Vienna, Chancellery.

Although the two old foxes opened their mouths and kept their mouths closed, no one cared about the life or death of the chaebol son.

The so-called factories in Bohemia were actually a number of mines, and the mining industry at that time was a high-risk industry, and of course it was very profitable.

But the problem is that it is high-risk and has a bad reputation, and it is necessary to deal with some difficult problems on a regular basis.

In fact, Franz had conceived of using prisoners instead of laborers to go to the mines, but the reality was that these people were very prone to riots when they got together, blowing up the mines, and killing their comrades.

But the most important point is that there are inefficiency, these people have neither the skills nor the desire to do the job itself.

The Austrian Empire, due to the rapid development of industry, needed a large amount of ore and coal at this time, and it was obviously not enough to rely on these prisoners.

There were many mines in the mountains of the Austrian Empire, but the production was seriously insufficient, so new mines had to be opened. But if it is directly operated by the royal family, it will inevitably bring a lot of problems, and at the same time, it will also bear a bad reputation.

This kind of thing is naturally better for others to do it, and at this time, Metternich and Solomon mentioned that they wanted him to carry this black cauldron.

This was indeed a big business, which would bring Solomon a lot of money, and at the same time solve the pressing problems of Austrian industrial development.

But doing so is undoubtedly to promote that the Rothschilds are nothing more than the dogs of the Habsburgs, and that they will be under a lot of pressure from all sides, and that their reputation will be affected.

Solomon felt that Metternich still resented himself for using the debt problem to blackmail the latter, so the former did not directly agree to the offer.

On the other hand, Hungary's industrial protection laws have caused public outrage, and nobles and merchants have repeatedly claimed that they have been robbed in Hungary and have asked the Austrian imperial government for explanations.

Anselm Rothschild's humiliating punishment ignited the anger of other peoples in the Austrian Empire.

It's not that the Rothschild family is popular, but that everyone needs a breakthrough.

Franz saw that the fire was almost burning, and proposed to Prime Minister Metternich to abolish the unilateral Hungarian industrial protection law.

This is a reasonable point for Metternich, and the Hungarian side must be happy to accept it.

But the next words made him break out in a cold sweat.

"Prime Minister, we should renegotiate the tax rate with Hungary."

Franz had been waiting for this day for a long time, in fact, he thought it would be longer, but he didn't expect the Hungarians to make so many moths.

In fact, the Hungarians also enacted a very strict industrial protection law in history, such as imposing heavy taxes on imported goods, establishing protection associations to supervise everyone, whether it is nobles or commoners, must buy expensive and inferior Hungarian goods.

But it didn't make much of a splash at the time, because Austrian industry was also weak and there was nothing to dump.

At this time, Metternich smelled a hint of danger, the local tax of the kingdom was the lifeblood of the Hungarian parliament, and they had the courage to argue with the central government of the Austrian Empire on this basis.

"Archduke Franz, I know that you will be a very aspiring monarch, but please wait and do not rush it. Joseph II was also an aspiring king, but in the end he was betrayed by the people. ”

Franz naturally understood what the other party meant, but from several incidents, it seems that this part of Hungary has rotted to the bones, and if you want to cure it, you must strip the flesh and pus, and remove the saprophytic muscle.

Of course, Franz will not make a strong man break his wrist and let Austria directly withdraw from the historical stage of the struggle for hegemony.

"Prime Minister, we can't rush it, but we can't just let it go. Today the Hungarians want to protect industry, tomorrow they will probably want to protect agriculture. The lives of the Magyars are fate, but the lives of other nations in our country are not fates?"

"Grand Duke Franz, you misunderstood me. We can reprimand them harshly and warn them that Hungary will be punished by the empire if it enacts such outrageous laws again. ”

"So as long as it's not outrageous, they can continue to make new laws?"

Franz asked rhetorically.

"But it's tradition"

"What is the rationale for the Austrian Imperial Government to make laws that require the approval of the Regency Parliament, and that the Hungarians can come up with a law as long as it is not too outrageous? If one day there is a civil war between Austria and Hungary, which side will those weak forces be on? ”

Metternich was speechless, and he didn't know how to answer, because his idea was always to prevent a civil war.

"God bless Austria, Archduke Franz, how could you have such thoughts?" Metternich's words seem weak, but they are actually very tough, and he is questioning Franz.

"Prime Minister, do you remember the previous crises? War may not be as far as you think. The latter, instead of flinching, satirized the humiliating performance of the Austrian Imperial Government in the face of crisis.

If Franz had not been in the situation in the previous crises, I am afraid that the reputation of the Austrian Empire would have been discredited long ago.

Metternich frowned.

"Grand Duke Franz, if you feel that the power of the parliament of the Kingdom of Hungary is too great to limit their power directly? Why is it a renegotiation of tax rates, not the law. ”

"Prime Minister, the kingdom's finances and taxes are where their courage lies. As long as there is money and food, the 12 million people in Hungary are their soldiers, and the dealers who want weapons will try to send them to them. So their power must be weakened"

Metternich nodded with satisfaction, knowing that his students were not extraordinary, but to be honest, he had no solution to the Hungarian problem.

The only way to intimidate the Hungarian aristocracy was to "emancipate the serfs", but the newly elected Kossuth did the opposite, and he actually inherited the mantle of Széchenyi and demanded the abolition of serfdom on his own initiative, and this new enemy terrified the Vienna government.

"Archduke Franz, what are you going to do? If the tax rate is only negotiated, the Hungarians will not agree to a policy that is not good for them. ”

"Prime Minister, the Crown of St. Stephen has never been limited to Magyars, but also to Illyrians, Transylvanians, and Rusenis, and the so-called Kingdom of Hungary should be strictly speaking only in Central Hungary."

After listening to Franz's words, Metternich couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, because if only Central Hungary remained, it would be a quarter of its original territory, so it would be very easy to control.

"But the Magyars won't agree." Metternich said subconsciously.

"That's right, but as long as the Illyrians, Transylvanians and Galicians agree to any of them, it will be our victory.

Prime Minister, I would also like to share with you the good news that the Ring St. Stephen's Crown Line has been opened. ”

It dawned on Metternich that the railroad was a good thing, and that it could project Austrian power farther and farther faster.

Although there were no railways in Hungary, the military built a railway around St. Stephen's Crown on the borders of the Kingdom of Hungary under the pretext of supporting Belgrade and the defense of the homeland.

(Illyrian is a general term for Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs.) ）

(End of chapter)