Chapter 471

The war in South Africa ended, but as the victors, the Government of Vienna was not happy. Reality once again proved that war reparations could no longer make up for the losses of modern warfare.

Through the armistice treaty, the Government of Vienna received a ransom of three million pounds for land. Together with the ransom of the captives, the total was 6.1268 million pounds, or 12.2536 million SHIELD.

It seemed like a huge sum of money, but compared to the war expenditure, it was a drop in the bucket. Not even a quarter of the cost was recovered.

This was also based on the situation where the French secretly contributed. Otherwise, the price paid would be even greater.

The spoils of war were a piece of barren land. Because of the war, there weren't even a few indigenous tribes in the land that they obtained from British South Africa, let alone immigrants.

If it was not for the strategic opening of South Africa to the sea, the British forces were compressed to a corner, and the safety of the Transvaal and Orange Free State was guaranteed, it would have been a complete loss.

The war was won, and regardless of the losses, there was no lack of rewards.

However, after all, they fought under the guise of the Boer Republic, and the later calculation of military merits had to go around the circle and wait for Austria to annex these areas.

Originally, the influential people within the Boer Republic, except for a few smart people who made the right choice, the rest were all lost in this round of reshuffling.

This was a difference in size. The original Boer Republic, with a few hundred workers, was second to none, but in Austria, it was the scale of a village enterprise.

With the invasion of the British, their capital to negotiate also disappeared. They dug this hole themselves, wasted their armaments, and had to ask for help from Austria when the British invaded.

Originally, they thought that Austria had to rely on the local tyrants, but they guessed the beginning and not the end.

The strength of the British was not as strong as they thought, and this greatly reduced Austria's dependence on them. The smart people adjusted their mentality in time and immediately turned to the British. Naturally, there would not be any losses.

If they reacted a step slower, it would be a tragedy. Not to mention the economic losses, their political voice would also be weakened. The original relationship with the Boer Republic government was now a mess.

Reality was cruel. Without reshuffling the power, how could they promote people loyal to Austria to the top?

These nobles who brought their own food to the war were not without interests. Obviously, they also wanted a share of the power reshuffling.

Even if the foundation was not here, and they would not stay to develop, it was still possible to arrange for a family member to come and develop. This was the way of survival for the old nobles.

These new interest groups were the foundation of the future Austria ruled South Africa. As for the original interest groups, they could only say sorry. Who asked them to misjudge?

With the signing of the Cape Town Treaty, the biggest obstacle to the establishment of the Anglo-Franco-Austrian alliance no longer existed. On July 1, 1871, the representatives of Britain, France and Austria signed an alliance treaty at the Palace of Versailles, and the era of hegemony of the great powers arrived.

Due to various reasons, the alliance treaty was only valid for five years. It could be seen that the three countries did not have much confidence in this alliance. It could only be considered a trial.

Whether or not they wanted to renew the contract after five years would depend on whether they could obtain more benefits within these five years. This was the reality between countries. The only thing that could protect this alliance was their own interests.

Even so, the European world was still in an uproar. This alliance full of contradictions still scared many people.

For the small countries that originally relied on the conflicts between the great powers to survive, their days became more and more difficult. Breaking up this alliance became the common goal of countless European countries.

Life became more and more difficult for the small countries that relied on the contradictions of the great powers to survive. Breaking up the alliance became the common goal of countless European countries.

At the Palace of Vienna, Franz was holding a cabinet meeting to discuss the plan for the African Railway Network. Prime Minister Felix suggested, "Your Majesty, considering the operating costs, the African Railway Network should be postponed.

At present, we only need to complete the East-West and South-West strategic railways. Take our local railway network as an example. Even though the government has given many preferential policies, there are still many railway companies that go bankrupt.

Take our local railway network as an example. Despite the government's many preferential policies, many railway companies still went bankrupt. The capital market was affected by this and was no longer keen on railway investment.

If the African Railway Network Plan was launched, it would be almost impossible to rely on financing from the capital market. The burden would fall on the government.

If the African Railway Network plan is launched, it is almost impossible to rely on financing from the capital market. The burden will fall on the government.

This huge railway plan has exceeded our financial capacity. It may not be able to break even in a hundred years. " The railway company's bankruptcy was Franz's fault.

In order to popularize the railway network in Austria, he used the Internet development methods of later generations. The railway network existed independently and was a natural monopoly. As long as the early investment stage was passed, it was not difficult to make a profit later on.

This pie was much better than the virtual concept of later generations. It was not impossible to achieve this goal. It was just that the early investment was larger and the later profitability was longer.

Without relying on capital, Austria built the railway network in the shortest time possible. As for the railway companies that collapsed halfway, they all had one thing in common – the broken capital chain.

This was all due to poor management, not for the government to take over. Franz did it on purpose.

Investment was risky, and entering the market required caution. In a capitalist market economy, it was one's own responsibility not to consider the economic crisis.

This explanation was not said. Franz never stood on the front stage. Those who advocated railway investment were experts. Those who ran the railway company into bankruptcy were capitalists. It had nothing to do with the emperor.

The surviving railway companies could prove that as long as they did not lose their minds and carefully chose high-quality railway lines, even if they tied up branch lines, they could still make a profit.

Of course, the prerequisite was that one had enough money to last through the long investment period. The later returns were still relatively impressive.

Don't compare profits with stock prices. That was a bubble. No company's profits could keep up with the increase in stock prices.

At its peak, the total market value of Austria's railway companies exceeded 20 billion DND. Was Austria's railway network worth 20 billion DND?

Without a doubt, it was impossible. In this era, 20 billion DND was an astronomical figure. Even all the gold that had been developed in the world was not enough.

If there was so much money, it would be enough to build a railway network for all the inhabited areas in the world, not to mention the local railway network.

One had to know that the annual profit of Austria's railway network was less than 100 million DND. To be precise, it was not even 5 million DND.

Of course, there was still a lot of room for growth. The railway companies that had stabilized and no longer continued to build had maintained an annual growth rate of more than 30%.

This was not because their profits were growing fast. It was because the base was too low, so the growth was naturally fast. If the freight volume increased by 1%, the railway company's profits might increase by 4 to 5%.

It was not a matter of the freight cost. It was a matter of the lack of business, which caused many railway lines to lose money. The increase in business allowed many branch lines to turn losses into profits. In a situation where the total profit was insufficient, it looked very impressive.

Take the Draco Railway Company for example. In 1869, the profit was 12,000 DND. In 1870, the total profit was 1.386 million DND. On the surface, it looked like an increase of more than 100 times, but in reality, the annual business volume had only increased by 5%.

This seemingly explosive growth was, in fact, insignificant. One had to know that the Draco Railway Company's net assets were 130 million DND. Its market value was as high as 530 million DND. At its peak, its market value had reached 1.68 billion DND.

Otherwise, the market profit rate would not be worth looking at at at all. It was impossible to expect profits to recoup the investment cost without at least a decade or two.

The same trick could only be played once. The capitalists were not stupid. Even if they used the African railway network to bluff people, they still had to believe it.

It was a pity that they were counting on small private investors. These Filipinos had not grown up yet. They could not cut much even if they wanted to. Unless the financial management laws were relaxed and small capital was allowed to enter the market.

Obviously, this was impossible. If they did so, if there was a stock market crash, the scope of the impact would be wide.

Life in this era was not easy. Ordinary people worked hard every day to survive. These people had no ability to resist risks. If they were really tricked, wouldn't they be sending cannon fodder to the revolutionary party?

Poaching their own people was something that should never be done. As for the construction of the African railway network, it could be done later.

Why was the development of the colonies so good? It was enough to provide industrial raw materials and markets. Even if there was a big development, it would have to wait until it was localized.

Franz nodded and said, "The construction of the African railway network is indeed too expensive. Even these two railways now have to be replanned.

We already have some railways in Africa, and these can't be wasted. The Southwest Railway can be considered to connect directly in the Congo region. The East-West Railway can also be connected halfway through the Southwest Railway.

This way, we can also achieve our strategic goals. Perhaps in the long run, this plan is a little far, but in the short run, we can reduce the investment to a minimum. "

This was not Franz being short-sighted. On the contrary, there was a deeper meaning in doing this. Through this railway, the resources of the African interior could be transported out and shipped back to the country from the nearest estuary.

The strategic goal had been achieved. As for the railway not having the shortest route, it increased the cost of integrating resources across Africa. This was originally a means of checking and balancing the colonies.

The British also built a bunch of messy railways in India. Even in the 21st century, the Indians did not have it. This was a means of checking and balancing the colonies.

Franz's approach was already very restrained. At least, there was no unified rail standard. No, it was not completely unified either. Some railways that specialized in transporting minerals might also be narrow-gauge railways.

When it was transported to the port, it would be loaded on a ship. There was no need to connect with the main railway. At least the mines not far from the coastal areas would build this kind of railway.

Otherwise, using the local resource advantage, Austria Africa would also have a complete industrial system ten or twenty years later. At that time, if they did not have time to complete the localization, it would be big trouble.

The mainland could not suppress the colonies. Franz did not want to move the capital to the African continent in his lifetime and run to become the African Emperor. Even if he could unify the African continent and build the world's largest empire after shifting the strategic focus, it would not be enough.