Berlin
Ever since hearing that a huge sum in donations had been raised in Austria, Frederick-William IV had been beside himself with excitement. Yes, excitement—absolutely not anger.
Aside from the Kingdom of Prussia, the donations raised throughout the German region amounted to more than forty-three million florins when converted into Austrian florins. Austria alone had contributed over thirty million.
That sum was already equivalent to nearly half a year's fiscal revenue for the Kingdom of Prussia. If they could get their hands on all of it, it would undoubtedly be timely rain for the financially strapped Prussian government.
Unfortunately, the great Emperor Franz had stipulated that the funds be earmarked for specific purposes. As a result, many German states followed suit—though they were nowhere near as meticulous as Emperor Franz.
As of now, the Prussian government had still received more than five million florins in donations from the German region. Most of the rest had been intercepted by the respective governments.
How could the bureaucrats possibly sit idle in the face of such a huge benefit? Their donations were not handled as rigorously as Franz's, with every payment receipted and unused funds refundable.
One could imagine that the remaining money was destined never to reach the Prussian government's hands.
What depressed Frederick-William IV even more was that, according to the media, the Kingdom of Prussia had already received donations from the German region totaling more than one hundred million florins.
News did not travel smoothly in this era, and there were no bank records to verify anything. Since everyone was simply talking, the various states did not want to lose face, each one claiming to have donated an astronomical sum.
Did it matter whether it was true or false?
After all, the figures had been published by local media, not