Chapter 746: Chat

Hearing Lakshmi Pai's words, Franz subconsciously wanted to refute.

But the further he went, the more ruins and weeds there were. There was only silence and desolation along the way, which made Franz feel unusual.

Dorobichi is considered a wealthy place in the whole of Galicia, and the Yasuski family has a history of hundreds of years. Theoretically, hundreds of years of operation should not be like this.

And those weeds ruled out the possibility of being destroyed by the rebellion. After all, such high weeds cannot grow in a short period of time.

Franz could only sigh helplessly: "This shouldn't be like this."

"This really shouldn't be like this. I came here when I was a child. At that time, there were farmlands everywhere. Mr. Yasuski was very kind."

Mia Artiez recounted her childhood memories.

"Have you been here?"

Franz was very curious about Miss Artiez, the new clerk and part-time accountant. You know, old Artiez was just a second-rate Jewish banker in the past.

The business of this family should be mainly in Vienna and Italy, and I have never heard that they have any relationship with the Poles.

At this sensitive time, Franz had to be careful, after all, there have been many cases of capsizing in the gutter in history.

Although a detailed investigation was done before Miss Mia was hired, it seems that there are still some loopholes.

"Yes, I came here with my father when I was young."

Mia Artie is not stupid, so she gave another detailed explanation.

"It was because of business matters at that time. It is very common for the farms of the great nobles to occasionally have problems with capital turnover."

Franz nodded and did not continue to ask. Because agriculture in this era was originally very unstable, natural disasters and man-made disasters could affect the harvest, and it was almost common for the nobles to borrow money from bankers for turnover.

In fact, there are not many normal loans, most of which are usury. Even for normal loans, the interest rate is frighteningly high. 10% can be called a "conscientious businessman", so bankers are often hated.

As for the possibility that Miss Mia has any connection with the Poles, it is very small, because her Jewish identity is difficult to be recognized by the latter.

And if she really had that idea, she wouldn't be so stupid as to expose herself. More importantly, only Albrecht knew that Franz was going to Dorobichi, and everyone thought that the only target was Krakow.

Lakshmi Pai rolled her eyes on the side, subconsciously feeling a little unhappy because she didn't become the focus.

So she repeated it again.

"This place is really shabby."

"Indeed, but there is great potential here, and it may become a city in the future."

Franz knew very well that after all, this was the only oil field in Central Europe. In addition to coal, iron ore, and fertile black soil, he could not find a reason why this place would not rise in the industrial age.

Historically, the Austrian Empire had always been skeptical about the development of Galicia due to a series of complex reasons such as geopolitics, history, and ethnicity, as well as the threat of the Russians.

However, Franz knew very well that only a strong country and a prosperous economy would be most conducive to national stability. And only a stable country can better promote development, and at the same time promote national recognition and national integration.

National stability is both a goal and a means. In history, Austria only regarded it as the so-called ultimate goal, and the result was to develop its own land like a thief.

It is naturally difficult to win the trust of the people in this way, after all, even the top leaders of the empire themselves do not believe it.

Facts have proved that this road is not feasible, and Franz will definitely not choose to repeat the same mistakes. Therefore, the future Austrian Empire will not quietly carry out construction, and then secretly make a little money and be overjoyed (referring to Galicia's oil).

Franz will do it with great fanfare and vigor, so that people can see the gap and benefits more clearly.

However, Lakshmi Pai naturally did not know this, she only saw a desolate scene everywhere.

In fact, the reason why Lakshmi Pai felt that "this place is too broken" was mainly because the two cities where she stayed the longest in Austria were Venice and Vienna.

One is an ancient capital with convenient water and land transportation and a history of more than 2,000 years. It is still the economic, cultural and political center of Austria at this time. The other is the largest trading port in the empire.

In addition, due to the development of railways, Lakshmi Pai can only see the scenery along the railway line, such as the Alps, Semmering Railway, etc., which are important tourist attractions even today.

Before, she saw either prosperity or picturesque scenery, which is in sharp contrast to the desolate weeds at this time.

As for Franz's words that this place has great potential and will become a city in the future, she was dismissive. Because in Lakshmi Pai's eyes, this is just hard talk and sophistry.

Children are born to like to test the bottom line of others, and there is a saying that "heroes have always been young since ancient times."

"How big is the potential? How far is the future?"

Franz naturally would not tolerate this kind of face-jumping behavior, and he grabbed the arrogant little monkey.

"We are civilized people, don't be violent!"

Lakshmi shouted, but this kind of moral kidnapping was useless to Franz, their moral standards were fundamentally different.

The latter flicked his head hard on the former's forehead, and then returned to normal.

"It won't be long, ten years, maybe twenty years."

Lakshmi covered her red forehead and muttered softly.

"I thought you were so powerful! It takes so long to build a city!"

Franz looked at the former again, and the former suddenly shrank his neck and fled to the side in anger. In fact, children will instinctively observe the expressions of others. She could see that Mia Artie next to her had no resistance to Franz.

If Franz really wanted to continue to beat her, I am afraid that Miss Mia would not only not protect her, but also help her, so Lakshmi Pai hid in the corner.

Franz sighed, "It's not that simple to build a city. Roads, transportation, hospitals, schools, churches, police stations, fire stations, water plants, various infrastructures, and pipeline layouts all need planning.

What is the most important purpose of urban construction? Business? Industry? Agriculture? Politics? Military? You have to choose one. The city needs pillar industries to continue to develop."

Franz said a lot to himself, but these were a bit too advanced for Lakshmi Pai and even Mia Artie. They didn't think so much and could only listen stupidly.

Note: Mia Artie was less than 20 years old. It was already very impressive to be able to figure out one or two subjects. Compared with modern times, the ways to obtain information in the 19th century were very limited.

After a bumpy journey, Franz finally arrived at Vihliu Yasuski's manor.

What's the first impression? Luxurious, but not gorgeous. In short, Franz really couldn't praise this taste.