Chapter 439 "Paradise on Earth"

From the Austrian Empire joining the German Customs Union to the death of the old emperor, to the Near East crisis, food crisis, economic crisis and the recent Luxembourg crisis.

Everything in this world seems to have nothing to do with this Invalides. The people inside are just waiting for death calmly.

This is not a paradise, nor a paradise, but more like a tomb full of maggots.

The Invalides in Paris was built during the reign of "Sun King" Louis XIV, and the Invalides in Vienna also has a very long history.

But unlike the magnificent French side, the Austrian side seems much more lonely.

The Invalides in France was built because the French veterans had a hard life after retiring and resented the emperor and the country.

Those people came to the Palace of Versailles to beg Louis XIV for help, but the "Sun King" did not turn them away like other kings in history.

The reason why the "Sun King" became the "Sun King" was that he was different from ordinary people. Louis XIV was happy to meet those veterans and gave them medals, and also announced the construction of the Invalides.

The old soldiers, who were originally full of anger and fear, felt honored after hearing the decision of His Majesty the King, and even felt ashamed of their own impoliteness.

In fact, Louis XIV did this not only to appease the old soldiers, but also to make people work for him better.

Because this move seemed to solve the worries of those soldiers, this move provided great help for his later conquest of Europe.

After that, other European countries also followed the practice of the "Sun King", and the Vienna Invalides was one of its achievements.

However, this Invalides was just a decoration for a long time after its establishment. Due to the poor economic situation in Austria, the country set a high threshold for entering the Invalides in order to save costs.

This prevented the vast majority of Austrian veterans from enjoying the benefits of this measure, but even so, the controversy about the Invalides has never stopped.

Many nobles felt that those soldiers did not deserve this honor, because the social status of soldiers was very low at that time, and Austria had hardly won any decent wars since the rise of the Sun King, so the evaluation of the army was very low.

There is even public opinion that the reason why the Austrians could not win the war was because the soldiers were afraid of bullets.

During the anti-French war, a large number of disabled soldiers were sent to the Invalides. However, in order to encourage the soldiers to continue fighting, the royal family and the government, under great financial pressure, allocated funds to the military to maintain the operation of the Invalides.

After that, there was decades of peace. People seemed to have forgotten the war, and these veterans were no longer respected. They were just a group of "old and immortal".

Vienna, Invalides.

The autumn wind was bleak, and the fallen leaves were mixed with the soil, the mottled stone walls, the rusty gates, and the gatekeepers with dull eyes.

A number of exquisite carriages, accompanied by a large number of guards riding tall horses, came to the gate of the Invalides.

The carriages were naturally carrying Franz and his friends. Everyone wore military uniforms according to their military ranks, which was naturally what Franz asked.

He thought that the military uniforms should make the veterans feel more at home, and at the same time let the villains know that the Austrian Empire has not forgotten this group of people.

When the door opened, there was a harsh friction sound. As soon as I entered the door, a shade of trees blocked all the sunlight, and there was no light at all.

At this time, the cold wind blew again, accompanied by the rustling sound of leaves on the ground, which made people feel inexplicably sad.

Maybe the weather was a bit cold, and no one was moving in the yard.

But the creaking sound of walking on the ground with a layer of fallen leaves made Franz feel a little uncomfortable.

Others felt a sense of novelty, jumping on the ground one by one.

"Franz, it's really interesting. There are so many leaves here. It feels like going out hunting." Taffy said.

Franz frowned even more after hearing this.

Taffy and Richard Metternich, who were closer to Franz, naturally understood that this was a sign that Franz was very unhappy.

If he was unhappy, then someone must be unlucky.

They shut up immediately, the former because of fear, and the latter because they wanted to watch the show.

Because Richard's mortal enemy Akadov was the one who danced the most happily at this time. If Franz wanted to deal with someone at this time, it must be him.

However, Franz did not punish anyone, but just ordered the accompanying guards to clean the yard. That's all.

Those royal guards usually don't do such rough work, even at home, they would let servants do it. Usually no one would ask them to do this in the palace.

It's just that this time it was Franz who spoke in person, which was a completely different concept. In addition, there is another point, that is, before coming, Franz popularized the concept of veterans and their deeds.

This made these soldiers who grew up in peacetime excited, and at the same time they had some respect for those veterans.

More than 200 guards, except for some guarding the door and some responsible for accompanying protection, most of them participated in this grand cleaning work.

A good cook can't cook without rice, and cleaning also requires tools.

As a result, a group of aggressive guards rushed to the warehouse. Seeing these tall and strong men in luxurious clothes, the guards did not dare to stop them, and the warehouse manager obediently handed over the keys.

A vigorous cleaning started like this.

At this time, Franz frowned a little, because he saw someone running towards the hall in a panic. Franz immediately asked Colonel Bordeaux to stop the person. When he was stopped, the person wanted to shout, but he was slapped by the colonel and had to shut up.

Bordeaux has a family background. His family has been responsible for security and confidentiality for more than ten generations, so he naturally knows how to deal with such things.

Soon Bordeaux came back with people. Franz carefully looked at the middle-aged man with a red and swollen face in front of him, and did not find anything special.

"What's your name?"

"Modan Kabi."

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Franz continued to ask.

"I am a staff member here, and I am taking a breath at the door." Modan Kabi replied.

"Then why did you run when you saw us?" Franz had actually guessed it, but he still asked.

"I didn't run, why would I run? Sir, you are wrong." Modan Kabi replied.

Although he didn't know the other party's identity, seeing a little kid traveling with such a large group of guards, even a fool would know that the other party was of great importance.

"Did you see it wrong? Well, you can choose, confess now, or wait until I find out the truth and then slowly deal with you." Franz didn't want to waste time and emphasized his tone.

The man immediately panicked after hearing this, but still said stubbornly.

"I don't know, I don't know anything."

"Then do you recognize it?" Franz pointed to the military uniform he was wearing.

Modan Kabi nodded.

"Then Mr. Modan Kabi, do you know that those people inside are also wearing military uniforms?"

The man was speechless for a while.

"Since you recognize the military uniform, it's easy to deal with. Everything you have done will be handled according to military law."

Then Franz strode away, but when he entered the hall, he did not let the guards accompany him, only his friends.