Chapter 1158 Everyone has their own agenda (Part 1)

Chapter 1158 Everyone has their own agenda (Part 1)

The indignant Greek ambassador Andronikos was shocked by Prince Schwarzenberg's words before he had time to complain.

In fact, it was not the first time that the Austrian Empire had established a similar organization. The previous German Customs Union and the Apennine Customs Union had similar natures.

It's just that the concept of Europe is much larger than Germany or the Apennines.

This conference cost tens of millions of florins, and Franz naturally couldn't just do it for a small Albania.

It would be a great help to hold a European conference directly to unify the currency and weights and measures as soon as possible, which would be a great help for the future economic and technological development.

Because there is a lack of Qin Shihuang-like figures in European history, Franz had to come out at this time.

In fact, if possible, Franz would prefer to make a fortune quietly, but this era, including the position of Austria, does not allow him to keep a low profile.

The information of forming the Europa Monetary Union was still very shocking to most of the national representatives present, especially the six countries that had just received the news.

Viscount Stratford subconsciously felt that he should oppose it, because the establishment of the Europa Monetary Union would enhance the influence of the Austrian Empire, and at the same time, some small countries that were dependent on Austria would further lose their sovereignty and independence.

Austria would rely on its strong industrial strength to invade neighboring countries, further widening the power gap between countries.

"Your Excellency, your proposal to establish the Europa Monetary Union seems to have nothing to do with the security of the Near East."

"No, Viscount Stratford. The purpose of establishing the Europa Monetary Union is to strengthen the economic ties between countries. When the interests of all countries are closely linked, war will become expensive and inappropriate."

Prince Schwarzenberg's words immediately won a round of applause. At this time, there were many economists and politicians with similar ideas.

Since the Austrian Empire, as a great power, took the initiative to put forward this view, they did not need to hide it, and the main source of this view was Britain.

"Your Excellency, I don't think that the establishment of the Europa Monetary Union can avoid war."

Viscount Stratford said categorically, and Prince Schwarzenberg's response was very understated.

"How do you know if you don't try? What do you think?"

This is Austria's place, and most of the people invited are pro-Austrian. Naturally, it is impossible for them not to give Prince Schwarzenberg this face at this time.

"Agree!"

"Agree!"

"It's too troublesome to change the currency every time you go to a country!"

"Especially for bulk goods settlement!"

Viscount Stratford continued unmoved.

"Who can guarantee that this is not a means for your country to control the economy of other countries?"

"Of course not. The currency union will not deprive countries of the right to mint coins. The union only wants to determine the gold content, silver content, and exchange rate of the currency."

"Don't rush to deny it. Words are not enough."

This time, Viscount Stratford was interrupted by Prince Schwarzenberg before he finished speaking.

"If you don't understand, you can find an economist to help you refer to it. If you really can't find one in our country, we can introduce one to you."

Prince Schwarzenberg, who was born in a military family, looked down on Viscount Stratford, a weird guy, from the bottom of his heart. In addition, the latter had bad intentions, so it would be strange if there was no gunpowder smell.

Although Uvarov did not like the British, he was also very wary of the monetary union organized by Austria. After all, economics was not the specialty of the Russians.

Moreover, whether to support or not involved the issue of national position, and he could only give feedback to the Tsar.

In fact, the situation of the great powers was similar. Some things were not weighed on the scale, but once weighed, they could not be weighed.

Tocqueville had some different ideas. After all, France's industrial strength was not weak, and opening the European market might be a good thing for France.

And in the final analysis, it was the French who first started the monetary union. During the anti-French war, Napoleon's forced implementation of the franc in the French occupied areas injected a shot of adrenaline into the French economy.

Even after the war, except for the Netherlands, the occupied countries did not completely abandon the franc system, and Belgium directly connected its currency with the franc.

More importantly, the Austrian Empire stated that it would not deprive countries of their right to mint coins, which means that under this framework, the country with strong economic strength will have its influence expanded accordingly.

Then it is not impossible for the Austrian Empire to shoot itself in the foot with France's strong economic strength. It can not only consolidate the original franc zone, but also reversely penetrate into Austria and Spain.

There is no doubt that the Austrian Empire's proposal tempted him, but it was still the same old problem. If the political achievements were good, they would be attributed to Louis Napoleon, and if they were not, the Order Party would have to take the blame. What's more disgusting is that the first thing Louis Napoleon did after getting the political capital was to deal with the Order Party.

Tocqueville sighed and his eyes involuntarily glanced at the ambassadors of Alsace Lorraine and Fribourg.

If possible, Tocqueville would rather support the Bourbon orthodoxy of Count Chambord, but in his eyes, even if the Orleans family came to rule, it would be much better than now.

At this time, Prussian Foreign Minister Franz Eichmann was an extremely cautious diplomat, and he showed very complicated feelings about the Austrian Empire's proposal.

Establishing a currency union is undoubtedly a good thing for Prussia, but it is not so good. After all, Prussia cannot directly reap the dividends of the Apennines and further regions.

As Prussia grows, the Austrian Empire will also grow, and as long as nothing extreme happens, the latter will definitely develop faster than the former.

But in order to limit the development speed of the Austrian Empire, is it worth abandoning Prussia's own development?

"Of course not. Our opponent is not only Austria, and the German nation cannot escape competition if it wants to stand among the nations of the world.

Being backward does not necessarily mean being beaten, but it will definitely be bullied. In this era, being weak is a sin in itself, and whether the weak are beaten or not does not depend on themselves.

If the Austrians are in power, we can still survive. But if the French are in power, we Prussia will lose our rights and humiliate our country at best, and be crushed to ashes at worst.

Not to mention that there are more terrible British and Russians in the world than the French."

Bismarck's tone was as firm as ever, but Franz Eichmann doubted these words.

"If it were in the past, the kindness of the Habsburg family would indeed be trustworthy, but the new emperor is very warlike and bloodthirsty, and he didn't even allow the Hungarians in the fortress to surrender.

A civil war killed at least three million people, and it is not impossible to add another million after the war."

"The Hungarians were not in a civil war at all, they didn't even admit that they were Europeans. It would be strange if the Austrians would be soft on the barbarians who invaded Europe.

Look at the civil war between Austria and the National Assembly, it was such a big battle, and both sides claimed to have a total of one million people, but what was the result?

How many people were killed in the war and executed after the war? At most, it was exile. What kind of exile is Texas?

A German who wants to go to Texas must pay at least 100 thalers, which is enough for ordinary people to save for several years."