Chapter 1661: Building a Railway

Li Hongtian looked at Victor's helpless expression and asked, "As far as I know, the best-tasting and most expensive wine you Austrians buy is Longyan's Yinzhou Drunk."

Victor's expression was extremely ugly.

He himself loved drinking Yinzhou Drunk; this strong liquor from Longyan had a very unique taste.

It was far better than the wine they brewed themselves, those wines that had been hidden in cellars for who knows how many years.

Victor felt great disdain for Li Hongtian, but in this matter, he could only swallow his pride.

The taste of Yinzhou Drunk made him linger and forget to return.

However, the price was also too high; although Victor did not care, that did not mean the Austrian public did not care.

Seeing Victor's frustrated expression, Li Hongtian felt a wave of satisfaction.

He chuckled and said, "We in Longyan value discussing business at the wine table; now is the perfect time, let's talk about serious matters."

At the mention of this, Victor's expression tightened once again.

The thing he feared most had arrived.

He had absolutely no desire to discuss any serious matters with Li Hongtian, even though the overt relationship between Austria and Longyan was currently poor.

And one could even say they were in a state of hostility.

The lower-class Austrian public was extremely opposed to Longyan.

After all, Longyan now openly supported Protestantism, and for a Catholic country like Austria, the attitude of its lower-class people toward Protestantism was one of utter loathing.

Furthermore, Longyan was currently occupying an Austrian port city, although the right or wrong of this matter lay with Austria.

It lay with the damned Lorraine Family.

They had handed over this port city, which held such an important strategic position, to Longyan on a silver platter.

But this did not prevent the public from hating Longyan.

Yet the public was the public, and they in Austria currently owed Longyan a huge sum of money.

Longyan had helped them solve the refugee problem, using a full 500,000 shi of grain.

Austria's annual grain production was only 4 million shi.

This was a quarter of their annual grain production, and although Austria had also experienced the Industrial Revolution and its economy had developed rapidly.

It was currently a time of war.

The ruling government of Austria had already owed a large sum of money to the domestic Hungarian nobles.

If Longyan came to collect this foreign debt now, Austria truly did not have a single penny.

This was what Victor feared most.

As a European power, if Austria owed so much money to other countries, Victor would not be afraid in the slightest and might even use various methods to default on it.

But Longyan was different.

The Longyan army was currently in an Austrian port.

General Weikeduo had fought against the Longyan army and knew well the terror of the Longyan army.

Moreover, Austria's main forces were all attacking Prussia, and the troops left in the homeland were very scarce.

If they really had a large-scale conflict with the Longyan army, they in Austria would have no way to stop them.

Thinking of this, Victor sighed deeply.

He looked at Li Hongtian, this enemy who was also a creditor, with a complex expression.

Fortunately, although Austria was hostile toward Longyan, they had not yet formally declared war, so there was still room for negotiation.

A smile was squeezed onto Victor's stiff face: "Mr. Li Hongtian, please speak freely."

Li Hongtian looked at General Weikeduo's face and said in a deep voice, "We in Longyan want to build a railway in your Austria."

"We will be responsible for funding the construction, and in return, after three years, all rights to this railway will belong to you in Austria."

"We in Longyan only need three years."

General Weikeduo was stunned for a moment; he had absolutely no concept of this thing called a railway.

He frowned and asked, "Mr. Li Hongtian, what is this railway you speak of?"

Li Hongtian was stunned, then immediately came to his senses; he had forgotten that Europe did not yet have railways.

And even less so steam trains; such things only existed in Longyan.

People elsewhere had not even heard of them, let alone seen them.

Thinking of this, Li Hongtian explained again: "A railway is actually a steam train; you can understand it as a kind of horse carriage that has been greatly enlarged, and the road it operates on."

"Is called a railway."

"This kind of transport tool can..."

Li Hongtian spent a full hour explaining to General Weikeduo what a railway and a steam train were.

After listening, although Victor did not quite understand, he was greatly shocked.

"You in Longyan have already used a Steam Engine to make a horse carriage?"

Li Hongtian sighed and said, "You can understand it that way."

Victor was even more shocked; he had to admit that Longyan's scientific research power was still formidable, to actually be able to make a horse carriage that moved using a Steam Engine.

This sounded truly too magical.

"But what is the use of such a thing?" Victor asked in confusion.

To this question from Victor, Li Hongtian had a short, two-word answer: "Transporting people."

"Transporting people?" Victor was stunned.

Horse carriages could also transport people, it was just that they could only transport four people.

"How many people can this thing transport?" Victor asked casually.

"About a thousand or more people at a time," Li Hongtian replied casually.

Victor was stunned on the spot, suddenly standing up to stare into Li Hongtian's eyes.

"You're saying this thing can transport one thousand people at a time?" Victor looked at him in disbelief.

Li Hongtian nodded with great certainty.

Victor was as if struck by lightning, frozen in place on the spot.

One thousand people at a time; if this were applied to the battlefield to deploy troops, wouldn't it be invincible?

Victor could not help but let his imagination run wild.

After his reverie, he looked at Li Hongtian; it certainly wouldn't be simple for the Longyan to build such a transport line in Austria.

"What are you Longyan planning? Such a good thing, and you're willing to build it in our Austria?"

Li Hongtian had long since thought of how to answer: "General Weikeduo, I have come this time only to discuss business cooperation with Austria. You can rest assured that this Railway will absolutely not be used to do anything that harms Austria's security."

Victor gave a cold laugh: "Mr. Li Hongtian, the problem now is not whether this Railway will harm the security of our Austria."

"But rather, why I should agree to let you Longyan build a Railway in Austria."

"After all, from a long-term perspective, the existence of this Railway will accelerate the development of our Austria."

"For you Longyan, it is almost all harm and no benefit."

"I deeply suspect your motives for doing this."

Li Hongtian did not continue speaking; Victor's suspicion was reasonable and logical.

A transport tool like a Railway that could change an era being built in a hostile country sounded very unrealistic.

After all, looking at the current results after construction, it was actually Austria that would gain more benefits.

The Longyan would not only have to spend the money to build the Railway, but also spend a vast amount of time and manpower.

However, having said that.

If the Longyan were to use force against Austria, such a transport tool could change the landscape of the battlefield.

Victor had considered this point and had to be on guard! The recent transcoding is severe; let us have more motivation to update faster. Please move your little hands to exit reading mode. Thank you.