Chapter 508

Since the Anglo-Bohemian War, Benjamin's cabinet had been caught in a political maelstrom. Forget about being re-elected, he needed to work hard to serve the full term.

The Colonial Department took responsibility for this. Colonial Secretary Louis and Cape Town Governor Delphi resigned at the same time. The opposition still refused to give up and kept pursuing this issue.

If it wasn't for the "three-nation alliance" to attract the public's attention and divert the public's attention, Downing Street might have changed owners now.

This was far from enough. If they wanted to cover up this stain, the cabinet must make greater achievements in politics and diplomacy.

Relations with Russia was also a part of it. The capitalists needed to open up the Russian market to make more profits.

Under this background, Alexandrovich's visit to London was naturally welcomed by the Government of London.

…

"Your Royal Highness, we agree in principle to your country's request for a loan. As long as you can convince the bankers, it's not a problem to borrow as much as you want. "

Foreign Minister Macklin said elegantly. This was his true opinion. As long as the Russians could convince the bankers, the Government of London would not interfere no matter how much money was borrowed.

Alexandrovich frowned. If he could convince the bankers, he wouldn't have to deal with the British Foreign Office.

"Your Excellency, we are in trouble now and need your government's help."

When he said this, Alexandrovich felt a strong stimulation in his heart. For the sake of a loan, he, the crown prince, had to beg for help.

He had no choice. He had to lower his head. If he didn't do it himself, Alexandrovich was sure that the bureaucrats in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would never be able to reach a conclusion.

This was not because they were incompetent. The British wanted to make a political show to improve the government's reputation among the people.

Compared to the officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, talking to the crown prince could add more topics.

Aleksandrovich also needed this experience to increase his prestige in the country. Both sides could be considered to be taking what they needed.

Foreign Minister Macklin smiled and said calmly, "We are also happy to help our friend, but there is a little trouble now.

The tariff barrier set up by your government has seriously affected the normal operation of relations between the two countries. If your country can join the free trade system, then this will not be a problem.

This is a win-win choice. Once you join the free trade system, your country's agricultural exports will not be restricted. It will be of great help to solve your country's financial problems. "

The free trade system was proposed by the British to open up the European market. While expanding the British commodity market, it was accompanied by the sterling gold settlement system, or the promotion of monetary hegemony.

At present, the Russians were still promoting the gold and silver double standard system. Once they joined this system, they would have to reform the gold standard currency.

The Tsarist government's monetary system reform had already begun, but it had been carried out with the help from Austria. As the relationship between the two countries soured, the Russians' monetary reform came to a standstill.

This gave the British an opportunity and they wanted to take it to. He pulled the Russians from the gold system, which was half a step into the gold system, into the sterling gold system, thereby widening the gap between them and their competitors.

Currently, there were three popular systems in the international currency market: the British pound gold system, the Aegis gold system, and the French franc gold and silver system.

There was no doubt that the British owned two major gold producing areas, Canada and Australia. Coupled with the accumulation of so many colonial plunder, the pound — the gold system naturally had the upper hand.

Following closely behind was the Aegis — the gold system. Austria's gold production was not low, and with the addition of gold from the African continent, it also occupied an important position in the international currency market.

However, there was still a long way to go before the British. In order to make up for this gap, the Government of Vienna had been trying to win over the Russians.

It was just that Alexander II wasn't willing to be a follower, so they couldn't come to an agreement. After the Tsarist government's financial crisis broke out, the two sides started to negotiate again. However, the gap between the bottom line of the two sides was too big.

In contrast, the French gold and silver double standard system was more tragic. France's gold production was too low to meet demand, so they had to adopt the double standard system.

Although most countries in this era used a mixed standard, because the value of gold and silver often changed, it brought great difficulty to settlement.

To maintain the stability of the franc, the French also tried their best. However, this still could not stop the devaluation of silver.

Adopting the gold standard had insufficient production. Adopting the silver standard had excess production. The silver production in this era had begun to skyrocket. The growth rate far exceeded the growth rate of social wealth.

Alexandrovich was silent. Joining the British-led free trade system involved too many things. It was not something he could decide.

Although Macklin said that the loan was not a problem, it sounded very good. In fact, there was a big problem.

Once the tariff protection was lost, could Russia's fragile industry and commerce survive?

Why didn't the industrial countries join the British free trade system? It was because they were worried that domestic industry and commerce would be impacted. In this era, British manufacturing was a guarantee of quality.

If the economy was impacted, the politics would also be affected. Joining the British-led free trade system also had to consider Austria's reaction.

Don't look at the cold relationship between the two countries. That was only on the political level. The civil and commercial exchanges were still very close.

The second Prussian War had already begun. Both sides were preparing for war. At this time, the importance of Austria became irreplaceable.

Even if they joined the British free trade system, the Government of London would not support the Russian Empire in the Prussian War. Prussia and Poland were their loyal underlings.

Of course, as long as the Tsarist government was willing to give up the hatred and not take revenge on Prussia and Poland, then the British could also mediate the conflict between the two sides.

This thought flashed through Alessandrovich's mind before disappearing. He was a pacifist, but he was definitely not a saint. He would not be so stupid that he could not understand his position.

After thinking for a while, Alexandrovich said, "Minister, I am also clear about the benefits of free trade.

Your country's industrial strength is the number one in the world. Once there is no tariff barrier, with our nascent national industry, I am afraid it will not take long to collapse.

Currently, the industrial population of the Russian Empire has already exceeded six million. Once there is a problem, it will lead to a wave of unemployment. In serious cases, national security will be threatened. How can these problems be solved? "

Marquis Macklin explained calmly, "Your Highness, you are worrying too much. Perhaps a lot of industries will be affected, but your country also has a lot of advantages.

For example, agriculture. Your country's agriculture has the most potential in Europe. Once you join the free trade system, it is only a matter of time before you surpass Austria.

The scale of Austria's agricultural processing industry is huge. I think no one knows it better than you.

If your country relies on the advantages of local food production to develop the supporting processing industry, you will not be afraid of any competition.

Just the agricultural export alone, your country can generate hundreds of millions of pounds. Isn't the profit enough to make up for the lack of other industries?

Not only agriculture, but your country is rich in resources. This is an innate advantage. As long as it is integrated, there is no need to fear competition. "

Alexandrovich did not show it on his face, but he was very disgusted in his heart. Other than provoking the relationship between Russia and Austria, the rest of the content was fake.

The international food market was already saturated. Now that the Russian Empire joined, it would at most get a piece of the pie. If he wanted to reach the level that Macklin said, he had to defeat Austria first!

He knew that there was a serious gap between Russia and Austria in agricultural production technology. This was not something that could be made up in a day.

The poor natural conditions were also an important factor that limited Russia's agricultural exports. Not to mention other things, just the high shipping cost increased the cost.

Other than these problems, the agricultural processing technology was also a problem. First of all, the machinery and equipment must be imported. The quality of the domestically produced machinery and equipment was not up to standard.

Secondly, the lack of skilled workers led to a high rate of defective products. This was a common problem in Russia's industry and commerce. Even if it was the same machinery and equipment, the defective rate was higher than in Europe.

With so many problems added together, it had greatly increased the cost. How could they compete with their competitors in the agricultural export?

The Russian Empire was rich in resources, but there was still a sentence to be added — backward transportation. No matter how rich the resources were, if they could not be transported out, what else was there to say?

It was possible to join the free trade system, but the British had to come up with some benefits. What Alexandrovich needed was real benefits, not an imaginary pie in the sky.

"Minister, what you said is only the future development direction. In the short term, the Russian Empire will not get any benefits by joining the free trade system.

But we will have to pay a heavy price. Not only will the domestic industry and commerce be affected, but it will also lead to the collapse of the Russo-Austrian Alliance. This is not an equal trade. You should not be so hypocritical to your friends. "

Alexandrovich deliberately emphasized his tone to express his dissatisfaction to Macklin.

… …

In the first round of confrontation, both sides failed to test each other, and the negotiation temporarily came to an end.

However, Alexandrovich was tempted. Regardless of whether the British were lying or not, it was very tempting to obtain the dominant position in the agricultural export market.

Just the thought of his competitors made him feel despair. In this era, the Russian Empire only exported food and not other agricultural products. There were not many reasons, but the transportation problem.

For example, fruits and vegetables, when transported from the Russian Empire to Europe for sale, they would rot halfway.

Wheat, potatoes, beans, and corn were the main products of the Russian Empire. The commercial crop area was too small, and the export share was very small.

For example, cotton. Because of the production technology, geographical conditions, transportation, and many other factors, it caused the Russian cotton to lose competitiveness.

These problems couldn't be solved overnight. It was too difficult to make up for innate deficiencies later on in life.

… …