Chapter 703 The Tsar’s New Agreement
Saint Petersburg, Winter Palace.
The secret agreement to annex the Free City of Krakow to the Austrian Empire was reconfirmed by the Tsar, and Nicholas I became aware that Russian refugees were fleeing to Galicia.
After the envoy from the Austrian Empire left, the Tsar issued an order to block the Russian-Austrian border based on the principle of "I don't want it, and no one else wants it."
In fact, the former Polish Governor-General Paskiewicz knew the Tsar very well, and everything he did was in line with the Tsar's ideas.
But as soon as the former governor left, his policies were thrown away like toilet paper. It would probably be summer before the news could be sent back to Warsaw from St. Petersburg.
During this period, something happened that made Nicholas I very happy, that is, he finally mortgaged his "freezer" (Alaska) to the French and obtained a loan of 200 million francs.
This was far beyond the expectations of the Tsar himself. After all, the two hundred million francs or something, he was just bluffing.
However, Russian officials did not think that was a bluff. They only knew that they would be punished if they failed.
Under the coercion and inducement of the Russians, Pierre Guiscard knew very well that if he did not sign, he would most likely not be able to leave St. Petersburg alive.
He is a French official and a businessman, so he understands the principle of choosing the lesser of two evils.
So Pierre Guiscard chose to protect himself, and left the rest to the wisdom of future generations.
Finally, Russia and France signed a new agreement:
Russia mortgaged Alaska to France to obtain a 200 million franc loan. France paid 100 million francs upfront and then paid off the remaining 100 million francs within three years for a period of eight years with an annual interest rate of 7%.
At the same time, after the first batch of funds is received, France will obtain the right to develop all resources in Alaska.
On the day when the loan expires, Russia must redeem all the buildings owned by the French merchants at the cost.
——
This is the dividing line between not being prepared to pay back the money——
Since the news from St. Petersburg was delivered extremely slowly during the ice period, the new Polish Governor-General Wimberowski was a romantic poet-general, so there were inevitable stops and starts along the way.
By coincidence, Poland was a particularly romantic land, and he was particularly lucky.
So when Wenbetlovsky arrived in Warsaw, most of the refugees had already passed the Russian-Austrian border, and at this time Warsaw was also suffering from a severe cholera epidemic.
There were sad looks everywhere, people dressed in black tried to avoid contact with each other, and no one even wanted to stop to say "hello".
The only lively place in the city is the coffin shop. Not only the families of the deceased need it, but many living people also come to join in the fun.
The bags under the eyes of the coffin shop owner's dead face were heavier, as if he had never slept. It was just that he would occasionally giggle after making a deal, which was creepy.
Wembetrovsky's first impression of the city was not very good, and his good mood was wiped out on the road.
Many big nobles sent him invitations to various balls and salons, and some small nobles, businessmen, and officers were waiting outside to see him.
Wembetrovsky decided to do what the Tsar had told him first, which was to close the Russian-Austrian border to prevent the outflow of Russian property.
However, the officials of Russian Poland were not efficient in their work. It took more than twenty days to reach the border, and it took another month to completely seal the border.
At this time, Austria had received more than 700,000 refugees, of which more than 650,000 survived.
Although these refugees speak a variety of languages, there are always one or two Austrian officials who can understand them.
The first phase of the Transnistria River improvement project has been basically completed in six months. 180,000 hectares of the 2 million hectares have been developed, of which about 100,000 hectares have been cultivated. The newly developed land has missed the season. Plant some other crops and make do.
Franz also planned to build a railway, but it was still nominally for military needs, and there happened to be a medium-sized fortress along the Dniester River.
In fact, the location of this fortress is so embarrassing that it is on the verge of being abandoned, and the garrison has long been reduced from 5,000 at its peak to 200.
However, Franz must not blatantly build a railway for his family's estate. After all, he still has to save face.
As for the veins of the mine, people have been sent to find them a long time ago, but it still takes time to build and put into production.
Of course, Franz could also just start production without hesitation, and the only problem he would face would be the death of a few more miners and a few more accidents.
Even if the construction procedures are followed completely, the mine cannot guarantee 100% safety, and the new equipment may not be able to save a few more people.
But Franz would not use this reason to comfort himself or deceive others.
In fact, due to the introduction of new mine shafts, new safety lights, safety helmets, and more reliable machinery and equipment, mining accidents in Bohemia and Northern Italy decreased by 72%, and the number of accident fatalities dropped by 93%.
However, hundreds of people still die in mining accidents every year, and even more people die indirectly in mines, including fatigue, hunger, related diseases, such as silicosis, heat stroke, various accidental poisonings, etc.
Silicosis, a dust inhalation disease, had almost no solution at the time, and the development of industrial mines could not be stopped for a moment.
Franz could only give them more protection measures, wear masks, masks, and splash water to absorb dust in the air.
However, this measure is really not practical in the underground mining area at this time, and will instead cause more heatstroke.
The space in the underground mine is small and it is difficult to dissipate heat. A large number of people and machinery are constantly dissipating heat. Coupled with the humid air, the entire mine is like a steamer.
Therefore, heatstroke is not uncommon in mines. Although exotic heat-relieving drugs such as Huoxiang Zhengqi Water have greatly reduced the mortality rate, it is still a very dangerous situation, and a little carelessness may cause irreparable consequences.
Historically, European miners did not have any good measures to prevent heatstroke, and doctors did not care about the life and death of mud-legged people.
The only way miners can think of is to go shirtless and drink water. Some old miners will carry one or two mint leaves with them, and if they feel unwell, they will put them in the water and take them.
However, with the introduction of traditional Chinese medicine and the intervention of the medical field, a large number of heatstroke prevention products have been developed. Products such as Huoxiang Zhengqi Water, Isatis Root, Mint Water, and Lemonade are widely sold in mining areas.
Among them, Huoxiang Zhengqi water has the best sales because of its alcoholic taste, and some special mining cultures have even evolved from it.
There is no sunlight all year round under the mine, coupled with all kinds of messy toxic substances, the air circulation is difficult, germs multiply wildly, and some people with weak constitutions may even suffer from various symptoms of poisoning.
There is nothing we can do about this at this time, we can only accumulate little by little and slowly study prevention and treatment measures.
Although there are many various problems in the mines of the Austrian Empire, looking at the world at this time, it should be considered the safest and soundest.