Chapter 144: Headache strategy

The problems in Franz's eyes are not a problem in this era.
From the analysis of construction cost, the largest gap between these four standards is only 1.2%, which means that the construction cost of the railway is not the main factor affecting the decision.
Think about it. The railway gauge in this era is generally relatively large. The first railway gauge of the Russians was still 1829mm. Later, the bureaucrats listened to the advice of American engineers and changed it to 1524mm.
How much did it cost to reduce from six feet to five feet?
It saved 3% on the budget. Of course, in the style of the Tsarist Russian bureaucrats, it will definitely not save much money.
The standard gauge was marketed by the British to the world. Since 1846, John Bull has introduced laws. From this time, the 1435mm system has become the standard gauge of British mainland and colonies.
However, India soon became an exception. The standard gauge cannot meet their transportation requirements. The British are pragmatic and cannot be enlarged. Therefore, most of India's railways are 1676mm standards, and other messy gauge railways are naturally not many. .
After nearly a century of efforts by the British, the 1435mm system became the international standard gauge in the middle of the 20th century. The original purpose of Niu Niu was to promote the British technical system.
Is there any purpose to limit the freight capacity of mainland countries, this is unknown, anyway, Franz does not believe that John Bull would be so kind.
With the technology of the mid-19th century, the freight volume of wide-gauge railways exceeded that of narrow-gauge railways, and safety and speed were much higher, which is completely different from the 21st century.
Later generations rely on technology to solve the problem of the stability of trains. The freight capacity and speed of narrow gauge railways have been improved. This era cannot be done.
The cost of railway maintenance is virtually the same. After the completion of the railway, the structure is exactly the same. The gap is only the length of the sleepers. The simple maintenance of narrow gauge railways is unfounded.
The issue of land area is completely nonsense. Whose railway does not have a separation zone on both sides of the railway. Is it necessary to use the land under the train?
…… (No more, it's almost science)
"His Majesty, since there is a need to unify standards, it is better to let the Holy Roman Alliance unify the standards together, and it may be better to assemble everyone to develop a common standard." Metternich suggested
"Are there enough time, our railway has begun construction?" Felix asked with concern.
"No problem. Railway construction has just begun. Decisions made within one year will not affect construction." Railway Minister Stein replied
Railroad construction in this era was really slow. Demolition has only begun now. After that, the excavation and digging should not be completed without a year or two.
"Then we will pull everyone together, and the Ministry of Railways will be responsible for selecting an optimal solution as our opinion and trying to convince everyone to implement it together.
If there are endless arguments, just bring out these standards and let everyone vote, anyway, these plans are suitable for Austria. Franz said indifferently
"Then 1676mm, this standard can already meet our needs, and security is also guaranteed." Stein quickly gave the answer
As for railway international standards, is there such a thing in this era? Who admits it?
We must know that when the British were building the Western Railway, because of the technical relationship, they found that their standard system could not guarantee safety. They all switched to wide gauge. It was only after the technology reached the standard in the late 19th century that it was overthrown.
Once the Holy Roman Alliance has established new standards, the future international rail gauge standards may become two sets.
Apart from that, the standards of the South German Railways are unified. Prussia will follow up or not?
If it is not followed up, the two sides will be cut apart economically; if it is followed up, Central and Southern Europe will unify the standard system, and the impact will undoubtedly be huge.
As an emperor, many things have to be considered political and military. For example, Franz will soon advise the Austrian-Hungarian Empire and Maozi to unify railway standards.
I do n’t know why, but any country and a bear must be careful. Even if everyone is an ally, you should be prepared for.
During this period, the major powers in Europe actually looked a little stronger and stronger, and Austria was no exception. Social reform has just begun and it has not yet been translated into national strength.
The national strength of the British also has 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 Asia is undergoing colonization. Egypt or the French dominate. The Great Colonial Empire has not yet completed the puzzle.
The French are busy with internal struggles. The internal contradictions of the Russians have only been suppressed, only to be detonated by external forces.
The Prussian kingdom has to rely on external wars to transfer social contradictions. Internal reforms have just begun. On the surface, military strength is good, but the domestic economy is weak.
Spain continues to decline, and social reforms have not yet started. The United States, far from the ocean, was only an agricultural country with a population of just over 20 million. The main economic income was the export of cotton. The contradictions between the North and the South have already appeared.
Thinking of this, Franz suddenly came up with the idea, why not find a chance to engage in South Africa?
As big as South Africa, the British only established colonial rule along the coast, and the inland areas were still without land. Except for the Cape of Good Hope, the British did not pay much attention to it.
Now the British are very busy, and they don't care about more areas in Africa. There are so many entry points. If they join now, they may be able to divide a piece of meat.
If it is not possible, start with Namibia, then occupy Botswana and play an edge ball; or start from Tanzania, occupy Zambia and Zimbabwe, and invade the hinterland of South Africa from the inland.
They are quite good in theory, and seem to be less reliable in actual operation. The African continent in this era is not cute at all, and a bunch of diseases and poisonous beasts. If you want to colonize here, you must first prepare for a high mortality rate.
It's not very high in theory, as long as you take care and control the mortality rate to within 10%, there is probably no problem.
It ’s okay to say that. If you go to the implementation, you will find that everyone is actually not so brave. Who is willing to take risks in the past?
With the exception of profit incentives, for example, the gold mine in South Africa was discovered, then everyone suddenly became brave, and diseases, poisonous insects, and beasts were nothing.
It is regrettable that when gold is discovered, it will not be possible for Austria. Unless it was premature occupation and then joined forces with the Boers, otherwise the British could not be captured.
Reason goes to reason. As soon as this idea comes out, Franz will never linger.
Anyway, it is still a long time before South Africa found the gold. It is a big deal to support the African colonialists in the country and let them go to establish a base first.
By the time the British-British War breaks out, Austria may have risen. At that time, whether it is to support the Boers to add chaos to John Cow, or join in and divide up a portion, you need a foothold.
The timing of the operation must be selected, preferably when the British are too busy to take care of themselves, and suddenly start to cause the established facts.
The international law of this era is that without land, whoever takes it first, whoever it is, must be able to keep it.
It's early, so don't hurry. Franz was not a man who acted blindly, and now it seems that he wants to promote the construction of the Suez Canal.
Dominating this canal doesn't have that ability in Austria, but encourage it to become an international condominium canal.
When the Suez Canal was dug in history, the British government opposed it with all their might, and they believed that the canal would threaten their maritime supremacy.
The British people believe that the canal is not accessible to large ships, and the shares of the canal company are almost nobody in the UK.
On the contrary, it was selling well in France. The Canal Company also suffered a shortage of funds and stopped work in the middle. It almost turned into a bad project. Finally, it was successfully completed under the help of the Rothschild family.
In history, the canal was opened in 1869. For such a long time, the Austrian navy is almost a bit heavy.
Others dare not guarantee that becoming a shareholder of the Canal can still be done.
In history, France could not withstand the pressure of the British, and it was forced to give up because of financial problems. If it becomes France and Austria jointly lead the Suez Canal, the result will be different.
How to do it, Franz has a headache. The relationship between the powers is very complicated, and everyone is cooperating and stabbing each other.
Join forces here today, and tomorrow, we will fight another place.
If you want to reduce conflicts, unless you want the Russian-Olympic Treaty, everyone will take what they need and agree on their sphere of influence in advance.
As long as imagination is impossible, Austria can make concessions to Russia, that is, everyone's core strategy does not conflict.
Franz also knew that the Russian strategy would be besieged by the British, French, and Ottomans as soon as the strategy was launched. Mao Xiong's national strength could not support this long-term war of attrition, and failure was inevitable.
Unless Britain and France invade Russia, Austria will be dragged into the war by the influence of the covenant. Just open the map and know that unless the Russians dominate it, it will be difficult for Britain and France to attack Russia.
Obviously, this kind of thing cannot come a second time. Austria can only choose a big country as an ally. The two or five children swinging left and right can be easily shot dead.
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