Chapter 921 Rebuilding Rome (Part 1)

Chapter 921 Rebuilding Rome (Part 1)

Rome.

At noon, the sun was scorching, and both the soldiers and civilians on the construction site were already sweating. The sweat soaked their skin, and the soil soiled their clothes, but their enthusiasm remained undiminished.

Whether they were Austrian soldiers or Roman citizens, they knew the importance of rebuilding Rome.

For the Roman citizens it was their home, for the Austrian soldiers it meant double pay.

Although Franz has always attached great importance to the education work of the army, at this time, he felt that it was better not to believe in the spiritual atomic bomb.

After all, Franz was surrounded by veterans, and because of his meritocratic actions, the sources of soldiers and officers in the entire army were very complicated.

These people have experienced too much, seen too much of the world, and were deeply influenced by the military style at that time. In short, they are not simple.

For this kind of owner who doesn't let go of rabbits, Franz feels that simple material stimulation is more effective.

Some young and strong men even went shirtless, which attracted appreciative glances from the women who came to help.

Food-for-work is also applicable to women. Although it is difficult for them to participate in the heavy physical labor of reconstruction, women have areas in which they are good at, such as laundry, cooking, sewing and repairing, and caring for the wounded.

Since Franz often engaged in work-for-relief projects, he had a group of people under him who had a whole set of theoretical systems responsible for evaluating workers' contributions to projects.

This system deliberately does not distinguish between men and women, so as long as they do enough work, it is entirely possible for women to earn more than men.

This situation is almost impossible to happen in any country in the world at this time. The wages of male workers are usually double or even triple that of female workers.

However, no one in Rome dared to protest, and those who were dissatisfied did not dare to cheat because the supervisors were recording their performance at all times.

It's okay to withhold wages, but it would be a serious matter if the black priests of the original Papal State were regarded as villains plotting to destroy Rome.

There was an Inquisition in the Papal States at this time. Although it was ordered to be closed by Pius IX, it was resurrected during the Fourth Roman Republic in order to maintain stability.

It was just the reformed name "Free Inquisition". At this time, under the strong request of the entire College of Cardinals, Pius IX changed it back to the Inquisition.

Franz didn’t want to say anything else about this, except that history always goes in cycles.

In fact, the reason why Franz acquiesced to Pius IX in retaining the bad habits of the Inquisition was not to weaken its influence, but to establish rules for the Romans.

It’s hard to say whether this rule is Franz’s or Pius IX’s.

After the rebellion in Rome, the entire Papal State had reached a state of panic, and their fear gave Franz an opportunity.

Franz prepared to hand over Austrian law to Pius IX with some slight changes.

However, Pius IX was still repenting in his palace at this time, and Franz could only wait in the living room.

The murals on the ceiling of the living room are solemn and sacred. You can tell at a glance that they were made by famous artists. They are surrounded by exquisite tapestries and gilded wood carvings.

The only drawback is that some of the wood carvings are incomplete and the jewels inlaid on them are missing. The carpet also had scorch marks, and it seemed that even here was not spared.

Not long after the acolyte's announcement, Pius IX appeared in the living room. His hair was still a little gray and his steps were still a little staggering, but his energy was much better.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, His Holiness."

"I am also very happy to meet our King of Rome."

Pius IX always liked to emphasize the title of King of Rome in front of Franz. The latter knew the former's little thoughts very well. Pius IX was afraid of being tricked and was afraid that Franz was also the kind of ungrateful person.

However, Franz did not take this title seriously, after all, he did not get actual power.

Without further ado, Franz quickly got to the point.

"His Majesty the Pope, now Rome needs order and cannot always rely on the Austrian army. Otherwise, once the army leaves, the place will fall into chaos again.

Not only is this detrimental to your rule, it may even affect your reputation. "

In fact, this was what Pius IX was worried about. He was not only afraid that the Austrian army would not leave Rome, but also afraid that he would not be able to clean up the mess in front of him after Franz left.

In fact, the Pope's worries were somewhat unnecessary. According to Franz's original plan, he should have arrived in Vienna to clean up the mess and inherit the throne with a great victory.

But these guys in the Frankfurt Parliament are really cheating. They are forcing Franz to make a choice.

But it is far from the time to make a choice. Historically, the establishment of Germany announced that the hope of a Greater Germany was completely shattered.

However, this does not mean that the Little Deutschland Plan is the only option, especially since the course of history has been greatly changed at this time.

No one can say that the Greater Germany Plan will definitely fail. The enthusiasm of the German nation has exceeded that of any previous era.

But this was not the best time, and their enthusiasm came at the wrong time.

And now if Franz rashly refuses the title of German Emperor, then the Greater Germany Project will most likely go bankrupt as it did in history, and people will turn to the Little Germany Project.

But what if you accept it? Franz was confident that he could completely depose the so-called parliament and turn the constitution into a blank sheet of paper.

But what about the great powers? Will they sit back and watch the rise of the Greater German Reich? impossible! Absolutely impossible!

Even Russia, which supports itself the most at this time, will jump out to oppose itself. Some people say that the reason why the anti-French alliance was able to win was because France was in a bad position and was attacked from both sides.

But Franz wanted to say that the geographical location of the so-called Greater German Empire was much worse than that of France.

If you look at Austria alone, it is simply impregnable. It is surrounded by mountains or rivers. The key positions are almost all in Austria's own hands. The coastline is so narrow that the British want to smash the wall.

But for the entire German Confederation, the situation is completely different.

The whole thing is just a shabby tiled house with air leakage everywhere. Whether it is the Pomeranian Plain in the east or the Black Forest in the west, with the mobilization and defense capabilities at this time, it is basically like a colander.

The long coastline in the north will be the hunting grounds of the British, and the Kingdom of Denmark is the best landing point.

Italy in the south will rebel again. The insect Kingdom of Sardinia has not yet been solved, and it will once again take up the banner of unifying Italy.

The continental system led by Franz will also fall apart, and Britain will once again be invincible in the diplomatic field.

Even if Franz wins the anti-Austria war, the colonies he planned before will become the spoils of Britain and France.

In this era of colonization, it won't take long for them to finish sucking the blood of the colonies and then make a comeback.

The technological and information advantages that Franz has mastered will become smaller and smaller, until one day they will completely fill them up with a sea of ​​people and materials.