With the launch of compulsory education, Austria's internal reforms temporarily came to an end. The Government's energy was limited; it could not possibly attend to every aspect at once.
Taking advantage of the 1848 Revolution, Austria's domestic reforms had already taken a great step forward. Now was the time to consolidate those achievements.
No reform could be completed with a single government decree. More importantly, policies had to be put into practice.
The entire Government became busy, and Franz found himself relaxed. In his view, only when the bureaucrats beneath him all had work to do could an emperor live comfortably.
Once they were allowed to idle around, trouble would follow. Either power struggles within the Government would intensify, or they would join forces to seize power from the emperor—perhaps even both at once.
Schönbrunn Palace
The maid Jenny chattered away beside Franz's ear. "Your Majesty, this is the finest tea Viscount Pavel Korchagin brought back from the Qing Empire—Dragon Well tea.
They say it comes from West Lake, where the water is the best. I never imagined tea trees could grow in water. Truly, the world is so vast that nothing is too strange."
Franz burst out laughing. "Nonsense. Who told you tea trees grow in water?"
How could an emperor possibly lack people eager to flatter him? Once they learned that Franz enjoyed drinking tea, there would naturally be people catering to his tastes.
Because of cultural differences, many things inevitably came out distorted in translation.
As for whether this tea was truly West Lake Dragon Well tea, only heaven knew. At most, Franz could confirm that it was Dragon Well tea. Whether it came from West Lake, Yuezhou, or Qiantang was simply too difficult to determine.
Considering its output, Franz guessed that even if this tea had