Chapter 672

If it weren't for the political opposition, it would be very easy to solve the agricultural crisis. A few grain exporting countries would link up, raise the price of grain, and divide their respective grain export shares. All the problems would be solved.

OPEC in the future did this. In order to avoid vicious competition, everyone intentionally controlled oil production to ensure the interests of all member countries.

Unfortunately, the Polish and Polish countries and the Russian Empire had already formed a death feud. The Tsarist government would never agree to a settlement.

This was a matter of principle. Even if Alexander III, a pacifist, came to power, it would be impossible for him to compromise on this issue.

The people of Russia could tolerate failure, but they couldn't tolerate cowardice. The Russian Empire was able to develop and grow because of this tenacity and unwillingness to admit defeat. If they were discouraged, the Russian Empire would be finished.

It was impossible to reach this step without experiencing multiple failures in a row. This made it impossible for the Tsarist government to cower to the Polish and Polish countries. If they dared to compromise, there would be a domestic revolution.

The Tsarist government didn't collapse after the first Prussian war. In addition to Austria's support, there was also the political legacy left by Nicholas I Of Russia. An army loyal to Tsar ensured the stability of the regime.

Alexander II Of Russia wasn't an ordinary person. After the war was lost, he decisively took the opportunity to clean up a group of parasites in the government. He attacked the arrogance of the conservatives and laid the foundation for the reform.

After the outbreak of the agricultural crisis, the biggest loss was Austria, but in fact, the biggest loss was the Russian Empire.

Austria was the number one grain exporter, but most of the exports were finished grains. There was industrial added value to offset some of the losses.

There were also some snack manufacturers that didn't lose money during the agricultural crisis. Instead, they increased their profits.

No matter how the price of raw materials dropped, the price of snacks on the market didn't change much. It looked like an inconspicuous item, but the profit it brought was not low at all.

If someone investigated the details of Austria's agricultural exports, they would find that the total sales of canned food, biscuits, chips, chocolate, and other non-staple food exports exceeded the total sales of grains.

There were currently thousands of food brands registered in Austria. If these snacks were subdivided, there were hundreds of products.

For profit, capitalists invested a lot of money in research. There were new food products almost every day. Only food that withstood the test of the market could survive. Otherwise, it would soon disappear from people's sight.

There were often capitalists who held food festivals to find people to try new snacks to collect data. If it was well received, it would be promoted to the market. If it was hated by the people, it would naturally be taken off the shelves immediately.

In addition to independent research and development, capitalists also sent people to collect food from all over the world. There was no resistance in the face of profit.

As long as it was snacks that sold well in the market, Austria would produce them. These inconspicuous things were actually the real pillar of Austria's agricultural exports.

In contrast, the export of finished grains has been relegated to a secondary position, mainly relying on the volume of profits, the profit margin is far from comparable to these non-staple foods.

Perhaps in the future, these inconspicuous small products could be produced by a family workshop, but in this era, they were still high-tech products.

Not to mention other things, just the food packaging alone was something that not many countries could produce. Anti-corrosion technology was also a difficult problem. In this day and age, there were many capitalists who used mercury as a preservative.

T. There were's t't for the't. If an accident were to happen, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people would be poisoned. No one would be able to afford such a big thing.

It was a test of chemical technology. In general, it was messy. In addition to the most commonly used salt, there were a lot of preservatives. It could only be said that the harm was less than mercury.

The only guarantee was that there would be no immediate food poisoning. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to pass the Austrian customs. It was related to the entire agricultural export industry. The Government of Vienna was strict.

No one knew what the consequences would be if it was eaten for a long time. Anyway, Franz never touched these packaged foods. The entire Vienna Palace wouldn't have these junk food.

This was a small problem. Everyone's lifespan was short. Maybe before the sequelae broke out, they would die early. No one had come out to complain about the harm of these junk food.

No matter how harmful it was, at least it tasted good. These junk food that could be stored for a long time was the crew's favorite. They became essential supplies for sailing and were sold all over the world with the age of great navigation.

With the support of these industries, Franz could sit still after the finished grain export market shrank.

However, some people were anxious. Austria's finished grain export market shrank, and domestic processing companies naturally reduced production. The first to bear the brunt were Poland and the Russian Empire.

The Polish government wanted to do something, but they were forced to. When the Government of Vienna increased tariffs, Poland's farm products were directly blocked out.

Farmers weren't the only ones who couldn't stand the large number of agricultural products. The nobles and capitalists couldn't stand it either. In order to survive the crisis, it was not surprising that the government deliberately provoked conflict in Austria to attract attention.

Of course, "provocation" wasn't in the Polish government's plan. They were only prepared to shout slogans in the country and not prepare to fight back.

After understanding the position of the countries, the Polish government didn't fully accept the Austrian conditions, but they immediately explained and apologized.

As the mastermind behind the scenes, the people of Prussia naturally couldn't watch the Polish government get away with it so easily. The news quickly leaked out, and public opinion in Poland exploded.

The unlucky guy who "committed suicide" became a national hero. Patriotic youth ran to the Austrian embassy in Warsaw to protest.

The Polish government still knew the seriousness of the situation. If they provoked the Austrians again, they might attack. Prime Minister Dombrowski immediately sent police to block the streets, and there was a fierce conflict between the demonstrators and the police.

Originally, the Polish government only wanted to divert the crisis, but they didn't expect things to get out of control and cause a political crisis.

Other than the ignorant and fearless youths, all the politicians knew that provoking Austria at this time was courting death.

It was no secret that the great powers liked to use war to divert internal crises. Austria had an agricultural crisis, and Poland was looking for provocation at this time. Wasn't that asking for a beating?

Poland was also a large agricultural country. In the European food export market, the Poles still occupied 13% of the market share.

If the Government of Vienna wanted to reduce a competitor, it wouldn't be difficult at all to take the opportunity to beat them up. As long as they didn't expand, the European countries wouldn't interfere.

The Polish government was forced to forcibly suppress the anti-Austrian wave in the country, and the Government of Vienna naturally reluctantly accepted their apology. The Austrian-Polish conflict seemed to have come to an end.

Of course, this was just the opinion of ordinary people. Looking at the frequent activities of the Austrian Foreign Ministry, it was obvious that something was going to happen. The atmosphere in Europe suddenly became tense, and the smell of gunpowder became thick.

In Berlin, the Government of Vienna didn't immediately make a move against Poland. The top officials of the Government of Prussia were very disappointed.

As one of the victims of the agricultural crisis, the Government of Prussia naturally wanted to get through the crisis as soon as possible. Provoking the Austrian conflict was a plan that killed many birds with one stone.

Not only could it alleviate the agricultural crisis, but it also had the opportunity to annex the Polish Kingdom. The international situation was clear. Britain and France didn't want to see Austria continue to expand on the European continent, and Austria also didn't want to see Prussia and Russia grow stronger.

In the Government of Prussia's view, the Government of Vienna should be more afraid of Russia than they were. Otherwise, Austria wouldn't have taken a break in the last Prussian War.

If Austria fully supported the Tsarist government, at least the Tsarist government's army wouldn't lack strategic supplies.

It was nothing more than changing the route of the march and sending troops along the Austrian border. If the supplies were placed in Austria and transported when needed, the Russians could even save the garrison troops.

According to this method, no matter how good the Prussia army was at fighting, they would fall under the gray livestock's human wave tactic.

William I waved his hand with a complicated expression. "Franz, that old fox, is really patient. We've already sent an excuse to him, but he still didn't make a move against the Poles.

It seems that Austria's strategic focus is really not on the European continent. Could it be that their African localization strategy isn't a smokescreen? "

No one could answer this question, but most countries thought that Austria's African localization strategy was a feint. It was mainly to distract everyone's attention and create an opportunity to unify the German Region.

There was no need for a reason. The Europeans of this era were so arrogant. Apart from the European continent, the rest of the lands were undeveloped wilderness. The African continent was even known as the "Poisonous Insect Continent".

Austria's expansion in Africa was actually a history of the struggle between man and nature. The greatest enemy they faced was not the native countries, nor was it the other great powers, but the harsh natural environment.

Almost no one thought that it was necessary to localize the African continent. Everyone stubbornly believed that the land in the European continent was more important, especially the land in Western Europe and Central Europe, which were the best in the world.

The Foreign Minister of Prussia, Jeffrey Friedman, said, "Your Majesty, the Austrians have already released a political signal. They want us or the Russians to make the first move. It's almost certain that they are not going to make the first move. "

The bird that sticks out gets shot. Since ancient times, the one who stuck out first was the most unlucky. Of course, if they succeeded, the benefits were often the greatest.

Austria was a big family, and its foundation had long been stable. It was no longer important to the Government of Vienna whether or not they could expand in Europe.

This was not something Prussia could compare to. If possible, William I didn't want to continue to expand in Europe. Europe was too complicated. A slight change in one part would affect the whole.

The Kingdom of Prussia already had a foothold in the Indo-China Peninsula. If it wasn't for the threat of the Russian Empire, they would have joined the colonization movement.

The threat of reality forced them to continue to increase their strength. It was obviously too late to slowly develop the land. The Kingdom of Prussia now had a population of just over 22 million. The efficiency of farming was obviously not as good as that of the more than 74 million people in Russia.

The fastest way to increase their strength was to expand. Originally, the German Federal Empire was what they wanted the most. Unfortunately, reality did not allow it.

If the Kingdom of Prussia dared to attack the German Confederation, the Government of Vienna would probably compromise with the French. Then they would be ganged up on by Austria, France, and Russia.

They had no choice but to settle for the next best thing, which was to attract the attention of the Poles. At least Britain and France did not oppose this issue too fiercely. Austria still wanted to see them fight to the death with the Russians.

Looking at the map of Europe on the wall, William I sighed, "Sigh!"

After pacing a few steps, William I pointed at St. Peter Castle. He was in a much better mood, "Keep waiting! Poland is still our ally. Now we can't do anything.

This agricultural crisis will not end in a short time. According to the data released by the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture, the plans of all countries to reduce production have failed. Even they themselves have not been able to complete the reduction plan.

There is no need for them to falsify this data. We are an example. This year, the area planted in our country did not decrease but increased. It would not be easy to implement the Fallow Farming Law.

Austria is large and can withstand the losses caused by the agricultural crisis, but the Russians can't. They have the most food production in Europe. Who will they sell such a large production capacity to?

Britain and France both want the European continent to remain stable. Now, whoever stirs up a dispute is their enemy. "

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