Holy Roman Empire

Next, the work of the Colonial Department can focus on immigration, and send these natives to the Americas as much as possible to reduce the hidden danger of our rule.

If it doesn't go well, then expel them, this is up to you.

Anyway, I don't care what method you use, the indigenous population will be reduced by three levels within five years, and the number of our immigrants will exceed the local indigenous population within ten years. "

Under normal circumstances, this is a near impossible task.However, it is not difficult to do this in this era, after all, there is no need to doubt the integrity of the colonists.

Even if they don't know what to do, they can learn from their British and French counterparts, especially the British, who are the most experienced in this regard.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Colonial Secretary Josip Jeracic replied in a deep voice

Knowing that this task is not easy to do, but the emperor has already ordered it, and Josip Jelachic will not refuse.After all, just because it’s hard to do doesn’t mean you can’t do it, how do you know if you can’t do it if you don’t even try?

What made Franz dumbfounded was that after the outbreak of the economic crisis, the enthusiasm of the nobles to invest in plantations suddenly rose.

Compared with unfamiliar industries and finance, everyone is more willing to invest in industries they are familiar with. After all, the income of plantations is relatively stable and the risks are not so great.

Now there are so many immigrants on the African continent, not only organized by the government, but many of them were recruited by these plantation owners.

The royal family is one of the best. As the earliest investment in the colony, it has now developed tens of thousands of hectares of plantations.

Everyone is keen on growing wheat, cotton, cocoa, and coffee, all of which are industries that can see returns in the short term.

In contrast, Franz, who focuses on investing in rubber plantations, has become an alternative.Now the use of rubber is not as wide as that of later generations, and the investment cycle is long, so it is naturally unpopular.

If there are sufficient manpower, Franz is also willing to grow cotton and coffee, which are more profitable. Unfortunately, there is really a shortage of manpower now.In desperation, we can only plant rubber trees first.

At present, the royal plantation has recruited more than 3 workers, which is still a drop in the bucket, and has to use some local indigenous labor.

The recruitment of high-quality labor from overseas is still in progress.It takes more than half a year to go to Asia in this era, and it is difficult to think quickly.

Franz was now very worried that, if left unchecked, planters and mine owners would soon become obsessed with using cheap local labor, and he did not want to see slavery revive in the colonies.

Now it is only because everyone is inexperienced and these aborigines have not been domesticated, and incidents of violent injuries and escapes often occur, which makes farmers and plantation owners suspicious of using a large number of aboriginal laborers.

The gold mine owners have already begun to use local labor on a large scale, and they suppressed the resistance with the powerful force in their hands.

Franz didn't believe how high everyone's integrity would be in the face of interests.Those who pay attention to eating are nothing more than learning from the royal plantation, using salt, cloth and other materials to hire people from the chiefs of the indigenous tribes.

He was cruel and ruthless, and directly sent people to arrest slaves.The African continent is so chaotic, there are many places beyond the control of the colonial government.There are many gold mine owners who are part-time slave owners and part-time slave traders.

In the short term, this is indeed a good thing, reducing production costs and gaining more benefits.

From the perspective of long-term development, the use of a large number of slave labor will seize the jobs of immigrants, which not only seriously hinders the economic development of the colonies, but also increases social conflicts.

There is another reason that cannot be said, that is, Franz wants to cheat the biggest competitors and weaken their development potential.

Historically, nearly half of the immigrants who went to the United States during this period came from Germany, Italy, and southern Europe. Now Franz diverted most of these immigrants.

The labor shortage in the United States is worse than it has been in history.In this context, the conflict between the industrial owners in the north and the plantation owners in the south was even greater.

Franz, who is willing to help others, naturally wants to help them.If white immigrants are not enough, black immigrants will be used to make up; if the quality is poor, quantity will be used to make up.

Just consider that half of the people who immigrate to the United States each year are black, so the future must be very interesting.For this, what's the point of paying a little price?

Chapter 54 Taking the Cotton Market

Prime Minister Felix took out a document and handed it to Franz, saying: "Your Majesty, considering the rich resources and many immigrants in the African colonies, we have formulated a set of colony economic development plans, please have a look."

Colonial economic development plan?This statement is very avant-garde. In Franz's memory, it should be after the emergence of the Dominion that the Autonomous Government formulated a systematic economic development plan.

Now in everyone's consciousness, the purpose of opening up colonies is to plunder wealth.The local economic development is basically laissez-faire without long-term planning.

Confused, Franz still took the document and read it carefully. Soon he knew why there was such a plan.

It is not how far-sighted the Vienna government is, nor is it promoted by interest groups, it is just an instinct of the ruling class.

When the ruling class formulates policies, it will naturally lean towards itself.Now it is the aristocratic group that dominates African colonization, and it is also the aristocratic group that dominates the Austrian government.

Before the successful development of farms and plantations, many people still have doubts.Now the early plantations have begun to make profits, and successful examples are in front of us, and everyone's attention is very different.

In the eyes of many traditional nobles, these are the wealth bestowed on them by God, which can pass on the family business.The better the colony develops, the more everyone's wealth increases.

The ruling class naturally wanted to safeguard its own interests, and the Vienna government formulated a colonial development plan without any push.

Franz asked with concern: "Have you surveyed the terrain for the construction of a railway from Guinea to the Congo region? Are there any technical difficulties? How to solve the financial problem?"

Well, he decisively ignored that there are still many areas on the way that are not within the control of Austria.

Anyway, in this era, we rely on our fists to speak. Now that Vienna has formulated this plan, it is naturally ready to seize these areas.

Prime Minister Felix explained: "The landform and terrain have already been explored by the colonial government. In theory, our current railway construction technology is sufficient to complete the construction of this railway.

Considering economic needs, this railway must run through most of the cities. Including branch railways, the total mileage may exceed [-] kilometers.We plan to construct in sections, and the areas with harsh geographical conditions and difficult construction can be placed later.

The construction funds are still mainly raised by the private sector, and the insufficient part is made up by the government.

In order to stimulate everyone's enthusiasm for investment, we plan to allocate the unclaimed land within [-] kilometers on both sides of the railway to the railway company. "

Franz knew that this railway was definitely not so easy to complete. Many theoretically achievable technologies would collapse due to the high cost of actual construction.

African colonies are not native, and most areas have not been effectively developed. Many raw materials have to be transported from China, and construction costs will definitely increase significantly.

Judging from the economic development of the African colonies, this railway with dual functions of strategy and economy may not be profitable in the next few decades.

The profit point of the railway company lies in the land on both sides of the railway.Whoever takes over the railway will be the biggest landlord.

This is a way to learn from the construction of American railways. Now the land is naturally worthless, but when the railway construction is completed, the value of these lands will increase.

The railway company can completely build a station in a certain area and radiate to the surrounding areas.The traffic problem has been solved, and good returns can be obtained whether it is to open up plantations or mine in these areas.

If it is left to future generations, such a business is estimated to be crowded.There are 40 kilometers on both sides of the railway, that is, [-] kilometers. After the completion of this railway, more than [-] square kilometers of land ownership can be obtained.

With such a large area, even if there are no resources, the construction cost can be recovered just by selling wood.

It's a pity that neither the timber nor the minerals buried in the ground are worth much now.Unless gold and silver mines are discovered, it is still unknown whether this investment will be profitable.

After careful calculation, Franz found that this railway is actually still a high-quality project.

To build railways in Africa, first of all, labor costs can be saved. Even if there is a labor protection law, the local indigenous people do not know where to go to complain.

Of course, even if you find a place to complain, it's useless.The complainant must first learn German, otherwise the case will not be accepted.

Aboriginal people who can learn German are not low-level laborers. Such talents have long been promoted to supervisors.If they want to complain, the first one to be unlucky is themselves.

Everyone has to face, and the abuse of labor must be done by the supervisor.No high-level person would lower his status and personally go to the railway construction site to beat people with a whip.

Basic raw materials such as sand, gravel and sleepers can be obtained by oneself, and cement does not need to be purchased from outside. It is entirely possible to build a cement factory locally, which saves most of the cost of raw materials.

Even if it is mechanical equipment and rails that need to be transported domestically, the actual increase is the freight.Generally speaking, the construction cost is within the controllable range.

The railway company owns such a large area of ​​land, no matter how poorly developed it is, it can still make a profit by selling resources alone.

Franz said calmly: "Since these problems have been solved, let's build this railway! But remember to control costs, the government cannot invest a lot of financial resources on this railway.

It is a good idea to focus on the development of plantation economy in African colonies, but it still needs to focus.

The colonial government can organize experts to conduct on-the-spot inspections, and guide everyone to plant what crops are suitable for planting.

The government sorts out the soil quality, climate, hydrology and other data of various places, and then lists the economic crops suitable for planting, and distributes them to the people.

What to plant, let everyone choose freely, and the government will not force it.

According to the current international situation, the American Civil War is about to break out. At that time, their cotton and tobacco exports will inevitably be affected. We can make preparations in this regard. "

This railway is in everyone's interest. Once the land transportation problem is solved, we will have more land to develop, instead of only developing coastal and riverside areas like now.

As a member of those with vested interests, Franz naturally would not object.He even wants to get involved and get a share of it.

As for when the railway will be repaired and whether it will become an unfinished project, Franz is not worried at all.

The colonies are not native lands. If the construction costs are too high in areas with harsh terrain, it doesn't matter if the work is suspended for a few years, and the construction period is not urgent anyway.

Focus on the development of cotton plantations, mainly to snatch the cotton market in the United States.Once the Civil War broke out, American cotton exports would definitely be affected.

We must know that the cotton exports of Americans in this era were close to 1.9 million US dollars, accounting for two-thirds of the global cotton export market.

Historically, the American Civil War cut off cotton exports, and the British cotton textile industry was hit hard.To avoid getting stuck, John Bull directly enforced cotton cultivation in India.

After the war ended and trade returned to normal, the cotton export volume of the United States had dropped to 600 million US dollars, and it was no longer the dominant position in the cotton market.

There are also many areas suitable for growing cotton in the Austrian colonies. As long as they can snatch one-third of the American market share, the colonial government's finances will turn around.

……

Chapter 55 Heavy codes for troubled times

The New Holy Roman Empire is a big cotton importer and consumer, importing 600 million Aegis of cotton from the outside world every year.

Even so, it still cannot meet the needs of domestic industry and commerce, and Austria is also a big importer of cotton cloth.

Of course, this is also related to the economic development policy implemented by the Vienna government. The cotton spinning industry has not been included in the key development projects.

In order to maintain the status of Europe's largest food exporting country, the government does not advocate the cultivation of cotton locally, and the shortage of raw materials has become an important factor restricting the development of Austria's cotton spinning industry.

In this context, the promotion of cotton planting in the colonies can not only save a lot of foreign exchange, but also attract domestic textile capitalists.

For example: Bavaria is the center of the traditional cotton spinning industry in Germany. Many capitalists went to West Africa to open up plantations due to lack of raw materials.

Everyone will still settle the political and economic accounts.

Prime Minister Felix thought about it and said: "Your Majesty, the biggest problem with growing cotton is that it requires a lot of labor when harvesting. The colony is different from the country, and it is too difficult to hire a large number of people in the short term.

Unless we learn from the Americans and train a batch of cheap black slave labor, we cannot solve this problem.

However, using a large number of indigenous laborers is contrary to our long-term strategy and is not conducive to long-term stability. "

This is the most realistic question, otherwise Franz would not have gone to plant rubber trees.Now the royal plantation, the cotton planting area is not increasing, the main reason is the shortage of labor force.

In fact, rubber plantations also require a lot of labor, but rubber trees do not grow in a day, and the demand for labor is much smaller before the rubber is harvested.

The current number of immigrants is still limited. It is impossible for all of these people to go to grow cotton, and not all areas are suitable for growing cotton.

In addition to cotton, cash crops such as coffee, palm, cocoa, rubber, tobacco, soybeans, and peanuts are also the focus of development.

Although agricultural products such as wheat, corn, rice, and potatoes are not the focus of development, self-sufficiency still needs to be achieved.The budget-conscious planters are reluctant to pay for it.

These industries all require labor, but the colonies are sparsely populated.The shortage of labor force is not a star and a half, and Franz has no doubt that even if there are tens of millions of immigrants, it can be easily digested.

Franz said helplessly: "There is a shortage of labor, so we can only rely on everyone to find a way. In addition to recruiting immigrants from China, you can also recruit labor from overseas.

In short, there is only one principle. Migrant workers must be assimilated and meet all our requirements before they can become naturalized. "

At this time, Franz suddenly hoped that the Russians would abolish serfdom.Once the tsarist government liberates the serfs, it will not be long before there will be a large number of bankrupt peasants.

This kind of bankrupt farmer who can't read a whole bunch of words is a high-quality immigrant.Those without cultural heritage are always the easiest to assimilate.

Unlike the current serfdom society, serfs are the property of nobles. If you want to recruit labor in Tsarist Russia, you can buy them with money!

The population trade that cannot be carried out on the surface still exists in the dark, but unfortunately the cost is too high.

Recruiting labor from overseas is easy to say, but not easy to do.There are too many options for immigrants in continental Europe, and everyone has their own circle.

In addition to the country, Austria also has a bit of face in the German and Italian regions and can recruit immigrants.When it comes to Western Europe, basically no one buys it.

As a last resort, everyone turned their attention to the Far East.In any case, the labor force in these areas is easier to use than the local natives.

Anyway, in this era, Europe's per capita income is more than ten times that of Asia, and hiring labor from East Asia is also high quality and cheap.

This is not without hidden dangers. At least in terms of ethnic integration, the difficulty has increased several times. Of course, this is better than not being able to integrate the local aborigines.

Colonial Secretary Josip Jeracic reminded: "Your Majesty, if a large number of overseas labor is recruited, future security and labor conflicts will become serious social problems."

He is not worried about native immigrants being bullied. On the contrary, Josip Jelacic is worried about native immigrants bullying foreign workers and causing social conflicts.

Never test the integrity of the colonists. Except for Franz, who has a big family and cares about his feathers and pays attention to his appearance, many farmers, planters, and mine owners are omniscient for their own interests.

The veteran nobles did better in this regard. Most of the laborers they recruited were former serfs of their own family, who were well-informed and restrained for the sake of the family's reputation.

The upstarts who are still in the primitive accumulation of capital are different. Delinquency in arrears, salary deduction, and even bad debts happen from time to time.This is true for our own people, not to mention foreign workers.

Because of these people's misconduct, the workload of the colonial government has increased greatly.In the end, a labor employment registration system had to be implemented.

The household registration system, which was not implemented in China, was first implemented in the colonies.If it weren't for technical problems, Franz would have been ready to issue ID cards.

Now that there are few people in the colony, it is okay to manage it like this.As the population continues to increase in the future, the difficulty of this management will also increase linearly.

After hesitating for a moment, Franz said sternly: "In troubled times, heavy codes are used, and the colonial government must establish social order and crack down on criminals.

Gang organizations, street gangsters, and unemployed vagrants who have been wandering for a long time are all thrown into the mine by me.

With regard to labor-management conflicts, it is better to catch typical examples and kill them as an example.Catch a few serious problems and deal with them seriously, and then carry out publicity. "

Frankly speaking, Franz's order is contrary to the law, but the colony is not the native land, and the Vienna government has never said that it will use local laws.