Chapter 532

It was still cool in Vienna in the middle of summer.

Fairspring Palace

Metternich said, "Your Majesty, the Russians asked us to buy a production line for weapons, from pistols to cannons."

Franz knew that Austria had robbed the interests of the Russian arms group, so they would definitely do something, but he didn't expect that they would actually buy a production line for weapons.

Thinking about it, it made sense. In this era, the British were the best in mechanical equipment technology, followed by Austria and France, followed by Belgium and Prussia with their imperfect industrial systems.

The machinery produced by the Russians was not only expensive to maintain, but the performance of the equipment was also poor. It could only be said that it was barely usable, and the production efficiency could not be compared with their peers. Buying a production line from abroad was also forced.

England and France were at war with the Russians. Even if they could buy a production line from England and France, they would not dare to use it. Weapons production equipment was still very sensitive. It was not a civilian material, so it was fine to smuggle it.

It was not impossible to buy it from Prussia or Belgium. But in this way, they would not be able to maintain the Arcana weapons equipped by the expeditionary forces at the frontline.

With the financial resources of the Tsarist government, it was not expected that they would be able to throw away weapons worth tens of millions of rubles. The maintenance of these equipment was also a business of millions of rubles every year.

Capitalists would not refuse money. In order to maximize profits, it was normal to buy a production line from Austria.

Franz said indifferently, "Just sell it to them. Even if it is the same equipment, the quality of the weapons produced by the Russians will be a level lower. "

It was not that he looked down on the Russians, but it was the truth. Because of the corruption of the government, in order to obtain greater profits, the capitalists would definitely cut corners.

As far as Franz knew, the junk weapons purchased by the Russians were more expensive than the international market. It was better to buy than to make.

The domestic budget for the weapons and equipment imported from Austria was 20% to 50% higher than the actual import price. The specific proportion depended on the integrity and ability of the officials in charge.

Metterne reminded, "Your Majesty, shouldn't we put some restrictions on it? If the Russians get a full set of production lines, it will also be a problem for us in the future. "

Although there was no technology blockade in this era, in the military field, not all weapons and equipment could be bought, let alone a weapon production line.

Franz shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter, technology is changing rapidly now. These equipment are still good in the past ten years, but after ten years, I'm afraid it will be obsolete again.

Since the Russians are willing to buy it, we will help them. It's best to turn them into long-term customers and use the profits from the arms trade to promote the technological upgrading of our military industry. "

Russia was indeed worth being wary of, but there was no need to be too concerned about Russia's industrial technology. Under the corrupt Tsarist government, it was impossible for Russia's industry to develop.

Metternich continued, "Your Majesty, the Russians have also applied for a loan.

In the second and third quarters of 1852, our commerce with the Russians nearly tripled.

Our total trade volume is 292 million dong, of which 88 million dong is our import volume, 204 million dong is our export volume, and 116 million dong is our trade surplus.

The trade between the two sides is 292 million dun. Because of the war, the British and French products have largely withdrawn from the Russian market, creating a surplus of 116 million dun.

The surplus is mainly from the export of weapons and strategic materials. Just these two exports alone are as high as 83 million dun.

The Russians have already used up most of the loans we gave them. The strategic materials that we bought in the early stage have basically been used up after the war.

If we don't achieve a great victory, the Tsarist government's military expenditure next year will probably continue to increase. "

Franz calculated. In this era, everyone liked to do business with the Russians because they didn't use paper money and directly paid with gold and silver. (Paper rubles were abandoned, and international trade was only settled in gold and silver rubles.)

The direct result of the trade between Russia and Austria was that a large amount of gold and silver flowed into the Austrian treasury and then into the market as paper money.

From a monetary point of view, the inflow of gold and silver and the risk of Franz making the central bank print more paper money had already been digested by the market. (Paper money and gold and silver are not issued in 1: 1 ratio. Leverage is set according to the economic situation.)

Franz thought for a moment and said, "Talk to the Russians slowly. Don't be anxious. Tell them that we are not rich and can't provide them with a large loan.

Try to lower the loan amount and delay the loan time. Let the Russians take out more gold and silver to pay. Don't ask for too much interest on the loan and give up on the additional conditions.

We can also help them issue some bonds. It must be government bonds and it's best if there is collateral. I don't think war bonds will sell well. Let the Russians set the interest rate themselves. It's fine as long as they can sell it. "

Before the Near Eastern War, the two countries were still on equal footing. But after the war, Austria had more and more initiative.

Now, because of the war, a large amount of gold and silver flowed into Austria, causing the Austrian economy to be abnormally prosperous. There was a big hidden danger behind this prosperity.

If Austria were to provide too much loan to Russia, they would either have to divert funds from the domestic market or continue to issue more currency.

The former was not good for Austria's economic development, and the latter was easy to cause inflation. This was caused by the size of the economy. Austria's economy was only so big. The market could absorb some of the printing of currency, but once it was too much, it would not be able to absorb it.

The best way was to let Russia's gold and silver flow in first. The national treasury's reserves would increase, and the market would expand. Then, there would be no inflation.

Metternich reminded, "Your Majesty, maybe we can ask the Russians to take out some gold and silver when they pay. This can reduce our risk."

Franz shook his head and said, "Not for the time being. Our risk is still controllable. Don't be in a hurry to remind the Russians. Their gold and silver flow into our country is very fast.

The rapid development of our domestic economy is not only due to this war.

Mr. Metternich, you might not have noticed, but in the past six months, British and French capital has poured into Austria. The total investment has more than doubled compared to the same period last year. In fact, the Austrian market is no longer short of gold and silver.

According to the past, the war between Russia and Turkey would last for a long time. These capitalists all hoped to make a fortune from this war, so they all invested in Austria and built factories.

Because of the lack of information, they didn't know how many people they had recently increased. They also didn't take into account the Russians' demand for resources, which was not unlimited.

The market had gone crazy, and Carr was almost scared to death. He was afraid that the economic crisis would break out, and he had already made several emergency plans.

From the law of the capitalist market, once the war ended, Austria's economy would immediately face the problem of transformation.

The capitalists who entered the market earlier are fine. They have made profits, which can support their transformation. The capitalists who entered the market later are miserable. They haven't made any money yet, and they have to face transformation. Bankruptcy is inevitable.

At this time, helping the Russians digest some of their bonds and cooling down the hot market is also a good choice. "

Since they knew about the economic crisis, why didn't the Government of Austria stop it? The answer was very realistic. It was to increase revenue and speed up the country's development.

If this economic boom continued, it would only take two to three years for Austria's economy to surpass France's. Even if the bubble burst, this capital will still leave a lot of assets for Austria.

It is easy to invest money, but it is difficult to withdraw it. Once it becomes real estate such as factories, machinery, and equipment, it will not be easy to cash it out.

These capitalists who were trapped will either continue to contribute to Austria's development or leave. This was how the United States developed in history.

As long as they get enough benefits from this war and increase the market capacity, the impact of the economic crisis can be minimized. At that time, Franz doesn't mind letting the government interfere with the market and force the economy to land.

This will kill many capitalists, but this has nothing to do with Franz. He is not a saint.

Investment is risky, and one must be cautious when entering the market.

…

When the war in the Near East attracted the attention of the outside world, Russia and Austria quietly reached a huge deal without causing any ripples.

The arms trade is very profitable, especially when selling weapons production lines and transferring production technology. Adding on the added value of the products, it is even more profitable.

The huge profit made the Government of Austria very satisfied.

This is not a one-off business. If the relationship between the two countries continues to be friendly, with the integrity of the capitalists, they are likely to package the subsequent upgrades to Austria.

The fundamental reason why "buying is better than making" is that the research and development costs are too high. Why are there so many companies in the future eager to import? Don't they know the benefits of independent research and development?

The most important point is the investment in research and development. The harvest and the investment are often not proportional. Not only does it consume a lot of time and money, but it is also full of uncertainty.

For the capitalists who are keen to make money, a huge investment in this area really can't maximize the benefits. If they are unlucky, they will fall on the night before the harvest.

This is especially true for weapons development, which also requires a supporting industrial system. Russia is behind in these areas, and the risk of independent research and development is even greater.

If a military company does research and development, before they can produce results, the imported production lines will already be in production.

What will the Tsarist government choose? Will they equip the army with mature and advanced equipment, or wait for them to research and develop equipment with uncertain performance and unknown results?

Austria lifted all the arms export restrictions and allowed Russia to freely choose the production lines. The Tsarist government is naturally very happy as this is a rare opportunity.

In order to restrict Russia, the European countries mainly export finished products in the military field. They are very cautious with the export of production lines.

If they only buy finished products, once there is a war, the consequences will be serious. That's why the Tsarist government supports the military industry.

There is no need to worry about purchasing production lines. These days, most of the equipment in Russia's military industry is imported. They don't mind continuing to import as long as they can ensure the supply of firearms.

No one can think that far into the future. In theory, as long as the overall industrial technology improves, the military technology will naturally improve as well. The two complement each other.

In history, the rapid development of Russia's military technology was built during the period when the relationship between Russia and the West deteriorated. The more intense the conflict between both sides, the faster their technology advances.

Now is the era of war, and no one thinks so much. Even if someone sees a possible crisis, they can't oppose it.

From a development point of view, with Austria's ready-made equipment, they can dismantle and learn from it, and their technology will advance even faster. At the very least, they can copy it.

… …