Chapter 352 Big Business
April 21, 1842.
Northern Italy, Savoy.
As Alberto's eldest son, Vittorio married Mary Adelaide of the Habsburg family, the daughter of the Governor of Venetia, which seemed to prove that Savoy was moving closer to the Austrian Empire.
However, just one day later, King Carlo Alberto I of the Kingdom of Sardinia signed a trade agreement with the French. I won’t go into details, but the result was that it turned into another trade agreement between France and Austria after Bavaria. Second dealer.
The game between Habsburg and Bourbon in Italy has been going on for hundreds of years, and both sides are not surprised by Savoy's actions.
The Austrian Empire pulled the Papal States and a group of its relatives to form the Apennine Commercial Alliance, and France pulled Sardinia and its relatives in southern Italy who had not good relations to form the Western Mediterranean Alliance.
Of course, France and Austria are competing for hegemony. How could Britain, the troublemaker, not get involved? With British help, the Pan-Mediterranean Free Trade Association was established.
The British logic is very simple. They will beat whoever is strong, maintain the independent status of these countries, and prevent any country from becoming bigger. Of course, the most important thing is to organize these countries to serve as their own economic colonies and vanguard.
In fact, with the development of industrialization, European countries no longer tend to trade protection, but to free trade. Because every country feels that it has an advantage and can crush other countries.
Italy became the first battlefield in the name of "free trade". Why not Germany? Because the German Customs Union shut out most of the forces of Britain and France, and Bavaria's "consciousness" was a little higher than that of the Kingdom of Sardinia.
It's just that this time Austria is not busy investing too much manpower and material resources to seize the market in Sardinia or southern Italy. Instead, it is enclosing the territory as it did in the past.
The economy in southern France is poor, and it is possible for the Austrians to attack with all their strength to create a gap in the south. Austria is not afraid of the British at all in the competition for high-end industrial products, but so what?
This does not bring much benefit to the Austrian Empire, and due to raw material problems, the domestic demand for many products is very tight, and using it to expand the market seems to be a bit outweighing the gains.
This kind of false market share can be cleared by other powers with just a decree. Someone must be asking, isn’t there a spirit of contract and free trade?
But that can only be established when both parties agree, otherwise the "abandonment spirit" will teach you to be yourself every minute.
If you want to be the world's factory like the British, it is not enough to rely on Austria's own industrial capabilities. After all, the British have not been deceived by the Jewish financial consortium to industrialize like the Americans of later generations.
So Franz is still working on the one-third of an acre of land in his home, and there is also the unstable time bomb of Hungary that flashes out from time to time.
Pro-Austrian nobles such as Széchenyi and Prince Elthazy once again proposed building a railway to connect Hungary and Austria to participate in the national economy. However, as expected, they were once again characterized as "traitors" and the proposal was also criticized. and rejected.
Of course, it was impossible for Kossuth to let all Hungary's agricultural products rot in the ground. Since the two roads of Germany and Italy were unavailable, he thought of the Ottoman Empire.
In fact, Magid also wants to expand the market. After all, reform is very expensive, and where does the money come from? Naturally, it relies on trade and taxes, so you can’t reduce your own expenses, right?
But it is a pity that both countries are agricultural countries, the duplication rate of commodities is very high, and the transportation hub Belgrade is blocked by Austria. This kind of trade that was not worth the gain only lasted for a short period of time and then declared bankruptcy.
August 10, 1842.
Trieste, headquarters of the Austrian Imperial Navy.
In a surprising move, Friedrich decided to sell 11 refitted second-level battleships to his former enemy, the Oman Empire.
This may be the largest transaction in human naval history so far.
Oman also sent Suwini, the heir to the Said dynasty, and Majid, Said's favorite son, which shows how seriously it attaches importance.
Historically, it was after Said's death that they split the powerful empire established by their father and finally both became colonies of the great powers.
The reason why Said came to discuss this business was because he knew very well that the arrival of Britain and France would indeed increase Oman's income, but once the nature of weakness was discovered, it would be the two most terrifying reminders.
Said was willing to pay any price to preserve the foundation he had created, but that also required the help of the great powers.
It just so happened that Friedrich looked down upon the Egyptian battleships very much. Even after Austrian modifications, the firepower, defense, speed and other performance still could not meet his requirements.
But battleships were huge weapons in the 19th century. Just getting a few of them could change the country's defense posture, and they could even be used to kill other countries on other continents.
Therefore, who to sell to and how to deal with it became a big problem that troubled Friedrich. Fortunately, the successive visits from Britain and France stimulated Said's nerves and made him determined to strengthen his naval strength at all costs.
Friedrich immediately found Franz.
"I'm going to sell all the second-class battleships captured from Egypt to the Omanis. What do you think?" Friedrich's words were straight to the point, and Franz was used to it.
There has always been a blank in the Austrian Imperial Navy. Among the generals in the Ministry of War, only Friedrich himself had a naval background, and the others could not help at all, let alone put forward useful opinions.
"With such a big deal, how can we fill the vacancies in the Austrian Imperial Navy? The empire now is different from the past. If the maritime power forms a vacuum, or is too weak, many people will make an issue about it. Including You buy battleships Omanis."
Friedrich had already thought about this, and he had been prepared for it.
“In addition to refitting Egyptian junk over the years, we have also built and launched five battleships ourselves, including my current flagship Venetia.
After the Turkish-Egyptian War ended, the Navy built another batch of warships, and three more are expected to be launched next year. Moreover, in terms of performance, our country's self-built battleships are far better than the Egyptians' garbage. Their shipbuilding level is not even as good as Napoleon! "
It seems that Friedrich really dislikes the Egyptian battleships, and given the current world situation, Franz feels that a war between Britain and France is more likely.
Although there have always been conflicts between other countries, they are far from the time to resort to war.
"Strategically speaking, there is no problem in selling battleships to the Omanis. They pose no threat to us, but I feel that the number of the navy is still seriously insufficient. Because I have reliable intelligence, the French and the British are launching a naval arms race. .”
The French took great pains to maintain the Texas colony. They even approved the establishment of the Great Texas Naval Base, and the size of the fleet would be equal to the Grand Eastern Fleet (Mediterranean Fleet) and the Grand Occidental Fleet (Atlantic Fleet).
At this time, the situation faced by the British was much more unfavorable than in history. The Austrian Imperial Navy suddenly rose, the Russian Navy has been expanding its arms and preparing for war, France is building a large fleet to enhance its maritime strength, and the Americans are also Constantly challenging the British bottom line.
Although Britain is still technically confident of its ability to wipe out the combined navies of other powers, its power is too scattered, and the news that France will build 21 battleships at a time really touched the British's sensitive nerves.