Holy Roman Empire

Now everyone is discussing technical feasibility and economic feasibility. The Royal Bavarian Railway is a state-owned enterprise, so the efficiency is inevitably a little lower.

Engineer Searle replied with a serious face: "Technically, there is no major problem. Except for a small number of sections that need to detour, there is no major technical difficulty in building this railway."

Technically, it is really not difficult. This so-called main line is actually only three to four hundred kilometers, and most of the road sections are in the Bavarian Plain.

"What about the economy? Don't forget that there is a Danube between us and Austria, and water transport plays an important role in the trade between the two countries.

The purpose of building this railway now is mainly to make money. Can our railway compete with water transportation? "Morka, the president of the railway company, asked with concern.

Wilkes, director of commercial operations, replied: "Water transport is indeed cheap, but the scope of the Danube's radiation is limited. The river course is not controlled by manpower, unlike our railways, which can be repaired wherever they want.

Once this railway is completed, the economic lifeline of the entire South German region will be in our hands. Judging from the current commercial transportation volume, achieving profitability is not a problem at all.

If we are worried about risks, we can also raise shares, and there are many people who want to invest in this railway.

If we don't establish the project as soon as possible and get the right to build the railway from the government, I'm afraid we will be preempted by others. "

Don't think that state-owned enterprises have no competition. In Bavaria in this era, private individuals can repair railways. As long as you can afford it, you can repair it however you like.

The competition in this era is not too fierce. If it came to the beginning of the 20th century, there might still be several railway companies competing between the two cities.

After a pause, Morka made a decision: "Since everyone has no problem, then the engineering department will approve the railway project as soon as possible and produce the design drawings, and the operation department will immediately apply to the government for the construction right of this railway."

Although the Royal Bavarian Railway is a state-owned enterprise, there are actually many people who share interests in it. These talents are the main force to promote the construction of this railway.

Perhaps it can't compare with Austria's tens of thousands of kilometers of railway network planning, but once this main line is completed, the supporting branch line sections will also be indispensable.

Thousands of kilometers of railway is undoubtedly a big project in this era, and the benefits contained in it are definitely not a small sum of money.

……

In the Munich Palace, the plan for building a railway artery has appeared in front of Maximilian I, not only from the Royal Bavarian Railway Company, but also from the Bavarian Watson Railway Company.

Interest is always the best catalyst. Obviously, there are not only a few people who are eyeing this railway. If the Bavarian government does not make a decision for a long time, there will be more applications for railway construction in the future.

The military value of the railway in this era has not been valued, and Maximilian I did not consider the military threat that Austria brought to Bavaria after the railway was built.

The main reason is that it is useless to think about it, the strength gap between the two sides is too large.Munich is only more than 70 kilometers away from the Austrian border. The so-called national defense security issue is simply a fallacy.

For such a short distance, even if it is walking, it will take at most two days, whether there is a railway or not.It is more reliable to expect international intervention than to count on traffic to block Austria's advance.

Maximilian I attached great importance to domestic economic development, and he also supported the construction of a railway that could promote domestic economic development.

Moreover, what this railway brings to Bavaria is not only economic benefits, but also the spread of political influence, which can consolidate their position in the German state.

"To build this railway, we need to coordinate with several countries along the way. Is there any diplomatic problem?" Maximilian I asked with concern.

The Foreign Minister replied: "Your Majesty, according to the regulations of the Holy Roman Alliance, investment in the construction of railways between allies enjoys the same treatment as that of their own railway companies, and we can communicate with the governments of various countries.

If there are railway companies in their country who are willing to participate, everyone will join forces to complete the construction of the road sections in their own country and establish a joint railway operating company.

If there is no railway company to participate, we can also invest in the construction of this railway in accordance with local laws and regulations. "

……

Vienna

After receiving the railway construction plan of the Kingdom of Bavaria, Franz's first reaction was that the Bavarian government was crazy.

Isn't it convenient for Austria to invade by building such a railway?After confirming again and again, Franz realized that he was thinking too much.

Bavaria is small in size, and the capital Munich is too close to Austria. Whether or not this railway exists, it cannot exempt Austria from the military threat.

It is nothing more than that with the railway, Austria's military operations are more convenient.It's just that this convenience is not for Bavaria, but for the farther German states such as Baden and Württemberg.

Franz smiled and said: "The same is the request of the Bavarian government. Since they want to build this railway, let them repair it. If we need our cooperation, we will cooperate with them.

If they are short of funds, they can be asked to raise funds in the Vienna stock market. "

He didn't say how much benefit the railway would bring to Austria after the completion of the railway. Of course, this kind of thing would make a fortune in silence.

You must know that when the German Economic Organization was originally instructed to promote the construction of this railway, Franz was prepared for strong opposition from the Bavarian government.

He is also planning to use public opinion to force the Bavarian government to build the same railway.As it turns out, it’s good now that the civil campaign has just begun, and the Bavarian government has jumped out on its own initiative.

For Franz, the construction of the railway by the Bavarian government could not have been better.Naturally, they are responsible for coordinating the relationship between the southern German states. The Austrian government doesn't need to do anything to enjoy the benefits.

As for the Royal Bavarian Railway Company, it will make huge fortunes from this railway in the future, and Franz generously stated that this is what they deserve.

If this railway brings convenience to Austria's unification of South Germany, Franz would not mind awarding them a big medal at that time.

By the way, the Kaiser Bavarian Railway Company was renamed the Royal Austrian Railway Company to commemorate their outstanding contribution to the cause of German unification.

Chapter 42 Big Reserve Strategy

On October 1850, 10, the German Bundestag met in Frankfurt.After Austria proposed a common cabinet for all states, it quickly gained everyone's support at the conference.

The only role of the support of the small states is to give Austria a boost. In fact, the final decision is still in the hands of the big states.

Prussia and Bavaria naturally resolutely opposed it. Everyone formed a cabinet together, and each country sent a representative. It's no wonder they agreed to such a bad idea.

Austria is the boss of the German states. Once this cabinet is formed, the prime minister will naturally be the representative of Austria. There is no doubt about this at all.

As long as you think about it, you will know that the cabinet of more than 30 people will naturally have quarrels when encountering problems, and the prime minister will naturally make the final decision.

Under such a system, the right to speak of Bavaria and Prussia will naturally be suppressed to the lowest point, not much different from other small states.

For a short period of time, they still have influence over other states. After a long time, the small states will not buy it. Anyway, under the federal system, everyone has the same rights. Are you capable of biting me?

After winning over the small states, Austria can naturally start the pace of unification, such as the unification of the federal currency, the unification of the federal army, and the unification of the federal finances...

Don't worry, take your time to boil the frog in warm water.One hundred and eighty years later, the German Confederation was really unified.

These are all ideals, but the reality is that after Prussia and Bavaria objected, Britain, France and Russia also came out to oppose it.

To sum it up in one sentence, the German region cannot be unified, even in name.

The British even proposed to dissolve the German Bundestag and let Bavaria and the small German states merge to form a new country. Austria and Prussia would naturally go away.

This proposal is supported by the Kingdom of Bavaria, and France and Russia have no objections.However, it was strongly opposed by representatives of Prussia and Austria.

They were enemies just now, but under John Bull's proposal, Puao united in an instant.Once again, it proves that there are only eternal interests between countries, and there are no eternal enemies.

Seeing that the place was swept away by the British, the goal had already been achieved, and the Austrian representative would naturally no longer propose the election of the emperor to provoke the Prussians.

The purpose of the British was also achieved, and the seeds of division were successfully planted.Contradictions appeared in the three countries of Opba, and the support of the great powers undoubtedly stimulated Bavaria's ambitions, just waiting to take root.

If the strength of the Kingdom of Bavaria increases by two or three times, with the support of the great powers, it may not be possible to really three-point Germany.

After all, the law of triangle is the most stable. As long as the weak fight against the strong, under the intervention of other European countries, both Prussia and Austria will lose the chance to unify Germany.

It's a pity that apart from his ambition, Maximilian I was not a little bit worse in terms of Bavaria's strength or the ruler's political skills.

In the case of the weak strength of the Kingdom of Bavaria, in order to compete with Pu'ao, it is necessary to win over other small states.

Theoretically speaking, all the small states in the German region add up to a population of nearly 700 million, and their overall strength is almost the same as that of the Kingdom of Prussia.

This time Bavaria ran over to join forces with the Kingdom of Prussia and proposed the establishment of a "three cabinets", which undoubtedly harmed the interests of these small states.

In this case, Bavaria's leadership position among the small states was shaken.For the sake of illusory interests, he lost his own foundation, and Franz involuntarily lowered the threat of Bavaria by two levels.

Vienna Schönbrunn Palace

The Ministry of War put forward a suggestion to the Austrian government to expand the reserve force. At present, the Austrian Empire has more than 30 reserve troops in addition to the active army of more than 50.

In theory, the Austrian government could mobilize another 50 troops within a month after the outbreak of war.

In fact, the mobilization mechanism of the Austrian government had already been proven substandard in 1848, and it took the same amount of time to mobilize more than 20 troops.

Of course, this was also related to the low efficiency of the Austrian government at that time, and this speed should be greatly improved now.

The mobilization of the reserve service is not only about gathering people, but also requires some training before they can recover their combat effectiveness.Weapons, equipment and ammunition reserves are also an essential part.

Prince Windisch Gretz analyzed: "In order to ensure the national defense security of the Austrian Empire, the current mobilization mechanism is no longer able to meet the actual needs.

Since the February Revolution in Paris, the French have gotten rid of the shackles of the Vienna system, and their military strength has been rapidly recovering in the past two years.

Once the internal struggle of the French government is decided, will it provoke a new round of external expansion?Where is the direction of expansion?

No one knows this question, and we must be prepared to meet the upcoming challenges.

The kingdom of Prussia next door has not been peaceful these years. Has their military expenditure been lower than 40.00%?

Such high military spending cannot be without purpose.In recent decades, the Kingdom of Prussia has expanded its territory several times, and now they want to unify the German region.

Delusional or not, we must dispel their attempts.

And our ally, the Russian Empire, I know it's immoral to doubt an ally here, but the Russians are just too powerful.

If one day we have a conflict of interest, the Austrian Empire can't even have the power to fight, right?

In the future international changes, to ensure the national defense security of the Austrian Empire, our military strength must be improved.

Considering the financial affordability, it is too difficult to continue to expand the number of active-duty troops. We believe that it is a reasonable number to increase the number of reserve troops to 200 million while restructuring the mobilization mechanism. "

The "French Threat Theory", "Prussian Threat Theory", and "Russian Threat Theory" have thrown out three major threats in a row. Obviously, Prince Wendisch Gretz has done his homework.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Carl said with a smile: "The Ministry of the Army wants to increase the reserve force by 200 million, and I fully support it, as long as it does not increase military expenditure."

How is this possible without increasing military spending?Even if the reserve service is much cheaper than the active service force, simple military training must be carried out every year, right?

Austria's reserves, like most countries, are made up of retired officers and soldiers.It is also simple to increase this number, either to expand the number of years of reserve service, or to shorten the service time of active soldiers.

In theory, it is not difficult at all to increase the number of reserve personnel to 200 million, except for the need for money.

Now the God of Wealth doesn't give money, so isn't this plan nonsense?This funding gap is not a few million, which can be made up by the Ministry of the Army by moving around, but tens of millions.

Prince Wendisch Gretz said helplessly: "Mr. Carl, don't be joking. There are 200 million reserve troops, so many people have to undergo regular training every year. If your Ministry of Finance doesn't give you money, do you want me to go out and beg for food?"

There is no doubt that the main purpose of the military's proposal to expand the number of reserves at this time is to compete for the next year's budget.

With the influx of a large amount of foreign capital, Austria in 1850 was already somewhat prosperous. Factories sprung up one after another. Even if many enterprises were tax-free, they also brought a lot of tax revenue to the government.

This is not contradictory. The tax exemption of some enterprises does not mean that their upstream raw material supply and downstream sales channels are also tax-free.

Although the concept of the industrial chain has not been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, it has indeed appeared.The benefits created by a factory are definitely not limited to the factory itself.

In addition to driving the upstream and downstream direct industrial chain, it also drives the development of surrounding catering, clothing, non-staple food and other supporting industries.

Regardless of whether the capitalists' investment is rational or not, it is an indisputable fact that it has driven the rapid growth of the Austrian economy.

Rapid economic growth means rapid growth in fiscal revenue. Only when the government has money can people come out to grab the budget. The Ministry of the Army just has too much appetite.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Carl said unmoved: "It is impossible to expand the reserve force to 200 million in one step, right?

According to the current situation, even if the reserve force is increased by 20 each year and the overage personnel are subtracted, it will be ten years before the final completion.

In your "big reserve strategy" budget, you can actually cut off the last zero, and you can squeeze out several million dong by yourself. "

Sure enough, it is not a fuel-efficient lamp. No matter how Prince Wendisch Gretz conceals it, this weakness is still exposed.

Prince Windisch Gretz explained: "You can't say that. The international situation is complicated. Once the Russians break the situation, we must take action to improve our military strength as much as possible. This is the most effective way to protect the security of the Austrian Empire." s method.

There are many ways to expand the number of reserve forces. It is not necessary to wait for soldiers to be converted after retirement. We can organize young and strong to conduct some simple military training.

After the outbreak of war, it only takes one or two months for them to become qualified soldiers, which is much faster than simply recruiting recruits to train from scratch. "

Karl thought for a while and said: "This method is good, but it costs too much. Even if the Russians do it, the war will not end in a short time, and the Ottoman Empire is not paper.

According to past experience, the shortest time is two or three years. If it takes a long time, it is not impossible to fight for ten or eight years.

You can use it when the time comes. Don't worry, once the international situation changes, the government's focus will turn to the military, and you can expand it however you want. "

Franz has encountered this kind of thing a lot, and it basically happens every year before the budget, and almost every time Karl is a battle of words.

"Okay, there is still time for the annual budget of the financial issue, you go down and discuss it slowly. First discuss whether the reserve service plan proposed by the Ministry of the Army is feasible."

Prime Minister Felix replied: "Your Majesty, the establishment of a large reserve force is indeed very important to our national defense security.

Especially in our next strategy, being able to mobilize a huge army in the shortest possible time can minimize the risk. "

Franz knew that everyone was going to learn the Russian crowd tactics. Now is the era of volleying guns, and there is indeed an advantage in the battlefield with more people.

In terms of population, there is almost no difference between Austria and France. Except for the pervert Mao Xiong, there are many people on the European continent, and the Austrian Empire is not afraid.

"support!"

"support!"

……

Everyone quickly reached a consensus on this issue, and the truth that more people are more powerful has once again been proved to be feasible by practice.

Franz asked solemnly: "Then my Minister of War, how can such a huge army ensure their combat effectiveness?"

You can't use it as cannon fodder just because there are too many soldiers. Austria is not a bear. Soldiers who die in battle also have to pay pensions.