Prime Minister Felix took out a document and handed it to Franz, and then said: "Your Majesty, in view of the abundant resources of the African colonies and the large number of immigrants, we have drawn up a set of economic development plans for these regions. ”

Colonial Economic Development Plan? This statement is very avant-garde, and in Franz's memory, it should be after the emergence of the Dominion that the colonial government formulated a systematic economic development plan.

At this time, in everyone's consciousness, the opening of colonies was to plunder wealth. For the local economic development, it is basically laissez-faire, and there is no long-term planning.

Puzzled to confused, Franz still took the document, looked at it carefully, and soon he knew why there was such a plan.

It's not how far-sighted the Vienna government is, it's not driven by interest groups, it's just an instinct of the ruling class.

As the ruling class, when it formulates policy, it naturally tilts towards itself. It was the aristocracy that now dominated the colonization of Africa, and it was also the aristocratic group that dominated the Austrian government.

Before the opening of farms and plantations, many people will have doubts. Now that the plantations that were opened in the early days have begun to make a profit, successful examples have been laid out in front of us, and everyone's attention has changed.

In the eyes of many traditional aristocrats, these were the wealth that God had given them to pass on the family business. The better the colony developed, the more everyone's wealth grew.

The ruling class naturally wanted to defend its own interests, and it did not need to be pushed, so the Vienna government drew up a plan for the development of the colony.

Franz asked with concern: "Have you explored the terrain to build a railway from Guinea to Congo?" Are there any technical difficulties? How to solve the problem of funding? ”

Well, he decisively ignored the fact that there were many areas along the way, which were not under Austrian control.

Anyway, in this era, it is to speak with fists, and since Vienna has made this plan, it is ready to seize these areas.

Prime Minister Felix explained: "The topography and topography have been initially explored by the colonial government. Theoretically, with our current railway construction technology, it is enough to complete this railway construction.

Considering the economic needs, this railway must run through some cities, and the total mileage may exceed 10,000 kilometers.

The construction funds are still mainly private shares, and the insufficient part is supplemented by the government. In order to motivate people to invest, we can allocate terra nullius within 20 kilometers on both sides of the railway to the railway company. ”

Franz knew that the railway would never be so easy to complete, and that many of the technologies that could be achieved theoretically would be overwhelmingly expensive when it came to actual construction.

The African colonies were not native, most of the areas were not effectively developed, and many raw materials had to be transported from the country, and the construction cost would certainly increase significantly.

Judging from the economic development of African colonies, this strategic + economic dual role of the railway may not be profitable in the coming decades.

The profit point of the railway company is on the land on both sides of the railway. Whoever undertakes this railway is the biggest landlord.

This is the way to learn from the construction of railroads in the United States, and now the land is naturally worthless, but when the construction of the railroad is completed, the value of the land will increase.

It is entirely possible for a railway company to build a station at intervals of the area and radiate to the surrounding area. The transportation problem is solved, and in these areas, whether it is planting a plantation, or mining, you can get a good return.

If it is left in the future, it is estimated that everyone will be squeezed into such a business. Twenty kilometers on both sides of the railway, that is, 40 kilometers, after the completion of the construction of this railway, you can obtain more than 400,000 square kilometers of land ownership.

With such a large area, even if there are no resources, just selling wood can recoup the construction cost.

Unfortunately, neither timber nor minerals buried in the ground are worthless. Unless gold and silver mines are discovered, it is unclear whether the investment will be profitable.

After careful consideration, Franz realized that this was actually a high-quality project.

In the construction of railways in Africa, labor costs can be saved first, and even if there is a labor protection law, the local indigenous people do not know where to complain.

Of course, even if you find a place to complain, it is useless. The complainant must first learn German, otherwise the case will not be admissible.

Natives who can learn German are not low-level laborers, and such talents have long been promoted to overseers. When they want to complain, they are the first to be unlucky.

Everyone is embarrassed, and the abuse of labor must be overseer. No high-ranking person would surrender his identity and personally go to the railway construction site to whip people.

Basic raw materials such as sand and gravel and sleepers can be taken by themselves, and cement does not need to be purchased, so it is possible to build a cement plant locally, which saves most of the raw material costs.

Even if it is machinery and equipment, railroad tracks, which need to be transported from the country, in fact, the increase is the freight. Overall, the construction cost is within a manageable range.

The railway company owns such a large piece of land, and even if the development is bad, it can make a profit just by selling resources.

Franz said calmly: "Since these problems have been solved, then this railway will be repaired!" But remember to keep costs under control, the government can't put a lot of money into the railway.

The idea of focusing on the development of the plantation economy is good, but it still needs to be focused.

The colonial government could organize field trips by experts to guide people on what crops to grow in the right places.

The government sorts out the soil quality, climate, hydrology and other information of various places, and then lists the cash crops suitable for planting and distributes them to the people.

What to plant is still free for everyone to choose, and the government does not force it.

According to the current international situation, the United States is on the verge of a civil war, and their cotton and tobacco exports will inevitably be affected at that time. ”

This railway is in everyone's interest, once the land transportation problem is solved, everyone can develop more land, no longer have to develop coastal and riverside areas like now.

As one of the vested interests, Franz naturally did not object. He even has to get involved and get a piece of the pie.

As for when the railway will be completed and whether it will become a finished project, Franz is not worried at all.

The colony is not a mainland, and if it encounters an area with harsh terrain and the construction cost is too high, then it does not matter if the construction is stopped for a few years, and the construction period is not urgent anyway.

The focus on cotton planting is mainly to seize the cotton market in the United States, and cotton exports will certainly be affected once the civil war breaks out.

You must know that the cotton export volume of Americans in this era is close to 190 million US dollars, accounting for two-thirds of the global cotton export market share.

Historically, the American Civil War led to the severance of cotton exports, and the cotton textile industry in Britain was hit hard. In order to avoid getting stuck in the neck, John Bull directly forced cotton cultivation in India.

By the time trade returned to normal after the war ended, U.S. cotton exports had fallen to $6 million, and it was no longer dominant in the cotton market.

There were also many areas suitable for cotton cultivation in the Austrian colonies, and as long as they could take advantage of the opportunity to grab one-third of the market share of the Americans, the colonies' finances would be turned over.

……