Chapter 195 Russia-Austria Trade

Vienna is still cool in midsummer.

Schönbrunn Palace

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

Franz knew that Austria had robbed the interests of the Russian arms group, and this group of people would definitely make some moves, but they did not expect that their solution was actually to buy a weapons production line.

Thinking about it, it is also true that the British are the most skilled in mechanical equipment in this era, followed by Austria and France, and the imperfect industrial system of Belgium and Prussia is the second.

The machinery and equipment produced by the Russians themselves have high maintenance costs, and the performance of the equipment can only be said to be barely usable. There is no way to compare the production efficiency with the peers. The purchase of foreign production lines is also forced out.

Britain and France are at war with the Russians, and even if they can buy production lines from Britain and France, they dare not use them. Weapons production equipment is still very sensitive, not civilian materials, smuggling is smuggling.

If you buy from Prussia and Belgium, it is not impossible. Only in this way, the arcane weapons equipped by the expeditionary troops on the front line will not be able to maintain them in the future.

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

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

Franz said indifferently: "Sell it to 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 fact. Because of government corruption, capitalists will definitely cut corners in order to obtain greater profits.

According to Franz, the junk weapons and equipment purchased by the Russians locally are higher than the prices on the international market. It's better to build than to buy, that's how it came.

For weapons and equipment imported from Austria, the domestic budget is 20% to 50% higher than 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 also be a trouble for us in the future."

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

Franz shook his head and said: "It doesn't matter, technology is changing rapidly now. These devices will not exist in ten years, and if more than ten years pass, I am afraid they will be eliminated again.

Since the Russians are willing to buy it, let them do it. It is better to turn them into long-term customers and use the profits from the transaction to promote the technological upgrading of our military industry. "

Russia is indeed something to be afraid of, but there is really no need to care too much about Russian industrial technology. Under the rule of the corrupt tsarist government, it is impossible for their industry to develop greatly.

Metternich continued: "Your Majesty, the Russians also applied for a loan.

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

The total trade volume between the two sides is as high as 292 million dongs, of which our total import is 88 million dongs, and the total export volume is 204 million dongs, and the trade surplus is 116 million dongs.

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 83 million dong.

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

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

If a big victory is not achieved, the military expenditure of the tsarist government will continue to increase next year. "

Franz figured it out. In this era, everyone likes to do business with the Russians, because they don't use paper money, they pay directly with gold and silver. (Paper rubles are deprecated, and international trade is only settled in gold rubles and silver rubles)

The direct consequence of the trade between Russia and Austria is 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 letting the central bank print banknotes, has been digested by the market. (Notes 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, "Don't be in a hurry to talk to the Russians slowly, and tell them that our financial resources 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 pay with more gold and silver, 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. It is estimated that the war bonds cannot be sold. The interest rate will be set by the Russians themselves, and 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 more and more important.

Now because of the war, a large amount of gold and silver inflow has caused the abnormal prosperity of Austria's domestic economy. There are still great hidden dangers behind this prosperity.

If Austria now lends too much to Russia, it will either divert funds from the domestic market or issue additional currency.

The former is not conducive to the economic development of Austria, and the latter is prone to inflation. This is caused by the size of the economy, in Austria's economic

The total amount of the economy is so large that some of the money markets in India can digest it. Once the amount 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 increase, the market expands, 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 they pay 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 are flowing into our country now, but very fast.

The rapid development of our domestic economy does not depend only on this war.

Mr. Metternich, you may not have noticed that in the past six months, British and French capital has poured into Austria, 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 Russian-Turkish war will last for a long time. These capitalists are counting on this war to get rich, and they have invested in Austria to build factories.

Because of the lack of smooth information, they don't know how many colleagues have been added recently, and they don't take into account the demand for supplies by the Russians, which is not unlimited.

The market has gone crazy, and that guy Carl is about to freak out. For fear of an economic crisis, he has formulated several sets of 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 transition.

The capitalists who entered the market in the early stage are not bad. They have made profits and can support their transformation. The capitalists who came in later will be miserable. Before they make any money, they will face transformation, and the tide of bankruptcy is indispensable.

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

Now that the economic crisis is known, why hasn't the Austrian government stopped it? The answer is very realistic, in order to increase fiscal revenue and speed up domestic development.

If this economic boom continues, it will only take two or three years before Austria's economic aggregate surpasses that of France. Even if the bubble burst, these capitals also left a lot of money for Austria.

It's easy to put money in, but hard to get it out. Once it becomes real estate such as factory buildings and machinery and 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 developed in history.

As long as sufficient benefits are obtained in this war and the market capacity is increased, the impact of the economic crisis can be minimized. Franz wouldn't mind letting the government intervene in the market and force the economy to land.

How many capitalists will be killed by doing this, but it 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 war in the Near East attracted the attention of the outside world, Russia and Austria quietly and silently 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 the added value of the products makes it 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 follow-up upgrade business together to Austria.

The fundamental reason for "making is worse than buying" is that R&D and manufacturing costs are too high. Why are so many companies keen to import in later generations, don't they know the benefits of independent research and development?

The most critical point is the R&D investment. The harvest and the effort are often disproportionate, which not only consumes a lot of time, but also is full of uncertainty.

For capitalists who are keen to make money, huge investments in this area really cannot maximize their benefits. With bad luck, it falls on the eve of the harvest.

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

If a certain military enterprise does research and development, before they can produce results, the population import production line will be put into operation.

What will the tsarist government choose? Equip the military with advanced equipment with mature technology, or wait for them to develop products with uncertain performance?

Austria has lifted all restrictions on arms exports and allowed the Russians to freely choose production lines. Naturally, the Tsarist government is very happy. Such opportunities are rare.

You 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 the war is blocked, you will not be able to continue to obtain these weapons and equipment, and the tsarist government will support domestic military enterprises.

There is no such worry in the production line. Most of the equipment of Russian military enterprises is imported. They do not mind continuing to import, as long as the supply of arms can be guaranteed.

The future cannot be considered so far. In theory, as long as the overall industrial technology goes up, the military-industrial system will naturally go up, and the two complement each other.

Historically, the development of Russia's military technology has been at a time when relations with the Western world have deteriorated. The more the two sides confront each other, 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 developmental point of view, there are ready-made equipment in Austria that can be disassembled for learning.

Their technological progress will be faster, and no matter how bad they are, they can be copied.

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