Revolutionary Tide

As ship after ship departed, the deep reserves the Kingdom of Prussia had accumulated over centuries were silently hollowed out by Franz.

No, this should have had little to do with Prussia anymore. This was now Russian territory, and the close cooperation between Russia and Austria was entirely a matter of each taking what they needed.

The Tsarist Government had eliminated hidden dangers and stabilized the local situation; Austria had increased the population of its core ethnic group. Both sides were winners.

As a result, Russo-Austrian relations grew more harmonious. As a testament to their friendship, the two governments had recently reached an agreement to defer loan repayments by two years.

It was purely an act of friendship, with no political strings attached. Since the agreement was reached, trade between the two countries around the Baltic Sea had flourished.

Spurred by the booming Russo-Austrian trade, Austrian companies engaged in international shipping were the first to emerge from the economic crisis. Every day, large numbers of ships traveled back and forth between the Baltic Sea and Austria's colonies.

Agricultural-product and daily-necessity companies followed close behind. Immigration drove up consumer spending, pulling these enterprises back from the brink of bankruptcy.

The price was that the Austrian National Bank had successively issued tens of millions of Divine Shield in settlement loans to immigrants, artificially creating a consumer market.

A single gunshot in Lyon shattered the tranquility of the European Continent. Since the Revolution of 1848, Europe's revolutionary tide had been ignited once more.

France was naturally among the hardest-hit areas. From Paris to Rome, revolutionary leaflets and slogans were everywhere, much like the little ads plastered on utility poles in later generations.

"Putting out fires" became the French Government's most important task. Neither the police nor the military had time for leave;