Holy Roman Empire

The big farmers and the big capitalists jointly promoted this carve-up feast. The farmers got more land, and the capitalists got cheap labor. The cooperation between the two sides was seamless.

Austria has not been able to stand alone, but there is also a "Prohibition of Land Merger Law" standing in front of them.This is the bill signed by Franz after the outbreak of the Vienna Revolution in 1848.

The above clearly stipulates that private transactions of small plots of land are prohibited, and can only be sold to local governments at market prices. (Specifically refers to land less than 200 hectares)

Local governments can only sell the reclaimed agricultural land to farmers with less than 50 hectares of arable land, retired soldiers with less than 100 hectares of arable land, and military nobles with less than 200 hectares of arable land.

(Remarks: After the purchase area reaches this upper limit, you cannot continue to purchase)

If these purchased lands want to be sold again, they can only be sold to the government and cannot be directly traded with individuals.

To put it simply, small farmers can buy it, and large farmers who want to expand can only buy farms with an area of ​​more than 200 hectares.

From the perspective of productivity development, the small peasant economy will inevitably be destroyed, and the mainstream of future agricultural production will be farms.

This kind of land merger will help increase the competitiveness of agriculture, and Franz naturally cannot stop it, but he doesn't want to see domestic agriculture being monopolized, so he introduced this bill to limit the wanton expansion of the big nobles.

Fundamentally, this law stipulates that more than 80% of the arable land in Austria is locked up and can only be circulated in the hands of ordinary people.

If nobles want more land, they should go to the colonies. As long as the arable land area exceeds 200 hectares in the mainland, they can only buy it from large farmers if they want to expand.

Chapter 96 Food = Labor

In London, affected by the sharp drop in domestic food prices, the capitalists who originally signed contracts with the Russians were not prepared to perform their contracts.

Clearly breaching the contract is definitely not acceptable. It not only violates British law, but also involves diplomatic issues.

Moreover, these grain purchases were used to repay the Russians' domestic bank debts.The previous loans have been released. If they default, the Russians can legally renege on their debts, and the bankers will definitely not agree.

Taking rye as an example, the current price of rye in the UK market is about 6~7.5 pounds per ton, but the price agreed in the contract signed with the Russians was as high as 9.1 pounds per ton.

This means that not only can they not make money in this transaction, but they have to lose money in it.

Of course, even at the price of 9.1 pounds per ton, these capitalists will not lose money.The added value of products after processing is enough to offset these price differences.

However, qualified capitalists are definitely unwilling to suffer this loss, which means that they will earn 1.5 to 3 pounds less per ton of rye.

It seems that this figure is inconspicuous, but if it is enlarged to tens of thousands of tons or hundreds of thousands of tons, it will be an astronomical figure.

You can't directly renege on your debts, which will not trouble the capitalists.Members of Congress are doing this job, and guiding public opinion is also a good way.In short, we must find a reasonable and legal reason to renege on the debt.

The anti-Russian wave is on the rise, which is not a good thing for the newly appointed Galston cabinet.

The "sterling-gold system" established monetary hegemony. If the Russians are forced out at this time, they will be beaten back to their original form immediately.

Relying on this achievement, the previous government almost came back in the general election.If they hadn't dug up the old accounts in time and encouraged the families of soldiers killed in the Anglo-Boer war to make trouble, maybe Gerston wouldn't be able to live in Downing Street.

Throwing away the newspaper in his hand, Prime Minister Gerston complained endlessly: "Damn it, get out, you won't be safe if you leave, and you left us with such a bomb!"

This kind of thing is very common during the transition.Everyone is a member of the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party. They are inherently opposed politically, and their identities determine their positions.

How can you let your party win the next general election without cheating Gerston?If he were to change places, Gerston would probably make the same choice.

Anyway, it was all within the rules of the game, and the mess left by the Benjamin cabinet was completely in compliance with the law.There was little Gerston could do other than complain in private, and he couldn't even use the issue to blame his predecessor.

"Prime Minister, the biggest problem now is not the people outside, nor the members of Congress, but the capitalists who don't want to fulfill the contract.

At the current price of food, according to the treaty signed with the Russians, they may lose millions of pounds a year, even if it is apportioned, it is not a small sum.

More importantly, this is not a year, but five consecutive years.After such a long time, if there is another accident in the middle, they will be replaced by others. "

While speaking, the Chancellor of the Exchequer La Luke Lloyd picked up the newspaper on the ground, folded it twice, then tore it up and threw it into the trash can.

Apparently, he wasn't as relaxed as he seemed.In the face of interests, it is too difficult to make capitalists back down.

Even if the government wants to take measures, it can't find an excuse.From the beginning to the end, these people were hiding behind the scenes, and those who charged outside were agitated farmers.

Everyone attributed the reason for the sharp drop in grain prices to the Anglo-Russian grain loan agreement, and believed that this was a sequela caused by government interference in the market.

It was clearly the achievement of the predecessor, but now they are needed to clean up the mess.It's still the kind of people who don't get credit for doing well, and will be scolded if they don't do well.

After calming down for a while, Prime Minister Gerston sat back on his seat and asked, "What do they want? A breach of contract is impossible, and now we still need the Russians."

The pound sterling hegemony system has just been established, and the reform of the Russian gold standard system has just begun. Before the Russians are completely bound, they cannot turn their backs.

This will take at least five or six years, so the British and Russian loans will last for five years, and the London government binds the Russians through loans.It cannot be said to be a loan. It is more appropriate to describe it as a grain transaction contract.

Compared with the huge benefits brought by currency hegemony, the losses of these food capitalists are not worth mentioning.Although most of this achievement was taken away by the previous term, Gerston still wants to continue.

Otherwise, the domestic bankers will send him to God.Don't think that just as the United States has the habit of assassinating the president, British capitalists are equally daring.

It's just that the British aristocracy still has some power, and the capitalists have not been able to fully control the government. Otherwise, the food capitalists would not have done the work in a roundabout way.

The era of monopoly is approaching, and the time for capitalists to explode is not far away. Once consortiums are established, they will completely enter the era of oligarchy.

Relatively speaking, the British Prime Minister of this era is still happy.In the era of oligarchy, politics has become a game of capital, and that is the real tragedy.

"They want the government to pay for this batch of grain and follow the example of Austria in establishing a strategic grain reserve. In theory, there is no problem. Britain is just an island country, and its own grain production is limited. It is not a big problem to store a batch of grain."

Britain in this era is at its peak, rich and powerful is the best way to describe them.

Even though the London government has been heavily in debt because of the war, they are not panicked at all.

The huge wealth brought by the colonies is enough for them to deal with it easily, and they even have enough money to spend a sum of money to establish a strategic reserve system.

Gerston did not object. Although he did not think it was necessary for Britain to establish a strategic grain reserve, he was not prepared to prevent everyone from making a fortune.

Britain's most prosperous era was also its most corrupt era.Once this kind of big project is promoted, it will bring a lot of money.

Gerston smiled lightly, and put his hands on the table with his palms up: "If they can persuade Congress to allocate funds, I have no objection."

Obviously, this is impossible. If it is possible to persuade Congress to allocate funds, the capitalists would have done it long ago, and they would not have done so many things.

To put it bluntly, the grain capitalists involved have limited voice in the British capital market, and they cannot even represent the grain processing industry.

There are indeed people of our own in the Congress, but it is still very difficult to influence the resolutions of the Congress.Among other things, competitors will not let them get what they want.

The current momentum can be achieved because of the current social environment.If it weren't for the sharp drop in domestic grain prices, it would not have been possible to organize so many farmers to participate in the parade.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, La Luke Lloyd, shook his head: "If they can convince Congress, they will not come to us. They have made a promise that as long as the plan is passed in Parliament, they will sponsor us with 20 pounds of campaign funds. .

Besides that, there are other benefits.It is inconvenient to explain the specific details, and it needs to be communicated in private. "

Politics also needs money to support, and there are many behind-the-scenes transactions hidden behind every election.If there is only investment and no return, who will sponsor it for free?

How can political parties survive without revenue?If you have no money to raise a campaign team, and no money to gain public favorability, how can you win the general election?

In the face of reality, politicians are usually relatively low moral integrity.Prime Minister Galston is no exception. Political parties need the support of capital, and the two sides have been intertwined from the beginning.

……

Driven by the Liberal Party, on October 1872, 10, the British Parliament narrowly passed the proposal of "Establishing a Strategic Grain Reserve".

On October 10, the London government halted the Anglo-Russian grain loan transaction in order to stabilize the domestic grain market.

After some symbolic negotiations, a week later, the London government was very reluctant and bought the grain within the scope of the treaty at a price higher than the market price.

There is no doubt that this is all for the public to see.The real reason is to deal with the aftermath of the food capitalists, and the government took over the loss.

The Anglo-Russian transaction went on smoothly, and Franz was not disappointed.The benefits brought by currency hegemony are greater, and the London government naturally knows how to choose.

The only thing beyond his surprise was that he did not expect that the British would actually establish a strategic grain reserve.You must know that the Royal Navy spans all over the world, and no country in the world can match it. There is no enemy that can block Britain.

These changes are all minor problems, but the ultimate goal has been achieved anyway.Although it failed to disrupt the Anglo-Russian deal, with the collapse of the international grain market, the agricultural vitality of European countries was still severely damaged.

In this era, there is no such thing as food subsidies, and even various taxes are indispensable. If the government is willing to reduce or exempt agricultural taxes, it is all about people's livelihood.

For large farmers, the agricultural crisis is a great opportunity for mergers, so why reduce or exempt agricultural taxes?Without these taxes, how can farmers go bankrupt as soon as possible?If the peasants are not bankrupt, how can they carry out land mergers?

Tax cuts are inevitable, but we have to wait until everyone completes the land acquisition, otherwise it will cut off their money.

The massive bankruptcy of European farmers is also what Franz wants to see, and the Austrian colonies are short of people.

He doesn't want immigrants from Britain and France, and he doesn't count on immigrants from Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands. The rest of the countries can always make up their minds.

Today is different from the past. Now Austria's rule in the colonies has stabilized, and it is completely possible to digest part of the foreign immigrants.

Unlike at the beginning, except for native immigrants and German immigrants, Franz did not dare to accept a large number of immigrants from other countries.

I am afraid that people will turn against the customer. On the issue of national assimilation, it is usually the case that there are many people and few people are assimilated. It is not easy to do it the other way around.

This can be regarded as exchanging food for people, which is equivalent to selling a batch of grain in Austria in exchange for a batch of labor.

Chapter 97 The Oppo Conflict

The establishment of a grain reserve system by the British also affected the international grain trading market, and the falling grain prices finally stabilized.

It's of no use, though, and the oversupply situation remains unresolved.Although the blame for the sharp drop in food prices fell to the Russians, smart people know that the Vienna government is also the culprit.

Since he is a smart person, he will naturally weigh the pros and cons.It doesn't matter to the black Russians, even the tsarist government itself is used to being black.

Austria is different. The grain dumping by the Vienna government in the first half of the year would not have gone so smoothly without the participation of capitalists from various countries.

Once the lid is lifted, the interest groups involved will be huge.Few people are willing to do such offending things.

As Christmas approaches, Vienna is already in a festive spirit. The winter in Vienna in 1872 was exceptionally warm.There was no snow, and even the wind was seldom cold.

At this time, trouble came to the door. On December 1872, 12, the Polish government sent a note to Austrian diplomacy: asking Austria to hand over the land it occupied Poland, otherwise it will be at your own risk.

Well, after receiving this diplomatic note, the Vienna government was shocked, and Franz was also frightened. He really couldn't understand the terrible consequences.

Recently, Poland's anti-Austrian arrogance has been on the rise, and Franz knows it.But he didn't take it seriously, the strong never cared what the weak thought.

In his opinion, no matter how noisy the Poles are, they just shout a few slogans at home, submit a few diplomatic protests when they are exhausted, and then do what they should do.

In order to take back the old land that was divided up by the three countries of Prussia, Russia and Austria, after the establishment of the Polish government, it also made many requests to the Vienna government.

Franz understands this kind of behavior. Regardless of whether it is collected or not, the government must make a show. Otherwise, how can it explain to the people?

The Vienna government has never responded to the Poles, simply pretending that they do not exist.What Franz never expected was that the Polish government dared to submit such a strong diplomatic note.

This is not a small matter. A formal diplomatic note is not the same as a private complaint. This requires responsibility.

With nothing to say, Franz immediately convened a cabinet meeting, planning to find the Polish government's bad luck.

"What stimulated the Poles, or did someone give them the confidence to think that they could be proud of us?"

Anyone who knew Franz knew that he was angry.Poland was able to become independent, and Austria also contributed secretly, without asking for anything in return, and now the Polish government is actually rubbing its nose and face.

If you read the history books, you will find that the Aobo territorial dispute is a bad debt.In this case, whoever is stronger is naturally right.

Foreign Minister Weissenberg explained: "Your Majesty, Poland is a large agricultural country. After the outbreak of the agricultural crisis, Poland's agricultural import and export volume dropped sharply.

Some time ago, in response to the crisis, we raised tariffs on Polish agricultural products, which aroused strong dissatisfaction from the Polish government.

About 34% of Poland's agricultural products are exported to Austria, which are processed and then sold to the international market. After the tariff increase, the trade volume of agricultural products between the two countries dropped sharply by two-thirds.

This has directly led to a large number of unsalable agricultural products in Poland, which has caused a serious social crisis, and the political situation in Poland has become unstable.

The Poles issued a diplomatic note at this time, which may have something to do with their domestic situation. The government wants to take this opportunity to divert domestic conflicts. "

There is no way around this. The international market is shrinking, Austria has to cut production capacity, and many capitalists engaged in agricultural product processing have begun to transform.

Under this background, it is necessary to protect domestic agriculture and reduce the import of agricultural products.

Long before the outbreak of the agricultural crisis, the Vienna government was ready to abandon the agro-processing industry.There is no way, this industry does not have much technical content and can only be regarded as the first generation industry.

In recent years, agricultural product processing enterprises have sprung up in European countries, and the market competition has become increasingly fierce.Austria was able to maintain its dominance in the agricultural product processing industry mainly because it controlled most of the raw grain production capacity.

Obviously, this situation cannot continue. After the outbreak of the agricultural crisis, the agricultural product processing industries of various countries no longer worry about raw materials, and Austria's cost advantage no longer exists.

In this context, if we continue to increase investment in this, it is better to invest in emerging industries and promote the second industrial revolution to widen the gap in our strength.

Without the government's key support, the agricultural product processing and manufacturing industry with higher profits can continue to survive, while the enterprises lacking technical content in the flour mill will have a hard time.

This is the inevitable result of economic development. Enterprises with higher technological content have more obvious advantages in the competition.Enterprises without technical content can only fall into the vicious circle of price wars, and it is difficult to go further.

At this time, enterprises must either undergo transformation or upgrade technology.For example, the development of more new products, and the dazzling variety of food in the supermarkets of later generations are all forced out by reality.

In order to survive, agricultural product processing enterprises cannot simply process one product, but must increase links, improve technical content, and increase product added value.

From the perspective of long-term development, the agricultural crisis has also prompted the upgrading of Austria's agricultural product processing industry. In 1872, there were more biscuits, canned food, and all kinds of junk food on the market in Vienna than the total increase in the past five years.

The emergence of these high value-added products has revitalized many enterprises and rejuvenated them.Unresponsive businesses are still struggling.

From the perspective of later generations, the competition in this era is nothing at all.Even the most competitive flour mills, as long as they are managed properly, can still make good profits, and they are still far from losing money and making money.

Prime Minister Felix said sternly: "No matter what the reason is, we must give a strong response to the Poles' provocation and let them know how powerful it is. If necessary, we can take military action to make the Poles sober."

Taking military action, Franz frowned.He felt that things were not as simple as they appeared on the surface. Even if the Poles had a brain twitch, there was no reason to provoke Austria.

Before Franz could speak, Chancellor Karl raised objections.

"It's easy to teach the Poles a lesson, and it's not difficult to conquer Warsaw. The question is, what benefits can we gain?