Chapter 579 Dinner

(Not in good condition, two chapters are combined into one.)

The gentry in Milan and even the entire Lombardy region were all excited. After all, under the Austrian Empire's system of granting official titles, being able to get familiar faces in front of royal members is really something worth celebrating.

At the same time, they also breathed a sigh of relief. After all, what happened in Milan was far beyond their previous expectations.

You know, a few years ago, with a traitor betraying them, the Carbonari uprising army with less than a thousand people could still deal with the two brigades of the Austrian Empire for nearly half a month.

The Austrian Empire's infantry regiments belonged to the large regiment organization, usually composed of 2,500-3,000 soldiers. A brigade usually consists of two regiments and some direct troops. So the size of the suppression force at that time exceeded 10,000 people.

The real planners believed that this riot would last for a long time, at least until the intervention of the great powers or to retreat unscathed.

This group of people obviously had no idea what was going on. In other countries, Austrians might not dare to fight. General Li Qi, who used money to buy entertainment, could not be compared with the experienced Marshal Radetzky.

Moreover, Milan was the ruling core of the Austrian Empire in northern Italy. Even if there were more rebels, it would be impossible to ignore them, unless the center of the empire was paralyzed.

The local gentry in Lombardy still hoped that someone would make a fuss. After all, with Hungary as an example, it would be too cool to not pay taxes and control politics and military affairs.

But before that, they needed to exclude foreign officials.

So Franz received a lot of black materials from officials, local outsiders, and even the army and the Duchess of Parma who didn't want to care about anything and didn't care about anything.

Ajani laughed as she watched, and she seemed to have found the long-lost fun.

"Franz, is this what you call 'good work'? They form cliques and attack each other, and they don't look like they are in the same group."

Franz shook his head helplessly and smiled: "It would be really troublesome if they were united."

Ajani thought so too, but then asked: "But if they check each other like this, won't they be unable to accomplish anything?"

Franz: "It's true that they check each other, but it's not that they have accomplished nothing. Northern Italy has always been an important source of tax revenue for the empire, and its economic growth rate is the fastest except for Bohemia, and the railway network has been basically built."

Ajani asked in confusion: "Why is that?"

"Mutual supervision can curb corruption to a certain extent, and mutual competition can improve efficiency. Of course, the long-term opposition between the two countries will There will be trouble, just like now.

Although the two sides have deep resentment, the improvement of welfare benefits and economic development of the Austrian Empire have covered up this contradiction to a certain extent.

It's just that there are infiltrations and instigations from the outside powers, and the remnants of the Carbonari have been trying to revive Italy.

It's really funny. Italy has never existed. Rome once ruled the Apennine Peninsula. The Habsburg family did have a crown of "Emperor of the Romans". If you want it now, just go to His Holiness the Pope and buy another one.

I believe Gregory XVI will be happy to accept this deal. "

After listening, Ajani left thoughtfully. She went to complete the work that Franz had given her before, and exchanged these "gifts" for money.

After Gregory XVI came to power, he devoted himself to making money, and at the same time he was extremely opposed to the Italian national movement. At this time, the Papal State was suppressing the uprising.

(From 1841 to 1845, dozens of uprisings broke out in the Papal States, with various banners, including national independence, anti-taxation, and opposition to religious laws.)

Gory XVI launched large-scale capitalist economic activities in the Papal States, successively established financial institutions such as the Discount Bank, the Bank of Rome, the Holy Spirit Bank and savings banks, and established a holy water company to sell indulgences. At the same time, he used his power to suppress and persecute competitors.

Franz bought the letter of help from Emperor Yongli of the Ming Dynasty to the Holy See from this old charlatan.

At the banquet at night, celebrities from Milan, the governor of Lombardy, and senior officials were all present.

The decoration of the venue was extremely luxurious, and the huge crystal chandelier illuminated the hall like daylight.

Various delicacies and fine wines filled the table, and the ladies and beauties had been looking forward to it.

At this time, the waiter suddenly cleared his throat, and the band played solemn music.

"Archduke Franz Karl is here!"

"Archduke Franz Joseph is here!"

The door slowly opened, and everyone held their breath. At this time, the two archdukes entered the venue wearing the iconic white military uniforms of the Austrian Empire.

However, Archduke Franz Karl seemed to have something under his arm. The waiter was stunned when he saw it, and then the former seemed to suddenly remember something and handed a seal to the latter.

A seal weighing more than 60 kilograms instantly overwhelmed the waiter. After all, it was much heavier than a cloak or a hat, and then the little hairfish bounced away.

Then the father and son walked straight to the center of the venue in the astonished eyes of everyone. Franz Joseph poured a glass of wine and handed it to his father, and then poured himself a glass of juice, raised the glass and said.

"Cheers to the Empire!"

At this time, people recovered from the shocking appearance of Archduke Franz Karl depositing the seal, and raised their glasses and said.

"Cheers to the Empire!"

Then there was a long reception time, and Franz and his father had to accept the respect and greetings of others intensively.

After finally getting to the table, Franz had to give a routine toast, after all, his father was not very good at this.

But this time, everyone was shocked again, after all, most people thought that the IQ of the two archdukes might be similar.

Although the Habsburg royal family tried their best to package Franz, their propaganda methods were obviously problematic, too fake and too exaggerated, and as a result, no one believed it.

In fact, before the banquet began, someone set up a bet on whether the two archdukes could finish a complete sentence.

Although Franz was only fourteen years old, his height was no different from that of an adult, but his face was still a little immature. However, the hard and shiny chestnut short hair, cold white skin, deep blue eyes, and the noble temperament cultivated since childhood were all amazing.

But Franz himself hated to be so pretentious, after all, it was very troublesome and tiring.

Then a group of ladies and daughters "happened" to pass by Franz in a group. According to traditional etiquette, at a banquet, the superiors did not speak, and the inferiors could not take the initiative to talk.

Compared to his watertight son, the father who attended the banquet with a seal under his arm is much easier to deal with. After all, the latter loves wine, but fortunately Franz has already negotiated in advance.

"Grand Duke, the people of Milan are desperate because they can't survive. And those outsiders are really hateful. They not only take away the jobs of local people, but also seriously disrupt our public security environment.

Those Sicilians are gangsters, thieves, and liars. I really hope that the imperial government can find a way to make them receive the punishment they deserve."

The person who spoke was a white-faced, beardless, and heavily wrinkled old man. He liked to show his golden teeth when rubbing his hands. He was Vera Ivar, the president of the Chamber of Commerce in Milan.

He was not lying. The arrival of a large number of immigrants did affect the local order, but he said that these were not entirely out of justice.

In fact, the outsiders formed their own forces, were unwilling to pay dues, and competed with them for the market. And government officials did not care about the competition between them, as long as someone paid taxes, it was enough.

This so-called president of the Milan Chamber of Commerce was a tax farmer in the past. What he did was to contract taxes and then earn the difference between the state and the people.

However, with the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the era of tax farmers also ended.

Now taxes are collected directly by the government, but the president of the Chamber of Commerce still has a strong influence in the local area, and he also has the title of the Austrian Empire, which makes it possible to evade taxes.

The situation in the Austrian Empire at that time was very special. The nobles traditionally had the right not to pay taxes, but due to Joseph II's reforms, the nobles were also included in the ranks of taxpayers, and then the nobles united to overthrow the emperor and his reforms.

Interestingly, in the subsequent Napoleonic Wars, the Austrian nobles were defeated, and then the most conservative emperor Franz II resumed his uncle's most radical reform.

However, due to a lot of historical issues, some nobles did have the right to reduce or exempt taxes.

For example, the royal family and Hungarian nobles have tax exemption privileges, while in Netalenia and northern Italy, even Prince Metternich must pay taxes, but those with titles above baron have a certain amount of exemptions.

In fact, most of the Austrian nobles have no titles, only an honorary title, and these people have no privileges of tax exemption.

The previous president of the Milan Chamber of Commerce used his family's title to help people evade taxes, and the specific process was similar to the Ming Dynasty's tribute.

The Austrian Empire expressly prohibited this kind of tax evasion, but the rules were destined to provide huge benefits to violators at the moment they were formulated.

At this time, someone must have asked, if it can evade taxes, why would those foreign merchants disagree? We are all Italians, can we cooperate and win together to cheat Austria?

But this approach is too risky for those outsiders, and Mr. Ivar's reputation is really bad. He often embezzles other people's property for no reason, and many excuses can be used from breach of contract to spitting.

However, the reality is that the more Ivar ate, the more people were afraid of him. The name changed from "vampire" to "sir", and over time he became a local tyrant.

Until Austria came up with the Apennine Customs Union, a large number of foreign populations poured into northern Italy. Among these people, there were not only laborers, but also many merchants and craftsmen, as well as exiles who were politically persecuted.

Most of them were from the Two Sicilies, which was mainly due to the liberal reforms of Ferdinando II. What the king wanted was to develop the economy and the military, but the first thing people did when they rose up was to overthrow him.

So this enlightened liberal became the most cruel and determined conservative, and then with the booming economy in northern Italy, a large number of southern Italians went there to make a living.

In fact, the atmosphere in northern Italy is relatively open, and the control of ideas is relatively loose. The Austrians prefer to make money here rather than stabilize their rule. The main reason is that the country was too poor after the Napoleonic Wars, and the famous four-corner fortresses were greatly reduced in defense due to disrepair.

Back to the point, these outsiders had money and technology, plus Austria's good policies, as well as the opening of trade routes and the development of colonies, so they had the momentum to surpass the latecomers.

So, the local tyrants were unhappy and started to make trouble. However, by chance, this group of people beat up Marshal Radetzky's eldest son, and curiously attracted the attention of Vienna.

As a result, an imperial decree that "evil men should not be condoned, and good men should not be wronged" destroyed the largest local gang, including Mayor Gabriel Casati, Father Leonardo, the dean of Delmanda, and a large number of local gentry who were implicated.

The so-called strong dragon does not suppress the local snake, that is because the snake did not show up to provoke the dragon, otherwise it would be just a piece of rotten meat.

Franz had investigated before he came, and this Vera Ivar was one of the biggest suspects in planning this riot.

At this time, a young man with a firm face and a straight figure shouted, "You are talking nonsense!"

Then, as expected, he was pressed to the ground by two guards in the crowd before the ladies could scream.

However, his voice still scared Archduke Franz Karl and he poured a glass of wine on Vera Ivar's face.

The latter subconsciously glared, and then recovered as before, but this did not escape the eyes of the attendant next to him.

The hawk-like gaze fell on Ivar's face, making him feel cold all over. Then several guards surrounded him and checked him while helping him clean the wine stains.

The leading guard shook his head slightly, and Franz Karl's attendant, Karlgar Willy, retracted his gaze.

The young man who was pressed to the ground struggled and shouted: "Grand Duke, he lied! We have always paid taxes according to the law. It was Ivar, the vampire! It was him"

"Drink! Drink!" The young man was interrupted by Archduke Franz Karl before he finished speaking.

When everyone was puzzled (after all, everyone was waiting to see the show), Archduke Franz Karl shouted loudly.

"I have something to announce!"

For a moment, everyone didn't know whether the Archduke was drunk or really sick, but because of the other party's status, they didn't dare to speak, so the atmosphere was controlled.

"The Empire will not mistreat its people. Work-for-relief!"

Everyone was a little confused, but fortunately, someone noticed the key word "work-for-relief".

Someone said in confusion: "Work-for-relief? Lombardy has been blessed with good weather and no disasters in recent years, right?"

It was Franz's turn to appear at this time. He cleared his throat and said.

"The Empire has investigated the situation in northern Italy and found that the fundamental problem causing social unrest is still the lack of jobs. Therefore, the royal family decided to implement work-for-relief in northern Italy. I hope everyone can unite and fight for a common and beautiful future."

Work-for-relief is good news. After all, no matter what major projects the imperial government carries out in the local area, it will attract a large number of workers.

This can indeed alleviate the competitive pressure brought by foreign population to a certain extent. At the same time, increasing employment will promote consumption, thereby creating more business opportunities.

In this virtuous cycle, if the local area can restore its own hematopoietic function, it will truly eliminate the crisis brought by foreign population.

It's just that the country will be in debt, but what does that have to do with them?

So people started to party all night, and the young man was released.

Archduke Franz Karl walked up to the young man and handed him a glass of wine.

This moved the latter to tears. After all, he had been away from home for so many years, and the excessive pressure had made him overwhelmed. The former didn't quite understand and just said: "Have a drink, and you won't feel sad after drinking a drink."

The next day, when people asked "How to use work for relief", Archduke Franz Karl's answer was "Tear down the wall!"