Holy Roman Empire

After the Russians and the Ottomans went to war, the transaction price in the international grain market rose another ten points in a short period of time.This is just the beginning, as long as the relationship between supply and demand is not resolved, food prices may continue to rise.

In the mid-19th century, half of the world's population was starving, and hundreds of thousands, or even millions, died of hunger every year.

Against this background, the food shortage in Europe obviously cannot be solved in a short time.Increasing food production is easy to say, but difficult in practice.

There is no shortage of land in the major colonial empires. The problem is that the initial investment in opening up wasteland to grow food is not small, and the market return rate is not high enough.

If there is a bumper harvest of grain, there is a high possibility that it will rot in the ground.It's not that everyone doesn't need food anymore. The bigger problem is that many people can't afford food.

In this era, only European countries have market purchasing power. Other regions are self-sufficient, and places that cannot be self-sufficient can only starve.

Purchasing power limits production capacity, and in case of emergencies, food prices will naturally rise in the short term.Maybe everyone has reserves in their hands, but capitalists want to make money, and raising food prices is also one of the means.

These have little to do with Austria. Regardless of changes in international grain prices, as the world's largest grain exporter, domestic grain prices are very stable.

As one of the beneficiaries, Franz's wallet bulged a lot.This has not aroused Franz's interest. At the critical moment of the industrial revolution, it is obvious that emerging industries have more "money prospects".

Foreign Minister Weisenberg frowned and said: "Your Majesty, the Russian envoy informed us that because of the war, they will increase tariffs."

Franz frowned. Raising tariffs will definitely affect the trade volume between the two countries.But does the current Russian Empire really have the capital to raise tariffs?

Not knowing the plan of the tsarist government, Franz didn't bother to bother.

"Perhaps it's time for our export commodities to increase in price!"

Wool comes from sheep, and the increase in tariffs will lead to an increase in commodity prices. This is a normal business law.

Perhaps tariffs were increased to protect certain industries in Russia.However, now is the age of war, and the largest trade goods between the two countries are strategic materials.

This is a necessity, and the price increase must be accepted by the Tsarist government.Isn't raising tariffs now an excuse for capitalists to raise prices?

This price increase will definitely exceed the tariff increase, and it will be the Tsarist government itself that will suffer in the end.

Franz is sure that this decision was definitely not made by Alexander II.Obviously shooting himself in the foot, Alexander II was not such a fool.

Either the tsarist government had financial problems, and the bureaucrats rushed to the doctor to formulate stupid policies; or it was promoted by domestic capitalists in an attempt to obtain greater benefits.

The truth was covered up, and no one thought that Alexander II's emotion would arouse associations among his bureaucrats and make a stupid decision, thus ending the honeymoon period between Russia and Austria.

If Alexander II knew, he would definitely regret it.

This decision has indeed protected many domestic industries.On the surface, it seems to be a good policy. At the beginning of industrial development, protecting national industries is conducive to the development of domestic industries.

However, the benefits were not reflected, and the evil consequences had already happened first, and the Tsarist government soon paid a heavy price for it.

Because tariffs led to an increase in the price of imported goods from Austria, in order to save money, the bureaucrats of the tsarist government chose to purchase materials from local companies-the Tiankeng was about to be born.

……

Chapter 1

St. Petersburg, Randall Clothing Factory.The workers in the workshop are busy. Now they are rushing to make a batch of military uniforms. Winter is coming soon, and cotton clothes are a necessity.

If you look carefully, you will find that there is something wrong with this batch of cotton clothes.The fluffy thing is obviously not cotton, and the rags mixed in it are still clearly visible.

Nicolas Cage is the owner of Randall's Clothing Factory. He has had a headache for several days when he saw the report that the raw materials were in short supply.

At first, the products of Randall Clothing Factory were all made of cotton, and the main market was still folks. Although it was the worst cotton, it was also real cotton clothes.

However, the situation changed with the outbreak of the war. After the sea route was cut off, the supply of raw materials became their biggest problem.

After receiving military orders, this situation became more serious.In order to make up for the shortage of raw materials, Randall Clothing Factory adopted substitute products.

For example: shredded old clothes, bought some old cotton clothes and remade them, gauze thrown away by the hospital...

However, this is still a drop in the bucket.But it is not Nicolas Cage's style to make money but not make money.

"Yadeer, tell me to increase the straw content, we must complete the order with the current raw materials."

Yadir said in fear: "Mr. Cage, we have already added a lot of straw. If we continue to increase, I'm afraid something will go wrong!"

There is nothing strange about adding straw to cotton-padded clothes, but now this kind of addition is not cotton-padded clothes, but straw.

Except for the outer layer of cloth, the inside is all shredded straw, and it is almost inevitable to be discovered.

I can't help but Yadir is not worried. This is a military uniform. Russia's winter is so cold that it will cause a big disaster.

Nicolas Cage said nonchalantly: "Don't worry, the battlefield is in Poland. It's a warm winter over there, and the soldiers are so strong that they won't be able to freeze!"

Although he was a little uneasy, he felt relieved as long as he thought about his backstage.Production of unqualified military uniforms, when did he produce qualified military uniforms?

Fading, shrinking, and perishability are all normal conditions, and Nicolas Cage is used to it.Anyway, it can be delivered, and it doesn't matter if the product is defective or not.

It was a bit too much this time, and after a pause, Nicolas Cage added: "Thicken it up!"

No problem, straw can also keep warm, gray animals are worthless anyway, let's make do with it!

……

It wasn't just Nicolas Cage who made the same decision, many suppliers chose to shoddy.

Qualified products, stop dreaming, do you still want to make money?

Russia's industrial production costs are inherently high, and the bureaucrats eat so hard, how can they make a profit without reducing production costs?

……

Supplier changes are directly reflected on the battlefield.The earliest victim was the Russian army in the Baltic region, and most of their supplies were supplied by the St. Petersburg industrial zone.

Colonel Gerald was the Quartermaster of the Eighth Division of the Russian Baltic Navy.

Gerald, however, was now afraid of the Colonel.Prior to this, Austria supplied more than seven layers of materials. There may be problems with the quality of these products, but they do not affect their use.

Now the situation has changed. In the past month, the number of domestic products received has increased sharply, accounting for more than half of the entire logistics supply system.

It can be said that as long as it can be bought in the country, the bureaucrats of the tsarist government are giving priority to domestic production, which makes the officers of the logistics department a headache.

If only [-] to [-]% of the materials are unqualified, they can still think of a way.For example: report the battle damage directly, or mix and match, anyway, the Russian army is also paid for it.

After taking the benefit fee, they settled the matter, and now there are only junk products at a glance, what should I do?

send it on?The soldiers on the front line are making a fuss, who can stand it?If something goes wrong, these quartermasters need to take responsibility.

The Russian army also has rules, and it is forbidden to accept substandard products.However, it is impossible not to accept it. If you block it at this time, won't it make the big guy behind look ugly?

Gerald ordered: "Check carefully to see how many are usable, and count them for me!"

Now he just expects that the bureaucrats in the rear have a bit of integrity, and there will always be something that can be used.

Time passed by, and the results of the inspection shocked Gerald Shangde. Not to mention the cotton-padded clothes and quilts with straw, they can keep warm anyway.

If the weapons and ammunition are substandard, these things are easy to deal with, and they will be lost in direct battle. Anyway, there is no standard for the consumption of these things on the battlefield.

The most troublesome thing is the food. The cans supplied to the lower-ranking officers are moldy inside.Colonel Gerald opened one and found small animals moving inside.

Not to mention the food for ordinary soldiers, such as spoiled potatoes, discolored corn, and black bread that can be used to repair fortresses...

Only unexpected, nothing impossible.The only thing that pleased Gerald was that three months of supplies were delivered at one time.

Except for unqualified products, they are qualified products.The number of supply people calculated now is based on full staff. After a long period of fighting, the actual number of people in the Eighth Division is less than the full seven floors.

If more people died on the battlefield, or some supplies were grabbed from the enemy's hands, and more battle losses were reported, this winter would barely survive.

……

For the Russians, only they can knock them down.Even if it is besieged on all sides, the tsarist government has enough strength to deal with it.

It is a pity that Alexander II ignored the horror of wrong political signals. The cooling of Russia-Austria relations led to an increase in tariffs.

Although there are kickbacks available in the Russia-Austria trade, the high kickbacks given by Russian capitalists cannot stand up!

For the same product, the Austrian capitalists will give a maximum rebate of [-] to [-]%. If the local Russian capitalists are replaced, this figure can be reversed, and the bureaucrats will get the biggest share.

As for added costs, just cut production costs.As long as you are willing to sacrifice product quality, are you afraid that you will not be able to control the cost?

Alexander II never dreamed that the reformist officials he promoted would be corrupted in such a short period of time.

The previous procurement of Austrian goods was partly because the bureaucrats still had a bit of integrity and knew the importance of logistics materials to the war. However, people will not be satisfied. If they collect more kickbacks, they will naturally become more greedy.

On the other hand, it is because Russia's domestic production capacity is not enough, even if the bureaucrats don't care about the lives of front-line soldiers, but the quantity must not be less, so they can only be purchased.

With the passage of time, the production capacity of Russian capitalists has also increased, and now the political changes have allowed bureaucrats and capitalists to see opportunities.

Before that, there were still a few officials with integrity to restrain them, and they did not dare to act recklessly.Misinterpreting the political signals of Alexander II now has made these officials choose silence.

The consequences are naturally not as simple as the bureaucrats imagined. Layers of deductions have become the practice of the Russian army, and those who can remain rational in the face of interests are always a minority.

The upper level is rotten, so can the lower level officials be expected to be clean and honest?

This time Franz didn't just sit quietly as an audience, but gave a push.It provided a space for the bureaucrats of the tsarist government to give full play.

In his opinion, sending a caravan by the Prussians can inflict the greatest damage on the current Russian army.Waving the banknotes directly, he said to the quartermaster: buy, buy, buy.Far more rewarding than dying on the battlefield.

As long as they have money, even enemies can be the guests of the Russians, and there are no enemies in front of interests.

Franz admitted that the Russian army's logistics system was corrupt, and the Austrian capitalists also contributed a lot.In order to get more orders, everyone also showed their talents.

But this is just an incentive. In essence, the tsarist bureaucracy has long since decayed.In the absence of effective oversight, life has been easy for Russian bureaucrats.

At the beginning, the Vienna government sent people to supervise the export of goods, worrying about smashing the brand and losing this big market.

It is not needed now. In order to retaliate against the Russians for increasing tariffs, Franz chose to ignore it.

Ignoring is not just about relaxing the supervision of domestic goods, but also for example: allowing counterfeit and inferior products to appear in the Russian military supply system.

To put it simply, it is a low-quality product produced in Russia, which is labeled as an Austrian military product.

Prior to this, the Vienna government severely cracked down, and even sent special personnel to supervise, and once found out, they would ask the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deal with it.

When it came to diplomacy, the bureaucrats of the tsarist government did not dare to mess around. After dealing with a few scapegoats, the rest did not dare to mess around.

According to the usual practice, products produced in Austria do not need to be inspected at all, and the rate of defective products is within a controllable range; while locally produced military supplies need to select qualified products mixed with defective products.

There is no doubt that Austrian exports of munitions are more expensive.Now that there are no constraints, the capitalists naturally don't mind pretending.

As long as a part of the qualified samples is provided, a thick red envelope is attached, and they are handed over to the officials in charge of the inspection, all problems will be solved.

This is definitely not an Austrian pit teammate, it is completely a Russian bureaucracy.Franz has sent people to collect the evidence, and it will be revealed after the incident.

Chapter 1 and Four

Changes in Russia-Austria relations soon triggered a chain reaction in politics, and the London government could finally sleep peacefully.

An alliance without contradictions is terrible, but an alliance with contradictions is not.

Now that the relationship between the two countries is cold, the Vienna government's support for the Russians will definitely be discounted, which is what the London government wants most.

All other issues can be postponed, but the Russian threat to India must be resolved immediately.

The Great Indian Uprising a few years ago is still fresh in the British memory.It is because of the secret support of the Russians that the London government has paid hundreds of millions of pounds in military expenditures.

If you don't solve this hidden danger and come here every now and then, who can stand it?

The most indispensable thing in India is people, and there are a lot of social conflicts. As long as someone stirs up the flames, the outbreak of rebellion is simply commonplace.

The best way is to separate India from other countries. Small countries don’t matter. They have neither the courage nor the strength to do things. Big countries are different.

In particular, the three countries of Russia, France and Austria are the focus of the London government's strict defense.Now France and Austria have not extended their paws to India, and only the Russian family has expressed interest. The London government naturally wants to cut off the tsarist government's thoughts.

Letting Central Asia become independent is the best choice, leaving such a buffer zone to keep the enemy out of the country.Even if the conflict between Britain and Russia is in Central Asia, the London government in Central Asia will not feel bad if it is broken.

On the current four fronts, the Central Asian region is the one with the greatest support from the London government. Sending mercenaries in person is enough to explain the problem.

10 Downing Street, Foreign Secretary Raistlin Hui reported: "There is no accident, this negotiation has failed, the Russians are unwilling to make any concessions, and the last condition they gave was to restore the pre-war status.

This is unacceptable to our friends, the Prussians have a territorial claim on the Lithuanian region and at the same time demand the independence of Poland.

The Ottomans want to take back Constantinople, and it is said that they are still negotiating with Austria to redeem part of the Balkans.

The Vienna government did not directly refuse, but now it is just that the price has not been agreed. If the Ottoman Empire takes back Constantinople, then there is no big problem of buying the Dardanelles. Austria seems to have no interest in the Black Sea.

The representatives of the Eastern Empire hoped to take back the Western Border and the Far East. They are currently fighting well in the Western Border region. It is said that the old general is still carrying the coffin.

Central Asia is a bit chaotic, and it is too difficult to coordinate joint operations of several khanates, but their hatred of the Russians is still worthy of recognition.

Our friends are still determined to fight. The situation on the battlefield is generally in our favor.

Not long ago, the relationship between Russia and Austria changed. It seems that Alexander II lost his childish temper.Instigated by the capitalists, the Tsarist government raised tariffs with Austria, and the Cold War broke out between the two sides.

The Austrians raised the prices of export commodities in a tit-for-tat manner, about 50.00% higher than before, and some commodities also increased the prices by [-]%.

If nothing else, Austria's support for the Russians will be further reduced in the following wars, and the Russians will have no chance to retreat this time. "

These conditions were obviously not acceptable to the tsarist government.Otherwise, the Russian Empire will be smaller in an instant, especially in Constantinople, where there is no room for negotiation.