Franz was very grateful for Archduke Karl's rescue, because he did not expect Solomon Rothschild to suddenly come out and stir up the situation.

Solomon Rothschild's behavior seems to be just a normal transaction, but he is very likely to cause the bankruptcy of Franz's entire plan.

Franz's goal wasn't just to make money, he wanted more

What Franz didn't know was that his anonymous letter did not reach Archduke Karl at all, and Baron Brooke's lobbying did not work.

The letter was withheld by Archduke Karl's butler, and Archduke Karl had no interest in making money at all, and would buy railways before, because he felt that this was a strategic resource and should be taken into the state.

(In the eyes of the royal family in this era, what is royal is what is state)

It was Archduke Friedrich who really made up his mind to invest in food, and Talia quietly approached Friedrich and asked him for help.

Friedrich spent lavishly, but it was just to eat, drink, and have fun, and he had to ask his father for help with such a large deal, which could cost millions.

Grand Duke Karl was very fond of his third son, the eldest was too stubborn, the second was too weak, and the fourth was frail and sickly, and only the third was the most pleasing to him.

But in fact, Friedrich did not like his father at all, because Archduke Karl was very strict, especially after the death of his mother.

So Friedrich chose the navy and completely left the sight of Archduke Karl, there is a saying that distance produces beauty, because it is far away from Archduke Karl's sight, but makes Archduke Karl extremely close to him.

For the stubborn Archduke Karl, Friedrich had his own way, and that was to cut in from a military point of view.

The greatest losses in the Napoleonic Wars were Austria and Spain.

Austria lost 550,000 people, of whom 250,000 starved to death.

Spain lost 590,000 people, of whom 280,000 died of famine.

Why did Napoleon defeat Moscow? Not because there are no supplies?

This shows how important food is to a country.

Although the words are a little rough, they are not rough.

Archduke Karl immediately realized the seriousness of the problem, and in order to deal with a possible crisis, he not only had to buy enough grain, but also had all the estates under his name stop selling grain.

Archduke Karl's sense of crisis, as well as some operations, directly raised the price of food to a higher level.

Berlin, City Palace.

Wilhelm III sat proudly on the throne, and after the formal establishment of the German Customs Union, Prussia's economy developed in an all-round way, and due to the clever restrictions on the railways, Prussia's position in North Germany was more solid.

But what makes him happiest is that the crops in his territory have been sold at a good price, and even the previous backlog of inventory has been sold out.

"It's crazy to hear that the Austrians are raising the price of grain." This was stated by Prime Minister Karl von Weellich.

"This is an opportunity for us to break the Hungarians once and for all. The purchasing power of the Austrians is stronger than that of the whole of North Germany, and we cannot afford to lose this market. The new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Friedrich Liszt, said.

Now that Friedrich Liszt had become the spokesman of the Junker landlords, of course he had to speak for his new masters.

Prussian grain could be sold to Austria in a way that the Prussian Junker landlords could never have dreamed of.

Of course, this was thanks to the assistance of the Hungarians, who insisted on imposing high tariffs on Austria and at the same time did not allow Austria to build the railway to Hungary.

Although this kept Hungary and Austria at a distance, it was a huge loss economically, and the poor did not have such a strong sense of patriotism, they only knew what was cheap and what could fill their stomachs.

And the slogan that Hungary had been propagating so vigorously that they were not Austrians worked at this time, and the Austrians gave up Hungarian grain in favor of cheaper Prussian grain, without any guilt.

"But..." Chancellor Karl von Weellich said with some concern.

"Now that our Prussian grain has bottomed out, if we continue to sell grain to the Austrians, we can certainly make a profit, but if there is a real natural disaster, what should we do?"

Wilhelm III was impressed by Wehrich's words, and as a child, he had experienced the Napoleonic Wars, natural and man-made disasters, and the city of Berlin was full of starvation, and he saw that terrible scene, which he still remembers vividly.

"I think Mr. Wehrich is right." William III said.

"So what, we can buy grain from Russia, which has a lower price than we do, and the reason why we have been banning the purchase of Russian grain is to protect the interests of our own people. In the event of a famine caused by a natural disaster, we could have bought food from Russia to tide over the crisis. Friedrich Liszt said.

Russian Tsar Nicholas I is the son-in-law of William III, and he also helped this son-in-law suppress the Polish uprising.

Wilhelm III felt that Friedrich Liszt had a point.

"Mr. Liszt is right."

"Your Majesty, the fate of Prussia should not be in someone else's hands, we must stop selling grain to Austria and leave enough grain for Prussia. Otherwise, as soon as the Russians break their promises, the whole country will be plunged into turmoil. Wei Lixi said.

"Mr. Wei Lixi, are you trying to stir up a wedge between Your Majesty and your family? National turmoil? What a joke, our Prussian army of 200,000 is all decorations? Friedrich Liszt asked rhetorically.

"Nikolai is the son-in-law of His Majesty, but even more so the Tsar of Russia!" Wei Lixi emphasized.

"Will the Russian Tsar sit idly by and watch Prussia decline and Austria's influence in the German Confederation grow? Let's not forget that Russia and Austria were rivals in the Balkans, and they both wanted to claim the Ottoman legacy. Only a strong Prussia could contain Austria and prevent him from advancing eastward! Friedrich Liszt said impassionedly.

"What about civilians? Even if the Russians are willing to sell us grain, it is questionable whether the civilian population can afford it, and what if people starve to death? Wei Lixi asked.

"Hungry to death? Wouldn't people starve to death in a good year? Mr. Welich, you were born with a golden spoon in your mouth, and you know very little about civilians. And I came from a civilian background, and now in every city in any country, there are people who go hungry. This has been the case for at least a few thousand years, but are civilians exterminated? Friedrich Liszt asked.

"But" Welich tried to say something, but was interrupted by Friedrich Liszt.

"Your Majesty rules the world with the nobles, not with the commoners!"

"Mr. Liszt is right." William III said.

(End of chapter)