In the midst of the civil service examinations, the Austrian troops in the Papal States set out on their way home with the farewell of Pope Pius IX.

Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, who had just ascended to the presidency and wanted to use interference in the Papal States to make his presence felt, had to regrettably choose to give up.

The Austrian army had already done the work, Pope Pius IX had no intention of changing the boss at all, and the French army would have invaded if it had passed.

If the Austrian army didn't leave, maybe Pius IX would have asked the French to check and balance, but now that they were all starting to evacuate, why should he make himself unhappy?

History took a turn for the worse when the French did not take the opportunity to penetrate deep into Italy, and Austria retained its influence in the Italian state by intervening in the military operations of the Papal States.

This was very important for the Austrian business community, and it also meant preserving the commercial market, which gave a boost to the ongoing industrial revolution.

At the new round of government meetings, Chancellor of the Exchequer Karl Ludwig von Bruck said in high spirits: "The development of industry and commerce cannot be separated from the market.

Looking at the countries of the world, only the British completed the Industrial Revolution, which was built on the fact that they had a huge colony.

Austria does not have a vast colony, and if we want to catch up with the British, we need to build a market that belongs to Austria.

We have unleashed the local market through a series of reforms, but this still needs time to cultivate, and it is far from meeting the actual needs of our industrial and commercial development.

The use of diplomacy to create a business circle, led by Austria, will greatly promote the economic development of the country and accelerate the process of our industrialization.

By adding the Kingdom of Naples, the Papal States, Tuscany, Bavaria, Württemberg and other regions into the economic circle, we will have a large market of 67 million people, making it the largest economy on the European continent.

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Bringing together the Italian states and South Germany to form the largest economy on the continent would not only be economic, but also politically would cement Austria's position as the hegemon of southern Europe.

By the way, we can also strike at the rising Kingdom of Prussia, with Austria as the core of the business circle, and the German Customs Union existed in name only.

Because of transportation, even if the Prussians were to join the new economy, they would not be able to reach the Italian region, and before the railway was connected, the cost of transportation alone would make their products uncompetitive.

The new market is not reached, but the original German market will face the impact of Austrian goods, and the current Kingdom of Prussia is not the Kingdom of Prussia twenty years later, and the manufacturing industry does not have an advantage over Upper Austria.

Although the plan is good, it is not easy to implement it. The first is what convinces everyone that a common economy is good for them.

Regardless of any alliance, interests are the best bond. It is obviously in Austria's interest to have an economic circle dominated by Austria, but not necessarily for these member countries.

No one can deny that the Austrian Industrial Revolution needed to suck blood from the outside, at least in its infancy, and that was essential.

Only in the later stage can you use the high added value of the product to make a profit under the guise of trade balance, so that the food looks better.

Metternich objected: "Mr. Karl, your plan is indeed very good, but unfortunately the success rate of this plan is too low.

Whether it's Italy or South Germany, once they get too much of it, they will switch jobs, and Austria is not their only option. ”

These small countries are following Austria for the sake of profit, and if Austria is not able to protect their interests, then it is not impossible to change the boss.

Don't talk about loyalty between nations, that doesn't exist. There was no betrayal, it was because there were not enough chips for betrayal.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Karl confidently explained: "But Austria is their best choice!" It is true that we have the greatest benefit from the common economy, but that does not mean that they are completely deprived of benefits.

At least some of the people who work with us can get a greater benefit, and if the ruling class is turned into this interest group, then everything will not be a problem.

As long as we can control this degree, the people at the bottom will not feel it, for example, in the customs union in Germany, won't the people resist the Kingdom of Prussia?

Once the Industrial Revolution is complete, with technological superiority, we can also push commerce to balance trade, further hiding this plundering of wealth. ”

Franz's heart was shocked, this was to support the comprador class.

The industrial sprouts in the Italian region in the north, the central and southern regions are blank, and the capitalist economy has not yet developed; The South German region was no better, with the same slow economic development and the market flooded with goods from the Kingdom of Prussia.

Now Austria wants to establish an economic circle, and for the ruling classes of these states, it does not harm their interests, but on the contrary, everyone can achieve a win-win situation through cooperation.

"What about the attitude of the other powers? If we push forward with this plan, will it create an uncontrollable diplomatic situation? Felix asked with concern

Metternich got up and wandered around the room for a few steps before giving an answer.

"It's not a big problem. These areas are our traditional sphere of influence, we have not crossed the border, and the reaction of the great powers will not be too violent.

During the recent visit to Vienna by British Foreign Secretary Palmerston, we have redefined our sphere of influence in Italy, and the British have no reason to intervene even if they are dissatisfied.

On the Russians' side, we can still get support, and the tsarist government will not care about these small problems.

The French were too busy to take care of themselves, and Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte used dishonorable means in order to be elected president, and the republicans would not obey him.

With a republican-dominated cabinet and parliament against the president, the French will not be able to do anything for a long time to come.

It is expected that the Prussians will strongly oppose it, but their opinions are dispensable, and they are powerless to stop our action. ”

"The British have no reason to intervene", this is a joke, Franz preferred to believe that the British did not have the strength to intervene, or that there was no interest in making them act desperately.

In this era, the British Empire had no shortage of markets, and as the only industrial country, coupled with the most extensive colonial market, their lives were too comfortable.

The British investment in Italy was mainly concentrated in the Kingdom of Sardinia, as well as Lombardy and Venice, and few merchants would be stupid enough to invest in South Italy.

The Italian states were still feudal dynasties, and the commercial market was dispensable for John Bull, and it was not worth turning the other cheek with Austria for this.

Coupled with the support of the Russians, the British were ineffective even if they were opposed. Before the Crimean War, the British had not yet achieved a recognized supremacy, at least not Austria.

The attitude of the Kingdom of Prussia was not now enough to make Austria fearful, and now they had not yet unified Germany, and they were not yet the awesome Second Reich that would come to pass.

In 1848, the Kingdom of Prussia had a population of only 13 million, less than 40 percent of Austria's total, and its economy was about half that of Austria. (Note: Economic aggregate is not equal to industry)

"What about Spain?" Franz asked with concern

Other European countries can ignore it, but Spain's attitude cannot be ignored, and Spain's influence in the Kingdom of Naples is not weak at all, or even greater.

Spain is no longer the era of the Habsburgs, it is now the era of Isabel II of the Bourbons, and their attitude must also be taken into account.

Metternich explained: "Your Majesty, according to the information we have, there are serious contradictions within the Kingdom of Spain, and a revolution could occur at any time.

We are only building business alliances, and we are not harming their interests, and it is unlikely that the Spanish government will interfere. ”

Franz nodded, isn't it the most conventional operation to pinch soft persimmons, as long as Austria did not annex the Kingdom of Naples, the Spaniards could accept it.

Besides, at the current level of industry in Spain, there are really not many industrial products exported to the Kingdom of Naples.

"Mr. Karl, if we expand the market so much, can the domestic industry and commerce keep up? If we can't seize the market at the first time, if we cultivate a group of competitors, we will be embarrassed. Prime Minister Felix asked with a frown

Don't laugh at others, Austrian industry in this era was not very developed. In southeastern Europe, it is at the level of development, and it is far worse than the British, even compared with the French.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, you can rest assured that our Ministry of Industry can guarantee to defeat any competitor!" Industry Minister Kaschin-Qubeck said with confidence

His self-confidence is premised on the initial success of the establishment of the state-owned enterprise system, and compared with the pursuit of interests by private enterprises, the current strategic goal of state-owned enterprises is to complete the industrial revolution as soon as possible, and profits are all floating clouds.

The Austrian government did not draw blood from the companies, and now the profits generated by these companies are naturally all invested in technological innovation and the expansion of production.

Now that the damage caused by the war to industry and commerce has recovered, Austria's manufacturing industry is on a rapid rise.

This speed is not the limit, as long as the government is willing to spend money on it, it can continue to improve.

This was expected by Franz, and no matter how later generations criticized the state-owned system, the state-owned economy played a positive role in the primitive capital accumulation stage.

As long as the management of the enterprise has not rotted, the state-owned enterprises with many advantages are definitely more effective than private enterprises.

The Soviet Union is the best example of this, which developed by leaps and bounds in a short period of time and built a huge empire.

As for the question of the later decline, Franz was completely dismissive. If you want to decline, you have to rise first. There are no problems yet, why do you want to go so far?

It's a big deal to wait for the state-owned economy to fail, and then carry out economic transformation. In any case, Austria is not only a state-owned economy, but also a private enterprise.

After the completion of the industrial revolution, we will sell off the unprofitable light industry enterprises one after another, and the government will just control the industries related to the international people's livelihood.

Seeing that everyone had no doubts, Franz said: "If you have no doubts, then the plan to establish a business circle with Austria as the core will be voted on now, and those who agree with it should raise their hands." ”

Democratic voting, this is not Franz's innovation, it has been in Europe for a long time, he just learned from the advanced experience of his predecessors.

In Austria, the people who are qualified to participate in decision-making are all senior officials at the ministerial level and above, and the main purpose is to check and balance power.

Franz was not a power-grabbing man, and he lost most of his affairs to the cabinet, and in order to avoid being hollowed out, he added another democratic vote to the enlarged government meeting.

Officials at or above the ministerial level are personally appointed and dismissed by the king, and it is impossible to buy them under normal circumstances. They are all candidates for cabinet ministers, and while accepting the leadership of the cabinet, they also divide the powers of the cabinet.