Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 8 Eduard von Bournfeld

"You want to open a newspaper, have you thought about how to make money?" Mrs. Sophie asked with concern

profit?

It's not profitable, at least not in the short term!

It is not so easy to open a newspaper office, and it is even more impossible to increase the sales of newspapers in a day. Without sales, there will be no advertising revenue.

Under normal circumstances, the newspaper office was at a pure loss in the first few months, and then slowly increased sales, and then received some advertisements, and gradually realized profits step by step.

In this era, the people of Vienna were not yet rich, and the number of the middle class was quite small, so the sales of newspapers were naturally very low.

"I plan to publish novels first, cultivate a group of stable readers, and occasionally insert news of interest to the public to attract everyone's attention.

The issue of profit is not in a hurry. It is more in line with the actual situation to consider this issue after the newspaper has sold more than [-] copies! "Frantz said with confidence.

"[-] copies, it's not easy. As far as I know, there are only three newspapers that have sold more than [-] copies in Vienna, unless they are for the national market!" Mrs. Sophie thought for a while and said.

Obviously, she also did her homework and didn't just talk about it.

Franz nodded. He knew that even these three companies could not sell [-] copies of newspapers in Vienna every day. They could only sell [-] copies when there was breaking news.

There is no way, the population of Vienna in this era is less than 50, and the number of people who can afford newspapers will not exceed [-], and there will be even fewer people willing to pay for newspapers.

Franz estimates that there are between [-] and [-] long-term newspaper subscription groups in Vienna, and everyone else buys a newspaper occasionally.

It can be said that the living environment of newspaper offices in this era is quite harsh. Coupled with the strict inspection system, this industry is not easy to do.

Franz's goal is to increase the sales of the newspaper to [-] copies within a year, of which [-] copies in Vienna will be considered a success.

Madam Sophie thought for a while and said, "Frantz, since you have thought it through, go ahead and do it boldly!

Give you a suggestion, recruit a reliable editor-in-chief, he can save you a little loss.

It is best not to get involved in politics blindly, it will save you a lot of trouble! "

"Thank you. You can tell from the name of my newspaper. This is just a newspaper that speaks out for the people, but I don't have to worry about how to do it!" Franz said with a smile

He doesn't want to be used as a weapon. He can participate in politics, but between capitalists and nobles, he must not stand blindly.

As the heir to the empire, Franz's attitude will affect the positions of many people, which is related to his own personality.

Franz positioned himself as a benevolent prince who cared about people's livelihood, and he must maintain a detached position in the battle between nobles and capitalists.

These all need publicity. Without publicity, how would ordinary people know who he is?

……

Time passed by, and Franz quickly selected an editor-in-chief for the newspaper, Edward von Bournfeld. In principle, there was only one reason for him to be famous.

One of the most well-known Austrian writers of this era, he was a radical and passionate youth in his early years, and tended to be conservative in his later years.

Now that he has reached middle age, his blood is almost burning, but not completely exhausted.

"Mr. Bournefield, you are welcome to join!" Franz said with a smile

"My lord, it is a pleasure to serve you!" replied Eduard von Boenfeld

"Mr. Boenfield, I invited you here today mainly for the positioning of the newspaper. What do you think?" Franz asked.

"Your Excellency, it is the duty of every journalist to expose the dark side of society, and we must dare to expose all of this!" Edward von Bowenfeld said with full expectation

Franz knew why such a person was willing to accept his invitation. The purpose of his relationship was to find a platform where he could swear as much as he wanted.

Austria is implementing a book and newspaper censorship system. If there is no strong backing, these literati will not be able to scold others to their heart's content.

There is no doubt that he, the heir of the empire, is the best backer. Even if something happens, can he, the boss, stop trying to get people?

Edward von Bornfeld is not young anymore, he has learned to compromise in the face of reality, and he just wrote a book "Coming Up" that satirizes the government not long ago.

After it was published, he became worried, because it was published privately and failed the inspection of government agencies. If caught, he would go to jail.

When he was about to run away, he received an invitation from Franz, and he accepted it decisively.

These days, the Austrian secret police also depend on people to order. If he works under Franz, as long as he doesn't do too much, these people will not take him for a knife.

Franz shook his head and said: "Mr. Bowenfield, there are already so many newspapers that expose the dark side of society, and there is no shortage of ours.

The purpose of my founding this newspaper can be seen from the name of the newspaper. Our purpose is to give a voice to the bottom of the society.

I hope that with our efforts, we can change the living conditions of the people at the bottom of the country. They need bread and cheese. These are the most basic needs of human beings and should be guaranteed! "

Any newspaper has a lofty concept. At this time, Austria did not have this kind of newspaper dedicated to the bottom class, because this class had no money to buy newspapers.

"Your Excellency, I have to say that your intention is very great, but to achieve this goal, we must change our current political system!" Edward von Boenfeld began to carry private goods without hesitation

Franz smiled slightly and said: "The Austrian system does need to be changed, but how to change it, I don't know.

Even if there is a ready-made plan in front of me, the accumulation of my knowledge is not enough to make a correct judgment, so I have to keep silent on this issue.

But I know that no matter how the system changes, the lives of the people at the bottom need to change, which requires the government to formulate more laws to protect their interests!

Mr. Bournefield, your task is very important. You must let more people in the society understand the lives of the people at the bottom and care about the lives of the people at the bottom!

It would be even better if the government can promote legislation to protect their interests! "

Who is afraid of fooling people?Franz left Edward von Bournfeld speechless with a few words. Everyone knew that Austria needed to be reformed, but how should it be reformed?

Everyone has different interests and needs, and naturally they have different reform plans. Franz simply sells small things, and don't expect a 16-year-old kid to decide the fate of the country.

Chapter 9 Building: People Design

Numerous cases in previous lives told Franz that you don't need to stand on the same side with the majority, at least you have to make them think that you are on the same side with them.

This is what Franz is doing now. Reform is the mainstream in Austria. He naturally wants to send a signal to the outside world that he supports reform.

At this time, the strength of the Austrian conservatives should not be underestimated. The Vienna court is the base camp of the conservatives, and Franz cannot betray his own class.

At this time, age is the best weapon. In the eyes of reformers, he supports reform, and that is enough. No one expects a 16-year-old boy to lead Austria's reform.

Franz did not express his opinion on specific reforms. In the eyes of conservatives, he was showing prudence. Everyone knew that Austria must carry out reforms, but there were endless disputes about how to reform.

As the crown prince of the empire, there is nothing wrong with Franz supporting reform. If he foolishly throws out his reform plan, he will probably be handed over to be a man.

In contrast, Franz's concern about the living conditions of the people at the bottom is nothing.A merciful king is good for all.

Before the mystery is revealed, no matter whether it is a capitalist or an aristocrat, they will not mind Franz gaining popularity among the people. No one knows that he is Xiang Zhuang's sword dance.

Bornfield was convinced by Franz, or he was convinced by reality, and there was nothing wrong with doing things for the young Grand Duke.

It would be even better if he could influence Archduke Franz to accept his ideas.

His plan was naturally clear to Franz, but he didn't take it to heart.Now he just needs to use Bournfield's influence to start the newspaper in the shortest possible time.

They don't need to worry about the issue of Austria's political reform. Franz already has a preliminary plan in mind. Before implementing this plan, the power of the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy must be weakened.

Things that elevate the status of capitalists will never appear in his reforms.

"Capital has no borders." Franz has heard of it.

The capitalists will never be fed enough. As long as the interests are right, Franz dare not let them become the pillars of the country.

Austria's special national conditions determine that this reform must take into account the interests of the vast majority of the people at the bottom in order to truly integrate the country together, which requires the nobility and the bourgeoisie to make sacrifices.

That is to say, in this special period, the contradiction between the aristocratic class and the bourgeoisie has intensified, and Franz has a chance of success.

The more he learned about this country, the more certain Franz was that the empire was undercurrent.

In 1846, the grain harvest in Germany was in short supply, and Austria was also affected.

Logically speaking, the Austrian Empire was originally the most important grain exporter in Europe. With the Hungarian Great Plains, the impact of the reduction in grain production was not great.

However, the reality is quite the opposite.For their own benefit, the capitalists excessively speculated on the grain shortage and raised the price of grain on the market. At the same time, they lowered the purchase price of grain in Hungary because the local grain harvest was bumper.

By the beginning of 1847, the price of grain on the market in Vienna had risen by 50.00%. The ordinary Viennese citizens had already felt the pressure of survival.

Behind the manipulation of food prices by the capitalists, there are still a large number of self-employed farmers going bankrupt, and even some nobles have suffered heavy losses, and the Hungarian region has begun to undercurrent.

Recently, Franz has noticed that there are more and more migrants in Vienna. Without thinking about it, he knows that most of these people are bankrupt farmers who have to enter the city in order to survive.

Some of them may still be serfs in the hands of nobles, but by now, the population of Austria has already exceeded 3000 million, and there is no shortage of serfs in the hands of nobles, so the control has been relaxed.

Although serfs are also wealth, they also have to eat. For the nobles, as long as they have a similar number and can guarantee the completion of production tasks, too many serfs are also a burden.

The success of the emancipation of serfs in European countries is not as simple as it appears, but more because of the emergence of machinery, so that nobles do not need so many people to cultivate land, such as: power harvesters and so on.

In the mid-to-late 19th century, the nobles’ demand for labor decreased, and their resistance to the abolition of serfdom became less intense. Most enlightened nobles hoped to release serfs in exchange for a sum of compensation from the state.

Prime Minister Metternich promoted the abolition of slavery in Austria. The reason why the nobles resisted was that the bid was too low. Franz supported the prime minister on this issue.

Austria's finances are not rich, and it is unable to pay high compensation, so it is inevitable to lower the compensation price.

However, this problem is not impossible to solve, such as giving preferential treatment to the abolition of slavery and nobles in taxation, or sacrificing the interests of capitalists, the government intervenes in the market to set a protective price for food to protect everyone's interests.

As long as the interests are right, there is no contradiction that cannot be resolved.It's just that Franz will not come up with these ideas now, and he is still planning to exchange interests with Prime Minister Metternich.

On January 1847, 1, Franz's newspaper "We Want Bread, We Want Cheese" was officially published.

He personally worked out an article "Caring for the People at the Lower Level and Creating a Beautiful Austria Together" as his pioneering work.

There is no doubt that this is an out-and-out chicken soup article. The article uses a lot of space to emphasize the role of the bottom people in this country, and clearly states that the Austrian Empire will be better only if the basic living needs of the bottom people are met.

The effect is naturally unquestionable. This is the first time that Chicken Soup has appeared, and many people have been fooled.

The nobles and capitalists thought that Franz was a caring crown prince who was free to worry about the lives of the pariahs, but they did not reject such an emperor.

A benevolent emperor is always better than a tyrant, and everyone doesn't have to work with their heads up.

The influence caused by the people at the bottom is greater. A crown prince who cares about their living conditions is completely standard for a benevolent monarch!

The only pity is that the crown prince is too young and has no right to speak in politics. It would be great if he became the emperor.

……

"Pity!"

Franz sighed secretly, if only a group of people under him could guide public opinion across the country, the influence would be even greater.

It's not that Franz didn't send people to guide public opinion. The problem is that he doesn't have many people in his hands, and his influence is limited to Vienna, and he can only wait for it to spread slowly in other places.

Chapter 10 The cheapest intelligence organization

It was not Franz's original intention to show his face so early. If possible, he would not mind being remotely behind the scenes all the time.

It's a pity that this is impossible. As the crown prince of the Austrian Empire, his every move is within the sight of interested people.

Franz has been in frequent contact with the military recently. If he hadn't been young and didn't have power, he doesn't know how much trouble has caused.

Whether it interferes with the line of sight or creates momentum for public opinion, Franz must stand at the foreground.The difference lies in whether they are pushed to the front stage by others, or they stand on the front stage on their own initiative.

Franz didn't want to be a pawn, he chose to take the initiative at this time.If history had not changed, revolution would have broken out in Vienna in March 1848, and he would have ascended the throne in December.

In order not to be blackened by the rebels and succeed to the throne on the charge of being an executioner, Franz had to build momentum first.

Everyone has preconceived notions. As long as the image of a benevolent monarch is created, any criticism and blackmail will be futile. At this time, the reputation of the Austrian royal family among the people has not yet collapsed.

"Raul, how did I ask you to secretly recruit people?" Franz asked with concern

"Dear Grand Duke, the progress is not very smooth. There are too few people who can meet your requirements. So far, I have only recruited two people from the secret police, and their abilities have only met your minimum requirements!" Raul was embarrassed replied

Franz was taken aback for a moment. He didn't expect that it would be so difficult to recruit intelligence personnel. Could it be that the standard he set was really high?

He only put forward the most basic requirements: loyalty to the royal family, no political inclinations, a certain amount of wisdom, courage, vigilance and patience, as well as keen judgment, and it is best to have a certain professional ability.

He didn't even mention personal temperament, erudite knowledge, keen political sense, and strong analytical ability, which are the standard equipment for intelligence personnel.

"What is the main place that cannot meet the requirements?" Franz asked with concern

"Grand Duke, there are many people who are satisfied with one or several items alone, but when combined together, there are not many people who can meet your requirements!" Raul thought for a while and said

Franz was dumbfounded, and it was true after thinking about it. There are very few professional intelligence personnel in this era, and most of them are amateurs.

It is very difficult to establish an intelligence organization. Even if the crown prince of the empire can poach the government's corner, can the loyalty of these people be guaranteed?

What if it is a spy sent by someone else?

There is no need to doubt, not to mention this era, even the professional intelligence personnel of later generations have their own masters. If Franz wants to establish an intelligence organization, he must either cultivate it himself or dig a corner from the government.

"Do you have any suggestions, don't hide them!"

Looking at Raul who hesitated to speak, Franz frowned and asked.

"Grand Duke, in fact, you don't need to form an intelligence organization alone. The royal family already has an intelligence organization, but these years..."