Francis II's Troubles

Schönbrunn Palace, banquet hall.

Today was the day of the royal family's gathering. Francis II sat at the head of the table, and the past year had made him feel as if he were basking in the spring breeze.

The whole country was flourishing. Even the number of people bribing him had increased.

But when he saw his eldest son Ferdinand forced to leave after a sudden epileptic seizure, frothing at the mouth, he couldn't help frowning.

An emperor like this didn't seem capable of ruling well. It looked as though the monarchy was entering a period of decline.

He glanced at his second son, who was acting drunk beside him, and his brows drew together even more tightly.

Archduke Franz Karl didn't shout and bellow when drunk. Instead, he was leaning over his plate, crying all by himself.

His disgraceful behavior infuriated Sophie, but she couldn't make a scene in front of Francis II. All she could do was gently shake her husband.

Archduke Franz Karl seemed to find it quite comfortable. Instead of getting up, he let out an embarrassing sound.

"Take him out. Archduke Franz Karl is drunk." Francis II waved impatiently, urging the attendants to hurry.

Franz Karl's attendants immediately sprang into action and carried the archduke out with the help of the servers.

Sophie rose, wanting to apologize for her husband's rudeness.

But Francis II merely waved her away, telling her to leave as well.

"Grandfather, I'm full." Franz also seized the chance to make his escape.

The rules of a French banquet were a hassle, with far too many courses served far too slowly, and the head chef had to explain each dish. The fat chef spraying saliva everywhere made Franz lose his appetite.

Besides, French food didn't suit Franz's taste. The only familiar thing was the rice.

At a French banquet, rice was treated as a vegetable.

He didn't know how rare the steak was, but Franz couldn't chew it at all. In the end, he had to cut it into small pieces and swallow them, nearly choking. He snatched up the glass beside him and took a huge gulp, only to discover it was red wine.

Franz was already feeling a little dizzy.

Francis II wanted to keep his grandson there. He was the only person in the family who brought him any comfort.

But Francis II was too proud to say so, and could only indulge his grandson's impudence.

Once his family had all left, Francis II sat at the head of the table, feeling lost.

The imperial household's steward, Sanborn, leaned close to Francis II's ear and spoke.

"Prince Metternich has delivered the remaining payment of one thousand gold bars to the palace. I counted them, and the amount is correct. But Prince Metternich said the Bavarians want us to build a railway from Prague to Bayreuth."

Bayreuth was Bavaria's economic center at the time, but it lay among the hills between the Fichtel Mountains and the Franconian Jura, making railway construction difficult and driving up the cost.

Nowadays, whenever people mentioned Bavaria, they thought of BMW, football, beer, pork knuckles, a thriving economy, and beautiful scenery.

Yet at the time, Bavaria was known throughout Germany as a barren wasteland. It was an agricultural country that imported grain in a frenzy and couldn't even feed itself.

It was also a desert of knowledge and industry, with very few factories or universities.

The common people lived in hardship, while the ruling class lived in debauchery. The country had produced two artist kings in succession.

The current king, Ludwig I, was a notorious philanderer. The thirty-six beauties in the Gallery of Beauties at Nymphenburg Palace bore witness to that history, and his scandalous affair with Lola Montez had cost him his throne.

The Bavarian government wanted Austria to build another railway to Bayreuth, partly to promote trade and increase tax revenue, and partly to let Bavarians work in Austria and bring more wealth back to Bavaria.

For Bavarians seeking work abroad, Austria was the first choice.

After all, Austria was large enough to offer plenty of opportunities.

Moreover, everyone in Bavaria spoke German, and speaking German in Austria was an enormous advantage.

This was especially true for young people hoping to become officials. The same position could earn them several times more, and their German identity and language were advantages Austria's other peoples did not have.

Religion was another factor. North Germany also offered plenty of opportunities, but its religious beliefs differed from those of the South German states.

The shadow of the Thirty Years' War still hung over Germany. They didn't want to wake up one day to find themselves bound to a stake and burned to ashes.

In fact, it wasn't just Bavaria. Ever since they had learned that Austria had joined the Zollverein, the entire South German region had grown closer to Austria.

But the Bavarians' proposal to build another railway to Bavaria infuriated Francis II.

No one believed there would be much trade between Austria and Bavaria. The railway to Bavaria was meant entirely to facilitate business with the North German states.

In Francis II's eyes, building yet another railway to Bavaria was a complete waste.

The route from Prague to Bayreuth crossed rivers and mountains and stretched nearly 250 kilometers. At the time, railways cost between 60,000 and 70,000 florins per kilometer to build.

That meant the railway would cost more than ten million florins. But then Francis II thought it over.

It's not as if I'm the one paying. If they want it built, let those Jews do it.

So he told Sanborn,

"Tell Metternich to have Salomon Rothschild build it. Doesn't he like building railways? Let him build to his heart's content."

Sanborn tactfully left. Franz II checked the schedule. Tomorrow, he still had to receive his Italian relatives.

The railway-building craze soon spread to Austria's backyard, Central Italy.

Apart from the Papal States, the four duchies of Tuscany, Parma, Lucca, and Modena all hoped to strengthen trade with Austria.

The Italian states, which had built their fortunes on commerce, were inevitably headed for decline during this era of waning Mediterranean trade.

By then, the states of Central Italy had long since lost their former glory. Their people lived in hardship, handicrafts were backward, and the countries lacked domestic resources. They simply couldn't compete with the industrial powers around them.

The states of Central Italy all faced severe budget deficits and ceaseless uprisings.

If Austria hadn't often sent troops to help put them down, those little states would have fallen long ago.

These little states hoped to strengthen trade with Austria by building railways, but their domestic merchants weren't willing to pay for them.

After all, the rich had distant relatives even in the mountains, while the poor found no friends even in a busy city.

Investors with real money weren't willing to waste it on these little states, already flowers of yesterday.

Nor were the states willing to pay for the railways themselves. All they wanted was to collect more taxes.

As for their supposed credit, they had long since spent it on luxuries.

Now they could only pin their hopes on the Austrian emperor. After all, Francis II had personally called them "my Italian states," and the Congress of Vienna had confirmed Italy as Austria's sphere of influence.

Yet Francis II was now fretting over a lack of money. The decline of Central Italy was a fact.

Should he keep investing, or maintain the status quo? That was the question.