Chapter 222 Rumors

Schönbrunn Palace, Franz's study.

Adjani placed a bulging envelope on Franz's desk.

"What is this?"

"Mr. Solomon Rothschild's bribe. If I don't accept something from him, how can smart people believe what I say."

Franz nodded, and then noticed that Adjani seemed to have changed her earrings.

"What is that?"

Adjani snorted.

"Stingy!"

Then she took off the earrings and put them on the envelope.

Franz put the earrings into a delicate box, closed the lid, and handed it to Adjani solemnly.

"This is a gift from me."

Adjani opened the box and put the earrings back on.

"Smelly boy, I haven't seen you for a few days, and you can still coax people."

As she said that, she walked around the table and sat directly on Franz's lap.

"Are you teasing me?"

"No, I just think it's not good for you to carry the stolen goods from Solomon, so I'm just giving it to you again." Franz replied.

"You're still too young." Ajani deliberately said in Franz's ear.

Just when Franz thought the other party's teasing was over, Ajani shook the wallet in her hand.

Franz grabbed it.

"When can you change your habit of stealing?"

"Why should I change? This is a survival skill!" Ajani retorted.

"You are from a noble family, right? Do you still need to learn this?" Franz asked with some doubts.

"Aren't you an exiled noble now?" Ajani said with some resentment.

"Do you want a title? I can help you."

"No."

"Well, how is the stock market's return?"

"About 15%."

"Very little."

"Not a small amount. This is millions of florins, which is equivalent to the income of a small country for half a year."

Ajani has refreshed her understanding of money several times around Franz. She used to think that loan sharks were the most profitable industry, and those kings and emperors often had to borrow money to make ends meet.

Now it seems that it is easier for those in power to make money. Those people in high positions and powerful people borrowing money is not necessarily a reflection of being poor, but it is certain that their greed is insatiable.

Just like this little guy in front of me, I really don't know when he will be satisfied, but it is also true that compared with Franz's dream, the money is indeed insignificant.

It's just that the dream is too unreal. Ajani still doesn't know whether Franz is joking or really wants to do that.

"What about the construction plan of the Semmering Railway? Has it been approved?" Franz asked.

"Are you talking about reinforced concrete structure? Experts from the Austrian Engineering Association have seen it and said it is a genius design. Cement and steel have been around for a long time, but no one has thought of using them together as building materials for decades. It is a genius idea."

Ajani seemed a little excited when she spoke, because she still remembered how those experts went from contempt to admiration, and then to tears.

"So when will the railway be completed?"

"Two to three years. Although this new structure can solve the problem of the viaduct, the terrain is still very complicated. Engineers need enough time to overcome this problem."

Ajani paused here and continued.

"There is another problem now. The quality of cement produced in Austria is not good. The hardness does not meet the standards. If we want to complete the viaduct, we must buy British Portland cement."

"Portland cement?"

"Yes, a high-strength cement. But the British keep the formula secret, and the price is expensive. Add the shipping cost, and it is an astronomical figure."

After learning about the ratio of cement materials at this time, Franz found that he was still too proud. Modern cement should be called silicate cement, and he searched for a long time in the formula but did not find anything wrong.

So he had to offer a reward and develop a cement formula. According to Franz's estimation, the reason why Austrian cement is not as good as British cement should be the ratio problem.

Maybe the silicon content is not enough, or maybe some iron or aluminum should be added. In short, Franz wrote down his conjecture, and the rest will be handed over to those professional scientists to study the ratio.

The railway in Trieste has been delayed, which makes Franz very annoyed, so he can only go out and find a way to speed up.

Recently, the newspapers in Vienna are full of news about Friedrich leading his army to attack Alexandria and Franz leading his army to recapture Belgrade.

No country does not like to boast about its military achievements, and Austria is no exception. It did not like to mention war before because it was defeated repeatedly.

Now it advocates war every day because it has won the war. Although this trend is not good, it is undoubtedly a shot in the arm for this country that has been silent for too long.

Whether it is defeating Egypt and robbing its fleet or recapture Belgrade, it is a great victory worth celebrating for the Austrian Empire.

Although Franz encountered almost no resistance along the way to recapture Belgrade, the editors in the newspapers would not write it like this.

How can a political victory be as satisfying as a military victory? So this political victory became a story about the foolish Prince Metternich falling into a trap, the brave Archduke Franz leading his army to defeat the evil Ottomans, and cutting off the opponent's beard with a sword, saving Belgrade.

Don't think it's absurd. The textbooks of the Austro-Hungarian Empire once said with certainty that "Emperor Franz led the Hussars to charge and killed dozens of enemy soldiers in the Battle of Solferino."

After that, the legend about Franz became more and more outrageous. Although he didn't care much, the whole incident was developing in a strange direction under the instigation of some people.

"Archduke Franz is the illegitimate son of Madame Sophie and Napoleon II." An extremely vicious rumor appeared in the newspaper.

Although the newspaper was immediately ordered to close, all the staff of the newspaper, from the editor-in-chief to the reporter, and the workers responsible for typesetting and printing were all detained for secret interrogation, but the rumor still spread like wildfire.

This rumor made all the glory Franz had received before disappear in an instant, and even the reputation of the Habsburg family was damaged.

Franz was not interested in verifying the authenticity of this rumor. He just wanted to know why a rumor created in Vienna had not found its source for so long.

This was the first time Franz faced such great pressure since he crossed over. Because this rumor denied the legitimacy and legality of his succession to the throne from the root.

Franz looked in the mirror and looked at his chestnut hair, which should have nothing to do with the black hair of Napoleon's family.

Franz was caught by Ajani just after he breathed a sigh of relief, and he did not hide it.

"Napoleon's hair is black, right?"

Ajani said a little embarrassedly.

"Uh, Archduke Franz. I checked, there are several versions, chestnut (Dr. Kovisat), deep red gold (Dennis Davydov), brown (British Captain Ross). And Napoleon II has the blood of the Habsburg family."

This made Franz, who still wanted to test his blood, speechless.