Holy Roman Empire

The Vienna system is now the best option for ensuring the security of Prussia.If it is not conducive to the development and growth in this peaceful period, it will be really dangerous for us to break the balance of Europe in the future.

The most important thing now is to open up overseas colonies and solve the problems of raw materials and markets needed by domestic industry and commerce, so as to complete industrialization as soon as possible.

Only when our strength becomes stronger, can the Kingdom of Prussia make further progress in the next European change. "

Such a plan is not only for the French, but even the Austrian General Staff, maybe the Russians have similar ideas.

Ron nodded with a wry smile. The reality is too cruel. He does not have Bismarck's eloquence and can persuade everyone to continue to implement the continental strategy.

The international situation has changed. Even if Bismarck is resurrected, there is no way to replicate the success in history, and there is no chance to even take the first step.

Chapter 19 Autonomous Provinces

Franz was surprised by the shipbuilding plan of the Kingdom of Prussia.He never imagined that Prussia, who was bent on defeating the army, would suddenly run to develop the navy.

However, after consulting the development of the Kingdom of Prussia in recent years, Franz understood their approach.

Domestic industry and commerce need cheap raw materials and markets. The European continent has stabilized, and the Kingdom of Prussia has no hope of growing.

According to the current situation, if the delay continues, even if the German region is unified, they will still be the target of unification.

No one wants to wait for death, and take advantage of the outbreak of a wave of navy in peacetime, maybe they can survive the Jedi.

In order for the Junker nobles to accept this cruel reality, William I personally acted as a lobbyist and promised benefits.

It is unknown whether the overseas colonial expansion government can make a profit, but domestic capitalists will definitely be able to make a profit.

If the nobles were willing to act as the main force of the colonization, their share would naturally be indispensable.

This is why many colonial empires suffered financial losses.Those with vested interests took too much and were unwilling to pay taxes to the government, and dumped administrative expenses to the government.

This situation is more obvious in the old empires, where the government is unable to suppress these interest groups and cannot collect taxes.Coupled with the corruption of the bureaucratic group, wealth was swallowed up, and finally there was a loss.

Short-term losses are acceptable, but over time the government's financial support limit has been exceeded. Domestic interest groups are unwilling to continue to pay for this and simply let the colonies become independent.

The most typical representative is the dominion created by the British. Who would have imagined that the colonial governments of South Africa, Australia, and India would actually lose money?

The Americans also suffered from this loss at the beginning. The Philippines and Cuba, which can earn tens of millions of dollars a year in the hands of the Spaniards, have been losing money in their hands.

In the end, I lost more than one billion yuan, so I couldn't stand it and let it go.It is the result of the joint action of capitalists and bureaucratic groups.

After this lesson, the U.S. government has clearly realized its own shortcomings, and even the domestic capitalists cannot be suppressed, let alone overseas colonies.

This is why Franz defined the African colony as Germany's second home from the very beginning.

Since it is a second home, it cannot be a simple colonial rule. When the number of immigrants reaches a certain number, it will be localized.

It can be regarded as a good time to catch up, telegraph technology has made a breakthrough, and the submarine cable to the African continent has almost been laid.

Ease of communication is a necessary factor for localized management.This is only effective for newly established colonies, and the establishment time is too short. Local interest groups have no time to establish and grow, and the bureaucratic groups have not yet degenerated.

If the old colony has already formed an interest group, it can only be suppressed by force, or there will be a big purge.

To do this, there must be a strong government and the ability to suppress rebellions.

……

The head of intelligence, Tai Lun, handed over a document to Franz and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, the French have extorted money in the Balkan Peninsula, and have also purged many people who opposed them. Here are the detailed information, please read it."

After flipping through the information, Franz was in a dazed state.I don't know which genius gave Napoleon III a good idea, but he actually wanted to use Balkan immigrants to develop overseas colonies.

That's a really good idea.The people of the Balkan Peninsula are tough, and it will not be so easy for these people to rule if they stay where they are.Once you go to the colonies, it will be different. If you are not familiar with the place, you have no choice but to rely on the French.

Anyway, the French have many colonies, and if these people are scattered and resettled, they will not become the mainstream in any place.

Franz has a deep understanding of this point. There are not many other things in the Balkan Peninsula, but there are many ethnic groups, which also means that the population of each ethnic group is not large.

Those with a population of 100 million are considered large ethnic groups. At present, there are only two ethnic groups: Bulgaria and Romania, and the number of Greeks is about to reach 100 million.

In addition to the most influential factors of war, this is also related to the immigration policy of the Vienna government, which directly made the Bulgarians the largest ethnic group in the Balkans.

In the French Balkans, there are no major ethnic groups. There are more than 20 ethnic groups, large and small, with a combined population of less than 400 million. There are also many internal conflicts. We know that these people cannot hug each other if they want to.

Franz hesitated, he didn't know if he should do something now and make some troubles for the French.

After all, the current French immigration methods are somewhat rubbish. Relying on poll taxes to increase immigration can easily cause a backlash.Just a shove in the back and an armed explosion takes place.

"Continue to pay attention to the actions of the French. If there is a chance, you can provoke the conflict between the Principality of Montenegro and them."

Franz is not John Bull. He did not do things that hurt others and benefit himself.The French immigration from the Balkans is also beneficial to Austria. When will this source of turmoil in the province break out again and spread to Austria.

However, the instinct of the great powers is still there. Not destroying the French immigrants does not mean that they cannot be stabbed.

The Principality of Montenegro is not the master of peace, but the two neighbors around it are too terrifying, so they restrained their ambitions temporarily.

For the stability of the Austrian Balkan Peninsula, Franz decided without hesitation to turn the tide of disaster.

This is just a small trouble, and it will not affect the plans of the French. Even if there is a conflict, I believe Napoleon III can handle it.

Maybe there is no need to provoke them, because they have conflicts themselves.The arrival of the French made the Principality of Montenegro lose the opportunity to annex Albania, and the relationship between the two sides has always been bad.

……

On Kalimantan Island, a major event that shocked the Nanyang region was happening. On September 1861, 9, the flag of the double-headed eagle flew over the Lanfang Republic.

Anyone who knows a little bit of international common sense knows what this flag means.

The Lanfang Republic was also downgraded and became the Lanfang Autonomous Province under the banner of the new Holy Roman Empire. The name of the Republic was thrown into the long river of history.

No, the name Lanfang Republic was given by the Europeans, and the name in the Chinese circle has always been Lanfang Company.

From a private company to an autonomous province, it can only be regarded as being incorporated.Liu Asheng, the head of Lanfang, was appointed as the first governor.

For the first time ever, Governor Liu was absent from the grand celebration banquet outside.He is still studying the New Holy Roman State Act, although he has already joined it, in fact he still has no idea.

Eastern and Western cultures are different. What seems normal to Europeans is shocking to Easterners.

In the eyes of many Orientals, aren't these states just like vassals?Even the power of the state government is greater than that of the vassal king, and it is almost close to the vassals entrusted by the emperor of Zhou.

A young man walked in and said with a smile, "Father, you are studying these codes again."

Governor Liu nodded and said, "Chun'er, the more you look at these codes, the more frightening your father is, won't the emperor cut down the vassal?"

The young man said confidently: "Father, don't worry, Europe attaches great importance to jurisprudence. When I was studying in the UK, I learned about the history of the Holy Roman Empire. This system has lasted for hundreds of years.

Even in the unification war that broke out a few years ago, the king of Bavaria stood on the opposite side of the emperor and only transferred the title of Lombardy.

If the emperor wanted to cut down the vassal, he didn't need to do that at all.The strength of Austria is much stronger than the sum of these states, but His Majesty Franz still strictly abides by the code.

Let's not worry about it. If the local situation is like this, how could the emperor violate the laws and regulations he made for an overseas dominion? "

People are profit-seeking, and if there are not enough interests, the top executives of Lanfang Company will not join the new Holy Roman Empire.

In addition to being able to obtain security protection, the most important thing is that everyone's interests are guaranteed.Except for apportioning military expenses and paying royal annuities, their substantial interests have not been damaged.

When it comes to the outside world, it can instead display the banner of Shinra to prevent other colonial empires from peeping.

At least the Dutch, who were pressing on them, stopped now.The Vienna representative also made a promise that the privileges of various countries in Lanfang will be handled by the Imperial Foreign Office.

Governor Liu said: "It's better to be like this, otherwise we will pay the protection fee for nothing."

Consciousness is not so easy to change. In the minds of the older generation, this is spending money to buy peace and using Austria's strength to protect their own safety.

Anyway, all affairs are handled by themselves, and they also have their own army, and all autonomy is reserved.

It is just right to throw out diplomatic affairs, so they are too lazy to deal with foreigners, and they are the ones who suffer in almost every contact.

The juniors have received Western-style education and know how to use the rules to protect their own interests. They are the most supportive of joining the new Holy Roman Empire.

Originally, everyone wanted to join the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and even the attachments were acceptable, but unfortunately the Qing government thought it was too troublesome to accept it.

In this era, the Chinese living in the Nanyang region have a sense of crisis, for fear of causing disaster if they are not careful.

Without strength, wealth is the source of disaster.

As the first to open their eyes to see the world, they knew very well that Lanfang Company was in jeopardy.Without a powerful backstage, they simply cannot survive with their own strength.

So after signing the agreement with the Vienna government, there will be outside celebrations.

Not that people really like joining the new HRE all that much.In essence, it is still for bullshit, the bigger the momentum, the greater the benefits.

This time, the Lanfang government sent invitation letters to the representatives of all countries in Nanyang, just to tell everyone that the Lanfang Republic is now the Lanfang Autonomous Province of the New Shenluo Empire. If you want to take advantage of it, go to the Vienna government.

Governor Liu's refusal to attend the banquet also has political purposes.In this way, tell the representatives of various countries that as a senior official of the New Shinra Empire, you are qualified to say to them: No.

Chapter 20 If you want to take it, you must first give it

The addition of an autonomous province made no waves in the new Holy Roman Empire, except that it was published in the newspapers of Vienna.

There was no reaction from the people, and the Vienna government was different.Although the annual income of hundreds of thousands of Aegis is not much, their contribution is also small!

Don't look at the fact that Austria has a lot of colonies. In fact, it doesn't make much money at all.

As of the end of 1861, except for the earliest developed West African region, which achieved a profit of 12.6 Aegis because of its gold mines and plantations, other regions were in a state of loss, nothing more than a question of how much they lost.

Colonies in Central America lost 216.4 million Aegis;

The Nigerian colonial government lost 144.8 million Aegis;

Colonies in the Congo area lost 68.4 Aegis;

Colonies in the Nanyang region lost 68.2 Aegis;

The Cameroon colony lost 34.2 Aegis;

The Libyan colony lost 21.6 Aegis;

The Sinai Peninsula lost 20.5 Aegis;

Mediterranean islands such as Cyprus and Crete lost 18.6 Aegis;

The Patagonian plateau stronghold lost 2.8 Aegis;

Several colonial strongholds in other regions suffered a total loss of 12.8 Aegis.

All things added up, in 1861 all the colonies of Austria added up to a total loss of 595.7 million Aegis.

This is still based on the fact that there is no large-scale use of foreign troops. If a war breaks out, this number will increase several times, or even ten times.

Huge losses are the core factor restricting Austria's colonial expansion, especially at the beginning of the colony's opening, it was completely in a state of pure investment.

Although the newly added Lanfang Autonomous Province is not worth mentioning, in the annual accounting at the end of 1861, they apportioned the military expenditure of 58 Aegis.

In name, it is to apportion military expenses and protect the security of the state. In fact, this is no different from directly handing over to the central government.

This is just the beginning. As time goes by, there will be a seigniorage to collect for the circulation of Aegis.

Adding up these incomes, starting from 1862, the Nanyang region will change from the investment stage to the return stage.

If the increased industrial and commercial market is considered, the value of the industrial raw materials provided for the country is even higher.

What the Vienna government needs to pay is only security protection. It goes without saying that the source of financial resources must be protected.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Carl excitedly proposed: "Your Majesty, do we need to change our colonial method? The benefits of this indirect rule are not lower than our direct control benefits.

If Kalimantan is occupied by force, we will not be able to make a profit for at least five years, and the profits that we can bring later may not increase much. "

Austria's overseas colonization is only superficially beautiful, but it is actually suffering.

As Chancellor of Finance Karl can say responsibly: Even if the calculation of tax increases in all aspects is integrated, the Vienna government is still in a state of loss.

Of course, the nobles and capitalists engaged in colonial activities made money, and the Austrian domestic economy also benefited from it.

Suddenly, a model that does not require investment and can be profitable just by providing security protection, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Karl is naturally interested.

Franz shook his head and said, "Don't dream, how can such a good thing happen every day in Lanfang Autonomous Province.

There are quite a few indigenous kingdoms overseas, but these countries will go bankrupt in their own operations, can we still count on them to provide us with help?

Lanfang Autonomous Province itself is a company, but it was mistaken for a republic by the outside world, and Kalimantan is rich in gold, so it can help us improve.

Besides, if a few native kingdoms were to enter the empire, are you sure that the following states and the nobles in the country will not make trouble? "

The crowd full of expectations instantly dispelled this unrealistic idea.If a few native princes entered the empire, they would not agree.

Lanfang Autonomous Province was originally a bunch of civilians, and Franz only dismissed a few low-ranking nobles, who had limited political status and were able to provide financial resources for the government, so no one would mind.

If a few kings come in, and each of them has a higher status than the rest of them, it is estimated that everyone will feel unbalanced.

This is different from the state of Europe. They are recognized as veteran nobles, and everyone has long accepted it.

Of course, it is not impossible for these high-level officials in the government to become kings.As long as the credit is large enough, Franz does not mind a few colonial kings.

This kind of king is at most nominal. In theory, every fiefdom noble can establish a country, but in fact most nobles cannot establish a country.