Prince Metternich did not realize his mistake, and most of Franz's advice was selectively ignored.

However, the superficial work was still very good, and even convinced Franz that the prince had accepted his advice.

Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.

"Archduke Franz, your words don't seem to be as easy to accept as you think."

Adjani said slightly jokingly, Franz knew that the other party would not be untargeted, and it seemed that there should be something wrong in one link.

"What do you want to say?"

Adjani didn't continue to hide it, and said straight to the point.

"Our Prime Minister is still supporting the Orthodox Union of Switzerland, and at the same time investing in the Papal States continues unabated."

This surprised Franz a little, because according to the information from many sources, the Austrian imperial government must have indeed cut the funding of two places.

Let Prince Metternich pay out of his own pocket? That's impossible! And he couldn't afford it, and the tens of millions of dollars in the nineteenth century could only be done by the state.

"How is that possible? I haven't heard of any recent changes between the Papal States and the Swiss Confederation. And the most important thing is where does the money come from? ”

Adjani: "Our Prime Minister is also known as the 'Prime Minister of Europe', who has been in business for decades in the diplomatic arena and in Austria, and is it not easy to hide it?

As for the money. Your education fund and colonial development funds, of course! ”

One of Franz's goals in doing this was to save money, because the church's own financial resources and obsession with education meant that the government could do a lot with little money.

But the disadvantage is that the church is very autonomous, they do not rely on the financial support of the state, and because of Franz's special status, the former does not dare to make too many demands.

As a result, even though the government was in arrears, Franz's basic education program was still progressing steadily, and he naturally did not notice it.

In the eyes of those bureaucrats, Franz is the emperor who doesn't know when, while Metternich is now the real prime minister, and after weighing the pros and cons, almost all choose to remain silent.

There are those who want to speak out, but not to mention those small officials with sesame mung beans, even if the local officials want to give gifts to Franz, they may not have the opportunity.

Similarly, neither Franz's businessman-based intelligence network (the Vienna Chamber of Commerce and Industry) nor the expensive secret police were reluctant to get involved in the struggle between the future emperor and the current chancellor.

The reason is very simple, do not seek merit but seek no fault. Especially in the midst of political struggles, it is more dangerous to take sides before the situation is clear, rather than not taking sides.

As for the Bavarian Mutual Aid Association controlled by Mrs. Sophie, it may be very influential among the people, but it is not a fart on the table, and it is impossible to have access to this level of intelligence.

The same is true of the Church's intelligence network, whose first mission is to monitor the people's situation, targeting the commoners and the aristocracy, as well as those enemies who may pose a threat to the rule of the Empire, and they may be a little better at gathering intelligence on foreign governments than they are at home.

The Violet Knights in Adjani's hands are completely different, the direction of their intelligence collection is completely based on Franz's needs, in addition to the outside, the same internal, and belongs to an organization that is completely loyal to Franz, and does not involve the issue of choosing sides.

In addition to socialites, wine and dancers, live-in nannies, cooks, handymen, and even eunuch singers.

After years of training, these people have infiltrated all walks of life, and some have even become the "Madame de Pompadour" in the Netherlands.

In the colonies of the Austrian Empire, Franz arranged a variety of checks and balances in order to maintain stability and relative loyalty.

Although they are ultimately responsible to Franz, due to some balancing measures, the information between these forces is not transparent enough, and there are even some gaps.

As a result, the government did not react much to the reduction in funding, but first became suspicious of each other.

At the same time, due to the rapid economic development and the relatively smooth construction of the colonies, this contradiction has actually been greatly alleviated, and even in some colonies it has been completely free from dependence on government funds.

But this was not good news, and the colonies could develop independently without the support of their mother country, something that Franz had been trying to avoid.

It's just that the Austrian plate is too big, and the work of gathering intelligence alone requires ten clerks, plus the work of ten clerks for secrecy, a total of thirty people can be completed.

If Franz had to do everything, I'm afraid 24 hours a day would not be enough. Emphasizing inevitably leads to omissions, and decentralization is required, and it is difficult for people in the nineteenth century to have Franz's vision and judgment.

As a result, there are endless problems and some hidden dangers that cannot be investigated, which has created today's situation.

Tens of millions of funds were missing, and Franz didn't even notice it.

But what infuriated Franz the most was Metternich's approach, which was not only contrary to the good and the bad, but also self-righteous. The latter never recognized the troubles that his approach might cause.

In fact, what made Franz even more angry was Adjani's intelligence that the Prince of Metternich had neither increased his troops or built pillboxes in the areas of the Papal States that Ferrara, Bologna, Ravenna, and Ancona had effectively controlled, nor did he engage in large-scale construction and development of agriculture and commerce.

Even quietly building a railroad in the Papal States, Franz could understand. And our Prince Metternich actually used Franz's money to bribe the cardinals, the church priests, the scum.

This made Franz feel as uncomfortable as eating Xiang, and he really didn't know if it was because he knew the rules of the game too well, or if he was empiricist.

But the most outrageous thing is its operation in Switzerland, which has sent large quantities of supplies and funds to the canton of Ticeno, as in history.

As a result, the other party only made a receipt, and the officials of the Austrian Empire went home in high spirits.

Although the state of Ticeno was ostensibly a member of the Orthodox League, it had in fact been bought into the Free League.

As a result, the money and weapons directly solved the urgent need of the Free Alliance, and the foundation for maintaining the Free Alliance under Franz's Golden Yuan Offensive was already in jeopardy.

But at this time, Metternich's funds directly refilled the collapse of the Free Alliance, and those weapons and equipment made Dufort ecstatic.

You must know that due to the arms embargo agreement between Austria, France, Prussia and Sahara, the Freedom Alliance can only rely on the British to import weapons.

However, the British are also unprofitable and cannot afford to be early, and the weapons sold are not only expensive, but most of them are already outdated and outdated.

Although it is also used in obsolete goods from the Austrian military, it is really better than those eighteenth-century antiques sold by the British to the Swiss.

Franz thought that the war might not be able to be fought if it went on like this, but as a result, Prince Metternich's wave of poverty alleviation was afraid that the two factions in Switzerland would fight between the two factions in the future.

Although the Swiss Orthodox Union is now at a great disadvantage, they do not know it, and Franz will not let Switzerland continue to pretend to be neutral.

(End of chapter)