War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

After hearing Lakshmi Pai's words, Franz subconsciously wanted to refute.

But the further he walked, the more ruined walls and overgrown grass appeared. There was only silence and desolation along the way, which made Franz feel unusual.

Dorobichi is considered a prosperous place in the whole of Galicia, and the Yasusky family has hundreds of years of inheritance. Theoretically speaking, hundreds of years of business should not be such a virtue.

And those weeds rule out the possibility of being destroyed by this rebellion. After all, such tall weeds cannot grow in a short time.

Franz could only sigh helplessly: "It shouldn't be like this here."

"This really shouldn't be like this. I came here when I was a kid, and it was full of farmland. Mr. Yasusky was very kind."

Mia Atiles talks about her childhood memories.

"Have you been here?"

Franz was very curious about the new clerk, Miss Attiès, who was working part-time as an accountant. You must know that old Attiès was just a second-rate Jewish banker in the past.

This family's business should be mainly in Vienna and Italy, and I have not heard that they have any relationship with the Poles.

At this sensitive time, Franz had to be careful. After all, there were many things that capsized in the gutter in history.

Although a detailed investigation was conducted before Miss Mia was hired, it seemed that there were still flaws.

"Yes, I came here with my father when I was little."

Mia Artiès was not an idiot, so she explained in detail.

"It was because of business matters at that time. It was very common for the farms of great nobles to occasionally have cash flow problems."

Franz nodded and did not continue to ask. Because agriculture in this era was inherently very unstable, and natural disasters and man-made disasters could affect harvests, it was almost routine for nobles to borrow money from bankers for turnover.

In fact, there are not many normal loans, most of which are loan sharks. Even for normal loans, the interest rate is so high that 10% can be called a "conscientious businessman", so bankers are often resented.

As for the possibility that Miss Mia has any contact with the Poles, it is very unlikely because her Jewish identity is difficult to be recognized by the latter.

And if she really had that idea, she would not expose herself so foolishly. More importantly, only Albrecht knew about Franz going to Dorobichi. Everyone thought that there was only one target. Krakow.

Lakshmi Pai rolled her eyes, subconsciously feeling a little unhappy because she was not the center of attention.

So he repeated it again.

"This place is really shabby."

"Indeed, but there is a lot of potential here and it could become a city in the future."

Franz knew very well that after all, this was the only oil field in Central Europe. In addition to coal, iron ore, and fertile black soil, he could not find a reason why this place did not rise in the industrial era.

Historically, the Austrian Empire had always had a grudge against the development of Galicia due to a series of complex reasons such as geopolitics, history, and ethnicity, as well as the threat of the Russians.

However, Franz knew very well that only a strong country and economic prosperity would be most conducive to national stability. Only national stability can better promote development, and at the same time promote national identity and national integration.

National stability is both an end and a means. Historically, Austria only regarded it as the so-called ultimate goal, and the result was that it developed its own land like a thief.

Naturally, it would be difficult to win the trust of the people by doing this. After all, even the top leaders of the empire themselves did not believe it.

Facts have proved that this road will not work, and Franz will definitely not choose to make the same mistake again. Therefore, the future Austrian Empire will not quietly carry out construction, and then be happy to make a small fortune secretly (referring to Galician oil).

Franz will do it with great fanfare and with great fanfare, so that people can see the gaps and benefits more clearly.

But Lakshmi Pai naturally didn't know this. She only saw a desolate scene everywhere.

In fact, the reason why Lakshmi Pai felt that "this place is too shabby" was mainly because the two cities where she stayed in Austria for the longest time were Venice and Vienna.

An ancient capital with convenient water and land transportation and a history of more than 2,000 years, it was also the economic, cultural and political center of Austria at this time. The other is the largest trading port in the empire.

In addition, due to the development of railways, Lakshmi Pai could only see the scenery along the railway lines, such as the Alps, Semmering Railway, etc., which are important tourist attractions even today.

What she had seen before was either prosperous or picturesque, which was in sharp contrast to the desolate grass and ruins at this time.

But Franz dismissed what he said about the great potential here and that it would become a city in the future. Because in the eyes of Lakshmi Pai, this is just a tough talk and sophistry.

Children naturally like to test other people's boundaries. There is also a saying that "heroes have emerged from youth since ancient times."

"How big is the potential? How far is the future?"

Naturally, Franz wouldn't tolerate this kind of face-hopping behavior, so he caught the arrogant little monkey.

"We are civilized people, don't be rude!"

Lakshmi shouted, but this kind of moral kidnapping was of no use to Franz. Their moral standards were fundamentally different.

The latter gave the former a hard slap on the forehead, and then returned to normal.

"It won't be long, ten years, maybe twenty years."

Lakshmi muttered softly while holding her red forehead.

"I thought you were so powerful! It takes so long to build a city!"

Franz looked at the former again, who suddenly shrank his neck and ran away angrily. In fact, children can instinctively observe people's emotions, and she could see that Mia Artiès on the side had no resistance to Franz.

If Franz really wanted to continue beating her, she was afraid that Miss Mia would not only not protect her, but also help her, so Lakshmi Pai hid in a corner.

Franz sighed, "It's not that simple to build a city. The arrangement of roads, transportation, hospitals, schools, churches, police stations, fire stations, water plants, and various infrastructure and pipelines all requires planning. .

What is the most important purpose of city building? Business? industry? agriculture? politics? military? You have to choose one. To continue to develop, cities need pillar industries."

Franz said a lot to himself, but these were a bit too advanced for Lakshmi Pai and even Mia Artiles. They didn't think so much and could only be stupid. Listening.

Note: Mia Artiès is not yet twenty years old. Being able to understand one or two subjects is already considered very good. In the 19th century, compared to modern times, access to information was very limited.

After a bumpy journey, Franz finally arrived at the manor of Vihliu Yasusky.

How would you describe your first impression? Luxurious, but not gorgeous. In short, this kind of taste Franz really cannot praise.