Chapter 282: Farmer in Pomerania

Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin.

Since the establishment of the German Customs Union, Prussia's fiscal revenue has been on a steady upward trend, with the total tariff nearly tripling from 18 million florins to 54 million florins, accounting for 39% of its total revenue.

But this favorable situation did not make its monarch William IV and his advisers look relieved and proud.

Because the excessively heavy financial burden of this "military-owned country" means that if war suddenly comes one day, its financial situation will deteriorate sharply, and a large deficit may even directly crush the country.

What's more terrifying is that the factory and commodity production structure in Prussia is quietly changing, and it was a farmer from Pomerania who realized all this.

In a survey report written to the Prussian government, he pointed out that although the output value of the kingdom's textile industry nearly doubled after joining the German Customs Union, 25 of the 97 textile factories in the country closed down one after another within 7 years.

80% of the reasons for the closure of these 25 textile factories are due to poor management. In this era of rapid development of the textile industry, how should "poor management" be defined? What is the main reason behind it?

The answer is very obvious: competition from Austrians. Anyone who entered the emerging industry and wanted to get a share of the blue ocean was wiped out by these guys who took advantage of the opportunity. And the blood of those pioneers quickly dyed the ocean blood red.

The sudden increase in the entry threshold caught Prussian factory owners and businessmen by surprise. They either chose to succumb to the acquisition by the Austrians or could only keep their own land through blood transfusions.

However, the Austrian counterparts were backed by the country, and the means they used were endless. In addition to common business methods, they could even manipulate the price of raw materials and bribe officials from other countries.

This behavior conveys a terrible logic, that is, if you don't want to stay and be a dog, then don't be a human.

In fact, there is nothing strange about this. After all, in this era, in order to make money, let alone those capitalists, even the countries that claim to be "order maintainers" have already done everything they can.

But this sharp farmer gave his analysis. The Austrian Empire was deliberately turning the Kingdom of Prussia into a raw material production area based on agriculture. It is not difficult to see their attitude towards this matter from the Junker landlords who made a lot of money and even spoke for the Austrians.

"However, the foundation of a strong country lies in self-reliance."

The words of this farmer were heartbreaking. But it also caused dissatisfaction among other Junker landlords. After all, they did not think that this was taking advantage of Austria, but just profiting from free trade.

"Your Majesty, this rough farmer is too arrogant. Who is he to dare to discuss state affairs?"

Gustav von Rauch, the Minister of War, frowned. In his eyes, this ignorant country bumpkin was threatening the interests of the entire Junker aristocracy.

After tasting the sweetness of the food crisis, the latter found that food should not be planted too much, because too much grain would lead to a drop in food prices, so the best way to keep prices stable was to reduce the area of ​​grain cultivation.

But simply reducing the area of ​​grain cultivation would cause a large amount of land and labor to be idle. As luck would have it, due to the conflict with Hungary, Austria needed to import a large amount of Prussian beets and feed, and the improvement of the German Confederation's railway network greatly reduced the export cost of crops in the kingdom.

The short-sighted Junkers naturally had no reason to give up this opportunity to make money, and they switched to growing beets and feed one after another. As for the potential threat of food shortage, they confidently believed that it could be completely handed over to the Russians next door to solve it. After all, their monarch's brother-in-law was Tsar Nicholas I. No matter through what means or channels, the problem was properly handled.

Under the guidance of this idea, the Prussians planted a large amount of crops such as forage grass, barley, oats, black beans and beets on their arable land.

Of course, the source of their confidence was also closely related to their eastern allies. After all, the Russian Empire was the largest exporter of agricultural products in Europe at the time, and it was beneficial for them to earn more trade surpluses.

The Tsarist government did not mention the previous betrayal, and the Junker nobles who traded with it would naturally choose to forget it. For the Tsarist government, the international situation at this time had not changed fundamentally.

The islanders in the west continue to hold on to the issue of the Straits, but if they really give up the "Unkar-Iskelesi Treaty", they will give up the advantageous position they have gained in the Straits over the years.

In fact, the real beneficiaries behind the so-called "international co-management" proposal of the United Kingdom will only be themselves. Other major powers have neither the mind nor the strength to entangle in the competition for hegemony in the Black Sea at this time.

Moreover, their proposals still have many imperfections, such as the substantive content of international co-management has always been vague, and there is no mention of its wartime status. It can be said that the "Straits Convention" proposed by the British was the fuse of the Crimean War.

The Polish Restoration Army and the Polish Democratic League in China are constantly causing trouble for His Majesty the Tsar. Although the power of the two seems ridiculous now, the several clearing activities against them have ended with little effect, which is enough to prove their strong vitality.

The fundamental reason why the Poles in Russia can fight and fight again and again like an indestructible cockroach is that they are backed by the three powers of Britain, France and Austria.

France and Poland have a long history of friendship. During the Napoleonic Wars, France once helped Poland to restore its country. Although Louis Philippe had no good feelings towards the Bonaparte family, he had long coveted their legacy.

In the eyes of the French high-level officials, the Poles, such a useful chess piece, must be used well. As the saying goes, "one hand determines the fate of the world", after all, Poland has the final say on whether Eastern Europe is in chaos at this time.

The predecessors of France in successive generations have never concealed their ambitions for the Rhine region and northern Italy. Now these two places are occupied by the enemies of the anti-French alliance, not to mention that their solid ally Russia was the biggest culprit that led to the decline of the First French Empire.

(Before the Napoleonic Wars, France was a very powerful colonial empire. After the defeat, almost all of its overseas interests belonged to the British, so it is wrong to say that the Treaty of Vienna did not weaken France. Although the British paid a lot, they were also the biggest winners.)

As long as Poland does not give up its dream of independence, Russia, Prussia and Austria will not have peace. As long as their momentum is big enough, it may eventually turn into the Greek War of Independence. At that time, the active intervention of Britain will further weaken the Holy Alliance, which has existed for many years.

At the same time, the July Monarchy, from the king to the cabinet, is pro-British, and standing with Britain has always been their dream.

For their continental balance policy, John Bull can choose to support the Carlos faction in the Iberian Peninsula, and of course he can also support the Polish restoration forces. In addition, the contradictions with the bear in the Near East make them happy to see the Tsar's Queen House on fire.

Although the British never really fulfilled their promises to them from the first loss of Poland to the Second World War, the latter has always believed in the former.

And Austria is the biggest contributor to the Polish insurgents' ability to retreat several times. Due to the natural barrier of the Free City of Krakow, Russia has never been able to completely eliminate the Polish uprising army.

Krakow is nominally a free city, but it is protected by the Austrian Empire. Sending troops there without authorization is to declare war on this ancient empire that has been entrenched in Central Europe for hundreds of years.

In fact, Krakow was left by the Austrians to disgust the Russians. Its main function is to prevent the continued spread of Pan-Slavism.

And this city was actually included in the Austrian sphere of influence a long time ago. Because of this, Krakow became the center of the Polish independence movement and the largest shelter for its restorationists.

After all, I stopped updating for a day. I didn't want to give up, so I changed it several times and wasted time. Please forgive me.