War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

Chapter 698 Sad Louis Philippe

Paris, Tuileries Palace.

At this time, France was being tortured by potato late blight and cholera, and news of the great colonial rebellion reached Paris.

Louis Philippe didn't understand why some people were dissatisfied with him. His life was so simple, with only eight servants serving him in the morning. You must know that Louis XVI had sixteen servants.

(The legend about the sixteen servants is more discredited, because the French royal family was very financially strapped at the time.)

Why don’t the French people commemorate his great achievements in opening up new territories? Why not be proud of the obelisks and statues that stand on Place de la Concorde?

(Place de la Concorde was originally known as Place Louis XV, but was renamed Place de la Revolucion during the French Revolution, also known as the "Execution Ground".

Louis XVI, Danton, and Robespierre, these three men who once controlled the fate of France, died at the hands of the same executioner and in the same square.

Later, the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty renamed it "Place de la Concorde". )

The obelisk on the Place de la Concorde was given by the Governor of Egypt, Mohammed Ali, and the giant statue was given by the former Governor of Texas (still in Arkham Prison).

Although Louis Philippe tried his best to appear more "bourgeois", he actually liked to name some land and buildings after himself.

For example, the newly built ballroom in the Palace of Fontainebleau was named "Louis Philippe Promenade". However, due to its poor taste, it was often ridiculed by the upper class as the "Wild Boar Gallery", and it even became a hot topic in major salons in Paris.

Although Louis-Philippe forbade his wife and daughters to wear jewelry in public, every public appearance the family made was described as an exhibition of extravagance.

"Since the birth of Jesus, royal travels throughout ancient and modern times have never been so grand and luxurious."

——"Paris Journal"

France's New Louisiana Colony took advantage of the Mexican-American War to annex nearly 600,000 square kilometers of land in New Mexico south of 37° north latitude.

But what troubled Louis Philippe was that instead of rising, taxes throughout the New Louisiana Territory began to fall.

At the same time, the Texans who had given him a statue began to raise a flag against France. To Louis Philippe, these people were just as capricious as the Egyptians had been.

The most disgusting thing is that France's invincible army also rebelled with the farmers. Louis Philippe and his Orleans faction hated soldiers, but they lacked enough courage and courage.

As a result, a very strange phenomenon emerged, that is, no matter what happened, it had nothing to do with the top brass of the military.

So the Bonapartists turned a deaf ear to what was happening in New Louisiana (Texas) at this time, and Secretary of War Alexander Moran only knew to keep asking for military spending.

The reason of the Minister of War is simple. France has suffered losses in several previous conflicts. What does this prove?

Of course there is not enough military investment! Apart from other things, we must first establish a standing army of one million people. I don't believe that the German Confederation can still win.

Alexander Moran's imaginary enemy has always been the entire Germany. At this time, all the participating countries of the entire German Confederation can only muster an army of one million people at full cost.

It is true that Louis Philippe does not understand military affairs, but a standing army of one million is really beyond common sense. He wanted Prime Minister Soult to deal with the Minister of War who was causing trouble, but the old Prime Minister just wanted to retire honorably and turned a blind eye to His Majesty the King's hints.

In addition to the army, the navy is also a gold-eating behemoth. Minister of the Navy Ange de Marcoux requested that all the old sail battleships of the French Navy be replaced with new steam battleships.

Admiral Ange de Marco was a typical technocrat, a very good engineer who recognized the superiority of steam battleships.

According to the estimation of Admiral Ange de Marco, as long as the French navy can complete the refit, it will have absolute maritime superiority in the Mediterranean region, and may even break the British blockade of Gibraltar through internal and external cooperation.

A powerful navy will help France travel across the seas, gain trade advantages, and occupy more colonies.

But let’s not talk about the sky-high renovation costs. Five years alone is enough for the British Navy to update a batch of equipment.

The most important thing is that the British are not stupid. In order to maintain their maritime hegemony, their naval strength has always been maintained at a level that no one can beat.

At this time, the crazy shipbuilding plans of Austria and France had an impact on the former. At this time, the number of battleships in the British Navy was nearly 30 more than in history.

What is the concept of thirty battleships? The Austrian Empire had worked hard for so many years, but had only built twenty battleships on its own.

Moreover, warships are different from merchant ships. They lose money when they are built. Even if they are kept in a dock without being used, they will depreciate in value in a few years or even be scrapped.

At this time, both the French Grand Eastern Fleet and the Great Western Fleet were larger than the Austrian Imperial Navy.

So in the eyes of Louis Philippe, this was a complete waste of money, especially when there was no war, building so many warships was like burning money.

Louis Philippe looked at the old Prime Minister Soult again. The latter's eyes were dull. He just took out a small medicine bottle, poured out a few pills, and asked the servant to bring him a glass of water and swallowed the pills. Then he drank the water in the cup in one gulp.

Louis Philippe could only look at the expectant Admiral Ange de Marco and sighed. Now there are rebellions everywhere in and outside France, and the army cannot afford to offend them. After all, they have to rely on this group of people to put down the rebellion.

But this put huge pressure on France's finances. In order to maintain huge military expenditures, the government needed to levy more taxes and occupy more colonies.

And more taxes, more colonies tend to mean more wars

Of course, if France can continue to win and remain strong, then this matryoshka game can continue to be played.

But unfortunately, natural and man-made disasters continue, giving the country no chance to breathe.

Similarly, the Minister of Transport did not give Louis Philippe a chance to breathe. The newly appointed Minister of Transport is 81 years old and was once a devout ascetic.

(The kind who whipped himself every day, historically this person died of infection.)

Because the bribery scandal of the previous Transport Secretary brought shame to the entire government, this time the "Incorruptible" was replaced.

Ecott de Duraire had no children or lovers, and was a highly respected man.

Louis-Philippe thought he had found a mascot, but even outsiders recognized the importance of railroads.

After Ecott de Duraire took office, at the age of eighty-one, he inspected all the railways and waterways in France.

The conclusion reached is that if the railway is not repaired, it will be difficult for France to prosper. He vowed to God that he would build 10,000 kilometers of railways in France, and Louis Philippe would naturally have to find a way to fund this.

The overwhelming bad news even made Louis Philippe think that some disaster might be about to happen.