War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.

"Prince Metternich has a new mistress!"

Franz has long been used to Thalia's gossip, but this time Franz couldn't calm down.

"Prince Metternich is 63 years old, Thalia, are you still unwilling to let him go?"

"What do you mean I won't let him go! Then can you explain why a 63-year-old man is still keen on finding a new mistress?" Thalia retorted.

"Oh? How old is Prince Metternich's mistress?" In fact, Franz was also a little curious.

"20 years old, maybe less than 20 years old, how can a woman's age be exposed casually!"

"This is an old cow eating young grass, but this is not surprising in aristocratic circles, right?"

"Hey," Thalia said, pretending to be mysterious.

"There's something more explosive!"

"What?" Franz asked.

"Count Korolaf also found a mistress." Thalia answered.

"I asked you to find out the news, but all you collected was gossip." Franz said helplessly.

"Don't worry, just listen to what I have to say."

"Okay." Franz could only continue to listen patiently.

"Prince Metternich and Count Korolaf's mistress are the same person." Thalia whispered.

"Aren't they sworn enemies? It seems that some of their views are quite consistent."

"My respected Grand Duke, perhaps you should expand your imagination."

"No, I just think that woman is seeking death. Metternich and Korolaf are not easy to deal with. You know this, how can they not know it?" Franz said with a smile. .

Thalia spread her hands.

"Anyway, this woman is now very popular in Vienna's upper class circles, and has even caused several duels."

In fact, Austria is a very strange country. Duels are not allowed in the army of this country. Starting from Joseph II, as long as soldiers participated in duels in the army, they would be executed.

But, something weird happened. As long as duels were not fought in the army, it was not illegal. Nobles, civilians, and even Jews and Gypsies had the right to duel.

The duel culture in Austria is very serious, and even the most famous duel occurred between two women, that is, the shirtless fight between Metternich's granddaughter and the wife of the governor of Lower Austria.

The Swift Sword was the Austrians' favorite weapon until the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

A Vienna principal once said, "A scholar should not die in a duel." His successors inherited this school motto well. Before World War II, fencing was a compulsory subject at the University of Vienna.

"A beauty is just a disaster. There is nothing to pay attention to. Talk about something else." Franz is not too cold about this kind of thing.

"People say she is the most beautiful woman in Vienna, a masterpiece of Venus. She looks like an angel, but has a pair of devil's eyes, which can enchant people."

Franz stopped Thalia from continuing.

"Okay, don't you just want to see a beautiful woman? What's her name? If there's a chance, I'll ask my mother to take us there."

"Adjani."

Thalia nodded with satisfaction.

"Any other news?" Franz asked.

"The Polish Nationalist Army plans to establish a branch in Vienna." Thalia answered.

Franz almost spit out the juice he just drank.

"What! This is Vienna!"

"Yes, this is Vienna, but this was said publicly by a Polish nobleman in exile in a tavern, and now everyone in Vienna knows it."

"Are the Poles crazy? What do those secret police do?"

"I don't know, but it seems that Count Korolaf has not approved the budget of the secret police. It is said that Metternich's men can no longer afford to hire professional detectives, so they can only find some homeless people to replace them."

Franz felt ashamed, forgetting that Count Korolaf, a liberal, was very opposed to the secret police system. It seems that I can only rely on myself. The twenty people in my own guard seem not enough.

"Talia, keep an eye on this matter. I think we can only solve this matter on our own."

"Yeah. Another thing happened recently, that is, the record of civilian killers has been refreshed again, reaching 670."

"Civilian killer?" This was the first time Franz had heard of this name, and the number of 670 people was too exaggerated. You must know that the famous Jack the Ripper in history only killed five people on record.

"Oh, it's Dr. Thomas. He is the director of the Vienna General Hospital and an authority on obstetrics in Austria. The mortality rate of his deliveries is very low, but only among nobles. The civilian women he delivered had a narrow escape. He has been practicing medicine for ten years. 670 civilians died at his hands."

In Europe of this era, medicine was still very backward. Bloodletting for minor illnesses and amputation for serious illnesses was not a joke.

At the best obstetrics and gynecology hospital in Europe at that time, the annual maternal mortality rate during childbirth was around 20%.

This may not be intuitive, but the current mortality rate of pregnant women in China is 0.0000016.

At that time, the maternal mortality rate in Europe was 125,000 times that of China today, and the prerequisite was that it was in the best hospital in Europe.

In most hospitals in Europe, it is common for the mortality rate to exceed 30%, and it is not surprising to even reach 40%. The Vienna General Hospital even created an exaggerated figure of zero maternal survival rate within three months.

Tip: At that time, the mortality rate for Europeans giving birth at home was about 10%.

"He doesn't wash his hands."

At that time, the mortality rate remained high, and one of the most important reasons was infection.

At that time, there was no concept of clean surgery. No doctor would wash his hands before surgery. Moreover, they often performed another surgery just after completing one surgery. Some doctors even went to operate on patients right after going to the toilet.

At that time, European doctors believed that water would weaken the function of human organs. Cold water would cause colds and diarrhea, while hot water would open pores and inhale more harmful bacteria, leading to serious diseases such as tuberculosis. In short, water is The source of all diseases.

There are also religious factors at play. The church once canonized people who did not bathe for many years. Mr. Abraham was finally canonized as a saint because he insisted on not bathing for 50 years. This made it even more difficult for these doctors to not bathe or wash their hands. reason.

Thalia "Then how do I know."

Franz thought about it, but it was wrong to think about why the death rate of nobles was so low, while the death rate of commoners was so high.

"Talia, please print a few more copies of this six-step hand washing method and give it to all hospitals in Vienna, and ask them to follow it before surgery. Call it a royal decree."

Thalia had developed the habit of washing her hands around Franz. After all, she would eat Franz's snacks with her hands when no one was watching. Franz didn't want to die of diarrhea for no reason.

"Okay, what's this going to do?"

"Save people," Franz replied.

Thalia picked up the "Six Steps to Hand Washing" that Franz had just written, and prepared to make a few more copies. After all, according to Franz's personality, Vienna would be the first, and then the whole country.

"Wait." Franz stopped Thalia, "You go in my carriage."

"You're going to die!" Thalia made a motion of wiping her neck, then stuck out her tongue and rolled her eyes.

"Wouldn't it be nice if you had one less horse to tie up!" said Franz.

I will write about the subsequent events in Spain in the evening. This chapter contains three foreshadowings.

Regarding Chapter 15: Being Swallowed, if the evening is not good, I will post it in two chapters.