Holy Roman Empire

Now once the development of New Brook is successful, everyone's credit will be in place in one step.With real political achievements in hand, he might even get a hereditary title.

Everyone who is willing to come to the colony is naturally ambitious.It may not be possible in other countries to seal borders, but it is really not difficult in the new Holy Roman Empire.

If the big nobles in the country are willing to transfer their fiefs to the African continent, they can immediately establish a feudal country. Franz doesn't care about adding a few seats to the Imperial Council.

……

After boosting morale, Mayor Stephen said solemnly: "Silence! Now let's discuss how to implement the safety and health law to further reduce the death of immigrants caused by diseases."

Health Secretary Matt Damon said: "Mr. Mayor, we have already done a good job in popularizing safety and health knowledge, even if we compare it with any city in China, it will not be much worse.

What can be further improved now is the extermination of insects and rodents. Many diseases are spread through pests such as flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches, and mice.

The specific measures are: clear the vegetation around the residential area, and establish an open isolation zone of one or two miles, so that the insects can be effectively isolated.

Incinerate urban waste to eliminate the living environment of insects and ants.

Residents are called upon to eradicate rodents manually, such as putting rat poison, mouse traps, raising cats, etc.

......"

Environmental friendly?No need, at least not in the African colonies, for the sake of insect control, the city has no vegetation from the beginning.

It's a pity that the cement has to be transported from China, so the cost of concrete is too high. Otherwise, the effect will be better if the urban area is hardened again.

Mayor Stephen said with satisfaction: "As long as it is confirmed that your method is effective, the city government will allocate funds for your implementation."

Health Secretary Matt Damon replied in the affirmative: "We have done experiments, and after clearing the grass and burning the land, the number of insects will be greatly reduced.

If it is promoted throughout the city, no foreign insects will enter, and if we do a good job in sanitation in the urban area, the number of insects can be reduced. "

Mayor Stephen made a decision without hesitation: "Since it is effective, the budget should be approved immediately, and the Finance Bureau will allocate funds for implementation."

The vigorous and resolute style of the soldiers is fully displayed.

"Yes, Mayor!" Matt Damon replied

Mayor Stephen continued: "Let's discuss agricultural development. The central government requires that within three years, 5 hectares of farms or plantations be opened in the New Brook area.

Theoretically speaking, the terrain around New Brook is flat, as long as the trees and weeds on it are cleaned up.

Not to mention the development of 5 hectares of land, even if it is 30 to [-] hectares of land, there will be no problem. The only difficulty lies in the shortage of labor force.

The country promises to provide us with another [-] immigrants next year, but how to let the immigrants open up farms and plantations is our task. "

The Secretary of Agriculture, Engelbert, explained: "Mr. Mayor, our people are not unwilling to invest in farms, but more because of insufficient funds in their hands to open up farms or plantations.

The people's financial strength is limited, so why don't we organize loggers to cut down trees in a unified way, sell the valuable wood, and keep the rest as firewood for the people.

After clearing these obstacles, the cost of developing these lands in the later stage will be greatly reduced, which should increase everyone's enthusiasm. "

Gold, the director of the mining industry, thought for a while and said: "The people don't have enough funds to deal with it. We can come forward to communicate with the bank and use these farms as collateral for loans.

The only problem is that the loan interest rate of banks in the New Brook area is too high, which exceeds the affordability of the people. If it can be reduced to the same level as the country, then it will be feasible. "

Engelbert explained: "There is no way to do this, and our Farm Bureau has already communicated with the bank.

The prices and labor costs in the New Brook area are much higher than those in China, and the accidental death rate of immigrants is also high.Banks not only have higher operating costs, but also take on greater risks.

If you want banks to lower interest rates, unless our city government comes forward to guarantee loans and reduce the commercial risks they bear.

It's a pity that there are regulations in China that government agencies are not allowed to provide guarantees for any individual or enterprise, let alone guarantee loans. "

Opening up a farm is different from digging a gold mine. Before the farm is developed, the so-called property rights are worthless. Gold mines are different. No matter whether the property rights are developed or not, people will take over.

Loans to farmers will become bad debts in case of accidents. It is impossible for banks to take over unfinished farms for development.

The risk is high, and the interest rate cannot be low. This is a normal business operation, and the city government cannot intervene.

After a moment of silence, Mayor Stephen said: "This problem is not something we can solve, and the city government's finances are not rich enough to provide the funds.

Everyone first unifies their position, and then reports to the country in the name of the municipal government, and applies for a policy loan from the central bank.We are in compliance with the relevant regulations and should be approved. "

……

Chapter 21 Locking Up the Economy

The development of the colony only involved a small part of the energy of the Vienna government, and the current focus is still on the country.

After the end of the Near East War, it is reasonable to say that the speed of economic development in Austria should decline, but the capitalist free economic market is often irrational.

The economy of the entire new Holy Roman Empire is like a horse-drawn carriage that is out of control, racing forward all the way. At this time, the brakes can no longer be pulled, and one can only watch the carriage go further and further on the road of no return.

Government intervention in the market economy?Franz didn't want to be blamed for detonating the economic crisis, nor could he afford it.

The overall overcapacity in the capitalist world determines that no matter what measures are taken, an economic crisis will erupt.

Taking measures can only prolong the outbreak of the crisis, and the longer the crisis is prolonged, the greater the destructive power it will bring.

This is not a problem of one country in the new Holy Roman Empire, but involves all capitalist countries. Unless everyone intervenes in the market together, it is possible to survive the crisis smoothly.

Vienna Palace Economic Conference

Franz took out a document and distributed it to everyone, and said seriously: "This is the latest economic report, please read it carefully.

The situation of blind investment in our country is very serious. Many industries have experienced overcapacity, and a large number of products have been backlogged.

In the short term, it is impossible for us to find a new market to absorb these excess production capacity.

Although the newly developed Balkan Peninsula and African colonization consume part of the production capacity.

But the speed of new markets is far behind the madness of the domestic capital market.

The same is true abroad. All major capitalist countries have experienced overcapacity to varying degrees.At present, the situation of us and the United States is the most serious.

This is a risk that must be borne when a large amount of foreign capital is introduced.Once the economic crisis breaks out, British and French capital will definitely withdraw funds to leave the market. If we fail to properly dispose of them, the consequences will be very serious. "

Chancellor of the Exchequer Carl said: "Your Majesty, we cannot directly interfere with the free flow of capital. The best way now is to guide them to the real economy.

When capital becomes real estate such as factories, railways, and infrastructure, it will be difficult for them to leave. "

When the capital becomes real estate, it is necessary to cut the meat if you want to leave the market. During the economic crisis, these industries are worthless, and even no buyers can be found.

No one will take over the offer, and the capital invested will be locked up by the market. If you want to get out of the trap, wait for the economy to pick up!

But once the economy picks up, many of these industries will become high-quality assets again, and there is no need for capitalists to abandon these industries.

Prime Minister Felix frowned and said: "The consequences of doing so are too great, if more foreign capital is invested in the real economy, the situation of overcapacity will become more serious.

Even if these capitals are retained, the scale of the economic crisis will be exacerbated, and the final harm will be borne by us. "

Chancellor of the Exchequer Carr explained: "There are two sides to everything and the best way to mitigate the crisis is to get them to invest in urban infrastructure.

For example: now we have promoted urban safe drinking water projects, drainage pipe network reconstruction, urban road construction...

There is no overcapacity in these industries, and the new Holy Roman Empire has more than 300 cities.Because of government funding, we are currently only doing infrastructure improvements in big cities.

These areas can accommodate a large amount of capital, but once the economic crisis breaks out and the capital chain of capitalists breaks, there will be a large number of unfinished projects, which still need to be taken over by the government. "

Prime Minister Felix asked with concern: "The acquisition is a small problem. The biggest problem is the construction of urban infrastructure, which has always been funded by the government. These projects basically have no possibility of making profits.

If you want capitalists to invest, you must first let them see the point of profit.The urban safe drinking water project is nothing more than that. The waterworks can charge water fees. How can other infrastructures make money? "

Chancellor of the Exchequer Carr explained: "Of course there is no profit point. The investment in infrastructure construction is too large, and most of the projects are public welfare. It is impossible to make money from the projects themselves.

So we have to go sideways, for example: invite public bids, the government will only provide a small amount of money in the early stage, let the capitalists advance funds for construction, and settle the project payment after the completion of the project through acceptance.

These projects cannot be completed in a short period of time, and the amount of investment is very large. Once the economic crisis breaks out and the banks tighten their money, the economic chain of most capitalists will be broken.

As long as it is stated in the contract that we will not pay for unfinished projects, we can save a lot of money.

If the consortium behind these foreign capitals is willing to inject funds to continue to complete these projects, then it would be the best.

The influx of new capital and the continued construction of these projects will inevitably drive the economy of many industries, and this economic crisis will be over.

Anyway, the money for infrastructure construction will have to be paid out sooner or later, and we will still make money if we can survive an economic crisis smoothly. "

Franz's eyes lit up, isn't this a copy of Roosevelt's New Economic Policy?It's just that the scale is not that big, and the initial basic starting point is not to survive the economic crisis, but to hold foreign capital.

That's right, it's stuck.As long as money is invested in infrastructure projects, it will be locked up.Don't expect the Viennese government to pay in advance until it's finished.

Either the capitalists will tide over the difficulties with Austria, and everyone will fight this economic crisis together; or they will cut their flesh and leave the market, and all previous investments will be in vain.

In order to mitigate the damage caused by the economic crisis, dragging people into the water is the best choice now.In the worst case, nothing more than leaving a lot of unfinished projects, the Vienna government is responsible for taking over.

In the past, Franz could make the capitalists jump into the huge pit of railway construction, but now he naturally doesn't care about letting them jump into the pit of infrastructure construction.

This cannot be regarded as a scam. During the period of normal economic development, they are all proper high-quality projects, and there is no such thing as cheating.

After thinking about it, Franz warned: "The plan is very good, but we must pay attention to the speed.

It must be ensured that the successful bidders are all powerful capitalists. If a group of unconnected households get the project, we will be the ones who will be cheated in the end.

Retaining foreign capital is only a means, not an end. Our ultimate goal is to get through this economic crisis smoothly.

According to the current situation, serious overproduction has occurred in the capitalist world, and the economic crisis has broken out, which is a problem within a year or two.

When necessary, a margin system can be introduced.Let the capitalists who undertake these projects pay the project security fund first, and return it after the project is successfully completed. "

When the economic crisis broke out, in addition to overcapacity, another feature was the lack of money in the market.Everyone's funds are concentrated in the hands of a few people, resulting in a lack of liquidity.

Now is the age of the gold standard, and it is impossible to issue a large number of additional currencies.Unless the economic crisis is too severe to bear, Franz will not devalue the currency.

So it is very important to keep capital in the country as much as possible. Compulsory means to supervise finance and prohibit capital outflows are the worst means.

If you are unable to change the rules, then it is very necessary to abide by the rules, and blindly breaking the rules is bound to be backlashed.

As a member of vested interests in the rule system, Franz does not think that breaking the rules is suitable for Austria.

It is necessary to retain foreign capital within the scope of the rules. In this case, Franz does not want the second generation of nobles in the country to come out to make trouble.

It's not a joke, it's a fact.Just because a noble family is rich does not mean that every member of the family is rich. In fact, many noble children can only get a small portion of the property.

Land, titles, and core industries will not be divided, otherwise these families will decline in a few generations.

The eldest sons who often inherit the family business have enough assets to inherit and will not go out to mess around; the second sons who do not have much assets are often active in gray areas.

Franz has encountered this kind of dead boy a lot. During the Great Revolution of 1848, I don't know how many noble families, because these children died, and the families behind them were ruined.

Afterwards, the major aristocratic families strengthened their restraint on their children. Most of the noble children with active thoughts encountered brutal suppression by their parents.

In recent years, they have all behaved relatively peacefully. After all, they have personally experienced the Great Revolution. One-third of the nobles in the country lost their titles, and half of the families fell due to this. Everyone has a sense of awe.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Karl asked suspiciously: "Your Majesty, what is the margin system?"

It's not that he is ignorant, but that there is no concept of margin system in this era, and the earliest guarantee system will not appear until 40 years later.

It is normal for such an advanced concept to be incomprehensible.Everyone has become accustomed to Franz's active thinking and often puts forward some new ideas.

Franz explained: "It's very simple to ask the winning bidder to pay a sum of money as a guarantee for the smooth completion of the project.

Including labor wage payment guarantee, project quality guarantee, and normal completion guarantee of engineering projects.After the project is successfully completed and the wages of the workers are settled, the government will return the guarantee money in full. "

Prime Minister Felix asked: "Your Majesty, isn't the money deducted from the construction fund the same?"

Franz shook his head and said: "It's different, the deduction from the project fund cannot determine the capitalist's financial strength.

They completely took the contract signed with the government, went out to find bank loans, and relied on bank loans to complete the project.

If it does not matter in normal times, it will not affect the normal progress of the project, but once the economic crisis occurs, the situation will be different if the bank shrinks its money.

Our current goal is to retain foreign investment, not to create opportunities for some people to make a fortune. Once the project is unfinished, we need to deal with the aftermath.

By charging a margin, our risk is minimized.If the capitalists do not want to bear this loss, then they have to tide over the difficulties together with us. "

It's a matter of psychology, the more capital invested, the harder it is for people to let go.The greater the capital locked up, the tighter the interests of the capitalists will be tied to Austria.

In order not to waste the previous investment, the capitalists can only allocate more funds to fill the pit to ensure the normal progress of the project.

Chapter 22 Capital Without Borders

In July 1856, the Vienna government officially began to implement the "Hold-Up Plan". The government increased investment in infrastructure and opened bidding to the outside world.

At the same time, the railway network began to be re-planned, and almost every city was planned for a railway line, and then tendered.

This time, not only domestic railway companies can participate, but overseas railway companies can also participate in the bidding without any investment restrictions.

It is still the old rule that a railway line is only authorized to one railway company, and repeated construction is not allowed to waste resources, so as to satisfy everyone's desire for monopoly operation.

It looks very beautiful, but the prerequisite is that the railway company must start and finish work on time, if you can't do it, prepare to cry!

According to the new plan, once the railway network is completed, the total railway mileage of the new Holy Roman Empire will reach a staggering 9.7 kilometers.

At present, the total railway mileage in the country is only 1.58 kilometers, and the railway project under construction is only 3.21 kilometers, which is almost doubled now.