War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

London, England.

The British side was surprised but not surprised by the Austrian mission's visit.

I was surprised that the Austrians came so quickly. After all, the Austrian Empire was winning consecutive battles at this time and successfully broke through the British naval blockade.

The most important thing is that sending a mission to an enemy country for negotiations at this time is usually considered a sign of weakness, and the party hosting the peace conference is usually considered the winner and leader, just like Austria at the Congress of Vienna.

But the Austrians' low profile does not surprise the British. After all, the former is just a land power country, and their resources are limited after all.

The British Empire was a maritime power that could mobilize nearly unlimited resources, and it could also use the City of London to finance its wars and inject continuous impetus into the war.

Even France would fall apart under the offensive of the British Empire. The British had always believed that they would be the final winner, and this time was no exception.

However, the British government was also very uncomfortable at this time. The failure of the war infinitely magnified the crises at home and abroad, including the Irish, Scots, Chartists, Jacobites, and those hateful ghosts.

The Tories went to the extent of being shameless in order to gain political power. They even informed the people and the royal family of the truth in the name of safeguarding justice.

In addition, due to the combination of many factors, the economic crisis has not improved, but has worsened.

Especially after the failure of the Mediterranean naval battle, the Austrian navy began to learn from the British navy's practices in intercepting British merchant ships.

The cargo on the ship was actually worthless, but the ocean-going ships were very valuable, so many British insurance companies had to go bankrupt.

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

Therefore, at this time, major British bankers and financial groups united to demand reconciliation between the British government and Austria and the release of British merchant ships.

Urgent reports also came from Gibraltar. The Austrian Navy had bombarded Gibraltar twice. Fortunately, the casualties were not large, but all the ships in the port were destroyed.

The Austrian's purpose was obviously to trap the garrison of Gibraltar, but it seemed unlikely. After all, the garrison had enough supplies to last for more than half a year.

Although Britain was under great pressure at this time, there was a bottom line within the Whig Party, which was that the status of the Austrian Empire must be weakened, and no one from the Habsburg family could be crowned the German Empire.

Otherwise, if the Holy Roman Empire returns, Britain's decades of efforts to balance the power of continental countries will be in vain.

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

The Austrian Imperial Mission caused quite a stir as soon as it arrived in London, because the mission directly bought the Claridge's Hotel, the most luxurious and expensive hotel in London at that time, as a place to stay.

The Claridge's Hotel was built in 1812. It once had a very glorious history and even hosted the Queen's family. Even at this time, it is still in the limelight.

But behind the superficial beauty is a heavy debt crisis. 1848 was the most difficult time for this hotel, and their lives became even more difficult because of the appearance of Franz.

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

Although Baron Brooke viewed this behavior as a completely meaningless waste, he didn't say anything when he thought of Archduke Franz's investment miracle in North America.

The other accompanying bankers and economists didn't say anything when they saw Baron Brooke, but they naturally chose to shut up, but they would inevitably make a note in their diaries or manuscripts.

“In July 1848, Archduke Franz spent a fortune to purchase a meaningless asset.”

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

Almost all bankers wanted to take the Austrian delegation to their residences. After all, the delegation included such big figures as Baron Brooke, the Austrian Imperial Finance Minister and the President of the Imperial Central Bank, and Lucen Sina, the Chairman of the Austrian Imperial Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

There are also business legends like old Artiès, whose assets appreciated 150 times in ten years, and well-known economists like Böhm-Bawerk.

The Rothschild family has been the most active, although Lionel Rothschild's uncle Solomon Rothschild is most likely involved in the internal struggle of the Austrian Empire and his whereabouts are still unknown.

But this did not dampen Lionel's enthusiasm at all. In this era of economic crisis, he could not refuse an opportunity to dominate the City of London.

Even the always stingy George Peabody was willing to provide free accommodation for the Austrian imperial mission, but food was not included.

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

However, Franz had little interest in this financial robber on Wall Street, and also conducted an investigation into George Peabody.

The result of the investigation was that this stingy man was even stingier than the rumors. He never paid tips, would not give any charity, had only the minimum standard for food and clothing, and was not even willing to spend money to treat the rheumatism that tortured him.

He only gave a shoelace as a gift to the illegitimate son born to his favorite mistress. In comparison, Old Man Goriot didn't seem to be particularly stingy.

Franz dislikes his character on the one hand, but more importantly, Franz is not optimistic about the future of the United States. It would be better to choose such a stingy partner than to just raise a dog of his own, or send his own people to break into the enemy's army. internal.

Franz's identity and status, as well as the national strength of the Austrian Empire at this time, meant that he did not need to flatter a certain capitalist or the stinker of a certain consortium, and there was no need to place his future on these people.

In fact, Franz has already planted seeds in the north and south of the United States. Some people will definitely ask where Franz comes from so much energy to carry out micro-management in many aspects.

This is a bit underestimating the Austrian Empire. After all, as a big country with a population of nearly 50 million, even a broken ship still has three pounds of nails, not to mention that Austria at this time is far from being hopeless. There are still only a few available people. Hard to find.

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, you can take advantage of Franz as a time traveler. After all, he knows the future trend. As long as it is approved by him, even if he does not make a huge profit, he will definitely make a profit without losing anything.

Claridge's Hotel, London.

Although most of the members of the Austrian mission were visiting the UK as diplomatic envoys for the first time, there was no trace of nervousness on their faces. After all, no one was better at negotiating and bargaining than them.