Holy Roman Empire

Protests and demonstrations can also be said to be exercising civil rights. Attacking the parliament and killing members of parliament is a terrorist attack.

The only victor is the current Polish government.No, they may not be the winners, maybe they are just pawns, being used by others.

In Franz's view, the possibility of the Prussian conspiracy was high.The Polish government seems to have greatly increased its power, but it has actually fallen into an embarrassing position.

It is not a good thing for the Polish government that the rules of the domestic power struggle have been broken.The government is the rule-maker and the rule-keeper.

Now that someone breaks the rules, others obviously won't continue to follow the rules.The bottom line that political struggle does not involve personal safety has been broken. In the future, everyone must be prepared to be assassinated.

The ruling foundation of the Polish government has been shaken, and they cannot do without the support of Prussia if they want to stabilize the domestic situation. The Kingdom of Prussia's penetration of Poland will definitely go further.

If it wasn't for Franz who didn't want to go to this muddy water, Austria would intervene now, and it was very likely that Hooprus would be intercepted.

It's just that this kind of infiltration is useless to Austria. No matter how delicious the Kingdom of Poland is, Franz has no appetite now.You can only look at it, but it is better to throw away the delicacy that cannot be eaten.

……

In the Berlin Palace, William I also suspected the real culprit of the incident.He didn't believe that the top officials of the Polish government would be so stupid as to break the unspoken rules for a moment's advantage.

William I asked: "Prime Minister, who do you think is most likely to plan this operation?"

Soldiers are tricky, and asking Mao Qi to answer this question can be regarded as a professional counterpart.It was definitely not intentional to make things difficult, William I was not so petty.

Moltke analyzed: "Your Majesty, I think the Polish government should be innocent. Judging from the current international situation, I think the Austrians are the most suspected. Looking at the last two European wars, they are all victors.

The United Kingdom and Austria are best at creating troubles, provoking international relations, and creating international conflicts.The British need us to join forces with the Poles against Russia and Austria, there is no reason to do so at this time.

Austria is different, they only need us and Poland to fight Russia, but they don't want to see the two countries merged.It is necessary to create a little conflict between us and Poland.

Of course, the French and Russians were also suspects.However, it is too far away from Poland and has limited influence. It may not be easy to plan this operation.

Not to mention the Russians, the conflict between Russia and Poland is so deep, even if the tsarist government wants to do something, the Poles may not be willing to cooperate with them. "

This answer sounds reasonable, but William I always felt that something was wrong, which is somewhat unlike the style of the Vienna government.

Austria's influence in Poland is not small. The volunteers who went to participate in the Polish independence movement did not know how many Austrian spies were among them.

These people seem inconspicuous, but they actually occupy many important positions in the Polish government. There are many ways to provoke the relationship between the two countries, and there is no need to be so extreme.

If things are exposed, the international influence will be great.After thinking about it, William I didn't mean to say it, and it doesn't matter if Austria is blamed.

In the absence of evidence, it doesn't really matter whether Austria did it or not. Anyway, the Poles have no ability to retaliate.

Franz didn't know that a black pot had already fallen from the sky.Franz believed that it was a conspiracy planned by the Prussians, and the Prussians also believed that Austria was provoking their relationship with Poland.

……

St. Petersburg, Alexander II is listening to the report of his men.If the content gets out, it will definitely shock the entire European continent.

According to profit inference, whoever makes the most profit is the most suspected.The Polish government and Prussia have become the biggest suspects. Who would have thought of Russia, which has nothing to do with it?

I am afraid that the Polish government has now charged this account to Prussia. Even if the support of the Prussians is inseparable in the short term, the relationship between the two countries is still cast a shadow.

It is estimated that no one will like an ally who wants to interfere in his own internal affairs.Once the Polish king stabilized, the relationship between Popo and Poland was about to change.

This is not only a conspiracy, but also accompanied by a conspiracy.In the absence of evidence, the Prussians simply could not clear up their suspicions.

To take a step back, even if you prove your innocence.Can Pubo relations be restored?Obviously impossible, unless the Berlin government gives up this opportunity to infiltrate Poland.

Alexander II only provided the two countries with an excuse for conflicts. There are too many places where Pubo and Poland may have conflicting interests.As long as they cannot be integrated, they are destined to be full of contradictions.

If Austria took the blame, then Alexander II's calculations would be even more perfect.The deterioration of relations between the two countries with Austria means that in future wars, the Russian Empire still has an ally.

The taste of fighting alone is not good at all, and Alexander II does not want to come a second time.

learn from mistakes.

After this lesson, Alexander II knew the importance of allies.Advocating "pro-Pushuo" in his youth seems more like a joke now.

Between countries, it is completely foolish to decide foreign policy based on personal preferences.

Unlike the old empire, the Kingdom of Prussia must expand if it wants to be strong.At that time, none of the three surrounding empires could win, and finally chose to attack the Russian Empire.

This is not because the Russian Empire is weak, but because Russia has no allies.And by breaking through the Russian Empire, you can also reap the friendship of Britain and France without worrying about money and food.

Of course, transportation is also a very important factor. Both France and Austria have a complete railway network. As Prussia, which was the first to realize the importance of railways to war, they made an assessment before initiating the war.

Fao was able to invest too many troops, and they might be taken away in a wave. They chose the Russian Empire, which has limited military input.

No matter how many reasons, the Russian Empire was isolated at the top of the list.Whether it is justified or not, attacking the Russian Empire is justified in the eyes of European countries.

If you attack other countries, it is easy to be hostile.Before Russia entered the war, Prussia's attack on Denmark was condemned by European countries, and many people were calling for international sanctions.

As a result, as soon as the tsarist government entered the war, the situation changed instantly.Everyone condemned Prussia's invasion of Poland while supporting Prussia and Russia.

Austria, the only important ally of the Russian Empire, also became alienated after Alexander II succeeded to the throne.The diplomatic changes directly affected the war, and Austria's support for them has dropped by more than one level compared to the Near East War.

After summing up the experience and lessons, Alexander II also began to attach importance to diplomacy, and dividing the relationship between PPP and Poland is only one part of it.

Chapter 3 Opening of the Suez Canal

In Egypt, the Suez Canal has also reached a critical moment. After nine years of construction, it is finally drawing to a close.

This time there was no stoppage, let alone a shortage of labor.France and Austria jointly built the Grand Canal, but the British failed to make trouble, and instead made their Egyptian cotton planting plan aborted.

There is no other reason why the construction took so long. The main reason is that the design depth of the canal is four meters higher than the Suez Canal in the original time and space.

Later, during the actual construction, the engineers sent by the Austrian side asked to ensure that everything was safe, and lowered it by another two meters.

As the depth increases, the width naturally increases accordingly, and the amount of work naturally increases accordingly.In the era of lack of machinery, the increased amount of earthwork is not a small project.

The amount of work increased, and the construction cost also increased. The original Suez Canal was finally opened to navigation after several twists and turns. The cost was as high as 1860 million pounds, and now the cost is as high as 3770 million pounds without navigation.

The rising cost has caused the stock of the Suez Canal to fall all the way, and many people doubt whether the canal can return its capital.

This happened to be cheap for Franz, and he took over when someone sold the stock.Anyway, no loss, profit is only a matter of time.

It was because of him, the catcher, that the Suez Canal stock did not fall into the price of cabbage.Of course, falling below the issue price is inevitable.

After two additional stock issuances, seeing the stock slump as if it could not be sold anymore, the canal company directly borrowed from the bank with the property rights of the canal as collateral.

The financial market was cold, but fortunately this was a strategic project, which was seen by the French and Austrian governments as an opportunity to break the British monopoly on the Gibraltar Strait.

Only with the guarantee of the two governments, the banks are willing to provide loans.Originally, Franz was going to take over the business by himself, but was opposed by the bank staff.

After all, the outside world is not optimistic about the Canal Company. Issuing such a huge loan will easily trigger a chain reaction. If it affects the Royal Bank's ability to absorb reserves, it will be troublesome.

You know, most of Franz's investments were actually made with loans.In this context, it is very important to ensure the Royal Bank's ability to absorb deposits.

Loan from his own bank, left-handed and right-handed, the capital cost he needs to pay is only the deposit interest rate.In fact, it is even lower than the deposit rate.

The funds are used on a rolling basis.Even if the money is spent, it is often transferred from one account to another account, and has not been withdrawn from the bank.

There is no UnionPay in this era, and you need to do it yourself for inter-bank transfers.Normally, very few people do this.

This is the opportunity, the bank can recycle a sum of money many times.As long as there is no financial crisis or a wave of bank runs, it will be no problem to cycle dozens of times.

Even if it is a financial crisis, it will not have a big impact on the Royal Bank. Reputation is a good thing.

The Royal Bank has received a lot of gold over the years, sold some of it, and stored most of it. There is still a reserve of [-] tons of gold in the Vienna headquarters.

This is where the reputation of the Royal Bank lies. On the surface, one hundred tons of gold is a lot, but its actual value is only 2732.24 million Aegis.

It just sounds domineering, making people feel rich and secure.

Of course, the most reassuring thing is the "royal family" brand.As long as the royal family does not fail, the Royal Bank will not fail.This is equivalent to Franz's face, and it is impossible to let it go bankrupt.

Most of the funds are used for their own investment, and naturally less funds are used for lending.In fact, so far Royal Bank does not do small business.

To put it simply, it means that the loan business below [-] Aegis is not accepted here, even if there is collateral.The deposit limit is much lower, and you can open an account with Five Aegis.

There is no way, this era is limited by technology, and all business is handled manually.The deposit is okay, but the problem is the loan review, and it is very troublesome to investigate the information.

The Royal Bank makes small loans, with the exception of policy loans entrusted by the government.Since the government is responsible for guaranteeing the repayment ability of customers, these problems naturally do not exist.

Only small and medium-sized banks do real micro-loans in this era, and the interest is much higher than ordinary commercial loans.He didn't make much money, and the infamy of usury first came to the fore.

From the very beginning, Royal Bank was positioned to serve Franz himself.I am not keen on lending, and most of my business is conservative.

As a result, Royal Bank's personal loan business has developed very generally, but there are not many bad debts, and overall it is only a small profit.

Most of the profits come from corporate loans, government loans, and international loans. These large and comprehensive loans are not available to small banks, and the market competition is much smaller.

The interest rate may be lower, but the management costs that need to be invested are also lower, and the profits are more lucrative.

Especially for international loans, the superficial interest rate is not high, but the actual income is very rich.

For example: handling fees, exchange fees, usually three or four points.When a loan is issued, the principal and interest that should be repaid in the first year are generally deducted, and some loans are also deducted for three to five years at a time.

Often banks also work part-time to sell products, especially limited-use loans.Banks can sell a certain amount of goods in bundles to customers and earn the price difference.

Generally speaking, if a loan of 1000 million Aegis is issued to the outside world, the debtor can get 900 million Aegis, which is considered a loan of conscience.If the conditions are harsh, it is not impossible to get a loan with a [-]% discount.

The worst thing is to lend in installments, but you have to bear the full amount of interest.This kind of loan, the funds actually obtained in the end may be less than four layers of the total number of loans.

International lending wouldn't be such an abomination if it wasn't for these deceptive terms.It's just a few points of interest, which is too underestimating the appetite of capitalists.

……

"Mr. Lesseps, the canal project has passed the inspection and can be released."

Lesseps was the chief engineer of the Suez Canal. His main achievement was to fool the Egyptians into sending people to participate in the excavation of the Grand Canal.

You must know that this time is more excessive than the same period in history. The Egyptians did not get the shares of the canal company, but only got the right to profit dividends.

In fact, they are all the same. Even if the shares are given, the Egyptian government does not want to get the money.

In the original time and space, it was not until 1937 that the Egyptian government won the treatment of 30 pounds per year. As for their initial 44% of the shares, who would admit this?

It's the same with getting dividends now, anyway, you won't get any money in the end.Lesseps was able to fool the Egyptian government into actively cooperating, which was naturally recognized by the canal company.

Although the canal company pays the Egyptian government a sum of money every year, it is not worth mentioning compared with the cost of labor.

The Suez Canal was not so much repaired as it was filled with human life.But the Egyptian government itself doesn't care about casualties, and the canal company naturally doesn't care much.

Without dragging his feet, Lesseps ordered: "Then let the water go!"

With an order, amidst the "roaring" explosion, the water blocking dam was blown open.The torrential sea water rushed over directly, and the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea came together.

With a bang, the news of the opening of the Suez Canal quickly spread throughout the European continent, and everyone had different reactions.

Joy, surprise, worry, disbelief...all kinds of expressions are available.

Venetian Port, as the most prosperous commercial port in Austria, people pay much more attention to the Suez Canal than other regions.

In the tavern, discussions have already begun.

A young man showed off triumphantly: "The Suez Canal has been opened, have you heard? It is said that it can navigate a [-]-ton giant ship. Isn't this a joke? There are no such big ships in the world, it is a waste!"

A middle-aged man next to him retorted: "What do you know? That is the maximum navigable capacity. The Suez Canal is located on the main route between Europe and Asia. There must be a lot of ships passing by. Of course, multiple waterways must be paralleled.

Besides, now that shipbuilding technology is so developed, it is said that some people are developing [-]-ton giant ships.If such a giant wheel appeared, wouldn't it just happen to be staggered? "

The young man said in disbelief: "Come on, the Suez Canal is tolled, so there are so many boats going through it. At worst, you can take a detour through the Strait of Gibraltar and travel a little longer, and you won't have to pay this unjustified fee.

The real use is military. We dug this canal together with the French.The obvious problem, this is to get rid of the British control of the Strait of Gibraltar.

As for the Suez Canal Company, I'm afraid it will be paid to death.To build such a large canal is to run a few warships. "

Another young man came in and sat down and said, "Filfer, it seems that you need to buy a map and take a good look at it, don't pretend to understand and show off your knowledge here.

After the opening of the Suez Canal, the voyage to the Indian Ocean was greatly shortened. How could it have no commercial value?Taking Venice as an example, there are no less than a thousand ships traveling to and from the Indian Ocean every year.

After the opening of the Suez Canal, this number will increase.Perhaps Austria alone has tens of thousands of ships traveling to and from the Indian Ocean every year, and all Mediterranean countries add up to tens of thousands of ships.

Even if a ship charges three to five hundred Aegis, the canal company's annual navigation fee income is tens of millions of Aegis.This number will also increase with the increase of international trade, and it is possible to collect hundreds of millions of Aegis navigation fees every year in the future.

As long as the navigation fee does not exceed the increased cost of bypassing the Strait of Gibraltar, everyone will be happy to reduce the sea journey. "

Living at sea in this era is an adventure. Thousands of ships die every year, and sailing at sea is a risk.

Being able to shorten the voyage distance is a good thing for every capitalist engaged in maritime transportation, which means that their sunk costs are reduced.

Compared with the military value of the Suez Canal, ordinary people still care more about the economic value.From the map, the canal has the greatest effect on Austria.Whether traveling to the Indian Ocean or the Western Pacific, this is the best choice.

This has affected Austria's economy, especially for port cities like Venice.After shortening the voyage, it has a great effect on promoting trade.

For those who live here, this is undoubtedly a good thing.The increase in overseas trade volume means an increase in the number of ships, which also means that the local economy will be more prosperous, and everyone's income will also increase accordingly.

Different people care about different things.In the Palace of Vienna, Franz did not care about the economic impact of the Suez Canal, he cared more about the strategic value.

Looking at the basic parameters of the canal: the width of the water surface is 138 meters, the width of the river bottom is 48 meters, and the water depth is 15.4 meters. It is estimated that it can accommodate 5 tons of ships.

This means that even in the era of dreadnoughts, the Suez Canal can be freely navigated, which has increased the strategic value of the Suez Canal in the same period of time and space.

This made Franz heave a sigh of relief, and his efforts were finally not in vain.This value is enough in the era of dreadnoughts, and it does not need to be considered in the era of aircraft carriers. By then, the British will also decline.