"Ten times?!"
Prince Schwarzenberg's voice was filled with excitement. It was clear how thrilled he was. He had been prepared for Franz's astonishing plan, but he was still stunned by its sheer ambition.
Yet if an economist or railway expert had been present, they would surely have asked: did the Austrian Empire really need so many railways?
The British had expanded blindly and without order, and the result was an economic crisis that made the whole country pay a heavy price.
If the Austrian Empire continued expanding without restraint, it might well follow in Britain's footsteps.
"To be precise, we'll increase it tenfold, to 85,000 kilometers."
Franz added that he was very confident in the figure.
Before World War I, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had 43,280 kilometers of railway. Austria's engineers at the time had been remarkably capable and far-sighted; even more than a hundred years later, countries were still using their railway plans.
But the Austrian Empire of this era was different. It had not lost Northern Italy, and had also gained Belgrade, West Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania, and other territories.
Besides, Southern Italy and Greece, those two poor brothers, also needed Austria's care. And Franz believed the Austrian Empire's ambitions went further still, so 85,000 kilometers was a reasonable figure.
With infrastructure like railways, the sooner it was completed, the better. The earlier it was finished, the greater its impact on economic and industrial development.
Austria was still an agricultural country, and the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen in particular remained primarily agricultural.
In 1848, taking advantage of Britain's economic crisis, Austria had barely managed to surpass Britain in fiscal revenue through the plunder and exploitation of its colonies. But that did not mean the two countries were now equal in economic strength or standing.
A handful of