Chapter 222 Rumors
Schonbrunn Palace, Franz's Study.
Adjani placed a bulging envelope on Franz's desk.
"What's this?"
"Mr. Solomon Rothschild's bribe, if I don't take something from him, how can any smart person believe what I say."
Franz nodded, and then noticed that Adjani seemed to have new earrings.
"what is that?"
Adjani snorted.
"mean!"
Then he took off the earrings and placed them on the envelope.
Franz put the earrings into a delicate box, closed the lid, and handed them to Adjani solemnly.
"I gave this to you."
Adjani opened the box and put the earrings back on.
"You brat, I haven't seen you for a few days, and you're still trying to tease me."
With that said, he walked around the table and sat directly on Franz's lap.
"Are you teasing me?"
"No, I just think it's not good for you to take the stolen goods sent by Solomon, so I'll give them to you again." Franz replied.
"You are still too young." Adjani deliberately said in Franz's ear.
Just when Franz thought the other party's teasing was over, Adjani shook the wallet in her hand.
Franz snatched it away.
"When will you change your petty theft habit?"
"Why change? This is a survival skill!" Adjani retorted.
"Are you from a noble family? Do you still need to learn this?" Franz asked with some confusion.
"Aren't you now an exiled noble?" Adjani said with some resentment.
"Do you want a title? I can help you."
"In no mood."
“Okay, how are the returns in the stock market?”
"About 15%."
"Very little."
"It's quite a lot. This is millions of florins, which is equivalent to the income of a small country for half a year."
Adjani has refreshed her understanding of money several times by Franz's side. She used to think that loan sharks were the most profitable industry, and that kings and emperors often had to borrow money to survive.
Looking at it now, it is easier for those in power to make money. The borrowing behavior of those in high positions does not necessarily mean that they have no money, but it is definitely a sign that their desires are hard to satisfy.
Just like the little guy in front of me, I really don’t know when he will be satisfied, but come to think of it, compared to Franz’s dream, the money is really insignificant.
But that dream was too illusory, and Adjani still didn’t know whether Franz was joking or if he really wanted to do that.
"What about the construction plan of the Semmering Railway? Has it been approved?" Franz asked.
"Are you talking about a reinforced concrete structure? Experts from the Austrian Engineering Association looked at it and said this is really a genius design. Two materials, cement and steel bars, have appeared for a long time, but no one has thought of using them for decades. It’s a genius idea to put them together and use them as building materials.”
Adjani seemed a little excited when she spoke, because she still remembered how those experts went from contempt to admiration, to tears.
"So when will the railway be completed?"
"In two to three years, although this new structure can solve the viaduct problem, the terrain is still very complex, and engineers need enough time to overcome this problem."
Adjani paused here and continued.
"There is another problem now, that is, the quality of the cement produced in Austria is not good, and the hardness does not meet the standards in all aspects. If you want to complete the viaduct, you must buy British Portland cement."
"Portland cement?"
"Yes, a high-strength cement. But the British kept the formula secret, and it was expensive. Add in the shipping costs, and it was astronomical."
After Franz learned about the ratio of cement materials at this time, he found that he was still too proud. Modern cement should be called silicate cement, and he searched for a long time in the formula and found nothing wrong.
So he had to offer a reward to develop a cement formula. According to Franz's estimation, the reason why Austrian cement was not as good as British cement should be a ratio issue.
Maybe the silicon content is not enough, maybe some iron or aluminum should be added. In short, Franz wrote down his conjecture, and the rest will be left to the professional scientists to study the ratio.
The delay in opening the railway in Trieste made Franz very annoyed, so he had to go out and find a way to speed it up personally.
The newspapers in Vienna have recently been full of news about Friedrich's army's surprise attack on Alexandria and Franz's army's recapture of Belgrade.
There is no country that doesn't like to show off its military prowess, and Austria is no exception. It didn't like to mention war before because it suffered repeated defeats.
Nowadays, we advocate war every day because we have won the war. Although this trend is not good, it is undoubtedly a shot in the arm for this country that has been silent for too long.
Whether it was defeating Egypt and grabbing its fleet, or recapturing Belgrade, it was a victory worth celebrating for the Austrian Empire.
Although Franz encountered little resistance along the way to regain Belgrade, the editors of the newspapers would not write this.
How can a political victory come as quickly as a military victory? As a result, this political victory turned into a trap when the stupid Prince Metternich fell into a trap. The heroic Archduke Franz led his army to defeat the evil Ottomans, cut off the opponent's beard with a sword, and saved Bell. Gullah's story.
Don't think it's ridiculous. In the textbooks of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it was said with certainty that "Emperor Franz led the hussar charge and killed dozens of enemy soldiers in the Battle of Solferino."
After that, the legend about Franz became more and more outrageous. Although he didn't care much about it, with the help of caring people, the whole incident was developing in a strange direction.
"Archduke Franz is the illegitimate son of Madame Sophie and Napoleon II." An extremely vicious rumor appeared in the newspaper.
Although the newspaper was immediately ordered to close down, and all newspaper staff from the editor to reporters to the workers responsible for typesetting and printing were detained for secret interrogation, the rumors still spread like wildfire.
This rumor caused all the glory that Franz had previously received to disappear immediately, and even the reputation of the Habsburg family was damaged.
Franz was not interested in verifying the authenticity of this rumor. He just wanted to know why a rumor created in Vienna had not found its source for so long.
Franz faced such great pressure for the first time since time travel. Because this rumor is tantamount to denying the legitimacy and legitimacy of his succession to the throne.
Franz looked in the mirror and looked at his chestnut hair. It should not be related to the black hair of the Napoleon family.
Just when he breathed a sigh of relief, he was bumped into by Adjani, and Franz didn't hide it.
"Napoleon's hair was black, right?"
Adjani said with some embarrassment.
"Er Archduke Franz. I checked, there are several versions, maroon (Doctor Kovisat), crimson gold (Denis Davydov), brown (British Captain Ross). And Napoleon II has Habsburg blood.”
This made Franz, who still wanted to take a blood test for a blood test, suddenly speechless.