It is not only the British who have been affected by the cotton crisis, but also the French. As a large country that has completed industrialization, the French also have a very high demand for cotton.

The cotton textile industry is also an important part of the French economy, and it is natural that Napoleon III, who attached great importance to the development of the domestic economy, could not ignore this issue.

After seeing the success of the Austrians in promoting cotton cultivation in Africa, Napoleon III also wanted to follow suit, and even chose the place.

At the Palace of Versailles, Colonial Chancellor Stern was embarrassed and said: "Your Majesty, our colonies in West Africa lack enough immigrants, and it is very difficult to promote cotton cultivation. ”

Cotton is a labor-intensive industry, especially when harvesting, which requires a lot of manpower.

France's population is growing at a slower rate than a snail's advance, almost standing still. If immigrants are organized from within the country to develop the African continent, it is not clear that the local population will continue to grow negatively.

This is obviously impossible, and the decline in population will lead to a shortage of labor, which will inevitably lead to an increase in labor costs, which the domestic capitalists will certainly not be able to bear.

Napoleon III asked, "If we introduce preferential policies to absorb immigrants in Europe, will this solve this problem?" ”

"Your Majesty, most of the immigrants who leave Europe every year come from the German region. Since Austria opened up the African colonies, most of these immigrants have entered the Austrian colonies.

From 1854 to the present, in just seven years, Austrian Africa has absorbed more than 1.4 million immigrants.

Thanks to these immigrants, Austrian Africa has grown faster than any other region on the continent. They are under the banner of rebuilding Germany's second home, and it will be difficult for us to compete with him. ”

Foreign Minister Auvergne directly shattered Napoleon III's illusions, and from the beginning of the 19th century, the German region was the main place of immigration in Europe, accounting for half of European immigrants.

It is followed by Ireland, Italy, and Southern Europe. Needless to say, the peak of immigration in Ireland has passed.

Southern Europe is the basic territory of Austria, and even if it is an immigrant, everyone is going to develop a better Austrian colony.

Because of the French invasion of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which caused resistance from the Italian population, few immigrants went to French Africa.

Napoleon III nodded, this is an undeniable fact. The population resources are insufficient, and it is naturally difficult to engage in overseas colonization.

This difficulty did not deter Napoleon III, but rather fueled his ambition to annex Italy. The Napoleonic family came from the Italian region and had a special affection for Italy.

Returning home is a dream for many, and Napoleon III was no exception. To go back as the Emperor of France is certainly illustrious. It would be even more perfect if he was also the king of Italy.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Pellisses said: "Your Majesty, if you want to solve the labor shortage in Africa, it is not impossible. ”

Napoleon III was delighted and asked, "Oh, tell me, what do you have to do?" ”

"Your Majesty," Perissis proposed: "As far as I know, when Austria opened up its colonies in Africa, the first immigrants were refugees from the Balkans.

Although there are no refugees now, we can still find a way to solve the problem of insufficient migration from the Balkans. ”

The Balkan colony is also considered the best developed part of the French colony, and after so many years of restoration, the population of the French Balkan Peninsula has reached 3.8 million.

It's just that because of the geographical location close to Russia and Austria, the military pressure is very great.

Russia and Austria stabbed them in secret, the local population often rioted, and the French ruled the region very difficult.

Previously, there were also proposals in the French government to sell the French Balkan Peninsula and simply keep the Dardanelles.

It is a pity that there is no buyer in the world, the British do not want to be neighbors with Russia and Austria on land, the Russians have no money to afford it, Franz thinks that the French ask too high a price, and it is easy to cause a backlash from the Russians.

After going around in circles, it ended up in the hands of the French. In order to defend this rich colony, the French government stationed 80,000 troops in the Balkans.

Huge military spending offset the gains that the French government received from the Balkans. This seemingly delicious land has actually become chicken ribs a long time ago.

Napoleon III said with some hesitation: "The people of the Balkan Peninsula are fierce, and the Russians are importing Great Slavism, and the locals are probably not willing to go to the colonies." ”

It was also a mistake of the French government's colonial strategy, which did not carry out the Great Purge in the first place, nor did it send immigrants to the Balkans for ethnic integration.

If there is no external intervention, then with the past experience of France, it will not be a problem to dominate the Balkans.

It's a pity that the two neighbors of Russia and Austria are not fuel-efficient lamps, but the two countries are allies, and the life of the French colonial government is difficult.

Fortunately, everyone is an imperial country, and there is no national republican ideology, otherwise the French will be in even more trouble.

Great Slavism is now the most prevalent in the French Balkans. Originally, Franz was also going to play with cultural export, but the cruel reality told him that there was really no market for Germanic culture here.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Pellisses was confident: "We can levy a poll tax and introduce immigration incentives." All we need is cheap labor, and we don't need local intellectuals.

For the sake of the stability of the colony, we can first carry out a great purge, kill all the local diehards, and then slowly organize the emigration.

Now is the best chance, Alexander II is fighting with the nobles of the country in the dark, and there is no effort to interfere with us at all.

The Austrians also did not like Great Slavism, and if we suppressed these fallacies, the Vienna government would not intervene. ”

The starting point of each is different, and the land power countries and the sea power countries look at the problem differently. At first, everyone was dismissive of Austria's colonial policy.

By now, just because of the self-sufficiency of cotton, the French, who were also land powers, understood Austria's approach.

Vigorously organizing immigrants to open up colonies, although the cost was a little higher, but the control of the colonies was also strengthened, and it could also provide raw materials and markets for domestic industrial production.

The French originally had direct control over the African colonies, and they wanted to digest North Africa, and Austria's approach opened up new ideas for them.

The literacy rate of the people of the Balkans is very low, and if it were not for the war in the Near East, these people would still be serfs and have no cultural traditions at all.

If it is to develop industry, these people are inferior labor, and if it is to develop primary agriculture, these people become high-quality labor.

Because of the understanding, these people only need to be paid according to the salary of the Balkans, which is less than half the salary level in France, and they can work hard.

Because there is no cultural inheritance, I don't know that it is the Shenma nation, and after entering the French colony, it won't be long before these people become French.

Previously, the group of refugees organized by Austria was an example. In the African colonies, it was only a few years before it was initially Germanized.

Even if there is a difference in words and deeds, but these people regard themselves as Austrians, are they afraid that they will not be able to integrate?

Napoleon III decided: "Then try it first, order the governor in the Balkans, carry out a great purge, and finish out all our enemies and potential enemies."

I remember that when the Austrians annexed the Austrian Balkans, they turned a tenth of the local people into coolies, so that there is now stability, and we can follow suit. ”

Speaking of which, Napoleon III still had some secret regrets.

The Kingdom of Sardinia has not yet eaten, otherwise there would have been more areas that could provide immigrants.

However, Italy is different from the Balkans in that it has a complete cultural heritage. The influence in the world is also much greater, and it cannot be reckless.