Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.

In fact, according to Franz's design, the area of the Kingdom of Hungary was excluded in order to reduce resistance.

Unexpectedly, now the Hungarians themselves have proposed it, in fact, it is not only Franz who thinks so, but also Mr. Friedrich Liszt, Austria's newly hired special adviser to join the European Union.

(Accession refers to joining the German Customs Union.) ）

Friedrich Liszt let out a sigh of relief and said in the tone of an Austrian bureaucrat.

"God bless my emperor, the Hungarians will take the initiative to withdraw, so the pressure to join the alliance will be much less."

"The aristocratic merchants of northern Italy were more interested in joining the alliance than the Hungarians. Many have expressed a willingness to abandon protective tariffs in order to join the EU. If the German Customs Union only allowed Netalenia to join and refused to join Northern Italy, it would chill these people. ”

The concept of Netalenia will be used a lot in the future, so let's explain.

Netalenia includes the historical kingdoms of Bohemia, Galicia (i.e., Galich-Volyn), Dalmatia, the Grand Duchy of Austria (including Upper Austria and Lower Austria), the Duchy of Bukovina, the Duchy of Carinthia, the Duchy of Carniola, the Duchy of Salzburg, the Duchy of Upper Silesia, the Duchy of Lower Silesia, the Duchy of Styria, the Princely States of Moravia, the Tyrolan Provinces, Vorarlberg, and the Gorizian Cities, Trieste, Istrian Frontier Princely States and other Adriatic Coastal Territories.

Friedrich Liszt replied with a smile.

"Your Excellency, you are such a good person. But the tariffs between Netalenia and Italy should be an internal Austrian issue. As long as the government is determined, and with local support, then we will have a lot of room to operate. There is not much difference between the accession of Northern Italy and the non-participation of the German Customs Union. ”

"You're right, Mr. Liszt. I will send someone to inform the northern Italian side and ask them to wait for our good news. ”

Metternich paused and continued.

"You know, Mr. Liszt. Northern Italy's economy has been declining, and if left unchecked, it will inevitably lead to poor livelihoods. At this time, if there are dangerous elements who interfere with it, the people are extremely susceptible to demagoguery. ”

"Yes, if the people can't even eat, what are they talking about loyalty to the emperor and loyalty to the country." Friedrich Liszt replied.

Prince Metternich shook his head and said softly.

"The agriculture of Northern Italy is self-sufficient enough, and the crux of the problem is not the peasants, but the merchants and aristocrats of Northern Italy, who are always insatiable. They used those poor peasants and townspeople for their own benefit. But in the end, it is not them who will pay the price, but the poor people. ”

"Then why do we have to help them?"

"To help them now is to help ourselves, and if we cannot appease them, we will suppress them, and now the Austrian Empire is stretched to the limit. This time, the empire was able to grasp the life-saving straw of joining the alliance, thanks to you. Metternich replied with some reluctance.

"Thank you, Mr. Metternich, for the trust you have placed in me. Although I was born in Württemberg, I am also a child of the Empire. It is the duty of the subjects of the empire to serve His Majesty the Emperor. ”

The reason why Friedrich Liszt became the licking dog of Austria is also due to the high official generosity given by Metternich.

It is said that power is the best aphrodisiac, and the status of special adviser to the Austrian emperor is obviously more attractive than the US consul general in Germany, who has no real power.

Moreover, Austria was a system of official gifts, and Franz II did not ask Friedrich Liszt to resign from his post as American Consul General in Germany.

That is, he is now the "double champion".

More important was the corrupt life of the Austrian court, which was clearly more suited to Friedrich Liszt.

Not long after this economist arrived, he adapted to the life of the upper class, working during the day, drinking and dancing at night, and he was already happy.

It's weird to say that people are this thing, obviously the workload is very large, but if you do what you like and complete your dreams, you won't feel tired.

At this time, Friedrich Liszt was in this state. In order to realize his ideals and ambitions, he wanted to form the German Customs Union, and he formed an organization called the Federation of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

At that time, Liszt and the members of the federation lobbied around in various states for the establishment of a customs union. But the Coalition petition was met with contempt and reprimand, and the Confederate Diet forbade them to use the word "German".

The reason is that "there are no German merchants in this world, only Bavarian, Saxony, Württemberg and other places." ”

He was even slandered as an "extreme danger" and forced to leave his homeland for the New World.

Now that he has become an official of the Austrian Empire, it is really unpredictable.

Friedrich Liszt was grateful to Prince Metternich for not only using his power to help him recover his lost property and justice.

And even more so because Metternich gave him this opportunity, the opportunity to fulfill his dream with his own hands.

The German Customs Union, with Austria, would be complete, great and unstoppable.

The Germans, having their homeland, were finally able to protect themselves between the French hammer and the Russian anvil.

Friedrich Liszt didn't really care about the other peoples in the Austrian Empire.

For he saw that in Vienna, a melting pot of nationalities, the national contradictions were far less acute than he had heard. The cultures and ideas of different ethnic groups are intertwined to form a new culture.

Moreover, he firmly believed that with the continuous development of transportation and commerce, the exchange of nationalities within Austria would gradually be strengthened, and eventually a new nation would be formed.

As for the language, he did not think it was a problem, because the difference between High German and Northern German was greater than that between Austrian and Danish.

Liszt once described the Prussians as having a hammer in their mouths when they spoke German, while the Swiss spoke German without using their tongues at all.

Now he is not only an Austrian official, but also trusted by the Prime Minister and the Emperor.

Although His Majesty the Emperor doesn't seem to know much about economics, it doesn't matter, the important thing is that the Emperor can provide him with this stage.

"Mr. Liszt, Countess Summers has a ball in the evening, and you don't want to work too late." Before leaving, Metternich kindly reminded.

"Yes, Prime Minister."

After Metternich left, Korolav walked up to Liszt.

"Mr. Liszt, you know, the Empire's revenues are growing every year, but under Prime Minister Metternich, the Empire's debts are also growing. The empire spends tens of millions of florins every year on maintaining stability, but the entire empire and the surrounding areas are still revolting, and even intensifying, do you know why? ”

"Your Excellency, why do you say that?" Friedrich Liszt was a little angry, after all, Prince Metternich was in a sense Friedrich Liszt's benefactor.