Chapter 258

Vienna Palace

Franz's wedding has officially been put on the agenda. On this issue, he has no choice but to make his own decisions. More than 50 million people in the new Holy Roman Empire are all looking forward to it.

The zodiac and auspicious days must be chosen. If the day is not good, the clouds will be cloudy and the rain will continue. Isn't it telling everyone that God does not like this couple?

If you leave it in an ordinary family, you have to sigh bad luck in such a situation. If you are a mad believer, you may cancel the wedding. If it is placed on the royal family, let alone, this is a huge political scandal.

Although theocratic influence has been greatly reduced, this feudal superstition still prevails in conservative Austrian regions.

After research by a group of priests who were theologians and meteorologists, the zodiac date was finally fixed on March 12, 1855.

The preparatory work has already begun, and Franz has to occasionally ask to show the importance he attaches to the marriage.

Getting married is a good thing, especially with someone you like. Well, Franz admits that his feelings for Princess Helen are average, but for an emperor, being able to marry someone he doesn't hate as a wife is a blessing.

Franz's good mood didn't last long, and the blockage came.

"Your Majesty, our plan to acquire gold has failed. The price of gold in the international market has skyrocketed by 20%. If we continue to buy it, it will be a loss.

After our investigation, we found that the increase in the price of gold in the international market was planned by the British to prevent us from buying gold. ' said the chancellor with a weary face.

It was obvious that he hadn't slept well for several days.

At the critical moment of currency reform, the British raised the price of gold and prevented Austria from buying, obviously with bad intentions. When this happened, the pressure on the Chancellor of the Exchequer who led the currency reform can be imagined.

Franz frowned. Under normal circumstances, the British have no reason to hinder the currency reform of the New Holy Roman Empire. It is also beneficial for them to increase the number of members of the gold standard system.

"Have you found out what the British did for this?"

Franz asked if he didn't believe the British were doing it for profit. If it is just to raise the price of gold and make a fortune from it, then it is enough to slow down the unit price.

As long as the increase is not too large, in order to increase the gold reserves, the Vienna government will also recognize it?

It has increased by 20% all of a sudden. With such a huge gap, idiots will continue to buy.

Forcibly raising the price of gold is not without cost. Whether the capitalists who hype the price of gold can make a profit or not, but after the appreciation of gold, the pound pegged to gold also appreciates.

This is equivalent to a sudden appreciation of the pound by 20%. With such a large increase, the cost of industrial and commercial products in the UK will naturally increase significantly, and it will be difficult to continue to remain competitive in international trade.

Are the British capitalists tired of living and ready to kill themselves?

From the beginning to the end, Franz never thought that this was planned by the London government. To do this is to kill one thousand enemies and lose eight hundred to oneself. Who would do things that harm others and not oneself?

Carl replied with a look of embarrassment: "It is said that it is to prevent us from acquiring gold, so that we cannot raise enough gold for reserves."

He didn't believe it himself. Austria is also an old-fashioned empire, and there is still some traditional heritage. Gold reserves on the gold standard can be raised domestically if the government is willing to pay the price.

As long as the government's credibility is high enough and it is recognized by the market, even if the gold reserves are slightly insufficient, the gold standard reform can still be completed.

In the final analysis, the issuance of paper money still depends on the credibility of the government. The Russians are a negative example. They are not worried about the shortage of reserves, but the paper rubles they issued before are still unpopular.

The British can't directly destroy the market's confidence in the new Holy Roman Empire, can they? If they had this strength, they would have threatened the Vienna government long ago during the Near Eastern War.

Franz sneered and said: "Continue to check, even if you can't buy gold. Anyway, we have already prepared, and the gold of the currency reform is barely enough.

The remaining shortfall is not big. The big deal is to exchange gold and silver in countries that use gold and silver. The British have the strength to raise the price of the gold trading market in Europe. I don't believe they have the ability to raise the price of gold in the world.

However, it is still necessary to continue to buy gold, let the British continue to maintain the high level of gold, and see how long they can last! "

Inadequate information is the biggest drawback of this era. In areas where information is not well-informed, the gold-silver ratio remains the same.

To raise the global price of gold, unless the British maintain high gold prices for several years, many regions outside Europe will not be able to react at all.

If Britain did that, Franz laughed. The big deal is that the reform of the gold standard can be delayed for a few years. This is not in a hurry, and it is not fatal if it is a year later and a year earlier.

I just don't know if the industry and commerce in the UK can hold up, because the increase in production costs caused by the rising currency value will inevitably reduce the international competitiveness of British goods.

Of course, the profits of overseas trade in this era are relatively large. Franz believes that capitalists are taking so much risk to carry out ocean trade, and there are still 20% of the profits.

It is possible to maintain the competitiveness of commodities without raising prices. However, trade on the European continent may not be so profitable.

Even if the British are the world's No. 1 industrial power, it does not mean that they can prevail in every field. These industries cannot withstand this blow.

Franz even once

The idea of ​​raising the pound and attacking British industry and commerce was instantly extinguished by him.

As far as Austria's capital is concerned, if it really competes head-on with British capital in the financial market, the possibility of losing is almost nine-to-nine.

London

The Granville cabinet was dumbfounded. They did it to raise the price of gold, but they were not prepared to raise it so much at one time!

According to the original plan, they just raised a few points to let the Vienna government retreat and accept their conditions, but they were not prepared to make the price of gold soar.

It's a pity that they ignore there is another group in this world - speculators.

It is no longer a day or two that the domestic capital in the UK is too prosperous. Now the rapid economic growth of the United States and Austria is inseparable from the help of British capital.

This time, the government has raised the price of gold, and it has been sought after by everyone again. The gold-silver ratio rose rapidly and then out of control.

There are only two options in front of the London government. Either immediately sell a batch of gold to calm the price turmoil in the capital market;

One of the reasons why everyone is clamoring for gold is the reform of the gold standard in the new Holy Roman Empire.

Once the Vienna government has completed the currency reform, the New Holy Roman Empire will definitely not hold so much silver, and this silver will flow into the market, causing a sharp drop in silver prices is inevitable.

Speculators have a keen eye. Through the most basic information in their hands, they judged that the price of silver will fall in the future, and they began to act.

To a certain extent, even if the London government does nothing, this will still happen, and the increase in the gold-silver exchange ratio is the general trend.

This decision is not easy to make, and it will affect the whole body.

Selling gold to quell the turmoil and stabilize the value of the British pound, then the plan to prevent the Vienna government from buying gold will go bankrupt. In the future, if you want to pull the new Holy Roman Empire into their pound-gold system, it is bound to pay a greater price.

Of course, it is not without gain. The London government will make a fortune in this operation, which can make up for their wounded hearts.

The consequences of devaluing silver should also be considered. The most direct one is the devaluation of the currencies of silver-standard countries. The economic reaction is that the export of commodities from these countries will become more competitive.

Under the change, it will affect the export of industrial and commercial products in the UK, and then affect the UK economy.

Prime Minister Granville asked anxiously: "What plan does the Ministry of Finance have to quell this turmoil?"

Without any hesitation, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Gray gave the answer: "Your Excellency, the best way now is to sell the gold we bought and let the market return to normal.

This is the practice with the least impact on the domestic economy, and since we bought cheap, we can make a profit by selling now.

And it must be fast, and now the Vienna government has not given up its plan to buy gold, which is simply stimulating the nerves of speculators.

It is very likely that they have discovered our plan and are now deliberately acting as inevitable, just to see our jokes.

If it drags on for a long time and more speculators join in, it will be difficult for us to calm down the storm. "

The gold purchased by the government and the reserve fund of the issued currency are completely two concepts, and even carried out by two different systems.

In the era of the gold standard, the government could not take it for granted that the decision to reduce or increase the reserves must be made according to actual needs.

The consequences of rash action have been felt by the London government. A false signal, triggering an influx of speculators, can be disastrous in the end.

Whoever makes gold a hard currency will not depreciate greatly in the eyes of many people, and even if it is hit in the hands, it will not lose much.

After hesitating again and again, Prime Minister Granville made a decision: "No matter what, we must first calm down the gold price turmoil and stabilize the value of the pound.

The Ministry of Finance immediately began to sell gold and communicated with the domestic consortium, we need their help! "

Although he knew that this would cost a lot, Prime Minister Granville chose to seek the help of a consortium, otherwise it would be difficult for the London government alone to calm down the turmoil in a short period of time.