Chapter 8 6. Solomon wins Austria

In their (Rothschilds) eyes there is no war and peace, no slogans and proclamations, no sacrifice or honor, and they ignore these things that confuse the eyes of the world.They only see stepping stones.Prince William was one, and Metternich was next.Frederick.Merton Solomon is Meyer's second child, and travels between major European cities all year round, acting as a coordinating role among the various banks of the family.Among his brothers, he had the most outstanding diplomatic ability, and he was exquisite in his speech and skillful in flattery.A banker who dealt with Solomon once commented that he was not refreshed when no one left him.It was for this reason that his brethren recommended him to Vienna to start banking in the heart of Europe.

Vienna was the political center of Europe at that time, and almost all European royal families were inextricably related to the Austrian Habsburg dynasty.As the royal family of the Holy Roman Empire (disintegrated in 1806), the Habsburg dynasty ruled Austria, Germany, northern Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and eastern France for more than four hundred years , is the oldest and most authentic royal blood in Europe. Although the Napoleonic Wars defeated the Holy Roman Empire, its successor, Austria, still regarded itself as the leader of Central Europe and was superior to other royal families.In addition, its orthodox Catholic doctrine is much more rigid than Protestant countries such as Britain and France.Dealing with such a noble family is much higher than that of Prince William.Although the Rothschild family tried to establish business relations with the Habsburgs several times in the past, they were always kept out of the circle by the royal family and were not allowed to enter.

When Solomon knocked on the gate of Vienna again after the Napoleonic Wars, the situation was completely different.The Rothschild family has become a prestigious family in Europe for a while, and with the vigor to conquer Britain and France, they have a lot of confidence.Even so, Solomon did not dare to negotiate business directly with the Habsburg people for the first time, but found a stepping stone. He was the Austrian foreign minister Metternich, who was well-known in European politics in the nineteenth century. In Europe after the defeat of Napoleon, the Viennese system led by Metternich maintained the longest period of peace in Europe in the nineteenth century.Under the unfavorable situation of Austria's declining and powerful enemies, he brought the essence of checks and balances to the extreme.He took advantage of Habsburg's remaining royal orthodoxy in Europe to draw neighboring Prussia and Russia to form a holy alliance, which not only contained France's comeback, but also contained the restlessness of Russia's expansion, and formed a joint suppression of nationalism and The mechanism of the wave of liberalism has ensured that the multi-ethnic separatist forces in Austria will not get out of control.

The Aachen Conference in 1818 was an important meeting to discuss the future of Europe after the Napoleonic Wars. Representatives from Britain, Russia, Austria, Prussia, France and other countries decided on France's war reparations and the withdrawal of the Allies.Both Solomon and his brother Carl attended the meeting.It was at this meeting that Solomon got acquainted with Metternich after being introduced by Metternich's right-hand man Kings, and quickly became close friends with Metternich. On the one hand, Solomon's soul-stirring praise made Metternich On the other hand, Metternich also wanted to take advantage of the wealth and power of the Rothschild family, and the two hit it off when they got together.Solomon and Kings are even more indistinguishable from each other.

Under the strong recommendation of Metternich and Kings, coupled with Rothschild's close business relationship with Prince William and the Danish royal family, the tall Habsburg wall was finally crossed by Solomon.The royal family began to make regular and frequent loans and financing from Solomon's bank, and Solomon soon became an insider.In 1822, the Habsburg royal family awarded the four Rothschild brothers (except Nathan) the title of baron. With Solomon's great support, Metternich began to expand Austria's influence and sent troops to troubled areas to defend peace. This made Austria, which was already declining in national strength, fall into a deeper debt quagmire, and thus became more dependent on Solomon's silver box.Europe from 1814 to 1848 is called Metternich's era, but it was the Rothschild Bank that actually controlled Metternich.

In 1822, the three brothers Metternich, Kings, Solomon, James and Karl participated in the important Veronese Conference.After the meeting, the Rothschild Bank got lucrative funding for the project of the first China-Europe railway.The Austrians felt more and more of Rothschild's influence, and people started talking about Austria having an Emperor Ferdinand and a King Solomon.In 1843, Salomon acquired the Vitkovice Consolidated Mining Company and the Austria︱Hungary Smelting Company, both of which were among the ten largest heavy industry companies in the world at that time. By 1848 Solomon had become the master of Austria's finances and economy.