Chapter 118 Heat
A sudden heat wave swept across Europe, with temperatures exceeding 40° in much of southwestern Europe.
Austria Vienna.
The temperature in this city does not exceed 25° all year round. The continuous high temperature of 35° is a bit unbearable. Many people are too hot to sleep and have to wander outside until late at night before falling asleep.
Franz was also uncomfortable in Schönbrunn Palace. The high temperature made him uncomfortable. After all, he had been in Vienna for eight years and he was used to wearing long shirts in summer.
Europeans don't have many ways to escape the heat. All they can think of is soaking in the water or finding a cool place to travel.
As a result, Russia, which has always been regarded as a barbarian by Europeans, suddenly ushered in a peak of tourists, and wealthy Europeans fled to Russia to escape the summer heat.
In the eyes of Nicholas I, this was an excellent opportunity.
Just when you think this is the perfect opportunity to show off his hospitality, you’re dead wrong. The iron-fisted tsar's intention is to silence those who speak ill of Russia forever!
The first to be unlucky were the Jews, followed by the French. Later, the Russians also lowered their nationality standards in order to generate income. Any foreigner who looked down on Russia would be treated with the iron fist of the Tsar.
Regarding the fact that the Russians brutally slaughtered foreign merchants, Russian Jews said they were used to it.
However, the Franz family did not travel. Mrs. Sophie originally planned to visit relatives at her sister's house to escape the summer heat, because Bavaria has a plateau terrain with low temperatures.
However, Count Xussel, who went back to explore the route first, said that Bavaria is now hotter than Vienna, so Mrs. Sophie had no choice but to give up this plan.
Franz was in his room, in front of two ice stoves, and Thalia and Adjani were fanning themselves hard.
They were already sweating profusely, and even their clothes were soaked with sweat. Franz felt even hotter now.
Franz simply developed an air conditioner driven by steam power. In fact, in 1834, Jacob Perkins of the United Kingdom had successfully developed a manually operated refrigerator that used ether as the working fluid and could work continuously.
It’s just that the power of this refrigerator is too small and the workmanship is too rough. Franz used the knowledge of later generations to make modifications and added a crank connecting rod system to connect to the steam engine. A steam-powered air conditioner is completed.
Jacoby Perkins's refrigerator was okay for freezing two glasses of water, but it was a drop in the bucket for Franz's house of several hundred square meters.
Moreover, the price of that refrigerator was too expensive. It actually cost 50,000 florins. This was a price that most nobles, including members of the royal family, could not accept.
So Franz decided to make his own. After all, the principle is not very complicated. He uses ether to evaporate and absorb heat, and then uses an air compressor to make the ether flow from the high-pressure area to the low-pressure area. It is injected into the evaporator through the capillary tube. The pressure drops suddenly, and the liquid refrigerant It immediately turns into a gaseous state and absorbs a large amount of heat in the air through the heat sink.
In this way, as the compressor continues to work, it can continuously absorb the heat at one end of the low-pressure zone into the refrigerant and then send it to the high-pressure zone for dissipation into the air, thus achieving a cooling effect.
In the end, Franz spent 70,000 florins to complete the design, but he couldn't care less. When the cold wind blew out, he felt that everything was worth it.
Franz wanted to install a steam engine next door downstairs. At first, Adjani and Thalia thought Franz was crazy about the heat.
However, the moment the cold wind blew out, they fell.
“It’s so cool!”
“It’s so comfortable!”
As a result, the two of them refused to leave Franz's room until they died.
When Franz was getting ready to go to bed, he found that they had not left yet, so he had to look at the two of them.
Thalia was the first to speak, "Franz, I am your tutor. In fact, you can also call me a nanny. You often slept on my lap when you were little."
Franz looked at Adjani again, and Adjani immediately explained seriously.
"Archduke Franz, I am your chamberlain, or bedroom maid. I am supposed to serve you in your room. If you need anything, just tell me. After all, this is my duty."
Although Adjani said so, she was currently lying on Franz's sofa, drinking coffee and reading a newspaper. Thalia occupied Franz's table at this time.
Franz looked at the two of them helplessly and said lightly.
"If you don't mind it, you can sleep on the bed."
Before Franz had finished speaking, the two of them quickly crowded forward, squeezed Franz in the middle, and covered him with a quilt.
In fact, Franz also had a camp bed, which was arranged by Mrs. Sophie herself. Although after Franz’s repeated requests, Mrs. Sophie finally agreed to let Franz sleep on a soft bed, the camp bed was still left. .
Before Franz could continue speaking, Thalia and Adjani blew out the candles on both sides.
"Good night, Archduke Franz."
"Good night." In fact, what Franz was thinking was, "How can I sleep?"
Southwest Europe, Spain.
The two sides in the Spanish Civil War even had to call a truce to avoid the hot weather. The last Woodford attack was very successful, capturing the French Lieutenant General Pierre and wounding Count Sabi, while Espartero hesitated to move forward. Removed by the Queen Regent and replaced by Oduart, a banker who had never fought in a war.
But the French sent Henri Gratien Bertrand, a veteran who had participated in the Napoleonic Wars, and the army he led was also France's elite.
It's just that fighting in mountains is really not the French's specialty. Although they have won successive victories against the Carlists, it does not help the entire war situation.
Moreover, because of the hot weather, the morale of the soldiers was low. Even the old general himself fell into a coma due to heat stroke, and the French army had to retreat and cease the war.
Continuous high temperatures have caused widespread drought. A drought that has not happened in a century has swept across Europe. France and Spain are experiencing constant wildfires. The money the French have spent on firefighting can already build several battleships.
"Hungry stones" appear frequently in the German region. These hunger stones were sunk to the bottom of rivers in years of famine. Their reappearance also means that famine will come again.
The falling water level of the Elbe River and the appearance of the Starvation Stone have caused panic throughout Germany.
"If you see me, please cry for me." This hunger stone records the catastrophe in 1616, and more languages on the hunger stone are like curses and epitaphs.
1473, 1616, 1654, 1666, 1746, 1790, and 1800 were all the years with the most hunger stones, and they were also disaster years in the history of the German region.
Starved rocks are riverbed rocks that only emerge from the water when the water level is extremely low.
These hunger stones are inscribed with historical low-water years as well as various signs and warnings. Starving Rock is a hydrological landmark, a witness to drought, and is also considered an "ominous omen".
within Austria.
Frequent reports of starvation stones being found in various parts of Austria have been reported.
The church jumped in on the fun and said, "This is a revelation."