Chapter 543

Winter Palace, St. Peter's Castle

The arms deal between Russia and Austria had already appeared on Nicholas I Of Russia's desk. Together with the loan, the Government of Austria proposed to issue bonds.

Nicholas I Of Russia had no objection to the purchase of weapons production lines. He directly gave his instructions on the document.

The gap between the Russian Empire's military industry and Europe's was huge. It couldn't be made up in a short time. Purchasing production lines was the only option.

Nicholas I Of Russia asked, "What do you think about Austria's proposal to issue bonds?"

Finance Minister Aeston Lirod analyzed, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid this will be very troublesome. It's not that we haven't issued bonds before, but the previous bonds were cold in the capital market.

Now, if we want to sell the bonds, other than using collateral as suggested by the Austrians, we must also have a high enough interest rate to gain the favor of the capital.

This will greatly increase our financial costs. Previously, the monthly interest rate we received from Austria was only 0.2%. If we issue bonds, I'm afraid the interest rate will be much higher.

The military expenditure for this war is far beyond our expectations. If we increase the financial costs, we will be under great financial pressure in the future. "

The Tsarist government hadn't considered that Britain and France would directly send troops. All of their battle plans were to fight the Osman Empire alone.

According to the original plan, they had control of the Black Sea. The Russian Army could get supplies from the sea. The logistical pressure would be greatly reduced. The Russian Army could also send more troops to the The Balkans.

In theory, the Russian Army with enough advantages could defeat the Osman Empire in 1852 and end the war in the Balkans in 1853. Then, they could set off to attack Asia Minor.

In the end, the plan couldn't keep up with the changes. Britain and France's participation in the war messed up their deployment. The war went out of control from the beginning. The military expenditure had increased greatly.

Nicholas I Of Russia continued to ask, "Is it possible to continue to get low-interest loans from the Government of Austria?"

Foreign Minister Carr Oeser replied, "Your Majesty, if it's a small loan, it's not a problem. I'm afraid it's impossible to get a one-off loan of 200 million rubles.

Although Austria did not directly reject our loan, they clearly pointed out that the amount of funds was too large, and it was beyond their ability to bear.

According to our analysis, the Government of Austria is able to raise a huge sum of money, but it will affect their domestic development. Unless we pay a high price, it's impossible. "

200 million rubles was an astronomical figure. It was equivalent to a year's revenue of the Russian Empire. Under normal circumstances, the Government of Austria didn't have this kind of money.

But the situation now was different. The Russians didn't need to take out real money to get loans. All the loans were used in Austria, and the money didn't leave Austria.

The money did not flow into the market all at once. Instead, it lay in the Austrian bank account and slowly flowed into the market through the purchase of materials.

Because of taxes, a large portion of the funds flowed back to the Austrian government. In fact, the amount of money needed to be paid was much less.

For example, when purchasing one million yuan worth of goods, the first round of transaction tax, value-added tax, enterprise tax, and customs duties would add up to two to three hundred thousand yuan. The second round of raw materials suppliers would also have to pay transaction tax, value-added tax, enterprise tax, and other taxes, adding up to tens of thousands.

This business led to the development of transportation and the surrounding food and beverage industry. It also generated taxes. The capitalists made a profit. After the workers got their wages, they had to spend. Consumption drove the development of other industries. These were all taxes.

This was just the simplest commodity circulation. In fact, the industrial cycle system was much more complicated than this. Few companies could directly buy raw materials and turn them into finished products.

Most industries had three or four or more cycles, and in the cycle, the funds returned to the government's finances through taxes. In fact, the Austrian government only had to pay half of the total amount of the loan.

Without these advantages, strong countries like Britain and France wouldn't be so keen on lending money at a high interest rate.

Furthermore, the loans could speed up the circulation of goods between the two countries. It would gradually penetrate into a country's industries, especially the financial industry.

Nicholas I Of Russia thought about it and said, "Is it because of the interest? We can pay according to international standards. It doesn't matter if it's a little higher. It won't be as high as the bond interest. "

The Foreign Minister Carr Wood replied, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid it's not about the interest. The Austrians didn't ask for an increase in interest. They probably have financial difficulties.

The Government of Austria attaches great importance to the domestic economic development. They won't interrupt the domestic economic development for a little interest. Unless we make significant political concessions, they won't take out the money. "

Nicholas I Of Russia nodded. Countries were very realistic. Even allies couldn't sacrifice their own interests to help.

If they had to sacrifice the domestic economic development for a little interest, everyone knew what to choose.

"We can't give up on the Austrian loan. We should fight for as much as we can. The Ministry of Finance has formulated a plan to issue bonds. Not only Austria, but all European countries can sell them.

We don't know when this war will end. Now the government has to raise as much money as possible. A higher interest is acceptable. "

Nicholas I Of Russia was a smart man. He didn't continue to increase the domestic war tax.

Historically, the Russians were boycotted by the major European powers. They couldn't raise money from the international capital market, so they were forced to plunder the country.

The consequences of increasing taxes were also very serious. After the defeat of the Crimean War, the foundation of the Tsarist government's rule was shaken.

After the war, Nicholas I Of Russia, who was in good health, suddenly died. Most historians believed that he committed suicide by poison. His death was used to take responsibility for the war's defeat, to give an explanation to the outside world, and to stabilize the rule of the Tsarist government.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The Finance Minister replied.

…

Franz didn't know how Nicholas I Of Russia died. In short, his death completely worsened the relationship between Russia and Austria.

Whether from personal feelings or national interests, Franz hoped that Nicholas I Of Russia could live a long life.

Nicholas I Of Russia had a good character and was a good ally. The Tsarist government he led was still credible.

And the longer he lived, the later the Tsarist government's serfdom reform would be, and the more difficult it would be to reform.

An ally that wasn't a threat was a good ally. After recalling the historical information, Franz couldn't help but be glad that he came at the right time.

If nothing unexpected happened, the next few generations of Russia Tsar would be relatively peaceful, which meant that Austria's back would be safe for the next few decades.

The Russians were preparing to issue bonds, and so was Franz. One could never have too much money. Especially during times of war, it was necessary to store more ammunition.

Unlike the Russians who relied on high interest rates to attract capital to buy, Franz was preparing to use the people's patriotism.

In order to support Prussia in recovering the two northern duchies, everyone could donate tens of millions of duns. Now that it was for the unification of the German Region, everyone would presumably be more active.

Franz didn't add the word "German" in front of the "unification bond", mainly to take care of the other nationalities in the country. If possible, he didn't mind adding "Holy Roman Empire" in front of it.

This bond was still being kept secret, and it would be issued at the same time when the unification war started. Since it was for the unification of the country, it was too vulgar to talk about benefits.

The "unification bond" only had an annual interest rate of 1%, which was better than nothing. Even with such a low interest rate, Franz was still confident in the sale of the bond.

Under his influence, the Austrian ideology of Greater Germany was still mainstream, and everyone was still very interested in rebuilding the Holy Roman Empire.

In order to build the foundation of public opinion, the Government of Austria spent millions of duns on propaganda in 1851 and 1852.

Not only Austria, but all the states in the German Region were within the scope of propaganda.

"Rebuilding the Holy Roman Empire" had become the hottest topic in the German Region. Whether it was for or against, this concept was poured into everyone's mind.

University of Munich

A debate about the future of the German Region began here.

Since the former King Ludwig the First made a declaration that the royal family would work for the unification of Germany, it was legal to talk about the unification of the German Region.

The idea of Greater Germany, the idea of Lesser Germany, the division of Northern and Southern Germany, and the recently proposed reconstruction of the Holy Roman Empire. A series of messy plans could all be brought out for discussion.

Not only the Kingdom of Bavaria, but many states in the German Region could also discuss these issues. The government also had to express its support. This was the right fought for by the people in the 1848 Revolution, and it was also politically correct.

In simple words, one could support any kind of unification plan of the German Region, but one could not oppose the unification of the German Region.

Christian, a supporter of the Shinra faction, spoke passionately, "The German Region has been divided for too long, and each state has a different development model. It is not easy to immediately integrate these regions and build a big empire.

In this case, why don't we neutralize it? First, rebuild the Holy Roman Empire, and gather everyone in the framework of a unified empire.

As for other issues, we can sit down and discuss slowly. If one year is not enough, then two years. If ten years is not enough, then twenty years. After a few decades, the German Region will become a whole. "

Through the secret propaganda of the Government of Austria, there were many people who supported the reconstruction of the Holy Roman Empire. Even the rulers of some small states were supporters of this idea.

The Holy Roman Empire was not scary. This empire had never been truly unified. The major states under it were doing their own things. The central government only existed in theory, and it had almost no binding force on the states.

If unification was really unavoidable, such unification could protect their own interests to the greatest extent.

There were also people who liked to live peacefully. Unification of the German Region sounded easy, but in reality, war was not far away.

Whether it was Greater Germany or Lesser Germany, they had to use the army to subdue everyone in order to complete the great cause of unification.

Rebuilding Shinra was much simpler. Everyone just had to hold a meeting, vote, and elect an emperor. Then, the German Region would be unified.

Everyone's interests would not be harmed. The states would still play their own games, but they would strengthen economic exchanges and stand together when it came to external affairs.

The German Region was once again unified. Even if it was only unified in name, this great empire was still the most powerful empire in the world.

A young student objected, "This kind of unification is too slow. The European countries will not give us the time to unify the whole country. Once the unified German Empire appears, we will immediately be resisted by other countries.

We might even be besieged by other countries. Only when the German Region is completely unified and everyone becomes a whole, can we defeat the enemy and complete the great revival of Germany. "

As soon as he finished speaking, someone objected, "Don't forget the lesson of Napoleon. Any country that tries to go against the whole of Europe will be digging its own grave.

The current international situation simply does not allow us to complete the unification step by step. Once there are signs of unification of the German Region, the European countries are bound to interfere.

The British, the French, the Russians, the Spanish … None of them will see the unification of the German Region. It is unwise to fight against the whole of Europe alone.

At this time, we have to learn to do it step by step. First, we will unify the small German Region. When the integration is complete and we are strong, we will unify the whole German Region. "

Another person objected, "Unify the small German Region? If that is the case, we might as well divide South and North Germany.

We can also avoid the joint attack of the great powers and accumulate strength for the final unification of the country. Why should we care about the attitude of the nouveau riche in Prussia? "

"No, this is dividing the country, not unifying it. Whether it is establishing the small Germany or dividing North and South Germany, the final result is the destruction of the empire.

Will the Germany that is divided into two still be our Germany? Rebuilding Shinra and building a nominally unified empire is the key for us to do step by step. "

…

There was no doubt that the spread of these messy ideas was largely due to Franz. Many of the thoughts in this book were personally created by him.

To achieve the goal of propaganda, it was impossible to directly say: Austria wants to unify the German Region and everyone should unite under the banner of the House of Habsburg.

If this was the propaganda, it was estimated that it would be suppressed by the governments as soon as it started.

Now that the messy unification plan was thrown out, Austria's figure would be diluted, and everyone would think that it was a spontaneous initiative of the people.

In the eyes of most people, the idea of Greater Germany and the theory of rebuilding the Holy Roman Empire were probably supported by the Government of Austria. The latter might even mean the small German state.

The remaining idea of Lesser Germany and the theory of dividing North and South Germany were obviously created by the people of Prussia. These two ideas were the most widely spread in the Prussia region.

What was the real political position of the Government of Austria? Franz would say that the political position of the Government of Austria was what was in line with Austria's interests.

In the face of interests, the national strategy and political philosophy could be changed. The reason why it had not changed was that the interests were not big enough.