Holy Roman Empire

Listening to the rhetoric of Foreign Minister McCarter, William I frowned. Not only the Russians are short of money, but Prussia is also short of money now.

The financial situation of the Berlin government was even worse than that of the Tsarist government.At least the Russians have reneged on their debts and no longer have to repay their debts, but Prussia has to bear heavy debts.

In recent years, the number of people from the Kingdom of Prussia going to Austria to seek a living has increased day by day. A large part of the reason is that the tax burden is too heavy.

In order to repay the debt, the Berlin government had to increase the burden on the domestic people.The people who couldn't bear it, just ran away.

William I didn't dare to stop him. Most of those who ran away settled down and lost their livelihoods in the country. Staying is a hidden danger.

If it weren't for the ability to immigrate nearby, Prussia would be full of flames.Winning the Russian Empire brings only glory, and the newly expanded land cannot be converted into wealth in a short period of time, and it is still in the investment stage.

The people have not gained any real benefits, and the status of a big country is still not enough to deceive their stomachs.

Of course, the spiritual harvest is still very useful. Even if everyone's life is difficult, the public's support for the government is still very high.

Even if they can't get along anymore, it's just that the immigrants left, and they didn't go to start a revolution.

This aspect is somewhat similar to Japan, except that Japan does not have a flood discharge window, and if you are hungry, you still have to make trouble, such as grabbing rice.

William I interrupted: "What plans does the Foreign Office have? Whatever the Russians' intentions, all we need to do now is sabotage."

There is no need for any reason, what the enemy wants to do, let them fail to do it right.

They could not intervene in the internal reforms of the tsarist government, but Prussia could disrupt international diplomatic activities.

Compared with other countries' diplomatic means, William I did not have confidence, but compared with the Russians, he was still sure.

After a pause for a few seconds, Foreign Secretary McCarthy replied: "Your Majesty, it is unlikely that the Russians want to obtain funds from the outside world. The biggest political goal should be to improve diplomatic relations with other countries.

Now that France and Russia are getting closer, it has also stimulated the Vienna government.Today, the Russia-Austria alliance can no longer bring political benefits to Austria, but is instead a burden diplomatically.

It has not been a few years since the end of the Russia-Austria alliance, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to enlarge the rift between them and prevent Russia and Austria from renewing the contract. "

The destruction of the Russia-Austria alliance is of great significance to the Kingdom of Prussia, which is directly related to the outcome of the next Prussia-Russia war.

Prime Minister Moltke shook his head and said: "This is not enough, the Russia-Austria alliance is not only a political benefit, but also a lot of economic significance.

The current Russian Empire is almost the place where Austrian goods are dumped.Austria alone accounts for 63% of Russia's total import and export trade, and the Vienna government will not let go of such a big interest. "

Interests are always the best bond, and there is nothing that cannot be compromised before interests.Even though Russia and Austria have considerable conflicts, the two sides still maintain an ally relationship for the sake of interests.

Foreign Secretary McCarthy explained: "That's right, Your Excellency Prime Minister. But we also need to look at a set of data. The total trade volume between Russia and Austria has continued to decline in recent years.

The tsarist government was trying to wean itself economically from Austria, and the Russians had raised tariffs several times in order to develop domestic industry.

If it weren't for the fact that the Russian industry was too backward and its products were not competitive in the market, the Austrians would not be able to keep their current market share.

The Great Land Reclamation Campaign promoted by Alexander II has produced results, and it is a foregone conclusion that Russian agricultural products will be unsalable this year.

After the Russian crown prince's trip to Europe, it is very likely that the domestic market will be opened to Britain and France in exchange for domestic agricultural products to enter the international market.

After Austria loses its monopoly on the Russian market, it will also face the impact of Russian agricultural products in the international grain export market, and the relationship between the two countries will definitely be greatly affected.

The more agreements the Russians have reached with Britain and France, the more Austria will lose.It may not be obvious in a short time, but the change will be very obvious after three to five years.

As long as the Austrians see greater interests, it is not impossible to abandon the Russia-Austria alliance.

For example:

Let them believe that as long as we win the next round of the Prussian-Prussian War, they can gain the Ukraine region and the Russian Balkans, cutting off the Russians' food export channels. "

Everyone's face changed drastically, obviously intimidated by McCate's shocking remarks.

The room suddenly became quiet, only the sound of everyone's breathing and the faint sound of heartbeat remained.

……

Chapter 74 new page

Without hesitation for long, William I agreed to the plan.Prussia's family background is limited, and there is no bargaining chip that can be used to make transactions.All the checks are now issued as bad checks, can you fill in the numbers a little bigger?

The international situation is ever-changing. A few years ago, Britain and France were still fully supporting Prussia in resisting Russia. In a blink of an eye, Britain and France were about to ease relations with the Russians.

It's not that William I didn't want to stop all of this from happening, it's just that he couldn't stop it in the face of interests.

The fallen Russian Empire is no longer a competitor of Britain and France, so they can naturally play happily together.

In the next Russo-Prussian war, even Britain and France will stand by them, and their support will not be as strong as last time. They can only rely on their own efforts to win the war.

The Russians are a lesson from the past. Austria no longer supported them unconditionally during the Russo-Prussian War. The Tsarist government, whose mentality had not adjusted, paid a heavy price for this.

The relationship between Russia and Austria is getting colder day by day. In fact, the tsarist government is dissatisfied with the reserved support of the Vienna government in the Russo-Prussian War.

The tsarist government was angry, and the Vienna government was also uncomfortable.From the perspective of the Vienna government, it has done enough, fully fulfilled its ally obligations, and even paid beyond the scope of the covenant, and was complained by the Russians.

Both sides considered issues from their own standpoints, and the inextricable knot became a hurdle between the Russia-Austria alliance, as evidenced by the fact that the relationship between the two countries has not been restored after the war.

As a bystander, William I can think about problems calmly.But it was different when it was their turn. Britain and France made it clear that they were just using them as pawns.

After the Russians were beaten, all support came to an abrupt end.The London government once wanted to support Prussia to check and balance France and Austria. After weighing the pros and cons, it finally failed to implement it.

In the final analysis, it is because of interests that the British will have to pay too much for continuing to support the Kingdom of Prussia, and the benefits they can get are too little, and they will also face fierce rebounds from France and Austria.

Compared with the British, the French are even more hateful, and they are still plotting the Rhineland region.If it wasn't for the sudden annexation of the Italian region by the French, which caused panic in European countries and made the Paris government dare not act rashly, maybe the Rhineland region would also change hands.

In the absence of annexation of the German Federal Empire, the Rhineland region became the heart disease of the Kingdom of Prussia.William I was always in fear, fearing that the French would swallow it regardless.

In order to get out of the predicament, William I repeatedly proposed to join the German Federal Empire.Undoubtedly met with strong resistance from Hannover.

How can you not be vigilant about the dove occupying the magpie's nest?

The size of the Kingdom of Prussia is much larger than that of the Federal Empire of Germany. To put it nicely, it is to join in. In other words, it is to annex the Federal Empire of Germany.

If the writing is not good, the martial arts is even worse.If the Berlin government wants to attack the Federal Empire of Germany, Austria will definitely not agree.Once forced to act, the Austro-Prussian War will break out.

That is definitely the worst situation. When it really comes to that point, the Kingdom of Prussia is really the enemy of the whole world.

While fighting with Austria and the German Federation, there are also Russians who are dealing with troubles. Maybe the Nordic Federation will get involved, and maybe the French will also join in the fun.

There is nothing to say in front of interests, and everyone cannot resist the temptation.The geographical location of the Kingdom of Prussia can be said to be one of the worst European powers, which determines that they must be cautious when expanding.

The Russo-Prussian War was both a challenge and an opportunity for Prussia.If Prussia wants to develop and grow, the best choice is to step on the Russians, which was decided by the first Russo-Prussian War.

In recent years, the Berlin government has not been idle. Even if the government has no money in its pocket, they are still trying to find ways to develop the economy.For example: using British and French capital to build railways on the newly occupied land, and even helping the Poles to build railways.

In order to raise funds for development, the Berlin government has also increased resource exports.Mineral resources in the Rhineland region were exported to France and the German Federal Empire in large quantities.

Relying on the export of industrial and commercial products and mineral resources, the Kingdom of Prussia achieved a trade surplus.Of course, the bigger reason for this is that the Kingdom of Poland provided a dumping market for Prussian industrial and commercial products.

Under normal circumstances, if a country has a trade surplus and a large amount of capital flows in from the outside world, there should be no shortage of money.

It is a pity that Prussia is an exception. These wealth have been used to repay debts, and the economy has to be subject to Britain and France.

In order to repay the debt, the Berlin government reduced expenditure as much as possible.However, this does not include military expenditures. No matter how poor you are, you cannot poor the army. Even now, Prussia's military expenditures have never been lower than 45% of its fiscal revenue.

In this context, it is not surprising that the Berlin government wants to take the bottom line and dismantle the Russia-Austria alliance.

Only by completely defeating the Russian Empire can the Kingdom of Prussia have a stable international environment for development, be able to suppress military expenditures, develop the economy with peace of mind, and get rid of the debt crisis.

The splitting of the Russia-Austria alliance is the first step to winning the war.William I was ready to launch the war in advance. If the tsarist government completed its internal reforms, the balance of war would completely tilt to the Russians.

In the first Prussian-Prussian War, Prussia won the war by virtue of its transportation advantages, and this advantage must naturally be retained.

Even with the expansion, the territory of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Kingdom of Poland is far from comparable to that of the Russians, which means that they can finish the railway first.

The current plan is progressing very smoothly, and the progress of Prussia's railway construction is simply not comparable to that of the Russians.

Although Alexander II has worked very hard, Russia is too big, and a few thousand kilometers of railways are really not worth mentioning for this empire.

Strategically speaking, the Russians need at least 30 kilometers of railways to get rid of their transportation difficulties.Even if the territories in Asia are ignored and only part of Europe is considered, it will take 15 kilometers to barely meet the demand.

In contrast, the Kingdom of Prussia is much better. Even if the Kingdom of Poland is added, they can build another [-] to [-] kilometers to meet the needs of the war.

Of course, there is still a long way to go to reach the level of the former Second Empire of Time and Space.It is only the Germans who can connect the railway to every town.

In a land area of ​​only 54 square kilometers, more than 6 kilometers of railways have been built. It can be said that railways must be seen within five kilometers.The railway coverage set by the Germans has remained an unbreakable world record until the 21st century.

Of course, this special situation is created by the times.After the automobile industry developed, many railways lost their economic value and withdrew from the stage of history.

Alexander II is also very clear about the problems faced in transportation.The tragedy is that he wanted to attract foreign capital to invest in the railway, but no one cared about it.

No matter how many preferential conditions are given, it is useless. Austria’s bundled railways have killed many capitalists. Many railway companies have been losing money for more than ten years. Who would dare to jump into the huge pit of the Russians?

At present, British and French capital invest in the railways of Pupu and Poland, and they only invest in the main roads with economic value, and they do not touch the branch railways at all.

Not to mention the Russian Railways, even if the St. Petersburg-Moscow railway is put out for bidding, no railway company would dare to take the risk.

This is not just an economic risk, the most important thing is that everyone has doubts about the credibility of the tsarist government.If the railway is completed and the tsarist government declares the railway state-owned, will everyone still pay for it?

It is worth mentioning that the Russian railway is still state-owned, and the high operating costs have discouraged private capital.

An Austrian railway company once went to Russia to investigate, and finally came to the conclusion that the overall operating cost of the Russian railway is three times that of the Austrian railway.

It's all winter's fault.Except for a few areas, the Russian Empire is a land of ice and snow.Technology is limited in this era, and railway operation in winter is not only risky, but also requires a significant increase in maintenance costs.

The cost is high, the key is that the land is sparsely populated and the economy is backward.No matter the flow of goods or passengers is insufficient, this income cannot meet the operation of the railway company at all.

Who wants to risk building an unprofitable railroad with no strings attached?

Unable to make profits, private capital refused to invest, and the responsibility for Russian railway construction fell on the shoulders of the government, so the construction progress was naturally slow.

Even in the 21st century, Russia's transportation has nothing to do with convenience. The European part is passable, the Asian part is still barely passenger transport, and large-scale freight is still a problem.

Not to mention in this era, the total mileage of railways operated by the huge Russian Empire is less than 7876 kilometers, specifically [-] kilometers, which is less than half of the Kingdom of Prussia.

It is less than the same period in history, which is the aftermath of the war.The tsarist government, which was short of financial resources, also delayed the progress of railway construction.

……

When William I was about to dig a wall, Alexandrovich also arrived in London.The oncoming strange smell and the gray sky made Alexandrovich frown.

London, known as the largest city in the world, is actually such a scene, which is really disappointing.

The only pleasing scenery is probably the tall chimneys, the thick smoke rising into the sky, dancing in the wind, like a fairyland on earth.

Oh, these beauties can only be viewed from a distance, not to be played with.In case of being choked to death, no one will be responsible.

London in this era is the best portrayal of the beauty of industry, one of the most polluted cities in the world, and the leader of the smog world.

Aleksandrovich was lucky that he didn't come over in winter, otherwise he could feel the most lethal biochemical weapon of this era.

It is autumn now, the weather in London is not bad, and the visibility is still a few hundred meters away, so there will be no large-scale poisoning deaths.

It was not the first time that Alexandrovich was greeted by Prince Edward, the Crown Prince of England.The two are also relatives, and the European royal family is one family. This statement is not wrong at all.

They have a common father-in-law, King Christian IX of Denmark, who is honored as the "father-in-law of Europe".

Facts have proved once again that European royal families are not easy to mess with, and even small royal families cannot hold back their relatives and friends.

There is a very good rule in the European royal family, that is, relatives belong to relatives, and wars belong to wars. Even if you fight to the death on the battlefield, everyone can still be friends in private... friends, it should be "relatives".

The relationship between the two will not affect the diplomacy between Britain and Russia.Alexandrovich was better off, had begun to participate in government affairs, and had a certain say in politics.

Edward's misery, for he lived an unrefined and sometimes indiscreet manner, and Queen Victoria never allowed him to take charge of any matter of actual government.

In other words, he is an empty crown prince. Apart from his noble status, there is no room for him to intervene in politics.

After a while of polite greetings, the two left the noisy port in a carriage.History seems to have turned a new page at this moment.

……

Chapter 75 Benefits Touch the Heart

Since the Anglo-Boer war, Benjamin's cabinet has been caught in a political whirlpool.Don't say that you are considering re-election. If you want to serve this term, you need to work hard.

The Colonial Department took responsibility for this, and the Colonial Secretary Louis and Cape Town Governor Delphi resigned at the same time. The opposition still refused to give up and pursued this issue.

If the "Three Kingdoms Alliance" hadn't been used to attract the attention of the public and divert the focus of public opinion, Downing Street might have changed its owner by now.

This is far from enough. If it wants to cover up this stain, the cabinet must also make greater achievements in politics and diplomacy.

The relationship with Russia is also a part of it. The capitalists need to open up the Russian market and earn more profits.

In this context, Alexandrovich's visit to London was naturally welcomed by the London government.

……

"His Royal Highness, we agree in principle to your country's desire to borrow. As long as you can convince the bankers, it doesn't matter how much you borrow."

Foreign Secretary Maclean said in a personable manner that this is his true thought.As long as the Russians can convince the bankers, the London government will not interfere no matter how much money is borrowed.

Alexandrovich frowned. If he could convince the banker, he wouldn't have to deal with the British Foreign Office.

"Your Excellency, now we are encountering difficulties and need the help of your government."