Chapter 23 1834
Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace, Children's Room.
Franz is searching for useful materials among the mountains of information.
At this time, Austria had 30 kilometers of railways, 6 kilometers of Prussian railways, 150 kilometers of French railways, and 600 miles (approximately 965 kilometers) of British railways.
Countries around the world have crazy plans for railways. The French government has launched a 730-kilometer railway construction plan, and by 1848 the total length of French railways will increase to 1,814 kilometers.
But it is still too conservative compared to the countries of the German Zollverein Union. The entire alliance (excluding Austria) plans to build 6,000 kilometers of railways.
The British also approved a 6,000-mile (approximately 8,047 km) railway construction plan. By 1870, the UK will have 15,357 miles (approximately 24,714 km) of railways and build the densest railway network in the world.
The Russian tsarist government had not realized the importance of railways and only approved a few easy-to-build routes with a total length of about 200 kilometers. Even in 1866, Russia only had a pitiful 1,488 kilometers of railways.
The Americans had only a 2,000-kilometer railway construction plan at this time, but in 1850, they would have 9,021 kilometers of railway.
Historically, Austria only approved a railway construction plan of about 350 kilometers, and it was not until 1848 that it had 1,200 kilometers of railways.
The Austrian government approved Solomon Rothschild's Northern Railway construction plan, and the Northern Railway Company will build 700 kilometers of railways in the next ten years.
But Solomon’s dream of a southern railway failed, not that Francis II disagreed.
Francis II was very satisfied with Solomon Rothschild's bribe, but the military and Count Korolaf refused to give in on the issue of ownership of the Southern Railway Company.
Moreover, Friedrich List, Franz II's special adviser, also supported the views of the military and Count Korolaf, and the intelligence provided by the secret police was also very unfavorable to Solomon Rothschild.
Finally, Franz II decided to adopt Friedrich List's advice and hand over the Austrian Southern Railway to three railway companies.
Later, the military requested several new railway lines from Francis II on the grounds of homeland security. Finally, the operating rights of these railway lines were controlled by Count Korolaf and Friedrich List. Sold to the highest bidder.
However, what Count Korolaf, Latour (Minister of War) and Friedrich List did not expect was that two important railway lines fell into the hands of the French.
At this time, Austria approved a total of 1,400 kilometers of railway construction.
The United States accounts for 85% of the world's cotton production, which forced the British to eagerly find new sources of raw materials. Their goals were Egypt and India.
The number of steam looms is 1,324 in Austria, 223 in Prussia, 1,511 in France, and 7,000 in the United Kingdom (if water conservancy looms are included, there are 100,000 looms in the United Kingdom). It is worth noting that Saxony is a textile industry in Germany. The industrial center has 450 steam looms.
What is gratifying is that Austria's machinery manufacturing industry is not bad. It can independently produce steam looms and export them to other German countries.
Saxony is Austria's largest customer, but due to various considerations, the profit Austria can obtain is very small.
The Austrian army had 450,000 troops, France 500,000, Prussia 200,000, and Russia 600,000.
The Austrian Army has the largest number of artillery pieces in continental Europe, with approximately 1,300 artillery pieces, followed by the Russians with approximately 900 artillery pieces, the French with only 800 artillery pieces, the Prussian Army with less than 600 artillery pieces, and the British Home Army with only 300 artillery pieces.
This has resulted in annual military expenditures accounting for more than half of Austria's fiscal expenditures. However, even so, Austria's investment in military technology and soldier training has gradually failed to keep up with the trend of historical development.
In terms of navy, Austria has a large number of naval ships, but it lacks large ships. The actual combat effectiveness is even inferior to that of the Russians, and the French's naval strength is far superior to that of the Russians.
It's just that at this time, the navies of all European countries combined were far from being a match for the British.
How exaggerated is it, the Austrian navy may not be able to defeat a British squadron. There are more than a dozen squadrons of this size in the UK.
Even so, the Austrian navy was still able to win with an overwhelming advantage when facing the navies of non-European countries.
The total foreign trade of the Austrian Empire at this time was 300 million florins, France was 1 billion francs, Russia was 400 million rubles, and Prussia was 150 million thalers. It is expected that this number will be one year after the Austrian Empire joins the German Customs Union. Double.
However, due to reduced tariffs on some goods and increased administrative costs, the actual impact on fiscal revenue is only about 5%.
Of course, with the expansion of trade and improvement of infrastructure, fiscal revenue will grow steadily.
Since Austria's own currency system is very confusing, there are even several types of marks.
Book Austrian currency exchange formula
1 gold florin = 3 gold ducats = 4.2 silver thalers = 5 silver florins = 150 groschen = 600 pfennig
The commonly used currency is 1 florin = 12 kreuz = 30 groschen = 120 pfennig = 0.83 thaler
The large British ships "Asnan" and "Atlantic" were under construction. From then on, they would become the pioneers of Britain's conquest of the oceans.
Austria has a population of 31 million, but the quality of its citizens is worrying. There are more illiterates than war-torn Spain. The only country that can rival Austria is Russia next door.
However, the number of university students in Austria ranks first in Europe, which may of course be related to the large number of universities in Austria.
Austria's pig iron production is 100,000 tons, one-third that of France, less than one-tenth that of Britain, slightly lower than Prussia, and not even as good as Belgium.
Russian pig iron production is 150,000 tons.
Austria's agricultural strength was surprisingly strong, with grain output four times that of France and 20 times that of Prussia at this time.
Austrian agriculture used chemical fertilizers earlier, while French agriculture was at a low point and suffered from natural disasters.
Austria has 2.8 million mules and horses, 11 million cattle, 5 million pigs, and 30 million sheep.
In terms of animal husbandry, Austria is comparable to France. Prussia is comparable to France in terms of the number of pigs, cattle, sheep, and poultry. However, the number of mules and horses is seriously insufficient, with the total number being only one-tenth of France.
Austria's ordnance mainly relies on private arsenals and imports from foreign countries.
Austria's arsenals were mainly located in Bohemia and Lower Austria. Half of the rifles in the entire empire were produced in a small town called Chamanzi.
The Austrian military had a virtual monopoly on the ammunition trade in the Austrian Empire.
But then a paradox arises. If the price of ammunition is too low, the military will not make money. If the price of ammunition is set too high, the soldiers will not be able to afford the ammunition.
The standard pay for the Austrian army is 100 florins per soldier per year.
However, due to the financial problems of the Austrian Empire, only half of the standard amount, which is 50 florins, can be issued during non-war times.
The 50 florins saved were used to update equipment and provide supplies.
What's more, senior officials of the Austrian army once complained that bullets are more expensive than soldiers. Why can't these soldiers use broadswords and spears as weapons?
This will not only solve the problem of idle homeless people on the street, but also solve the problem of military expenditure.
Fortunately, the senior official who provided the advice was prevented from retiring early.
Successfully saved the lives of a large number of soldiers and ammunition suppliers.
The writing may be messy, but this is the most thoughtful one I have written so far. Mainly it's a waste of time looking up information.
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