Chapter 143 From Bavaria

Fiest Laubing is a simple Bavarian farmer who works hard on the barren land just to feed his family.

But of his six children, only two survived. He never complained to anyone and was still glad that he was still alive.

However, this year, the drought first caused the plants to wither, the lakes to dry up, and some people were killed by the heat. The seedlings in the field could not be saved, and hungry stones kept appearing in the river.

The church was crowded with people every day, some to bid farewell to their loved ones, and some were at a loss and could only pray to God for rain as soon as possible.

In the rainy season, the torrential rain came as promised, and before people had time to celebrate, the rain turned into a disaster.

Under the continuous scouring of the heavy rain, the withered vegetation could no longer bind the loose soil, and eventually turned into a flash flood.

After the raging flood, everything on the earth was destroyed, including houses, trees, fields, and livestock. The homeless victims were in urgent need of help, but Bavarian officials said that the government had no money and could only lend a small amount of food to the victims.

As far as the eye can see, there is a scene of mourning, ruins, and no one to collect the bodies of people and livestock.

Soon the plague broke out, and even the parish priest died of the disease. Fest Laubin had to flee his hometown with the survivors and came to Munich.

However, the citizens did not welcome these refugees. They could only beg for a living until someone said, "We can't survive here anyway, so why don't we try our luck in Austria."

There are special refugee carriages on the train. You can get on the train at half price. It is said that this is the special care of the Austrian royal family for refugees.

However, the refugee carriage is very simple. The small space is full of refugees from various German states. There are only two rows of seats facing each other, but those seats have long been occupied by some strong and fierce-looking people.

The first stop for the refugees is Salzburg, which is an important border town in Austria. As soon as the door opened, the refugees saw a group of fierce-looking officers.

The leading officer shouted, "Anyone who is willing to join the Austrian Imperial Army should gather here. 100 florins per year, free food and accommodation!"

Free food and accommodation are very attractive to refugees, but few can pass the military physical examination because there are too many people who want to eat this bowl of rice, but fortunately there are still many opportunities.

The second stop is Linz, where there are many factories and the salary is very good, but it is said to be very tiring.

The third stop is Vienna, the capital of the Austrian Empire. There is a temporary rest area established by the church at the station, where refugees can take a hot bath and eat a communion provided by the church.

At the same time, the church requires refugees to fill out a registration form to register their personal information, which will then be sent to the Austrian Imperial Government and the Vienna Chamber of Commerce and Industry respectively, and they will usually be replied within a week. Of course, refugees can also find jobs in Vienna by themselves.

There are many Bavarians in Vienna. After all, Bavaria and Austria are not far away, and they are both Catholics, and the language is relatively similar, but the income is very different.

The income of the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1830 was 34.8 million florins, only one-fourth of that of the Austrian Empire in the same period. Moreover, the upper class of Bavaria was corrupt and extravagant, corrupt officials were rampant, and Ludwig I and his mistresses made the entire court a mess.

The city seemed to have not been hit by the food crisis, and the streets were still very prosperous. This was mainly due to the government's relief bill, which allowed the poor to find jobs and support themselves without having to abandon their dignity to beg for charity from others.

There are many wandering artists in Vienna's parks. Some of them paint portraits and greeting cards, while others play musical instruments to entertain the public. They work hard for their ideals, and no one will look down on them for making a living based on their abilities.

The Habsburg royal family simply built some simple houses near the park for these wandering artists to live in. Of course, not everyone can enter. At least you have to prove that you are indeed an artist.

As for how to prove it, of course, it is to paint a picture, sing a song, or play a song.

Sometimes the royal family and the government would also issue some tasks to these wandering artists, asking them to perform in specific places. Although the salary was very limited, it was also an opportunity for them to show themselves, and most wandering artists would accept it.

Fest Laubin soon found an organization called the Bavarian Hometown Mutual Aid Association. Under their advice, Fest Laubin decided to participate in the construction of the Danube Dam first, after all, the salary was high.

And as a disaster victim, Fest Laubin understood the importance of dams better. If his hometown had a strong enough dam, perhaps he would not become a refugee.

But there is no if, at this time he only hopes that no more people will lose their loved ones and become displaced due to floods.

On the construction site of the dam, the heads of the imperial government and important figures of the royal family appeared one after another, emphasizing the importance of the dam in speeches and encouraging the workers to continue this great cause that will benefit the present and the future.

And promised all the workers that as long as they work hard and complete the daily workload, they can stay in Austria to work in the royal estate after the project is completed.

At this time, the royal estates of various German countries were extremely attractive to farmers, because entering the royal estates could enjoy many rights, at least they no longer had to worry about not being able to afford medical treatment. In addition, the land was fertile, taxes were low, and income was high.

In fact, the tax rate of royal grain is not low, but it makes people feel comfortable without exorbitant taxes.

Usually, plagues will occur in places like labor camps, but few people are sick in dozens of labor camps. Not only that, even after the flood, there has been no news of large-scale epidemics in Austria.

This made Fest Laubin very confused. In fact, this is not difficult to explain, because the diet of all workers is managed uniformly, the food is fresh, and the water is heated after disinfection with bleach.

The government and the church will regularly deal with sanitation problems in the labor camps, let the workers take a bath, and disinfect the labor camps.

At the same time, a large number of doctors volunteered to join the medical team organized by the royal family to treat the workers.

The work and rest of the workers are also strictly regulated, and there are soldiers responsible for managing the discipline of the labor camps, which also avoids the birth of labor bosses.

Of course, in Austria, entertainment is also an indispensable project.

Opera is obviously not suitable here, and professional actors cannot be hired. Using third-rate actors may be counterproductive. After all, Franz is also planning to take the opportunity to carry out a wave of patriotic education.

So, the painters and musicians in the Vienna park came in handy, and soon there were tens of thousands of paintings depicting the Austrians united to build the dam. A few of the excellent paintings made the headlines of major Austrian newspapers.

It not only promoted the Austrian Empire, but also solved the livelihood problem of the painter.

The music aspect was much more chaotic. These musicians usually fought each other, harassed each other, and accused each other. Franz originally wanted them to work together to create a song or a piece of music.

However, reality told Franz that it was impossible.

So the construction site was full of a variety of songs. Maybe they sounded good individually, but mixed together, it was a deadly noise.

Franz sighed.

"It seems that I can only unify these discordant tones."