Holy Roman Empire

Who can tell me why this is, the German region may be unified! "

Foreign Secretary Palmerston explained: "Your Excellency, the German region is not so easy to unify. The 'responsible cabinet' is just a product of the struggle between the three states of Opba. A cabinet that is destined to have no real power will not play much role. "

Minister of State Edward frowned and said: "But the existence of this cabinet will still break the balance in the German region. No matter who wins or loses, as long as the responsible cabinet appears, the road to the unification of the German region has taken a big step forward.

Especially the "three cabinets", if Austria reaches a compromise with Prussia and Bavaria, the German region is likely to be unified, at least politically and militarily, they can achieve an alliance. "

Everyone is playing politics, so it is natural to know that the fewer people there are, the easier it is to reach an agreement. On the contrary, Austria proposes that all states form a cabinet together, which is less threatening.

There are more than 30 states in the German region, and each state must have someone to join the cabinet. With so many people together, there are only quarrels every day.

Is it possible for the three countries of Opba to form an alliance?

From the analysis of the interests, the answer is: yes; from the actual situation, the answer is: no.

If Prussia is willing to give up its ambition to unify Germany, then Franz does not mind giving up his plan to annex South Germany.

This is somewhat similar to the Three Jin Alliance in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods. Once Zhao, Wei and Han form an alliance, they can hang all sides, and Opba is the same now.

The difference is that once this alliance is established, neither Prussia nor Bavaria has the opportunity to expand on the European continent.

Bavaria is weak, and it is caught in the center of the Three Kingdoms of Offal and Pu. After the alliance is established, their safety will be guaranteed. It is in their interest to be able to farm with peace of mind and become well-off.

Austria can also expand to the Balkan Peninsula, and can also be supplemented by manpower from the German region. The disadvantage of insufficient number of main ethnic groups will be resolved, and more energy will be devoted to overseas colonial expansion.

Moreover, with Austria's size, it is only a matter of time before it takes the lead in the alliance, and Franz has no reason to oppose the alliance.

This is not the case for Prussia. Although their military strength is strong, the Kingdom of Prussia is actually not large.

While maintaining a continental army, the Kingdom of Prussia also lost the opportunity to develop its navy, and its national strength did not allow them to develop both land power and sea power at the same time.

Therefore, something must be given up. In theory, after the establishment of the alliance, Prussia does not have to worry about safety on land, and can reduce the army to develop the navy and open up overseas colonies.

It's a pity that Prussia is the Prussia of the Junker nobles, and it is impossible for them to give up their own interests for the sake of the national interest.

Franz understands this question, but it doesn't mean that everyone understands it, especially the maritime countries like Britain.

In their view, why take risks on the European continent when they can easily obtain benefits from overseas?

In the current international situation, it is almost impossible for the Kingdom of Prussia to expand on the European continent. The British think that the Prussian government will not be so unwise.

Prime Minister John Russell said decisively: "Mr Palmerston, the British Empire has enough enemies, and there is no need to add another enemy.

Now, I don't care what your Ministry of Foreign Affairs does, in short, a unified government cannot be allowed to appear in the German region, even in name only!

It would be best to separate the Bundestag, I always feel that bringing them together will sooner or later become our big trouble. "

Palmerston replied confidently: "Don't worry, Your Excellency Prime Minister. It is impossible for the German region to be unified, and we are not the only ones who want to break them up!"

Chapter 40 Capital Influx

The Vienna Stock Market, established in 1771, was the largest stock trading center in Eastern Europe in this era, bringing together investors from all over Europe.

At six o'clock in the morning on June 1850, 6, the Vienna stock market was already crowded with people at this time.

It is natural that a big event has happened to get the stockholders to come and line up early.Austria's largest railway company, the Austrian Federal Railways Group, is listed here today.

After such a long period of deliberation, the concept of railway stocks has long been hyped up, and almost everyone believes that this sunrise industry can bring them rich returns.

A middle-aged man in Chinese clothes got out of the carriage, looked at the crowd and cursed: "Damn, why are there so many people today? Could it be that they are rushing to Geh scheiBen!"

His actions quickly aroused glaring looks from the people, and the young policeman who maintained order came over and said dissatisfiedly: "Sir, please pay attention to the quality, this is a high-end place, and the use of swear words is prohibited."

The man in Chinese clothes obediently shut up, he knew that if he continued, he might be charged with disturbing public order.

It doesn't matter in normal times, the big deal is to go to the police station and swear a few swear words, it's not a serious crime at all, just pay a fine and you're done.

But not today, IPOs have always been the favorite of stockholders, not to mention the railway stocks with unlimited potential, if you miss today, it will not be a price to buy again.

Seeing his reaction, the young policeman left satisfied.

Those who come here to line up will not be any big shots, and the real big shots will go directly to the VIP trading room upstairs.

The most important thing in Vienna is the powerful. Don't look at these humble little policemen, they may be the offshoot of a noble family.

In fact, this point can be understood by looking at the temperament. The nouveau riche and the nobleman are incompatible when standing together, and they can be distinguished at a glance.

Time passed by every minute and every second, and the door of the trading hall opened on time at eight o'clock. Although everyone was anxious, they did not rush in.

Rules are very important here. Look at the policemen standing in a row in front of you. You don't want to be invited to the police station for tea.If you miss the trading time because of this, you can only cry.

In this era, there is no Internet, no electronic displays, and even no electricity. All transactions are conducted manually.

There are large blackboards on which the staff members write data.Shareholders look at the above data and decide whether to go to the trader to register the transaction.

At this time, a manager of the stock exchange came out and shouted loudly: "The Austrian Federal Railways Group is listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange today, and the company's total valuation is: 1 million dong.

A total of 300 million shares are issued, accounting for 30.00% of the total share capital. The issue price of each share is 3000 dong. "

As soon as his words fell, another staff member repeated in the crowd, trying to let everyone know the information as much as possible.

There is no way, communication in this era is based on shouting, if the voice is not loud enough, I really can't eat this bowl of rice.

……

The transaction has already started. Although it is said that 300 million shares are issued to the outside world, there must not be that many shares circulating on the securities exchange. Banks and securities companies have subscribed for a part in advance.

This is also the most common way to raise stock prices. If the liquidity is too large and the market is saturated, even high-quality stocks will collapse.

There are many people who pay attention to the stock price, which is related to your investment. The stock price of Austrian Federal Railways Group will directly determine your income.

Even Franz attaches great importance to this listing. If the stock of the Federal Railways soars into the sky, then Austria will not have to worry about the next major railway construction, and the capital market can solve the funding gap.

As long as the railways are built, the profitability of the railway company has nothing to do with Franz.

Can't keep going?It doesn't matter, the Austrian government doesn't mind taking over the offer.

At worst, a decree will be promulgated at that time, and if the railway company cannot guarantee normal operation, it will be nationalized.Anyway, the railway that does not make money, that is, the scrap iron price repurchase.

On this issue, the standards for the government and enterprises to judge value are completely different.

For the government, the railway does not need to make money, as long as the convenient transportation will drive the development of other industries, the taxes paid by these industries also belong to profits.

There are also political, military and other benefits that must also be counted.This is why many railway lines are in a mess in later generations, and the governments of various countries will still allocate funds to maintain the normal operation of the railways.

In the evening, Schönbrunn Palace

"Your Majesty, as of the close of trading this afternoon, the share price of the Austrian Federal Railways Group has increased by 50.00%, and the closing price is 15.6 guilders per share." John Stewart said excitedly

There is no doubt that the stock market is such a profitable business, how could the Royal Bank, the most influential Austrian bank, not intervene?

For example, the listing of the Federal Railways, not to mention anything else, the handling fee for the stock issuance alone is hundreds of thousands of dong.

Of course, the handling fee is only a small amount of income, and the real profit lies in being a banker. The stock market management system in this era is not perfect, leaving more room for manipulation to the banker.

The plate of traditional industries in the financial market has long been divided up. Under normal circumstances, everyone will not cross the line rashly. Otherwise, if you sweep my plate today, I will destroy your place tomorrow. No one should think about it. make money.

Emerging industries are different. Now is the time to staking land, even if the financial giants face the sudden entry of the Royal Bank, they can't do anything.

Stewart is also in the financial circle. Knowing this so-called rule, in fact, he first looks at the backstage, then the capital, and finally the ability.

The capital of the Royal Bank is definitely not comparable to that of its peers. Even a rookie can't compete with a veteran in terms of trading ability, but can't stand up to the big backstage?

That being the case, then everyone can only cooperate.

As the first trader, it is undoubtedly a good fortune to encounter a soaring stock price, and Stewart is naturally excited.

Franz joked: "You guys are doing a good job. It seems that your year-end awards are settled this year."

Once the management system is established, it can't be messed around. It's impossible for Franz to give out random bonuses like that.

Now that the rules and regulations have been formulated, they must be followed.What kind of performance has been made, and how much reward will be taken.

In a short period of time, everyone is happy about spamming bonuses, but after a long time, they will find that it is easy to break the rules and difficult to re-establish them.

Not all projects are equally profitable. Some projects are laborious and labor-intensive, and there is no return in the short term, but someone needs to do it?

The boss broke the rules and caused huge troubles to the management, and some of them had no way to make up for it.

……

The skyrocketing of railway stocks has something to do with the global economy.Since the British economy broke out in 1847 and triggered the European Revolution in 1848, the world economy has experienced recession to varying degrees.

By 1850, the world economy had emerged from the crisis and began to grow cyclically, while Austria's economic growth rate was still higher than that of the world economy.

The large railway project launched by the Austrian government has attracted capital from all over Europe, and the influx of a large amount of hot money has naturally caused the stock price to skyrocket.

For these capitals, Franz has always been open to anyone who comes, money is not a crime, who cares about his owner?

He even pretended not to see someone buying railroad company stock from shareholders, which was legal as long as taxes were paid to the government.

In this era, the Austrian government has no idea of ​​​​excluding foreign capital. At the critical moment of industrialization, a large amount of capital is needed.

Just using local capital, who knows when the industrialization will be completed?It is impossible for Franz to refuse to use foreign capital to speed up this progress.

Just think about the British investing in the construction of American railways. From 1848 to 1858, more than 3 kilometers were repaired, and naturally they lost a lot of money in the end.

We must know that in this era, the population of the United States is only two-thirds of that of Austria, and the land is sparsely populated. From an investment point of view, Austria’s railways are obviously more economically valuable.

It is not surprising that part of the funds can be diverted, but Franz still underestimated the degree of excess capital of the British.

As the first country to complete industrialization, the British took advantage of this time difference to earn a lot of profits from all over the world, and these profits were converted into cash and poured into the UK.

If you have more money, you have to spend it, but the British colonial expansion is still in progress, and rebellions occur from time to time, and the risk of investing in colonies is too great.

The money is looking for markets all over the world. Against this background, the large railway plan launched by the Austrian government has attracted their attention.

As long as you do a little analysis, you will find that the population density of Austria is ten times greater than that of the United States. Since the reform of the Austrian government, the country's economic development has embarked on a fast track.

Even the United States, which is far away on the other side of the ocean, and the British capitalists have not let go, and Austria, which is close to Europe, naturally cannot be let go.

A lot of hot money is pouring in, and it's not just going to the railroad industry.The agricultural product processing industry and manufacturing industry supported by the government have been favored by capital.

By the second half of 1850, the Austrian economy had shown an explosive growth, and almost all walks of life were growing savagely.

In this day and age, the government seldom directly intervenes in the market, and everyone does not have this awareness.

Franz knew that this kind of economic development was very unhealthy. If no restrictions were imposed, Austria would have an economic crisis due to overcapacity in a few years.

Do you want to limit it?Franz hesitated at this moment. The economic crisis caused heavy losses, but the explosive economic growth also drove the great development of Austrian industry and increased Austria's national strength.

This is also commonly known as a reckless wave, where production capacity is expanded crazily in a short period of time, and when the development reaches the limit, an economic crisis will occur.

After hesitating again and again, Franz decided to wait and see. Anyway, it just started to explode. Is it too early to be overcapacity?

The world economic crisis has just passed, and it will not erupt again in a short time.Since the danger will not come yet, there is still time for the government to intervene before reaching the limit.

Chapter 41 Unintentionally planted willows into shadows

Since the establishment of the Holy Roman Economic Alliance, the economies of the member countries have been closely linked together, and the import and export trade volume between the alliances has risen rapidly.

Take Bavaria as an example. In 1850, the total import and export trade volume between Bavaria and Austria climbed by 20.00%30.00, of which the import trade volume increased by [-]%[-] and the export trade volume increased by [-]%.

For the Kingdom of Bavaria, the trade deficit with Austria expanded to 1850 million guilders in 800, which severely hit the development of Bavaria's capitalist economy.

Of course, things are two-sided. Because of the geographical location, Austria’s trade with other states in South Germany has to go through Bavaria, which also drives the development of Bavaria’s domestic transportation industry.

Whether it is a loss or a profit is difficult to say clearly.But one thing is certain, people who are engaged in import and export trade are making money.

These people all have one characteristic, most of them are local powerful factions - nobles.European aristocrats don't mean to discriminate against business, and they won't struggle with money.

In order for the alliance to be established smoothly, Austria naturally recruited some powerful nobles, and it was the efforts of these people that promoted the establishment of the economic alliance.

Interest is always the best catalyst. Even now that Bavaria has come together with the Kingdom of Prussia diplomatically, the economy is still not affected at all.

Maximilian I did not dare to touch the cheese of the interest groups. If the trade was cut off, the royal family would be one of the biggest losers, and if it was not the case, it would be the first to cause trouble.

The upsurge of building railways in Austria has inevitably affected the Kingdom of Bavaria, and the voice of civil construction of railways is getting louder and louder.

Under the help of the German Economic Exchange Organization, a main railway line connecting the states in the South German region was proposed by economic experts.

It quickly aroused heated discussions among the people. Countless experts and scholars came out to the platform, advocating the theory of railway power, and listed a series of benefits of building railways.

Social discussions have also attracted the attention of capital, especially those engaged in the transportation industry, who know how profitable railways are.

It is not that Bavaria has no railways, but it does not have a complete railway network, and it lacks a main railway line that runs through the east and west of the Kingdom of Bavaria.

From the perspective of economic development, the establishment of such a main railway line will greatly promote the economic development of Bavaria.

Munich

Internally, the Royal Bavarian Railways is discussing the construction of this main line.

As suggested by economists, the line was extended westward to Baden and eastward to merge with the Austrian railway network in Salzburg.