War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

Franz went to the train station and saw the weavers in person. They were even worse than what was rumored. They were all skinny, with dull eyes and blackened teeth.

In addition, many of them were flogged before arriving and were only half alive, and refused to let the Austrian military medical officers get close due to excessive fear.

Fortunately, there were also a large number of doctors in the Austrian church. In fact, Franz also tried to mobilize civilian doctors in Vienna.

However, the Austrians were indifferent to what happened to the Silesians, and many even gloated about their misfortune. They attributed the uprising in Silesia to the incompetence of the Prussian government.

People in Austrian Silesia even took the initiative to set up patrols, fearing that someone would cross the Oder River and pollute their land.

The domestic nobles were also somewhat dissatisfied. They did not think that Archduke Franz had any value in doing this.

Of course, on the surface they would still call him benevolent, but privately they began to question whether Franz's intelligence was flawed.

There were also disharmonious voices within the church. Some clergy felt that Prussia, which had accepted the rescue, must change its religion, otherwise it would be equivalent to encouraging heresy.

The subsequent test results were also very pessimistic. 60% of the first 3,000 Silesian weavers who arrived in Austria suffered from varying degrees of physical disabilities and chronic diseases.

All the weavers were flogged to varying degrees, although the horse whips used by the Prussians were not as powerful as the English rope whips or the Russian bullwhips.

But 24 lashes per person still beat these insurgents, who were not strong enough to begin with, to the point of dying. Coupled with the bumpy ride in the train, doctors estimated that one-third of them might not survive more than a week.

The cost of treatment was also sky-high because the regular doctors in Vienna did not like these North Germans. Even the royal family and the church could not hide their disgust, and Franz couldn't do anything to them now.

Therefore, we can only let the church do its best to treat him, and we can only leave it to fate as to how long he will survive.

What Franz needs to consider is what they can do after they survive. Prussia's basic education is good, but except for the weavers, their education level is very low, most of them are only about the third grade of elementary school. The rest are mostly illiterate.

The brother and sister Rui Bi and Ace were not exempted from the whipping. Although there were only twelve lashes, the two children still passed out. Then they were wrapped in cloth like garbage and thrown onto the train.

When Franz found them, the two of them were already dying, and the whole carriage smelled bad.

The three teenagers accompanying Franz had different expressions. Akadov showed disgust, but he just stood beside Franz and said nothing.

Richard Metternich took out a handkerchief and covered his mouth and nose, and handed the other one to Franz.

"Franz, this place is too dirty. Please stay away. With your order, I believe the priests of the church will not dare to violate it. They will definitely be taken care of."

Franz waved his hand and did not accept the handkerchief offered.

Compared to Akadov and Richard, Taffy looked much more immature. When he saw that Franz did not accept the handkerchief, he immediately grabbed it and vomited.

However, for a pampered young man, this is considered normal. After all, he had to rely on others to wipe his butt until he was nine years old. It was not until Franz discovered that he changed this bad habit.

"Edward, if you can't bear it, go back first." Franz's unintentional words made Taffy tremble, and the latter immediately straightened her back.

(Taffy's full name is Edward Taffy.)

"I'm fine, Franz. If you need me I can send them to Moravia, I have a hospital there."

Franz shook his head. He was not short of money. What he needed was to make these people's lives worth living, instead of living entirely on charity.

Looking at the teenagers who are similar to my own age in front of me, I can't help but feel a little emotional, but after seeing too much, I become numb.

"Archbishop, I leave this to you. Please do your best to treat me, and come to me if you have any problems."

Archbishop Rauscher naturally understood what Franz meant, and he also knew that there were objections within the church at this time.

"Please rest assured, Your Highness. The church will treat everyone equally." After saying this, he motioned to the priests behind him to come in and help.

When the brother and sister woke up again in bags filled with hardened blood stains like shrouds, they found themselves in a luxurious and luxurious room.

But the room full of gold and silver utensils did not attract them. The brother and sister found each other immediately, but the bandages on their bodies looked a bit funny, like two little mummies.

"Is this paradise? It looks even more luxurious than Mr. Philpot's house!" The younger sister hugged her brother tightly and looked around excitedly.

"Obviously not! You hurt me!" Blood seeped out of the latter's bandage, which scared the former and quickly let go of his hand.

"I didn't mean it! I..." At this moment, she recalled her previous memory. A group of Prussian soldiers broke into her home and tied her brother with a rope like an animal.

Ruibi ran to the kitchen and took out a kitchen knife and pointed it at the Prussian soldier, who pointed his gun directly at her. Ace wanted to step forward to stop him but was kicked away and passed out.

Fortunately, an officer stepped forward and suppressed the gun, but before Ruibi could take a breath, she heard the man continue.

"Take this too."

The girl tried to resist, but it was in vain. She lost consciousness after receiving a gun butt on her head.

When they woke up again, they had been loaded into the carriage, and there were many weavers tied up in the carriage. Some of them they knew, some they didn't.

No one spoke along the way, and everyone's face could not hide the color of fear and sadness.

Soon they arrived at their destination, and the sound of whips and desperate screams could be heard outside.

"24 lashes per person! Take off your clothes and pants quickly! Don't let us do it! Those who have been tortured, please get in the car!"

A man who looked like an overseer shouted.

"Sir, where are you sending us?" an old weaver who had just finished his torture asked tremblingly.

"Where are you going? Let us enjoy your happiness! You guys should have known this when you smashed windows and painted other people's houses!

You have to work and pay for it! "The supervisor-looking official mocked angrily.

"Then what work are we going to do?" the old weaver asked again.

"How do I know? I heard it seems to be Hungary, right? Have you heard the story of the vampire countess? You are just a bunch of lazy guys who don't have enough to do, and you deserve to be bled one by one as bath water. Got it!"

Although the official was just making nonsense, he frightened the weavers into crying and screaming. But the soldiers didn't care so much and just pulled the people over for execution.

Some young female workers didn't want to take off their clothes, so they grinned, pushed them on the stakes, and forcibly stripped them of their clothes. Then they took out whips from the basin and beat them severely.

The place where the long whip passed was bloody and bloody. In order to prevent the victim from biting off his tongue, the executioner on the side would stuff a ball of fabric into his mouth after the first whip fell.

The execution soon attracted a crowd of onlookers, which excited the Prussian officials who carried out the execution, because this undoubtedly greatly enhanced the authority of the kingdom.