Chapter 9 Friedrich List

Liszt

Germany's 38 tariffs paralyzed domestic transportation. They were like tying a person's hands and feet tightly to prevent blood from flowing. Only by abolishing internal tariffs and establishing a unified tax system for the entire federation can national trade and national industry be restored, which is also beneficial to the working class.

—Friedrich Liszt

Friedrich Liszt, the father of the German Customs Union and the challenger of Adam Smith, the author of "The Wealth of Nations", has a legendary life. (The full name is used here to distinguish it from the musician Liszt later.)

Liszt was baptized in Reutlingen in August 1789.

(Usually baptism is performed on the day the baby is born)

Friedrich Liszt was born into a craftsman family. His father was a famous leatherworker. During his student days, he had to work part-time as a leatherwork apprentice to help his father.

But he soon showed amazing talent and passed the financial official examination of the Württemberg royal family and became a government clerk.

After working in the government for a few years, he was sent to university to become a professor because of his work ability.

No one would have thought that this was just the beginning of his life. Friedrich List left the university and became the president of the Württemberg Chamber of Commerce.

After that, he became a member of the Württemberg Parliament, when he had just turned thirty.

Then he left Württemberg and went to the New World (the United States). He built a farm, opened a newspaper, and started a railway company in the United States. Finally, he bought a mine with the money he earned, and wrote "Outlines of American Political Economy" in his spare time.

Later, he was even appointed as the U.S. Consul General to the German Confederation by the seventh president of the United States, Andrew Jackson.

In 1832, he returned to Württemberg and began to outline a railway network covering all of Germany.

But his plan for a national railway system failed due to feudal separatism and the narrow-minded profit-seeking nature of the bourgeoisie.

In the end, he only got a castrated version of the railway with a total length of 115 kilometers, from Leipzig to Dresden.

Friedrich opened a joint-stock company with others to build a railway, but the shares that should have belonged to him were cheated away by two friends who assured him that "Leipzig people" were different from "Americans" and that Germans would not cheat Germans.

The two swindlers convinced Friedrich List that the remaining things at that time were just formalities, so he did not sign the contract.

When Friedrich List realized that he had been cheated, the other party had successfully cashed out and disappeared without a trace.

In the end, this investment not only did not bring him any benefits, but also caused him to lose 10,000 thalers.

Friedrich List, who was somewhat down and out, had to live in a cheap family hotel.

He dragged his tired body back to his room, but found that the door was ajar.

He immediately rushed into the room, where an old gentleman was leisurely drinking tea in his room, and the servant standing next to him was quite handsome and burly, with his eyes straight ahead, and he could be seen at a glance that he was a servant of the rich and powerful.

The old gentleman put down the teacup and spoke first.

"Mr. List, please sit down."

Friedrich List took off his hat and bowed deeply, saying, "Sir, this is my room."

"It's mine now." The old gentleman smiled and took out a piece of paper, motioning the attendant to show it to Friedrich List.

Friedrich List took a look and found it was a deed.

"Then can I take my things?" Friedrich List pointed to the cabinet beside him.

"Mr. List, please don't worry. I'm here to give you gifts."

"Are you Santa Claus?" Friedrich List asked.

"If you want, yes. Let's get to the point. My name is Berg Turner, and I'm the butler of Master Metternich. I came here today for two things. The first is to give you gifts and return your losses to you. At the same time, I brought two friends."

Berg clapped his hands, and two burly men came in carrying two sacks, and then threw the sacks heavily on the ground, making a dull sound.

Then the sack was opened, and it turned out to be the two swindlers who made Friedrich List hate them so much.

Friedrich List immediately stepped forward and kicked them twice. The two swindlers were tied up and stuffed with rags in their mouths, so they could only make two muffled groans.

"Are they the Austrian secret police?" Friedrich List asked.

"No, they are just enthusiastic citizens who happened to pass by." Berg answered slowly, and then said, "Mr. List, are you satisfied with this gift?"

"Satisfied, tell me the second thing." List was a wise man, and naturally knew that the other party would not be attentive for no reason.

"My master wants to meet you. He thinks you are very talented and should serve His Majesty the Emperor."

"What if I say I won't go?" Liszt asked tentatively, and then pointed to the two big men next to him, "Will they put me in a sack?"

"No, Mr. Liszt. My master is a civilized man, but I am not. Whether I say you are a jerk or a dangerous person, as long as you have my face, it is enough." Berg stood up and straightened his clothes.

"You convinced me, Mr. Berg."

Vienna, Hall of Mirrors.

Francis II sat on the throne, and the ministers and dignitaries below were all thinking about their own things, but they seemed to be doing their own jobs and in an orderly manner.

Franz II said proudly, "Child, look. The most important thing for an emperor is temperament. You must first have a kingly and domineering aura, and then you can make them bow down to you."

It is obvious that the old emperor is floating. But Franz still pretended to be very admiring, and said in a child's tone, "Grandpa, why do the French oppose our Austria joining the German Customs Union?"

"The French are all bad guys, they are afraid of us. We Austria is the chairman of the German Confederation and should protect the interests of the German states, so we must join the German Customs Union." Franz II wanted to educate his grandson, but he accidentally got himself into it.

Franz saw that the old emperor dug a hole for himself, so he pushed it again.

"Grandpa, grandpa, are those who have the same views as the French all bad people?"

"." Franz II was silent.

Metternich almost vomited blood. This is really the savior of Austria. Unexpectedly, the most clear-headed person in the entire royal family is actually a child.

However, the dignitaries in the Hall of Mirrors were not in a good mood, especially Prince Wendigoretz, who felt that the old emperor was looking at him and his eyes could kill him.

He quickly found an excuse and fled from the Hall of Mirrors.

Other dignitaries saw that one of the two bosses was exiled to Hungary and the other was urinating. Their confidence also collapsed, so they could only scatter like monkeys when the tree fell.

Looking at the crowd fleeing the Hall of Mirrors frantically, Franz II fell into deep thought. Why didn't he realize in the past that he trusted a group of treacherous villains.

Count Korolav thought this was good, and it seemed that the workload could be reduced a lot.

Count Latour continued his work. He felt that those guys would not give up so easily and must be strictly guarded.

Of course, this was also related to Count Latour's personal character. After all, he was a soldier, and once he made a mistake, he would lose his life.

Now Metternich, Korolav and Brooke were thinking the same thing, whether to bring Archduke Franz to the next political meeting.