Chapter 131 Ending
Austrian Empire, Graz.
The Oak Hotel was actually booked, which made many businessmen and nobles who were fleeing the flood very unhappy.
However, when he saw the Rothschild family crest, he had to leave in anger.
Solomon Rothschild was sitting alone by the stove. Days of heavy rain had caused the temperature to drop sharply. The alternation of hot and cold gave him a cold, and the doctor's bloodletting treatment made him feel cold all over.
What was colder than Solomon's body was his heart. How he hoped that this flood could directly wash away all the scum in Vienna and drown them in the Danube forever.
Solomon lost a lot of things in the past few years, including money, railroads, allies, organizations, the empire he built, and his self-confidence.
This heavy rain will undoubtedly cause a reduction in grain production, and the price of grain will further rise. The grain he threw out before will definitely fetch double the price if sold now.
Solomon wanted to endure it, but the more he thought about it, the more angry he became. The only way to break the situation now was to buy grain from the United States to suppress Austrian grain prices. As for Russia, he did not dare to go.
Solomon had already purchased grain from the United States a month ago. At that time, the price of grain in the United States had doubled to twice the previous price, but it was still lower than the price of grain in Austria at this time.
The grain was already on its way, but if he wanted to recoup his money, the price difference was not enough, so he thought of a "good idea."
A bolt of lightning pierced the night sky, and Solomon's face looked distorted and terrifying.
In Hungary, the Drava River suddenly burst, causing a large area of farmland in southern Hungary that was not seriously affected to be washed away.
People in Hungary feel that the flooding of the south is a reflection of fairness and justice in the world.
Many nobles in the parliament were thinking about how much good land they could buy from the poor after the flood.
Széchenyi looked worried. With the money in his hands, it would be a drop in the bucket to help those affected by this disaster.
Hungary was extremely weak at this time. If an uprising broke out, it would definitely make the situation worse. If the Hungarian army could not suppress it, the Austrian army would intervene. He really didn't dare to think about what things would be like by then.
Food prices in Austria have nearly doubled. This situation is simply the end of the country.
On the streets of Vienna, the floods had just receded, and long queues formed in front of bakeries. The mixed bread, which usually no one bought, became a best-seller.
The price of mixed bread is only 30% of that of ordinary bread. It is not clear whether it is mixed with wood chips, stones, or mouse hair.
Dead fish on the streets were being fought over and taken home. Large groups of women and children in the suburbs were looking for ferns and other food to satisfy their hunger in the grass.
This tragedy was repeated not only in Vienna, but also in major cities in Europe at this time.
In this era, ordinary people had very little savings. Once there was a famine, they would have to beg everywhere. Fortunately, each country had its own measures. At the same time, there were plants and prey in the wilds of Europe that could satisfy hunger all year round, so the scale of the famine would not change. Very big.
Food crises are usually accompanied by plague epidemics, a surge in theft cases and refugees.
The Austrian government knows very well that Austrian businessmen now have grain in their hands, so they directly limit the price and do not allow the price of grain to exceed 1.7 times the original price.
The royal family takes the lead in complying with the regulations, and the businessmen will make money anyway, so they will naturally not cause trouble.
If you want to sell Austrian grain abroad, you must pay a tax that is twice the price of the goods themselves.
As for those businessmen who want not to pay taxes, they will be stopped by the army at the national border. How much the army will take from them depends entirely on the mood of those soldiers.
While Austria restricted grain exports, almost all states in the German Zollverein began to restrict grain exports.
In comparison, food prices in Austria are the lowest in Germany.
At the same time, the Austrian government has also introduced a lot of related relief policies.
The most important of them is to provide relief for work. Franz is not prepared to let civilians suffer. There are many large-scale projects in Austria that need urgent repairs, such as railways and dredging of rivers. Franz is also planning to build a dam on the Danube River and raise the height of the river in Vienna. The height of the embankments was increased to prevent Vienna from being flooded again. These projects required a large number of cheap labor.
Franz's proposals were sent to the Regency Council. Archduke Franz Karl and Archduke Louis signed without even looking at them. Count Kololaf and Prince Metternich on the side were a little embarrassed, but they also signed one after another. own name.
The original intentions of all Franz's actions were good, and they could indeed solve the problems currently faced by the Austrian Empire. However, there was one thing that made Metternich and Count Korolaf very upset, and that was that the Austrian Imperial Government had to purchase the royal family at market prices. the matter of food
Refugees and poor people from all German states are pouring into Austria crazily, and this behavior is also encouraged by the governments of all states. After all, these victims are refugees when they stay in their own countries, and refugees are the source of all evils, including plague, theft, and riots. All are closely related to the word refugee.
Prussia, Berlin.
William III took a swig of opium wine to calm down.
"Weilich, why can't grain prices in the Rhine region be suppressed? Why are the grains you purchased from Russia only one-third of the original plan?"
"Because there is no food and no money." Wei Lixi replied.
"I clearly allocated funds to you, why do you still say you have no money? You must be lining your own pockets, you shameless bastard." William III's eyes were red and he coughed repeatedly. His body was no longer what it used to be, and the roar just now was exhausted. All his strength.
"I arrived in Russia and paid the money, but I only got one-third of the food I originally planned."
It was obvious that Russia had torn up its previous agreement with Prussia, and of course there was someone else who let Russia make the decision.
Friedrich List arrived in Russia first and met with His Majesty the Tsar.
"Dear His Majesty the Tsar, it is my honor to work with you on behalf of the United States of America to reach an agreement on food prices that will benefit both of our countries."
"Mr. Lister, don't you know that King William III of your country is my father-in-law?"
"Dear Your Majesty, but this time you are trading not only with Prussia, but also with France, Spain, Sardinia and the Low Countries. As long as Russia and the American Republic can jointly protect the bottom line of prices, profits of hundreds of millions of dollars will be at your fingertips."
Franz, on the other hand, continued to purchase wasteland in Hungary with the money he earned from the imperial government.
Of course, the imperial government did not actually suffer much loss, because except for Austria, the grain in surrounding countries quickly rose to three times the price at the beginning of the year. Even if it paid double the fine, it could still make money by selling it to the countries of the German Customs Union.
"Why." William III asked reluctantly.
"The Russians said they had to pay more," Weilich replied.
"Treacherous Russian barbarian! I am so blind!" The angry William III grabbed the opium wine beside him and drank it hard. Suddenly he fell down stiffly.
The imperial physician was helpless about William III's condition, so Friedrich List brought in a doctor who was said to have saved many lives by transfusing sheep's blood.
In desperation, everyone agreed to transfuse sheep blood.
William III died.