Holy Roman Empire

Now we are counting on the compensation from the French to pay the salaries of public officials so that the people below will not go on strike.

Theoretically speaking, the revolutionaries are now besieged in Paris, and the aristocratic group has the upper hand militarily, so they should win soon.

It's a pity that there are many contradictions within the French aristocratic group. Although the Vienna government reconciled the contradictions among the three major royalist parties, it only suppressed the contradictions on the surface, and behind the scenes things still happened from time to time.

In contrast, the situation of the new government in Paris is much better.Regardless of whether it was voluntary or voluntary, everyone boarded the pirate ship, their hands were covered with blood, and there was only one way to die.

Don't look at the revolutionary party's ability to go into exile every time an uprising fails, and think that running away is easy.As a matter of fact, only high-level people were successful in running away every time, and ordinary revolutionaries simply did not have the capital to go into exile.

On the one hand, there is an alliance of nobles who have their own ghosts, and on the other hand, the revolutionaries who are cornered. The fighting power of the two sides is naturally not at the same level.If it weren't for the anti-French alliance supporting the royalist party behind the scenes, the offensive and defensive positions of the two sides would have changed positions long ago.

Support is support, and the Allies did not directly send troops to intervene in this civil war.On the one hand, it was because Carlos firmly opposed it, and on the other hand, there was a division within the anti-French alliance.

Although the performance of the aristocratic group was poor, they still had an advantage strategically. As long as the siege continued, the royalist party would consume the enemy sooner or later.

Except for a few poor ghosts who need to wait for the rice to cook, most countries in the anti-French alliance are happy to see the French kill each other.

Although the European war severely damaged France, it still did not change the fact that France is a big country.There are lessons from history, no one dares to take France lightly.

Now the French are killing each other and consuming the vitality of the country, which is exactly what everyone wants to see.In a sense, civil war is the cruelest. No matter who wins or loses, it consumes one's own national power.

If you read the history books, you will know that the greatest damage caused by the civil war was never on the battlefield, and the most people died outside the battlefield.

Although there is no specific statistics on casualties, an approximate figure can still be deduced based on changes in French food imports.

According to data released by the European Grain Export Association, since the outbreak of the French Civil War, the total amount of grain imports has dropped by 20.00% from the previous month to [-].

The main reason for the decline in the total amount of food imports is that the pockets of the French people have been emptied and they have lost their purchasing power; the second is that after Paris was besieged, food from the outside world could not be imported.

Nothing can be seen from the ratio alone. If it is converted into specific figures, it means that France has added millions of people to solve the problem of food.

Of course, actual figures may vary.After all, countless refugees die of illness and starvation every day, and the food gap will naturally decrease as the population decreases.

Against this background, it is naturally difficult for Belgium to propose armed intervention to gain everyone's support.

……

In the Palace of Vienna, the conscientious Emperor Franz the Great is currently worrying about solving the French refugee problem.

The assistance of the Continental Union is based on the premise of the successful restoration of the Bourbon dynasty. Before the dust settles, everyone will not take the risk of losing everything to help the French.

The Vienna government took a hand to give the French a hand?This is even more impossible, hatred not only spreads among the French, but also exists in the minds of the majority of Shenluo people.

Anyone who supports the French at this time will be making life difficult for the majority of Shinra people, especially those in Luxembourg and the Rhineland who have the most intense anti-French sentiments.

In order to take care of his family's emotions, it is impossible for Franz to risk the world's dissatisfaction and provide substantial help to the French.

Of course, this is the official explanation given to the Bourbons.As for whether the French believe it or not, I don't know.Anyway, Franz did worry about the French refugees.

Since the outbreak of the French Civil War, more and more French refugees have crossed the border into the Shinra.In order to survive, the refugees obviously don't care about the hatred of the country and the family.

Repatriation has no effect at all. Even if they are sent back, they cannot find enough food, and these people will come back in a few days.

It doesn't matter if you are arrested and imprisoned, at least Shinra's prison will also take care of food, which is much better than starving.Anyway, refugees will surrender when they encounter defenders. As long as they are willing to take care of themselves, they can do whatever they want.

The eyes of the European people are all focused on the French Civil War, and naturally there are many media concerned about the refugee issue.For the sake of international reputation, many extraordinary measures cannot be used.

Especially the children who came with them, no matter whether their parents are around or not, they all regard themselves as orphans and just hang on.

Adults can be deported, they can be arrested, but there is nothing they can do about this group of orphaned defenders.In the end, they had to be raised first, and the front-line barracks almost turned into a nursery.

How to deal with these refugees has become the biggest problem facing the Vienna government.

"What, Leopold II is coming to Vienna?"

Belgium was waiting to be rebuilt, and it was the time when he, the king, was needed to stabilize the hearts of the people. Leopold II's visit to Vienna at this time must not be simply visiting relatives.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Foreign Minister Weisenberg replied: "The Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has just sent a telegram. It is said that Leopold II has set off from the country. It is expected to enter the empire tonight. Let us arrange a special train."

Leopold II used practical actions to explain what it means to act resolutely, and he came directly regardless of whether the Vienna government was willing to receive it.

"Let the railway company arrange a special train, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will do the reception work according to the normal specifications, and the royal family will send Massimiliano as a representative this time."

(alias: Maximilian)

Regardless of the purpose, a visitor is a guest, and diplomatic etiquette is indispensable.Idle is also idle, Franz decided to find something to do for his hapless brother.

Anyway, they were all relatives, so there was nothing wrong with letting Maximiliano receive his brother-in-law.

Frankly speaking, the Franz brothers have a good relationship.As long as Maximiliano does not come to ask for advice with a plan for governing the country, everyone is a good brother.

It is a pity that the fanaticism of idealists is not comparable to that of ordinary people.Despite all the years that had passed, Maximiliano did not renounce his duties as Emperor.

Of course, after so many years of growth, Massimiliano is still much more mature than when he was young.This can be seen from his carefully prepared development strategy for Mexico.

If it had been played like this 30 years ago, with the support of the Vienna government, Maximiliano would have secured the Mexican throne, at least not something that a former president could overthrow.

It's a pity that I have everything, but there is no regret medicine.The times are developing and the international situation is changing. Mexico is far more complicated than it was 30 years ago. Even if the restoration is successful, it will be difficult to stabilize the country.

Franz has never been interested in buying and selling with high risks and low returns.If there is time to go to the muddy waters of Mexico, it would be better to pull the British from the position of ocean overlord as soon as possible.

Whether it is Australia, New Zealand, or Canada, or British Africa, which one is not more attractive than Mexico?

Direct annexation is not realistic, and it is still very easy to establish an independent state, at least easier than getting Mexico.At least these areas do not have as many populations as Mexico, let alone such complicated racial conflicts.

After the reception work is arranged, the episode is over.As for the real purpose of Leopold II's visit, Franz was not so curious yet.

Chapter 4 The Ruthless Leopold II

In the Grand Hotel Vienna, the heart-touching side appeared. The two hapless guys shared their pains with each other. That scene made the listener sad and weep when he heard it.

And then there was no more, no matter how much Maximiliano wanted to help, it didn't make any sense.

Over the years, in order to restore the country, Maximiliano not only exhausted his personal connections, but also owed a lot of favors.Today, his own influence on the Vienna government has infinitely approached zero.

Apart from his good looks, Massimiliano, the Mexican emperor in exile, was nothing but an empty shell.The only function is probably that the status is high enough to help speak at critical moments, but I don't know if it can play a role.

With such a little help, Leopold II was still unwilling to give up.In any case, it is better to have someone to help you speak than to have no one to help you.

No matter how low Massimiliano's voice in politics is, he can still directly exert influence on Franz.The best proof is that hundreds of thousands of restoration funds can be obtained every year.

But people will grow up. Although he is very moved and willing to help Belgium, Maximiliano is no longer the boy he used to be.

"Leopold, I personally advise you not to get your hopes up too much. As far as I know, the government of Vienna has run into deficit again this year.

If you really want to get money from Vienna, it's better to go private.Although the capital interest that needs to be paid is a little higher, there is no need to pay too much politically. "

This is Maximiliano's sincere words. It is too embarrassing for aid and interest-free loans.It is no longer the period of the European War, the importance of Belgium to the Shenluo Empire has been greatly reduced, and the Vienna government is not being taken advantage of.

If the number is small, perhaps it is useful for Belgium to cry poor and sell miserably.The problem is that Belgium currently has a huge funding gap, and the interests involved are huge.

Leopold II naturally wanted to solve these problems, but now there is no way.Ordinary international financing not only has high interest rates, but also comes with a lot of political strings attached.

The most important thing is that the Belgian government has already mortgaged everything that can be mortgaged in the previous loan. Now it can't provide enough collateral. It relies purely on the government's credit guarantee, and the financial consortium simply doesn't buy it.

Not only Vienna, but the Belgian government in all major financial markets in Europe has borrowed money.Now all the larger banks and financial companies in Europe are creditors of the Belgian government.

In order to raise enough funds, the Belgian government did not do less to repeat mortgages and cheating.

It's a pity that financial institutions are too smart, and they are not at ease about the Belgian government's repayment ability. Every time, the collateral is too high, but the money borrowed is very little.

The post-war reconstruction expenses greatly exceeded the budget, and normal commercial channels were not available, which led to Leopold II's trip to Vienna this time.

"Maximiliano, don't you know who those vampires are? Given the current situation in Belgium, do you think it is possible to get a normal commercial loan?"

Seeing Leopold II's helpless expression, Maximiliano nodded sympathetically.After all, he was also an emperor, so he naturally knew what a bank was.

"Borrow an umbrella on a sunny day, and collect an umbrella on a rainy day."It's not just kidding, Massimiliano suffered a lot when he was the emperor of Mexico.

On the surface, loans that look very conscientious are only used to fool ordinary people, and the real interest rate has always been horribly high.

So far, Maximiliano clearly remembers the first time he got a loan.Using Mexico's silver mines as collateral, he got a seemingly generous loan.

On the surface, the annual rate is only 2.5%. In fact, there are a lot of various handling fees. Even worse, the loan is issued in installments, but the interest has to be calculated in full. The final converted real interest rate is directly as high as 14.62%/year.

This is a loan of conscience given by Napoleon III after personally communicating with the French consortium out of support for him.

If there is no government intervention and the banks are allowed to play freely, that is the real usury.No one knows how much the highest is, anyway, Maximiliano has borrowed international loans with a 46.9% discount on the principal, an interest rate as high as [-]%, and a lot of additional conditions.

Of course, Maximiliano is not at a disadvantage.Although the interest rate is a little higher and the additional conditions are [-] million points more, it is a high-risk loan.With the collapse of the Mexican Empire, these debts became bad debts.

The aftermath is that when Maximiliano wanted to raise funds for the restoration of the country, no bank was willing to lend money to the government-in-exile anymore.Even if he borrowed money in his own name, no bank would lend him money.

The debt of the government is not equal to the debt of the emperor, and there is no joint and several liability between the two parties.Theoretically speaking, as a direct member of the Habsburg family, Massimiliano is still a high-quality customer in the eyes of the bank, and it is definitely no problem to borrow more than 80.

It's a pity that Franz let go of the financial world early on. Whoever dares to lend money to Maximilian himself will have trouble with the Habsburg Dynasty.

Capital is profit-seeking and weak, and no bank is strong enough to compete with the Habsburg dynasty for a little interest income.

As a result, Maximilian, who didn't know it, hit the wall again and again, only thinking that he had become a down-and-out phoenix, and was hit by vampires.

After hesitating for a while, Maximiliano said slowly: "Leopold, on this issue, I can only help you convey the difficulties your country has encountered.

Ultimately it is the Vienna government that can make the decision, and you'd better not get your hopes up.My elder brother rarely gets involved in this kind of thing. "

Politics is such a reality, but anything that offends people is always blamed on the cabinet. Franz the Great, who really makes decisions, usually only appears when everyone is happy.

Based on Maximiliano's understanding of his brother, unless the Belgian government can provide enough benefits in exchange, otherwise such a matter of making efforts for nothing will probably not pass.

"Thank you!"

"If the Vienna government can provide us with the assistance we need, then all international trade settlements in Belgium in the future will be conducted using Aegis."

Leopold II gritted his teeth and said.

In a sense, this is a betrayal of national sovereignty, but Belgium has no better choice.

The post-war reconstruction funds were insufficient, and the French could not get the indemnity. In order to raise funds, Belgium had already mortgaged all that could be mortgaged, and now there are only a few bargaining chips left in its hands.

If it hadn't been discovered that the Vienna government was planning to turn Aegis into an international settlement currency, Leopold II would not have known that the settlement currency could also be traded.

After all, most of the international trade settlements before this were done with gold, and sometimes with silver.When Aegis is used for settlement, that is when countries start trading with the Holy Roman Empire.

All use of Aegis for trade settlement not only means that Belgium has given up gold and silver settlements, but also means that Belgium will link its currency to Aegis, changing from a pure gold standard country to a mixed standard of Aegis and gold.

It's just that Aegis and gold are freely convertible, and the value of the currency is relatively stable. There is not much difference between this mixed standard and the pure gold standard.

The fact that the gap is not big now does not mean that the gap will not be big in the future.Once Aegis and gold were decoupled, things changed drastically.

There is no doubt that these problems are not yet recognized by anyone.Normal people dare not imagine the decoupling of Aegis and gold. No one knows that the future economic development will be so fast that the output of gold cannot meet the actual demand.

If he had known this, Leopold II would never have made it so carelessly as a condition.After all, the negotiation has not yet officially started, and the current offer can only be regarded as sincerity, and the final price to be paid will definitely be greater.

Massimiliano nodded, feeling relieved.The battle for currency hegemony between Aegis and the British Pound has not been a day or two, and even he, an exiled emperor who is far away from politics, has heard of it.

Belgium's current position is not only about economic interests, but more importantly, its political team.

As early as a few years ago, Britain and Austria had developed their own settlement systems, and they had also wooed European countries.It's just that the conditions at that time were not mature enough. Even if there was a tendency, no country dared to announce that all settlements would be made in a certain country's currency.

If Belgium stands up now, it will be the first country in the world to publicly announce that all settlements will be made with Aegis.Based on this alone, it can gain a lot of goodwill from the Vienna government.

Such a thing is currently only dared to do by Belgium, which is poor and white.Using Aegis for settlement in an all-round way not only offends the British government politically, but also excludes its own products from the British market.

Whether it is for the sake of face or profit, it is impossible for the London government to accept Aegis as the settlement currency for British-Belgian trade.You must know that the Anglo-Austrian trade is now mainly settled in gold.

Even if the Vienna government wants to make Aegis an international settlement currency, it is not so radical. Right now it is only planning to make Aegis the internal settlement currency of the European Union.

Knowing that the consequences would be serious, Leopold II did it anyway.The reason is very cruel. Only Britain and Austria have the strength to provide funds to Belgium.

Don't look at the fact that the Vienna government seems to be financially tight, that's a relative term, and the money will come out after a squeeze.

Moreover, the fact that the government has no money does not mean that it cannot afford money.After more than a year of buffering, no matter how tense the financial market of the Holy Roman Empire was, it would not be impossible to get tens of millions of funds out.

The funds for post-war reconstruction were not spent in one day. As long as there is an emergency rescue of 800 million yuan, the remaining funds can be allocated next month.

The situation in Europe has become clear, and Belgium cannot help but continue to be half-hearted.If he went to hook up with the British for a loan right now, it would definitely be a sign that he was tired of work.

He wanted to be a horse boy anyway, so Leopold II decided to take a gamble and grab the position of number one horse boy.Although the number one pony needs to charge forward, which is a bit dangerous, the benefits are huge!

Prior to this, high-level Belgian government also carefully studied.

With the current trend of the Holy Roman Empire, as long as the Vienna government does not die, the status of the European hegemon has been stabilized, and the probability of replacing the British as the maritime hegemon is also very high.

Belgium's size is limited. If they don't get close immediately, their value will be gone once they are taken by other countries.

Chapter 5 Lying to Win Tactics

In the Palace of Vienna, after hearing the news from his younger brother, Franz said expressionlessly: "Okay, the Belgian cabinet will take care of it, so don't continue to meddle.

Now that the franc has fallen to the bottom, let your government-in-exile pay off the debts of the French first, and take this opportunity to gain a sense of existence! "

No expectations, no disappointments.From the very beginning, he had no confidence in Maximiliano, so Franz would naturally not be disappointed.