Holy Roman Empire

Vienna Palace

Franz's wedding has been officially put on the agenda.On this issue, it is up to him to decide, and more than 50 million people in the New Holy Roman Empire are looking forward to it.

The ecliptic day must be selected. In case the day is not good, the clouds are overcast and the rain is heavy, do you not tell everyone that God does not like this couple?

Resting in ordinary people's homes, you should sigh in sorrow in this situation, and the fanatic believers may cancel the wedding.Not to mention the royal family, not to mention, this is a huge political scandal.

Although the influence of theocracy has been greatly reduced, this feudal superstition still prevails in conservative Austria.

After research by a group of theologians and part-time meteorologists, the last auspicious day was set on March 12, 1855.

The preparatory work had already begun, and Franz had to occasionally ask to show his importance to this marriage.

Marriage is a good thing, especially with someone you like.Well, Franz admits that he has a general affection for Princess Helen, but for an emperor, it is even happy to be able to marry someone who does n’t hate.

Franz's good mood did not last long, and the matter of Tim's blocking 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 gold, we will lose money.

After our investigation, we found that the price increase of gold in the international market was planned by the British in order to prevent us from buying gold."The Minister of Finance said with a tired look

It can be seen that he shouldn't sleep well for some days.

At a critical moment in currency reform, the British raised the price of gold and hindered Austrian buying, which was obviously bad intentions.When this happens, the pressure of the Minister of Finance, who is leading the currency reform, can be imagined.

Franz frowned. Under normal circumstances, the British had no reason to hinder the currency reform of the New Holy Roman Empire. The increase in the gold standard system was also beneficial to them.

"Did you know the purpose of the British doing this?"

Franz asked if he didn't believe that the British did this just for profit.If it is just to raise the price of gold and make a profit, then the unit price will be slow.

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

All of a sudden increased by 20%, such a wide gap, idiots will continue to buy.

Forcibly raising the price of gold is not without cost.Regardless of whether the capitalists who speculate on the price of gold can make a profit, but after the appreciation of gold, the sterling linked to gold has also appreciated.

This is equivalent to a sudden appreciation of the British pound by 20%. With such a large increase, the cost of British industrial and commercial products will naturally increase substantially. It is difficult to maintain competitiveness in international trade.

Are the British capitalists tired of getting ready to kill themselves?

From beginning to end, Franz never thought that this was planned by the London government.Doing so completely kills the enemy by one thousand and damages 800 by themselves, and who does what harms others and hurts others?

Karl replied with embarrassment: "It is said to prevent us from buying gold, so that we can't raise enough gold to make reserves."

He didn't believe this statement.Austria is also a veteran empire, and there are still some traditions.If the government is willing to pay the price, it can raise gold reserves in the country.

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 be completed.

In the final analysis, the issue of paper money still depends on the credibility of the government. The Russians are a negative example. They do not worry about insufficient reserves, but no one buys the paper rubles they issued before.

Can't the British directly destroy market confidence in the New Holy Roman Empire?If they had this strength, they would have taken it out and threatened the Vienna government during the Near East War.

Franz sneered and said: "Continue to check, even if you can't buy gold. Anyway, we have been prepared for a long time, and the gold of currency reform has been barely enough.

The remaining shortfall is not big enough to go to countries where gold and silver are exchanged. The British have the power to raise the price of the European gold market. I do n’t believe they have the ability to raise the price of gold around the world.

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

The lack of information is the biggest disadvantage of this era. In areas with little information, the price of gold and silver is still the same.

To raise the global price of gold, unless the British maintain a high-digit year for gold, many regions outside Europe will simply fail to respond.

If Britain did this, Franz laughed.It's not a big deal that the gold standard reform time will be delayed for a few years. This is not in a hurry, and it is not fatal one year late and one year early.

I don't know if the British industry and commerce can sustain it, because the increase in production costs caused by the increase in currency value is bound to greatly reduce the international competitiveness of British goods.

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

It is still possible to maintain commodity competitiveness without increasing prices.However, trade on the European continent may not be so profitable.

Even if the British are the world's first industrial powers, it is not that they can dominate in every field, and these industries can not withstand this blow.

Franz even gave birth to the idea of ​​speculating on the pound, and hit the British industry and commerce, and he was immediately strangled by him.

As far as capital in Austria is concerned, if there is a positive game between financial markets and British capital, the probability of losing is almost nine-nine.

London

The Granville cabinet was dumbfounded, and they did it to raise the price of gold, but they were not prepared to raise so much at once!

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

Unfortunately, they neglected another group in the world-speculators.

It is no longer a day or two for Britain's domestic capital to be prosperous, and 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, so it will not rub up.The price of gold and silver rose rapidly, and then went beyond control.

There are only two ways before the London government. Either immediately sell off a batch of gold to quell the price turmoil in the capital market; or depreciate silver, and the price of silver falls. Then the high exchange rate is now normal.

One of the reasons for the gold that everyone loves now is the reform of the gold standard of the New Holy Roman Empire.

Once the Vienna government completes the currency reform, the New Holy Roman Empire will certainly not hold so much silver, which has flowed into the market, causing a sharp drop in silver prices.

Speculators have a keen eye, and they use the most basic information in their hands to judge that silver prices will fall in the future, and they start to act.

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

This decision was not easy to make, and it moved the whole body in one stroke.

Selling gold to quell the storm and stabilize the value of the pound, then the plan that prevented the Vienna government from buying gold went bankrupt. In the future, if you want to pull the new Holy Roman Empire into their pound-gold system, you must pay a higher price.

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

The devaluation of silver also requires consideration of the consequences. The most direct is the devaluation of the currency of the silver-standard countries. The economic response is that the export of commodities from these countries will become more competitive.

With this trade-off, it will affect the export of industrial and commercial products in the UK, which will affect the UK economy.

Prime Minister Granville asked anxiously: "What plans does the Ministry of Finance have to calm this storm?"

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

This is the method that has the least impact on the domestic economy. Since we bought at a low price, we can now make a fortune by selling.

And it must be fast. The Vienna government still hasn't 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 now they are deliberately making a posture that is inevitable, just to watch our jokes.

If the delay is longer, more speculators will join in, and it will be difficult for us to calm the storm."

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

In the era of the gold standard, the government cannot take the decision to reduce reserves or increase reserves, all of which must be based on actual demand.

The consequences of taking bold actions have been felt by the London government.A false signal triggered a swarm of speculators, and the end result was disastrous.

Who makes gold a hard currency, in the eyes of many people, will not depreciate at all, even if it is hit in the hand, there will be no loss.

After hesitating again and again, Prime Minister Granville made a decision: "In any case, we must first calm the price of gold and stabilize the value of the pound.

The Ministry of Finance immediately began selling gold and communicating with domestic consortia. We need their help!"

Despite knowing that it will cost a lot, Prime Minister Granville chose to seek the help of a consortium, otherwise the strength of the London government alone may be difficult to calm the storm in a short time.