Holy Roman Empire

Metternich said: "Your Majesty, the Russians have asked us to buy a production line of weapons, ranging from pistols to artillery."

Franz knew that Austria had robbed the interests of the Russian arms group, and these people would definitely do something, but he didn't expect that their solution would be to buy a weapon production line.

It is also true to think about it. In this era, the British have the strongest mechanical equipment technology, followed by Austria and France, followed by the imperfect industrial systems of Belgium and Prussia.

The mechanical equipment produced by the Russians is not only high in maintenance costs, but also poor in performance.

Britain and France are at war with the Russians. Even if they can buy production lines from Britain and France, they dare not use them.Weapon production equipment is still very sensitive. It is not civilian goods, so smuggling is smuggling.

It is not impossible to buy from Prussia and Belgium.Only in this way, they will not be able to maintain the arcane weapons equipped by the expeditionary forces on the front line in the future.

With the financial resources of the tsarist government, don't expect them to be able to discard tens of millions of rubles worth of weapons and equipment. The annual maintenance of these equipment is also a business worth millions of rubles.

Capitalists will not struggle with money. In order to maximize profits, it is normal to buy Austrian weapons production lines.

Franz said indifferently: "Sell them. Even if it is the same equipment, the quality of weapons and equipment produced in the hands of the Russians will drop by a notch."

It's not that he despises the Russians, it's the truth.Because of government corruption, capitalists will definitely cut corners in order to obtain greater profits.

As far as Franz knew, the price of junk weapons and equipment purchased locally by the Russians was higher than the price on the international market.It's better to buy than to make, that's how it came about.

For weapons and equipment imported from Austria, the domestic budget has increased by 20% to 50% compared to the actual import price.The specific ratio depends on the integrity and ability of the officials who handle it.

Metternich reminded: "Your Majesty, do you want to limit it? If the Russians get the full production line, it will be a trouble for us in the future."

Although there is no such thing as a technical blockade in this era, in the field of military industry, not all weapons and equipment can be bought, let alone a weapon production line?

Franz shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter. The technological changes are changing with each passing day. These devices are not bad within ten years, but after more than ten years, I'm afraid they will be eliminated again.

Since the Russians are willing to buy, let them be fulfilled.It is best to turn them into long-term customers and use the profits from the arms trade to promote the technological upgrading of our military industry. "

Russia is indeed worthy of fear, but there is really no need to care too much about Russia's industrial technology. Under the rule of the decadent tsarist government, it is impossible for their industry to develop greatly.

Metternich continued: "Your Majesty, the Russians have also applied for loans.

In terms of commercial trade, our trade with the Russians nearly tripled in the second and third quarters of 1852.

The total trade volume between the two sides is as high as 2.92 million dong, of which our total import is 8800 million dong, the total export is 2.04 million dong, and the trade surplus is 1.16 million dong.

This part of the trade surplus is mainly the export of arms and strategic materials, and the export value of these two items alone is as high as 8300 million dong.

The rest is the trade of civilian goods. Because of the war, British and French goods largely withdrew from the Russian market, creating opportunities for us.

The loans we gave to the Russians, they have almost used up.The strategic materials purchased in the early stage were basically exhausted after this battle.

If a big victory cannot be won, the military expenditure of the tsarist government next year may continue to increase. "

Franz figured it out, everyone likes to do business with the Russians in this era, because they don't use banknotes, but pay directly with gold and silver. (Paper rubles have been abandoned, and international trade is only settled in gold and silver rubles)

The direct consequence of the trade between Russia and Austria was that a large amount of gold and silver flowed into the Austrian treasury, and then turned into banknotes and flowed into the market.

From a monetary point of view, the inflow of this part of gold and silver, the risk of Franz asking the central bank to print paper money, has been digested by the market. (Banknotes and gold and silver are not issued 1:1, and the leverage is set according to the economic situation)

Franz thought for a while and said: "Talk to the Russians slowly and don't worry, tell them that we are not rich enough to provide them with huge loans.

Try to keep the loan amount as low as possible, delay the loan time, let the Russians take out more gold and silver to pay, don't make too many demands on the loan interest, and the additional conditions can also be waived.

We can also help them issue some bonds, which must be government bonds, preferably with collateral. The war bonds may not be sold. The interest rate is set by the Russians themselves, as long as they can be sold. "

If it is said that before the outbreak of the Near East War, the two countries were still on an equal footing, but with the outbreak of the war, Austria's initiative became greater and greater.

Now because of the war, a large amount of gold and silver has flowed in, which has caused the abnormal prosperity of Austria's domestic economy. Behind this prosperity, there are still great hidden dangers.

If Austria now provides too many loans to Russia, it will either withdraw funds from the domestic market or continue to issue more currency.

The former is not conducive to the economic development of Austria, and the latter is easy to cause inflation.This is caused by the size of the economy. The economic aggregate of Austria is only so large, and some currency markets can absorb it. Once it is too large, it cannot be digested.

The best way is to let Russia's gold and silver flow in first, the treasury's reserves have increased, the market has expanded, and there will be no inflation after printing money.

Metternich reminded: "Your Majesty, maybe we can ask the Russians to take out a part of the gold and silver when paying for the goods, which can reduce our risk."

Franz shook his head and said: "Not yet, our risks are still under control. Don't rush to remind the Russians that their gold and silver flow into our country is very fast.

The rapid development of our domestic economy does not rely solely on this war.

Mr. Metternich, you may not have noticed that British and French capital have frantically poured into Austria in the past six months, and the total investment has more than doubled compared with the same period last year.In fact, there is no shortage of gold and silver in the Austrian market.

According to past practice, the Russo-Turkish war would last for a long time. These capitalists all counted on this war to make a fortune and invested in building factories in Austria.

Because of the lack of smooth information, they didn't know how many colleagues they had added recently, and they didn't take into account that the Russians' demand for materials was not unlimited.

The market has gone crazy, and that fellow Carl is about to panic. Fearing that the economic crisis will break out, he has already formulated several contingency plans.

From the perspective of the laws of the capitalist market economy, once the war is over, the Austrian economy will immediately face the problem of difficult transformation.

The capitalists who entered the market in the early stage are okay, they have made profits, which can support their transformation.The capitalists who came in later will be miserable. Before they make any money, they will face transformation, and bankruptcy is inevitable.

At this time, it is also a good choice to help the Russians digest part of their bonds and cool down the hot market. "

Now that it knows about the economic crisis, why doesn't the Austrian government stop it?The answer is very realistic, in order to increase fiscal revenue and accelerate domestic development.

If this economic upsurge continues, it will only take two or three years before Austria's economic aggregate will surpass that of France.Even if the bubble bursts, these capitals will still leave a lot of wealth to Austria.

It is easy to invest money in, but difficult to withdraw it.Once it becomes real estate such as factory buildings and mechanical equipment, it is not easy to realize it.

These trapped capitalists will either continue to contribute to the development of Austria, or they will cut their flesh and leave. This is how the United States has developed in history.

As long as enough benefits are obtained in this war and the market capacity is increased, the impact of the economic crisis can be minimized.At that time, Franz does not mind letting the government intervene in the market and force the economy to land.

How many capitalists will be killed by doing this has nothing to do with Franz, and he is not the Virgin.

Investment is risky, and you need to be cautious when entering the market.

……

When the Near East War attracted the attention of the outside world, Russia and Austria quietly reached a huge deal without causing any waves.

The arms trade is very profitable, especially when selling weapons production lines and transferring production technology, and adding value-added products, it is even more profitable.

The huge profits made the Austrian government very satisfied.

This is not a one-time business. If the relationship between the two countries continues to be friendly, with the integrity of the capitalists, they are likely to package the subsequent upgrade business to Austria.

The root cause of "making is worse than buying" is that the cost of R&D and manufacturing is too high.Why are so many companies in later generations keen on importing? Don't they know the benefits of independent research and development?

The most critical point is the investment in R&D. The rewards and efforts are often not proportional. Not only does it consume a lot of time and money, but it is also full of uncertainties.

For capitalists who are keen to make money, huge investments in this area really cannot maximize their benefits.If you are unlucky, you will fall on the eve of harvest.

This is especially true for weapons research and development, which also requires a supporting industrial system.The Russians lag behind in these aspects, and the risk of independent research and development by enterprises is even greater.

If a certain military industrial enterprise does research and development, before they come up with results, the production lines imported by them are all put into production.

How would the tsarist government choose?Should we equip the military with advanced equipment with mature technology, or wait for them to develop equipment with uncertain performance and no idea what will produce results?

Austria relaxed all arms export restrictions and allowed the Russians to freely choose production lines. The Tsarist government was naturally very happy. This kind of opportunity is rare.

We must know that in order to restrict the Russians, European countries mainly export finished products in the field of military industry, and they are very cautious about the export of production lines.

If you just buy finished products, once a war breaks out and is blocked, the consequences will be serious. The tsarist government only supports domestic military enterprises.

Buying a production line eliminates such worries. These days, most of the equipment used by Russian military enterprises is imported, and they don’t mind continuing to import, as long as they can guarantee the supply of arms.

Everyone can't think so far in the future.Theoretically, as long as the overall industrial technology goes up, the military technology will naturally go up, and the two complement each other.

The great development of Russia's military technology in history was established during the period of deteriorating relations with the Western world. The more intense the confrontation between the two sides, the faster their technological progress will be.

Now is the age of war, and no one thinks so much. Even if someone sees a possible crisis, they can't object.

From a development point of view, there are ready-made equipment in Austria that can be disassembled for learning, and their technological progress will be faster, and no matter how bad they are, they can copy them out.

……

Chapter 80 The Struggle of the Montenegrins

Black mountain

Since the outbreak of the Near East War, this small country has been boiling, and the whole country has been mobilized immediately, and men, women, old and young are all in battle.

The people of Montenegro are proud. They are the only nation in the Balkan Peninsula that has not surrendered to the Ottomans. For hundreds of years, they have rushed to the front line against the Ottoman Empire.

This is a country where all the people are soldiers. Without the government's mandatory requirements, the people spontaneously took up arms and returned to the establishment.

Shkoder is right in front of you. I don’t know how many times the Montenegrins have fought here. This is different from the past. This time their chances of winning are very high.

Not long ago, they successfully joined forces with Austria in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The problem of weapons and ammunition that restricted them was resolved, and the combat effectiveness of the Montenegrin army greatly increased.

Montenegrin Army Command

Commander-in-Chief Mirkov said cautiously: "I just received a notification from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the Halstadt Arsenal is coming to test a batch of weapons.

Lasrich, you lead a company of troops and are responsible for protecting the safety of your Austrian friends. You must not let them make any mistakes. "

Unable to be careless by Mirkov, every rifle and every bullet in the Principality of Montenegro is now provided by Austria.

Now Austria has replaced the Russians as their most important ally, none of them.

At this time, Austria asked to experiment with weapons on the battlefield, and they naturally could not refuse.

For the poor and white Principality of Montenegro, regardless of the performance of the weapons, as long as they are useful, they are good.Now testing weapons for Austria, you can get a batch of weapons and equipment for nothing, which in their view is a profit.

As for the risk of using new weapons, can you use cold weapons to fight Ottoman?

The number of equipment for actual combat testing is not small. For example, for this rifle test, the Hordas Armory directly shipped [-] new rifles.Equipped with two Montenegrin infantry battalions, it will be put into this war for actual combat testing.

Lasridge said with a mournful face, "The Austrians are coming again. Your Excellency, Commander, can someone else do it? I still want to fight the Ottomans?"

Although Lasridge is only a regiment leader, the Principality of Montenegro has a small army, and his regiment leader has become a high-level officer.

Seeing each of his colleagues fighting on the front line, he became the full-time head of the bodyguard of the Austrian delegation because he could speak German, and he has sent away three batches of weapons observation groups.

As a Montenegro, how can you not fight?After finally waiting for an opportunity, the result was interrupted by a sudden weapon test.

Milkov glared at him, and said seriously: "Don't negotiate with me, this matter is not negotiable. If the test is successful, we can pick up another [-] rifles and a batch of ammunition for nothing, which can save the country a lot. Tens of thousands of dong."

When it comes to funding, Lasridge has nothing to say.Tens of thousands of Austrian guilders may not seem like much, but for the Principality of Montenegro, this is their financial income for one or two months.

Not all weapons tests are successful. Many weapons and equipment have excellent performance during target shooting experiments. Once they are on the battlefield, various problems will be exposed.

In order to encourage domestic arsenals to develop new weapons, the Austrian government is responsible for the actual combat test costs.

The major arsenals in Austria took advantage of this opportunity to send all kinds of weapons to the battlefield for testing.

The actual combat test not only tests the performance of the weapon, but also includes logistical maintenance, the difficulty of operating the weapon on the battlefield, and so on.

There are successes here, but there are more failures.Many weapons are very lethal, but the performance is not stable enough on the battlefield; or the performance is stable, but the maintenance cost is too high.

……

Along the way, Holman Styron was very shocked. The Principality of Montenegro is completely full of soldiers. He agreed in advance to send [-] troops. He can be sure that the people of Montenegro have overfulfilled the task.

Young and old, as long as they are active, they are all serving the war.Along the way, he saw that the materials transported to the front line were being passed on from village to village, like a relay race.

There are almost no young and old people, and the work is done by old and weak women and children from beginning to end.The old ones are about to lose their teeth, and the young ones are still busy.

"Mr. Rusledge, where are the young men in your country?" Holman Stellen asked suspiciously

Lasridge said of course: "It's all on the battlefield!"

As if Holman Styron didn't quite understand, Lasridge added:

"This is our homeland. There is no danger. The logistics and transportation are all handled by the people. After walking for a while, we can see our army."

Holman Styron did not speak, but silently recorded what he saw in his notebook and continued on his way.

After arriving at the front line, Holman Stellen also found female soldiers.Obviously, for this war, the Principality of Montenegro has bet on its national fortune, and they have put all their chips on it.

For Austria, this Near East war was just a local war for cheap. The final result of the war was nothing more than the size of Austria's income. Anyway, the Ottomans did not dare to retaliate.

For the Russians, it was just a strategic battle, not life and death, and the Russians were not desperate yet.

If you lose, you will come back decades later. The Russians will lose a lot. There have been so many Russian-Turkish wars, and they don’t care about adding one more.

Only the Principality of Montenegro has gambled on the national destiny. If it wins, it will develop and grow, and if it loses, everything will end.

Holman Stellen understood what the Montenegrins were doing, and their hatred with the Ottomans was inextricable.This was the closest they had come to victory in hundreds of years.

The Ottoman Empire has declined, and now it is at war with Austria and Russia at the same time. If Britain and France did not intervene, the war would be over now.

This kind of opportunity, the people of Montenegro naturally want to gamble.As a Balkan nation, if you dare not gamble on the national fortune, is it still a Balkan nation?

The only pity is that the population of Montenegro is too small. If there are 1000 million people, not only 500 million people, they can drive the Ottomans out of the Balkans and establish their empire.

Thinking of this, Holman Stellen smiled slightly.If the Principality of Montenegro had that many people, they wouldn't be Austria's allies.

The entire Balkan Peninsula has a population of just over 300 million, of which less than half are in the Istanbul area.