer the Holy Roman Empire divided by states.

Franz II, Emperor of the Austrian Empire, wielded absolute power.

All thanks to Napoleon, the terminator of the Holy Roman Empire. The Napoleonic Wars greatly weakened the power of the local aristocracy, but inadvertently strengthened the centralization of Austria. Gone are the days in which the petty aristocracy dared to stand on their own feet and openly oppose the state apparatus.

Even the power of the great nobles was greatly limited, and in the case of the largest landed nobleman of the Austrian Empire, Archduke Karl, who had only 1000 private soldiers and was simply unable to face the powerful army of the Austrian Empire.

The rest of the aristocracy was even less capable of confronting the state.

So now if any of the big nobles jumps out and says that the emperor won't do it, I'll do the opposite.

Then the Count of Latour must be glad to give him a ride.

At this moment, a small figure slipped in from outside the door. The royal guards saw it, but they didn't stop it. After all, it was just a small child, after all, it was the emperor's favorite grandson, the future master of the country.

The upright Baron Brooke said.

"Are you going to rule this country with Your Majesty? You only look out for your own interests, do you know how much open trade can bring to this country? Our national finances are on the verge of bankruptcy, and at the slightest disturbance, this edifice will collapse. ”

"You are alarmist! Vienna has the largest number of banks in the world! (Vienna had the largest number of private banks in the world at the time, but they were small and mostly half-dead, and they couldn't compare to London.) ）

"But who will lend us money? You? Vienna's financial industry is now almost monopolized, and the state even has to mortgage part of its customs duties and public power to bankers. Can't you see it? ”

"It is only natural to repay debts. Besides, are banks in other countries willing to lend you money? Don't make so many excuses, but find reasons in yourself. ”

Baron Brooke has been a dedicated man of all his life, with integrity and ability. (Historically, suicide has been framed and unable to prove itself.) ）

It is a miracle to say that Austria's finances have not collapsed to this day. He categorically could not accept the accusations of others.

"Do you know what the Empire's revenue was last year?" Baron Brooke asked angrily.

Before the other party could answer, Baron Brooke continued.

"130,269,877 florins."

"Do you know the sum of the Empire's debts?"

"1,461,224,893 florins."

"Do you know the total amount of interest that the empire needed to pay last year for the extension of the debt?"

"11,221,096 florins, you don't know!" Baron Brooke roared.

"So what, God bless my emperor, Austria for thousands of years. Do you think it's all your fault? "It was Petru, Prince Elthhazi's aide who spoke. He was not nervous, and even retorted.

He graduated from the University of Vienna with honors and aspired to become a judge. But I waited for 5 years in Vienna and didn't make up for it.

In the end, under the recommendation of his classmates, he became a staff member of Prince Elthace's family. Since becoming a member of Prince Eltehazi's staff, his financial situation has improved. But because of this, I saw more of the dark side of this society, it turned out that it was not that he was not good enough, but that he had no way.

Those teachers who kept teaching him to abide by the law actually colluded with those officials behind their backs to sell official positions.

At this time, Austria was a system of conferral officials, that is, official positions were granted directly by the emperor. But the prerequisite for being granted an official position is that you can meet the emperor, or let the emperor know of your existence.

Prince Ertházy was a great Hungarian nobleman, and even the emperor could not touch him easily. Petru was never ambiguous in carrying out Prince Elthace's orders. And what about the fall of the Austrian Empire? As long as Hungary is still there, Prince Erthhazy is still there, he can give him everything he wants.

When Pitru saw Baron Brooke, he added fuel to the fire again.

"The debts of the empire have not been paid off for so many years, so you might as well resign! Give up the position to those who can afford it! ”

Baron Brooke was furious and wanted to continue the theory. Count Korolav stopped an enraged Brooke, and although he didn't like this guy, his ability was unquestionable. As Chancellor of the Exchequer, Korolov, naturally no one understood better than him how bad Austria's finances were.

There are usually only two ways to increase fiscal revenue, one is to open up revenue, and the other is to reduce expenditure.

In terms of throttling, he has achieved the extreme, even the military salary and the royal annuity, he deducted it, and he definitely did not spend the money he could. Even so, the money left is only about 10 million per year. And to use about 10 million funds every year to solve the debt problem of hundreds of millions of dong, the difficulty is unimaginable.

It's just that the current Brooke has lost his mind and has been led astray by the other party.

"Twenty years! As soon as I join the German Customs Union, I promise to pay off all the debts of the Reich within twenty years. ”

This is not an empty phrase, but a joint calculation of the entire Austrian Ministry of Finance, all officials. According to their calculations, joining the German Customs Union would bring Austria an annual economic growth of 4%. Even so, this is an extremely significant gain.

Korolav glanced at Pitru, who was still thinking about what to do.

"Can you do it?"

"I..."

"If you can't, shut up!" Count Korolav was very disgusted with people like Pietroul who could only talk about it.

Korolav glanced at the audience.

"Who of you can guarantee that within twenty years, the Empire's debts will be paid off! I, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, let him be! ”

"Just kidding! The debt owed by the empire, why should we pay it. "The big nobles are full of slander in their hearts" Besides, it is impossible to pay it back. ”

In the minds of the magnates, the debts of the Austrian Empire have long been a black hole that cannot be filled.

Since reasoning can't be done, let's be tough.

Several great nobles, led by Prince Elthazy, went to Franz II.

"Your Majesty rules the world with the nobles, not with the people. Do you want all those mud legs to ride on our heads? ”

Franz II hesitated, he really didn't know what to do. Seeing the arguing below, he didn't know who to listen to. Their ministers seem to be thinking for the country, but who can guarantee that they are not selfish? These nobles may seem incompetent, but they are their own people.

Seeing Franz II swaying, someone laughed, and this was the moment they were waiting for.

So they got closer and closer to Franz II, trying to overwhelm the weak-willed emperor with pressure.

"Your Majesty, have you forgotten the attitude of France?" Finally, the more excited someone became, he stepped forward and pulled Franz II's sleeve.

Franz smiled too, this was the moment he was waiting for.