Holy Roman Empire

With such a good opportunity, if steel companies don't expand their production capacity, they will be out of their minds.

In order to support steel companies, the Austrian government has decided not to draw profits from this newly formed group in the next five years, and has also injected 100 million dong into it for technological innovation.

Not only steel companies, but many related industries are desperately expanding production capacity, and Franz is also making a fortune silently.

Don't look at the inconspicuous things like sand and gravel. In fact, anyone who has worked in engineering knows that the profits of these inconspicuous things are not low at all.

According to preliminary estimates, tens of thousands of tons of sand and gravel aggregates will be consumed for just pouring concrete for each kilometer of railway, and the stone required for the thick layer of crushed stone above is an astronomical figure.

The larger the quantity of any commodity, the higher the profit. These inconspicuous little things are actually no less profitable than the steel factories that produce rails.

It's just that most of the time, they are scattered in the hands of countless retail investors, which seems inconspicuous.Franz just used his foresight to plan ahead and conduct monopoly operations.

Of course, he would not admit to the monopoly business.If you don't believe me, you can check the contract between the railway company and the Austrian mining group, which can prove that monopoly operation does exist.

It's just that the insiders won't say it, and the media won't report it.

External explanation: The Austrian Mining Group is just an agent. These mines are distributed under the names of dozens of companies. In order to avoid vicious competition, everyone united to set up a group to negotiate with the railway company.

That's right, that's the truth. In order to avoid being lowered by the railway company, everyone united.Didn't look at the final transaction price, is it almost the same as the market price?

If it is a monopoly operation, there must be a price increase. Since there is no substantial price increase, it is not a monopoly operation.

What is lying down to make money, Franz finally felt it in 1850.From this humble business, he earned an annual profit of 120 dong.

This is just the beginning. With the advancement of the railway construction, he will be able to lie down and make money for a long time in the future.

It is a pity that after the completion of the railway construction, these wild sand and gravel mines will no longer be sold. If you want to make a lot of money, you have to wait for the construction of the road network.Judging from the current situation, there is no need to look forward to it in the next three to forty years.

Chapter 51 Money is easy to do

Salzburg, inside a hotel.Motrich, an executive of the Austrian Federal Railways, is giving technical staff a kick-off meeting.

"Listen up, the board of directors has made a decision that within the next year, we will connect the railway to Arderning."

There are not many gentle people on the construction site, and Motrich didn't speak in an official tone, and directly stated the task.

He is only in charge of administration and management, not a technical background. He has been in the project team for more than a year, but he is very clear about the progress of the project.

Now the progress requirements of the headquarters, I am afraid it will be difficult to complete.However, as a qualified manager, he knew that he could not shrink back when faced with difficulties.

The board of directors has made a decision. No matter how difficult it is, he must try to complete it. This is a matter of attitude.

If there is no actual action, just shouting to the top that it is difficult and unable to complete, then where is his value reflected?

Private companies are very realistic. If they lose value, they can get out.On this issue, his weight is not as heavy as that of the technicians below.

Technicians in this era are treasures, no matter what project they are on, they are indispensable talents. Administrative personnel are different, and there are still a lot of them in the railway company.

Salvador, the chief engineer of the project, said bluntly: "Mr. Motrich, with our current construction progress, it would be good to be able to complete this task within two years. This is a pre-planned construction period, and it is impossible to complete it ahead of schedule. !"

In the railway construction of this tender section, Motrich was in charge of overall management in name, but Salvador had the final say technically.

Motrich couldn't control El Salvador at all, or he didn't dare to intervene indiscriminately.He is a smart person who doesn't know what he doesn't understand, and he knows that blind command is easy to cause problems.

It is normal for the technical person in charge to object to the sudden increase in construction tasks now.But Motrich was not unprepared, and explained with a smile:

"Mr. Salvador, people always come up with solutions. If there is anything missing, you can just ask. I will be responsible for coordinating with the head office, but the tasks must be completed on time.

In the next few days, everyone will work hard and sacrifice some rest days.Please rest assured that the company will not treat you badly.

I am here to assure everyone that as long as the task is completed ahead of schedule, the bonus you will receive will never be lower than your current salary.

No, just complete the task on time.I will go to the head office to apply for you. If it is lower than this amount, I will pay for it for you! "

Motrich's performance was a success. Many problems in this world can be solved with money, and speeding up construction is no exception.

The two-year construction task has to be completed in one year, and there is no problem with the two-year salary. Everyone still does the same amount of work, and the labor cost budget of the railway company has not increased.Now is the time when there is a shortage of people, and Motrich is absolutely sure to ask for the money.

A salary increase can appease most technicians, but Salvador still shook his head.

"Mr. Motrich, no one doubts your character. The problem now is that the time is too short. We have already started construction from both ends to the middle.

If you want to increase the progress, you must divide the current bidding section into two and divide it again from the middle section.This not only requires more manpower, but also machinery and equipment. Our technicians are not enough, and the difficulty of management will be greatly increased. "

Motrich thought for a while and said, "These problems can all be overcome. You must be aware that in order to speed up the construction of the railway, the country has issued a law. From the establishment of the railway project, no tax will be levied for railway operation within ten years." .

We started construction in 1849 and are expected to be fully completed in 1854, which means that our duty-free operation time is only 5 years.

Federal Railways is a listed company, and the headquarters has to consider the opinions of shareholders. Now everyone hopes that the railway can be put into operation as soon as possible.

If we can complete the subgrade construction of Section 1851 in 5, then the track can be laid and related equipment can be installed in 1852, and the trial operation can be carried out in 1853.

Being able to put it into operation one year in advance will inevitably bring a lot of profits to the company, and everyone will also get rich returns. "

"Profit" is only one factor. More importantly, the Austrian government asked the railway company to speed up the construction of the main line. The reason was: Austria was preparing to go to war with the Ottoman Empire and needed to use the railway to transport logistical materials.

For this reason, there is no way for everyone to refuse.Besides, it's not that the government didn't give compensation, that's how the ten-year tax exemption came about.

As for fighting the Ottoman Empire, why the construction of this railway connecting the Kingdom of Bavaria must also be accelerated is not the point.

The point is that His Majesty the Great Franz himself spoke. Since he said that the construction progress of the main line of the country is to be accelerated, it must be the main line of the country.

Is it still possible to go to negotiate with His Majesty the Emperor who is busy with everything for this problem?

In the end, the management of the railway company decided after research to concentrate on speeding up the construction of the main line and suspend the branch lines that were ready to start.

……

Railroad technicians are in high demand these days.In order to retain talents, the Federal Railways also took out some stock options as bonuses and distributed them to these technicians.

Although the amount in everyone's hands is not much, the effect is very good. With their own share in it, they don't want the railway to open to traffic ahead of schedule.

Salvador thought for a while and said: "I have no opinion on the company's decision, but Mr. Motrich, you have to help me solve these problems.

In addition, there are too many casualties during the construction process. You'd better restrain those management personnel and let them not do too much. "

The so-called managers are, of course, thugs hired by the railway company.Now this group of free laborers are the real "prison workers". It is cheap, but it is not very convenient to manage.

Everyone wants to dawdle, as long as no one is watching, they will grind their jobs, and even run away from time to time.Had it not been for the army watching, there might have been riots.

Although the army sent people to guard them, they would not send people to help them manage them.In order to speed up the construction, the management personnel hired by the railway company are naturally served with whips and sticks.

This made El Salvador, who had not yet completely lost his morality, displeased. Of course, he was not the Virgin, but he just mentioned in passing that he also hated such rebellious party members.

Motrich said with a smile: "No problem, I will report the shortage of laborers immediately, there are still in the warehouse of the machinery equipment company, just send someone over to pick up the goods.

I will report the problem of insufficient technical personnel to the head office.But Mr. Salvador, now there is a shortage of technical personnel everywhere, and the headquarters are poaching people all over Europe. Don't have too much hope. "

That's right, Austria's railway construction team also has technicians from various European countries.For strategic security needs, these people cannot be the main designers.

This point was requested by Franz, mainly because when the British exported railway standards overseas, they caught a lot of private goods in this regard, and many countries were cheated.

Now all the railway companies in Austria adopt the same method.If there is a shortage of technical personnel, let engineers bring apprentices to fill them up.

Anyway, it is construction according to the drawings. As long as you study on the construction site for a year and a half, you can preside over simple technical work. Experienced engineers guide and assign tasks every day, and then check and accept.

Basically, when a section of the railway was built, these apprentices were almost ready to leave.Railway engineers in this era are basically born in this way, and there are only a small number of people who graduate from school.

Looking at his subordinates with high morale, Salvatore nodded with a wry smile.With the addition of new construction lines, the task of his chief engineer has become even heavier.

The means of transportation in this era is horse riding, and people who don't know how to ride horses can't eat this bowl of rice.It is not easy to travel a hundred and eighty kilometers every three chas and fives.

On the contrary, the technicians under him are more relaxed, following the action of the large army, and don't need to run to both sides every three days.

This is the shortcoming of the insufficient number of engineers, and he is not at ease if all these tasks are handed over to the subordinates.Basically, when encountering technical difficulties, Salvador will personally preside over them.

Since the beginning of the 19th century, European railway construction has just started.As of 1850, the total number of railways in operation on the entire European continent would not exceed [-] kilometers.

Engineers with rich experience are naturally scarce talents. In this context, as soon as the construction of the Austrian Railway began, major railway companies broke out in a battle for talent.

For Salvador, it is painful and happy now.Heavy work tasks mean high pay.

For example, while he is the chief technical engineer, he is also responsible for the main technical guidance of the construction at both ends, so he can get two more wages.

Now add two more construction sites, if the company didn't send someone to help him share the pressure, it also means that he can increase his salary by two more, which means a total of five salaries.

If it weren't for the great salary and treatment, he would have quit the job a long time ago. How could he accept such a day and night job?

Such good days are rare, and with the bonus promised by Motrich, once the task is completed, Salvador is equivalent to getting ten years of salary within one year.

After all, there are only a small number of people like El Salvador. It is impossible for the railway company not to send engineers down to help. After all, a person's energy is limited, and he can still support it in the early stage, but he is simply too busy in the later stage of construction.

However, it happens from time to time in railway construction that one person completes the tasks of two or three people.

Capitalists are not philanthropists, and it is impossible for them to be so generous all the time.Now they are irreplaceable, so they are naturally treated favorably. Once they can be replaced, their good days will be over.

El Salvador knows full well that once the railroad is built, they are ready to go.

When the railway company is in operation, it does not need so many experienced engineers. Capitalists will naturally choose cheaper ordinary technicians to be responsible for the later maintenance of the railway.

Even after the supply of engineers exceeds demand in the later stage, even if they do two jobs, they can only get one salary in the end.

The relationship between supply and demand in the market determines the price of commodities.The same applies to the human resource market. Capitalists offer high salaries when there is a shortage of people, and naturally find ways to make up for them when there is no shortage of people.

In general, they have caught up with the good times, just in time to make money.After passing this village, there is no such shop anymore.

How long this good time will last, El Salvador does not know.If possible, he hopes that such days can last longer.

He even had the idea of ​​going to the Ministry of Railways to find a job. Although the salary was not so good, it was more stable and decent.

As night fell, Salvador lay on the bed, lit a cigarette, and woke up deeply, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

Chapter 52 Tobacco and Alcohol Monopoly System

After entering 1851, the situation in the Near East became more and more tense.Russia and Austria were eyeing the Ottoman Empire, and the Sudanese government invited Britain and France to mediate the conflict.

Regardless of the price paid by the Ottoman Empire.The problem now is that the French government is busy fighting internally, and the British alone can't scare Russia and Austria at all.

From the perspective of the British, the core of the crisis in the Near East lies with the Russians. As long as they don't do anything, it will be easy to convince Austria.

Under this judgment, the Anglo-Russian negotiations started.There is no doubt that the British do not think that the problem can be solved at the negotiating table, and the main purpose of initiating this negotiation is to delay time.

The London government and Louis Napoleon Bonaparte had hooked up, and in response to the growing crisis in the Near East, the British decided to support Napoleon III in taking power.

The British wanted to stall for time, and the Russians were not ready, so the negotiations started.

Vienna

The Austrian government is discussing the negotiations between Britain and Russia, which affects Austria's next strategy. If the British fool the bear, the westward strategy will come to naught.

Metternich analyzed: "The conflict between Britain and Russia has a long history, and the conflict of interests between the two sides is very serious. From the Near East to the Far East, the focus of conflict between the two countries is everywhere.

Unless one of the parties can make substantial concessions, conflict between the two countries is inevitable.

The current crisis in the Near East is mainly caused by the core strategy of the Russians. They have been preparing for so long, and now it is difficult for them to stop. "

After the decline of the Ottoman Empire, there was a voice within Russia to swallow this old empire and inherit their entire legacy.

Because of their great appetite, the Russian plan was naturally resisted by various countries.Although they failed to swallow the empire, the Russians still gained enough benefits in the last two Russian-Turkish wars.

Perhaps because they felt that it was too difficult to swallow the Ottoman Empire in one go, the Russians set two more small goals to complete this plan step by step.

The first step is to control the Black Sea, go south to the Balkans, and occupy the two straits;

The second step is to firmly grasp the right to protect the Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire, and then erode the Ottoman Empire.

The core of the first step of the strategic plan is to occupy the two straits. Only by mastering this golden waterway can the strategic security of the Russian Empire be guaranteed, and there is no need to worry about being blocked by the Ottoman Empire.

This is also the first step for the Russians to go to the ocean, and it is the core part of his ocean strategy.

However, this most critical step was cut off by the British as early as the signing of the "London Strait Convention" in 1841.

The results of half a century of Russian struggle for it were in vain, and the tsarist government refused to let go of the protection rights of Orthodox Christians.The fuse of the Crimean War in history was religious contradictions.

Now that Russia and Austria have formed an alliance, the diplomatic situation in which European powers have jointly suppressed Russia has changed, and the French are out of shape. If they do not take advantage of this opportunity to occupy the two-strait region, the Russians will never have a chance again.

It just so happened that the crisis in the Holy Land provided the Russians with ample excuses for war.The reason why it hasn't been launched yet is that they are preparing for war.

Doesn't the Ottoman government know about these issues?Obviously it is impossible. As an old enemy, the Ottoman government has never let down its vigilance against the Russians.

The problem is that even if they know everything, they can only wait for international mediation besides passively fighting.

There is no such thing as a proactive attack, the Russians were not ready for war, and neither was the Ottoman Empire.

In name, they have a large number of troops, and they seem to be strong and strong.But my family knows their own affairs. The seemingly powerful Ottoman army is actually just a show.

Whether it is fighting the Russians or fighting Austria, they are all counseled.This is not something that can be covered up by saying that the government is corrupt and incompetent.The gap in national strength cannot be made up overnight.

Prime Minister Felix thought for a while and said: "It is inevitable for the Russians to do something, and now we are not sure whether they will do it in the second half of this year or delay it until 1852.

Not only is the time when the war broke out uncertain, but also how long this destined large-scale war will last is also unknown.

The most worrying thing is whether Britain and France will participate in the war, and even if they participate in this war, how much strength they will show.