Chapter 39

The aftermath of the death of Francis II continued to spread, and the smaller states that had previously been on intimate terms with Austria were now as wilted as eggplants touched by frost.

Many state governments lost confidence in Austria; after all, their ambassadors had reached the same conclusion after meeting the new Emperor and his chief advisor.

Emperor Ferdinand I was a good man, but he was likely incapable of steering this massive empire.

And the chief advisor, Mr. Karl von Slut, was an utter fool.

The new Emperor and his empire would face constant challenges and pressures in the days to come.

If we were to stand on Austria's side, we would have to face these challenges and pressures with them, which was not in our nation's interest.

Austria had completed 20% of its 1,400-kilometer railway construction plan; the railway between Vienna and Moravia had been finished, and the century-defining project, the Semmering Railway, had also begun construction.

The cost of the Semmering Railway was expected to be more than three times that of an ordinary railway, but its significance was immense—not only would it strengthen the connection between the coastal regions and Vienna, but it would also link Northern Italy, thereby revitalizing the entire situation.

The Prussians had frantically built two hundred kilometers of railway, though not on their own soil.

Moreover, Prussia's new economic advisor had proposed a new railway standard to the member states of the Zollverein.

The gauge of this railway was different from that of the Austrians; being wider meant it could carry more cargo.

The true purpose of Friedrich List was to help Prussia contain Austrian influence within Southern Germany.

Honestly, Franz admired this economist from the bottom of his heart for actually coming up with such a method to squeeze out Austria.

In fact, Austria had ways to counter this at the time, such as changing the gauge or forcibly requiring members of the Zollverein to build railways according to Austrian standards.

However, either choice would affect Austria's reputation within the Zollverein, and more importantly, it required a stable and powerful government.

The Regency Council severely hampered the efficiency of the Austrian government, and even Count Kolowrat and Prince Metternich failed to recognize the sinister intentions of Friedrich List.

This was hardly surprising, as both Count Kolowrat and Prince Metternich had very limited understanding of railways.

By the time Franz saw this, the situation was essentially set in stone, and there was little point in trying to remedy it now.

Yet, the scheme of Friedrich List gave Franz a glimpse of a new possibility for the future of Austria.

At this time, Britain had already built over 1,000 kilometers of railway, while France had nearly 300 kilometers.

In Russia, an Austrian engineer obsessed with railways, Franz Gerstner, wrote a letter to Nicholas I.

The letter described a grand plan: he proposed building a railway to connect Saint Petersburg and Kazan to strengthen the Tsar's control over Western Siberia.

This railway would span over 1,000 kilometers, a plan that seemed incredible to people at the time.

However, it aroused great interest in Tsar Nicholas I, who felt that this railway was a gift from heaven to Russia.

Tsar Nicholas I had an even bolder idea: he wanted to use railways to connect the entire Great Slavic Empire.

Constantinople—Saint Petersburg—Kazan—Yakutsk—Alaska.

To realize his grand ideal, Tsar Nicholas I established a Railway Construction Committee.

The result, naturally, was fierce opposition from his ministers; the nobility disagreed with the Emperor's opinion and publicly opposed building any railways within the country.

The most vocal opponent was the Minister of Finance, Count Kankrin, who stated in a report to the Tsar that the Ministry of Finance did not have a single penny to spare for railways.

Russian experts also jumped out one after another to support Count Kankrin.

They argued that the cargo capacity of a train was too low, not even equal to that of three hundred horses, and since the Russian Empire had five million mules and horses, it could fully handle any situation.

Furthermore, Russia lacked coal, and to power the trains, they would have to fell forests, which would leave the Russian commoners without firewood for heating.

Russia's pig iron production was severely insufficient; if such a long railway were to be cast, a large amount of pig iron would have to be imported from abroad, which would plunge Russia's metallurgical industry into a cold winter.

The most trusted subordinate of Nicholas I, Duke Lyubay, even suggested that this was highly likely an Austrian conspiracy to use railways to weaken Russia's national strength so that they could gain an advantage in the partition of the Ottoman Empire.

In the end, Nicholas I had to abandon his grand blueprint, but he was not disheartened.

Russia still had no railways.

The Americans built more railways in a single year than the total length of France's railways at the time: 400 kilometers.

Because the United States' cotton production exceeded expectations, the price of cotton fell.

However, both Britain and the United States had experienced super-abundant wheat harvests at this time, and farmers who grew wheat, after suffering losses, switched to planting cotton one after another.

Although the price of cotton had fallen somewhat, it remained popular overall; at least, it would not result in a loss.

The income from land sold by the U.S. government that year was already enough to fully repay the debts owed by the U.S. government, and a large fiscal surplus was expected for the following year.

Saxony purchased another 500 steam looms from Austria; Austria's entry, combined with the establishment of the Zollverein, caused Saxony's fiscal revenue to almost double.

This was not only because Saxony was the textile center of Germany, but also because it was the largest middleman in the Zollverein.

Friction between Prussia and Austria was constant, and Saxony, sandwiched between them, became the biggest beneficiary.

After all, merchants would not turn away from money; friction between the two countries could not stop their merchants from doing business.

Although Austria's machinery manufacturing industry received quite a few orders, it remained in a half-dead state, mainly due to competition from the British, as Britain had by then allowed the export of machinery.

British machinery manufacturing started much earlier than Austria's, and the level of craftsmanship was naturally much higher.

If not for the protection of the Zollverein, and the fact that Hanover refused to join it, Austria's machinery manufacturing industry would have continued to drift further and further toward agricultural technology, just as it had in history.

Due to internal chaos, Austria increased military spending but reduced the number of troops in the Austrian Army, which now stood at 440,000.

Out of concern for its own security, France added another 20,000 soldiers and gendarmes, along with several native troops, bringing the total force to 530,000.

Prussia remained at two hundred thousand, while Russia launched a war against its domestic nomads, keeping its troop strength steady at six hundred thousand.

This year, both France and Austria began updating their weaponry, adopting more stable new-model muzzle-loading percussion rifles.

France developed a new type of field artillery, a 4-pounder that was both lighter and more accurate.

Austria, meanwhile, developed a weapon famous in history as a "suicide machine," a piece of artillery possessing range and power far exceeding that of contemporary guns of the same caliber.

However, due to limitations in casting technology and a lack of superior casting materials, this cannon had a barrel explosion rate as high as 20%, making it even more thrilling than the Russian roulette of later generations.

The Austrian Navy welcomed its fourth Admiral of the Navy in ten years, and this admiral was once again not a professional soldier, but a merchant who operated inland river shipping—Wallus Taaffe.

Austria's fiscal revenue reached 158 million Florin, higher than the 132 million Florin of the same period in history.