Chapter Fifteen: Internal Troubles (Part Two)
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There really was such a scheme? Count Kollowrat’s words opened Friedrich List’s eyes.
“But what are we supposed to do?” Friedrich List was clearly tempted. After all, a business requiring no capital was irresistibly attractive to anyone.
“It’s very simple. His Imperial Majesty places great trust in you. You can seize this excellent opportunity and find a way to obtain an operating charter from him. As long as we work together in perfect harmony, we can naturally achieve a victory for us both.”
Strange as it might seem, human beings were peculiar creatures. The transition from passionate idealism to willing corruption could happen in an instant.
Faced with overwhelming temptation, few people could remain true to themselves.
Count Kollowrat’s proposal could earn Friedrich List more money than he had made in all the preceding decades combined.
From Friedrich’s expression, Kollowrat knew that he had already drawn this exceptionally dangerous economist to his side. List would surely become a hidden weapon with which to deal with Metternich in the future.
Kollowrat understood that ideals and convictions alone could rarely hold a person. Only shared interests and shared guilt could bind someone securely.
At the same time, just as Count Kollowrat had predicted, Prince Metternich sought out his old associate: the leading figure in Austrian banking and the Rothschild family’s representative in Vienna, Salomon Rothschild.
“Salomon, my old friend, I have tremendous good news for you.”
“My dear Metternich, you truly are my lucky star. You always seem to bring me good news. What have you brought me this time?”
The two men had known each other for many years and shared numerous interests. After a few brief pleasantries, they got straight to the point.
“By the approval of His Majesty Franz II, the Northern Railway Company has officially been established. Congratulations—you are to become the founder of the first steam railway in the Austrian Empire. This will be a historic moment, and the people will remember your achievements.”
In truth, the Rothschild family possessed its own intelligence network. Salomon had learned of the news before Metternich arrived and had already prepared a substantial gift for the prince.
But Metternich’s personal visit today was highly unusual. Fortunately, Salomon had wanted to see his old friend as well.
“You flatter me. I am merely a merchant. This is all thanks to His Majesty’s wisdom—and to your assistance.” Salomon Rothschild modestly deflected the praise before continuing.
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“Your Highness, you could have sent your steward Berg on this errand. Why come in person? I assume this is not the only piece of good news you have for me.”
Metternich smiled.
“Salomon, you are as perceptive as ever. Nothing escapes you. There is indeed another piece of good news. According to the original plan, the line operated by the Northern Railway Company was to run from Vienna to Brno, then through Olmütz to Lviv, thereby connecting Vienna with Moravia, Silesia, Galicia, and Bukovina.”
Metternich accepted the tea handed to him by a servant and blew across it. Perhaps it was too hot, for he set it aside and continued.
“His Majesty Franz II has now authorized you to add another line. This one will begin in Vienna, pass through Prague, and terminate in Dresden. Once the Austrian Empire formally joins the German Customs Union, you should understand the enormous potential this route will possess.”
Even if Austria never joined the German Customs Union, the route would still have been immensely profitable in historical terms, since it passed through nothing but prosperous regions.
If matters proceeded as Metternich described, the Rothschild family would possess a railway line spanning the entire north of Netherlandia. Its total length would reach the astonishing figure of eleven hundred kilometers, linking the most developed regions of Netherlandia. Its economic value was self-evident.
“Prime Minister, please convey my sincere gratitude to His Majesty. Rothschild Bank will always remain a friend of the House of Habsburg.”
As he spoke, several burly men entered through the door, struggling to pull a cart loaded with a large iron chest.
“Metternich, my old friend, I have prepared a gift for you as well. But you must agree to do one thing for me.”
Metternich was an old hand himself. He knew that the greedy Salomon Rothschild must be plotting an even greater scheme. He gave no answer.
Salomon had expected as much. He ordered his men to open the chest. The heavy chains were removed, and the lid was slowly raised, revealing neatly stacked gold bars within.
“There are fifteen hundred gold bars here, each one a standard hundred ounces. If you can persuade His Majesty to accept my proposal, I am willing to offer another two thousand bars as a token of gratitude.”
A hundred-ounce gold bar was worth approximately 4,250 florins—the equivalent of forty-two and a half years of pay for an ordinary soldier. The total value of this gift amounted to seventeen thousand years of an ordinary soldier’s wages.
Gold was also extraordinarily dense, three times as dense as iron, so it was entirely possible for such a large iron chest to contain one and a half tons of gold.
“Salomon, my friend, what is it that you want?”
“The Southern Railway Company.”
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“With all due respect, my friend, that condition will be very difficult to satisfy,” Metternich replied.
“Your Highness, I know that you have always been troubled by the question of the northern Italians. Now we have an opportunity to resolve the matter once and for all. If we extend the railway to Venice, we can bind the interests of Italian merchants and nobles to those of the Empire. When that happens, the Italians will no longer be able to resist Austrian rule.”
Salomon Rothschild need not have said any of this. Metternich understood it perfectly well.
The railways of Netherlandia, however, could not be placed in the hands of a single man—or a single company. His Majesty would never permit it. After serving Franz II for so many years, Metternich knew precisely where the emperor’s limits lay.
Moreover, on a personal level, he did not want Salomon Rothschild to control Austria’s entire transportation system. If that happened, this “Emperor” Salomon would become even more overbearing.
Salomon Rothschild was fond of comparing his family to the world’s sixth great power. His subordinates naturally catered to his vanity by addressing him as “the Emperor.”
Although Salomon greatly enjoyed the title, he forbade anyone from using it in public. Vienna already had another emperor, after all.
The reason Metternich had come in person was that he feared Salomon Rothschild might harbor ambitions regarding the Southern Railway. For that reason, Metternich had also intended to petition the emperor for the Vienna-to-Dresden route, hoping it would satisfy Salomon’s appetite.
“Salomon, you know what our emperor is like. His Majesty is an exceedingly cautious man. He will not put all his eggs in one basket, much less allow a single person to carry off the basket itself.”
Metternich had made his meaning perfectly clear, but Salomon Rothschild showed no intention of giving up.
“You and His Majesty should consider it carefully. If His Majesty requires it, Rothschild Bank is also prepared to provide him with a personal interest-free loan of ten million florins.”
Salomon Rothschild’s persistence stemmed from more than his confidence in the future of the Austrian Empire’s railways. A French friend had made him a promise.
If Salomon could secure Austria’s railways and transfer control to a French company—or assist France at a crucial moment—he would become France’s most important friend.
The road to Austria’s accession to the German Customs Union was long and arduous. Before Austria had even joined, the factions within the government had already begun dividing the interests among themselves.
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