London, United Kingdom.

The visit of the Austrian mission was both surprised and not surprising by the British.

It was surprising that the Austrians would come so quickly, after all, the Austrian Empire had won a series of battles and successfully broke through the naval blockade of the British Navy.

The main thing is that sending a mission to an enemy country for negotiations at this time is generally considered a sign of weakness, and the party hosting the peace conference is usually considered the victor and the dominant party, as was the case with Austria at the Vienna Conference.

But the low profile of the Austrians did not surprise the British, after all, the former was only a land power, and their resources were limited after all.

The British Empire, on the other hand, was a sea power that could mobilize almost unlimited resources and use the City of London to finance its efforts to fuel the war effort.

Even the former France would have collapsed under the offensive of the British Empire, and the British had always believed that they would be the winners, and this is no exception.

However, at this time, the British government was also very uncomfortable, and the defeat of the war magnified the crises at home and abroad, the Irish, the Scots, the *** faction, the Jacobite party, and those hateful ghosts...

The Tories were even more shameless in their pursuit of power, and they even told the truth to the people and the royal family under the banner of upholding justice.

In addition, the economic crisis has worsened rather than improved due to a combination of factors.

Especially after the defeat in the Mediterranean naval battle, the Austrian Navy began to learn from the British Navy's practice to intercept British merchant ships.

The cargo on board is not really valuable, but the ocean-going ship is, so many insurance companies in the UK have to pay for it.

Once these insurance companies pay, then the banking industry behind them will also suffer.

So at this time the big British bankers and consortia united to demand that the British government and Austria make peace and explain the release of British merchant ships.

There was also an urgent report from Gibraltar that the Austrian Navy had shelled Gibraltar twice, but fortunately the casualties were not large, but all the ships in the port were destroyed.

The Austrians' aim was clearly to trap the defenders of Gibraltar, but it seemed unlikely, given that the defenders had enough supplies to hold out for more than half a year.

Although Britain was under great pressure at this time, there was also a bottom line within the Whigs, that is, the position of the Austrian Empire must be weakened, and the Habsburgs must not be crowned the crown of the German Empire.

Otherwise, the Holy Roman Empire will return, and Britain's decades of efforts to balance the power of continental Europe will be in vain.

Only a weakened France and a chaotic Central Europe, and Eastern Europe as an imaginary enemy, were in the best interests of Britain.

As soon as the Austrian Imperial Mission arrived in London, it caused quite a stir, because the mission directly bought the most luxurious and expensive Claridge Hotel in London at that time.

Founded in 1812, the Claridge Grand Hotel has a very illustrious history, even hosting the Queen's family, even at this time.

But behind the surface was a heavy debt crisis, and 1848 was the most difficult time for the hotel, and their days were even more difficult because of Franz's appearance.

So when the Habsburgs offered to buy the hotel, the hotel's shareholders agreed almost without thinking.

Although Baron Brooke thought that this behavior was completely meaningless and wasteful, he did not say anything when he remembered the miracle of Archduke Franz's investment in North America.

The other bankers and economists who accompanied him did not say anything when they saw Baron Brooke, but naturally they chose to keep their mouths shut, although they inevitably made a note in their own diaries or manuscripts.

"In July 1848, Archduke Franz bought a meaningless asset at great expense..."

In fact, before the arrival of the Austrian Imperial Mission, the business giants of the City of London had already taken action.

Almost all the bankers wanted to take the Austrian mission to their residence, which included Brucknan, Chancellor of the Exchequer of the Austrian Empire and Governor of the Reich's Central Bank

Lord and the president of the Austrian Imperial Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Lucent Sina.

There is also a business legend like the elder Aties, whose assets have appreciated 150 times in ten years, and well-known economists such as Bombavik.

The Rothschilds were the most active, although Lionel Rothschild's own uncle, Solomon Rothschild, was most likely implicated in the internal struggles of the Austrian Empire.

But that didn't dampen Lionel's enthusiasm in the slightest, and he couldn't turn down an opportunity to dominate the City of London in an era of economic crisis.

Even Georges Peabody, who had always been stingy, offered to provide free accommodation for the Austrian Imperial Mission, but not food.

The name George Peabody may be unfamiliar to everyone, but everyone will definitely hear the Morgan consortium he founded.

However, Franz had little interest in the Wall Street financial robber, and he also investigated the person of Georges Peabody.

The result of the investigation was that the miser was even more stingy than the rumors, never tipping, never giving any alms, eating and wearing all the bare minimum, and even unwilling to spend money on the rheumatism that afflicted him.

For the illegitimate child born to his favorite mistress, he only gave a shoelace as a gift, and the old man Gao didn't seem to be particularly picky in comparison.

Franz's dislike of his character is one thing, but more importantly, Franz is not optimistic about the future of the United States, and it is better to choose such a stingy partner than to directly raise a dog of his own, or send his own people to penetrate into the enemy army.

Franz's identity, status, and the national strength of the Austrian Empire at this time made it impossible for him to support a certain capitalist or a certain consortium, and it was completely unnecessary to pin his future on these people.

In fact, Franz has long planted the seeds in the north and south of the United States, and some people will definitely ask Franz where he got this energy to carry out multi-faceted micro-manipulation.

This is a bit of a underestimation of the Austrian Empire, but as a large country with a population of nearly 50 million, even a rotten ship has three pounds of nails, not to mention that Austria at this time is far from being incorrigible, and it is not difficult to find a few available people.

In addition, in this barbaric era, as long as there is sufficient financial support, there will naturally be countless capable people to provide projects that can make money.

At this time, he can give full play to the advantages of Franz as a traverser, after all, he knows the future trend, as long as he approves of it, even if he can't make a profit, he will make a steady profit.

Claridge Hotel, London.

Most of the members of the Austrian mission were visiting England for the first time as diplomatic envoys, but there was no nervousness on their faces, for no one was better at negotiating and bargaining.