Holy Roman Empire

Not only Veris was angry, but many capitalists who came to the banquet were also angry.Even if you want a revolution, you have to say it in private. We can secretly support you. If you say it with such a big fanfare, what do you ask everyone to do?

Support the revolution?It is estimated that he will be imprisoned in a short time. With so many people attending the banquet this time, who knows if there are any traitors among them?

Opposition, must be opposed, when it comes to their own safety, the capitalists are very cautious, and have denounced the revolutionary party, as if they are a model of loyalty to the monarch and patriotism.

Vienna is not Paris, everyone's revolutionary enthusiasm is not so high, and the Vienna government is not as unpopular as the July Dynasty. Not everyone wants to rebel.

Once disturbed by the revolutionaries, the speech naturally ended hastily, and then turned into a secret meeting.

The labor protection law is still very destructive. Even the servants who held the banquet are one of the beneficiaries. Maybe one of them will sell them in a flash of enthusiasm. Everyone is still very careful.

"Mr. Virus, can we really make the government give in by driving up prices? You must know that the nobles are not small. If they try to stop us, maybe everyone will steal chickens and lose money!" Big capitalist Ham questioned

The two are commercial competitors, and they sit together because of common interests, but there is no way to eliminate the conflicts between them.

Virus explained: "It is because of the nobles that we won the final victory. Don't forget that our prime minister advocates the abolition of serfdom. The nobles don't want to get rid of him. Isn't it afraid that he will pass the serfdom like this time? Is it enforceable by law?"

The moderate capitalist Field echoed: "Mr. Virus is right, Metternich, an old bastard, has offended many people over the years, and many people want him to step down.

Once this old fox is gone, the new prime minister will not have his prestige. If he doesn't compromise with us, don't try to stabilize the situation! "

Field and Vires have similar political ideas. They both oppose violent revolution and advocate bloodless means to fight for rights.

This is determined by their interests. As one of the best capitalists in Austria, they own a large number of industries.

Once a revolution occurs, it will face a new reshuffle of interests. If it fails, it will lose everything.

Virus said again: "Mr. Ham, the nobles are not good products. We are driving up prices, so we can let them join in and make money together. When the time comes, they will not stop us for their own benefit." .

It doesn't take much, as long as one-fifth of the nobles stand on our side, Metternich will be helpless. This time our slogan is to let Metternich step down!

We can postpone the issues of abolishing labor protection laws, implementing constitutional government, and popular elections until the next government. "

After apparently failing once, Vires became more cautious.

The "Labor Protection Act" was used by the conservative aristocrats to attack the bourgeoisie, and obviously they will not make concessions easily.

Not to mention constitutionalism and universal elections, once this slogan is shouted out, it will be attacked by the aristocratic group in an all-round way.

On the contrary, it is easier to succeed by only targeting Prime Minister Metternich. After all, many nobles are against him.

Ham thought for a while and said, "Then I'll trust you again, but what do you think about the revolutionary party that appeared today? Everyone understands, so don't hide it!"

Field sneered and said, "Does it need to be said? Of course, we have to draw a line. It's not like you don't know the situation of the French Revolution. Who wants to experience it once?"

Ham sneered: "Mr. Field, let's forget about such a high-sounding statement!

I know that everyone has to contact them in private. I mean, have you ever thought about increasing your support for them.

Don't ask them to be successful, as long as they hold back a part of the government's energy? "

Virus hurriedly said: "Mr. Ham, let's stop this joke, I never know any revolutionary party!"

Unlike the daring Ham, Virus is already old, and he no longer wants to take risks because of his family and business. He secretly provided funds for the activities of the Revolutionary Party, which is already the limit of what he can do.

Chapter 21 Economic Crisis by Mishap

He couldn't convince the old foxes, and Ham wasn't angry. He knew that these people were tempted, but he didn't dare to speak out because he was too timid.

He is not a revolutionary either, he only got involved with the revolutionary party for the sake of profit, if he can achieve his goal by peaceful means, would a fool want to rebel?

This is the European continent, even if the rebellion succeeds, so what?

What kind of prince will Xiangning?

The answer is: Yes!

If he succeeds, at most he will become the president of a bourgeois republic. He may not be as comfortable as he is now in this position.

If it fails, it is estimated that exile overseas is the best ending.

In the face of the cruel reality, Ham's low revolutionary enthusiasm has become even lower.

Like the vast majority of capitalists, it’s okay to support the revolutionary party, but it’s okay to lead the revolution themselves, and they don’t want to be president.

……

It is very difficult to keep the banquet secret. The story that happened at the Vires Manor outside Vienna was quickly passed on to Metternich, and of course the content of the secret meeting later was not included.

However, Prime Minister Metternich is a well-behaved person. He sticks to the bottom line of political struggle, and he has no excuses to arrest the capitalists who participated in the banquet on the charge of colluding with the revolutionary party.

Annoyed by following the rules.

Knowing that the capitalists are conspiring, but can only defend passively, Prime Minister Metternich is naturally in a bad mood.

It is very appropriate to describe his situation with a sentence of internal and external troubles. There are aristocrats ready to move, and capitalists outside. Everyone has a common goal to let him go.

From the winter of 1847, the people of Vienna had an intuitive feeling that prices had risen, and it was still rising sharply at a speed visible to the naked eye.

By the end of December 1847, prices in Vienna had risen by 12%, and the capitalists were testing the limits of the people's tolerance little by little.

At this time, everyone turned their attention to the Vienna government, expecting the government to come up with a solution.

Obviously, everyone will be disappointed, the Vienna government does not have the ability or function to intervene in prices.Although Prime Minister Metternich has taken measures many times, they have had little effect in the end.

For example: the government put up a notice ordering merchants not to drive up prices, but the result was useless.

Another example: the Prime Minister has repeatedly interviewed capitalists but failed.

The government also seized the time to mobilize supplies from the outside into Vienna in an attempt to calm down prices, but unfortunately, under the resistance of the capitalists and the corruption of the internal nobles, it finally failed.

Of course, it is not completely ineffective, at least the rate of price increase has been suppressed, and it has not climbed to the peak all at once.

After the last failure, the capitalists didn't trust it very much internally. Seeing that it was profitable, many small and weak capitalists couldn't wait for the peak price moment.

People are selfish, and Franz is very clear that behind the sharp rise in prices in Vienna, there are also the participation of nobles, but they are all self-sufficient in pursuit of profit, and have not participated in the joint actions of capitalists.

These people's initial thoughts may be to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune, but now, wealth has gradually confused people's eyes, and many people have fallen into it, unable to extricate themselves.

But their luck is not very good, just in time for the European economic crisis.

Beginning in 1845, food shortages occurred in poor and prosperous European regions, and international food prices skyrocketed. With the rise of food prices, European people who were not rich at all spent a lot of money on food, and the European purchasing power market continued to shrink.

In 1846, the price of American cotton and cotton spinning products nearly doubled, and the high price caused the sales of cotton spinning products to decline.

With the decline in the volume of commodity trade, capitalists naturally chose to lay off employees. The unemployed population in the UK continued to grow, and the volume of railway freight continued to hit new lows. Many railway companies fell into a state of loss. In the autumn of 1847, the British railway bubble burst.

The capitalist world has always affected the whole world. The railway bubble burst, the railway under construction was also suspended, and the demand for steel fell.

The crisis soon spread to the steel and coal industries, with 137 of Staffordshire's 58 ironmaking furnaces shutting down.Pig iron production fell by a third in a month to a month and a half, and coal output fell by almost two levels.

In November 1847, in Lancashire, one of the centers of the British textile industry, 11 of the 920 cotton textile factories were completely closed, and most of the rest were open 200-2 days a week. More than 4% of workers are unemployed, or underemployed.

The industrial crisis that broke out in Britain did not attract the attention of Austrian capitalists. Neither the British economic crisis in 1825 nor the economic crisis in 1837 affected Austria.

As a non-industrialized country, it is not qualified even if it wants to have an industrial crisis, and the possibility of an economic crisis is also infinitely low.

Many people have forgotten that Austria is no longer what it used to be. As a semi-industrialized country, Austria can no longer stand alone in the economic crisis.

The first unlucky ones were the French. After the outbreak of the British economic crisis, in order to survive the crisis, British capitalists began to dump supplies overseas. The French, who were caught off guard, became the first wave of victims.

By 1848, the total industrial production in France had dropped by 50.00%.

The German region is no exception, because of its weak industrial strength, it has been hit harder.

In the winter of 1847, 8000 of the 3000 looms in Kleinfeld stopped working. In the first half of 1848, only 14 of the 3 factories in Cologne started operation, and the industry in Erfurt was almost wiped out.

The Austrian capitalists cried, and the nobles who wanted to take advantage of the fire also cried. In order to calm prices, the Vienna government lowered the import tariff, and a large number of cheap British goods rushed to the face. This really can't be yelled at.

It costs money to drive up prices. Faced with the dumping of an industrial country, Austrian capitalists said that they are not fools. The smart capitalists chose to retreat immediately.

In January 1848, in addition to the relatively strong food prices in Vienna, the prices of all industrial and commercial products collapsed. In critical moments, everyone was too busy to take care of themselves, who could take care of others?

Fast-running capitalists can also take advantage of the time difference to stop losses, while slow-running capitalists are directly locked in.

The supply exceeds demand, and the prices of industrial and commercial products on the Vienna market have fallen below their production cost prices. The capitalists and nobles who drive up prices are forced to cut their meat.

Everyone knows that the economic crisis is coming. In order to reduce losses, capitalists have begun to lay off employees. More capitalists have even closed their factories because of the heavy losses in this crisis. The unemployment rate in Vienna has risen sharply.

Chapter 22 The January Revolution

The sudden economic crisis also stunned the Austrian government. This is their first experience with this stuff, and no one has much experience.

Ordinary economic crisis is nothing more than that. The problem is the economic crisis caused by the industrial crisis. The traditional response plan is obviously out of date.

Government-funded salvation?

This is obviously impossible. Metternich will not think about how to save these capitalists unless his brain is flooded.

Of course, there are still necessary measures. For example, due to the soaring prices, the tariffs lowered by the government will immediately return to normal.

However, the domestic crisis has not been resolved. The capitalists and aristocrats who hoarded a large amount of supplies lost all their underpants this time.

Taking daily necessities as an example, the current retail price in Vienna is only 1847% of that in the first half of 60.00, which is less than one-third of the retail price during the peak period in December.

The price drop is only one aspect, the most important thing is the drop in purchasing power. Even at the current price, the public has no money to buy it.

This is tragic.

Under normal circumstances, the wholesale price of daily necessities is [-] to [-] percent lower than the retail price. If the retail price falls, the capitalists will lose a sum of money and leave the market. Most people can bear this loss.

The problem now is that there is a price but no market, where a bunch of goods are piled up, but no buyer can be found.

Capitalists with strong strength can still persist, while those with insufficient strength have already broken their capital chain and ran away owing a whole lot of debt to the bank.

Austrian financial institutions were hit hard as a result, the financial crisis broke out, and the vicious circle continued to ferment.

The era of the Great Depression has come, not only Austria, but the entire European continent, except Russia, no one can survive alone.

There is no doubt that the implementation of the "Labor Protection Law" promulgated by the Vienna government has been suspended, and there are no jobs. What kind of treatment is there to talk about?

The purpose of the bourgeoisie was achieved, the Vienna government did make concessions, and the "Labor Protection Law" was suspended, but this was not what they wanted.

The sudden economic crisis has seriously hurt the vitality of the bourgeoisie.Because the market competition has become cruel, the internal contradictions among capitalists are also intensifying.

Prime Minister Metternich became the biggest winner, but also the biggest loser.He successfully defeated the conspiracy of the bourgeoisie, but it is a pity that he still needs to clean up the mess after the victory.

Franz, who eats melons, was stunned. He didn't expect that it would end like this in the end. The bourgeoisie, the nobles, and the government were all losers in this political struggle.

If there are winners, Ferdinand I, who did nothing in the palace, is one of them, but unfortunately he can't feel it himself.

Next, the working class wins and loses. The economic crisis in Austria is more serious than in history, and their life is more difficult. The only harvest is a "Labor Protection Law" that does not know when it will be honored.

In short, the future is bright, but the reality is cruel.

"Grand Duke, revolution broke out in Sicily last night!"

Intelligence chief Tai Lun hurried in and brought Franz the shocking news.

Franz was really stunned. Didn't the 1848 European Revolution start in France in February?How did a Sicilian revolution come about?

Well, Franz admits that his knowledge of Sicily is limited to the beautiful legends of Sicily. The land here is very fertile and suitable for food production. It is located in the center of the Mediterranean Sea, and its strategic location is very important.

Then there was no more. After careful recollection, Franz remembered that there seemed to be a sentence in the history book that before the February Revolution in France, the January Revolution broke out in Italy.

The original text is the January Revolution in Italy, which opened the prelude to the European Revolution in 1848. It was just mentioned in one stroke, without redundant explanation, and Franz did not pay attention to it.

This is a sinkhole!Italy has not yet been unified, and the current Sicily is still an independent Kingdom of Sicily, which has a gross relationship with Italy?

For this reason, he also specially sent people to stare at the Kingdom of Sardinia. Who told them to finally unify Italy?

Soon Franz recovered. He is not specialized in historical research. It is normal for him to be unfamiliar with small events that have not been taken seriously in history.

"Is the scale of this revolution large? Has the Kingdom of Sicily been overthrown?"

Why the revolution broke out, he can guess without asking. The economic crisis broke out, and the life of the people of the Kingdom of Sicily can't go on!

"Grand Duke, this is still unclear. We have too few intelligence personnel in the Kingdom of Sicily, so there is no way to figure out the situation in such a short period of time!"

Tai Lun explained in embarrassment, it's really not that he didn't work hard, it's that the intelligence work can't be completed overnight, it's good to be able to receive the news in such a short time.

In this era, wireless telegraphy had not yet been invented, and wired telegraphy was only laid in big cities. What happened in Sicily could only be transmitted to Vienna after a series of transfers.

If you wait for the news to spread naturally, it is likely that the news will be delayed by three to five days, or even a week or two.

"Well, forget it, let's focus on Vienna, Milan, Venice, and Budapest. The revolution in the Kingdom of Sicily may cause a chain reaction!" Franz thought for a while and said

He has already figured it out, he doesn't care about the external affairs, he should stabilize the country first, let alone other things, at least he must receive the news before the revolution breaks out, be prepared, right?

"Yes, Grand Duke!"

Seeing that Franz didn't blame him, Tai Lun breathed a sigh of relief. The intelligence organization's combat effectiveness has dropped a lot compared to that of the past, and he, the person in charge, also has an unshirkable responsibility.

Well, he didn't yet know how low Franz expected from them.As the saying goes, there are no good products that are cheap, and good products are not cheap.