With the outbreak of the second industrial revolution, the total industrial volume of various countries snowballed, and the demand for markets and industrial raw materials was also growing.
The Government of Vienna was eager to promote free trade. In addition to the domestic economic development needs, there was also a hidden strategic purpose.
Once entering the era of free trade, Austria, which had an advantage in emerging industries, was bound to magnify this advantage and set a higher threshold for later.
If things went well, in the near future, there would be a world industrial pattern: Britain occupied the traditional textile and shipbuilding industries; Austria occupied the emerging power, communications, and internal combustion engine industries.
It could almost be said to copy the economic rise of the German and German empires, but Austria was richer. It was the largest agricultural exporter in Europe, and it had a vast colony to back it up.
Britain and Austria divided the world's industrial main body, what about the rest of the countries?
Especially France, which was second only to the two countries, whether it was competing with Britain in traditional industries or competing with Austria in emerging industries, they had no advantage.
It was not that the technology could not keep up, but the supply of industrial raw materials could not be solved. Unlike later generations, the transportation of this era was not so developed. Once the distance was too far, the cost would go up.
It was too risky to defeat France militarily. Now France was a large country with a population of nearly 60 million. Even if Italians did not contribute militarily, they could still contribute in logistics.
The sandpiper and clam fought, and the fisherman benefited.
Unless they could end the war in a short period of time and completely defeat the other side, the winner would be the fisherman.
As long as one looked at the map, anyone with a little military knowledge would know that the Fao and Austria could not win in a short period of time. This was determined by geographical location.
In contrast, defeating France economically was much less risky, and the success rate was much higher.
In terms of economy, the British, Fao, and Austria were all competitors. Even if the Government of London liked to play with the European continent balance, it could only be a military balance. There was no way to play economic balance.
The two economies of the Fao and Austria had long been out of balance. The British did not think of helping the French, which meant supporting the enemy.
Don't talk about strategy, capitalists did not have such high moral integrity. Making money was the first priority. If they could kill a competitor and earn more profits, why would they refuse?
No matter how big the threat of Austria was, it was also a problem in the future. Capitalists would not give up making money for the potential danger.
The most typical case is the rise of the original Soviet Union. In terms of threat, this was much scarier than the current Austria. For the sake of profit, the capitalists still cooperated with the Soviets.
In the era of free trade, the economy was determined by the market, and the interference of the government was relatively small. The Government of London in this era, for example, hardly interfered with the market.
Needless to say, once Austria joined the free trade system, those with vested interests would push the two governments to unite and pull the remaining countries into the free trade system.
There was no doubt that most of the European countries did not have the confidence to refuse. Once everyone joined the free trade system, the French would be in trouble.
If they joined the gaming circle, they wouldn't be able to compete. If they didn't join the circle, they would fall into the awkward situation of being alone.
France had always been ostracized in Europe. Napoleon Iii had to work hard for 20 years before he was barely accepted by everyone. Now that they were playing single player, they were back to their former state.
Perhaps the British would abandon the free trade system one day, but they would never abandon it to support France. As long as the advantages outweighed the disadvantages, free trade was the trademark of the British.
Judging from the current situation, as long as they did not do anything stupid, the British industry and commerce would be able to maintain competitiveness in the next few decades. This was the foundation of an old industrial power.
…
Franz: "What's the reaction of domestic public opinion?"
Prime Minister Felix: "The voices of support and opposition are almost the same. The two sides are arguing very fiercely. I'm afraid a winner won't be decided in a short period of time."
It was not only the emerging industries that supported free trade, but also the agricultural processing industry. They were all advantageous industries in Austria and had enough confidence to participate in international competition.
These industries had vested interests in joining the free trade system and lowering import and export tariffs.
For example, the cotton textile industry was the most staunch opponent. Once the tariff barrier was abandoned, the British were bound to seize a part of their market.
Of course, if these companies were good enough, they would also have the opportunity to run out and grab the British market. After all, these industries had low technical content, and the gap in technology was not big.
If it weren't for the higher labor costs in Austria Africa, the domestic cotton textile industry would probably have moved. Once they entered the era of free trade, controlling costs became an essential part of enterprises.
Franz: "Then provide them with a platform, let the supporters and opponents debate, and let the … the people be the judges."
Originally, Franz wanted to say "the melon spectators," but when the words were on the tip of his tongue, he felt it was inappropriate and changed it to "the people."
"Your Majesty, I'm afraid this will make things worse. A lot of people have already applied to the police for demonstrations, "Prime Minister Felix advised.
Franz shook his head. "It's precisely because things are getting bigger that it's necessary to let them debate. If we don't give them a channel to vent, how can these people whose interests are harmed be satisfied? "
It was better to let the capitalists argue with each other than the government. Regardless of the outcome of the debate, reform needed to be carried out.
It was just an additional layer of buffer, allowing the people whose interests were harmed to shift their target of hatred.
This was the right thing to do. As people with vested interests in the reform, they couldn't just take the benefits without doing anything. Attracting hatred was one of their responsibilities.
…
Minister of Finance Carr: "Your Majesty, our negotiations with the British have been blocked. Overall, both sides have reached an agreement, but the British want us to open up the financial industry.
With the strength of the domestic financial industry, once the financial market is opened, it will be difficult for us to gain an advantage. "
Not to mention gaining an advantage, the strength of the Austrian financial industry wasn't even comparable to the French, let alone the British. If the restrictions were lifted, they would basically be beaten.
After hesitating for a moment, Franz: "It's impossible to lift the financial restrictions. Domestic capital is restricted, how can foreign capital not be restricted?
Continue to negotiate with the British. We can allow British capital to enter the securities market, but it must comply with the relevant laws.
If the British continue to pester us on the financial issue, we can sign an agreement that capital from both countries will not enter each other's financial market. That will be fair. "
Austria had never prohibited foreign capital from entering the financial market, but it was subject to many restrictions. If they wanted to run freely in the financial market, they would be confiscated by the management!
Unlike the London financial market, where the rule-makers deliberately left a backdoor, the Vienna financial market was often patched.
Taking advantage of the loopholes in the rules didn't mean that they could make money. They also had to be fast enough to complete the operation before the management could react.
After so many years of patching, there were now very few loopholes in the Austrian financial market. If they wanted to unscrupulously shear the sheep, it would be much more difficult.
"Don't enter each other's financial market" was a complete joke.
It didn't matter to Austria. The domestic financial industry was still in the stage of capital accumulation. Even if they wanted to reach out to the London financial market, they didn't have enough strength.
From the British's point of view, it was different. The London financial market was the financial center of the world, where capital from all over the world gathered to play.
Except for a very few lucky people who could make money from it, the vast majority of the rest were harvested by the British consortiums.
Foreign capital entering the London financial market was a fat sheep to the British financial consortiums. Why should they refuse entry?
The British were the first to complete the Industrial Revolution. In the early years, with the advantage of being the world's factory, they accumulated a large amount of capital. From 20 years ago, there was a surplus of capital.
In the original timeline, the United States was able to rise because the British wanted to vent their excess capital. Otherwise, the Chosen One wouldn't have developed so easily.
Austria was able to rise because of the British capital in the early years. It was just that Franz took advantage of the economic crisis and the advantage of the rule maker to cheat the British capital midway.
Now the British wanted Austria to open the financial market, but in fact, they were afraid of being cheated.
It was fine to trigger the economic crisis in advance. This could only be blamed on their own lack of means. They would pay attention next time.
But with the restrictions of the rules, it was hopeless. Many seemingly inconspicuous rules had little impact in normal times. Once the economic crisis broke out, it could often explode a fatal blow.
Unfortunately, these rules were made in advance, and they were made public. It was within the rules of the game. If they didn't notice it, it was their own fault, making them suffer unspeakably.
The British were also playing the same trick. The London financial market also had similar rules, specifically used to cheat uninformed outsiders.
It was just that people liked double standards. They used the rules to cheat others, which was a clever method. They couldn't bear being cheated by others using the rules.
A fall into the pit, a gain in wit. After learning from the experience, the British capitalists wanted to remove these rules and restrictions.
Franz was also in a difficult position. He wanted to tell the British that they were worrying too much.
It was impossible to play the same trick all the time. With the continuous standardization of the market, there were not so many traps to set.
Unfortunately, no one would believe it. From the initial water and railway monopolies created by the Government of Vienna to the premature detonation of the economic crisis not long ago, the British capital suffered heavy losses.
From the standpoint of Austria, this was normal operation and completely in line with the rules of the game. But from the standpoint of the British capital, these were huge traps.
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