Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.

Franz had a rare difficulty getting dressed, which made Adjani feel a little strange.

Because Franz is not a person who pays attention to dress, he will always wear a decent outfit according to the occasion.

Most of them are arranged costumes, and there are few objections.

"Archduke Franz, where are you going? Are you going to meet your little lovers? Adjani said with a smile on her face.

"No, the theater is over. Those people have their own livelihood, although there is still an element of betraying the hue, but at least they are not hungry, and they are not too unbearable. ”

Franz's answer did not surprise Adjani, after all, in her heart, she should be more attractive than those little girls.

"And where are you going, so much to keep you so entangled?"

Franz thought for a moment and replied.

"Invalides, you are also ready to come with me later."

"Les Invalides?" Adjani asked, a little confused, she couldn't figure out why Franz would want to go to that kind of place.

First of all, excluding business, there was only a group of disabled and dying old people, and she didn't think that those people could be profitable.

Generally speaking, the elderly may accumulate wealth, knowledge, connections, and experience. That's why we often say that the elderly are a treasure. But none of these things were available to the disabled veterans in Les Invalides, they were a bunch of people who deserved to die and didn't die.

This is how the disabled veterans are perceived in this era, most of them have forgotten them in the corner of time, and a few have criticized them as moths that waste food and cowards who fear death.

The rulers wanted to frame them, but they didn't want to spend money on them.

Of course, there are some special existences, such as Napoleon's empire, which has been down for decades, but it is still remembered to this day that Napoleon gave half of his inheritance to the veterans who had followed him.

Even if those people have crossed the ocean, to the United States, to Brazil, they still remember this kindness. They later contributed to the rise of Napoleon III and the development of the Second Empire.

Adjani's second thought might have been to search for some secret information, but most of the Invalides in Vienna were veterans of the Napoleonic Wars, and even if they knew anything, it would have been outdated.

"Don't guess, it was Archduke Karl who instructed me before he left. He said that although he could not help these soldiers who were loyal to the empire, as long as he walked around the Invalides from time to time, those petty people would be more restrained.

But now that he was leaving, he was afraid that no one would deter them, so he wanted me to do it for him. ”

Franz looked so helpless when he remembered Archduke Karl, but his tone was so unmistakable.

"This should be a task."

Franz smiled self-deprecatingly.

"If you're on patrol, it's better to wear a military uniform. Don't care about your rank and those medals, and don't be ashamed to wear this uniform because you haven't been on the battlefield.

You can look at them in a military uniform and you have the greatest respect for them. ”

Adjani was right when he said that Franz would be treating them with contempt if he went to Les Invalides in a fancy suit to visit the veterans.

At this time, there were still 570 people in the Invalides in Vienna, more than two-thirds of whom entered the Invalides during the Napoleonic Wars.

In fact, the threshold of the Invalides in Vienna is very demanding, unless you are injured in the national war, and you must be seriously injured to enter here.

Those injured in border frictions or battles with bandits, gangsters, and smugglers receive a maximum pension and are not eligible to enter Les Invalides.

Another characteristic of veterans who entered the Invalides was that they were helpless, and most of them chose to enter the Invalides because they lost their families in the war, or because they lost their ability to work.

Originally, veterans with minor injuries or mild disabilities were taken care of by the severely disabled, and the expenses were directly borne by the royal family and the government.

But soon with the end of the war, the status of the military declined, and the management of Les Invalides was transferred from the army to the imperial government.

Post-war Austria was not in ruins, but in a mess. Young adults are dying in large numbers, buildings are in ruins, and the government is in debt.

Austria was the country that suffered the most from the Napoleonic Wars.

Les Invalides became useless, and the veterans became waste within waste.

If it weren't for the efforts of Archduke Karl and other veterans of the Napoleonic Wars to stop it, I am afraid that the Austrian Imperial Government dominated by Prince Metternich and Count Korolav would have abolished it long ago.

However, even if there is no reduction, it is inevitable that it will become run by officials.

One of the major drawbacks of the bureaucracy was corruption, and the lack of money in the Austrian Imperial Government meant that life in Les Invalides was miserable.

Moreover, those high-ranking officials and lords do not have the slightest respect and awe for these disabled veterans.

Most of the civilians of the Austrian Empire could only eat two meals a day, while the veterans of the Invalides could only eat one meal a day, and they would go hungry if they went late.

Those with leg disabilities can only rush to the canteen half an hour before the start of the meal, and some severely disabled people are eager to live in the canteen.

Some of them really couldn't get enough to eat, so they planted wild vegetables in the garden, until Grand Duke Karl remembered his soldiers again.

But when he came to the Invalides again, he found that those once hot-blooded young people had turned into skinny monsters, and even fought against his brothers who were born and died for a mouthful of gruel.

Archduke Karl shot the head of the Invalides on the spot, and bought flour and meat for the veterans out of his own pocket.

He then petitioned the Austrian Imperial Government to allocate more money to those who had shed their blood for the Empire's victory.

But the reply was that the burden on the empire was heavy enough, and a table of accounts was given on which the money allocated by the government was clearly recorded.

Although the money is not much, it can definitely guarantee that every veteran will have white bread to eat and be full.

But the Austrian officials, large and small, were all embezzling, and in fact there was not much money in the hands of the Invalides, and the person in charge who was shot by Archduke Karl was only a few thousand florins a year.

And although he is the emperor's younger brother, the impact of such a thing as executing officers privately is still too bad.

Archduke Karl was ordered by the Emperor to leave Vienna, and he had to donate 100,000 florins to the Invalides in Vienna every year and send one of his most trusted stewards to oversee the use of the money.

However, when Archduke Karl returned to Vienna three years later, he found that his butler had absconded with the money, and the head of Les Invalides was nowhere to be found.

The lives of the veterans have not improved much, but they have not eaten one meal a day, but they have one meal a day.

So, Archduke Karl stopped donating and instead came to Les Invalides every quarter to see what he could, so that they could have at least two meals to eat.

(End of chapter)