The final match of this World Cup is being held at the Paris New District Stadium, with the teams facing off being France Team and Milan Team.
The stadium, which originally had a capacity of 20,000 spectators, was crammed with over 27,000 people, with the thunderous shouts audible from 1.5 kilometers away in the city center.
In the front row of the southern VIP seats, Joseph held a small Iris Flower Flag, focusing intently on the players fiercely competing. Though the tactics and skills of football matches these days are quite rudimentary, the intensity far exceeds that of later matches, always enough to get oneâs blood boiling.
Yes, the players on the field are indeed drenched in excitement.
With a brilliant maneuver by France Teamâs number 10, followed by a lob shot into the net, the stands erupted again in a tidal wave of cheers.
The four corners of the stadium with scoreboards over 10 meters high simultaneously changed to display 5:0.
With only the last 4 minutes left until the match ends, France Team has basically secured the championship of the first truly global football tournament.
Soon, the refereeâs whistle blew.
The French players immediately embraced each other in celebration, then moved to the southern side of the stands to line up and bow in saluteâtheir Crown Prince was seated there.
Joseph waved back with a smile, then turned to glance at the Golden Hercules Cup placed behind him, feeling a wave of satisfaction in his heart.
Soon, he would personally present this trophy to the players of France Team.
As for championship-signed footballs, jerseys, and the like, they no longer seemed precious to him, somehow missing the joy they once held.
Prince Charles enthusiastically climbed onto the wooden podium in front of the field, delivered the usual opening remarks, and then loudly announced:
"The team awarded the âFair Play Awardâ in this World Cup isâSaint Domingo Team!"
The poor Saint Domingo Team, mostly composed of black players, dared not lay hands on the white European teams, thus receiving the fewest cards among all teams, earning the Fair Play title without a doubt.
"The âBest Player Awardâ goes to number 10 of the France Team, Baron Brazer!"
"The âGolden Boot Awardâ goes to..."
Brode, seated on the west side of the stands, listened as each award was announced, his face growing increasingly long.
He had bet 100 francs on the Holland Team winning, but they had been eliminated in the second round. Other awards like Best Player, Golden Boot, Golden Ball, etc., were all wrongly bet, costing him nearly 300 francs in losses.
After Prince Charles announced the final "Golden Glove Award," Brode began to wail in anguish: "Truly, âyoung and fond of gambling, old and beggingâ..."
Of course, the smiles never fade away, just transfer from one personâs face to anotherâs.
For instance, Joseph was very happy now, as last nightâs report from the French Ministry of Civil Affairs revealed that this World Cupâs betting income had reached 2.7 million francsâWorld Cup Committee had officially authorized betting rights to the French Ministry of Civil Affairs.
In other words, just this alone, after all World Cup hosting investments were deducted, left a net profit of 1.6 million francs, with ticket sales, advertisements, and such yet uncalculated, undoubtedly resulting in substantial surplus.
Just then, Walshâs servant squeezed through the crowd with a freshly ink-scented Sports Newspaper: "Sir, the âother awardsâ are published."
Brode snatched the newspaper, finding "Best Courage AwardâPalma Teamâs Ricardo Vitti," "Golden Shovel AwardâPoland Teamâs Henryk Horsztow" on the front page.
He instantly felt "recharged," embracing his cousin beside him excitedly: "Haha, I knew it, that big guy from Poland packs a punch, it was indeed him!
"Look, I won a full 40 francs, France truly is my lucky land!"
The so-called Best Courage Award refers to the most "fearless and bold" player across all matchesâspecifically in terms of fighting.
The Golden Shovel Award, on the other hand, goes to the most spectacular sliding tackleâthe one with the greatest potential damage.
Hmm, these less prestigious awards could only be published in newspapers, yet the betting rates were even higher than for things like Best Player.
Meanwhile, Joseph, satisfied, finished awarding the Hercules Cup, and upon returning to the Palace of Versailles, found the Minister of Transportation, Theresa, waiting outside his room.
When he saw the Crown Prince return, he stepped forward to pay respects: "Your Highness, congratulations, I heard France Team has won the championship."
"Yes, a resounding victory." Joseph smiled and nodded but was somewhat puzzled, "You didnât see the match?"
Theresa replied, "You know, there are many matters with the âForeign Railway Investment Plan,â and also, Iâm not very knowledgeable about football."
Once inside the room, he immediately produced a document, handing it to Joseph: "Your Highness, many countries are applying to build railways... Which line would you prefer to prioritize?"
This World Cup had made government officials of various countries aware of the power of railways, and currently, only British and French nations in Europe possess large-scale railway construction technology, yet the former has no trains, and no one can guarantee if its railway technology is compatible with French trains.
So the choice is quite singularâlet France assist in building railways.
During this time, the doors of Theresaâs house were on the verge of being broken down by high-level officials from various countries, putting him, a mere Transportation Minister, in a tough spot.
Whether it was the Crown Princeâs brother-in-law, Prince of Parma Ludovico, the powerful Bavarian King Theodore of Germany, or the affluent Milan President Menotti, rejecting any of them seemed difficult.
Thus, he had to seek the Crown Princeâs decision.
Joseph reviewed the Ministry of Transportationâs railway plans.
The western line extends north from Namur to Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its advantage lies in connecting the affluent Netherlands.
The central line passes through the already connected Trier line, via Cologne to Nassau and Paderborn. Its advantage lies in connecting the coal-producing region of Westphalia, with potential future extensions northward to Prussia.
The eastern line stretches from Baden to Wurttemberg, Bavaria, and finally Saxon. Its advantage is linking the German heartland, significantly enhancing French strategic control here. However, this line is also the longest, plus the countries along its path are not very wealthy.
The southern line connects Nice to Northern Italy, passing through Milan or Parma, ultimately reaching Mantua Fortress. The countries along this line in various Italian states are all relatively wealthy, with potential future extensions northward directly threatening Southern Austria.
Theresa commented from the side: "Your Highness, Milan and Genoa expressed willingness to raise 15 million francs for railway investment, repaying the remaining part over 5 years.
"Nassau and Hesse are willing to contribute 10 million francs...
"Though Bavaria only offers 4 million francs, they can provide 1,000 workers..."
Joseph found it difficult to decide, asking: "How much funding can we allocate now?"
"The Ministry of Finance can allocate 23 million francs, Your Highness."
Joseph exhaled, realizing that this amount of money was only enough to build one line, and it couldnât even be the eastern line.