Schönbrunn Palace of the Habsburgs.
Ernst had come to seek Franz's help.
To be honest, Franz had recently been run ragged. Besides dealing with the aftermath of the defeat, he also had to put up with the unreasonable fuss being made by the Hungarian Magyar nobility.
Yet Franz still made time to receive his future nephew-in-law.
"Ernst, what brings you to Austria?" Emperor Franz asked.
"Your Majesty, I came hoping that Austria could support my recruitment efforts within Austria," Ernst said frankly.
"You needn't tell me about such a trivial matter, surely?" Franz asked in confusion.
For something as petty as hiring workers, did Ernst really need to come all the way to the palace and tell him personally? There were so many businesses in Austria—if every one of them came to report to him every day, that would be utterly absurd.
"Actually, Your Majesty, the number of people I intend to recruit is a little large. And I hope the Austrian government can vouch for this recruitment drive."
"How many people are you recruiting?" Franz asked curiously. After all, if it were only a small number, there would be no need for the government to intervene.
"If possible, tens of thousands—perhaps even hundreds of thousands," Ernst answered without changing expression.
"Ernst, are you joking? Are you planning to arm an army? That many people is utterly outrageous!" Franz asked incredulously.
Ernst explained everything in meticulous detail. "Your Majesty, it is like this. I believe you know that I have a colony in East Africa. Its economic returns are currently not bad; it can barely balance its income and expenses. But the factor hindering the colony's development is population. Back then, because no one was willing to develop East Africa, I recruited quite a few people from Asia. Just as