Chapter 857: Counterproductive

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The turbulent international situation has not affected Austria's Near East development plan. Ironing still needs to be hard, or the opportunity will come to the door, and you can't grasp it.
The development plan for the Near East began in 1884, and four years have passed.
For four years, a country can only be regarded as an episode; for a place, it can change dramatically.
Compared with the depression that just experienced war four years ago, today's Near East has become a large construction site.
Railroads are advancing like dragons; small towns are rising from the ground; the old city is still being demolished, and the new city has begun to build.
In just four years, Austria immigrated to the Near East with more than three million people, controlling most of the region.
"The development plan of the Near East is still too slow. At the current rate, it may not be completed in ten years.
The international situation is becoming increasingly tense, and the possibility of war breaking out in Europe is increasing. We do not have enough time to wait. The government must find ways to accelerate the development of the Near East. "
From the outside, the Near East is advancing at an alarming speed, but it is still too slow to fall into Franz's eyes.
Four years later, the Near East is still a large construction site. In addition to the establishment of a number of small towns, slightly larger projects are in progress.
Originally planned to complete the development and reconstruction of the Near East within ten years, reality told Franz that it could not be done at all.
Prime Minister Carl was shocked and said: "Your Majesty, our development in the Near East is already very fast. If we speed up blindly, a series of problems will appear later."
It is not impossible to speed up the progress, but it is already difficult to speed up again while ensuring the quality of the project.
After all, there are few construction machinery and equipment this year, all relying on manpower to carry it on their shoulders. What restricts the rapid completion of the Near East development plan is not that the Austrian government does not work hard, but that social productivity cannot keep up.
Franz didn't study engineering machinery, and he couldn't help at all on this issue. Even if it is able to draw a device picture of later generations, it is only an appearance picture, and what it looks like inside is completely unknown.
It is simply not realistic to imitate engineering equipment based on the outline drawing. Many mechanical equipments involve a lot of basic scientific knowledge, and they cannot be created before they can keep up.
Franz shook his head: "The international situation is changing and time is not waiting. The short-term development plan for the Near East cannot be completed in a short period of time, then the projects are graded and priority is given to important projects.
For example: roads, bridges, stations and other projects should be ranked first; it does not matter that the new city construction project is later. "
Franz admitted that he was in a hurry, but his instinct told him that the situation in Europe was not far away.
He did not know how to spread the railway network before the outbreak of the war to lay the foundation for the homeland to connect to Africa.
Prime Minister Carl reminded: "Your Majesty, after we issued the warning, the French have made concessions, and now the three countries of Fabid have entered the negotiating table.
Judging from the current situation in Europe, the French are not ready for war, and the possibility of war breaking out on the European continent is still very small.
Our development plan for the Near East is a whole, and each project is complementary to each other.
Slowing down the construction of cities along the way, and accelerating the construction of railways, in the future for a long period of time, railway operations will fall into a serious loss, which is very economically uneconomical. "
The European War cannot be fought for a while. This is not the opinion of Prime Minister Karl. Most people in the Austrian government think so. It can even be said that 99% of Europeans hold this view.
There is only a little friction between Fabid and the French practice is at most political blackmail under military threat.
The greatest risk of war also comes from the confrontation between the two alliances. However, the relationship between the two alliances is only deteriorating between Britain and Russia.
Franz shook his head: "If you lose money, let's lose money. Anyway, we have never expected the railways in the Near East to make money. Completion in advance is nothing more than a little loss.
In order to obtain strategic initiative, we can still afford this price. "
No matter how important the economic account is, it cannot compare with national strategic security. The railway runs through the Near East, which means that Austria has a strategic advantage over France.
Of course, this is built on the background of the continued European war. If the victory is defeated at the beginning, this plan will not matter.
Sometimes Franz is thinking about whether to follow Prussia, to start with the first one, and beat the French by surprise.
After considering only the UK and Russia, Franz decisively gave up this attractive plan. If you succeed, your income is limited. If you lose, you will lose your pants.
Failure to provoke war does not mean that Franz did nothing. The French dared to propose overlord clauses to the two countries, but it was actually indulged by Austria.
It seems that the French have taken advantage of it, but they also pushed themselves to the opposite of European countries.
What everyone said on the bright side did nothing with weakness, but the subconsciously "French threat theory" has come to mind in many people.
Do n’t expect everyone to be rational. With this
subconscious mind
, if the French-Austrian War broke out, everyone would tend to Austria when they stood in line.
...
On November 24, 1888, after a series of bargaining, the three countries signed a "Coal Export Agreement" in Paris.
There is no accident. The French government has won a great victory. According to the provisions of the treaty, the two countries will export 50 million tons of coal to France in the next five years, including high-quality coking coal of not less than 8 million tons.
The word "parity" has filled the sadness of the two countries. Although there is no clear explanation in the treaty, everyone knows that it is an ultra-low price.
Specifically, less than a month after the signing of the treaty, the domestic coal retail price in France fell by almost one-fifth.
The decline in coal prices has benefited the steel industry the most. In the last month of 1888, French steel production increased by 18% over the same period last year.
This is just the beginning. Affected by the fall in energy prices, French industry is beginning to regain its second spring.
Capitalists who have benefited have not forgotten to sing praises to the government. Overnight Napoleon IV became France's greatest monarch.
Everyone loves to listen to good words. Looking at the flower-style praise in the newspaper, Napoleon IV also enjoys it.
Soon Napoleon IV was not happy. After the sweetness was tasted, the capitalists did not satisfy themselves, but wanted to go further.
"Parity coal", no matter how cheap it is, can't compare with the benefits it has in its own hands. Moreover, it is not easy to buy cheap coal.
The French government's pressure is nothing more than forcing the two countries to reduce taxes on coal exported to France, and coal mining companies still want to make a profit.
Even if the government signed the treaty, the capitalists can still not buy it, and many companies have raised the ex-factory price for selling to the French after the treaty was signed.
Even some national capitalists simply refused to sell coal to the French to show their protest against the unequal treaty.
The governments of Belgium and Germany are also ethical. Their tax cuts have already reached the bottom line. It is simply impossible to force them to lower prices for exports.
After the signing of the treaty between the three countries, the quantity of coal imported by France from Belgium and Germany did not rise but fell. "Parity coal" does exist, but it cannot be bought.
It can also be seen from the decline in domestic coal prices that the price of coal imported from France is only the same as that of the international market. It is uncoordinated by the coal companies of the two countries who want to take the goods below the market price.
The government has indeed reduced taxes, but others are reluctant to cut prices. Everyone is a capitalist, who does n’t want to earn more?
The main contradiction now is not a contradiction between countries, but a contradiction between capitals.
According to conventional methods, French capital can't help but the coal bosses of the two countries and can only ask the government for help.
...
At the Palace of Versailles, Napoleon IV frowned and asked, "What do you think of the proposal of the Steel Guild?"
Foreign Minister Karel Kadletz: "Your Majesty, we have just signed a treaty with the two countries, and we breached the contract so quickly that the international community cannot explain it.
Judging from the current situation, there is no possibility that the governments of the two countries will continue to make concessions. If they are forced to force them to trade, it may be counterproductive. "
In fact, from the beginning, Karel Kadletz opposed excessively forcing the two countries, and advocated the use of a unified procurement contract to suppress prices.
But why domestic capitalists don't cooperate and everyone is used to it. How can we give the government the right to purchase?
Facts have proved that persecution can't solve the problem. The governments of the three countries have indeed reached an agreement, but domestic companies can still resist it.
Although the situation of sky-high coal prices no longer exists, it is still impossible to purchase cheap coal below the international average price.
Many companies in Belgium and Germany refuse to export coal to France. It is not how patriotic the capitalists are. They are mainly forced by domestic patriotism.
Nationalism has risen, and now to do business with the French, we must wear the hat of a traitor.
Not only coal mining companies, many companies in Belgium and Germany are not cooperating with the French, the whole society has set off a wave of boycotts against French goods.
This is why the French capitalists are anxious to seek government help.
If it does not suppress the anti-French wave of the two countries, France will have to lose part of the market that is not much in the world.
Economic Minister Elsa: "Government intervention may indeed bring uncertain risks, but the current situation is out of control.
If the government does not interfere, we will not only get cheap coal, but also lose the markets in both countries.
There are indications that behind this, there is still British capital fueling. Several companies that took the lead in boycotting the export of coal to us have British and Austrian capital holdings behind them. "
...
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