Chapter 462

Although the Government of the United Kingdom did not directly follow up, they entered the Parliament Mode and still scared a lot of people.

Anyone with a little bit of political sense knew who this was aimed at.

Once Austria lost the food consumer markets in England and France, its total exports would drop by one-sixth.

Russia, which was dominated by agriculture, was even worse. It would be a blessing from God if they could keep half of their exports.

Under the fierce market competition, Russia's agriculture, which was backward in productivity, would directly lose its market competitiveness because of production costs.

But the Tsarist government did not dare to promote new agricultural technology because production capacity did not equal profit. If the food could not be sold, it would be useless no matter how high the production.

Even industrial upgrading, the Tsarist government did not dare to do it. This was similar to Austria during the last agricultural crisis.

Limited by the domestic economic development level, Franz had to be careful in developing the livestock industry, for fear of another overcapacity.

Austria's livestock industry only started in the last two to three years. The main reason was because of the economic development and the people's purchasing power increased.

First there was market demand, then there was commodity production. This order could not be reversed, or else it would cause a big mess.

The Tsarist government was anxious, and the Government of Vienna was also anxious. However, the Russians were really anxious, and the Government of Vienna was just pretending.

The diplomatic slogan was earth-shattering, and the government's operation was fierce, but the actual effect was 0.5. It looked like they were in a mess.

For example, after the French announced the large farm plan, the Government of Vienna announced to suspend the qualification approval of agricultural processing enterprises.

When the British Parliament began to discuss whether to follow up, the Government of Vienna once again issued an agricultural transformation notice, suggesting the people to reduce the area planted to deal with the agricultural crisis.

The direct consequence was that the stock prices of domestic agricultural companies plummeted. Even some food production companies, which were not affected much, were implicated.

Of course, the economic crisis had just passed, and the current stock prices were not high, so they could not fall much.

To put it bluntly, the French only announced a plan, and the Government of Paris did not know how to implement it.

The capitalists were not willing to invest, and the government had to personally make a loss. It was not as simple as it sounded.

No one had any experience in how to operate it. The government directly sent officials to manage, which would greatly increase administrative costs. Corruption was also a big problem.

If the price of food was sky-high and the people could not afford it, it would be big trouble.

It seemed simple to contract to the capitalists, but the problem was that the capitalists' integrity was not reassuring.

Taking a shell project, cheating the government of subsidies, and finally importing cheap food from abroad to fill the hole, the Paris government became a big spendthrift.

Supervision was easy to say, but the problem was that the farm was built in a colony. Although the French government was directly under the jurisdiction of the French government, it was a place far away from the Emperor, so the central government's control was limited.

In addition to the management problems, the indigenous people in the colony were also a headache. French Africa was not Austrian Africa. Most of the land was owned.

They couldn't avoid it. They couldn't just leave the farm in the middle of the desert, right?

Even in the 21st century, desert agriculture was still in the research stage. The French were still unable to do anything about it.

The French of the French of France of France of the Kingdom. Following the example of the Egyptian rebellion, the French government had to be careful.

After all, the indigenous rebel army was easy to deal with, but the indigenous rebel army with external support was different. If there were a few more Egyptian rebellions, the Government of France would not have the money to carry out the large farm plan.

With so many problems to consider, the French's large farm plan would become a joke if it was not handled well.

Not to mention the British. Anyone who knew a little about the British Parliament knew that to be able to reach a consensus in a year and a half was already an extraordinary performance.

It was possible to argue for three to five years for this kind of big strategy. Especially the major food-producing countries, they had already mobilized their forces to lobby the British Parliament.

Many people were still looking forward to a comeback. Some even thought that Britain and France were just waiting for the right price, using the "food self-sufficiency plan" to force Russia and Austria to make concessions in international politics.

There were many people who supported this view, including many people in Britain and France.

In the Vienna Palace, with the news of the "food self-sufficiency plan," Franz also felt the pressure.

From the people to the government, there were calls to negotiate with Britain and France to resolve the dispute.

After all, this was a confidential plan. Except for a few high-level officials, no one else knew about it. This kind of thing was almost inevitable.

Affected by this, on August 16, 1885, the Government of Vienna also sent a note to the British and French ministers in Austria and had an in-depth communication.

After the Government of Vienna deliberately showed a hint of compromise, Britain and France, who thought they had found Austria's weakness, naturally wanted to ask for more.

Then there was no then. If they could not reach an agreement, then they could not reach an agreement. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vienna was anxious and slacking. They did a lot of work, but in reality, they were still tough in the negotiations.

Franz said in disbelief, "The Russians want to withdraw from the free trade system. Is the news confirmed?"

The French had already withdrawn from the free trade system, and the United States had also withdrawn from the free trade system. If the Russians also withdrew from the free trade system, it was estimated that this thing would die.

Foreign Minister Wesenberg nodded, "To be precise, the Russians are only showing signs of withdrawal. It may also be a cover by the Tsarist government.

Yesterday afternoon, Alexander III summoned the British minister in Russia to discuss Britannia's food self-sufficiency plan, which ended in discord.

This morning, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia sent a note to Britannia, warning the Government of London not to play with fire, accusing the British food self-sufficiency plan of seriously damaging the free trade system.

If the British do not give up the food self-sufficiency plan, then the Russian Empire will impose trade sanctions on Britannia. "

Damaging the free trade system, probably. Anyway, it depends on whose standpoint it is.

In theory, as long as the British do not raise tariffs and use political means to suppress competitors, but adopt a fair competition method to achieve the food self-sufficiency plan, then it is in line with the spirit of free trade.

Of course, it is reasonable to criticize the Government of the United Kingdom for funding agriculture, interfering with the normal development of the market, and violating the principle of "freedom."

After all, Britannia flaunts "absolute freedom." You have to take responsibility for what you say.

However, on this issue, only the Russians can speak, and Austria has no say.

From beginning to end, Franz did not speak on this issue. It is not that he did not see, but the problem is that Austria is even more excessive.

Isn't it just state-owned farms? Does Austria lack that? Did they really think that during the last agricultural crisis, Austria's food production rapidly decreased because the people took the initiative to reduce the area planted?

Too naive!

Tens of millions of farmers, at most one-tenth of the people under the government's call, reduced part of the production, and the rest continued to do what they should do.

It is not a question of whether they are obedient or not. The key is if they do not plant food, what are they supposed to plant?

Cash crops are easy to say, but it also requires technology. Sowing seeds does not necessarily mean that there will be a harvest.

The price of food will at most fall, and if they cannot sell it, they can keep it for themselves or feed it to livestock.

Cash crops, if they misjudge and cannot sell it, can only rot in the fields.

The government's encouragement and promotion is only to promote vegetable planting in the surrounding areas of the city. There is no concern at all in the remote mountainous areas.

It is not a question of whether they want to or not. The key is that Austria is a market economy, not a planned economy. The government also does not know the demand of each cash crop in the market.

Rather than handing the decision to the bureaucrats and causing anger, Franz would rather let the people continue to plant food.

At most, the problem of adjusting the production capacity will be handed over to the state-owned farms. If they really do not know what to plant, at most they will let the land rest for a few more years.

After thinking for a while, Franz asked, "What is the probability of the British compromising?"

It was not easy to fool the British to the edge of the cliff, and they are just short of kicking them down the door. Franz does not want the British to be pulled back.

He does not know about other things, but as long as the British start the food self-sufficiency plan, they will start a long-term loss-making mode, and their losses will be worse than the French.

Due to the restrictions of the free trade system, Britannia must treat all imported food equally. Furthermore, they will have to maintain their current near-zero tariff.

This means that Britannia will not support a little brother to be their granary and squeeze Austria's agricultural products out of the market.

Opening up a farm in a colony may not seem difficult for the British, but the cost is actually not low.

First of all, there is the population. Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and other areas are all typical sparsely populated areas.

Even if it was mechanical agriculture, it still required a lot of labor. At least before the construction of water conservancy projects and improved roads and transportation, the demand for labor will not be low.

The cost of recruiting labor from within the country alone is enough to make the Government of the United Kingdom's heart ache. When it is amortized to the cost of food production, it will definitely be an astronomical price.

Without a stronghold, the more this kind of food is planted, the more it will lose. It is estimated that after a few years of losses, the British people will realize that there is no "future" in growing food.

When the opposition party comes to power, they will cut off this money-losing strategy and leave behind a bunch of unfinished projects to prove the incompetence of the previous government.

Of course, India has a large population and fertile land, which is very suitable for agricultural production. The problem is that there are too many Indians, and it will be a problem to develop agriculture here and feed the locals.

It is estimated that the food produced will run out before they can support the country. It is not impossible to give priority to satisfying the domestic needs, but the key is that if they are too hungry, they will also rebel.

Planting cotton in the past has already caused a major uprising. Now that there are two new neighbors, Russia and Austria, who have moved in, the Government of the United Kingdom will definitely not dare to mess around at this time.

After pondering for a moment, Wesenberg slowly replied, "Half and half!

Although the Russia market looks large, its purchasing power is actually very limited. In this limited market, nearly 70% of it was occupied by us, and the British only got some leftovers.

Even if we lose the Russia market, the United Kingdom's total exports to foreign countries will only fall by one or two percentage points at most. This kind of fluctuation is still bearable for the British.

But the Government of the United Kingdom is not keen on the food self-sufficiency plan. Gladstone has given the choice to the parliament, and the cabinet has not even expressed its position, which is enough to prove this point. "

This answer is equivalent to no, half and half. This is not so much an analysis and judgment, but it is better to say that it is a gamble.

It has to be admitted that although the Russians' means are a little rough, the effect is very good.

The Tsarist government gave the British a 50% chance of giving up. Under normal circumstances, Austria would put in a little more effort, and in the end, the British parliament would reject or shelve the bill indefinitely, and the matter would be over.

A series of plans emerged in Franz's mind, but he rejected them.

"At this point, it's no longer suitable for us to do anything else.

Next, it is up to the French to perform. I think Napoleon Iv will not give up this opportunity. "

As soon as he finished speaking, Franz felt that something was wrong. He did not know when it started, but Austria actually spent more time working with the enemy than with its allies.

Whether this was the decline of morality or the distortion of human nature was a question worth thinking about.

But what was certain was that the operation was wrong. If this continued, Franz would doubt whether he could still distinguish between friend and foe.

"There are only eternal interests between countries, no eternal enemies." What Franz had done was a perfect illustration of what he meant.