Holy Roman Empire

If they do not follow up, the two sides will be separated economically; if they follow up, Central and Southern Europe will unify the standard system, which will undoubtedly have a huge influence.

As an emperor, many things have to consider politics and military affairs.For example, if the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Maozi are allowed to unify the railway standards now, Franz will be persuaded immediately.

Regardless of the reason, we all know that any country that is a neighbor of Mao Xiong must be cautious.Even if everyone is an ally, what should be guarded against is still to be guarded against.

During this period, the major powers in Europe actually acted like they were strong from the outside, and Austria was no exception. The social reform had just begun, and it had not yet had time to transform into national power.

The national power of the British has also not reached its peak, India has not been completely eaten by them, Australia and New Zealand still have indigenous forces, South Africa has only established some strongholds in the coastal areas, Southeast Asian colonization is in progress, Egypt is still dominated by the French, The big colonial empire has not yet completed the puzzle.

The French are busy with internal struggles, while the internal conflicts of the Russians have only been suppressed, waiting to be detonated by external forces.

The Kingdom of Prussia still needs to rely on foreign wars to divert social conflicts, and internal reforms have just started. On the surface, the military strength is good, but the domestic economy is not strong.

Spain continues to decline, and social reforms have not yet started; the United States, far away across the ocean, is only an agricultural country with a population of just over 2000 million in this era, and its main economic income is the export of cotton, and conflicts between the North and the South have emerged.

Thinking of this, Franz suddenly had an idea, should he find an opportunity to engage in South Africa?

South Africa is so big, the British only established colonial rule on the coast, and the inland areas are still unclaimed land. Except for the Cape of Good Hope, the British did not pay attention to other areas.

The British are very busy now, and they can't take care of more areas in Africa. There are so many entry points. If they join in now, they may be able to share a piece of meat.

If it doesn't work, start with Namibia, then occupy Botswana, and play a side ball; or start with Tanzania, occupy Zambia, Zimbabwe, and enter the hinterland of South Africa from the inland.

They are all good in theory, but they seem unreliable in practice. The African continent in this era is not cute at all. There are a lot of diseases, poisonous insects and beasts. If you want to colonize here, you must first be prepared to suffer a super high mortality rate.

Theoretically, it is not very high, as long as you are careful and control the death rate within [-]%, there is probably no problem.

This is okay to say, but if you really implement it, you will find that everyone is not so brave. Who would like to take risks in the past if they are living well?

Except for the incentives of interest, for example, when a gold mine in South Africa is discovered, everyone becomes brave all of a sudden, and diseases, poisonous insects, and beasts are nothing.

Regrettably, when gold was discovered, it was not Austria's turn.Unless it is occupied in advance and then join forces with the Boers, it is impossible to grab the British at all.

Rationality is rationality. As soon as this idea came out, Franz couldn't shake it anymore.

Anyway, it's been a long time since South Africa discovered gold. At worst, support the African colonialists in the country and let them go to establish a stronghold first.

By the time the Anglo-Boer War broke out, Austria would probably have already risen. At that time, whether it was supporting the Boers to add chaos to John Bull, or joining in to carve up a share, they needed a foothold.

The timing of action must be chosen well, preferably when the British are too busy to take care of themselves, and suddenly launch an established fact.

According to the international law of this era, no man's land is owned by whoever occupies it first. The prerequisite is that it can be kept.

It's still early, so don't be in a hurry.Franz is not a person who acts blindly, and now it seems that he still wants to promote the construction of the Suez Canal.

Austria does not have the ability to monopolize this canal, but with a little encouragement, it is still possible to become an international condominium canal.

When the Suez Canal was dug in history, the British government fully opposed it. They believed that the canal would threaten their maritime supremacy.

The British public believed that the canal could not pass large ships, and the shares of the canal company were almost nobody in the UK.

On the contrary, it sold well in France. The canal company also had insufficient funds to suspend work halfway, and almost turned into an unfinished project. In the end, it was successfully completed under the help of the Rothschild family.

In history, the canal was opened to navigation in 1869. For such a long time, the Austrian navy has almost a little weight.

There are no other guarantees, but it is still possible to become a shareholder of the canal.

Historically, France could not bear the pressure of the British, and was forced to give up only when there were financial problems. If France and Austria jointly dominate the Suez Canal, the result will be different.

How to operate it, Franz had a headache.The relationship between the great powers is very complicated. Everyone is cooperating and stabbing each other.

Today we join forces here, and tomorrow we will fight again in another place.

If you want to reduce conflicts, unless you are like the Russia-Ottoman secret agreement, everyone takes what they need, and the sphere of influence is clearly agreed in advance.

As long as you imagine it is impossible, Austria can make concessions to Russia, which is our core strategy without conflict.

Franz also knew that as soon as the Russian strategy was launched, they would be besieged by Britain, France and the Ottomans. Mao Xiong's national strength could not support such a long-term war of attrition, and failure was inevitable.

Unless Britain and France take the initiative to invade Russia, Austria will be drawn into the war under the influence of the alliance.It's just that when you open the map, you know that unless Russia leads the way, it will be difficult for Britain and France to attack Russia.

Obviously, this kind of thing cannot happen a second time. Austria can only choose a big country as an ally, and the two or five boys who are swinging left and right can easily be shot to death.

Chapter 29 Dirty Means

At the same time that the railway plan was launched, Franz did not forget the other two core industries, but in these two industries, the government directly intervened much less.

To some extent, the processing and manufacturing industry can be seen as a whole.The agricultural product processing industry can be spun off independently, without other factors, it is simply able to make money.

At present, the largest source of foreign exchange for the Austrian Empire is the export of agricultural products.It includes two parts: the export of refined agricultural products and the export of original ecological agricultural products.

Undoubtedly, the profit of grain export after processing is much higher, which can drive a large number of people to be employed and bring a lot of tax revenue to the country.

From the perspective of economic development, this is the growth point of GDP.Franz also counted on the profits from the export of agricultural products to make up for the trade deficit.

In international trade, the Austrian Empire was in deficit most of the time, which was also the main factor causing the continuous depreciation of the Austrian Guilder.

The currency of this year is not the credit system of later generations, it is completely real gold and silver, and when international trade is settled, everyone uses gold and silver.

International Monetary?The British pound can barely be counted, but it did not have the status of the late 19th century, and most countries and regions did not recognize it.

In this context, if the trade deficit continues, it will cause wealth outflow and affect the domestic economic development.

After Franz came to power, in order to allow the normal development of the domestic economy, the value of the Austrian guilder was stabilized.

Finding ways to calm the trade deficit as soon as possible has become a top priority for the government.

If the Austrian government can achieve a trade balance in the short term, it can only earn added value by exporting refined agricultural products.

In August 1849, the Austrian government issued regulations: the tax rate of agricultural product processing enterprises was reduced by 8 points, and at the same time it was announced that after 2, the export tariff of original ecological agricultural products would be increased by 1850 point.

In order to encourage more people to invest in this industry, the Austrian government also stipulates that newly established agricultural processing enterprises shall enjoy tax-free treatment in the first year and half-tax treatment in the next three years.

Affected by this policy, Austria added 1849 agricultural product processing enterprises in the latter months of 221, including Franz.

Austria has always been a major exporter of agricultural products. It has a natural advantage in developing the agricultural processing industry. It only needs to introduce policies to encourage it.

The manufacturing industry is troublesome. This covers a wide range. In some areas, Austria has advantages, but most industries have begun to fall behind.

However, this backwardness is just that compared with the British who have completed industrialization, Austria's industry in southeastern Europe still has advantages.

In Franz's view, promoting the development of manufacturing industry is actually speeding up the pace of industrialization, and mechanized production has great advantages over handicrafts.

This is not something that can be done in a short time, but the government still supports heavy industries, such as the iron and steel industry and the machinery and equipment manufacturing industry, which are taken care of.

This care is not only about lowering tax rates, but also local governments will help solve infrastructure problems, such as industrial water and transportation problems.

To develop the manufacturing industry, the most important thing is to endure loneliness. Not to mention one year, even three to five years, you may not see results, but after ten or twenty years of persistence, you will definitely achieve results.

innovation?

It is too early to talk about this issue now. Before completing industrialization, the Austrian manufacturing industry followed the path of copying the British. Of course, there are occasional windfalls, which are also pleasing.

……

In general, from the second half of 1848 to the end of 1849, the economic reforms carried out by the Austrian government were all aimed at removing obstacles to domestic economic development.

As a unique country with a semi-planned economy and a semi-market economy, Austria made remarkable economic achievements in 1849.

The most intuitive feeling of the citizens of Vienna is that the price of food has dropped, which has dropped by 1847% compared with 15.00.

Don't look at this data as if it is insignificant. In fact, it is very important in industry. The drop in food prices means that the cost of feeding workers has decreased.

The reduction in the cost of living also makes the life of the bottom citizens better.Many people have negligible savings in their hands. Some people choose to save this money, while others choose to spend it.

One or two are inconspicuous, and if the number of people increases, it is no longer a small sum, and the prosperity of the market has increased.

These inconspicuous consumption eventually feed back into industrial production, where there is a market, there will naturally be production, which promotes the increase of industrial production capacity.

If this effect is insignificant, then the absence of internal tariffs and the opening of the market in the Hungarian region have a large effect.

No matter how backward the economy is, there are still more than 1000 million people.After the emancipation of the serfs and the redemption of the land, these people became property owners.

Assets naturally have purchasing power. Perhaps the market has not yet fully grown, but the increase in total consumption is also an indisputable fact.

Without tariffs, the competitiveness of Austrian industrial and commercial products in Hungary has greatly increased. Coupled with the expansion of the Hungarian market, it has naturally stimulated the development of domestic industry and commerce, and there has been a small prosperity.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Industry, Austria's industrial production capacity in 1849 increased by 1847% compared with 15. This data was beyond Austria's expectations and was reasonable.

Industrial production capacity cannot be achieved overnight, and it takes time to expand production. This era is no better than later generations, and equipment can be obtained immediately after placing an order.

The next few years will be the explosive period of Austria's industrial production capacity.

In addition to the expansion of the domestic market, the establishment of the Holy Roman Economic Union, domestic industry and commerce has a broader market, which will naturally stimulate industrial production.

While Franz was imagining a bright future, a piece of bad news came.

"Sire, news has come from St. Petersburg that the patience of the Russians has run out.

A week earlier, after the Prussian government announced a national mobilization, Tsar Nicholas I made a tit-for-tat decision, and the army of the Russian Empire was massing towards the Prussian border.

Yesterday morning, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a 72-hour ultimatum to the Prussian ambassador to Russia.

If nothing else, the Prussian government will soon compromise with the Russians, and they dare not go to war with the Russians now. said Metternich, frowning.

The confrontation between Prussia and Russia because of the Danish War was in the interests of Austria. While consuming the strength of the Prussian government, it also worsened the relationship between Prussia and Russia, highlighting the importance of the Russia-Austria alliance to the Russians.

But the Russians were impatient, so the Prussian government couldn't hold on.

At the beginning, the Prussian government was still confident in annexing the two duchies of Schleswig-Holstein. Later, after seeing the tough attitude of the Russians, their confidence gradually decreased.

The factor that supports them not to give up now is not the annexation of the two duchies of Schleswig-Holstein, but the public opinion in the German region that does not allow them to back down.

The Russians are terrible, and it is their neighbors who feel the deepest, and the German states separated by Pu-Austria cannot feel it.

In order to please domestic public opinion, the government of the Principality of Saxon-Gotha openly announced: "For the territorial integrity of the German Federation, we will not hesitate to fight the Russians to the death!"

The Kingdom of Hanover also strongly stated: "As long as the Russians dare to invade Schleswig-Holstein, we will fight the Russians to the end!"

Even Franz had to say: "If you need to send troops to defend Schleswig-Holstein, Austria will not fall behind."

……

The toughness of these kingdoms and principalities is only in words, but in Liberty City, an area ruled by public opinion, it has already taken practical actions.

The German National Expeditionary Army in Hamburg, the German National Self-Defense Force in Lübeck, the Hanseatic German Volunteer Army in Bremen...

There is no need to pay too much attention to it. These well-known troops are actually composed of three-digit nationalists, and their political significance is greater than their practical significance.

Everyone has done this, and the Prussian government is naturally embarrassed to back down.

Frederick William IV said that he has to face, if there is no convincing reason for everyone, he will back down, do you still want to hang out in the German region?

But a hard top is not enough. If the Prussians and the Russians really fought, believe it or not, these people who shouted earth-shattering slogans would change their positions in an instant?

In the eyes of politicians, what is moral integrity?There are thousands of excuses, are you afraid you won't find it?

It's really impossible. It's not impossible for everyone to organize a group of volunteers to serve as reinforcements and stuff enemies who don't like it into cannon fodder.

Just look at the practices of the Austrian government. Anyone who wants to go to the front line to fight can sign up. After the war breaks out, they will be sent there.

In the end, there were no more parades, and the Austrian government did not suppress or expel them, but only sent a few clerks to record the list of participants in the parade.

The people on the list are all activists who love the German Federation. Get ready to go to the front.The war has broken out, and the Federation needs you to defend it.Just shouting slogans is not enough, you must prove your patriotism with practical actions.

The talkative gangsters are scared, let them shout slogans, but let others go to the front line to do their best.

The student army, which was supposed to be the main force, is still reading books at school. Although they are concerned about what happens outside, they can't get out?

In addition, the performance of the government seems to be very active. There is no need for them to do anything, so there is no need to violate school rules?

Ordinary people all have jobs. It is one thing to support the recovery of the two duchies of Schleswig-Holstein, but it is another thing to take part in street demonstrations. Can demonstrations be able to take back the land?

Everyone is rational, and it is enough to cheer up the Kingdom of Prussia. There is no need to add chaos to the country. You must know that demonstrations also affect economic development.

"The Prussian government wants to compromise, and there is nothing we can do. After such a long delay, the Kingdom of Prussia must have a hard time this year.

This guy Frederick William is probably regretting it. After spending so much money back and forth, it is actually a waste of money. ’ said Franz with a wry smile.

He really didn't gloat. If the Prussians hadn't stimulated the Russians to mobilize the country, Nicholas I wouldn't have gotten angry so easily, so it wouldn't be a problem to drag the Pudan War until next year.

By then, some of the money Franz invested will have been withdrawn, and together with the savings funds absorbed by the Royal Bank, the holes in his embezzled donations can be filled.

Now the Prussians obviously couldn't hold on anymore, so they deliberately stimulated the Russians, using the Russian military threat to persuade the domestic nationalists to give in.

Otherwise, Frederick William IV was full and wanted to order a national mobilization?

The current military strength of the Kingdom of Prussia is enough to fight against the Kingdom of Denmark. If it is to fight against the Russians, the national mobilization is not enough?

The nationalists in Prussia can be persuaded. After all, anyone who wants to fight the Russians will have a guilty conscience. This time the Prussian government mobilized the whole country and incorporated them into the army.

Don't be afraid to shout slogans. After arriving at the barracks, many people began to rethink.Can't let them risk their lives for the two duchies of Schleswig-Holstein?

Once Prussia goes to war, even if all the German states support them, Prussia will lose the most in the end.If they lose the battle, not only will the two duchies not be able to take them back, but they might also have to cut off a piece of land.

The odds of winning in the military are too low, so everyone's enthusiasm is naturally low.As long as the country is persuaded, the Prussian government will overcome the difficulties.