CHAPTER 577: CHAPTER 568 USURY EMPIRE AND EXPORTING CAPITAL

"... At the invitation of Emperor Napoleon, the Emperor of Austria, Franz Joseph, and his fiancée are about to arrive in Paris!"

After the Governor of Seine Province, Ossman, finished this statement, cheers erupted from the plaza of Paris City Hall. Parisians in the Town Hall Square eagerly awaited the arrival of this foreign monarch.

Seeing the enthusiasm in the Parisians before him, Ossman seized the opportunity to address them, "To prevent any trampling incidents and to maintain the stability of the square, around 9:20, a squad of soldiers will appear near Paris City Hall. We hope the Parisians will understand!"

Although, on a subjective level, Parisians did not like any violent institutions, given that the presence of two monarchs at City Hall indeed stressed the need for enhanced vigilance, in case any reckless assassins appeared, it would be disastrous!

Therefore, the Parisians did not oppose Ossman’s request.

Around 9:18, a contingent of nearly a thousand infantry appeared near the City Hall, forming two rows that spread to the left and right sides of the Town Hall Square, completely separating the Parisians from the central square.

Some Parisians, who were squeezed into corners and couldn’t see the square, simply ran into nearby buildings, knocked on the doors of the rooms, and watched from the balconies with the homeowners.

More Parisians decided that when the two emperors arrived, they would tiptoe, so they could see the emperors in the square.

Thus, the Parisians at City Hall began their tedious wait.

On the other hand, Jerome Bonaparte, on horseback, took nearly half an hour, under the watchful eyes and cheers of the Parisians, to reach the vicinity of the military temporary train station near Paris.

At this time, this military temporary train station had been sealed off by French soldiers since the previous night. Until the Emperor of Austria arrived, no trains were allowed to stop at this platform.

As for pedestrians, that was even more impossible!

When Jerome Bonaparte arrived at the train station, General Vayan, the commander of the Seine Province Military District responsible for guarding the train station, immediately approached Jerome Bonaparte and saluted!

"General Vayan, you have worked hard!" Jerome Bonaparte dismounted solemnly and returned the salute to Vayan.

"Your Majesty, this is what I should do!" General Vayan replied to Jerome Bonaparte with a resolute tone.

Then, Jerome Bonaparte inquired where Richard Metternich was.

"Your Majesty! Ambassador Richard Metternich is inside the train station! Accompanied by Minister Kuzen Montebon, awaiting the arrival of the Emperor of Austria!" Marshal Vayan responded.

"Very well! Let’s go, join me to the train station!" Jerome Bonaparte said to General Vayan.

"Yes!" Vayan hurriedly responded, then followed behind Jerome Bonaparte, alongside Nie’er.

Upon entering the station platform, Jerome Bonaparte immediately saw Richard Metternich in the center of the platform and quickly approached him, saying, "Ambassador Richard, thank you for waiting so long!"

"Your Majesty! I just arrived!" Richard Metternich quickly responded, though his gaze occasionally flicked towards the end of the railway.

"No need to look anymore! This train is about 20 minutes away!" Jerome Bonaparte said with a smile.

Richard Metternich’s face showed a hint of awkwardness, and he lowered his head, no longer looking at the railway.

Seeing the atmosphere gradually solidifying, Jerome Bonaparte spoke again to Richard Metternich, "Ambassador Richard, while we have some time, shall we chat about something?"

"Your Majesty, please speak!" Richard Metternich hurriedly responded, "I will speak frankly!"

"What are your thoughts on the railway?" Jerome Bonaparte casually asked Richard Metternich while pointing at the railway before him.

Richard Metternich glanced at the railway, then tentatively responded to Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, I think the railway is changing our way of travel!"

"That can barely be considered one aspect!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded before answering Richard Metternich, "The railway not only changes our travel, more importantly, it changes the mode of warfare!"

"The mode of warfare?" Richard Metternich displayed a puzzled expression.

"Do you know how we maintained supplies when we were in Crimea?" Jerome Bonaparte asked.

"Through transport ships?" Richard Metternich asked Jerome Bonaparte.

"The transport ships dismantle already assembled artillery and transport it over! All we need are the materials for weapons and rail tracks, which are transported entirely by rail. Our railway network can transport iron ore from the Lorraine region to Paris and Le Clerc in the shortest time. After processing at these two places, it is dismantled, loaded onto trains again, and sent to Toulon! From Toulon, it takes a ship again to Strasbourg! The delay throughout the entire process won’t exceed three days!" Jerome Bonaparte told Richard Metternich, "Moreover, in Paris alone, our armory can produce nearly thirty thousand bullets, more than five thousand rifles, over three hundred artillery pieces, two thousand shells, and more than twenty kilometers of rail tracks and logs daily, and this capacity isn’t even the limit of Paris as more and more armories are being built in Paris!"

After hearing Jerome Bonaparte’s data, Richard Metternich couldn’t help but feel an unprecedented chill.

What was the purpose of Jerome Bonaparte saying this? Was it merely to show off to him?

"The reason I provide you these data is not to show off to you!" Jerome Bonaparte seemed to see through Richard Metternich’s thoughts, and he hurriedly reassured Richard Metternich, "I just want you to understand the role of railways in the military field. The logistical problems that used to plague large armies are no longer an issue with the advent of the railway. We can transport personnel and materials from one region to another within two weeks!

This is something my uncle could never have imagined, even though there were steam engines at that time, their power was far inferior to now... In less than half a century, our world has undergone such a significant change.

If the Austrian Empire continues to embrace outdated thinking in welcoming the new era, then even with the help of France, Austria is destined to be ruthlessly eliminated!

The wheels of time never spare a nation just because it has a long history; they will mercilessly crush everything in their path that hinders their progress!"

"Your Majesty, I am just an ordinary diplomatic personnel! These words, you should say to the Emperor or the Prime Minister!" Although Richard Metternich internally agreed with Jerome Bonaparte’s words, he still had to position himself correctly and responded to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Am I not talking to a future Austrian Prime Minister?" Jerome Bonaparte said with a slightly frivolous tone.

"Your Majesty, you really know how to joke!" Richard Metternich responded to Jerome Bonaparte with a wry smile and shook his head.

"What? Not confident about becoming Prime Minister? Or do you want to live in your father’s shadow all your life!" Jerome Bonaparte asked Richard Metternich.

An outstanding father often becomes a child’s nightmare, as people unconsciously compare the two, concluding that the child is inferior to the father.

In fact, some children are not inferior to their fathers, but they do not have a stage and opportunities to showcase their talents like their fathers did.

"Your Majesty..." Richard Metternich couldn’t help but want to tell Jerome Bonaparte that he wasn’t fit to be Prime Minister, but he couldn’t say it when the words reached his mouth.

In Richard Metternich’s heart, there was indeed a dream of becoming Prime Minister and surpassing his father.

"What’s the matter, Prime Minister Richard!" Jerome Bonaparte teasingly asked Richard Metternich.

"Your Majesty, I am just an ordinary diplomatic personnel!" Richard Metternich emphasized again, this time with a hint of embarrassment and anger.

Jerome Bonaparte shrugged and said to Richard Metternich, "Alright! Ordinary Ambassador Richard!"

Then Jerome Bonaparte continued, "Where were we? Railways... Hmm, railways..."

Jerome Bonaparte eloquently extolled the benefits of building railways to Richard Metternich, and after hearing Jerome Bonaparte’s words, Richard Metternich felt slightly tempted.

However, thinking about the financial situation of the Austrian Empire, Richard Metternich’s heart suddenly turned cold.

Given Austria’s current financial condition, let alone building railways like France, even building a third of it would require astronomical sums of money that Richard Metternich couldn’t imagine.

"Your Majesty, the railways you mentioned are indeed essential for a country, but the length of the railways depends on a country’s economy!" Richard Metternich said to Jerome Bonaparte, "It would be challenging for the Austrian Empire to build railways like the French Empire!"

"You are right! There are indeed some differences between countries, which is why you need to leverage external forces!" Jerome Bonaparte said to Richard Metternich.

"External forces?" Richard Metternich immediately understood what Jerome Bonaparte meant.

"Exactly! External forces! The French Empire is willing to lend a hand to the Austrian Empire, as long as the Austrian Empire can afford to pay some interest!"