Chapter 344

Looking at the two resignations in his hands, Franz could only sigh helplessly.

Time was unforgiving, and it was not something that could be changed by humans.

Marshal Radkisson was already 91 years old. Historically, he had received his lunch box at this age. In fact, he was almost there. Although he was the Chief of the General Staff in name, he had already retired three years ago.

The Chief of the General Staff only held a high position during times of war. In times of peace, he was mainly responsible for formulating strategies. There were not many specific matters, so Franz kept his position as the old Marshal.

Marshal Radkisson was obviously not willing to idle around. After realizing that his body could not take it anymore, he would submit his resignation to Franz every few days.

The wording was also getting more and more intense. If he did not approve it, he would die suddenly. After hesitating for a while, Franz reluctantly approved his resignation.

If Marshal Radkisson's resignation was more of a pain in his heart, then Metternich's resignation was a real headache.

The Foreign Affairs Minister was not an empty title. It was one of the three most important positions along with the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance.

Metternich was also 85 years old. At this age, it was obvious that she could not take it anymore. Currently, most of the affairs in the Foreign Affairs Ministry were managed by his deputy. He only asked about the important matters.

Two years ago, Franz gave him special permission to set his own working hours, work at his own place, and did not need to report for leave.

After sighing, Franz had no choice but to accept the departure of the two old ministers. Perhaps it was not two, but three. Grand Duke Louis was about to leave as well.

Franz was sure that if Metternich resigned, he would not stay either. He was already in his eighties. His political opponents for decades had all left. What was the point of staying?

This person's ability could not be compared to the previous two. He could only be considered average, or even a little mediocre. But when Franz first stirred up the conflict between the bourgeoisie and the nobles, this person was his supporter.

There were many problems in politics that could not be judged on the surface. Grand Duke Louis had taken the blame for Franz. For this reason, he even sacrificed one of his sons in the Vienna Rebellion.

Disregarding his ability, his loyalty was quite high. These years, he had helped Franz draw the hatred of the capitalists and firmly led the nobles to suppress the bourgeoisie.

Without them, the capitalists would not have been so obedient. Not to mention, the labor protection laws could not be enforced, child laborers could not return to school, and the class conflicts in the country would not be suppressed.

There was no other way. The most important thing in governing was balance. In an era of rapid economic development, the power of the bourgeoisie naturally increased. If there were no restrictions, these people would have already caused a foul atmosphere in the country.

The accumulation of primitive capital was always bloody, and these people were still at the stage of profit-seeking. They didn't care about their reputation when they were alive or after they died.

To ensure the stability in the country, Franz, was, and Franz, was, and.

And this chain also needed someone to carry it out. This executor could not be the Emperor, so the Conservatives acted as the knife.

. and, and, and, the Shan, the. and, one, the. and the, and went. and said. and, and.

Franz would not listen to their bullsh * t about the increase in labor costs and weakening the market competitiveness. In fact, these were mostly used to fool people.

",", ", Austrian compared with".. " As a big exporter of agricultural products, Austria's cost of living was lower than Britain and France.

Obviously, it was illegal to make huge profits, but they said it was caused by market competition. If you want to promote high labor costs, you have to compare.

In this era, Britain and France were qualified to compare with Austria. Austria still had an advantage compared with these two.

If they compared labor costs with Hairy Bear, then there was no need to say anything. Their factories were using free serfs, and they couldn't go back in time.

Franz could responsibly say that the investment industry in this era was still in its golden stage. Enterprises with a gross profit of less than 30% could be eliminated.

Even if the profit increased by ten times, the capitalists would still feel that the profit was low. Franz had a deep understanding of this. He also felt that the return on gold mining was low!

The biggest negative example was Britain and France. After the outbreak of the second industrial revolution, their industrial production fell behind.

The reason for falling behind was not because of technology, nor because of the market. The real reason was very funny. Why work hard when you can make money lying down?

Anyway, they had cheaper raw materials and a rich market. They could make money without technological innovation.

From a profit point of view, replacing machinery and equipment also required investment. In this era of rapid change, machinery and equipment were updated quickly. In order to maximize profits, they simply did not change.

On the contrary, the German Empire, which had higher labor costs and raw materials costs, was forced by the cruel competition in the market to promote technological innovation. They only needed new technology to survive.

As time went by, Britain and France, which had an absolute advantage, were overtaken just like that.

Without the pressure of survival, Franz suspected that Austria would follow in the footsteps of Britain and France. Once people formed this bad habit, it was difficult to change.

Even in order to have cheaper labor, these people would promote some strange policies. There was no concept of national interest in their minds.

Not only did they have to guard against the corruption of the capitalists, but they also had to guard against the corruption of the aristocracy. People were the same. Once there was no pressure, it was easy to fall.

For Franz, the corruption of the aristocracy was more terrible than the corruption of the capitalists. This was the foundation of his rule. Once there was a problem in this class, his rule would be unstable.

These people were truly tied to the emperor. Their roots were in Austria, and the cost of betrayal was quite high. It was impossible to learn from the capitalists. As long as there was a greater benefit, they would betray.

The current promotion of overseas colonization and the domestic civil service examination system provoked the conflict between the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie. In fact, these were all to pressure the aristocracy.

To let them know that if they didn't work hard today, they would be replaced tomorrow. In the face of cruel reality, many aristocrats who were on the verge of bankruptcy or already bankrupt became the pioneers of colonization.

In order to prevent the elites in the country from degenerating, Franz was also very worried. Many policies were carried out around this problem.

…

The following personnel adjustments gave Franz another headache.

The position of chief of staff was the easiest to handle. There were many candidates and many people who were qualified.

In any case, in the later stages, it was a competition of national strength. When the overall national strength increased, directly using strength to crush the opponent was the most reliable strategy and tactic.

The successor of the foreign minister was also trained. Although he was not as capable as Metternich, he was still higher than the average level of each country.

In essence, diplomacy was also built on the strength of the country. Weak countries had no diplomacy. Without strength, even the best diplomat would be useless.

On the contrary, the interior minister was more troublesome. For the domestic political balance, this person must be from the conservative side and have a certain level of ability to convince people. He must also be able to act according to Franz's will.

There were a lot of people who met one of the requirements. There were only a few people who could meet all the requirements in the Government of Vienna.