Chapter 565

The spring breeze of reform blew across the British Isles, but Britannia couldn't change for the better. It wasn't that reform couldn't be done. The key was how to reform it.

The domestic economy continued to decline, which stimulated the British. The elite knew that Britannia had reached a fork in the road and had to carry out social reform.

Despite the economic problems, Britannia was still at its peak. The European world didn't have the popular saying that prosperity would lead to decline. Looking through the history books of Britannia, they had only been awesome for once.

If it weren't for the rise of the Holy Roman Empire, which increased the pressure on them, it was estimated that most Britons wouldn't even have a sense of crisis.

In fact, even now, the British didn't have a strong sense of crisis. They didn't think that the powerful British Empire was at risk of overturning.

It couldn't be helped. Shinra was too peaceful. Even if they made a super battleship, it would only come out and go back.

The expected arms race was lost because the Government of Vienna didn't follow up in time.

After all, there were still a lot of old warships in Britannia. If they started a "dumpling competition" at this time, all the old warships in front would be scrapped.

The landlords also didn't have surplus food. Especially in the downturn of the domestic economy, the government's revenue didn't rise but fell, and the budget had to be frugal.

Anyway, with the protection of the straits, as long as the Royal Navy still had the advantage, everyone didn't panic.

Without enough external pressure, the interior naturally couldn't be united. After all, reform was also a double-edged sword. Some people benefited from it, while others suffered.

Vested interest groups were unwilling to give up the benefits in their hands, and conflicts arose. From the beginning of the reform, the British Parliament fell into a noisy mode.

The Government of the United Kingdom these days had very limited power. Not only was there restrictions from the Parliament, but there was also the pressure from the king.

As the king who restored the glory of Britannia, Edward VII was not a rubber stamp. It was impossible for the cabinet government to toss and turn as they pleased.

The conservatives were powerful, and the government had such a big weakness. The Campbell government's reform progress naturally couldn't be fast.

For a large country, reform was naturally better done slowly than in a hurry. It didn't matter if it was slow, but it would be a big problem if it was fast.

But for enterprises, the situation was completely different. Traditional industries were fine. They had built a moat, and even if there were impacts, they could still survive.

The real unlucky ones were the new industries. Restricted by the small British market, they were inherently deficient. Coupled with the fact that they were a step behind in terms of starting out, their competitors had already arrived before they could fully develop.

The most typical examples were the machinery and equipment manufacturing and the automobile industry chain. The relevant enterprises had either gone bankrupt or were on the verge of bankruptcy.

…

When he stepped out of the government office building, Michael's smile had already disappeared. As the boss of a leading manufacturer of high-end machine tools in Britain, Michael's life should be very comfortable.

However, the reality was the exact opposite. Due to a mistake in judgment during the second revolution, Michael's machine tool factory had always focused on traditional fields.

He was not the only one. The British machine tool manufacturers had all plunged into the field of steam engines and did not have any plans for the emerging field of electricity.

With the large-scale popularization of electricity, Britannia machine manufacturers focused on. and Britannia '.

By the time Michael reacted, the products of his competitors had already entered the British Isles. With excellent performance and low operating costs, they quickly snatched a large piece of the cake from their hands.

Thanks to the conservative nature of the British capital, they weren't diligent in replacing equipment. Plus, the steam engine was not completely eliminated, so Michael's factory survived.

However, with the strong entry of their competitors, a large chunk of their orders were snatched away, especially in the overseas market, where they almost lost all of their orders.

Their market share was reduced. In order to survive, the British machine tool companies, who chose the wrong path, were forced into a cruel price war.

Even the leading enterprises were no exception. After all, they were only the leader of Britannia, not the leader of the world. Compared to their international counterparts, Michael's company was lagging behind in terms of comprehensive technology.

It was easy to change the track, but it was not so easy to do it on a new track.

In order to survive, Michael had to ask the government for help.

There was no need to talk about "free economy, oppose government interference in the market". Those were slogans. Now that they weren't needed, they naturally had to be thrown away.

As the leader of the "high tech" industry, there were always some privileges. Regardless of whether their technology was lagging behind their international counterparts, Michael's machine tool factory was still the leader in the country.

As long as the Government of London didn't want to see the high-end machine tool industry fall into the control of their competitors, they had to support local companies.

For his own interests, the young Michael, who used to advocate free trade, had now become a staunch supporter of "trade barriers."

There was no other way. Without using extreme measures, they couldn't win against their competitors in normal business competition.

Even if Michael ruthlessly increased the research and development budget by fifty thousand pounds, it was still far from the investment of their competitors.

Their technology was lagging behind, and their investment in research and development was insufficient. It was obviously a dream to rely on technological breakthroughs to suppress their competitors.

It wasn't impossible to continue to increase investment, but Michael was first and foremost a capitalist. For a capitalist, profit was the most important. As long as they could make money, it didn't matter if they could surpass their competitors.

If they really invested without limit, they might be able to catch up in terms of technology, but the return on investment would be terrible.

If they couldn't make money, it would be useless even if they became the world's number one.

Investors only had one requirement for a company – to be able to make money; there was only one indicator to evaluate a company's excellence – to make enough money.

Michael had long passed the age of chuunibyou. Naturally, he wouldn't spend all his money just for a title.

Instead of engaging in scientific research and trade, it was better to engage in political public relations and directly block their competitors out of the country.

Relying on the domestic market alone might not be enough to make the company a fortune, but at least it could ensure long-term profits.

As long as there was enough time, Michael believed that his company would definitely be able to catch up. At that time, they would be able to compete with their international competitors for the market.

As for how long that would take, no one knew. Perhaps it would be three to five years, or perhaps twenty to thirty years. Anyway, there was always hope.

…

No matter how the situation changed, as long as they could still live, there would always be banquets.

After leaving the Government Street, Michael drove a luxury car from Shinra to the suburbs. His destination was a manor called "Petre."

Tonight, there was a banquet organized by the business bigwigs. As an important member of the business community, Michael was also invited.

Although he arrived early, the manor was still filled with people. Obviously, there were many people who suspected the same thing.

No one knew when it started, but the "banquet" was no longer a simple "banquet." Most of the time, the people who attended the banquet had their own purpose.

The moment he stepped into the hall, Michael found his little circle of friends. Michael used to be the focus of banquets. Wherever he went, there was a group of people flattering him.

Unfortunately, the good times didn't last long. With the intensification of competition in the machine tool industry, the machine tool industry's voice in the market continued to decline.

The era of production orders being queued up for a few years and receiving goods through connections was gone forever.

For the survival of the company, Michael had to put down his pride, actively participate in social activities, and strive to maintain a relationship with his customers.

Of course, this alone wasn't enough. Capital pursued profits. If the product quality wasn't good, even the best of relationships wouldn't help.

One of the important factors to be able to maintain the current foundation was that everyone was in the same financial group and had a certain proportion of cross-shareholdings.

Everyone had a common interest. Under the situation where the product was comparable, everyone was more willing to use their own people's products.

If the performance couldn't be compared, then they could only increase the price. The machine tool industry, which was originally profiteering, had recently fallen to the price of cabbages.

Purely in the machine tool business, it was now a loss for every machine sold. If it wasn't for the fact that the after-sales service could still make money, Michael's machine tool company could consider closing down.

Michael raised his glass and clinked glasses with the man. He smiled and asked, "Byron, I haven't seen you for a long time. How have you been recently?"

No matter how much pressure he was under, Michael was full of enthusiasm for his customers. It was precisely this proactive marketing attitude that allowed Michael to crush all his competitors in the country and secure his throne as the leader of the segmented track.

The middle-aged man shook his head and replied with a bitter smile, "It's terrible. The damned Austrians are like rats, constantly stealing our wealth.

Since they launched the new model last year, I haven't had a good day. To tell you the truth, I have already carried out three layoffs since the beginning of the year. "

This wasn't a secret. Just look at the brands of cars running on the streets, and you would know what kind of life the British automobile industry was living.

The characteristic of industrialization was that the more products produced, the lower the production cost of a single product.

Britannia's automobile industry didn't start late. In fact, it could be said to be very early. As early as 1680, the famous British scientist Isaac Newton had imagined the jet car. Although the jet car wasn't built successfully, the concept of a car was put forward.

In 1804, British engineer Richard Trivesick created the world's first steam-powered car, which opened the prelude to the British automobile industry.

Unfortunately, it was a king at the beginning, but in the end, it was only a bronze. Since then, the history of automobile development shifted from Britannia to France, and then to Shinra.

A steam-powered car was still a car. Although it wasn't convenient, it was still very valuable in certain situations, so it was still produced in small quantities.

Logically speaking, the British automobile industry with a strong industrial foundation shouldn't be left behind. The key to the problem was the second industrial revolution.

After missing the second industrial revolution, the internal combustion engine technology didn't keep up, and the engine became the biggest shortcoming of the British automobile industry.

If the performance of their own engine couldn't keep up, they could only import it from overseas. Anyway, it was the era of free trade, and they could buy whatever they wanted.

The core technology was controlled by others, and it was impossible not to pay a price. The most direct manifestation was the increase in production costs.

If the engine was expensive, it was still bearable. At most, they could earn less.

The problem was that Britannia's automobile production was very low, and the production of spare parts was also not high. If the production was low, the cost would naturally be high.

Most of the locally produced spare parts were not only more expensive than the imported ones, but even the performance couldn't keep up.

There was no such thing as supporting domestic production. Capitalists would naturally buy the most cost-effective products. The direct result was that Britain's automobile manufacturers had turned into car assembly factories.

In addition to bearing the name of a car manufacturer and having a logo, they could also work in an auto repair shop outside.

With the development of technology, information was becoming more and more transparent. After discovering this, more and more auto repair shops started to cross over, intensifying the market competition.

The domestic competition was already very fierce, and no one expected the international competitors to come in. With the advantage in performance, many of Shinra's automobile brands gained a foothold.

The high-end brands were the first to fall. Looking at the cars in the manor, it was obvious that almost all of them were imported.

Even the car manufacturer, Byron, was also an imported car. There was no other way, their own products were slightly worse in terms of performance. For the sake of their lives, everyone knew what to choose.

Losing the high-end market was not a big deal since there weren't many sales. Before the influx of imported cars, the main mode of transportation in Britannia was still horse-drawn carriages.

Now it was different, and a large number of cheap cars were also pouring in. Without the core technology, the assembly factories naturally didn't have good days, and a large portion of the market was squeezed out.

In order for the company to survive, Byron had to choose to reduce production. But these could only solve the urgent problem, and it was far from enough to overcome the crisis.

Since the customers weren't having a good time, Michael naturally couldn't raise the issue of orders. In a sense, they were all in the same boat now.

If they wanted to live comfortably, they could only first collapse the free trade system and rely on tariff barriers to protect the market.

"Be more optimistic, my friend. It will get better. The difficulties are only temporary, and the main problem is the free trade system.

Without this system, we can raise tariffs to protect the market and buy time for the company to develop.

The Austrians did this in the past, and if it wasn't for the implementation of the trade barrier policy, they wouldn't have become the world's number one industrial power. "

Lying was also a skill, and as a qualified capitalist, this was the most basic survival skill.

Although Michael didn't believe that Britannia could catch up with the past by relying on trade protection, he absolutely couldn't back down in terms of momentum.

Raising his glass and clinking it, Byron drank it in one gulp, and then said with a common hatred, "My friend, you're right.

It's all the fault of that evil free trade agreement. If it wasn't for that agreement, Britannia's wealth wouldn't have been stolen.

For the sake of Britannia, we must correct this mistake. We absolutely can't let this damned agreement continue to poison the future of Britannia … "

…