Holy Roman Empire

After research by a group of priests who were theologians and part-time meteorologists, the last auspicious date was set on March 1855, 3.

The preparations had already begun, and Franz had to ask occasionally to show the importance he attached to this marriage.

Marriage is a good thing, especially with a person you like.Well, Franz admits that his feelings for Princess Helen are mediocre, but for an emperor, being able to marry someone he doesn't hate as his wife is considered happiness.

Franz's good mood didn't last long, and trouble came.

"Your Majesty, our plan to buy gold has failed. The price of gold in the international market has skyrocketed by 20.00%. It would be too much of a loss if we continue to buy.

After our investigation, we found that the increase in the price of gold in the international market was planned by the British in order to prevent us from buying gold. " said the Chancellor of the Exchequer with a tired face.

It can be seen that he must not have slept well for several days.

At the critical moment of currency value reform, the British raised the price of gold and prevented Austria from buying it, obviously with ill intentions.This kind of thing happened, and the pressure from the chancellor who led the currency reform can be imagined.

Franz frowned. Under normal circumstances, the British had no reason to obstruct the reform of the currency value of the new Holy Roman Empire. The increase in the number of members of the gold standard system was also good for them.

"Have you found out the purpose of the British doing this?"

Asked Franz, he did not believe that the British did this for profit.If it is just to raise the price of gold and make a fortune from it, then it is enough to slow down the unit price.

As long as the increase is not too large, in order to increase the gold reserves, the Vienna government will recognize it?

It has increased by 20.00% all of a sudden. With such a huge gap, idiots will continue to buy.

Forcibly raising the price of gold is not without cost.Regardless of whether the capitalists who speculate on the price of gold can make a profit, but after the appreciation of gold, the pound sterling linked to gold also appreciates.

This is equivalent to a 20.00% appreciation of the British pound. With such a large increase, the cost of industrial and commercial products in the UK will naturally increase significantly, making it difficult to maintain competitiveness in international trade.

Are the British capitalists tired of living and ready to play themselves to death?

From the beginning to the end, Franz never thought that this was planned by the London government.To do this is to kill one thousand enemies and harm oneself by eight hundred. Who would do something that harms others and does not benefit oneself?

Carl replied with a look of embarrassment: "It is said that it is to prevent us from buying gold, so that we cannot raise enough gold as a reserve fund."

He himself did not believe this statement.Austria is also an old empire, and there are still traditions.Gold reserves on the gold standard can be raised domestically if the government is willing to pay the price.

As long as the government's reputation is high enough and recognized by the market, even if the gold reserves are slightly insufficient, the gold standard reform can still be completed.

In the final analysis, the issuance of banknotes still depends on the credibility of the government. The Russians are a negative example. They are not worried about insufficient reserves, but the paper rubles they issued before still have no one to buy.

The British can't directly destroy the market's confidence in the new Holy Roman Empire, can they?If they had this strength, they would have threatened the Vienna government long ago during the Near East War.

Franz sneered and said: "Continue to check, if you can't buy gold, forget it. Anyway, we have already prepared, and the gold for the currency reform is barely enough.

The remaining shortfall is not big, and the big deal is to exchange it with countries that use gold and silver. The British have the power to raise the price of the European gold trading market. I don't believe they have the ability to raise the price of gold all over the world.

However, we still have to make a posture of continuing to buy gold, let the British continue to maintain the high level of gold, and see how long they can last! "

Lack of information is the biggest drawback of this era. In areas where the information is not well-informed, the gold-silver ratio remains the same.

To raise the global gold price, unless the British maintain a high gold price for several years, many regions outside of Europe will not be able to react at all.

Franz laughed if England did.The big deal is that the reform of the gold standard will be delayed for a few years. This is not in a hurry, and it will not be fatal if it is a year late or a year early.

I just don’t know whether the UK’s industry and commerce can sustain it, because the increase in production costs caused by the rise in currency value is bound to greatly reduce the international competitiveness of British products.

Of course, the profits of overseas trade in this era are relatively large. Franz believes that capitalists take such a big risk to carry out ocean trade, and there is still a 20.00% profit.

It is still possible to maintain the competitiveness of products without raising prices.However, trade on the European continent may not be so profitable.

Even though the British are the world's number one industrial power, it doesn't mean that they can have an advantage in every field, and these industries can't stand this blow.

Franz even once had the idea of ​​raising the pound and hitting British industry and commerce, but he stifled it in an instant.

As far as Austria's capital is concerned, if it really plays a head-on game with British capital in the financial market, the possibility of losing is almost nine out of nine.

London

The Granville cabinet was dumbfounded. It was they who raised the price of gold, but they were not prepared to raise it so much at once!

According to the original plan, they just raised a few points to let the Vienna government retreat and accept their conditions, but they were not prepared to let the price of gold soar so much.

It's a pity that they ignore that there is another group in this world - speculators.

It has not been a day or two since Britain's domestic capital has been too prosperous. The rapid economic growth of the United States and Austria cannot be separated from the help of British capital.

This time the government raised the price of gold, and it was sought after by everyone, so it just went up.The gold-silver ratio rises rapidly, and then it gets out of control.

There are only two ways before the London government, either immediately sell a batch of gold to calm the price turmoil in the capital market; or depreciate silver, and the price of silver has fallen, so the current high exchange rate is normal.

One of the reasons why everyone is so enthusiastic about gold now is the reform of the gold standard in the new Holy Roman Empire.

Once the Vienna government completes the currency value reform, the new Holy Roman Empire will certainly not hold so much silver. This silver will flow into the market, causing a sharp drop in silver prices.

Speculators have a keen eye. They judged that the price of silver will fall in the future through the most basic information in their hands, and then they started to act.

To some extent, even if the London government does nothing, this situation will still happen, and the rising gold-silver exchange rate is the general trend.

This decision is not easy to make, and it will affect the whole body.

Selling gold to quell the turmoil and stabilize the value of the pound, then the plan to prevent the Vienna government from buying gold will go bankrupt. In the future, if they want to bring the Holy Roman Empire into their pound-gold system, they will have to pay a greater price.

Of course, it is not without gains. The London government will make a fortune from this operation, which can make up for their wounded hearts.

The depreciation of silver also has to consider the consequences. The most direct is the depreciation of the currencies of silver-standard countries. The economic response is that the commodity exports of these countries will become more competitive.

Under the ebb and flow, it will affect the export of industrial and commercial products in the UK, and then affect the British economy.

Prime Minister Granville asked anxiously: "What plan does the Ministry of Finance have to calm this storm?"

Without any hesitation, the chancellor of the exchequer, George Gray, gave the answer: "Your Excellency, the best way now is to sell the gold we bought and let the market return to normal.

This is the approach that has the least impact on the domestic economy. Since we bought at a low price, we can still make a fortune by selling it now.

And it must be fast, the Vienna government still has not given up its plan to buy gold, which is simply stimulating the nerves of speculators.

It is very likely that they have discovered our plan, and now they are deliberately acting as if they must win, just to see our jokes.

If it drags on for a long time and more speculators join in, it will be difficult for us to calm down the storm. "

The gold purchased by the government and the reserves of the currency issued are completely two concepts, and they are even carried out by two different systems.

In the era of the gold standard, the government cannot take it for granted to decide to reduce reserves or increase reserves. These must be done according to actual needs.

The consequences of taking rash action have already been felt by the London government.A wrong signal triggers a swarm of speculators, and the final result is disastrous.

Who makes gold a hard currency? In the eyes of many people, it will not depreciate at all. Even if it is smashed in the hands, it will not lose much.

After much hesitation, Prime Minister Granville made a decision: "No matter what, we must first calm down the turmoil in the price of gold and stabilize the value of the pound.

The Ministry of Finance immediately began selling gold and communicating with domestic consortiums that we need their help! "

Even though he knew that it would cost a lot, Prime Minister Granville still chose to seek help from the consortium. Otherwise, it might be difficult to calm down the storm in a short time with the strength of the London government alone.

Chapter 5 Big Wedding

Facts have proved that Prime Minister Granville's thinking is too good. The biggest black hand behind the skyrocketing price of gold is the British consortium, and speculators are just pawns who charge forward on the bright side.

Don't these financial consortiums know the consequences of blindly raising the price of gold?Obviously this is impossible. They are all professionals, not the few amateurs in the cabinet government.

But they still did it for the sake of benefit, and even the Granville cabinet government made the decision to raise the price of gold and hinder the Vienna government from buying gold, and the shadow of the consortium was indispensable behind it.

It's just that Britain is not the United States after all, and the financial consortium can't cover the sky with one hand, so it's very subtle. It just bribed members of the government's think tank to make this suggestion, and didn't directly stand on the table.

This is not a big deal. In history, some people published articles in newspapers that cabinet ministers often read, which in turn affected British politics.

There is no way, the elected politicians cannot be all-rounders!In many fields, they are laymen, and they are at the same level as many people who eat melons. It is really not difficult to fool them.

This silent way of nourishing things is often fooled, and politicians themselves don't know it.Many idiot policies are formulated in this way.

It is naturally impossible for the consortium to raise the price of gold to earn such a small price difference, and more to beat competitors.

The rise in the price of gold has led to an increase in the value of the British pound, which will naturally affect domestic industry and commerce.For a large enterprise with a large business, they can sustain this short-term fluctuation.

For most small and medium-sized capitalists, it is undoubtedly a pass through the door of hell.

In the era of rapid economic development, everyone is expanding, and the cost has suddenly skyrocketed. In a short period of time, many companies have entered a state of loss, and this loss-making capital chain has problems.

The opportunity of the consortium is coming, either accept their conditions, or prepare to go bankrupt!No matter how you choose, this is a capital feast where the big fish eat the small fish.

The London stock market has always been a barometer of the British economy. The fluctuations in the price of gold first affected the stock market, and speculators were the first to be unlucky.

The ups and downs of gold prices have caused leveraged players to lose money successfully.

The gold mining companies that were originally popular lost 30.00% of their market value in one day, and related industries also suffered bad luck.

According to economic experts, after the new Holy Roman Empire adopted the gold standard system, the demand for gold in the market increased greatly, and the rise in gold price was inevitable.

Everyone believed it when the stock market was soaring. Since it is good news, companies will naturally expand production. Only by expanding production can they make more money in the market.

Now that the price of gold has plummeted, the market has been stimulated, and the stock price has continued to plummet. Investors should not be fooled, and the consortiums have successfully completed the first round of harvest.

Not only these related companies, but other industries have also been affected.The rapid fluctuations in the value of the British pound have directly caused many companies to lose their pants.

Especially for those engaged in overseas trade, the value of the British pound first rose by 20.00%, and then returned to normal. The loss in this exchange rate alone is enough to make everyone cry.

For many small and medium-sized enterprises, this fluctuation directly killed them.Not all companies are eligible to be acquired by consortiums, and many companies with poor performance and meager profits have directly entered bankruptcy mode.

In just a few months, more than [-] companies in the British Empire were merged and reorganized, and more than [-] companies were directly bankrupt and liquidated.The tide of bankruptcy is coming, and the era of big monopoly is coming.

When the belated Granville government reacted, it was too late.Things have happened, even if the consortium is stopped, the government has no way to continue the life of these companies.

10 Downing Street

Prime Minister Granville sat there motionless with a haggard face, apparently the recent incident had hit him hard.

Before he had time to display his ambitions, the new official shot himself in the foot at the first fire of taking office, which severely dampened his confidence.

After sorting out his thoughts, Prime Minister Granville said: "Everyone, we were tricked by the consortium this time, and we were completely led by their noses.

I'm afraid I jumped into their trap from the very beginning.The matter has come to this point, and the matter of accountability has been exposed first, how should we deal with the aftermath now? "

Everyone was silent, what else could they do besides pinching their noses to admit it?Are you looking for a black hand behind the scenes?

They are just behind the scenes. Within the scope of the rules, whoever makes their own judgment is not good enough, they have not gone too far from the beginning to the end. If they want to find someone to settle accounts, they all know who to turn to.

The hairy Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Gray, who was stared at by Prime Minister Granville, bit the bullet and replied: "Prime Minister, it is still necessary to rescue the market as soon as possible to restore confidence in the market and prevent the situation from deteriorating."

Although most of the companies that have gone bankrupt this time are small and medium-sized enterprises with little competitiveness, the unemployed people brought about and the stock market crisis triggered are all real.

If the aftermath is not dealt with quickly, the current stock market crisis and bankruptcies will soon lead to a nationwide economic crisis, and the situation will really be out of control.

Prime Minister Granville frowned and asked: "You mean to continue to turn to the consortium for help, and you are not afraid of being swallowed up by them?"

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Gray said in a very cold tone: "But we have no choice, don't we? If we don't get out of the crisis as soon as possible, then we will be nailed to the pillar of shame together and become a negative teaching material in the history books.

Perhaps they will write that the idiot cabinet government artificially created an economic crisis in order to prevent the government of Vienna from buying gold and reforming the gold standard system.

As for the issue of the consortium, isn't there still a settlement after autumn?If they cooperate with us well, it will be fine to suppress this crisis.

If they keep going, it would be a good choice to drag them to hell with us before we are finished. "

I have to say that the Granville cabinet is lucky, the UK has not yet experienced large-scale overcapacity, otherwise their show operation will be immortal.

If the British economic crisis breaks out, it is impossible for Austria to be alone. As long as the British capital withdraws capital, the Vienna government will naturally lose the opportunity to reform the currency value if it wants to stabilize the domestic economy.

But for the British, it was in their interest that the Vienna government complete the reform of the gold standard system, which would help trade between the two countries.

Because of blocking Austrian reforms, it triggered a domestic economic crisis.That is to harm the interests of the British Empire, and then create an economic crisis.It is estimated that the British believed them when they were said to be foreign spies.

As for the explanation?It is impossible for them to have the opportunity to explain, as a loser, they have no right to speak.If the consortium cannot wash itself clean, it is not a consortium.

Even if the explanation is clear, they are one of the most stupid cabinets in British history, and they are well-deserved.

Don't expect anyone to help them clean up the land. If they are harming themselves and benefiting others, maybe in the future everyone will help them clean up for political needs.

It's even possible to have the greatest administration ever blown up.They are naturally clear about this kind of operation.

Things have already happened, and rational politicians naturally want to minimize the impact, and it is inevitable to continue to cooperate with the consortium.

Even in order to force the consortium to contribute, George Gray even threatened.Although it is impossible to die together, they can still do it if they counterattack at any cost and severely damage the consortium.

To put it bluntly, the consortia in this era are still growing and are far from reaching their peak. There are still bureaucratic groups and aristocratic groups in the government that can check and balance their power.

This is why after the World War, the London government introduced a series of idiotic policies to attack the military aristocrats who made great contributions in the war. It seems that the government is like the gravedigger of the British Empire.

This can also be seen as an extension of the power struggle. The capitalists who have gained an advantage cut off their source of power when the aristocratic group is weak.

As an executor launched by the capital group, he naturally received rich returns, received high praise in history, and became the greatest person in British history.

Prime Minister Granville nodded helplessly. If he didn't want to step down in disgrace, a compromise would be inevitable.

……

When the crisis broke out in England, Franz's wedding also began.There is no unconventional, completely in accordance with the tradition of the Habsburg dynasty.