In the middle of summer, Vienna is still cool.

Schönbrunn Palace

"Your Majesty, the Russians have asked us to buy a line of weapons, from pistols to artillery," Metternich said. ”

Franz knew that Austria had robbed the Russian arms group of interests, and that these people would definitely make a move, but he did not expect that their solution was to buy the arms production line.

It is also right to think that the most powerful machinery and equipment in this era were the British, followed by Austria and France, and the industrial system of Belgium and Prussia was imperfect again.

The machinery and equipment produced by the Russians themselves have high maintenance costs, and the performance of the equipment can only be said to be barely usable, and the production efficiency cannot be compared with peers.

Britain and France were at war with the Russians, and even if they could buy the production line from Britain and France, they would not dare to use it. Weapons production equipment is still very sensitive, not civilian materials, smuggling is smuggling.

If you buy from Prussia and Belgium, it is not impossible. It's just that in this way, the arcane weapons equipped by the expeditionary forces on the front line will not be able to maintain them in the future.

With the financial resources of the tsarist government, do not expect them to be able to discard weapons and equipment worth tens of millions of rubles, and the maintenance of these equipment is also a business of millions of rubles per year.

The capitalists do not get along with money, and it is normal to buy Austrian arms production lines in order to maximize profits.

Franz said indifferently: "Sell it to them." Even with the same equipment, the quality of the weapons and equipment produced in the hands of the Russians will be reduced by a notch. ”

It's not that he despises the Russians, it's a fact. Because of the government's corruption, the capitalists will definitely cut corners in order to obtain greater profits.

According to Franz, the tattered weapons and equipment purchased by the Russians are higher than the prices on the international market. It's better to buy than to build, that's how it came.

The domestic budget for weapons and equipment imported from Austria has increased by 20%~50% compared with the actual import price. This specific proportion depends on the discipline and ability of the officials in charge.

Metternich reminded: "Your Majesty, do you want to limit it?" If the Russians get the full line, the future will be a problem for us. ”

Although there is no technical blockade in this era, in the field of military industry, not all weapons and equipment can be bought, let alone weapons production lines?

Franz shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter, technology is changing at a rapid pace. These devices will not exist in ten years, and if they are more than ten years later, I am afraid they will be eliminated again.

Since the Russians are willing to buy, fulfill them. It is better to turn them into long-term customers and use the profits from the transaction to promote the technological upgrading of our military industry. ”

Russia is indeed worth fearing, but there is really no need to care too much about Russia's industrial technology, and under the rule of the rotten tsarist government, it is impossible for their industry to develop greatly.

Metternich continued: "Your Majesty, the Russians also applied for a loan.

In the second and third quarters of 1852 our trade with the Russians more than tripled in terms of commercial trade.

The total trade volume between the two sides is as high as Rp 292 million, of which our total import value is Rp 88 million, the total export value is Rp 204 million, and the trade surplus is Rp 116 million.

This part of the trade surplus is mainly the export of arms and strategic goods, which alone has an export value of 83 million dong.

The rest was the trade in civilian goods, because of the war, British and French goods were greatly withdrawn from the Russian market, creating opportunities for us.

The loans we gave to the Russians, they have already used up almost everything. The strategic materials purchased in the early stage were basically exhausted after this battle.

If we do not win a big victory, I am afraid that the military spending of the tsarist government will continue to increase next year. ”

Franz calculated that in this era, everyone liked to do business with the Russians, because they did not use paper money, but paid directly in gold and silver. (Paper rubles were abandoned, and international trade was settled only in gold and silver rubles)

As a direct consequence of the trade between Russia and Austria, a large amount of gold and silver flowed into the Austrian treasury, and then turned into paper money and flowed into the market.

From a monetary point of view, this part of the inflow of gold and silver, Franz asked the central bank to print more paper money, has been digested by the market. (Banknotes and gold and silver are not issued 1:1, leverage is set according to economic conditions)

Franz thought for a moment and said: "Don't be in a hurry to talk slowly with the Russians, and tell them that we are not rich in money and cannot afford to give them huge loans."

Keep the loan as low as possible, delay the loan, let the Russians come up with more gold and silver to pay, don't ask too much about the interest on the loan, and the conditions attached can also be waived.

We can also help them issue a part of the bonds, which must be government bonds, preferably with collateral, and the war bonds are estimated to be unsellable, and the Russians can set their own interest rates, as long as they can sell them. ”

If before the outbreak of the war in the Near East, the two countries were on an equal footing, but with the outbreak of the war, Austria became more and more active.

Now, because of the war, a large amount of gold and silver has flowed in, resulting in a deformed prosperity in Austria's domestic economy, and there are still great hidden dangers behind this prosperity.

If Austria now lends too much money to Russia, it will either draw money from the domestic market or issue more currency.

The former is not conducive to the economic development of Austria, and the latter is prone to inflation. This is due to the size of the economy, with the total economic volume of Austria being so large, some of the currency markets can be digested, and once it is excessive, it will not be digested.

The best way is to let the gold and silver flow into Russia first, the reserves of the treasury increase, the market expands, and then the money is printed so that there will be no inflation.

Metternich reminded: "Your Majesty, perhaps we can reduce our risk by asking the Russians to take out some of the gold and silver when they pay for the goods." ”

Franz shook his head and said, "Not yet, our risk is still under control." Do not be in a hurry to remind the Russians that the rate at which their gold and silver are flowing into our country is very fast.

The rapid development of our domestic economy depends not only on this war.

You may not have noticed that in the last six months there has been a frenzy of British and French capital pouring into Austria, and the total amount of investment has more than doubled compared to the same period last year. In fact, there is no shortage of gold and silver on the Austrian market.

According to the past practice, the Russo-Turkish war would last for a long time, and these capitalists were counting on this war to make a fortune, and they invested in Austria to build factories.

Because of the lack of information, they don't know how many peers have been added recently, and they don't take into account the amount of material demand from the Russians, which is not unlimited.

The market has gone crazy, and Carl's guy is about to freak out, for fear of the outbreak of the economic crisis, and has formulated several sets of emergency plans.

From the perspective of the laws of the capitalist market economy, once the war is over, the Austrian economy will immediately face the problem of difficult transformation.

Fortunately, the capitalists who entered the market in the early stage were okay, they made profits and could support their transformation. The capitalists who came in later were miserable, they had not yet made money, they were about to face transformation, and the tide of bankruptcy was indispensable.

At this time, it is also a good choice to help the Russians digest some of the debt and cool down the hot market. ”

If the economic crisis is known, why hasn't the Austrian government put a stop to it? The answer is very realistic, in order to increase fiscal revenue, in order to speed up the development of the country.

If this economic boom continues, it will only take two or three years for Austria's economy to surpass that of France. Even if the bubble burst, this capital still left Austria with a large amount of money.

It's easy to put money in, but it's hard to pull it out. Once it becomes a real estate such as plant and machinery and equipment, it is not easy to realize it.

These trapped capitalists either continued to contribute to the development of Austria, or cut off their flesh and walked away, as is how the United States developed in history.

As long as sufficient benefits were gained from this war and the market capacity was increased, the impact of the economic crisis could be minimized. When the time comes, Franz doesn't mind letting the government interfere in the market and force the economy to land.

How many capitalists will be killed in this way, but it has nothing to do with Franz, he is not a virgin.

Investment is risky, and you need to be cautious when entering the market.

……

At a time when the war in the Near East attracted the attention of the outside world, Russia and Austria quietly reached a huge deal without causing the slightest wave.

The arms trade is very profitable, especially when selling arms production lines and transferring production technology, and adding added value to products, which is even more profitable.

The huge profits are very satisfying to the Austrian government.

This is not a one-time deal, and if relations between the two countries continue to be friendly, the capitalists are likely to package the subsequent upgrades to Austria together.

The fundamental reason for "making is better than buying" is that the cost of R&D and manufacturing is too high. Why are so many companies keen on imports in later generations, don't they know the benefits of independent research and development?

The most critical point is that R&D investment, the gain and the effort are often not proportional, which not only consumes a lot of time, but also is full of uncertainty.

For capitalists who are keen to make money, huge investments in this area really cannot maximize profits. If you are unlucky, you will fall on the eve of the harvest.

This is especially true for weapons research and development, which also requires a supporting industrial system. The Russians lag behind in these areas, and the risk of independent research and development of enterprises is even greater.

If a certain military enterprise does research and development, without waiting for them to produce results, the population import production line is put into production.

What will the tsarist government choose? Equip the army with advanced equipment with mature technology, or wait for the products they develop with uncertain performance?

Austria lifted all restrictions on arms exports and allowed the Russians to choose their own production lines, and the tsarist government was naturally very happy, and such an opportunity was rare.

You must know that in order to restrict the Russians, European countries are mainly exporting finished products in the field of military industry, and they are very cautious about the export of production lines.

If it was only to buy finished products, in the event of a war and blockade, it would not be possible to continue to obtain these weapons and equipment, and the tsarist government supported the domestic military-industrial complex.

There is no such worry about the production line, and most of the equipment of the Russian military industrial complex has been imported in recent years, and they do not mind continuing to import it, as long as they can ensure the supply of arms.

The future is not so far in sight. Theoretically, as long as the overall industrial technology is improved, the military industrial system will naturally go up, and the two are complementary to each other.

Historically, the development of Russia's military technology was always at a time when relations with the Western world deteriorated, and the more fierce the confrontation between the two sides, the faster their technological progress became.

It's the war years, and no one thinks about it so much, and even if someone sees a possible crisis, they can't oppose it.

From a development point of view, with Austrian ready-made equipment that can be disassembled and learned, their technological progress will be faster, and no matter how bad it is, it can be copied out.

……

。 m.