Chapter 254 Economic Transformation

After the Congress of Vienna, the European continent once again returned to peace.

The signing of the "Four-Power Pact" is a good thing for most countries, and everyone can sleep peacefully when the international order is re-established.

Order means stability. Now that the European continent is stable, for the Kingdom of Prussia and the Kingdom of Sardinia, this means that the expansion road on the European continent is cut off.

To break the international situation, they must suffer the backlash of the international order. This kind of price is not something they can bear.

Turin, looking at the "Four-Power Pact" in his hand, Prime Minister Cavour was mixed. A stable international situation will help them recover their economy, but it will be more difficult to unify the Italian regions.

After the Ossian War, the unified route of the Kingdom of Sardinia changed. Most people thought that it would be too difficult to retake Lombardy and Venice from Austria. It is better to start with Tuscany, the Papal State, and the Kingdom of Naples.

Cavour is also a supporter of this line, and the unified line of first easy and then difficult is in line with the actual situation of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Don't look at the heavy losses after the Osa War, and they have not recovered until now, but among the several states in the Italian region, their strength is still one of the best.

Now that the Four Powers Pact came out, their plan went bankrupt, and even the British who supported them would not let them break the situation on the European continent at this time.

Since Britain and France lost the war in the Near East, as one of the investors, the Kingdom of Sardinia will naturally also lose money. Thousands of lives will be lost in vain, and there will be no profit at all.

If there is no strength to give them benefits, they dare not take it. The French can share a piece of interest in the Balkans, which is based on formidable strength.

In the Near East War, the combat effectiveness of the French Army was widely recognized by various countries, and there was no problem in keeping one-third of the Balkan Peninsula. Neither Russia nor Austria could fight the French for such a little benefit.

The high cost of modern warfare has already been told to everyone that it is best not to go to war with a big country unless it is a last resort.

"Prime Minister, you said you want to make peace with the Austrians?" Vittorio Emmanuel II asked in disbelief

You know, in order to summon the courage of everyone, the Sardinian government did not talk about the hatred between the two countries. Now it suddenly changed its policy, which seriously stimulated the fragile nerves of Vittorio Emmanuel II.

Cavour explained: "Your Majesty, the international situation has changed, and after the reconstruction of the Vienna system, there will be no wars between major powers for a long time in the future.

It is very difficult to defeat Austria by our strength alone. Continuing to be hostile to the Austrians has no real benefit except to raise their vigilance.

Because of the political confrontation between the two countries and the economic blockade by the enemy, it has brought us huge losses. "

As a qualified politician, Cavour can weigh the pros and cons calmly and not be blinded by hatred.

Right now, the Kingdom of Sardinia is in a state of ruin. It has only been five years since the Osa War, and they have not yet come out of the shadow of the war. If you want to restore the economy as soon as possible, it is obviously not a wise move to continue to fight against Austria.

Historically, the unification of Italian regions is full of coincidences. Now the Kingdom of Sardinia wants to unify the Italian region, but in fact this is just a thought, and everyone's heart is still uncertain.

In particular, the unification war launched by the German region ended in failure, which also hit the confidence of the Italians.

Besides the British, which other power would like to see the Italian regions unified? The answer is: one does not.

Even the support of the British is only rhetorical, and it is a fool's dream to want the British to contribute to the unification war in the Italian region.

After hesitating for a moment, Vittorio Emmanuel II asked: "How to explain to the people, you must know that in order to inspire everyone's fighting spirit, the hatred of Osa we provoked has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people."

While speaking, Vittorio Emmanuel II had a few traces of sadness on his brows, obviously he was not optimistic about Prime Minister Cavour's proposal.

Cavour replied calmly: "Your Majesty, you don't have to do anything, just downplay it. The Austrian-phobes in China will explain it for us. After all, the enemy is strong and we are weak, so we must be patient."

He dared to propose to ease the relationship between the two countries, which was based on the fact that there were many Austrian-phobic factions in the Sardinian kingdom.

Don't look at the earth-shattering slogan of unifying Italy. In fact, not many people are interested in this. Most people do not believe that the Kingdom of Sardinia can unify the Italian region.

Especially after a war, most of the Sardinian people are the Lord and the faction. Every family wears filial piety and everyone weeps once. No one wants to come again.

More and more courageous? nonexistent!

Because of the war, the kingdom of Sardinia was financially bankrupt. In order to repay its debts, even the army is only a nominal existence. What revenge is there to take?

...

The foreign policy changes of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which Franz knew nothing about, were not his focus.

The war in the Near East was over, and so was the chance for Austria to make a fortune in the war. The military-industrial enterprises have just made a fortune and gained huge profits in the war. Naturally, there is no so-called crisis.

In this war, Austria exported a total of 1.2 million rifles and more than 2,000 artillery pieces to the Russians, with a total of more than 100,000 tons of various weapons and ammunition, and a number of miscellaneous weapons and equipment.

weapon bullet

The total transaction price of medicines is as high as 250 million rubles, setting a record for arms transactions in human history, exceeding the total amount of arms transactions in the international market in the past 100 years.

This data is inconspicuous in the future, but it is a huge sum of money now, enough to make Austrian military enterprises carry out comprehensive technical upgrades.

There is no need to worry about the military industry. It is a lucrative industry that has not opened for three years and has been open for three years.

Other industries will not be able to, because the supply and demand relationship of products has changed after the war, and it is necessary to adjust the production line.

Originally post-war reconstruction was a big deal, but unfortunately the tsarist government was too poor to have the money for post-war reconstruction.

The client has no money, and there is nothing Franz can do. Given the current international political situation, it is still very difficult for the tsarist government to seek external loans.

It is conceivable that in the next 1855, the Austrian economy will inevitably be challenged. Of course, market feedback also takes time, and the crisis will not break out in the short term.

Even after the war is over, Austria has seized a lot of markets, and these markets can also extend the life of domestic industry and commerce.

Vienna Palace

Franz said seriously: "The war in the Near East is over, and the domestic economy must be adjusted. Private enterprises are decided by the capitalists themselves, and we don't need to worry about them, but state-owned enterprises must do a good job in industrial transformation.

Many materials that were consumed in large quantities in the war are no longer needed in the market, so these production lines must be adjusted, the cuts that should be cut, and the closings that should be closed.

Adjusting the production direction to where the market needs it, industries that cannot be turned around, or industries that are too low-profit, can be auctioned off.

The government only needs to control some industries that are related to the national economy and people's livelihood, and it only needs to maintain a certain influence on ordinary industries. "

Give up if you can't make a profit. Franz does not hold the unshakable concept of state-owned enterprises. The mainstream economy in this era is all private capital.

The fact that the Austrian government owns such an industry is also due to a special reason. It is not that the government prepared to engage in so many industries from the beginning, and there is no pressure to sell some Franz now.

Prime Minister Felix replied: "Your Majesty, I am afraid it is not a good opportunity to deal with these industries now. Everyone knows that the war is over, and these companies cannot sell at a high price without foreign trade orders.

Moreover, the placement of personnel in state-owned enterprises is also very troublesome. It is better to take it slow and wait for the market to complete its self-regulation before dealing with this problem. "

Franz shook his head and said, "No, after the market has been adjusted, new companies have already sprung up. Who do we sell these low-value companies to?

The same enterprise, in the hands of the government and the capitalists, is not a concept at all. According to past experience, many enterprises that failed to be directly managed by the government have turned around after being sold to capitalists.

We can not simply consider the price issue, but also proceed from the overall situation to ensure the rapid development of the domestic economy.

There is no need to worry about personnel arrangements, and direct transfer is carried out. There is still a lack of administrative officials in the Balkans, so some people can be sent there.

A company has reached the point of auction in their hands, are they still embarrassed to claim that they have meritorious service? "

Others didn't know that the economic crisis was coming, but Franz felt that the capital market was unusual. Before the crisis broke out, it was the kingly way to raise funds as much as possible.

Franz is not worried about employee arrangements. No matter who is the boss, it is the same for the ordinary employees at the bottom.

Austrian state-owned enterprises have only existed for a short time, have not had time to form interest groups, and simply do not have the ability to negotiate conditions with the government.

Enterprises have been sold, and the leading cadres to be adjusted are not held accountable, even if they are lucky, if you want to enjoy the hero treatment, dream!

Austria's state-owned enterprises are very independent. Under the environment of good economic development, the operation of enterprises is in trouble, or they have entered a dead end, which proves their incompetence.

Naturally, Franz would not treat the incompetent people well, and if he didn't drive all these people home, it was all merciful.

Of course, the serious vacancy of civil servants at the grass-roots level in the Austrian Balkans is also an important factor. These people may be of average ability, but they are safer to use, and there is no need to worry about their collusion with the Ottoman remnants who slip through the net.