Chapter 703 The Tsar’s New Agreement

St. Petersburg, Winter Palace.

The secret agreement of the Austrian Empire to annex the Free City of Krakow was reconfirmed by the Tsar, and Nicholas I learned that Russian refugees were fleeing to Galicia.

After the Austrian Empire envoy left, the Tsar issued an order to block the Russian-Austrian border based on the principle of "I don't want it, and no one else wants it."

In fact, the former Polish Governor-General Paskevich knew the Tsar very well, and everything he did was in line with the Tsar's ideas.

It's just that as soon as the former Governor-General left, his policies were thrown away like toilet paper. And it would probably be summer before the news from St. Petersburg was passed back to Warsaw.

During this period, something happened that made Nicholas I very happy, that is, he finally mortgaged his "freezer" (Alaska) to the French and obtained a loan of 200 million francs.

This was far beyond the Tsar's expectations. After all, he was just bluffing with 200 million francs.

However, Russian officials did not think it was a bluff. They only knew that they would be dealt with if they did not do well.

Under the coercion and inducement of the Russians, Pierre Giscard knew very well that if he did not sign, he would most likely not be able to leave St. Petersburg alive.

He was a French official and also a businessman, and he understood the principle of choosing the lesser of two evils.

So Pierre Giscard chose to protect himself, and the rest was left to the wisdom of future generations.

Finally, Russia and France signed a new agreement:

Russia mortgaged the Alaska region to France to obtain a loan of 200 million francs, France paid 100 million francs in advance, and then paid the remaining 100 million francs within three years, for a period of eight years, with an annual interest rate of 7%.

At the same time, after the first batch of funds arrived, France obtained the right to develop all resources in the Alaska region.

On the date when the loan expires, Russia must redeem all the buildings of French merchants at the cost.

——

This is a dividing line that is not prepared to pay back the money——

Because the news from St. Petersburg during the ice age was extremely slow, the new Polish Governor-General Wenbetrovsky was a romantic poet general, so it was inevitable to stop and go along the way.

As luck would have it, Poland was a land of extraordinary romance, and he was also extremely lucky.

So when Wenbetrovsky arrived in Warsaw, most of the refugees had already passed the Russian-Austrian border, and Warsaw was also suffering from a serious cholera epidemic.

There were sad and mournful expressions everywhere, and people wore black clothes and tried to avoid contact with each other, and no one was even willing to stop and say "hello".

The only lively place in the city was the coffin shop, which was not only in need of families with dead people, but also many living people came to join in the fun.

The bags under the eyes of the dead face of the coffin shop owner were heavier, as if he had never slept, but he would occasionally giggle after the transaction, which was creepy.

Wenbetrovsky's first impression of the city was not very good, and his good mood on the road was swept away.

Many great nobles sent him invitations to various balls and salons, and some small nobles, merchants, and officers were waiting outside for an audience.

Wenbetrovsky decided to do what the Tsar had told him to do first, that is, to close the Russian-Austrian border to prevent the outflow of Russian property.

However, the officials of Russian Poland were not very efficient. It took more than 20 days to reach the border, and another month to completely block the border.

At this time, the number of refugees received by Austria had exceeded 700,000, of which more than 650,000 survived.

Although these refugees spoke a variety of languages, there were always one or two Austrian officials who could understand them.

In six months, the first phase of the Dniester River regulation project has been basically completed, and 180,000 hectares of the 2 million hectares have been developed, of which about 100,000 hectares have begun to be cultivated. The newly developed land has missed the season and is planting some other crops.

Franz also planned to build a railway, but nominally it was still a military need. There happened to be a small fortress along the Dniester River.

In fact, the location of this fortress was so awkward that it was on the verge of being abandoned, and the garrison had long been reduced from 5,000 at its peak to 200.

However, Franz certainly could not blatantly build a railway for his own manor, after all, he still had to save face.

As for the veins of the mine, people have already been sent to find them, but it will take time to build before it can be put into production.

Of course, Franz can also start production without hesitation, and the problem he faces is just a few more deaths of miners and a few more accidents.

Even if the construction process is followed completely, the mine cannot guarantee 100% safety, and those new equipment may not be able to save more people.

But Franz will not use this reason to comfort himself or deceive others.

In fact, due to the use of new mines, new safety lights, safety helmets, and more reliable mechanical equipment, mining accidents in Bohemia and northern Italy have decreased by 72%, and the number of deaths in accidents has decreased by 93%.

But hundreds of people still die in mining accidents every year, and the number of people who die indirectly in mines is even greater, including fatigue, hunger, and related diseases such as silicosis, heat stroke, various accidental poisonings, etc.

Silicosis, a dust inhalation disease, was almost unsolvable at the time, and in order to develop industrial mines, it could not be stopped for a moment.

Franz could only give them more protective measures, such as wearing masks and splashing water to absorb the dust in the air.

But this measure is really not very practical in the underground mining area at this time, but will cause more heat stroke.

The space in the underground mine is small and it is difficult to dissipate heat. A large number of people and machinery are constantly emitting heat. Coupled with the humid air, the entire mine is like a steamer.

Therefore, heat stroke is not uncommon in mines. Although external heat-relieving drugs such as Huoxiang Zhengqi Water have greatly reduced the mortality rate, it is still a very dangerous situation. If you are not careful, it may cause irreversible consequences.

Historically, European miners did not have any good heatstroke prevention measures, and doctors would not care about the life and death of mud legs.

The only way the miners can think of is to go shirtless and drink water. Some old miners will carry one or two mint leaves with them, and if they feel unwell, they will put them in water and take them.

However, with the introduction of traditional Chinese medicine and the intervention of the medical community, a large number of heatstroke prevention products have been developed, such as Huoxiang Zhengqi Water, Isatis Root, Mint Water, Lemon Water and other products are widely sold in mining areas.

Among them, Huoxiang Zhengqi Water has the best sales because of its alcoholic taste, and even some special mining culture has evolved from it.

There is no sunlight under the mine all year round, and there are all kinds of messy toxic substances, air circulation is difficult, and bacteria multiply wildly. Some people with weak constitutions may even have multiple symptoms of poisoning.

There is no way to do this at this time, and we can only accumulate little by little and slowly study prevention and treatment measures.

Although there are many problems in the mines of the Austrian Empire, it should be considered the safest and most sound in the world at this time.