Chapter 37: Taking Kickbacks

The royalists of Chenla and the local landlords and merchants who opposed the Vietnamese had finally raised three hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver, intending to purchase six thousand rifles from Austria at a price of three hundred thousand taels.

Ambrosius and the two officers accompanying him were quite satisfied with the price of one hundred and eighty thousand taels, as these flintlock muskets could only be disposed of for 15 florins (approximately 10.5 taels) each in Austria. Moreover, most of the firearms disposed of in that manner would end up in the hands of Austria's enemies or insurgent forces.

The diplomat Zachl had already drafted the contract, and Ambrosius had readily affixed his seal. However, when Guan Jinpan read the document, he was struck with terror; it clearly stated that Chenla was purchasing six thousand flintlock muskets from the Austrian military at thirty taels each, for a total of one hundred and eighty thousand taels. Guan Jinpan had intended to tear up the document, but to his dismay, there were five identical copies.

Feeling as though he had been struck by lightning, Guan Jinpan immediately asked if the unit price and total could be amended. Ambrosius was momentarily taken aback, but the diplomat Zachl grasped the crux of the matter and declared with righteous indignation, "Our Austrian Empire maintains a very strict auditing system. This contract must be filed and reviewed by the Emperor, the Ministry of Finance, and the Prime Minister's Office. If we write three hundred thousand taels in the contract, we must turn over that exact amount, or else it will be considered embezzlement."

"Legal principles must account for human sentiment; I beg for your flexibility," Guan Jinpan said with a smile. "I am willing to offer twenty thousand taels of silver as a gift. I have heard that your annual salaries are a mere few hundred taels; it is truly a great injustice to you."

Ambrosius and Zachl looked at each other, but both firmly refused, as the charge of corruption was simply too grave. Guan Jinpan could not possibly accept this outcome; if the truth were exposed, there would be no place left for him in Chenla. Yet, if he abandoned this deal, he would forfeit the future of both his country and his own family.

Just as Guan Jinpan hesitated, Father Pacini interrupted, "Lord Guan Jinpan, if you can secure my entry into the royal palace to become a tutor to the princesses, I may consider helping you persuade them."

Unable to abandon the deal and unwilling to ruin his own reputation, Guan Jinpan had no choice but to agree to Pacini's request. Father Pacini immediately pulled Ambrosius and Zachl aside to deliberate. He revealed his plan: to use this opportunity to have himself and Ambrosius appointed as tutors to the Chenla princesses. As a tutor, Father Pacini would naturally follow the traditional Catholic approach of targeting the upper echelons, aiming directly for the conversion of the King—there was no more direct way to proselytize. For Ambrosius, there was no easier way to get close to the princesses than by serving as their tutor. As for the contract, that could be left to the ministers of the Imperial Council to worry about. After all, Ferdinand I was not Francis II; he would not personally inquire into the details of such transactions, nor did he have the capacity to do so.

As for the twenty thousand taels of silver, it would be accepted, but it would have to be reported as startup capital for a supply station. The three men agreed on this plan, though they worried about the potential risks. At this point, Father Pacini indicated that the Austrian Church was willing to shoulder all the risks. The Austrian Church at the time was quite wealthy, possessing not only donations and private property from all walks of life but also the power to collect tithes from the faithful. However, as the Church was now under state control, these earnings had to be taxed, and the exact figures reported to the state.

Once the decision was made, they explained everything to Guan Jinpan. He was initially hesitant; having two Westerners become tutors to the princesses was far too conspicuous. But when he realized that if this failed, his plan to restore the nation would be lost and his reputation destroyed, he steeled himself and made a firm decision. It was only a matter of placing two people near the princesses; he still had ways to manage that. Furthermore, if this member of the Austrian royal family became a tutor and entered the palace, wouldn't that effectively make him a hostage in his own hands? Yes, framed that way, everything would be resolved.

***

In Vienna, Austria, Minister of War Count Tural opened Ambrosius's report in his office and was overjoyed upon reading it. This order was a godsend for the Austrian military. The army could consolidate these obsolete rifles and ship them to Chenla to make a handsome profit. As for whether it was one hundred and eighty thousand or three hundred thousand taels, Count Tural did not care; he only hoped to dispose of these weapons as quickly as possible to use the funds for equipment upgrades. To expedite the deal and support the pioneer of Austria's first overseas supply station, Count Tural decided to bypass the cabinet and have the military handle the business directly.

At this time, the death of Francis II and the accession of Ferdinand I had plunged the country into chaos. The conflict between Metternich and Count Kolowrat intensified, with bureaucrats from both factions attacking one another in a struggle for power. The newly appointed Chief Imperial Advisor, Karl von Schrut, relying on his status as Queen Anna's lover, attempted to act as regent, only to be sidelined from the core of power by Count Kolowrat and Prince Metternich. Both sides refused to yield regarding who would control the future and power of the Austrian Empire. Ultimately, they had no choice but to make the will of Francis II public.

Francis II had requested the formation of a Regency Council to replace the Imperial Council. The Regency Council consisted of four special commissioners: Count Kolowrat, Prince Metternich, Archduke Louis, and Archduke Franz Karl. The intention behind making the will public was to stabilize the government, but it only incited greater resentment from Count Kolowrat toward Prince Metternich, as Count Kolowrat had not been present when the will was drafted, whereas Metternich had been. This led Kolowrat to suspect that Metternich had forged the document.

In truth, this was the old Emperor's deliberate design; he did not want the two power-brokers in Austria to be on overly intimate terms, and he had added two members of the royal family to the Regency Council as a double-lock mechanism. The primary goal was balance—to prevent any one party from becoming too powerful and to ensure they could not endanger the royal family. Even if the two regent ministers reached an agreement, the two royal members could serve as a check.

Thus, the most dysfunctional government in history was born. This government could be said to have achieved nothing, as they spent their days in endless squabbling. Whatever opinion Prince Metternich proposed, Count Kolowrat would oppose, and vice versa. As for Archduke Louis, he did not understand national politics and only looked at what was beneficial to the family; naturally, he remained silent most of the time. Archduke Franz Karl, meanwhile, was far more interested in wine than in politics. Consequently, the Regency Council existed in name only, and the entire country was unable to issue any decrees.

As the nation stagnated, Archduchess Sophie keenly sensed this and attempted to control her husband to achieve her own political ambitions. However, Franz Karl always remembered the advice his father had given him: "Make no statements, express no opinions. Neither approve nor oppose."