War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

Before leaving, Bismarck took out a package and handed it to Alfred Krupp. The latter opened it with curiosity and doubt, and then stood blankly on the spot.

After coming back to his senses, Alfred took out a hammer from the pocket in the nearby storage room. He first tried to gently tap the mysterious object up and down a few times, and then took out a chisel and hammered it hard.

Watching Krupp take out one tool after another, Bismarck hesitated to speak.

"What's wrong? As a steel merchant, isn't it normal for me to carry some tools with me?"

The former could only nod heavily.

After some probing, Alfred Krupp wiped the dark iron with his handkerchief, and then smelled it vigorously with his nose.

"It seems to be the smell of manganese. This is really a magical masterpiece. Not even the best craftsmen in my factory can make such a perfect work. No, not even the British factory. It is simply like God. Made by my own hands!”

This excited-looking industrial tycoon is very obsessed with steel and has always admired the spirit of excellence. This is also an important reason why Krupp Steel can continue to grow and develop, so he does not hesitate to praise the smooth-line handicraft in front of him. The words are not surprising.

"Otto, where did you get this treasure? Is it a sacred relic from the museum, a meteorite given by God, or the latest product of a certain laboratory?"

Bismarck shook his head and sighed.

"You'd never imagine it. I found it in an Austrian trash can."

"What?!" Alfred Krupp's eyes widened, with an incredulous expression on his face as if he was questioning the other party's lies.

"A few months ago, when I was on my way to the five-nation meeting, I passed by a newly opened department store in Vienna; the item in your hand is the construction waste that was picked up by a scavenger and thrown away by them. , I thought it was interesting and brought it back.”

During Bismarck's trip to Austria, he did not just watch and eat and drink like other Prussian officials, but did his best to conduct on-the-spot investigation in Vienna.

In fact, this kind of steel has nothing to do with garbage, but is the most critical material for supporting the ceiling. It is used to complete a special structure that requires high strength.

Obviously, this scrap was not recycled after use, but fell into the hands of the scavenger. After weighing it up, he found that the iron block was very handy, so he decided to keep it for himself to crack nuts and deal with stray dogs.

Later, he was accidentally seen by Bismarck who was "wandering around". His knowledge was naturally much higher than those of the scavengers, and he immediately discovered the difference.

So Bismarck paid for it and brought it to this steel-obsessed friend today just to verify his judgment.

"This is incredible! This is the most perfect steel I have ever seen in my life! Its hardness and impact resistance are unparalleled! Otto, do you know that if we in Prussia can one day make guns with this steel? What a wonderful day it would be? I can’t even imagine…”

"I hope the Austrians will only use them to build houses." Bismarck said worriedly.

Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.

"Sneeze!" Franz sneezed heavily.

"Archduke Franz, are Grand Duchess Carolina thinking of you again?" Adjani said jokingly.

"That's my aunt."

"So what? Didn't your grandfather also marry his cousin?" In this era, there was no concept that close relatives were not allowed to marry.

Although some nobles try to avoid incest marriages, as long as the blood relationship exceeds three generations, they will no longer care about such things. Historically, Carolina married her cousin, belonging to the Habsburg family's traditional self-produced and self-sold chain.

The meeting between Franz and cousin Karolina was completely unexpected. The reason was that the latter wanted to play with her third brother, Archduke Friedrich, and as an incompetent brother, this guy went to the extreme.

"Brother, brother, I want to ride a horse!" Carolina said.

"My dear sister, riding a horse is not as fun as riding a boat. When I have time, I will take you for a tour of Africa. Let's go out to sea with my new steam battleships to enjoy the unique scenery. Giant ships and cannons are a man's dream!" Ridrich said without hiding the pride in his heart.

However, these words left Karolina with a dark streak in her head.

"My dear brother, God has given you a talent for the sea, but it has turned you into such an incomprehensible person.

It adds a boost to the empire, but takes away a good opportunity to add a new member to the family. I really don't know whether to feel happy or disappointed. "She said in a teasing and slightly sarcastic tone.

"You girls are really difficult to understand! Forget it, it's easier to deal with sailors." Friedrich said with a look of disgust.

"What, are you deliberately trying to find a lame excuse to excuse yourself because you don't know how to ride a horse?" Carolina couldn't help laughing. She was sixteen years old this year. Unlike Friedrich, she inherited her mother's hair. Her blonde hair and dark blue eyes made her an iconic German beauty.

In addition, this sister is also ten centimeters taller than her brother, so she likes her little brother very much, especially his unyielding and competitive expression after being teased by her.

"Huh! I can't ride a horse? You really underestimate me! I even rode a dolphin in the sea!"

Obviously, Friedrich fell into the trap again this time.

"What is that dolphin?" A girl of Karolina's age really wanted her family to pay more attention to her, so she said cutely in a casual manner.

"Haha, it's such a ridiculous land creature that you don't even know what a dolphin is. Next time you come to Venice, I'll take you to see it myself."

Then Friedrich took Carolina into Schönbrunn Palace on the grounds that it was too dangerous to ride a horse on the road. After marching to a large open space in front of the palace gate, he asked an accompanying guard to bring a white horse.

He felt that not only was the surrounding area very wide, but there was also a meadow not far away, which was perfect for horse racing.

But just like his quarrelsome sister said, he really doesn't know how to ride a horse, let alone how to lead a horse. After taking Karolina for a while, both parties felt a little bored.

So the two decided to play something exciting. Friedrich slapped the horse's ass hard, and the horse stood up under Carolina's crotch, with its front hooves in the air, and began to run wildly. However, the latter was not thrown off, Instead, he ran wildly along with the war horse.

At this time, Franz was discussing buoyancy with a group of friends. He saw the frightened horse under Karolina's crotch rushing towards him quickly. Everyone was trying to avoid it. She was also shouting, "Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

Seeing that the white horse was about to have a "fierce collision" with Franz, it suddenly stopped, and Carolina on the horse flew directly into the artificial lake.

"Hayate? Why are you here?"

Franz stretched out his hand, and the white horse licked the owner's palm obediently, and then snorted twice at Carolina, who was still struggling in the lake.

Only then did everyone realize after being frightened that it was Franz's mount and it was also a birthday gift from Franz II.

Although Franz's friends did not "fall into the water and add insult to injury", each one of them was frightened out of their wits by the scene just now. At this time, they recovered and started to curse the unlucky person who fell into the water.

He sighed, worried about the intelligence of his companions. They all seem to have overlooked a key point. Only the royal family can ride horses in Schönbrunn Palace.