Chapter 833 Spread

Britain and France have been hit by the thunderstorms one after another, and the United States and Germany are not feeling well either. After all, Britain and France are the largest customers of raw materials for the United States. The reduction in imports from the two countries directly led to a drop in the prices of raw materials such as cotton and grain in the United States.

The German region was affected by the financial capital of Britain and France. The Jewish bankers in Germany invested a lot of money in Britain and France, which directly led to the shutdown of the industry in the German region.

In fact, the German region also suffered a disaster, but because Austria was in this system, the lives of other countries were still acceptable.

In addition, the previous victory in the Swiss region made the people and the government indulge in the short-term victory.

However, all this came to an abrupt end after the collective betrayal of the financiers. This behavior caught all countries by surprise. In fact, it is not entirely correct to say that it is betrayal. It should be called profit-seeking.

However, whether it is betrayal or profit-seeking, in short, the German states have no money in their hands, let alone borrowing money.

As a result, a large number of projects were shelved, and there was no money to rescue the disaster. The hungry and displaced people could not feel the strength of the country.

These refugees wandered around along the railway line and made trouble in the city. Soon, the prisons of various states were filled with prisoners.

Soon, the news that they could eat enough in prison spread. A large number of poor people who could not afford to eat even began to commit crimes in public in the hope that they would be caught and put in prison.

The overcrowded prisons worried the governments of various states. At first, they thought that these people wanted to go to prison because they were lazy.

So the government began to let the prisoners participate in labor. As a result, these people not only worked hard, but also had a very high level of skills. They could complete their work excellently every time. Even some troublemakers became good citizens under the inspiration of collectivism.

This gave the governments of various states even more headaches, because the economic crisis made it difficult to make money, and a large number of workers were unemployed. Good people could not find jobs, so how could there be so many jobs for prisoners to do.

At a high-level meeting of a certain state government, someone suddenly had an idea.

"Can we send these criminals and refugees to colonies? This will not only help them find jobs, but also reduce the burden on the country and create value."

"Where do we have colonies?"

"We don't have colonies, but the German Confederation does!"

"Yes! Transvaal!"

The senior officials were immediately excited. They felt that they had come up with a solution that would have the best of both worlds. However, someone soon poured cold water on them.

"Is the boat ticket free? Is food and drink free on the road?" A senior official immediately sneered.

Indeed, from Germany to Transvaal (New Germany), the cost of one person's journey is enough to help several victims.

If they have so much money, wouldn't it be better to directly issue government relief?

On the other side, Prussia.

King Frederick William IV was also helpless. The domestic grain harvest was poor and prices were soaring, but he could do nothing.

This was not because the Prussian officials were incompetent, nor was it because the king was not wise enough. In fact, Prussia could solve the current crisis by importing grain from Russia.

At this time, many people living on the border had begun to buy food from Russia, but doing so not only violated the treaty of the German Customs Union, but also caused losses to the Junker landlords in the country.

William IV himself was the largest Junker landlord in Prussia, so he faced a very fatal problem at this time.

That is to save the people or save himself. If he ordered to buy a large amount of food from Russia, he might not only be impeached by powerful states such as Saxony and Bavaria, but also directly annoyed the domestic Junker nobles and those merchants who hoarded food.

The example of the killing of US President Polk is still vivid. Although William IV is the king, he has no choice but to think of other ways because there are powerful enemies outside and treacherous people inside.

In fact, the reason why Austria can buy food from Russia unscrupulously is mainly due to the opposition of Prussia and Hungary to joining the German Customs Union.

This gives Franz almost unlimited room for operation. He can use the name of the Crown of St. Stephen to buy various goods from Russia.

As long as the Russians can sell their products, they don't care about Austria, Hungary, or even their mortal enemy, the Ottoman Empire.

Historically, the Ottoman Empire has long been the largest exporter of Russian grain, because the former once refused to import Russian grain, and the two sides even fought a war.

In fact, in addition to those Jewish financiers, the native factory owners in Prussia also have some small wealth, especially in recent years, the factory owners in Prussia have received a lot of government subsidies, and William IV feels that he should be able to borrow money.

As a result, in addition to factory owners of noble origin such as Krupp and Siemens who are willing to subscribe to national bonds, more factory owners choose to unite and negotiate with the king.

First, they demand a higher discount rate, that is, more returns. For a 200 million thaler bond, they are only willing to pay 170 million thalers, and directly make a net profit of 30 million thalers, which is equivalent to the interest cut of private micro-loans.

At the same time, they also asked the Prussian government to implement a "representative system", expand elections, and reduce the power of the king and nobles.

It would be best if there was another constitution in the end.

William IV felt that there was no need to talk any further. As long as he was not crazy, he would not agree to these outrageous demands.

No monarch in any country in the world would agree to such conditions as long as there is a glimmer of hope. If people don't eat food for a day, they will be hungry, and rebellion will inevitably occur over time.

If they can still take up arms at that time.

However, William IV did not want to sit and wait for death. He also had the mission of the Hohenzollern family to revitalize Prussia and unify Germany.

Just when William IV was at a loss, the returning Finance Minister Friedrich thought of a good idea.

"Your Majesty, don't the Austrians always promote their country's tolerance and vast land?"

"That's right! The damn Austrians often offer high salaries to outstanding scholars and engineers in our country. They are maliciously competing!"

William IV was very sensitive to this, because the Austrian side often used the banner of the German Confederation to look for various talents in the entire Confederation.

However, as the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in history, Austria has never stopped poaching from various countries. Serving the emperor is a tradition of the people of various states in the imperial era, and it is also a kind of honor.

However, the states also have countermeasures, which is to retain talents with generous material rewards, which simply means high positions, generous salaries, luxury cars and beautiful women.

However, now the Austrian side has changed its routine. In addition to the glory and tradition that have been promoted, it has also added generous rewards and even started talking about dreams (chicken soup).

As a time traveler from the future who drinks chicken soup every day, it is not difficult to write a few chicken soup articles to deceive people in the 19th century to pursue poetry and distant places, as well as wealth and status that match themselves.