The Emperor and the Nobles Rule the World, Not the Common People.

Returning to reality, the argument within the Hall of Mirrors continued.

"His Majesty rules the world with the nobility, not with the commoners."

As the ruling class of this country, the nobility stood in clear opposition to the ruled commoners. As a member of this ruling class, they expected the Emperor to prioritize the interests of the nobles above all else.

At the same time, those supporting the entry into the Zollverein—Metternich, Kolowrat, and Bruck—were also nobles, as was the Emperor himself.

However, those who claimed to be governing the world alongside the Emperor were not representing the interests of the state or the ruling class, but their own.

They had two goals: first, to block the path of social mobility for the lesser nobility and the commoner class; and second, to use their power to collude with domestic and foreign forces to squeeze the people of their own country to the maximum extent.

To summarize the attributes of this group simply: they were bureaucrats, landlords, and compradors.

Although these words were spoken by a group of petty men driven by selfish motives, they sounded perfectly reasonable at the time.

The Austria of this era was no longer the fragmented Holy Roman Empire of the past.

As the Emperor of the Austrian Empire, Francis II possessed absolute power.

For this, one must thank the terminator of the Holy Roman Empire—Napoleon. The Napoleonic Wars had greatly weakened the power of the local nobility, while inadvertently strengthening the centralization of Austria. The days when a minor noble could raise a private army and openly defy the state apparatus were long gone.

Even the power of the great nobles was severely restricted. Take Karl, the greatest land-owning noble of the Austrian Empire, for example: he had only 1,000 private soldiers, which was nowhere near enough to face the powerful army of the Austrian Empire.

Other nobles had even less capacity to resist the state.

So, if any great noble were to jump out now and declare, "If the Emperor does not grant my wish, I shall rebel," then Latour would certainly be happy to see him off.

At this moment, a small figure slipped in from outside the door. The royal guards saw him but did not stop him. After all, he was just a child, and he was the Emperor's favorite grandson—the future master of this country.

The upright Bruck said:

"Do you intend to govern this country with His Majesty? You only care about your own interests. Do you know how much revenue opening up trade could bring to this country? Our national treasury is constantly on the verge of bankruptcy; at the slightest disturbance, this edifice will come crashing down."

"You are alarmist! Vienna has the highest number of banks in the world!" (Vienna possessed the largest number of private banks in the world at the time, but they were small in scale and mostly in a state of stagnation, completely incomparable to London.)

"But who will lend money to us? You? The financial industry in Vienna is almost entirely monopolized now; the state has even had to mortgage parts of its tariffs and public authority to bankers. Can you not see this?"

"Debts must be repaid; that is only natural. Besides, do you think banks in other countries would be willing to lend to you? Stop making so many excuses and look for the reasons within yourself."

Bruck had been diligent and conscientious his entire life, honest and exceptionally capable. (Historically, he committed suicide after being framed and unable to prove his innocence.)

It could be said that it was a miracle the Austrian treasury had not collapsed to this day. He could not accept such accusations from others.

"Do you know what the empire's fiscal revenue was last year?" Bruck asked back, exasperated.

Before the other could answer, Bruck continued:

"130,269,877 florins."

"Do you know the total sum of the empire's debt?"

"1,461,224,893 florins."

"Do you know the total interest the empire had to pay last year for debt extensions?"

"101,221,096 florins—you don't know!" Bruck roared.

"So what? God save our Emperor, may Austria last for ten thousand generations. Do you think this is all your merit?" The speaker was Pietru, an aide to Esterhazy. He was not nervous; he even retorted.

This man had graduated from the University of Vienna with excellent grades and had once aspired to be a judge. However, he waited in vain in Vienna for five years without securing a real position.

Eventually, through the introduction of a classmate, he became an aide to Esterhazy. Since becoming an aide to Esterhazy, his financial situation had improved. But he also saw more of the dark side of society: it turned out he wasn't lacking in talent, just in connections.

The teachers who had lectured him on obeying the law were, in private, colluding with officials to sell offices.

Austria at this time operated on a system of bestowed offices, where the Emperor granted positions directly. But the prerequisite for being granted an office was that one had to be able to see the Emperor, or at least make the Emperor aware of one's existence.

Esterhazy was a great noble of Hungary, and even the Emperor could not easily move against him. Pietru never hesitated to execute the orders of Esterhazy. What did it matter if the Austrian Empire fell? As long as Hungary remained and Esterhazy remained, he could have everything he wanted.

Seeing Bruck at a loss for words, Pietru added fuel to the fire:

"The empire's debts haven't been paid off for so many years; why don't you resign? Leave the position to those who are capable!"

Bruck was furious and wanted to continue the argument. Kolowrat stopped the enraged Bruck; although he did not like the man, his ability was beyond doubt. As the Minister of Finance, no one understood better than Kolowrat how dire the state of Austria's finances truly was.

There were usually only two ways to increase fiscal revenue: opening new sources or cutting expenses.

He had already pushed cost-cutting to the limit, even withholding military pay and the royal annuity; he spent absolutely nothing that didn't need to be spent. Even so, the remaining funds each year were only about ten million. The difficulty of using that ten million to solve hundreds of millions in debt was beyond imagination.

However, Bruck had lost his composure and was being led astray by his opponent.

"Twenty years! As long as we join the Zollverein, I guarantee that all the empire's debts will be paid off within twenty years."

This was not an empty statement, but one calculated by all the officials in the entire Austrian Ministry of Finance. According to their calculations, joining the Zollverein would bring an annual economic growth of 4% to Austria. Even so, this was a highly substantial gain.

Kolowrat glanced at Pietru, who was still thinking of a counter-strategy.

"Can you do it?"

"I..."

"If you can't, shut up!" Kolowrat felt a deep aversion to people like Pietru who only knew how to talk.

Kolowrat scanned the room.

"Which one of you can guarantee that the empire's debts will be paid off within twenty years? If you can, I will step down and let you be the Minister of Finance!"

"Joking! Why should we be the ones to pay off the Empire's debts?" The great nobles grumbled inwardly. "Besides, it's impossible to pay them off anyway."

In the minds of the powerful, the debts of the Austrian Empire had long since become an unfillable black hole.

Since reason wouldn't work, it was time to play hardball.

Led by Prince Esterhazy, several great nobles stepped toward Francis II.

"Your Majesty rules the world with the nobility, not with the commoners. Do you truly wish to let those mud-legged peasants ride upon our heads?"

Francis II hesitated; he truly did not know what he should do. Watching the chaos erupt below, he had no idea whom he should listen to. His ministers seemed to be acting for the sake of the nation, but who could guarantee they had no selfish motives? These nobles might appear incompetent, but they were his own people.

Seeing Francis II wavering, some smiled; this was the moment they had been waiting for.

Consequently, they drew closer to Francis II, attempting to overwhelm the weak-willed Emperor with pressure.

"Your Majesty, have you forgotten the attitude of France?" Finally, someone grew so agitated that he stepped forward and tugged at the sleeve of Francis II.

Franz also smiled; this was the instant he had been waiting for.