Chapter 58: Chapter 56: A Useless Burden

Central Italy, the Grand Ducal Palace of Tuscany.

Grand Duke Leopold II looked at the Austrian officials swearing their allegiance to him with some surprise.

"Mr. Mauna, you must be joking. Tuscany is merely a small state under Austrian rule; Tuscany must also swear allegiance to Austria."

Mauna had arrived in Tuscany two years ago as an Austrian special commissioner. Although Grand Duke Leopold II lacked great ambition, he was extremely benevolent and deeply loved by the people; at the same time, he was receptive to advice and easy to persuade.

For someone like Mauna, who had been frustrated and unfulfilled in the Austrian bureaucracy, this was the perfect boss.

Naturally, such people usually ruled loosely, and corruption was rampant among their subordinates. This was a major reason why Tuscany's economy had failed to improve. The special commissioners from Austria were meant to excise these deep-seated maladies from Tuscany.

In two years, Tuscany had not only completed the railways to Modena and Lucca but had also expanded its small steel mill into the largest steel mill in Central Italy.

While Central Italy lacked coal and iron resources, it was not entirely devoid of them.

By abolishing the arbitrary taxes and levies collected privately by officials and nobles, the port of Livorno was revitalized.

Tuscany possessed one of the largest mercury mines in Italy, and even the world. During the sweep conducted by the Austrian officials, 15 million florins in stolen funds were directly recovered, and in the following two years, production tripled.

Tuscany's fiscal revenue leaped from less than 3 million florins in 1834 to 10 million florins.

With money in hand, Tuscany expanded its army from 2,000 to 10,000 men and built its own factories, allowing it to not only be self-sufficient in weaponry but also to sell to other nations.

Leopold II of Tuscany did not indulge in pleasure; instead, he channeled funds into education and the construction of public facilities.

This deeply moved the Austrian officials, who had suffered through endless bickering and corruption; they were willing to stay and serve this "benevolent" Grand Duke.

"Your Highness, we swear allegiance to the House of Habsburg. You are also a member of the House of Habsburg, so this cannot be considered treason."

Leopold II of Tuscany did not care much; as long as someone else managed the country for him, it was fine.

Moreover, these people seemed far more useful than the local Tuscans.

This Leopold II was completely different from Francis II. He never considered himself Italian, nor did he consider himself Austrian.

In his heart, he was always merely a member of the House of Habsburg. As for those "benevolent" actions, they were simply a matter of family tradition.

Even when Ferdinand I was unable to rule the country, leading to chaos within Austria, Leopold II of Tuscany did not believe Ferdinand I was at fault, because Ferdinand I had ascended the throne merely by following tradition.

Such scenes played out frequently among the various states of Central Italy.

There were those who were unfulfilled and sought a stage to showcase their talents, and there were those who found no way to embezzle and sought a place to fleece the land.

Take present-day Parma, for example. After Archduchess Marie Louise learned of the death of her and Napoleon's only son, she became even more unscrupulous in squandering her life.

As an Austrian special commissioner, Ocker did not help restore local order; instead, he catered to Marie Louise's whims, scouting handsome youths and purchasing luxury goods for her, quickly earning the Archduchess's trust.

Ocker's sources of income were twofold: first, by exploiting the people of Parma, and second, by defrauding the Austrian government for loans.

As a supervisor, Ocker practiced "theft by oversight," using the funds intended for Austrian railway construction to fund the luxuries of the Archduchess and himself. Meanwhile, he had already purchased real estate in the United States, allowing him to emigrate directly if necessary.

Ocker colluded with local corrupt officials, and through round after round of extortionate taxation, the people of Parma were left in misery.

Those who could no longer survive gathered to attempt demonstrations at the Archduchess's palace, hoping she would reduce taxes.

However, Ocker reported directly to the nearby Austrian garrison that a mob intended to harm the Archduchess.

The Austrian garrison thus became the blade in Ocker's hand. The resentment of the slaughtered citizens toward Austria grew, sowing the seeds for future explosions of unrest.

Francesco IV of Modena was a member of the House of Habsburg, but he was a mediocrity among mediocrities—one could call him the "Zhang Zongchang of the West."

Francesco IV suffered from "three unknowns": he did not know how much money he had, he did not know how many men he had, and he did not know how many lovers he had.

He once appointed the husband of one of his lovers to take his money to recruit an army to attack Napoleon.

As it turned out, the gentleman did not recruit troops or horses; instead, he ran off with Francesco IV's money.

And Napoleon, until the day he died, never knew that such a man had once intended to send troops to attack him.

Francesco IV's rule was a shambles. Rather than maintaining an expensive standing army, he preferred to call upon the Austrian military.

The Austrian special commissioners, faced with such situations, were also helpless and chose to "lie flat" alongside the Grand Dukes.

In the Papal States, the people continued to maintain a lifestyle that was almost medieval.

There is a joke: if you want to know where the Church is most opposed in this era, it is certainly by the Romans.

At the southernmost tip, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies welcomed its most liberal king in history, unlike his father who had ignored state affairs his entire life.

Ferdinand II adopted several measures from the Napoleonic era: restructuring administrative management, caring for national welfare, reducing taxes, encouraging industry, promoting trade, allowing exiles to return, and even employing some officials from the Murat era in his government.

Ferdinand II established Italy's first railway (the Naples-Portici railway), Italy's first shipping company, and Italy's first telegraph company. Then, his people opposed his rule and even fired cannonballs at his palace, yet his liberalization reforms continued.

Franz knew very well that to integrate Central Italy, one needed a powerful state and the establishment of a long-term, stable order.

At this time, Austria was suffering from severe internal friction and truly lacked the capacity to continue protecting the legacy left by the era of Francis II. Temporarily abandoning the integration of Central Italy might be a wise move.

Rather than the "tasteless but hard to discard" Central Italy, events occurring in another place interested Franz more.

Carlos, having been defeated in the Spanish Civil War, first fled to England, but he did not receive the support he desired there.

The British government even viewed Carlos as a menace to European peace, stating that as long as Carlos was willing to renounce his throne and never return to Spain, the British government would be willing to pay him an annual pension of £30,000 for his retirement.

At that time, £30,000 was a massive sum. The annual pension for a male member of the Austrian imperial family was typically 10,000 to 20,000 florins, and £30,000 was roughly equivalent to 300,000 florins. Of course, this pension would not be given for free.

After leaving England, Carlos went to France to seek help.

Franz felt that Carlos had not shown the French his sincerity, so Franz decided to help him.

(End of Chapter)