Central Italy, Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

Archduke Leopold II looked with some surprise at the Austrian officials who were swearing allegiance to him.

"Mr. Mauna, you're not kidding, are you? Tuscany was just a small state under Austrian rule, to which Tuscany was to be allegiated. ”

Mauna was an Austrian commissioner who had arrived in Tuscany two years earlier, and Archduke Leopold II, although somewhat unambitious, was very kind and loved by the people, and at the same time he was able to follow advice and do good.

This is simply the best boss for a man like Mao Na, who is depressed in Austrian officialdom.

Of course, such people are usually not strict in their governance, and their subordinates are full of corruption, which is also an important reason why the Tuscan economy has not improved, and they, the commissioners from Austria, can remove these stubborn diseases for Tuscany.

In two years, Tuscany not only built the railway to Modena and Lucca, but also expanded the small Tuscan steel mill into the largest steel mill in Central Italy.

Central Italy is short of coal and iron resources, but not completely absent.

The abolition of the exorbitant taxes collected privately by officials and nobles gave the port of Vorina a new lease of life.

Tuscany, which has one of the largest mercury mines in Italy and the world, was swept up by Austrian officials to recover 15 million florins, and production tripled in the following two years.

Tuscany's revenues jumped from less than 3 million florins in 1834 to 10 million florins.

Tuscany, which had money, expanded its army of 2,000 men to 10,000 and built its own factories, so that it could not only be self-sufficient in weapons, but also sell to other countries.

Leopold II of Tuscany did not indulge in pleasure, but spent his money on education and the construction of public facilities.

This moved the Austrian officials, who had suffered from distortion and corruption, and they were willing to stay and serve the "virtuous" Grand Duke.

"Your Majesty, we swear allegiance to the Habsburgs, and you are a member of the Habsburgs, so this is not a betrayal."

Leopold II of Tuscany didn't really care, anyway, someone else was in charge of the country for himself.

And these people seem to be much better than the Tuscan natives.

This Leopold II, unlike Franz II, never considered himself an Italian, nor did he consider himself an Austrian.

In his mind, he had always been a member of the Habsburgs, and as for those "wise" actions, they were nothing more than a family tradition.

Even if Ferdinand I was unable to rule the country, causing chaos in Austria, Leopold II of Tuscany did not think Ferdinand I was at fault, because Ferdinand I had succeeded to the throne in accordance with tradition.

Scenes like these are frequently played out in the states of Central Italy.

Of course, there are those who are depressed and want to find a stage to show their talents, there are those who are corrupt and want to find a place to scrape the ground.

For example, in the current Parma, the Archduchess Marie Louise squandered her life even more unscrupulously after learning that she and Napoleon's only son had died.

Instead of helping to restore order to the region, Oaker, as an Austrian commissioner, favored the Archduchess Marie Louise, finding her a handsome young man and buying luxury goods, and he soon gained the trust of the Archduchess.

Oaker's economic source is to exploit the people of Parma and to obtain loans from Austria.

As an overseer, Oaker stole and used the money from Austria to build railways for the pleasure of the Grand Duchess and himself, and at the same time he also bought real estate from the United States, and could immigrate directly to the United States when necessary.

Oaker colluded with local corrupt officials, and round after round of expropriation and extortion, making the people of Palma miserable.

People who could not survive gathered and tried to march to the Duchess's mansion so that the Duchess could reduce her taxes.

But Oakel directly reported that there was a mob of Austrian troops in the vicinity who intended to harm the Grand Duchess.

The Austrian garrison became a knife in the hands of Ocker, and the resentment of the slaughtered citizens towards Austria increased, which also laid the groundwork for future outbreaks.

Francesco IV of Modena was a member of the Habsburgs, but he was a philistine among mediocrities, so to speak, Zhang Zongchang of the West.

Francesco IV did not know three things, one did not know how much money he had, two did not know how many people he had, and three did not know how many lovers he had.

He had assigned his lover's husband to take his money to recruit an army to fight against Napoleon.

As a result, the man did not recruit troops, but ran away with Francesco IV's money.

And Napoleon, until his death, did not know that there was such a man who was ready to send troops against him.

Francesco IV's rule was in disarray, and he preferred to call on the Austrian army rather than maintain an expensive army.

And the Austrian commissioners, who were helpless in the face of this situation, were all messed up with the Grand Duke.

In the Papal States, the people still maintain that almost medieval life.

There is a joke that if there is any place in this age that is most opposed to the Church, it must be the Romans.

The southernmost kingdom of the Two Sicilies ushered in, the freest king in the country's history, unlike his father, who had been silent all his life.

Ferdinando II took some of the measures of the Napoleonic era, reorganized the administration, cared for the welfare of the state, reduced taxes, encouraged industry, promoted trade, allowed the return of exiles, and even enabled some officials of the Murat era in his government.

Ferdinando II founded the first Italian railway (the Naples-Portici Railway), the first nautical company in Italy, and the first telegraph company in Italy, then his people opposed his rule and even fired cannonballs at his bedchamber, but his liberalization reforms continued...

Franz was well aware that what was needed to integrate Central Italy was a strong state and a long-term stable order.

At this time, Austria was suffering from serious internal strife and was indeed unable to continue to protect the legacy left by Franz II, so it might be wise to temporarily abandon the integration of Central Italy.

What happened in another place intrigued Franz more than Central Italy, where food was tasteless and discarded.

Defeated in the Spanish Civil War, Carlos first fled to England, where he did not get the support he wanted.

The British government even felt that Carlos was a scourge that undermined peace in Europe, saying that as long as Carlos was willing to give up the throne and not return to Spain, the British government was willing to pay Carlos a pension of 30,000 pounds a year.

At that time, 30,000 pounds was already a very large number, and the annuity of male members of the Austrian royal family was usually 1~20,000 florins, and 30,000 pounds was about 300,000 florins.

Carlos left England and went to France for help.

Franz felt that Carlos did not let the French see his sincerity, so Franz decided to help him.