Chapter 243 Turbulent World
At this time, the railway network of the Austrian Empire and Neletania had been basically completed.
In Venice, you can take a train directly through Villach, Salzburg, Linz, and then to Vienna. A journey that used to take a month now takes just 14 hours.
A lot of things happened after Franz left Europe, including a massacre in Syria.
It is said that local Jews ate grilled pork chops during the Eid al-Adha festival of the Tianfang Church, after which angry locals launched a campaign against the entire area under the command of the sect.
Tens of thousands of people were killed, and all their belongings were robbed, including clothes and shoes. The movement soon expanded to target Jews throughout the Ottoman Empire.
This move thoroughly outraged the Jews, but to no avail.
Not long ago, Montefiore (a British Jewish aristocrat) had humiliated King Louis Philippe of France, who believed that the Jewish Congress had failed.
However, just when the popularity of this unruly Jew reached its peak, reality slapped him hard in the face.
Louis Philippe still behaved very generously in public, and expressed concern about Sir Montefiore's health, and even prepared to send an envoy to express his condolences.
In the palace, Louis Philippe rarely opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate, and at the same time told his cronies, "I don't care what method you use, it's best to shut up that dirty guy forever!"
Warsaw, Poland.
Two brothers, Eduard Dembowski and Henrik Kaminski, founded the "Polish People's League" with the same purpose of reviving Poland and making it independent from the rule of the three major powers.
It's just that the "Polish Restoration Army", which is also trying to revive Poland, is very unpopular with this theoretical ally. The reason is that the "Polish Democratic League" not only wants to defeat the three major powers, but also overthrows the rule of the Polish aristocracy.
This was unacceptable to the "Polish Restoration Army" in any case, so they reported the "Polish Democratic League" to the Tsarist Russian government.
The truth of this wave of operations is surprising, but what is even more bizarre is that Tsarist Russia actually extended an olive branch to the "Polish Democratic League" based on the principle of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend".
The Russian theory is that the Tsar was the loving father of the Polish serfs. Since you want to protect the interests of the serfs, you are also protecting the interests of the Tsar. In that case, we all work for the Tsar, why not join forces to deal with those damned people? Polish noble?
The "Polish Democratic League" rejected the good intentions of the tsarist government, just when the Russians were asking St. Petersburg for instructions on whether to eliminate this possible rebel force.
The Polish Nationalist Army took action first. They used explosives to destroy the headquarters of the Polish Democratic League and sent killers to assassinate those who betrayed the class.
(At that time, almost all the top leaders of the Polish Democratic League were from aristocrats, but they were aware of the harm of this decadent system. At that time, Polish aristocrats and civilians, even some scholars believed that they could be defined as two races.)
The two restorative forces of Poland were fighting fiercely in the former capital of Warsaw, but the Russians were caught in a dilemma. On the one hand, they wanted the Poles to have internal strife, and on the other hand, they had to maintain local security.
In the end, the Russians chose to block the streets, allowing both sides to fight while they set up temporary hospitals to treat civilians. After this operation, not only did the Russians gain a wave of popular support, but it also severely damaged the vitality of both parties.
As a former member of the Polish Nationalist Army, Adjani was so angry that she tore the newspaper into pieces.
Franz thought it was quite normal. After all, the conflict between Polish nobles and civilians had a long history, which was somewhat similar to the caste system in India.
The Polish nobility came from the conquerors of Northern Europe, while the common people were the local Slavs. Although this happened 17 centuries ago, many nobles still stared at this matter.
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which once stood alone against the Ottomans, declined because of this. In Poland, there were not only conflicts between civilians and nobles, but also conflicts between nobles and nobles, that is, the king-selection system and the principle of absolute equality.
Negotiations between Austria and the Free City of Krakow have finally settled, and a railway from Lviv to Krakow will be built within two years.
The success of the negotiations was due to the efforts of Kraków's cobblestone aristocracy. The Polish nobility is divided into seven levels: large nobility (more than 10,000 serfs), middle-level nobility (more than 500 serfs), tenant nobility, small household nobility, castle nobility, rabble nobility, and cobblestone nobility (urban nobility, engaged in industry and commerce).
The most despised seventh estate in the past, the cobblestone nobles have become the most powerful group of people in Krakow at this time.
Their economy comes from trade, so they will naturally not miss the opportunity to expand trade with Austria. Moreover, joining Austria's line is equivalent to joining the German Customs Union and the Apennine Customs Union at the same time.
Driven by huge interests, those opposing voices quickly disappeared. Krakow was once the most prosperous city in Poland, but at this time a railway determined its life or death.
If it could expand trade with Austria, it would be able to continue its former prosperity, but if it refused, it would become a tree without roots, and sooner or later it would be unable to escape the fate of withering.
However, when the railway is completed, the Free City of Krakow will no longer be free, but will become a pawn controlled by Austria.
This naturally caused dissatisfaction among some nobles, but they were quickly "persuaded", either by reason or physics.
As for the members of the Polish Nationalist Army and the Polish Democratic League who wanted to prevent this from happening, they were either expelled or drowned in the Vistula River.
Prussia, Silesia.
As the center of Prussia's textile industry, Frederick the Great's most precious relic, it was once the most loyal province to the House of Hohenzollern.
At this time, Silesia owned 50% of Prussia's textile industry and was also the province that contributed the most to tax revenue. The package purchase system had been implemented here for nearly a century.
(Prussia took Silesia from Austria in 1740, which happened to be 1840.)
The package purchase system was once a great initiative. Merchants gave yarn to weavers, and weavers produced predetermined clothes at home. Cottage workers were paid according to the quality of the fabrics, which were bleached and trimmed and sold by merchants to domestic and foreign markets, supporting the Prussian economy for many years.
However, after the Napoleonic War, Prussia's textile market has been under double impact from Britain and Russia. A large number of cheap textiles flooded the Prussian market, and the most severe losses were naturally in Silesia, the center of the textile industry.
After that, Prussia established the German Customs Union, but Austria's joining completely shattered the Silesian illusions.
Austrian goods poured into Prussia through Saxony. At the same time, Saxony was also a major country in the textile industry. Coupled with the shortage of cotton from the Americans, it was even more miserable.
However, the most painful thing is not that there is no raw materials and no market share, but that the taxes required by the Prussian government have not been reduced. In this case, everyone can imagine what will happen.