Holy Roman Empire

With so many nobles gathered, it is impossible to keep secrets.Rather than a secret meeting in secret, it is better to hold a banquet with great fanfare.

The European aristocratic circle was originally: "cutting constantly, and reasoning is still chaotic".

After the end of the European War, the Anti-French Coalition did not carry out an in-depth liquidation of these people. It was not that the governments of various countries did not want to, but simply refused to do so.

There is nothing to say about life and death on the battlefield.After the war, we are still a family.Seven aunts and eight aunts can always climb up to relatives.

Since they are all from our own family, we can only follow the tradition.After all, the tradition is to protect the interests of the entire aristocratic group, and there is no need to overthrow it as a vested interest.

Now these guys just violated the curfew and illegal gatherings stipulated by the Russians. It is a felony for ordinary people, but it is nothing for nobles.

If people were really arrested for illegal gatherings, the European world would probably be bombarded tomorrow.Although Mao Xiong is not afraid of criticism from European public opinion, they still want aid from European countries.

Unless it is proved that these guys are conspiring to rebel, otherwise the Russians really can't do anything to them.

Stepping into the banquet hall, Brea frowned even tighter.It was said to be a banquet, but there was no banquet atmosphere at the scene.

The people who came earlier gathered together in twos and threes, chatting about the situation, and some people sighed from time to time, as if they were desperate for the current situation.

While Breya was in a daze, a middle-aged man not far away suddenly beckoned, "Breya, come quickly."

Walking over quickly, Breya pretended to be puzzled and asked: "Letes, what were you talking about just now, it seems very lively?"

Leitusi replied helplessly: "Aside from the current situation, what else can we care about so much?

Recently, the Russians have gone too far.If this continues, the Paris area will soon be destroyed by them.

According to the news from the pier, in the past week, the Russians have continuously shipped the captured prisoners of war away.

Although I don't know where it was sent, it is definitely not a good thing for France.We have lost a lot of young men in the European war, and now the Russians..."

Don't worry, with the end of the European war, everyone has realized the importance of population.

It's just that this realization came too late.Population does not mean that growth can increase, especially the lack of young and strong labor force is fatal.

Before France could breathe a sigh of relief, the Russians started acting like demons again.Based on the information you have, you know that in the past six months, the total population of France has dropped by at least 200 million.

Death to death, exile in exile, and running away, the whole of France fell into unprecedented chaos.

Of course, it's not completely useless, and their rivals who competed for ruling power were almost harmed by the Russians.

The capitalists, businessmen, intellectuals, and middle class who had caused them headaches in the past chose to run away because they could not withstand the scourge of the Russian army.

All businesses in Paris are dying now, and the shops that dare to continue to open are all foreign businessmen. The local businessmen have long been afraid of being looted by the Russian army.

If it weren't for the family business being tied to France, it is estimated that these nobles would also run away.Although the Russian army will not do anything to them on the surface, it is impossible to tell secretly.

There are not a few nobles who died suddenly unexpectedly recently.The deceased all have a common characteristic, that they have shown anti-Russian tendencies in public.Such a big suspicion, if it is said that the Russians are okay, no one will believe it.

Doubt is suspicion, there is no direct evidence to prove that the Russians did it, and everyone can't even warn the international community.

Compared with the pessimistic crowd, Brea is still a little more optimistic.Consolation: "The situation is not that bad, apart from these bad news, there is also good news.

The Spaniards have already reduced their garrison by half. If the chaos in Morocco cannot be settled in the short term, it is estimated that they will continue to withdraw troops.

Judging from the current situation, the alliance is not prepared to increase its troops to make up for the gap left by the Spaniards.It seems that the southern region can breathe a sigh of relief first. "

The anti-French alliance stationed troops in France, and the military expenses were borne by the French.Although the Paris government went on strike, some Russians began to collect taxes themselves, and other countries will naturally follow suit.

It's just that compared to the straightforward nature of the Russians, everyone still knows how to take a detour.Usually, local people are appointed as tax officials, unless someone violently resists the tax, otherwise the army is rarely dispatched.

Lettus waved his hand and said, "Let's say it's good news, but these problems are not something we can worry about for the time being.

Have you noticed that among the people who came to the banquet, there were a few strange faces? "

The aristocratic circle was not big in the first place, and it was difficult not to attract everyone's attention when a few strangers were added suddenly.After being reminded by Leitusi, everyone glanced at the audience for an instant, and finally fixed their eyes on a small corner.

It's just that considering the purpose of this banquet, everyone who reacted tacitly chose not to see it.

Anti-Russia also requires skills. It doesn’t matter if you do it secretly. On the surface, you must not leave any clues to the Russians.

Since the people who attended this gathering were not nobles, they could only be members of the resistance organization.

Don't say that they don't know each other, even if they are brothers, now that they hide their identities, they can only pretend that they don't know each other.

The forest is big and there are all kinds of birds. It is quite normal that there are a few traitors who have defected to the Russians among the nobles.

In order to avoid being caught by the Russians, when discussing countermeasures, everyone always dictates and never leaves any paper documents.

There is only one explanation for the members of the resistance organization to appear here majestically, and that is that the patience of the big shots with the Russian army has reached its limit.

Chapter 57 Extra Long Intern

With the accumulation of hatred, the situation in France deteriorated further.The autumn wind sweeping the fallen leaves as expected by the tsarist government did not appear, but instead stepped into the quagmire.

Violent repression was effective in the cities, but once it entered the countryside the situation changed.The French relied on the terrain to play guerrilla warfare, which made the Russian army miserable.

20 Russian troops seem to be a lot, but it is obviously beyond their capabilities to control the whole of France.

Especially after Spain reduced the number of garrisons and shrunk the scope of garrisons, the pressure on the Russian army became even greater.

There is no way, the French resistance organization regards the Russians as the primary target.Most of the attacks were directed at the Russian army, while the areas controlled by other countries were relatively quiet.

No one likes asking for trouble.Although everyone was an ally on the anti-French issue, the tsarist government did not ask for help, and the countries were naturally happy to watch the excitement.

"Ask for help" seems to be very simple, just a telegram is enough, but it is not easy to really take this step.

It was an open secret that the Tsarist government wanted to take advantage of the French.If you encounter a small setback, you have to ask your allies for help, that is to slap yourself in the face.

This is not just a matter of losing face, but most importantly involves the status of the Russian Empire in the European Union.

In an era when fists and international status are equal, there is as much power to speak as there is strength.Without strength, there is no toughness in doing anything.

Realizing that the French are not easy to mess with, the tsarist government is already in trouble.Choosing to compromise at this time will not only cause embarrassment and decline in status internationally, but even the reputation of the Tsar in China will also plummet.

Russian bureaucrats are all smart people, so naturally they will not spoil the scenery, jump out to compromise with the French, or ask their allies for help.

In any case, in the minds of bureaucrats, political correctness always comes first, and everything else is trivial.

What's more, with the strength of the Russian Empire, as long as they are willing to invest, suppressing resistance organizations is a matter of strength.

On this issue, the tsarist government can be said to be quite experienced.None of Poland, Bulgaria, and Afghanistan is easy to rule. Didn’t they surrender under the iron fist of the tsarist government in the end?

Whether it is sincere surrender, or false pandering.In short, on the surface, these areas are temporarily stable.Even if there are still guerrillas, they have also got into the ravine.

Being able to do this was enough for the tsarist government.As long as the situation can be roughly stabilized and the allies are given a plausible explanation, the matter will be over.

In fact, if the international community were not watching, the tsarist government would never mind giving up the "small country place" and just occupied the most affluent Paris area.

……

The chaos in France did not affect Shinra.Although mankind is entering the era of globalization, since the outbreak of the European war, the normal trade between Shinra and France has been broken.

After the war, France was abolished, and even if trade was reopened, there was not much trade volume.All the economic pains erupted in waves during the previous economic crisis, and now the impact has been negligible.

After entering 1896, the Holy Roman Empire, which got rid of the economic crisis, boarded the express train of rapid development again.

A new round of five-year plan is being formulated in full swing.The only difference is that this time the host is no longer Franz.

Time flies, Crown Prince Frederick, who is already in his forties, has now begun to gradually take over government affairs.

In fact, as early as 20 years ago, Crown Prince Frederick had already started to get in touch with government affairs.It's just that at that time, he was just an intern doing odd jobs.

This internship lasted for 20 years, making it the longest intern in history.If people in ordinary positions have been intern for 20 years, it is estimated that anyone who puts it on it will go crazy.

The occupation of the emperor is obviously an exception. Since ancient times, there have been many princes who have been on standby for a long time.If you don't have enough patience, you won't be able to succeed at all.

Compared with the later Prince Charles who was still a reserve in his seventies, Frederick in his forties was really young.

In a sense, both Charles and Frederick were lucky.The inheritance law of the European world is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. As long as the crown prince does not commit suicide, he will not be pulled down.

If it were in the eastern world, it would be a miracle not to be driven mad if he was stared at by a group of younger brothers and all kinds of conspiracies and schemes followed one after another.

After receiving the plan handed over by his son, Franz quickly browsed it, and suddenly stopped on the third page.

"Focus on the development of the petrochemical industry, tell me your reason?"

Policy does not matter right or wrong, only to see if it is appropriate.According to the actual situation, adopting different policies in different periods is what policymakers should do.

No matter how good the policy is, as long as it appears at the wrong time, it will be a disaster for the country and the people.

Everyone knows this truth, but when it was implemented, the situation changed.For the sake of interests, policymakers must consider more factors when formulating national policies.

How to grasp the specifics can only be adjusted according to the actual situation.The seemingly ordinary inquiry is actually an examination of the son.

"In recent years, the domestic internal combustion engine industry has flourished, and the petrochemical industry has also followed suit.

However, in the process of development and utilization, serious waste of resources has occurred.Most of the chemical by-products produced during the refining process are wasted.

On the one hand, the technology is not mature enough, and the cost of developing and utilizing by-products is too high; on the other hand, the supporting industries have not been able to develop, and there are problems in connection.

This is a huge industrial chain. Once it develops, at least one million jobs can be created, which will greatly promote our economy.

The second reason is that the royal family controls most of the domestic oil fields. Once the petrochemical industry develops, our benefits will be very large. "

Crown Prince Frederick replied calmly.Obviously, similar conversations have been carried out many times between father and son.

Different from talking with other people, you have to go around in circles and play tricks.The relationship between father and son has always been straightforward, and there is no need to hide.

While promoting the country's economic development, it is a routine operation to make a fortune along the way.As a rule maker, it is really not difficult to make a fortune.

The royal consortium can grow rapidly. In addition to Franz's foresight and foresight, insight into national policies is also an important factor.

Although he did not specifically profit from the policy, the national economic policy was originally promoted by Franz. It is normal for the priority industries to overlap with the potential industries that he has laid out.

Franz nodded, then shook his head again: "Theoretically speaking, there is no problem. But once the petrochemical industry develops, it will not be appropriate for the royal family to control so many oil fields.

Promote the listing of relevant companies, conduct more financing, and reduce the shareholding of the royal family on the surface.

Since you proposed it, these tasks are now entrusted to you.After the listing of the enterprise is completed, an industry association will be formed to raise the threshold of the industry. "

Since ancient times, eating alone will not have good results, even the royal family can't go too far.When Franz was in power, naturally no one dared to make blind comparisons, and later generations would not be sure.

The best way is to hide the industry early.Just like those big consortium families in later generations, everyone knows Morgan Locke's name, but they don't know what industries they own.

All the people on the rich list are up-and-coming entrepreneurs, and the old giants can't even be found.No matter how prodigal the children and grandchildren are, it is impossible for all of them to decline, and no one survives, right?

The only explanation is that it is hidden.After all, it is much safer to control the lifeline of the country's economy secretly than to be active on the surface.

Going public is undoubtedly a good choice. While sharing the cake to attract allies, it can also take a lot of money from the market by the way.

The funds cashed out can be invested in new industries and continue to create wealth.This is how the snowball gets bigger and bigger.

"The way of heaven, when there is excess, it makes up for what is lacking; the way of man, when what is lost is more than enough."

"The strong will remain strong, and the rich will get richer" is the nature of the world, which has never been changed by personal will.

Franz is not a saint, and he does not have the courage to go against the world.Since you can't change the world, you can only adapt to the world.

It is better to control these industries in their own hands than to fall into the hands of profit-seeking capitalists.At least the royal consortium needs to consider national stability, and it is impossible to blindly pursue interests.

"Okay, father."

While replying, Frederick's face changed slightly, his voice trembled slightly, and then returned to normal.

It can be seen that his heart is not calm, but in order to maintain a stable image, he suppressed it abruptly.

It's right to think about it, the oil industry in the hands of the royal family controls almost half of the world's oil production capacity.Even though the oil industry chain had just emerged in the 19th century, it was still a giant.

Suddenly in charge of such a large amount of property, normal people will not be at peace.It was not easy for Frederick to hold back.

Seeing the scene in front of him, Franz nodded in satisfaction.It's good to be able to hold back, the most feared thing about being an emperor is being unable to hold back.

To this day, money is just a number to Franz.No amount of wealth can move him.

In contrast, a qualified heir is the most important thing.

Chapter 58 Busy Frederick

Time is the best way to heal the pain. After two years of precipitation, investors have recovered from the panic of the stock market crash.

Just look at the Vienna Stock Exchange. Although the daily turnover is less than half of its peak, the market has returned to normal.

After the baptism of the stock market disaster, the number of companies on the market has decreased, but the quality is not only stronger than before.

The bubble has been squeezed out, and the rational market is obviously much healthier.With the normal operation of the economy, another wave of pink and tender new leeks has entered the market.

Compared with the seniors who entered the field at their peak, they are obviously much luckier.Entering the market at a low position has caught up with the great economic development.

Although it cannot be said that everyone makes money, most people make more or less money.If it weren't for the impact of the previous stock market crash, many people still have lingering fears, and there may be another wave of bull market.

It is against this background that the listing of oil companies was launched.Different from the sunset industries of later generations, the petrochemical industry these days is all properly high-tech.

As the world's largest oil producer and consumer, the Holy Roman Empire's annual demand for petrochemical products has maintained a double-digit growth rate in the past decade.