The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1145 Department Store
The prosperity of Vienna also shocked Prince Uvarov. He visited Vienna several times, but each time he stayed for a short time.

And each time he was accompanied by someone, so Prince Uvarov knew that he saw what the Austrians wanted him to see.

But this time was different. As an ambassador, he had greater initiative and did not accept the accompaniment of Austrian officials. He just let security personnel follow behind.

Prince Uvarov was particularly impressed by this new model of department stores.

In the past, purchasing goods required going to specific stores or special stalls in the market, and sometimes one even had to go to several streets just to buy a few items.

The emergence of department stores broke this situation, covering thousands of commodities from household groceries to clothing, furniture, and hunting rifles.

This novel and convenient way of shopping was totally ahead of its time.

At this time, department stores were luxuriously decorated and exquisitely designed with high-end furnishings and elegant displays, providing a comfortable shopping environment.

This is especially important for the wealthy classes who are not of aristocratic origin, because they very much like the feeling of being respected and valued.

For the nobles, such a place is high-end enough and can better show their status.

For speculators, this is an excellent springboard to achieve their own class transition.

At this time, Franz also introduced a new concept, namely, clear pricing.

In 1848, most stores in the world did not have the concept of price tags. The store clerks basically served customers according to their needs, and the price of goods was directly linked to the bargaining ability of both parties.

Franz invented the price tag to make the price of goods transparent. On the one hand, it reduced the situation of store clerks overcharging customers, and on the other hand, it saved consumers a lot of trouble.

Especially for some single male aristocrats, this is great news, because they no longer have to worry about arguing with others over trivial matters.

For the non-aristocratic groups, what they feel more are the benefits brought by equality and price transparency.

In addition, these department stores are also small product launch centers where merchants rent booths to showcase their new products.

Customers who like new gadgets no longer have to travel far to attend so-called exhibitions, after all, new products are launched here every week.

In this way, department stores, merchants, and customers can maximize their own interests.

Of course, most of these win-win routines were added by Franz himself. After all, according to the original design of department store goods, the waste was too serious. He just maximized the use of space based on later experience.

Compared with this novel model, what surprised Prince Uvarov even more was the goods. Not only were their variety and quantity far beyond his imagination, but most importantly, the prices.

The prices of many luxury goods are only one fifth or even one tenth of those in Russia. No wonder the rich people in Russia like to go shopping in Vienna.

Even taking into account shipping costs and transit taxes, it is still much cheaper than buying in your own country.

Then there is the inventory of goods. According to Duke Uvarov's estimation, the Austrian Empire has been at war and often has large-scale military deployments. At this time, the prices of food and weapons should be extremely tight.

However, food prices in Vienna only experienced a short-term surge at the beginning of the rebellion, but then plummeted instantly after the government introduced its policies.

The subsequent rise was very small, and it even began to fall after Francis ascended the throne.

In order to further verify the authenticity, Duke Uvarov even began to contact food and weapons merchants in Vienna, using large orders to test their reactions. The result was that as long as there was money, there would be food and weapons, and the merchants did not think that there would be any problems with their supply capacity.

This kind of confidence made Duke Uvarov feel a chill down his spine. It was obvious that the Austrian Empire had stockpiled a large amount of supplies at this time, so much so that even if a considerable amount was sold, it would not affect the country's established policies.

Duke Uvarov began to re-evaluate the strength of the Austrian Empire in his mind, but there were some things he couldn't understand.

Why don't you end the civil war quickly when you have the strength to do so? You should know that among all types of wars, civil war is the most destructive.

Its cruelty is comparable to a war of national destruction. The general rules and order of civilized society will no longer exist, and the morals of both sides will be reduced to zero.

Prince Uvarov witnessed with his own eyes how the Russian army suppressed the rebellious Cossack tribes. The general in charge of the suppression first lured and killed the Cossack leader.

Then, taking advantage of the internal chaos of the Cossacks, they invaded their territory in one fell swoop, killed all the men they saw regardless of age, raped all the women, and finally burned everything.

The following year, new tribes would come to this land to reproduce and thrive, becoming loyal Cossacks to His Majesty the Tsar or new nutrients.

The British and Ottoman ambassadors arrived in Vienna together. The British ambassador was Viscount Stratford and the Ottoman ambassador was Reshid Pasha.

The two countries' delegations had nearly 700 people in total, including a large number of servants and security personnel. In the eyes of Prime Minister Felix, this was a complete provocation to the Austrian Empire. Were they bringing so many people to attack Vienna?

Felix was particularly disgusted by the Ottomans' pagan identity, and he even suspected that these guys would carry out a suicide attack.

Prince Schwarzenberg did not accommodate the two countries' delegations in the palace as was customary, but instead placed them in two confiscated aristocratic mansions.

Both families were great noble families with profound heritage, but they chose the wrong side in the rebellion, which resulted in the death of most of their immediate family members, and most of the remaining branches were exiled or burdened with heavy debts.

The mansions of the two families naturally became empty. Their luxurious decorations were no less than real palaces, and they were all British-style buildings, making them perfect for receiving Britain and its allies.

Both the British and Ottoman missions demanded that the Austrian imperial service personnel be dismissed and that their own servants be used instead.

This did not surprise Prince Schwarzenberg. After selecting the address and evacuating the Austrian personnel, he arranged four regiments of troops nearby. The reason was naturally to protect the safety of foreign envoys.

Viscount Stratford did not have a good impression of Vienna because every time he came here he could not take away what he wanted.

Metternich was a mean man with a smiling face, but now Prince Schwarzenberg is a hostile madman.

The Austrian army simply blocked the streets and built barricades.

A large number of soldiers patrol day and night every day, and any materials and personnel entering and leaving are checked in detail.

What's more, the city defense forces, the royal guards, and the soldiers stationed outside the city would deliberately run around the residence where the British delegation was staying.

In fact, Prince Watzenberg's behavior was a bit too much, and the British were not ancient Han envoys, so the probability of them launching a direct decapitation operation against Franz was not high.

However, the latter's undisguised behavior is indeed infuriating. The former is also a military man, so it would be strange for him not to fight back against such undisguised hostility.

This is a different time. Now Franz doesn't want to see Viscount Stratford's arrogant face again.