Report

Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.

Franz stared blankly at the report on his desk. He felt he had done a great deal, but somehow it still wasn't enough.

At this time, Britain truly lived up to its title as the world's foremost power. Its coal output had reached an astonishing 44 million tons, while France, the second-ranked great power, produced only 4.2 million tons. The German territories outside the Austrian Empire produced 4 million tons in total.

Historically, the Austrian Empire had produced a mere 800,000 tons. But under Franz's reforms and development efforts, its coal output now stood at 20 million tons—twenty-five times what it had been at the same point in history.

Technological advances in this era could bring about dramatic changes with remarkable ease. In 1836, Britain's coal output had been only 32 million tons; in just ten years, it had increased by 10 million.

The Austrian Empire's situation was somewhat different from Britain's. Starting from zero, the impact of technological progress was all the more staggering.

But the former's resource ceiling was too low. Even by the time of World War I, its output had reached only 49 million tons, while neighboring Germany produced 270 million.

Still, the Austrian Empire had the advantage of possessing a full range of resources. Especially since it still held the Italian territories, it was basically self-sufficient in everything except rubber. In agriculture, it also had Europe's largest silk-producing region.

At this time, Europe's largest silk-producing region was Venice; the second largest was Lyon in France. Yes, that Lyon—the place that was always in revolt.

After several large-scale uprisings, along with natural and man-made disasters, Austria's silk industry had made a fortune.

Why didn't the British import silk from the East to disrupt the market? Because trade barriers were thick in every country,