War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

France, Paris.

The French Ministry of Transport was stimulated by representatives of the small German states at the recent aftermath meeting of the Alsace-Lorraine incident. At this time, in order to regain its position, the Minister of Transport proposed a package of radical reform measures.

Including a series of railway construction projects and the establishment of new train research and modification projects.

On the one hand, a group of officials are red-faced because the interest groups behind them are fighting for the right to build and operate the railway. On the other hand, there is a large number of people who have jumped out to oppose the so-called train research center.

The reason for the latter is simply that they do not want to see money wasted on railway and train improvement projects, because the cost of imported technology from Britain across the Channel is less than one-tenth of independent research and development.

Since there are ready-made results that can be enjoyed at a low price, why should we pay a high price to re-open a road that others have already traveled? What's the point of doing this?

While the Minister of Transport was engaged in a war of words with a group of opponents, someone else jumped out to report that an academician of the French Academy of Sciences had taken bribes and deliberately slowed down the research process.

Immediately the nature of the question changed, from whether to establish a train research project to whether the Transport Secretary had accepted a bribe.

Of course, to be fair, human beings, no matter their origin or skin color, can always find shortcomings in them.

After a series of inquiries and the brainstorming of various officials, the "evil intentions" of the Minister of Transport were finally discovered.

The minister's distant relative is a mechanical engineer who just lost his job recently, so it can be concluded from his behavior that this is completely false for public benefit.

As a result, the Minister of Transport had to take the blame and resign, and the plan to establish the French Train Research Center also collapsed.

Regarding this gluttonous feast of railway engineering projects, the final winner was naturally James Meyer Rothschild for only one reason - he had money.

Even if the Rothschild family does not want to participate in the carving up of the French Railway, the family will still get this opportunity in the end. This is the charm of capital.

The second biggest winners are those bureaucratic financiers, the so-called Orleans faction. Although the routes obtained by these people are not many, they are all expensive because they are all prime routes.

The remaining short and remote sections are openly carved up by the public.

However, the French soon realized a problem, they lacked funds, even James Meyer Rothschild was the same.

And it happened that Louis Philippe announced the establishment of the Texas Railroad Company to the outside world at this time, openly backstabbing his subjects and supporters.

Although the investment for the Texas Railway will be greater, it is not difficult to build in the plains, and because it is located in the North American colonies, it has huge potential, so the overall return is the highest.

But here comes the problem, that is, although the Orleans royal family is rich, they alone may not be able to afford such a huge construction cost, unless their Yali King plans to sell off his family's real estate.

Just when this news was spread by the Paris financial circles, His Majesty the King's approach once again shocked people. Yes, he planned to use public funds to build the railway and then enjoy the benefits himself.

Louis-Philippe's actions were not unexpected, after all, His Majesty the King was not clever at all.

Austria was also involved in the French railway craze this time, but Franz just used someone else's vest.

As for the contracted railways, which were typically remote and short in distance, Franz was not interested in these lines because he knew about their future development and found business opportunities in them.

He knew very well that the Spring of Nations started with the collapse of the King of Orleans, so these lines had no value at all, and it was impossible to recover the cost.

But the routes he contracted all had a common feature, that is, they were connected to the border with Fassa (France, Sardinia).

Franz's purpose could not be simpler, which is to delay the French advance into Italy. Given the long and narrow coastline of Italy, the French could easily open a sea passage to the Apennine Peninsula.

But that's another story, and the sea is full of uncertainty. This factor is likely to be fatal when two great powers compete.

The British also did something similar. Lionel Rothschild had a secret conversation with his uncle. The two of them finalized the ownership of several important railways while drinking and drinking. As for the debate in the French Congress It's just a show.

Robert Peel even approved a special sum of money in order to be able to inflict trouble on the French. But what he didn't expect was that the July Dynasty would be gone before these railways were completed.

When the distant St. Petersburg heard the rumors, the partition was already at its peak. By the time the apostles arrived in Paris, everything had already settled, and they just regarded it as a trip at public expense.

Of course this was actually a preview of a visit that Tsar Nicholas I was planning to surprise the world.

Then Queen Victoria in Windsor Castle was frightened.

Victoria's lady-in-waiting informed her of the Tsar's upcoming visit on April 1, 1845, but the latter did not take it seriously and regarded it as a crude joke.

At this time, the 26-year-old Victoria was as young as a wolf and a tiger, and she was ready to contribute more heirs to the British Empire.

This naturally required the help of Prince Albert, but the latter seemed a little powerless. After all, it was enough for him to deal with the overt and covert struggles between the Whigs and Tories, as well as the turbulent international situation.

When I got home, I had to deal with four children. After finally driving away the group of little devils, the "big devil" found me again.

Victoria was a careful woman who paid attention to her husband's every move.

Although Prince Albert did not cheat, the Queen would not accept the fact that he had lost interest in her.

So she began to look for ways to change this situation, from gorgeous clothes and jewelry to expensive perfumes, and even playing polo with Albert.

After trying all the above methods, the alienation between the two has still not been alleviated, especially when Prince Albert unabashedly criticized the behavior of his pig teammates when playing polo.

You must know that this prince is known for his good temper and the image of a good man. Whether in the outside world or in private, he rarely behaves rudely or unethically, let alone towards women.

However, playing polo with Victoria was simply a torture. Prince Albert originally broke through all the way and saw the goal within easy reach.

At this time, the former suddenly shouted to the latter to wait. This was nothing at all. The female knight was relatively weak and had not shot much. It was understandable that she wanted to experience it.

But Victoria is not here to attack, she just wants to be romantic. Originally, this kind of thing was not uncommon on the polo field, and the British in this era were still very gentlemanly, especially when the other party was the queen and the prince's husband.

It's just that Victoria's thoughts are completely different from Albert's. The former doesn't want it to end right away, and is ready to kiss for a while longer.

This made everyone present very embarrassed. As time went by, some energetic young people couldn't help but take the opportunity to steal the polo.

This happened again and again, and finally, during a close exchange, the two sides almost fell off their horses. Albert could no longer bear it and began to accuse Her Majesty of the Queen of being unreasonable.

Prince Albert was as irritable as a primary school student who had lost ten qualifying games in a row. He criticized Queen Victoria's skills, behavior, and even character in all aspects.

The latter obviously did not think that he was at fault. Instead, he felt that he had condescended to him in order to bring the relationship closer between husband and wife. He was so aggrieved that he yelled.

"You are heartless! You are cold! You are unreasonable!"

"Am I heartless!? Am I cold!? Am I unreasonable!?"

"Yes! You are ruthless! You are cold! You are unreasonable!"

"Then you are not heartless!? Not cold!? Not unreasonable!?"

"Where am I heartless!? Where am I cold!? Where am I unreasonable!?"

"Where are you not ruthless!? Where are you not cold!? Where are you not unreasonable!?"

"No matter how ruthless I am! No matter how cruel! No matter how unreasonable I am, I will never be more ruthless than you! More ruthless! Even more unreasonable!"

"At least I won't hold hands and form a human wall when playing polo defense!"

"Fuck polo! Fuck defense!"

Victoria angrily swung her riding crop and left the court. The discord between the Queen and her husband was not a trivial matter. Naturally, the nobles present were not in the mood to play ball.

After all, the queen is gone, why not play ball!

Victoria rode angrily all the way back to her castle, but after thinking about it, she felt that she was wrong, especially in public. This kind of gaffe was terrible.

But soon her thoughts returned to her husband. After all, the old guys in the government didn't seem to like her being too active in political affairs.

At this time, Victoria suddenly remembered the medicine that the Indian businessman named Vera Wise had paid tribute to.

On the other hand, Prince Albert calmed down before Victoria. After all, his political sensitivity was much higher.

So Prince Albert lied that everything just happened was just an April Fool's Day joke.

He realizes his own problems and perhaps should fulfill his obligations as a husband.

Prince Albert returned to Windsor Castle in a slightly apologetic mood, and Victoria was ready for everything.

The two had dinner as usual and drank some "wine", and then Prince Albert dismissed the servants.

"I'm sorry for my gaffe today, but I just want to tell you that your safety and health are more important than my life."

The misunderstanding between the two people was quickly solved, and then they exchanged their heart-to-hearts, peeled off the cocoons, and had a fierce battle.

When the two were reaching a critical moment, there was a knock on the door of the room.

"The Russian Tsar Nicholas I has arrived, please invite Her Majesty the Queen."

Before the maid could finish her words, she was rudely interrupted by Victoria.

"Mary! If you tell me that bad joke, I'll make you a stable boy tomorrow!"

Maid Mary said: "Your Majesty, don't be like this! But Nicholas I is really here. If you don't believe me, look out the window."

Victoria and Albert slowly moved to the window, and through the folding pages they saw that a delegation had arrived at Windsor Castle.

"Oh my God!"

The two quickly got dressed, but formal clothes in this era were not so easy to wear. Victoria had to pull her maid Mary into the room to help. The latter showed embarrassment when she and Prince Albert looked at each other, but it passed away.

The Queen was not mentally prepared for the Russian Czar's sudden visit without warning. After all, Nicholas was not here for his own government this time, but intended to establish a personal relationship between monarchs.

The Tsar paid great attention to this, but Prime Minister Robert Peel didn't care at all. After all, he hated the Queen, and the Queen hated him. He was only responsible to the parliamentary gentlemen in Westminster.

In fact, Nicholas I was supposed to visit Britain in 1844, but that visit failed to take place because Russia chose to side with Austria in the Luxembourg crisis.

This time the Tsar came again uninvited, which was why Victoria was so caught off guard.

Nicholas I's brother, Tsar Alexander I, was Queen Victoria's godfather, so the two were not too unfamiliar.

It's just that this kind of diplomatic behavior makes Victoria very uncomfortable. After all, she is not a traditional monarch.

Prince Albert, however, did not have much respect for the tall and tall tsar, because he felt that the latter's rule lacked art, and he did not like his reputation for cruelty.

What Prince Albert looked down upon the most was Nicholas I's seemingly polite attitude at this time. "Bullying the weak and fearing the strong" was the former's evaluation of the latter.

Although Tsar Nicholas I has always emphasized the power of the tsar and is known for his toughness, Russia has been avoiding direct differences with Britain over the years, and even hid behind Austria, a more feudal and backward country.

Nicholas I didn't like this "little man" who kept staring at him, especially since the latter's lower body was obviously uncomfortable, and the former despised Lord Long Yang extremely.

(Prince Albert is 178cm tall. Historically, there are two records of Nicholas I’s height, one is 190cm and the other is 206cm. The previous version was written as 190cm, and this one is written as 206cm.)

After a brief embarrassment, the Tsar revealed his purpose.

"Osman is a dead man, but he is not dead yet. He deserves to die, and we should make sure that he dies. I think you understand what I mean, Her Majesty."

Victoria was shocked by the other party's diplomatic style. Whether it was what she had learned in Germany or what she had seen and heard in the UK, this was the first time she had experienced talking about things like this.

But she quickly came to her senses and responded.

"I'm sorry, I don't quite understand what you mean, and I think you are talking to the wrong person. You should talk to the politicians in our country, not me, my dear Tsar,"

Nicholas I: "No! I insist on talking to those chosen by God, not those who steal the monarchy. As long as Britain and Russia join forces, the Ottomans will be ours. Your achievements will be comparable to Queen Elizabeth I. "

"Ahem." Prince Albert interrupted Nicholas I.

"I don't think so. The greatness of the British Empire is that it has found a balance between democracy and autocracy. It can better reflect public opinion and avoid abuse of power. At this time, we do not want to destroy this balance."

After hearing this, Nicholas I immediately became serious. He did not want democracy, let alone listen to the so-called "bullshit" public opinion.

"Is this your answer?"

Prince Albert also had a tough attitude: "No! We don't have the power. Please go talk to the gentlemen of the cabinet!"