Holy Roman Empire

What is the development of Austria's core industry?

There is no answer in Franz ’s mind. The resources of the Austrian Empire are still abundant, and almost nothing is lacking in the initial stage of industrialization.

Historically, from Austria to the Austro-Hungarian Empire did not initiate colonial expansion abroad, it is related to the richness of local resources.

Of course, this is limited to the early stage, if from a development point of view, Austria's domestic resources are not enough.

Taking the iron and steel industry as an example, in the era of annual production of 10,000 tons, 100,000 tons, and 1 million tons of steel in various countries, Austria is not short of resources. The ten million tons era can barely keep up. Once it enters tens of millions of tons, even The era of 100 million tons is difficult to continue.

This is a long-term problem, and for at least a few decades, Franz didn't need to worry about it.

In theory, most industries can become the pillar industries of Austria, such as: agriculture and agricultural products processing industry, metallurgy, machinery manufacturing, military industry, railway, shipbuilding, textile ...

This is the advantage of a solid foundation. Before Lombardy and Venice were not lost, the industrial volume of Austria was very close to that of the French.

It's no surprise that Austria in this era was a combination of Austria-Hungary + half Italy, and Lombardy + Venice topped half Italy.

Franz will not say the stupid words that all industries go hand in hand. The world is so competitive. If the government cannot tilt the policies of certain industries, can you guarantee to beat the competitors?

Not to mention Austria, even the British, as the only industrial country in the world, have not developed comprehensively, with a focus on the financial industry, shipbuilding industry, and textile industry.

This multiple-choice question is not easy to make. Once a choice is made, it will be a national policy that has remained unchanged for decades, and domestic economic development will change accordingly.

There are many factors that determine the pillar industries of the country, including: resources, market, industry advantages, interest groups, national development direction, international situation ...

Free economy?Market economy?

It's enough to talk about it. Don't take it seriously, otherwise you are ready to cry.

In any successful country, the pillar industries have received policy support, such as: tax cuts and the introduction of policies that are conducive to the development of the industry ...

Schonbrunn Palace

Franz is walking on the square with Felix, and discusses the direction of Austria's development.

"Prime Minister, where do you think Austria ’s future strategic focus will be?" Franz asked

This is an era of weak meat and strong food, and expansion is the theme of this era.Since the Vienna system was broken, European countries have entered a new round of competition.

Small countries have no choice but to follow the current; big countries want to develop, sail against the current, and retreat if they do not.

The Austrian Empire is actually at a crossroads. The choice of Russia-Austria alliance is Austria ’s first strategic choice, but this time it is an ally.

In the history, why did the Austro-Hungarian Empire step on the gun barrel of the Balkans?Really commented by experts and scholars-are strategic decisions wrong?

Franz originally thought so, and after he was there, he discovered that he was wrong.

Austria has had many opportunities for external expansion, and they all refrained, and finally chose to step on the Balkan mine, which is definitely not the ruler's own willingness.

As long as you think about the international environment at that time, Franz understands that this is a forced choice.

In the battle of the world, the great powers are expanding their powers. Only Austria and Spain are standing still, not keeping up with everyone.

This means that two sheep are mixed in the wolf pack. If you don't want to be eaten, you must at least disguise yourself as a wolf.

Austria occupied Bosnia-Herzegovina and packed itself into a wolf, which was exchanged for a few years of peace. Spain did nothing, the Americans discovered this fat sheep, and the American-Western Spanish War broke out.

Prime Minister Felix replied without hesitation: "Germany!"

"The reason?" Franz asked.

Prime Minister Felix thought about it and said: "After the annexation of the South German region, we directly bordered the French. Do n’t look at the fact that the relationship between France and Austria is good, but the French ’s continental hegemony has always existed. We have to consider the Western Front. Defense.

In addition, the Kingdom of Prussia also had to defend. In order to avoid the interference of various countries, while we unified the southern German state, they will also annex the northern German region, resulting in the fact that the two Germans are divided.

After the reunification of North Germany, the strength of the Prussian kingdom will increase by at least four layers, and the threat is greatly enhanced than it is now. The most important thing is that they also have the ambition to unify the entire German region."

"What if we blame it?" Franz asked

Austria is such a big man, it doesn't look like a nuisance. Once the country of Southern Germany is annexed, it's even more irritating.

In contrast, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands are all soft persimmons, or fat persimmons.

Belgium has developed industry, the Dutch maritime industry is developed, and there is a large colony. Luxembourg is a projectile place, and it is also a country of steel.

"Your Majesty, I am afraid that the Prussians are powerless and want to expand to the west, they will not be able to get through the French, and the British will not agree." Felix thought and said

In the eyes of ordinary people, the Prussians have no courage to challenge the French.

As for the British attitude, in fact, as long as Prussia can turn the French, without the thugs, they will be powerless, and the road will be blocked for a few years.

The French are not easy to mess with, but compared with the enhanced version of Austria + Russia, it is better to deal with it.

"Then the Prussian ambitions, and the French's interest in the Rhineland region, as long as one of them is satisfied, this war can be detonated." Franz said confidently

There is no way, other countries have their own army, and Prussia is an army-owned country.Nationalism was awakened again, and by then it was a little irritating to burn.

If they did not have the courage to provoke war, wouldn't there be Austria?It is no big deal that Pu'ao teamed up with France and did not believe that the Prussians could resist the temptation.

After eating the stuffed buns, in the future they can only die with the French. In the end, the road to join forces with the English and Punishers is also broken, and the political system of the European Union dominated by the Three Emperors Alliance is established again.

Do you want to do this?Franz was puzzled.It seems that this pattern is most beneficial to the Russians.

Austria only reaps a stable rear, grabs a few French colonies at most, and the Russians ’road to the sea is unobstructed.

Felix smiled and said: "Your Majesty, I believe the Prussians will be very interested in this proposal, but they have this strength, do they swallow this bait in one go?

Although Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg are also German nation-states, they do not admit that they must fight hard to resist.

Even if Prussia defeated the French with our help, wouldn't there still be British support in the back?

If you can't eat a bite, you won't have a second chance.As long as the Prussians and Britain and France turned their faces, we would no longer support them."

In a word, the dreamer is awakened. The Kingdom of Prussia is not a German empire in later generations. The difference in body size between the two sides is very different. How can the same strength break out?

The population of the Netherlands is about 3.06 million, the population of Belgium is about 4.4 million, and the population of Luxembourg is about 200,000. These people are mainly Catholics. The population of the Kingdom of Prussia is about 13 million. Did they digest it?

The sum of the three countries in terms of economic aggregate is almost the same as the Kingdom of Prussia.

Of course, this is just a comparison of the strengths of the two sides now, and there will definitely be changes in the future, but no matter what changes occur, it is not easy to annex a country where nationalism is rising.

Franz even believed that the annexation of these three countries by Prussia was more a fool's dream than the annexation of the Balkans by Austria.

Well, in fact, just think about it.

Without external force, it is possible to eat away slowly.If swallowed, it would either kill a bloodstream or be choked to death.

In this case, Franz knew what to do.

Austria is no match for the British. At least in their three core industries, Austria cannot be their opponent.It doesn't matter, the way the British developed was not learned by Austria.

In Franz ’s opinion, the hard core industry is the best way to suppress it, and the layout of the core industries that defeated the Prussians began in advance, so they are just a military power.

Franz made the same choice as Prussia, giving priority to the development of the military industry, railways, and manufacturing, plus Austria's dominant industry-agricultural products processing industry.

Railway construction depends on government investment and encourages private investment. Commercial competition is also an internal problem; military industry also depends on government funding. In this era, the international market can only be regarded as a small supplement, and the bear next door is a good customer.

The manufacturing industry can only compete in the international market, but Franz is not worried that there is a big market like the Holy Roman League, and a good ally like the bear, which is much stronger than Prussia in history.

Needless to say, the agricultural products processing industry has few competitors. Austria ’s largest competitors in the European grain market, Russia and the Ottoman Empire, both export grain directly.

Historically, the Russians exported wheat and imported flour from the outside. This is not a segment on the Internet, but it really existed in this era.

It's no surprise that the ship transported the grain out, and when it came back, it was an empty ship, and it had to use stones to press the bottom of the silo.The savvy businessman found that the flour price in the Russian market was good, found profitable, and sold it back to the Russians.

This means that in this field, the Austrian competitor is a food processing enterprise in the grain importing country, and the two parties have distanced themselves from the initial cost.

This kind of industry that does not require much investment naturally has to focus on development. During the history of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Hungary was the largest flour supplier in Europe.

As for the steel industry, which is valued by countless traversers, and even considered to be the embodiment of national strength, why is it not the core of development?

Just look at how small the demand for steel in the market is in this era.

The Austrian Empire has 20,000 to 30,000 tons of raw steel every year, Russian talents have thousands of tons of raw steel, and the British are not much better. The annual output is less than 100,000 tons of raw steel.

No way, the market demand is so great.Even if pig iron is added, the demand is not so high. Anyway, no one has broken the million-ton mark.

If the steel industry is regarded as the core industry, believe it or not, a few months later, there will be a lot of unsalable steel sales in the Austrian market?

At that time, in order to solve these slow-selling steel, the government had to invest a lot of money in other industries. Finally, it was surprised to find that the steel industry did not develop, and the industrial crisis came first.

Rather than this, it is better to develop the railway and military industry to drive the consumption of steel. If there is market demand, there will be production. This is the law of the market.

The focus on the development of the steel industry is ahead of schedule, let alone the high-tech industry.In addition to the military industry, the economic model of a country is the market that determines the prospects for industrial development.

This era is a high-tech desert, and many epoch-making products cannot be promoted even if they are made in the laboratory.

This advanced field cannot work as a country's core industry. As a secondary development target, it is still possible to reserve technology in advance.