Metternich stepped forward and placed a hand over his chest in salute. "There was originally no place for me to speak here, Your Highness the Regent, but I truly could not bear to see Europe's royal houses drowned in tragedy."
Joseph looked at the political genius who, in history, had prolonged the Austrian Empire's life by several decades. Calmly, he said, "Mr. Metternich, can you tell me what the price of bread in Vienna was a month ago? I mean the actual transaction price, not the government-set ceiling."
Though puzzled as to why the French Regent was suddenly asking this, Metternich quickly answered, "Four pounds of bread cost 14 Kreuzer and 2 Pfennig, Your Highness." That was the price paid in silver coins; with paper money, it cost 16 Kreuzer.
Joseph nodded. "That makes it 4 Sou and 3 Denier per pound of bread. Hmm, in Paris it's 1 Sou and 8 Denier. What about salt?"
"13 Florin per bushel, Your Highness."
This time, Joseph calculated for quite a while before saying, "Ah, 1 kilogram costs 1 Franc and 4 Sou. Your Salt Tax really is high. In Paris, it costs only 4 Sou. But when it comes to taxation, Vienna is still stronger. Things like the War Tax, Chimney Tax, Mill Tax, and Newspaper Tax have all been abolished here.
"Oh, how much Land Tax are you collecting now?"
This time, Metternich merely lowered his head and remained silent.
Joseph did not press him. With a faint smile, he said, "You see, perhaps the dream of Vienna's rebels is simply to attain a life like Paris's. And if riots truly broke out in France against my father, they likely would not even alarm the Police. Before they could make it out of a single street, they would be beaten