After the German Customs Union was incorporated into the German Confederation, Franz still needed to make a few reforms.
Historically, once the Prussians had gained complete control of the Customs Union, they began squeezing it ruthlessly. They even used its revenue to fund their army.
The Prussians reasoned that the armies of those small states were trained by Prussia anyway, and that they shared responsibility for their security with Prussia. So why not hand all that money over to the Prussian army, where it could be managed more efficiently?
But their shameless greed and astonishing corruption sent military spending soaring, while vast sums of money simply vanished.
In the end, the Customs Union could no longer make ends meet. Its member states had to keep covering the shortfall, stirring up such widespread discontent within the Union that it nearly fell apart.
Under Austrian leadership, the Customs Union would first use its tariff revenue to cover the Confederation's day-to-day expenses and operations. Of the remainder, 30% would go into a reserve fund to deal with sudden wars and disasters, and to reward outstanding figures within the Confederation and those who made special contributions to it.
The remaining 70% would be redistributed according to each country's population. This would ensure every country shared in the Union's benefits, which was crucial to maintaining stability within the Confederation.
It was also part of Franz's policy to stimulate population growth. The member states would surely encourage people to have more children so they could claim a larger share of the benefits, effectively boosting population growth in the German lands.
A considerable portion of this new population would then flow into the Austrian Empire. The exact numbers would depend on how much the Empire developed in the years ahead.
Even so, if the Customs Union had