Chapter 438 Invalides
Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.
Franz had a rare difficulty in dressing, which made Adjani feel a little strange.
Because Franz is not a well-dressed person, he always wears a suitable outfit according to the occasion.
Costumes are mostly arranged and objections are rarely raised.
"Archduke Franz, where are you going? Are you going to see your little lovers?" Adjani said with a bright smile.
"No, the theater thing has come to an end. Those people have their own business. Although there is still an element of selling sex, at least they will not go hungry or be too miserable."
Franz's answer did not surprise Adjani. After all, in her mind, she should be more attractive than those little girls.
"Then where are you going to make you so confused?"
Franz thought about his answer.
"Invalids, you are also prepared to follow me in a moment."
"Invalides?" Adjani asked with some confusion. She couldn't figure out why Franz wanted to go to that kind of place.
First of all, excluding business, there were only a group of disabled and dying old people there, and she didn't think there was any profit to be made from those people.
Generally speaking, the elderly may accumulate wealth, knowledge, connections, and experience. So we often say that the elderly are a wealth. But the disabled veterans in the Invalides do not have these things. They are just a group of people who deserve to die but are not dead.
This is the view of disabled veterans in this era. Most people forget them in the corner of time, and a few people criticize them as worms who waste food and cowards who are afraid of death.
The rulers wanted to frame these people, but did not want to spend money on them.
Of course, there are some special ones. For example, Napoleon's empire has been destroyed for decades, but to this day, some people still remember that Napoleon gave half of his inheritance to the veterans who had followed him.
Even if those people traveled across the ocean to the United States or Brazil, they would still remember this kindness. They later made many contributions to the rise of Napoleon III and the development of the Second Empire.
The second thing Adjani thought of might be that she was searching for some secret information, but most of the people in the Invalides in Vienna were veterans of the Napoleonic Wars. Even if these people knew something, it would have expired long ago.
"Don't make wild guesses. It was Archduke Karl who asked me before he left. He said that although he could not help these soldiers who were loyal to the empire, as long as he walked around the Invalides from time to time, those scoundrels would restrain themselves.
But now that he was leaving, he was afraid that no one would scare those little ones, so he wanted me to do it for him. "
Franz recalled how helpless Archduke Karl looked, but his tone was so unquestionable.
"This should be considered a mission."
Franz smiled to himself.
"If you are going on patrol, it is better to wear a military uniform. Don't care about your military rank and medals, and there is no need to feel ashamed of wearing this military uniform because you have never been on the battlefield.
It is the greatest respect for them that you can see them in military uniform. "
Adjani was right, it would be a slight on Franz if he went to visit the veterans in the Invalides wearing a luxurious formal suit.
At this time, there were still 570 people in the Invalides in Vienna, more than two-thirds of whom entered the Invalides during the Napoleonic Wars.
In fact, the requirements for the Vienna Invalides are very high, unless you are injured in the national war, and you must be seriously injured to enter here.
Those injured in border frictions or fighting with bandits, gangs, and smugglers can only receive a pension at most, but are not eligible to enter the Invalides.
Another characteristic of veterans who enter the Invalides is that they are helpless. Most of them chose to enter the Invalides because they lost family members in the war or were excluded because they lost their ability to work.
Initially, some veterans with minor injuries or mild disabilities took care of those with severe disabilities, and the costs were borne directly by the royal family and the government.
But soon after the war ended, the status of soldiers declined, and the management of Invalides was transferred from the army to the imperial government.
Post-war Austria was not in dire straits, but should be described as a mess. Young people are dying in large numbers, buildings are in ruins, and the government is deeply in debt.
Austria was the country most devastated by the Napoleonic Wars.
The Invalides became a useless place, and the veterans became trash among trash.
If it hadn't been for the efforts of Archduke Karl and other veterans who had participated in the Napoleonic Wars to stop it, the Austrian Imperial Government led by Prince Metternich and Count Korolaf would have abolished it long ago.
However, even if there is no abolition, it is inevitable to become managed by officials.
One of the major drawbacks of the bureaucracy is that corruption is common. Coupled with the fact that the Austrian Imperial Government has no money, life in the Invalides is naturally miserable.
Moreover, those high-ranking officials have no respect or awe for these disabled veterans.
Most civilians in the Austrian Empire could only eat two meals a day, while the veterans in the Invalides could only eat one meal a day. If they arrived late, they would go hungry.
Those with disabled legs can only rush to the canteen half an hour before meal time. Some severely disabled people wish they could live in the canteen.
Some who really didn't have enough to eat planted wild vegetables in the garden, until Archduke Karl thought of the soldiers under his command again.
But when he came to Les Invalides again, he found that those once passionate young men had turned into skinny monsters, and even fought against his brothers who had been through life and death for a mouthful of gruel.
Archduke Karl shot the head of the Invalides on the spot, and bought flour and meat for the veterans with his own money.
Afterwards, he petitioned the Austrian Imperial Government, hoping that the government could allocate more funds to those who had sacrificed their lives and blood for the victory of the Empire.
But the answer was that the burden on the empire was heavy enough, and a statement of accounts was given, clearly recording the payments made by the government.
Although the money is not much, it can definitely ensure that every veteran has white bread to eat and is full.
But Austrian officials, large and small, were embezzling. In fact, the Invalides did not have much money in their hands. The person in charge who was shot by Archduke Karl only embezzled a few thousand florins every year.
And although he was the emperor's younger brother, the impact of executing an officer privately was still too bad.
Archduke Karl was ordered by the emperor to leave Vienna, so he had to donate 100,000 florins to the Invalides in Vienna every year and sent one of his most trusted stewards to supervise the application of the money.
However, when Archduke Karl returned to Vienna three years later, he found that his butler had absconded with the money, and the person in charge of Les Invalides was also missing.
The lives of those veterans have not improved much, except that they can only eat one meal a day instead of one meal a day.
As a result, Archduke Karl stopped donating, and instead visited Les Invalides every quarter, doing what he could to at least give them two meals to eat.