Schönbrunn Palace, Franz's study.

Adjani placed a bulging envelope on Franz's desk.

"What is this?"

"Mr. Solomon Rothschild's bribe, if I don't take something from him, how can a shrewd person believe me."

Franz nodded, then noticed that Adjani seemed to have new earrings.

"What's that?"

Adjani snorted.

"Stingy!"

Then he untied the earrings and placed them on top of the envelope.

Franz put the earrings into a delicate box, closed the lid and solemnly handed them to Adjani.

"This is what I sent you."

Adjani opened the box and put the earrings back on.

"Stinky boy, I won't see you for a few days, and I'll be coaxing."

With that, he walked around the table and sat directly on Franz's lap.

"Are you molesting me?"

"No, I just don't think it's good for you to bring the stolen goods sent by Solomon, I'll give you one more time." Franz replied.

"You're still too tender." Adjani said deliberately in Franz's ear.

Just when Franz thought that the other party's molestation was over, Adjani shook the purse in her hand.

Franz snatched it away.

"When will you change your petty thief habit?"

"Why change? It's a survival skill! Adjani retorted.

"You're from a noble background, aren't you? Do you still need to learn this? Franz asked, a little confused.

"Aren't you an exiled nobleman now?" Adjani said with some resentment.

"Do you want a knighthood? I can help you. ”

"I don't want to."

"Well, how are the stock markets returning?"

"About 15%."

"So little."

"It's a lot, it's millions of florins, which can be worth half a year's income of a small country."

Adjani has been around Franz several times, and her perception of money used to be that usury merchants were the most profitable industry, and those kings and emperors often had to borrow money to survive.

Now that I look at it, it's still easy for the superior to make money. The debt of those in high positions of power is not necessarily a sign of lack of money, but it is certain.

Just like the little guy in front of him, I really don't know when he will be satisfied, but I think about it, compared to Franz's dream, the money is really insignificant.

It's just that the dream was too illusory, and Adjani still doesn't know if Franz was joking or if he really wanted to do it.

"What is the plan for the construction of the Semering Railway? Did it pass? Franz asked.

"Are you talking about reinforced concrete structures? Experts from the Austrian Engineering Association looked at it and said that it was really a genius design. Cement and rebar have been around for a long time, but no one has thought of using them together as building materials for decades, which is a genius idea. ”

Adjani looked a little agitated as she spoke, because she remembered how the experts went from contempt to admiration to weeping.

"So when will the railroad be completed?"

"In two to three years, while this new structure will solve the viaduct problem, the terrain is still very complex, and the engineers need enough time to solve the problem."

Adjani paused here and continued.

"Now there is another problem, that is, the quality of our cement produced in Austria is not good, the hardness is not up to standard in all aspects, if you want to complete the viaduct, you have to buy Portland cement from the UK."

"Portland cement?"

"Yes, a high-strength cement. But the British kept the recipe secret, and it was expensive, and with the shipping costs, it was astronomical. ”

After understanding the ratio of cement materials at this time, Franz found that he was still too proud, modern cement should be called Portland cement, and he searched for a long time in the formula and did not find anything wrong.

According to Franz's estimate, the reason why Austrian cement is not as good as British cement should be a matter of proportion.

Maybe the silicon content is not enough, or maybe some iron or aluminum should be added, in short, Franz wrote his own conjecture, and the rest is left to those professional scientists to study the proportions.

The delay in the opening of the railway in Trieste annoyed Franz, so he had to find a way to speed it up himself.

The newspapers in Vienna were full of news about Friedrich's surprise attack on Alexandria and Franz's recapture of Belgrade.

There is no country that does not like to boast of its prowess, and Austria is no exception, and it did not like to mention wars because of repeated defeats.

Although this kind of atmosphere is not good, it is undoubtedly a shot in the arm for a country that has been dormant for too long.

Whether it was the defeat of Egypt and the seizure of Belgrade, it was a great victory for the Austrian Empire.

Although Franz met little resistance along the way to the reconquest of Belgrade, the editors of the newspapers did not write like this.

How can a political victory come as well as a military victory? So this political victory became the story of the foolish Prince Metternich who fell into a trap and the heroic Grand Duke Franz led his army to defeat the evil Ottomans and cut off their beards with his sword, saving Belgrade.

Don't think it's ridiculous, the Austro-Hungarian textbooks once said conclusively: "Emperor Franz led the hussar charge and killed dozens of enemy troops at the Battle of Solferino." ”

After that, the legend about Franz became more and more outrageous, although he himself did not care much, but with the help of someone with a heart, the whole incident is developing in a strange direction.

"Archduke Franz was the illegitimate son of Madame Sophie and Napoleon II." An extremely vicious rumor appeared in the newspapers.

Although the newspaper was immediately shut down, and all its staff, from the editor-in-chief to the reporters to the workers in charge of typesetting and printing, were held for secret interrogation, the rumors continued to spread.

This rumor caused all the glory that Franz had received to disappear in an instant, and even the reputation of the Habsburgs was damaged.

Franz was not interested in verifying the truth of this rumor, he only wanted to know why, a rumor made in Vienna, had not been found for so long.

For the first time since the crossing, Franz faced such pressure. Because this rumor is tantamount to denying the legitimacy and legitimacy of his succession to the throne from the root.

Franz looked in the mirror and looked at his chestnut hair, which should not be the same as the black hair of the Napoleonic family.

As soon as he breathed a sigh of relief, he was bumped into by Adjani, and Franz didn't hide it.

"Napoleon's hair is black, right?"

Adjani said with some embarrassment.

"Grand Duke E-Franz. I looked it up, and there are several versions of it, maroon (Dr. Kvysat), crimson gold (Denis Davydov), brown (British Captain Ross). And Napoleon II had Habsburg blood."

This made Franz, who still wanted to take a blood test, a little speechless.

(End of chapter)