Chapter 54 Schönbrunn Palace Conversation
Habsburg Schönbrunn Palace.
Ernst came to Franz for help.
To be honest, Franz has been very busy recently. In addition to the follow-up of the defeat, he also has to deal with the unreasonable troubles of the Hungarian Magyar nobles.
But Franz still took time to meet his future niece and son-in-law.
"Ernst, why come to Austria when you have time!" Emperor Franz asked.
"Your Majesty, I am here this time to hope that Austria can support me in the recruitment work in Austria." Ernst said frankly.
"You don't need to tell me about such trivial matters!" Franz said puzzled.
Recruitment is such a trivial matter, and you still need to go to the palace to tell yourself in person, so there are so many companies in Austria, it is an exaggeration to report to yourself every day.
"In fact, this is the case, Your Majesty, I have recruited a little more people this time. And I hope the Austrian government can endorse this recruitment."
"How many people do you want to recruit?" Franz asked curiously. After all, if there are few people, the government will not need to come forward.
"If possible, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands." Ernst replied without changing his face.
"Ernst, are you kidding me! Are you planning to arm an army? So many people are too outrageous!" Franz asked in disbelief.
Ernst explained: "Your Majesty, this is actually the case. I think you should know that I have a colony in East Africa. The current economic benefits are not bad, and I can barely make ends meet. The factors that hinder the development of the colony It is the population, because no one was willing to go to East Africa to develop, so I recruited a lot of people from Asia, just like the German population of the Austrian Empire, the number of white people in the colonies is very small, I think you know what this means!"
"So you wanted to recruit people from the Austrian Empire to balance the Asians in the colonies! But why didn't you recruit people from Prussia?" Franz asked curiously.
How can I answer the call? Ernst complained in his heart, could it be said that the cultural level of the Austrian people is low, so foolish!
"It's actually like this, Your Majesty." Ernst said bravely: "The Prussian army has solved the employment problem in Prussia very well over the years, so fewer people choose to go overseas for development. We all know that the size of the Prussian army is outrageous. So it has been difficult to recruit workers in recent years."
Of course Franz didn’t believe a single word of this nonsense, but he still decided to give Ernst a chance: “As long as you can tell me the reason why I’m tempted, I might still support you.”
Ernst said calmly: "Your Majesty, may I ask whether Austria is suffering from a headache from the nationalists now?"
Frantz nodded: "That's the truth, especially the Hungarians, who have made progress recently, and have had a bad time with the central government of the empire!"
Ernst asked: "Then what does Your Majesty think the Hungarian Magyar nobles rely on to negotiate with the Austrian government?"
"Naturally, it is the strength of Hungary. Hungary has a large area and a large population. If the Hungarians become independent, Austria will also lose its position in Europe. It is impossible for the empire to abandon this place!" Franz said.
"That's right! Your Majesty." Ernst echoed: "The rise of European nationalism is actually a conspiracy by Britain and France against your country. Germans in your country do not account for 30%."
"Germans account for more than 20 percent of the population, but Hungary has 20 percent of the population, and there are 10 percent of the Poles in the empire, Slavic peoples such as Czechoslovakia and Croatia, as well as a small number of Romanians and Italians. people."
"Among them, the Hungarians alone have the ability to challenge the German nation, let alone the Poles and other Slavic nations in Galicia. In the past, the entire German region was backed by the empire, and the empire could still suppress these nations."
"But now the international situation is becoming more and more turbulent, and Austria can't be as powerful as it used to be in Europe. Clowns like Italy dare to attack the empire's territory. Once they instigate the Italians in the empire, then Trieste and The southern part of the Empire is very dangerous."
"The Poles have always been actively seeking support from European and American countries to restore their country, but Poland is only a country that existed in history. What motivates the Poles is the cultural identity shaped by the glorious history of the Polish region."
"Even if the Poles in the empire currently support the royal family, there is a good saying that they can enjoy the blessings together, but not share the adversity. Now they support your country's rule, which is set off by the suffering of the Poles in Russia. Once a certain If there is a problem with the economy of the Austrian Empire one day, they will put the blame on Austria."
"In addition, there are other Slavs in the empire. Now the Russians hate your country because of the Crimean War, and Russia's influence among the Slavs is obvious to all. The Ottoman Empire has suffered a lot in the past two years. suffered."
…
Franz frowned while listening to Ernst's long speech, and interrupted: "Enough, of course I understand what you mean."
Franz stood up, put his hands behind his back, looked at the map of the territory of the Austrian Empire, and said in a low mood: "I don't know the many ills of the empire, but politics is not as easy as Ernst you think."
He said in a slow tone: "Maybe you are still young, and young people always have the courage to face difficulties, but Austria is too old, so that a small change may cause a catastrophe and kill the Austrian Empire. "
"For example, that guy Maximino was very aggressive, but he stumbled in Mexico, and he was aggressive and aggressive. He didn't want to ask me for help, and he didn't know how he was doing now!"
He walked up to Ernst and said with firm eyes: "The Austrian Empire was once the overlord of the European continent. Although it is facing unimaginable difficulties now, I think that my ability cannot solve Austria's problems, but I still have the ability. Support this great country to continue going forward."
He turned his back to Ernst and said: "When I am old, the future belongs to you young people. I believe that you and the younger generations of Austria will use your wisdom to make Austria great again."
"Austria has indeed become turbulent because of the nationalists, and the Austrian government itself wants to change this situation."
"But the pressure we are facing is unimaginable for ordinary people. The nobles of various ethnic groups in the country have far more control over the local government than the central government. Moreover, the problems of the Austrian central government itself are also very difficult. Finances have always troubled the government to promote Austrian reforms."
Speaking of this, Franz was a little lonely, and said to himself: "I also tried to learn from my ancestors to promote centralization and strengthen German education for the people."
"However, whenever the government made these proposals, the dignitaries in those places tried their best to stop them. At the same time, the economic situation of the empire has been getting worse and worse in the past two years, and the government has no extra financial resources to support reforms."
Of course Ernst is aware of these difficulties. Austria is indeed facing the problem of difficult transformation, and there is no such person who can turn the tide in contemporary Austria.
For example, Franz, although he is an emperor, he cannot be a radical reformer. His identity determines that the interests of the Habsburg family must be the most important.
If he implements reforms, it may shake the rule of Habsburg, so the royal family will not take the initiative to lead reforms.
And the current Austrian government does not have the kind of politician who is outstanding and has unparalleled influence throughout the empire.
Prussia next door produced Bismarck, and William I and the Prussian monarchs were relatively wise, which laid a good foundation for Prussia, and Bismarck established his personal prestige with the help of war victories and diplomatic achievements.
If Austria can produce a Bismarck-style character at this time, then Austria still has a chance. Unfortunately, Austria is not a gambler like Prussia, and has no spirit of self-innovation.
Of course Ernst’s purpose of coming here was not to help Austria solve political problems, but to gain population for the colony.
"Your Majesty, Austria's problems are indeed difficult, but we can choose to reduce the difficulty of things."
Ernst went on to say: "For example, when I recruited workers in the empire, I actually absorbed the unemployed peasants of the Austrian empire. They had just entered the cities from the countryside all over the country. The problem is that the jobs in Austria obviously cannot absorb so many people. "
"And once these people cannot be employed, it will aggravate the social crisis in Austria and make reform more difficult. What's more, they will be used by those radical capitalists, after all, they have criminal records."
Frantz sighed and said, "Okay, I understand your thoughts."
"You can recruit workers in the Austrian Empire. As long as you have the ability, you can recruit as many people as you want, but I want to warn you first, you can't attract the attention of the Germans. As for other nationalities, if you can charge more, we will not only Oppose it, and support it."
In this way, the two reached a verbal agreement tacitly. Austria reduced the number of other ethnic groups through Ernst, and Ernst gained the white labor force to develop Africa.
Everyone has a bright future...
(end of this chapter)