In fact, aside from the princes and merchants of the various princely states, the East India Company's upper ranks were also major clients of the Austrian Empire. After all, at this time, the Austrian Empire was truly unmatched in the luxury goods field.
Especially in India, no matter how expensive, bulky, or prone to breakdowns Austrian Empire air conditioners were, all the high officials and nobles of India flocked to them.
Small ice-making machines were likewise widely praised, though they were extremely expensive.
In fact, the British had already produced a prototype ice-making machine in 1834, but it had been used to lower laboratory temperatures at the time, so it was exceedingly bulky and never saw widespread application.
The Austrian Empire's so-called air conditioner was actually an upgraded version of that British inventor's patent. It was still very bulky and inefficient, but at least it now had commercial value.
Being roasted to death was no exaggeration in India. This wretched place really could bake people to death. The number of people who died from heat in India every year was ten times that of Africa, even greater than the combined total of all other parts of the world. That alone was enough to prove just how hot India was.
For those Indian princes and merchants who loved showing off, ice-making machines and air conditioners had practically become necessities. And Tranquebar was the only place on the Indian Subcontinent where those two goods could be bought.
Naturally, beyond ice-making machines and air conditioners, the Austrian Empire's other goods also had them flocking in droves.
Lakshmi Bai knew that the princes spent at least two-thirds of their annual income buying Austrian Empire goods. Even so, Ganga Rao was considered a relatively restrained prince. Some even took out loans to buy them, going