Chapter 9: Friedrich Liszt

Chapter 9: Friedrich List

The thirty-eight customs barriers in Germany have paralyzed domestic traffic. They are no different from binding a person's hands and feet and preventing blood from flowing. Only by abolishing internal tariffs and establishing a unified tax system for the entire federation can national trade and national industry be restored, which would also benefit the working class.

—Friedrich List

Friedrich List, the father of the German Customs Union and a challenger to Adam Smith, author of *The Wealth of Nations*, lived a life that could be called legendary. (The full name is used here consistently to distinguish him from the musician Liszt mentioned later.)

On August 6, 1789, Friedrich List was baptized in Reutlingen.

(Baptisms usually took place on the day of a baby's birth.)

Friedrich List was born into a family of craftsmen; his father was a well-known tanner. During his student years, he had to work part-time as a tanning apprentice to help his father.

But he soon displayed astonishing talent and passed the financial official examination of the Kingdom of Württemberg, becoming a government clerk.

After working in the government for a few years, he was sent to a university to become a professor due to his superior work ability.

No one would have guessed that this was merely the beginning of his "cheat-mode" life. Later, Friedrich List left the university and became the president of the Württemberg Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

After that, he became a member of the Württemberg parliament, at which point he had just turned thirty.

He then left Württemberg for the New World (the United States). In America, he built farms, started a newspaper, founded a railway company, and eventually used the money he earned to purchase a mine. In his spare time, he also wrote *Outlines of American Political Economy*.

Later, he was even appointed by the seventh U.S. President, Andrew Jackson, as the U.S. Consul to the German Confederation.

In 1832, he returned to Württemberg and began sketching out a railway network covering all of Germany.

However, his national railway system plan failed due to feudal fragmentation and the narrow-minded, profit-seeking nature of the bourgeoisie.

In the end, he only obtained a "castrated" version of a railway, 115 kilometers long, from Leipzig to Dresden.

To build the railway, Friedrich had partnered with others to start a joint-stock company. However, the shares that should have belonged to him were swindled away by two friends who had assured him that "Leipzigers" were different from "Yankees" and that Germans would not cheat Germans.

The two swindlers convinced Friedrich List that the remaining matters were merely procedural, so he did not sign the contract.

By the time Friedrich List realized he had been cheated, the other party had already successfully cashed out and vanished without a trace.

Ultimately, this investment not only failed to bring him any profit but instead caused him a loss of 10,000 thalers.

Somewhat down and out, Friedrich List had to move into a cheap family inn.

He dragged his exhausted body back to his room, only to find the door slightly ajar.

He immediately rushed into the room. An old gentleman was leisurely drinking tea in his room, while the attendant standing next to him was quite handsome and sturdy, eyes fixed straight ahead—one look and it was clear he was a servant of a powerful figure.

The old gentleman set down his teacup and spoke first.

"Mr. List, please sit."

Friedrich List took off his hat, bowed deeply, and said, "Sir, this is my room."

"It is mine now." The old gentleman smiled, took out a piece of paper, and signaled for the attendant to show it to Friedrich List.

Friedrich List took a glance; it was a property deed.

"Then may I take my things?" Friedrich List pointed to the cabinet on the side.

"Mr. List, please do not be anxious. I am here to deliver a gift."

"Are you Santa Claus?" Friedrich List asked.

"If you wish, yes. Let us get to the point. My name is Berger Turner, and I am the butler for Lord Metternich. I have come today for two things: first, to deliver a gift and return your losses to you; at the same time, I have brought two friends."

Berger clapped his hands. Two burly men from outside walked in carrying two sacks, then threw them heavily onto the floor with a dull thud.

The sacks were then opened, revealing none other than the two swindlers who made Friedrich List’s teeth ache with hatred.

Friedrich List immediately stepped forward and kicked them twice. The two swindlers, their hands and feet bound and their mouths stuffed with rags, could only let out two muffled groans.

"Are they the Austrian secret police?" Friedrich List asked.

"No, they are just concerned citizens who happened to be passing by," Berger replied unhurriedly, then added, "Mr. List, are you satisfied with this gift?"

"Satisfied. Tell me the second thing." List was a sensible man and naturally knew the other party wouldn't offer favors for nothing.

"My master wishes to see you. He feels you are very talented and should serve His Majesty the Emperor."

"What if I say I won't go?" List asked tentatively, then pointed to the two burly men nearby. "Will they stuff me into a sack?"

"No, Mr. List. My master is a civilized man, but I am not. Whether I say you are a [redacted] or a dangerous element, my face alone is enough to make it true." Berger stood up and straightened his collar.

"You have convinced me, Mr. Berger."

Vienna, Hall of Mirrors.

Francis II sat high on his throne. The ministers and dignitaries below all had their own agendas, yet they appeared to be performing their duties in an orderly fashion.

Francis II said proudly, "Child, look. The most important quality for an emperor is to first possess an aura of royal authority, and then you can make them bow down and submit."

Clearly, the old emperor was getting carried away. But Franz still pretended to be full of admiration and said in a child's tone, "Grandfather, why do the French oppose us Austrians joining the German Customs Union?"

"The French are all villains; they are afraid of us doing well. We in Austria are the chair of the German Confederation and should protect the interests of the German states, so we must join the German Customs Union." Francis II wanted to educate his grandson, but accidentally painted himself into a corner.

Seeing the old emperor digging his own grave, Franz gave him another push.

"Grandfather, grandfather, then are those who hold the same views as the French all bad people too?"

"..." Francis II fell silent.

Metternich almost spat out a mouthful of blood; this really was the savior of Austria. He hadn't expected that the clearest mind in the entire royal family would be a child.

However, the dignitaries in the Hall of Mirrors did not look pleased, especially Prince Windisch-Graetz, who felt the old emperor was looking at him, and that the gaze could kill him.

He hurriedly found an excuse and fled the Hall of Mirrors as if escaping.

Seeing the two leaders—one exiled to Hungary and the other fleeing via "urination"—the other dignitaries lost their confidence, and the tree fell, scattering the monkeys.

Watching the crowd fleeing the Hall of Mirrors in a frenzy, Francis II fell into deep thought. How had he not noticed before that the people he trusted were a bunch of treacherous villains?

Count Kolowrat felt this was quite good; it seemed his workload would be reduced significantly.

Count Latour continued his work, feeling that those fellows would not give up so easily and that they must be strictly guarded against.

Of course, this also had to do with Count Latour's personal character; after all, he was a soldier, and one mistake meant losing his life.

Now, Metternich, Kolowrat, and Bruck were all thinking the same thing: should they bring Archduke Franz to the next political meeting?

(End of chapter)