Chapter 1074

Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes. Once interests are involved, everything becomes complicated.

Some people are against "free trade", and some people are also in favor of it. Not everyone is a victim of "free trade". On the contrary, there are also many industries in Britain that are beneficiaries of free trade.

For example: the coal industry.

Since the last century, Britain has been the world's largest coal exporter. Today, almost a third of the UK's coal production capacity is exported.

Once the free trade system is withdrawn, the good times of the coal bosses will be over. With tariff barriers, British coal would lose its cost advantage.

If the energy industry cannot monopolize the market, their core competitiveness is cost. Without the cost advantage, it is almost inevitable that the market will be occupied by others.

Another example: the textile industry.

Although the textile industry has been severely impacted by the wave of industrialization, Britain is still the world's largest textile exporter.

Even though the share of British textiles in the international market has shrunk due to the expansion of the economic development market, the total amount of textile exports has not declined much.

The data are all false, only making money is real. Regardless of the future market prospects, at least for now it is still profitable.

Once the free trade system is withdrawn, one of these export-oriented enterprises counts as one, and no one can expect to have a good life.

Driven by interests, Britain's industrial and commercial circles have been divided. The palms and backs of the hands are full of flesh, and the consortium bosses who control the industry and commerce behind the scenes are also very troubled.

Who to support and who to oppose is never a decision that can be taken for granted. In essence, a consortium is a collection of interests of a group of capital, which does not have strong binding force.

The strength of the consortium is when everyone's interests are aligned. Now that there are differences among the members, the power of the consortium has actually been weakened to the extreme.

If the interests of some members are seriously damaged, the consortium may split in minutes. Against this background, all the bigwigs of the consortium can do is to reconcile the conflicts of all parties as much as possible.

Naturally, the issue of whether to withdraw from the free trade system cannot be settled immediately due to the internal division of capital.

Without trade barriers to protect the market, the London government's economic stimulus policy is tantamount to useless efforts.

Regardless of how the policy stimulates, the industry that does not work will always fail. Products are not competitive in the market, and no amount of preferential policies are available.

If economic problems cannot be solved, political reform will be even more difficult. With the exception of the Industry Disputes Act, which touched the economy, most of the reforms put forward by the Campbell government were rejected by the House of Lords.

For example: reduce the power of the House of Lords, support Ireland's self-government, and give the colonies higher autonomy...

With so many cheesy reform proposals on the table, life quickly became difficult for the Campbell government.

In order to safeguard their own interests, the conservatives were forced to unite together, using the parliament as a front, and kicked off the prelude to the "talk war" with the reformers.

...

Downing Street, the official residence of the Prime Minister.

Looking into the distance through the window, Prime Minister Campbell sighed deeply. At this moment, his mood was similar to the weather in London, which was gray.

As a sign of the advent of the industrial age, London has been shrouded in smog since the last century.

Especially in winter, it is common for visibility to be less than fifty meters. If it were not for the invention of fog lights, driving in London would not be possible in winter.

The weather was crazy, and Campbell couldn't care less. Since the beginning of the reform, he hasn't had a good night's sleep, and countless troubles come to his door every day.

Conservatives and reformers have quarreled, and the contradictions between the two sides have almost become public. The battlefield has spread from the initial parliament to the whole society.

The radio and newspapers are the main battlefield of the debate between the two sides.

"The public says the public is right, and the mother-in-law says the old woman is right."

As the debate unfolded, not to mention ordinary people, even intellectuals and middle-class elites were confused.

In fact, Campbell himself was a little confused. Although he proposed the reform policy, after hearing the reasons of the opposition, Campbell was not sure that the reform would be successful.

The persimmons need to be pinched softly, and political reform is put aside for now. The most important thing right now is to reform the economy and reverse the deteriorating economic situation in the country.

Only when the economic reform is successful and sufficient prestige is established, can political reform be further promoted.

After releasing his emotions, Campbell turned around and asked, "Who has the upper hand outside now?"

Unlike other countries, there is not much power gap between reformers and conservatives in Britain.

Then there was a weird scene. During the debate, no one was able to overwhelm anyone.

Today the reformists have the upper hand, and tomorrow the conservatives have the upper hand. No one knows what the final result will be.

The complicated and confusing situation has made speculators in the government afraid to stand in line. How can the reforms go on without the help of bureaucrats?

Minister of the Interior Azevedo: "There is no result yet. The strength of the diehards is too strong, and it may be difficult to tell the winner in a short time.

However, the agricultural guild we have wooed has already made a move, and it is in their interest to withdraw from the free trade system. "

Compared with the industrial and commercial circles, the British peasants are the real tragedy. Restricted by geological conditions, there is not much land suitable for agricultural development in the British Isles, and the cost of agricultural production is relatively low.

higher.

Facing the impact of foreign agricultural products, British agriculture can be said to be "only able to parry, but not to fight back."

But they can't make a fuss, because Britain's food production is simply not enough to meet their own needs.

Since it is imported food, the cheaper the better. All walks of life stand together, and the interests of farmers will naturally be sacrificed.

It is not only ordinary farmers whose interests are damaged, but also farmers and nobles who own land.

They have a say in politics, but compared with the business community, their power is obviously much weaker.

In order to change this passive situation, agricultural guilds were organized among these people. Unite politically and fight for your own interests.

From the sales prices of agricultural products on the market, it can be seen that the agricultural guild has not achieved the goal that everyone expected.

It's not that the agricultural guilds don't work hard, it's mainly because the politicians are too shameless. Say one thing before going on stage, and do another thing after going on stage.

After investing many times, they all ended in failure, so that everyone lost confidence.

If it weren't for the fear of being tricked, these guys would have participated in it long ago. The abolition of tariff barriers in the free trade system will be of great benefit to agriculture.

Prime Minister Campbell nodded, and sighed: "It's better to be like this! Otherwise, if this stalemate continues, it will do too much harm to the country."

The matter of the agricultural guild was not mentioned at all, and it was clear that Campbell was not ready to fulfill his promise.

There is no way around this. Britain's food production is limited, and it cannot meet its own needs at all, so imports are inevitable.

Protecting agriculture means rising prices of agricultural products, which will inevitably increase the survival pressure of the working class, and the labor costs of enterprises will also rise accordingly.

The capitalists are not vegetarians. Every increase in labor costs is won by the working class.

One bad thing is a wave of nationwide strikes. Just thinking about the dire consequences is enough to make any politician daunting.

...

Foreign Secretary Adam Wingard: "Everyone, don't patronize the domestic troubles. Recently, there have been a lot of international incidents.

The Venezuelan civil war is ongoing, and the factions we support are losing in the war, which hinders the expansion of the empire in the region.

Not long ago, Washington reached an agreement with the Vienna government to obtain the right to dig the Panama Canal, ending the freezing point diplomacy between the two countries since the Civil War.

Recently, another accident occurred in the Far East, and the conflict between the Russians and the Japanese has intensified, and war may even break out.

..."

As a global empire, it is inevitable to pay attention to changes in the international situation. Of course, Britain is not just paying attention, but actively participating in it.

Adam Wingard said so many international events, all of which have a direct relationship with Britain, and were even planned by them.

For example: the most inconspicuous Venezuelan civil war is one of the British government's expansion in America.

It's just that they provoked the beginning and failed to determine the end. No one thought that an ordinary civil war would last for several years because of the intervention of international forces.

Now that the curtain is coming to an end, the tragedy is that the side supported by the British government lost the civil war.

There is no way to do this. Who made Britain have a bad reputation and didn't pay attention to eating?

Because the rise was one step late, Shinra had no time to expand its power to Venezuela, and naturally there was no hatred.

The main purpose of participating in the Venezuelan civil war is to add obstacles to Britain, and there is no intention of invading Venezuela at all.

On one side are the British who invaded their motherland, and on the other side is Shinra, who is dedicated to embarrassing the British. People of insight in Venezuela know who to support even with their eyes closed.

In ordinary proxy wars, the big boss mainly issues loans and sells arms, and naturally the one who has the right to help wins.

Venezuela these days is not yet the big oil country of later generations. Except for a little bit of fertile land, basically nothing is needed, and it is not worth mentioning at all.

A few small setbacks will not shake Britain's dominance. The failure of the proxy war can only prove that the supported proxy is not good, and it does not mean that the British Empire is not strong.

In contrast, the Washington government's move closer to Vienna is really something to be wary of.

The core of international politics is profit, and it is a routine operation to change jobs and change bosses. As long as the Vienna government is willing to bid, it is not impossible to win over the United States.

It's not that similar operations haven't happened before. Many of Shinra's current younger brothers were dug from them.

It's fine if a small country is poached away. If the only ally of a big country is also poached, the London government will be forced.

Prime Minister Campbell: "For the Venezuelan issue, let's take one step at a time. If there is a chance, we will fight back again. If there is no chance, we will temporarily give up.

On the other hand, the Washington government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs still needs to pay more attention to avoid problems at critical moments.

Emperor Franz the Great seemed gentle and gentle, but he was actually an out-and-out hegemonist, and it was impossible to tolerate an existence that might threaten Shinra.

From the fact that they occupied the Central American region and stuck the neck of the Americans, it can be seen that the Vienna government will not allow the birth of a great country in the Americas.

With this fundamental contradiction, under normal circumstances, it is impossible for the Washington government to fall to them.

However, accidents can happen in everything. If the Vienna government allows the Americans to annex Canada in order to win hegemony, maybe the Washington government may really be tempted.

As for the conflict between Japan and Russia, it is part of our plan, so let their hatred deepen!

The bait has been put down, and with the greed of the bears, as long as the Siberia Railway is open to traffic, they are bound to invade eastward.

Now that the conflict with the Japanese has broken out, it seems that the Russians are really impatient, and they are not even willing to wait for such a little time. "

As the ancestor of digging holes and burying people, when it comes to provoking troubles, Britain considers itself the second, and no country really dares to be the boss.

Before the Siberian Railway was opened to traffic, the conflict between Japan and Russia was provoked first. With Mao Xiong's style of not wanting to suffer, and not looking for bad luck from the Japanese, then there is a problem.

...

The British government is preparing, and the Vienna government is not idle either. Everyone is preparing for the next game.

I have to admit that the Russians are big-hearted, and even the construction progress of the Siberian Railway has not been concealed from the outside world.

Thanks to the selfless dedication of a group of free laborers, the construction progress of the Siberian Railway is much faster than expected by the outside world.

Maybe it's because of the strength of the American railway technical team, or maybe it's because the French workers don't feel bad when they die. In short, the construction of the Siberian Railway is progressing very smoothly.

In the words of French writer Romain Rolland - "Every sleeper on the Trans-Siberian Railway was laid out with the flesh and blood of French laborers."

Franz agrees with this statement very much.

According to intelligence from within the tsarist government, in the past few years, more than 250,000 French laborers have given their lives for the construction of the Siberian Railway.

Whether he died of freezing, illness, starvation, exhaustion, or an accidental death on a construction site is no longer important.

Anyway, the French will keep this account on the Russians.

Judging from the current situation, it is very likely that the French laborers who entered the Russian Empire will not be able to return.

There is no way, the Russian Empire is so big, there are many infrastructure projects, and the tsarist government needs this kind of labor that does not cost money, can afford to die, and has no future troubles.

The grudges of the French are nothing at all. Even if France turns over one day, it is impossible to cross Shinra to retaliate.

...

vienna palace

"The construction speed of the Trans-Siberian Railway has exceeded our expectations and is much faster than the Central Asian Railway.

According to the Russians, the Siberian Railway was opened to traffic in 1905. At that time, the biggest obstacle restricting the Russians' eastward advance will be removed.

Once the railway is opened to traffic, the Far Eastern Empire and the Japanese alone may not be the opponents of the Russians. Especially since the war broke out between the two countries a few years ago, it is difficult to unite.

In order to limit the development of the Russians, I am going to strengthen..."

Before Frederick could finish speaking, Franz interrupted: "The Siberian Railway is different from the Central Asian Railway.

The Central Asian Railway that we helped build was a double-track railway, while the Trans-Siberian Railway that the Americans helped design was a single-track railway.

Even if the traffic is really opened, how many cars do you think the Siberian Railway can send every day?

With such a small capacity, there is no problem in supplying daily needs. Once a war breaks out, the Russians will immediately feel the logistical pressure.

What's more, don't you think it's strange for Americans to help the government build railways?

The Siberian Railway does not make money, and it is God's blessing that the operating income can even out the daily maintenance expenses.

I think that apart from the British who want to bring disaster to the east, I am afraid that no one else can be so generous.

The stage is all set and I don't believe the British are unprepared. Next, it is enough for us to push the flames secretly, and the British government will arrange the rest. "