Holy Roman Empire

As soon as Mariut finished speaking, the temperature in the room seemed to be ten degrees below zero, and everyone's faces turned pale.

Ruthless, it must not be to let the people present die, otherwise Mariut would not say it with great fanfare.Then the ones who are sacrificed can only be the bottom-level organization members.

Under what circumstances would "a revolutionary" give up?

……

Chapter 51 Two Countries on the Brink of Bankruptcy

Vienna Palace

Foreign Minister Weisenberg said with a smile: "Your Majesty, in order to seek our support, both Prussia and Russia offered almost the same conditions.

The Russians promised Silesia after the war as long as we supported them; the Prussians promised to cede Silesia after the war as long as we remained neutral. "

The Russians' promise was generous to others, and the Tsarist government would not mind buying Austria with Prussian interests.

The promise of the Berlin government was that they were forced to do nothing, and they were unwilling to give up Silesia.In order to win the war, they had to hold Austria steady.

If they win this war, their contribution can be doubled; if they lose the war, Silesia will not be able to keep it at all.

Although all these years have passed, the Austrians still have a grudge about the Silesia region.Especially in recent years, with the increase in strength, the voice of the Vienna government to take back the Silesia region has become louder and louder.

Once the Kingdom of Prussia becomes weak, Austria will definitely suffer. Now the Berlin government has to stabilize Austria first.

Looking at Felix who hesitated to speak, Franz asked, "What does the Prime Minister think?"

Prime Minister Felix replied: "Your Majesty, neither of these options is the best choice. What we need is that Russia and Prussia will lose out.

Now our alliance with the Russians is an eyesore, and all European countries are working hard to break it up.If the tsarist government continues to win, we will have more troubles in the future.

For us, the current Russian Empire is strong enough.If the tsarist government had completed its internal reforms, it would be hard to say whether the Russian-Austrian alliance would have any value.

Likewise, a stronger Prussian kingdom is not in our interest.Europe is too small to accommodate so many powerful countries. "

Prussia and Russia are both losers. This is the most ideal state.Not only can the reform of Alexander II be interrupted by the hands of the Prussians, making the reform of the Tsarist government more incomplete than in history; it can also interrupt the ambitions of the Prussians. After this failure, they will never have a chance to rise .

But it is very difficult to achieve this, at least Franz does not think Austria has the ability to play this balance.

The kingdom of Prussia is finished after one loss. On the surface, it seems that the Russians can lose many times. In fact, this is very hypocritical. There are too many internal problems in the tsarist government, and Franz is not sure about their ability to bear losses.

This is different from the Near East War. At that time, the Russian army reached the gate of Constantinople, and all classes in the country supported the war. No matter how big the loss was, the Tsarist government had to persist.

Franz thought for a while and said: "This kind of idealistic plan should not exist, it is easy to play and collapse, and in the end both sides will not please.

According to actual needs, we only need to do two things:

[-]. Use the Prussians to disrupt the reform of the Tsarist government. As long as the Russians cannot win in a short period of time, Alexander II will make concessions to the conservatives, and this reform will not be thorough;

[-]. The Kingdom of Prussia cannot grow bigger. It is enough to have a strong country in the German region, and there is no need to add another competitor.

The strengthening of Prussia's strength can be done by Britain and France. What we have to do is to transfuse blood to the Tsarist government when necessary and strengthen their determination to fight. "

It's impossible to please both sides, if you really do that, the final result is likely to be disgusted by both sides, and you will become a different person inside and out.

The role of the Russia-Austria alliance is decreasing, but Austria cannot openly stab the Russians until the alliance is lifted.

This is related to the credibility of Austria in international politics and diplomacy. A country without credibility should never want to gain everyone's respect.

Fortunately, the Prussian government was smart enough to not play any undeclared war, nor did it take the initiative to invade Russia, otherwise Austria would also be dragged into the war according to the covenant.

The current situation is that the Kingdom of Prussia invaded Denmark, and the Russians declared war on the Kingdom of Prussia in order to protect this little brother.

This situation is not within the scope of the Russian-Austrian alliance's mandatory participation in the war.

The Kingdom of Denmark is an ally of the Russians, but it does not mean that they are also an ally of Austria. The Vienna government does not need to stand with the Russians.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Karl reminded: "Your Majesty, the Tsarist government's finances are very bad, and the Russians are slow to move, largely due to financial constraints.

Not long ago, the bonds issued by the Tsarist government were cold in the capital market, and investors worried that the Russians would default on their debts.

According to the analysis of the information we have, if the Russians' finances are not improved, the tsarist government may declare bankruptcy again. "

There is a regulation in the Russia-Austria alliance: Under the condition of not harming its own interests, it is obliged to provide material assistance to allies.

Theoretically, in this case, the Vienna government should help anyway. This is a matter of choice.However, how to support depends on the actual situation.

Providing loans is aid, and donating materials is also aid. The specific situation still depends on the interests.

If you don't have enough benefits, you can just get some weapons and ammunition from the warehouse to make up the number, and you can also deal with it.

The attitude of the Minister of Finance is very obvious, that is, the tsarist government's finances are very bad, and it is very likely that it will go bankrupt after the war. There is no need for Austria to jump into this pit.

Financial bankruptcy has never been a new thing in continental Europe.Especially the tsarist government, once the government debt exceeded its capacity, they would declare bankruptcy.

The bankruptcy of the government means that they have suspended the payment of the previous debts indefinitely, which can also be understood as non-repayment.The tsarist government has done a lot of this kind of thing, and many creditors want to cry without tears.

Of course, not every country is qualified to renege on debts. In this era, there is another way to collect money-collecting debts by force.

Even if a small country declares bankruptcy, it usually only pays off its personal debts, and the debts of the great powers still have to be repaid, for example: the great powers supervise their finances.

Mexico is a negative example. It dares to learn from others if it has no strength. In 1862, President Juárez announced a suspension of debt payments, and then the French creditors came to the door.

This method is ineffective for the Russians, and no creditor has the ability to go to St. Petersburg to ask for money.After the number of pits has increased, no one in the capital market will lend money to the tsar.

Franz asked in surprise: "Has the Russians' finances deteriorated to this extent?"

In his memory, although the tsarist government's finances were bad, they did not reach the point of collapse.Even if it is to fight a Prussian war, it will not go bankrupt immediately.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Karl explained: "Your Majesty, in modern times, as long as ordinary European countries can persevere, they will try their best to repay their debts, and there are very few defaulters, but the Russians are an exception.

According to past experience, the tsarist government's debts reached a certain level, and they would declare bankruptcy.We have recently collected information that the Tsarist government has prepared a bankruptcy plan. "

Franz had nothing to say. In fact, during the Middle Ages, the king declared bankruptcy and defaulted on many things, almost every few decades.

Many capitalists have been pitted and cried, among which Jewish capitalists have been pitted the most.This is because they are too rich, and most of the money has been gathered in their hands. If they don't ask them to borrow money, who can they turn to?

Of course, there are also many kings who have been cheated.Jewish capital is hated because they often bury nails in loan contracts. Many kings who borrowed money have been fooled and have to pay a lot of extra interest.

Facts have proved that rulers are not easy to mess with, especially in the era of monarchy, if you dare to cheat them of money, you will have to pay a price.This is how most of the anti-Semitic movement in continental Europe came about.

In modern times, the power of capital has continued to grow, and governments of various countries are less and less likely to renege on their debts through bankruptcy, especially international loans with the background of great powers.

It doesn't matter when everyone reneges on debts together, anyway, the world is as black as crows.But suddenly everyone else starts following the rules, and it stands out that you're the only one left.

As soon as the creditors propagated it, the credibility of the tsarist government was ruined.Without credibility, many things are difficult to handle, and there is an embarrassing situation where the Russians use gold and silver coins.

Franz thought for a while and said: "Then we will also tighten monetary policy externally and remind the domestic financial circle to be more vigilant.

The support for the Russians is mainly in-kind assistance.All large loans to Russia must have collateral. "

This can be regarded as adding insult to injury.These restrictions undoubtedly increased the difficulty for the Tsarist government to raise funds in the Austrian capital market.However, as long as the tsarist government does not default on its debts, no matter how much collateral it takes out, it doesn't matter.

With collateral, even if the Russians declare bankruptcy, it is impossible to repay these debts.After all, the value of the collateral usually exceeds the loan.

Franz also had to do it. You must know that not long ago, the Tsarist government used Alaska to offset the debt of 257 million Aegis, and also owed a favor.If it wasn't really unbearable, the Russians would never do this.

……

When Austria was worried about the bankruptcy of the Russians, the London government also faced the same problem. As the most militaristic country in continental Europe, the Kingdom of Prussia was not a rich master.

Now lending money to the Berlin government is no less risky than lending to the Russians.The war bond issued by the Berlin government was cold in the London financial market.

If the Kingdom of Prussia wins the gamble, then it is possible to pay back the money; if the Kingdom of Prussia loses, or both sides suffer, all these investments will be in vain.

There are not many people who are optimistic about Prussia, and everyone is unwilling to take risks with their money.Even though the bond interest has been raised to 15.8% per annum, the sales volume is still not optimistic.

As the patron of the Kingdom of Prussia, the London government naturally cannot watch this happen.Without enough money, what would the Kingdom of Prussia use to fight this war?

Chancellor of the Exchequer Agarwal said: "The war bonds we have issued to the Prussians have only sold 186.9 million pounds so far, which is too far from the 1500 million issued.

The people are not optimistic that they can win the war, and unless someone can provide them with guarantees, there is no way for this bond to be sold.

The finances of the Kingdom of Prussia are very bad. They have been in deficit since 1848.

Many domestic financial institutions believed that Prussia's finances were on the verge of bankruptcy and refused to provide them with loans. "

It's not easy to be a gold master, because real money needs to be invested.The cost of the Prussian-Russian War is destined to be a huge expense, and the possibility of losing everything is still very high.

Prime Minister John Russell rubbed his forehead and said, "So, we haven't raised one-fifth of the aid we promised to the Kingdom of Prussia in the past two months?"

According to the agreement, the British will provide the Kingdom of Prussia with a loan of 1000 million pounds, plus the issuance of 1500 million pounds of war bonds.

The reality is that, except for the London government's advance of 500 million pounds to the Prussian government, no one cares about it in the capital market.

This is the aftermath of the Near East War. Britain and France failed to defeat the Russians, let alone the Kingdom of Prussia?

Even the London government did not believe that the Kingdom of Prussia could win the war.To support them, it is only to interrupt the reform of the Russians, not to expect the Kingdom of Prussia to win.

"Yes, Your Excellency Prime Minister. Everyone has no confidence in Prussia, so they are more cautious when investing." Chancellor of the Exchequer Agarwal replied

Supporting the Kingdom of Prussia to attack the Russians, the British people are still very supportive, but it is different when they have to pay.

Several London papers were betting on the failure of the Kingdom of Prussia.

The most optimistic estimate is that the Kingdom of Prussia can last for a year and then lose the war; the most pessimistic estimate is that the Berlin government will surrender in less than a month.

The outside world generally believes that if the Kingdom of Prussia wants to win this war, unless Britain and France personally participate in the war, failure is only a matter of time.

Chapter 52 Adding insult to injury

Not only the London government is trying to find ways to help the Prussians raise money, but the French are also not idle.But they are not raising money, but busy wrangling.

In terms of economic development, Napoleon III can be said to be excellent.In the past ten years, the French economy has maintained rapid growth.

This is especially evident in finance. In 1851, the French fiscal revenue was 12.73 billion francs. By 1864, the French fiscal revenue was close to 20 billion francs.

This still does not count the results of the Kingdom of Sardinia, otherwise several hundred million could be added. The most prosperous area in Italy is not blown out.

After joining the French family, the market problems that plagued the capitalists in the Kingdom of Sardinia were finally resolved, and the local economy began to develop rapidly.

There are advantages and disadvantages, and the French capitalists also killed them.The weak local capital of Sardinia is obviously unable to compete with the French capital, and can only use the advantages of local snakes to compete with it.

These struggles have all been covered up under the circumstances of great economic development.After all, if you earn more money, even if the competition is more brutal, you can't deceive anyone with your pockets.

The fiscal revenue of nearly 20 billion francs is equivalent to nearly 8000 million pounds. At this time, the fiscal revenue of the United Kingdom is less than 7000 million pounds, and the income gap between the two sides is as high as 1000 million pounds.

Of course, this is not to say that France's economic strength has surpassed that of the British.In this era, the fiscal revenues of all countries are only local fiscal revenues, and colonial revenues are not counted.

Moreover, the fiscal distribution between the central government and local governments must also be considered. Different taxation methods also affect the level of fiscal revenue.

However, these data can still prove from the side that the French economy is developing rapidly.Before Napoleon III succeeded to the throne, France's fiscal revenue was even lower than that of Britain, and now it has surpassed it.

With the substantial increase in fiscal revenue, the Paris government not only got rid of the financial crisis, but also had the ability to play franc diplomacy.

Being economically capable of supporting Prussia, and Napoleon III wanting to replace the Russians as European hegemony does not mean that the French really want to support Prussia.

Whether to support Prussia in this war within the French government has always had two voices:

Some people advocated aiding the Kingdom of Prussia, taking over their hands and injuring the Russians severely, laying the foundation for France to seize European hegemony.

Another group of people advocated watching the defeat of the Prussians, so as to seize the opportunity to seize the Rhineland region, increase France's industrial strength, and make up for the lack of resources.

Of course, both of these propositions must require Prussia to fight, so the French government supported Prussia before the war broke out, and even provided an interest-free loan of 5000 million francs in advance.

Now that the war has broken out, whether to continue to support has become the focus of contention between the two sides.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Allen suggested: "The gap between Prussia and Russia is too great. Even with our support, the outcome of the war cannot be changed. Continuing to invest precious funds in the Prussian government is a waste.

Now our strategic goal has been achieved, and the Russo-Prussian War has broken out.There is no need to do anything, just wait to take over the Rhineland after the war. "

Foreign Minister Abraham objected: "No, this is the weakest period for the Russians. Even if the strength of the Kingdom of Prussia is a little weaker, they still have assembled more than [-] troops.

Coupled with the outbreak of the Polish independence movement, which contained a large number of Russian troops, the tsarist government may not be able to defeat the Kingdom of Prussia in one fell swoop.

As long as the war lasts, the Russians will terminate domestic reforms because of the war.

This is what all European countries want to see, and the Vienna government will not provide much support to the Russians at this time.If the war can be dragged on for a year or two, the tsarist government will be defeated in the end because of its finances. "

Finance is the shortcoming of the Russians. Alexander II's reforms are in progress, and the social dividends brought about by the reforms have not yet had time to feed back into fiscal revenue.

Because the Near East War consumed a lot of financial resources, at the end of Nicholas I's administration, he was working hard to wipe out the war losses, and did not leave Alexander II with enough background to support a big war.

It was seeing the shortcomings of the Russians that the Junker nobles dared to plan this war.It is also because of this that the British will support Prussia.

Allen, the chancellor of the exchequer, shook his head and said, "What about the 70 troops of the Kingdom of Prussia? Needless to say? There are no more than [-] troops with combat effectiveness, and the rest are just guns.

At present, the only countries in Europe capable of producing 70 troops are us, Russia, and Austria.No matter how militaristic the Kingdom of Prussia is, their national power restricts the upper limit of their military strength.

And the Russians have more than one million active troops. To defeat the Kingdom of Prussia, they don't even need to mobilize.

Leaving aside the relationship between the Russia-Austria alliance, as long as the tsarist government promises great profits to Austria, the Vienna government will provide them with loans. Anyway, these benefits are cut from the Prussians.

Even if Austria's financial resources are not as good as ours, it is not much worse. It is enough to support the Russians in defeating Prussia.