Chapter 1001: A Money Losing Deal
Chapter 981 – Money Losing Deal
With the withdrawal of the Allied Forces, the law and order in France also deteriorated dramatically. The revolutionary government in Paris, which had just taken over the power, obviously lacked experience in governance, and the measures taken to cope with the situation were even more ludicrous.
For example: the Economic Recovery Act, the Employment Act, the Social Assistance Act ……
It may seem that these measures are all very good, but in fact they ignore feasibility. Whether it is economic recovery, boosting the employment rate, or social assistance, none of them can be separated from – money.
It just so happens that France just doesn’t have any money right now. The Continental War has not only impoverished the French government, but even the civil consortiums have been so badly damaged that they cannot afford to provide funds for the Paris government.
No money, then print money, do not know which genius came up with the idea. 1 franc, 2 francs small amount of money, has long been out of history, since the success of the revolution in Paris on the franc on the zero has been increasing.
In a France where everyone is a billionaire, carrying a bag of money to buy bread is no longer news.
Ordinary people, no matter how hard they try, can’t keep up with inflation. As the Times described it, the franc adds a zero every month.
The economy had collapsed and the revolutionary government in Paris was still in constant infighting. President Robert, the scapegoat, had long since been ousted by the angry French public, and now in power was the seventeenth President of the French Republic – Baptiste.
On average, the government changes twice a month, which is a true reflection of “the emperor takes turns to be, next year to my home”. It can be said that all the political factions that have a little bit of energy have had a president.
However, the end result is the same, no matter who is in power can not do long, let alone control the situation.
Hanging a cigar, after swallowing a cloud of fog, President Baptiste asked: “When will the assistance of the European Union be able to be realized?”
France has no money, want to get rid of financial difficulties can only turn to the international community. There is no doubt that the only one who can help them in the current situation is the Continental Union.
Although the British also have money, but John Bull’s money is hot! The Holy Roman Empire is now the dominant power in Europe, and to get entangled with the British is just looking for death.
Foreign Minister Fernandez: “With great regret, Mr. President. The Continental Union has issued a final disc ordering us to name a king within a month and restore the monarchy.
If we fail to meet their demands, not only will we lose our international aid, but we may also be sanctioned by the Union.
Just yesterday morning, Chekov, the head of the Holy Roman Empire’s Grain Commission, issued a White Paper on Grain Exports, which revised downward the total amount of grain planned to be exported to our country in the second half of the year by one million tons.”
Theoretically, after giving up the Italian regions, there is no longer a shortage of grain in France. But this was only in theory; because of the war, French agricultural production had been devastated, and food had to depend on international imports.
The Holy Roman Empire had monopolized the European grain trade for not a day or two, and with the birth of the Continental Union, it had pushed this monopoly to the extreme.
As a strengthened version of the European Union, a customs union is naturally indispensable. Agricultural products from the Americas wanted to be imported into France, but also had to pay high tariffs.
If the tariffs were collected by the French government, these would naturally not be a problem. Unfortunately, as part of the Sinking Fund, France’s tariff rights have long since fallen into the hands of the Antifa.
Tax evasion was out of the question. Self-interest was involved, and the Viennese government kept a very close eye on the importation of foreign agricultural, industrial and commercial products. Even if someone wants to smuggle, they can only take goods from their own house.
In this context, the Holy Roman Empire downward adjustment of food exports to France, the Paris government’s blow is undoubtedly fatal.
Once the food input is insufficient, the outbreak of a famine, in a moment can be swallowed up by the revolutionary government of Paris.
“After all our efforts, don’t we have any effect at all?”
After saying that, Baptiste closed his eyes. The facts were in front of them, but if only a few countries in the alliance had spoken up for them, they wouldn’t have ended up in this situation.
As a member of the republican faction, on the issue of restoration, Baptiste simply had no way to compromise.
As a matter of fact, even if the revolutionary government in Paris was willing to compromise, the result would not come out for a while.
It seemed that the republicans were in power, but in fact the government was still most populated by royalists. If it were not for the pro-royalist parties’ proximity to each other and their mutual constraints, there would be no republicans at all.
Foreign Minister Fernandez waved his hand and said hopelessly: “This is all the responsibility of the Bonaparte dynasty, all the countries in Europe have been offended by them, so that it is difficult to start our diplomatic work.
Wanting to change this situation is not something that can be accomplished overnight. Unless the climax of the European revolution comes again, otherwise ……”
The Bonaparte dynasty offended many countries, as did the revolutionary government in Paris. Just the word “revolutionaries” was enough to cause strong resentment.
Revolutions are contagious, and the European Union’s eagerness to promote the restoration of France was essentially an attempt to curb the spread of revolutionary ideas.
Baptiste interrupted, “Stop it, this is not the time to export revolutionary ideas. Once we start exporting revolutionary ideas, it is estimated that the Russians outside of Paris will immediately kill us and send us to the guillotine!
It’s not that I’m afraid, it’s mainly because the monarchical feudal system is too powerful right now, and in a short period of time we don’t have the ability for them to collide, there’s no need to make fearless sacrifices.”
Prime Minister Michael warned, “His Excellency the President is right, it is indeed not the right time to contract a hard enemy.
Right now our most important thing is to solve the refugee problem and the unemployment problem. The refugee problem, in particular, has become a tumor that jeopardizes national security.
Many local governments can’t hold out any longer, and if we don’t come up with measures soon, they’re going to lure the refugees toward Paris.
As a matter of fact, certain places have already started to do so. I’ve been around Paris, and the actual situation is ten times worse than what we expected before.
The relief food distributed by the government is not even close to full coverage. A lot of places have gone haywire, and I witnessed three lootings in one morning’s work.
And that’s in Paris. The rest of the country is only going to get worse. If we can’t find a way to restore order as soon as possible, I’m afraid ……”
The problem was right in front of us, and anyone could see it. Unfortunately how to solve it, everyone was in a daze. If it really could be easily fixed, France wouldn’t change governments so often.
……
In the distance, a group of ragged people appeared on the horizon. Men and women, old and young, it can be seen that this cool “beggar” army of people are fleeing from the disaster.
A middle-aged man at the head of the group panted and said, “Paris is ahead, we will have bread to eat when we get there!”
“Really? We’re not going to eat grass roots and bark again, are we?”
The youngster’s tender face released a skeptical gaze, making the middle-aged man very embarrassed.
“Of course it’s true, this is Paris, our capital. The richest place in all of France, it’s definitely possible to find food!”
In fact, the middle-aged man didn’t have a clue in his heart either. Along the way, they had received too many blows and were about to become numb.
The residents along the way all regarded them as flood beasts, and the so-called relief from the local government was just a piece of black bread or a potato every day. It wasn’t enough for a meal, let alone a day.
If they wanted to survive, they had to fill their stomachs with wild vegetables. Unfortunately, the number of refugees was so great that the wild vegetables were quickly eaten up, and in the end, they could only feed on tree bark and grass roots.
The middle-aged man, who did not want to be a sitting duck, took his family to Paris, which had become their last hope.
The middle-aged man and his family were not the first to go to Paris, nor would they be the last to arrive. Since the withdrawal of the main force of the anti-French alliance, refugees from all over the world have been pouring into Paris.
Outside of Paris, the Russian command, is looking into the distance Admiral Evgeny suddenly let out a sigh.
“There are more and more refugees in Paris, and I don’t know if the French government can hold out.”
Being concerned about the French government was not that he was pro-France. In fact, Admiral Evgeny was still a staunch anti-French faction.
If one were to ask why, it would be that his father and older brother had all met their deaths in the Battle of the Crimea. The hatred of his country mixed with the hatred of his family was the reason why Evgeny volunteered to join the garrison.
Instead of being concerned about the French government, he was more concerned about the reparations that the French government would have to pay. Don’t look at the fact that the first year Russia was able to share only a few million guilders, but for the tsarist government, it was an equally important income.
The fundamental purpose of the Russian troops stationed in France was to ensure that the reparations were properly honored. Once France was thrown into chaos, Admiral Evgeny’s mission would not be accomplished.
“Your Excellency the Commander, you are thinking too much. If the French government can’t hold up, just get another one up there. No matter who wins or loses in the end, as long as they continue to honor their debts.
If you have time to spare, you might as well find a way to sell some specialties back to your country to earn some pocket money.
I think the French have good machinery and equipment, so if we can find a chance to seize a few factories and get their equipment back, we’ll definitely be able to make a lot of money.
At that time ……”
Not waiting for the middle-aged officer to finish his sentence, Admiral Evgeny interrupted, “Lieutenant General Andrei, if you’re out of your mind, go ahead and do it! Don’t drag me into this kind of money-losing business.
You can’t even think of turning over machinery and equipment. Do you know that the industrial standards in China are all Austrian standards, and who will you sell the French machinery to?”
Industrial standards are a hard nut to crack. Whether the domestic engineers can manipulate the French machinery or not, the key is that the industrial chain is not connected.
Raw material specifications, replacement of spare parts, whether the product meets market standards, all these issues need to be taken into account.
If you really want to move the French machinery and equipment home, then you have to move the whole industrial chain together. Obviously, this is impossible.
Relocating, installing, and putting into production not only takes time, but also requires a large amount of capital investment. The amount of money needed to change the country’s industrial chain was enough to bankrupt the Tsarist government a hundred times.
Unable to do the relocation of the industrial chain, just some industrial equipment, that is similar to scrap iron. From Paris to dismantle the machinery back to sell scrap iron, do not lose money is a problem.
Of course, some of the low-tech industries with low demand for industrial chains can still be done, but these industries are usually saturated.
Capitalists are unlikely to replace machinery and equipment in their own factories just because the looted equipment is cheaper, it’s not in their interest.
(End of chapter)