Holy Roman Empire

By Christmas Eve, the local population had successfully dropped by 12, alleviating the pressure on supplies.Otherwise, even this bit of fish may not be able to be taken out.

It was still summer, the rain was relatively abundant, and there was no need for fuel for heating.If it comes to winter, the material pressure will be even greater.

Considering the impact of the monsoon, it is not uncommon to see murderous waves more than ten meters high in winter. In July, August and September every year, the Cape of Good Hope route is almost not navigable.

Even now, the British have paid a high price for transporting supplies, and almost [-]% of the ships died halfway.

There is no way, the wind resistance of wooden ships in the age of sails is too weak, and various natural disasters are not so easy to resist, and sometimes there are man-made disasters.

In the recent period, the Royal Navy has made several attacks to wipe out pirates, but there are still pirates who don't have a good eye.

Sometimes the governor of Delphi wanted to pry open the heads of the pirates to see what was inside. Why didn't he even know about the investigation beforehand, and someone robbed the ships transporting fresh water and stones.

Being in a high position, he didn't know the hardships of the pirates. Gathering information was said to be so easy. Except for a few pirate regiments who could do it, most pirates robbed merchant ships when they encountered them.

Since learning that the next batch of reinforcements will be the Indian colonial army, Governor Delphi is ready to go home to avoid the limelight.As for counterattacking the Boers and making atonement, he is not so big-hearted.

Like most British people, Governor Delphi also looked down on the Indian colonial army. In his eyes, the combat effectiveness of this army was about the same as that of the black cannon fodder outside.

The only value is to use cannon fodder against cannon fodder, which can reduce the casualties of the boys.The army in the Cape Town area needs to rest and reorganize, and if this continues, this army will be useless.

For details, you can refer to the Near East War. At that time, the performance of the British army was still good.However, because the rear was not replenished in time and no effective rest and recovery was carried out, most of the British soldiers who participated in the battle after the war were over were abolished.

This kind of "waste" is not physically, but mentally.The main manifestations are war weariness, fear of war, and anti-war, especially the British soldiers who mixed with Italians brought back a bunch of bad habits.

The failure of the subsequent Persian War, the delay in suppressing the Indian rebellion, and the difficult performance of the expedition to Ethiopia are all proofs of the decline in the combat effectiveness of the British army.

Not to mention the South African War, Governor Delphi was too embarrassed to say what was achieved.

On the one hand, the colonial troops were pampered, and even the most basic training could not be guaranteed; on the other hand, the combat effectiveness of the main force had declined, and many tactics remained in the era of front-loading guns.

Neither the colonial army nor the regular army can fight, so it is not surprising that they failed on the battlefield.

Otherwise, the original time and space would not have made a joke that tens of thousands of people besieged the Boer Republic and won for three years.

The more you know, the more pressure Governor Delphi will have.The British Empire, which is beautiful on the surface, has begun to decay internally.

In this state, can Britain meet the challenges of France and Austria?Deep down, Delphi had doubts.

The defeat of this war was also a severe blow to his body and mind, and he no longer had the arrogance of the past.

It was late at night, and the laughter and laughter outside had ended.Governor Delphi fell into deep thought, thinking farther and farther.

At first, he was anxious about the war in Cape Town, then he was worried about his own personal future, and later he was worried about the future of Britain.

Delphi had no sleep this Christmas Eve.

……

Chapter 59 The foundation of the industrial revolution - cost

After Christmas, Britain and Austria successively recognized the Greater French Empire, which was regarded as acquiescing to France's annexation of Italy.

Affected by this, European countries also recognized the legitimacy of Greater France in 1871 and resumed diplomatic relations with France. Napoleon III finally got rid of the diplomatic dilemma.

International tensions surrounding France's annexation of Italian regions ended.But the impact is far-reaching.

Undercurrents began to surge, careerists became active, expansion became the theme of the times, and many small European countries lost their sense of security.

The era of imperialism has come in full swing, and what the French have done this time has once again refreshed the bottom line of the great powers.From now on, powerful countries can annex a sovereign country without any excuses.

The fig leaf is no longer needed, the strong prey on the weak has never been so vivid, and the rules of the game have become more unfavorable to weak countries.

I don't know who released the news of the alliance between Britain, France and Austria, which made the international situation that had just eased become tense again.At this moment, the rest of the European countries couldn't sit still, and the foreign ministries of Britain, France and Austria became lively.

Even Alexander II, who was busy with internal reforms, personally sent a telegram to inquire.It is impossible to keep it secret. Both Britain and France have publicly admitted that alliance negotiations are underway.

Originally, he planned to use this alliance to increase Austria's influence in the world, and Franz naturally would not deny it by superfluous.

As for what Alexander II would think, it doesn't matter now.Not to mention the half-dead Russian Empire, even the Russian Empire at its peak would shy away from the Triple Alliance.

The formal alliance treaty of the three countries has not yet been signed, and discussions on the establishment of a new international situation have already begun.

Everyone can't resist the temptation in the face of interests, and formulating a game rule that is beneficial to them happens to be the greatest interest.

Even Franz, who had little interest in the Triple Alliance, was very interested in establishing a new international order.

Austria has experience in this regard and has dominated the Vienna system twice.A set of rules of the game that is beneficial to itself can bring no less benefits than any colony.

Now everyone needs a stable Europe, the British need a continental balance, the French want to digest the results of the war, and Austria needs time to continue to develop.

Other countries are no exception. The Kingdom of Prussia needs to digest the results of the war, and the Russians are busy reforming. Not to mention small countries, everyone wants a stable Europe.

With the common will of all, a new international order is about to emerge.This time it is more cruel than before. After the three major powers formulate the rules, all countries can abide by them.

The next-level powers Prussia, Russia, and the Nordic Federation still have a certain right to speak, and more small countries have been completely reduced to echoers.

As one of the vested interests, Franz has no intention of complaining for them.

Now he is busy carrying out economic reforms. Compared with the first industrial revolution, the second industrial revolution has still undergone changes. Certain economic policies in the past have now become outdated.

The well-known "Austrian School of Economics" has also begun to emerge, but it is still in its infancy.Perhaps because of the butterfly effect, it was affected by the environment, but it still changed.

What exactly happened, Franz couldn't tell.He does not study economics, so he is not very clear about these issues.

In the era when the free market economy prevailed, Austria's economic policy was considered positive, but of course this positive was very limited.

The main thing is to let the market develop freely. The government only provides complete infrastructure and formulates some incentive policies when necessary.

As long as you have money, you can enter any industry field. Whether you can survive is your own problem.

As a pragmatist, Franz has always pursued "the most suitable is the best".Under the general framework, the economic measures in various parts of Austria are not exactly the same.

Different regions have different development directions and require different policies.If you let the central government worry about it, it's not too busy.

In the Palace of Vienna, the economic report meeting that will determine the next ten years of Austria is being held, and this economic reform is only fine-tuning.

Generally speaking, the previous economic policy is still used, and only individual industries need to be changed, which does not involve a large area.

Economy Minister Andrew analyzed: "In the past two years, the domestic economic development has generally been in a good state, and the economic growth rate has remained at 7.8%.

Among them, it is worth noting that the new energy industry, mainly the power industry, has a particularly prominent growth rate. It has rapidly climbed from an industry scale of less than 1868 million Aegis in 1000 to the current [-] million Aegis.

The industrial chain involves many fields, driving upstream industries including copper smelting, rubber, and power generation equipment manufacturing, as well as downstream industries such as hardware accessories, electrical machinery equipment, and transportation.

A total of 63.8 new jobs were created, making a major contribution to getting rid of the economic crisis.The most typical example is the copper smelting industry in Saxony and the Balkans, where significant breakthroughs have been made in production capacity.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs believes that electric energy will become the biggest economic growth point in the future.

At present, only Vienna has fully popularized electric lighting in China. Although Frankfurt, Munich, Venice, Milan and other cities have launched projects, it will take some time before they are completed.

In Africa, we have discovered many copper mines, all of which are rich ore, with high-quality ore, and the reserves exceed the sum of the copper mines being mined in the European continent.

We have already consulted domestic shipyards, and there is no technical problem in building a large ore carrier with a capacity of [-] to [-] tons.Transportation costs will soon be reduced, and insufficient copper production capacity, which restricts the popularization of electricity, will be resolved immediately.

With the supply of cheap copper ore, the price of copper in the market will soon fall, and the cost of promoting electric lighting will be greatly reduced.

In addition, electric mechanical equipment also has great potential to be tapped, and may even replace the current steam engine in the future.At present, some fields have already used electric mechanical equipment.

In addition, another economic growth point is that the number of newborn babies hits new highs, and the sales of baby products continue to grow.

There are too many products involved in this aspect, and it is too troublesome to count, so we can only make a preliminary estimate.Now there is a market of about 3500 million Aegis per year, but the growth rate is very fast, and it is expected to grow by 12% this year.

In contrast, the market in the traditional economic field has shown decadence.The last economic crisis has proved that many fields in the country have been saturated.

At present, in the traditional economic fields, the steel, mining, shipbuilding and construction industries have the fastest growth rates, respectively 13.2%, 9.6%, 10.1%, and 8.9%. The textile industry, which has grown rapidly in the past, only had a growth rate of 3.1% last year.

Our most advantageous food processing industry is also encountering a bottleneck. Although it still maintains a growth rate of 5.8%, the downward trend is very obvious.

Judging from these data, the development of emerging industries has become a pillar industry for future economic development.The Ministry of Economic Affairs plans to comprehensively promote electric lighting in the country and encourage electric technology innovation. "

This is in line with the habits of the Vienna government. The popularization of electricity is inseparable from the government's policies. If there is no government promotion, it is estimated that no power company will selflessly contribute a power supply network.

In contrast, baby products are different. There is no need for the government to intervene. The capitalists will do a good job. What the government needs to do is to supervise and regulate the market.

The seasoned and prudent Prime Minister Felix took up the topic: "There is no problem in promoting electric technology. Everyone has experienced the benefits of this technology. The electric light above our heads is one of them.

However, when promoting, the upfront cost must also be considered.The cost required to build an urban power supply network is not a small figure.

Not every city can afford it, and the government does not recommend promotion in cities with lower fiscal revenue.If someone turns this policy of benefiting the people into a policy of harming the people, we will be held accountable. "

Whether the electric technology is good or not, the answer is: very good.It is a pity that the time is too early and the cost has not yet come down.

Big cities with relatively high local fiscal revenue follow the example of Vienna in popularizing electric lighting. There is no problem, and they can do it if they can afford it.

For some poor cities, that is a heavy burden.Taking Vienna as an example, the city government spends 120 million Aegis annually on electricity and lighting system maintenance.

For the bustling Vienna, this money can be directly apportioned to the businessmen in the urban area. They are the biggest beneficiaries of the city that never sleeps, and the income generated by the night market is enough to cover the expenses.

If you change to some small cities, there is not much business, and the annual fiscal revenue is only 10,000+ Aegis, it will be difficult to maintain the operation of the government.

If you follow suit, the cost will fall on ordinary people in the end.For the local people with low income, it is a disaster.

The lower the population density of the city, the higher the cost of electricity supply per capita, and the Vienna government has already calculated this account.

In order to prevent the worst from happening, Prime Minister Felix stood up in advance to pour cold water on him.To prevent some bureaucrats from blindly following the trend in order to brush up their political achievements.

After hearing Felix's warning, many local officials who participated in the meeting sweated for their previous thoughts.

Sure enough, cheap political achievements are not easy to pick up. If you don’t have the qualifications, you will follow the trend blindly. It is estimated that your career will be over after the report is published.

Except for a few states that have greater autonomy, the rest of the cities still need to be reviewed by the Vienna government if they want to launch such a large project.

So far, only large cities with developed economies, or those in coal-producing areas, can get approval, and the cost of power generation is unimaginably low.

For most cities, it is best to wait for technological innovations and further reductions in power supply costs before considering this issue.

In the original time and space, the electric power revolution in Europe started from Germany. The most important reason was that Germany had the largest copper output and coal output in Europe at that time, and the cost of promoting electric power technology was lower than that of Britain and France.

The United States has nothing to say, it does not lack anything.Whether it's copper production or coal production, it's all about how much you need.

Therefore, starting from the second industrial revolution and subsequent technological innovations, Americans have gradually moved ahead of Europe.

It's not that European countries don't have technology, the problem is that European countries lack raw materials, transportation from overseas increases costs, and they don't have the ability to promote.Before the industrial technology matures, Britain and France cannot bear the high cost.

Now that Franz is making a big fuss about the power technology revolution, he has no intention of keeping it secret at all. The main reason is that the cost of raw materials in Austria is lower than that of Britain and France.

Except for the Russian Empire, Austria's copper reserves exceed the combined European countries, not to mention its output, directly accounting for half of the world's share.

Austria also has a very important share in rubber production.The colonies in Southeast Asia are not in vain. Almost every island can grow rubber. Coupled with the rubber plantations opened in Africa, Austria is now the world's largest supplier of rubber products.

If Britain and France want to promote electric power technology, they must first import copper, and then import rubber.France is even worse, they have to import coal.

The cost has been decided. In this industrial revolution, Britain and France have fallen into a disadvantage.

Chapter 60 Energy Regulation

The electric revolution is not just about lighting, some small electrical appliances with little technical content have also begun to emerge as the times require.

For example: the electric fan is one of the accidental products, and the inventor is a skilled worker.

The reason was to cool down the equipment. He disliked the useless use of mechanical fans and wanted to create a fan that does not need to be operated by humans.

With an idea, an iron piece was added to the motor, and the blades rotated quickly after being connected to the power supply. The earliest electric fan was born.

Originally, Franz thought that another great scientist was born, but after investigation, he found that this was an ordinary skilled worker.Apart from accidentally inventing the electric fan, I have no talent for scientific research.

Real cases once again prove that technological inventions are full of coincidences.There are many similar cases, and many practical technological inventions are made by ordinary people.

This strengthened Franz's determination to increase the training of hands-on ability courses in education, so starting from 1871, Austrian students added another practical course.

Just like a joke in later generations: a real academic master can build a nuclear reactor in his own garage.

This kind of talent is what Austria needs most.Having come to the forefront of the technological revolution, Austria now has nothing to copy. The original copycat empire now has to carry out independent innovation.

Franz seldom intervenes in this regard. If a country wants to be truly powerful, it must have the ability to independently develop research and development, instead of being led by the nose by his emperor.

The achievements of the previous life can certainly be used to avoid detours, but for a country, this can only be used as an aid.Once it becomes dependent, it is a disaster.

Usually Franz just raises the demand, and how to realize it is the responsibility of scientists.It’s good to be successful, but it’s okay to fail. Scientific research has never been smooth sailing, and it’s impossible not to go through wind and rain.

Of course, this has something to do with Franz's scumbag in his previous life.As an ordinary person, I have always only enjoyed the convenience brought by technology. Who cares how these technology products are manufactured?

Just relying on the little knowledge I found on the Internet, it's okay not to show it.If it is taken out, it will be bad.

The economic meeting is still going on, and everyone is discussing how to promote the popularization of electric power technology at this time.To sum up, there are two points:

One is to reduce taxes for enterprises engaged in the electric power industry. In this way, the operating costs of electric power companies are reduced;

The second is to reduce the price of raw materials, or reduce the price of copper and rubber, thereby reducing the cost in the process of electric power promotion.

The means are just so crude, without so much technical content.The first problem to be faced with the promotion of any new technology is cost.

Only when the cost is within the controllable range can it have economic value; only when it has economic value can it be promoted in the market.