Chapter 714

Franz's prediction was right. After the Greeks caught Ludwig, the would-be king, they didn't know what to do.

There was also a split within the rebel army. Some people advocated the establishment of a republic in an attempt to get rid of Austria's control of Greece.

Others advocated supporting Ludwig's succession on the grounds that Prince Ludwig was the legitimate heir to the throne.

Before Austria could send troops to intervene, the Gonghe and the royalists were about to fight. The Gonghe were mostly capitalists, and there were also a bunch of youths. The royalists were naturally nobles.

As for the large number of farmers and workers, they were all spectators. The coup had nothing to do with them, and they didn't need to take a stand.

Before the coup, they were able to cooperate. That was to expel Otto I's Bavarian cabinet and seize the supreme power of the government.

Now that the goal had been achieved, the two factions were fighting for power. At present, the nobles who controlled most of the army had the upper hand. Perhaps Ludwig could ascend to the throne without Austria sending troops.

Looking at the information in his hand, Franz didn't know how to evaluate it. Wasn't it supposed to be a revolution? Why did it end before it even started?

With a little deduction, Franz knew that someone was stirring up trouble. Greece itself was a small country, and the current Greece was less than half of the Greece of later generations.

The territory was small, resources were scarce, and the population was at most a million. Under such circumstances, how could the capitalists develop and grow?

Without sufficient strength, a superior geographical location wasn't a good thing. Since independence, Greece had been deeply influenced by the great powers.

The heavy debt made the Greek government unable to make ends meet for a long time and had to step up the plunder of the people.

The Greek domestic market had long been a dumping ground for the great powers' goods. The national capital had always hovered on the edge of life and death. Perhaps all of them added up wouldn't be as much as the wealth of a big capitalist.

The economic strength of the Greek nobles wasn't that great, but at least they had an army. Now that the capitalists had also formed an army, although they were still at a disadvantage, it was still beyond their strength.

Franz didn't think that the capitalists could destroy their homes for the country. Even if there were individuals who were virtuous, it was impossible for the entire group to be so.

Politics was complicated, and what was seen was not necessarily true. Austria could create smoke bombs to fool people, and other countries were doing the same.

Franz didn't know who was behind the sudden turmoil in Greece, and he couldn't make an accurate judgment without definite information.

Before one wave subsided, another wave arose.

Before the Greek problem was solved, Bulgaria was in chaos again. On September 11, 1873, the Bulgarian Revolutionary League launched an anti-Russian uprising in Sofia.

…

… Bulgaria. This was a tragic country. It wasn't easy to get rid of the Ottoman Empire, but here came the Russian Empire.

Thanks to the efforts of the Tsarist government's bureaucrats, the pro-Russian faction in the past had now become anti-Russian.

To be of Bulgaria was to be of Bulgaria. to be. to to to to be Bulgaria. was. However, the Russians attached great importance to Constantinople and stationed a large number of troops here, which discouraged many people from thinking of independence.

No matter what, the Russian rule was still better than the Ottoman Empire. The exploitation was not as harsh, and both sides were almost the same in terms of culture and religion.

If the Tsarist government wanted to promote ethnic integration, it would only take one generation. However, the St. Petersburg government didn't have such thoughts. Otherwise, the Russian Empire wouldn't have so many ethnic groups.

A man cannot be happy for a thousand days, and a flower cannot bloom for a hundred days.

The Russian Empire was defeated in the Prussian War. The idea of national independence took root in Bulgaria. After the defeat of the Russians in the Russo-Prussian War, the idea of national independence took root in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria's industry was just starting. The economy was supported by agriculture. Because of the collapse of international food prices, Bulgaria's farmers suffered heavy losses last year. Bulgaria's farmers suffered heavy losses last year because of the collapse of international food prices.

Seeing that the autumn harvest was approaching, but no one was interested in the food. This increased the panic of the people.

There was already a rumor that the Tsarist government banned the harvest in Bulgaria to protect local food exports.

There were quite a few people who were willing to believe such obviously fake news. Ordinary people were not so knowledgeable. They only saw that no one came to harvest this year.

It was not only Bulgaria. Almost all the European food capitalists slowed down. It was another bumper harvest year. No one knew how much the price would drop. What if they bought in advance and lost money?

Last year, prices fluctuated violently. Many people lost a lot of money. Before they bought the food, they could pass on the losses to the farmers. But if they bought it, they would have to bear the losses themselves.

In order to protect their own interests, the capitalists chose to wait and see. After the market stabilized, they would collect the food from the people.

Anyway, there was still a lot of storage. They could not digest it all in a short time. They did not have to worry about the food being taken away.

It was not that the Russians did nothing these years. With the removal of the shackles, Bulgaria's education flourished.

The new intellectuals were the first to be influenced by nationalism. They quickly forgot the credit of the Russians driving out the Osman. Now they only remembered the enslavement of the Russians.

Of course, the Tsarist government would not recognize the enslavement of Bulgaria because Alexander II Of Russia's reform treated everyone equally. Many Bulgarian farmers benefited from it. But they did not have time to enjoy the benefits. The agricultural crisis broke out first.

In July 1869, the Bulgarian Revolutionary League was secretly formed in Greece. In order to drive out the Russians, almost all the Bulgarian revolutionary groups joined the League.

Many people did not think that the real reason for the formation of the League was: Russia's land reform.

The revolutionaries were worried that the Tsarist government would buy off the farmers and the revolutionary cause would die. Therefore, the reform carried out by the Tsarist government in Bulgaria was resisted by the conservatives and the revolutionaries.

In the process, the two sides achieved a convergence and the revolutionary forces began to grow.

…

After reading the basic information of Bulgaria, Franz fell into deep thought. The uprising came too coincidentally. Just as they decided to join forces with the Russians, Greece and Bulgaria had revolutions at almost the same time.

To say that there was no connection behind this was a complete coincidence. Franz would not believe it even if he was beaten to death. He would rather believe that it was premeditated. Someone wanted to target Russia and Austria, or to delay time.

The Greek Revolution was easy to solve. Even if it was solved by force, it was only a problem of one or two divisions. It was only a small problem for Austria.

The problem was international pressure. Austria could not send troops to interfere in Greece's internal affairs for no reason. This was related to their international image.

Every country was packaging themselves. It was nothing more than a matter of how much resources they invested. In the case of insufficient benefits, everyone was still willing to maintain a good international image.

Even England and France were no exception. They had to find an excuse for their overseas expansion. Even England and France were no exception. They had to find an excuse for their overseas expansion. Very few of them were reckless.

This small problem was not difficult for Franz. It could be done with another agent. For example, the Greek royalists were a good partner to work with.

As long as they supported Ludwig to succeed the throne and guaranteed Austria's interests, it was not a bad idea for them to be in charge of Greece.

Bulgaria was in trouble. During the Near East War, the Bulgarian guerrillas showed good combat power. Although this army was old, the people were still alive. They might not be able to keep up with the physical strength to charge and break through the enemy lines, but it was not a big problem for them to impart experience and command the battle.

Franz was very doubtful that the Russians could put out this rebellion. It was not that he was worried that the Russians did not have the strength. The main thing was that the Tsarist government did not have the money.

"Has the mastermind been identified?"

Intelligence chief Teren: "The initial judgment is the Osman Empire. Whether it was the Greek coup or the Bulgarian uprising, the weapons were sponsored by the Osman merchants."

Franz was not surprised that the Osman Empire wanted to fight back. They were already at their doorstep. How could they not fight back?

Who knew the truth? There were still some Greeks and Bulgarians in the Osman Empire. These "Osman merchants" were Greek and Bulgarian patriotic merchants on the surface.

Even if the news was leaked, as long as the Government of Sudan did not admit it, or insisted that these people were not from the Osman Empire, it would be difficult for Austria to use this as a pretext.

Nationality was too easy to get in this era. Which international businessman did not have a few nationalities? Everyone used whichever one they needed. Without the Internet, even if they did not admit multiple nationalities, it was difficult to find out.

Since they wanted to cause trouble, they naturally had to clean up the mess. Maybe if they went deeper into the investigation, these people had Austrian nationality.

Franz felt that everyone was suspicious of the mastermind. On the surface, the Osman Empire was the most suspicious, the Russians the least, and the UK, Fao, and the US were about the same.

After hesitating for a moment, Franz said, "Forget it. Continue to keep an eye on it. If the mastermind continues to act, it will be exposed sooner or later. If we stop now, the outcome is not too bad. "

There was no other way. The Greeks and Bulgarians were muddle-headed. They did not even know who the mastermind was, so they did it in a daze.

How were they going to investigate? Don't think that these actions were planned by the government. Bureaucrats, capitalists, and nobles could also be the real culprits.

In terms of motive, there were too many suspects.

For example, in order to buy time for the war, the Government of Sudan stirred up trouble to distract Russia and Austria.

Or, Britain and France wanted to help the Osman Empire.

There was also the possibility that Austria did it. Their goal was to attack the Russians and gain an advantage in the distribution of benefits. This could be crossed out. Franz could prove that he did not do it.

In terms of benefits, of course, the domestic arms dealers, agricultural capitalists, and big nobles were all suspects.

It was just a batch of firearms. It would be very difficult for those without channels, but for those with connections, it was just a matter of tens of thousands of Divine Shields.

Regardless of how high the price of firearms was in the international market, ordinary firearms and ammunition were not worth much. A second-hand rifle could be bought for three to four Divine Shields. It could be even cheaper in wholesale.

In the current chaos, the arms dealers, agricultural capitalists, and big nobles who produced food were all beneficiaries. Disregarding everything else, the price of food this year had probably stabilized.

It was not that the war had consumed a lot of food, nor was it because Bulgaria and Greece were important food exporters. It was mainly to give the market confidence.

The main reason for the collapse of the international food price was that the market had lost confidence. Otherwise, the capitalists would have artificially raised prices to maintain the stability of the food price.

So what if there was excess production? As long as they controlled the market, they could send a signal to the outside world that there was a shortage of food.

As long as there was a reasonable excuse to make everyone believe that there would be a shortage of food this year, they could fool enough speculators into artificially inflating the price of food.

Disregarding everything else, just look at the news published in the newspapers. From the beginning of the Government of Vienna's call for a reduction in production, the media kept singing praises as if the agricultural crisis had passed.

Almost all the European newspapers were reporting on the news of a reduction in production. The so-called experts and scholars were exaggerating the effects of the Land Fallow Law. Some people even boasted that in 1873, Europe's food production would drop by 20%.

This was all a trick played by interest groups. No one knew how many people they could fool. In any case, they could not fool the smart people. If it was really impossible, they could go deep into the villages to investigate and understand everything.

Speculators who did not even know how to do market research would die sooner or later. There was no difference in essence whether they died a day earlier or a day later.

After the news of the Greek coup d 'état and the Bulgarian revolution spread, on September 13, 1873, the price of food on the London futures market rose by 5% on the same day.