Chapter 118: Scorching Heat

A sudden heat wave swept across Europe, with most of southwestern Europe exceeding 40°.

Vienna, Austria.

The temperature in this city does not exceed 25° all year round, and the continuous high temperature of 35° is a bit unbearable. Many people can't sleep due to the heat and have to wander outside until late at night before they can go to bed.

In Schönbrunn Palace, Franz was also very uncomfortable. The high temperature made him very uncomfortable. After all, he had been in Vienna for eight years and he was used to wearing long shirts in summer.

Europeans don't have many ways to escape the heat. All they can think of is to soak in the water or find a cool place to travel.

So Russia, which has always been regarded as a barbarian by Europeans, suddenly ushered in a peak of tourists, and wealthy people in Europe fled to Russia to escape the summer heat.

In the eyes of Nicholas I, this is a great opportunity.

If you think this is a great opportunity to show his hospitality, you are wrong. The intention of this iron-fisted tsar is to shut up those who speak ill of Russia forever!

The first to suffer were the Jews, followed by the French. Later, in order to generate income, the Russians also lowered the nationality standards. Any foreigner who looked down on Russia would be treated with the iron fist of the Tsar.

Russian Jews said they had long been accustomed to the fact that the Russians ruthlessly slaughtered foreign merchants.

However, Franz's family did not go on a trip. Mrs. Sophie originally planned to visit her sister's house and escape the summer heat, because Bavaria is a plateau with a low temperature.

However, Count Schüssel, who went back to explore the way, said that Bavaria is now hotter than Vienna, so Mrs. Sophie had to give up this plan.

Franz was in his room, in front of two ice stoves, Talia and Ajani were fanning with effort with fans.

They had already been sweating profusely, and even their clothes were soaked with sweat, which made Franz feel even hotter.

Franz simply developed an air conditioner driven by steam power. In fact, in 1834, Jacob Perkins of Britain had successfully developed a human-powered refrigerator that could work continuously with ether as the working fluid.

However, the power of this refrigerator is too small and the workmanship is too rough. Franz used the knowledge of later generations to modify it and added a crank connecting rod system to connect to the steam engine. A steam-powered air conditioner was completed.

Jacobi Perkins' refrigerator can freeze two cups of water, but it is a drop in the bucket for Franz's house of several hundred square meters.

And the price of that refrigerator is too expensive, it costs 50,000 florins, which is a price that most nobles cannot accept, even members of the royal family.

So Franz decided to make it himself. After all, the principle is not very complicated. He used ether to evaporate and absorb heat, and then used an air compressor to let the ether flow from the high-pressure area to the low-pressure area, and then sprayed it into the evaporator through the capillary tube. The pressure dropped suddenly, and the liquid refrigerant immediately turned into gas, absorbing a large amount of heat in the air through the heat sink.

In this way, the compressor keeps working, and it can continuously absorb the heat at one end of the low-pressure area into the refrigerant and then send it to the high-pressure area to dissipate it into the air, thereby playing a cooling role.

In the end, Franz spent 70,000 florins to complete this design, but he didn't care so much. When the cold wind blew out, he felt that everything was worth it.

Franz was going to install a steam engine next door downstairs. At first, Ajani and Talia thought Franz was crazy because of the heat.

However, when the cold wind blew out, they fell.

"It's so cool!"

"It's so comfortable!"

So, the two refused to leave Franz's room.

When Franz was about to go to bed, he found that they hadn't left yet, so he had to watch them.

Talia spoke first, "Franz, I am your tutor, in fact, it's not wrong to say that I am a nanny. When you were a child, you often slept on my legs."

Franz looked at Ajani again, and Ajani immediately explained seriously.

"Archduke Franz, I am your chamberlain, or rather, your maid of honor. I should serve you in your room. If you need anything, please tell me. After all, this is my duty."

Although Adjani said this, she was lying on Franz's sofa, drinking coffee and reading a newspaper. Talia occupied Franz's table at this time.

Franz looked at the two helplessly and said lightly.

"If you don't mind, you can sleep on the bed."

Before Franz finished speaking, the two quickly squeezed up, squeezed Franz in the middle, and covered him with a quilt.

In fact, Franz also had a camp bed, which was arranged by Madame Sophie herself. Although Madame Sophie finally agreed to let Franz sleep on a soft bed at Franz's repeated request, the camp bed was still left.

Before Franz continued to speak, Talia and Adjani blew out the candles on both sides.

"Good night, Archduke Franz."

"Good night." Actually, Franz was thinking, "How can I sleep like this?"

Southwest Europe, Spain.

Both sides in the Spanish Civil War even had to take a truce to avoid the hot weather. The last Woodford attack was very successful, capturing French Lieutenant General Pierre and injuring Count Sabie. Espartero was dismissed by the Queen Regent for his hesitation, and replaced by Oduart, a banker who had never fought a war.

But the French sent Henri Gratien Bertrand, a veteran who participated in the Napoleonic Wars, and led an elite French army.

It's just that fighting in the mountains is not the French's specialty. Although they have won successive victories against the Carlos faction, it has not helped the overall situation.

Moreover, because of the hot weather, the morale of the soldiers was low, and even the old general himself suffered from heat stroke and fainted, so the French army had to withdraw and cease fire.

The continuous high temperature caused a large area of ​​drought. A drought that has not been seen in a century swept across Europe. Wildfires continued in France and Spain. The money the French spent on firefighting could have built several battleships.

"Hunger stones" appeared frequently in the German region. These hunger stones were sunk to the bottom of the river in the years when famine occurred. Their reappearance also meant the coming of famine again.

The drop in the water level of the Elbe River and the appearance of hunger stones made the entire German region panic.

"If you see me, please cry for me." This hunger stone records the catastrophe in 1616, and more of the language on the hunger stone is like a curse and epitaph.

1473, 1616, 1654, 1666, 1746, 1790, and 1800 were all years with the most Hunger Stones, and they were also disaster years in the history of the German region.

Hunger Stones are riverbed rocks that only appear above the water when the water level is extremely low.

These Hunger Stones are engraved with the years of historical low water levels as well as various marks and warnings. Hunger Stones are hydrological landmarks, witnesses of drought, and are also considered "ominous signs."

Austria.

There are frequent reports from all over Austria that Hunger Stones have been found locally.

The church also joined in the fun, "This is a revelation."