What are the core industries in Austria?

Franz did not have an answer in his mind, the resources of the Austrian Empire were still very rich, and in the initial stage of industrialization there was almost nothing lacking.

Historically, neither Austria nor Austria-Hungary launched colonial expansion, which was related to the abundance of local resources.

Of course, this is limited to the early stage, and from a development point of view, Austria's domestic resources are insufficient.

Taking the steel industry as an example, in the era of the annual output of 10,000 tons, 100,000 tons, and millions of tons of steel in various countries, Austria is not short of resources, and the era of 10 million tons can barely keep up.

This is a long-term problem, and for at least a few decades, Franz will not need to worry about it.

Theoretically, most of the industries could become Austria's pillar industries, such as agriculture and agro-processing, metallurgy, mechanical engineering, military industry, railways, shipbuilding, textiles, ......

This is the advantage of a thick foundation, and before Lombardy and Venice were lost, Austria's industrial volume was very close to that of the French.

There is nothing surprising that Austria in this era is a combination of Austria-Hungary + half of Italy, and Lombardy + Venice is up to half of Italy.

Franz wouldn't say stupid things about industries going hand in hand, the world is so competitive, if the government can't tilt policies towards certain industries, can you guarantee that you can beat the competition?

Not to mention Austria, even the British, as the only industrial country in the world, did not have a comprehensive development, focusing on the financial industry, shipbuilding industry, and textile industry.

Once the choice is made, it will be a national policy that will remain unchanged for decades, and the country's economic development will be changed as a result.

There are many factors that determine the country's pillar industries, including: resources, markets, industry advantages, interest groups, national development direction, international situation, ......

Free economy? Market economy?

Just talk about it, don't take it seriously, or be ready to cry.

In any successful country, the pillar industries have received policy support, such as tax cuts and policies conducive to the development of the industry......

Schönbrunn Palace

Franz was walking along the square with Felix, discussing the direction of Austria's development.

"Chancellor, where do you think Austria's strategic focus will be in the future?" Franz asked

This is an era of the jungle, and expansion is the theme of this era. Since the Vienna system was broken, European countries have entered a new round of competition.

Small countries have no choice but to go with the flow; If a big country wants to develop, it will sail against the current, and if it does not advance, it will retreat.

The Austrian Empire was actually at a crossroads, and the choice of an alliance between Russia and Austria was Austria's first strategic choice, but this time it was an ally.

Historically, why did Austria-Hungary step on the powder keg of the Balkans? Is it really what experts and scholars commented on - was the strategic decision wrong?

Franz originally thought so, but after being there, he realized that he was wrong.

Austria had many opportunities for foreign expansion, but they resisted it, and finally chose to step on the thunder of the Balkans, which was definitely not the willingness of the rulers themselves.

One only had to think about the international environment in which he was at the time, and Franz understood that this was a choice of last resort.

In the great world, the great powers were all expanding their power, but Austria and Spain stood still and did not keep up with everyone's pace.

This means that two sheep are mixed in the wolf pack, and if they don't want to be eaten, then at least disguise themselves as a wolf.

Austria occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina and packaged itself as a wolf in exchange for a few years of peace; Spain did nothing, the Americans found the fat sheep, and then the Spanish-American War broke out.

Without hesitation, Prime Minister Felix replied: "The German region! ”

"Why?" Franz asked

Prime Minister Felix thought for a while and said: "After the annexation of South Germany, we will be directly bordering the French, don't look at the current Franco-Austrian relations, but the French European hegemony has always existed, and we have to consider the defense of the Western Front."

And the Kingdom of Prussia also had to be guarded against, in order to avoid interference by various countries, while we unified the South German states, they would also annex the North German region, resulting in the fact that Germany was divided into two countries.

After the unification of North Germany, the Kingdom of Prussia would be at least four tiers stronger, much more threatening than it is now, and most importantly they would have the ambition to unify the entire German region. ”

"What if we lead the way to the west?" Franz asked

Austria was so big that it didn't look easy to mess with, and once it annexed the South German Confederation, it would be even more difficult to mess with.

In contrast, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands are all soft persimmons, or fat and oily soft persimmons.

Belgium has a developed industry, the Netherlands has a developed maritime industry, and there is a large colony, and Luxembourg, a small land, is also a country of steel.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid that the Prussians are powerless and want to expand to the west, and the French will not be able to pass that pass, and the British will not agree." Felix thought for a moment and said

In the eyes of ordinary people, the Prussians did not have the courage to challenge the French.

As for the attitude of the British, in fact, as long as Prussia was able to overthrow the French, without thugs, they would be powerless, and it would be a big deal to be blocked by sea for several years.

The French are not easy to mess with, but compared to the enhanced Austria + Russia combination, they are easier to deal with.

"Then it would be the ambitions of the Prussians, and the interest of the French in the Rhineland, and if one of those points is satisfied, the war can be detonated." Franz said confidently

There is no way, other countries are countries with armies, while Prussia is countries with armies. Nationalism has awakened again, and when the time comes, it will burn when it is stimulated.

If they didn't have the guts to provoke a war, wouldn't there still be Austria? It's a big deal that Prussia joined forces to fight France, and I don't believe that the Prussians can resist temptation.

If the pie is eaten, they will have to fight the French to the end in the future, and the way to join forces with the British and Prussia will be cut off, and the political system of the Three Emperors Alliance dominating the European continent will be established again.

Do you want to do that? Franz was puzzled. It seems that this pattern is the most beneficial to the Russians.

Austria only harvested a stable rear, grabbed a few French colonies at most, and the Russians' road to the sea was unimpeded.

Felix smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the Prussians will be very interested in this proposal, but do they have the strength to swallow this bait in one bite?"

Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg are also German nation-states, but they themselves do not admit that desperate resistance is necessary.

Even if Prussia defeated the French with our help, wouldn't there still be the British behind them?

If you can't eat one bite, you won't have a second chance. As long as the Prussians and Britain and France turn their faces, we will no longer support them. ”

A word woke up the dreamer, the Kingdom of Prussia was not the German Empire of later generations, and the size gap between the two sides was huge, how could the same strength erupt?

The population of the Netherlands is about 3.06 million, the population of Belgium is about 4.4 million, the population of Luxembourg is about 200,000, and among these people are mainly Catholics, and the population of the Kingdom of Prussia is about 13 million.

In terms of total economic output, the three countries are not much different from those of the Kingdom of Prussia.

Of course, this is only the current balance of power between the two sides, and it will definitely change in the future, but no matter what changes happen, it will not be easy to annex a country with a rising nationalism.

Franz even thought that Prussia's annexation of these three countries was more of a dream than Austria's annexation of the Balkans.

Well, it's actually all about it.

Without external forces, slow encroachment is possible. If you swallow it in one gulp, you will either kill a river of blood or choke to death.

That being the case, Franz knew what to do. Austria is no match for the British, at least in their three core industries.

It doesn't matter, the path of development of the British cannot be learned by Austria. It was only possible to learn from the Prussians, giving priority to the development of the military industry, railways, manufacturing, plus Austria's dominant industry - the processing of agricultural products.

The construction of railways depends on government investment and encourages private investment, and commercial competition is also an internal problem; The military industry also relies on government funding, and the international market can only be regarded as a small supplement in this era, and the woolly bear next door is a good customer.

Manufacturing can only fight for the international market, but Franz is not worried, there is a big market of the Holy Roman League, and a good ally of woolly bears, which is much stronger than the historical Prussia.

Needless to say, there are almost no competitors in the agro-processing industry, and Austria's biggest competitors in the European grain market, Russia and the Ottoman Empire, all export grain directly.

Historically, the Russians exported wheat and at the same time imported flour from outside, which is not a joke on the Internet, but really existed in this era.

There is nothing strange about it, the ship carried the grain out, and when it came back, it was empty, and the bottom of the silo had to be pressed with stones. The shrewd merchant found that the price of flour in the Russian market was good, found it profitable, and sold it back to the Russians.

This means that Austria's competitors in this area are food processors from food-importing countries, and the two sides distance themselves from the cost at the outset.

This kind of advantageous industry, which does not require much investment, naturally has to focus on development, and during the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Hungary was the largest flour supplier in Europe.

As for the steel industry, which has been valued by countless traversers and is even considered to be the embodiment of national strength, why is it not the core of development?

Just look at how small the demand for steel is in this era.

The Austrian Empire had only 20,000 or 30,000 tons of raw steel per year, the Russians had only a few thousand tons of raw steel, and the British were not much better, with an annual output of less than 100,000 tons of raw steel.

There is no way, the market demand is so big. Even with the addition of pig iron, the demand is not high, anyway, everyone has not broken through the million ton mark.

If the steel industry is the core industry, believe it or not, in a few months, there will be a lot of unsalable steel on the Austrian market?

At that time, in order to solve these unsalable steel, the government had to invest a lot of money in other industries, and finally was surprised to find that the steel industry did not develop, and the industrial crisis came first.

Instead of this, it is better to develop railways and military industries to drive the consumption of steel, and if there is market demand, there will be production, which is the law of the market.

The key development of the iron and steel industry is ahead of time, not to mention the high-tech industry. In addition to the military industry, a country's economic model is that the market determines the prospects for industrial development.

This era is a high-tech desert, and many epoch-making products, even if they are made in the laboratory, cannot be promoted.

This kind of advanced field is not good as a country's core industry, and as a sub-key development object, it is still possible to carry out technical reserves in advance.