The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1981 Backup Plan
Furthermore, the flames of nationalism are burning with rationality on both sides, while other countries are also seeking opportunities to enter the Russian market.

Of course, there are also some Russians who seek self-reform and development of Russian industry and commerce.

However, the effects of this reform are very limited. On the one hand, the top leadership not only does not support it but also suppresses it. On the other hand, the domestic market is small, the urban class is insufficient, and the consumption capacity is very limited. Russians simply cannot afford the domestic circulation model.

Furthermore, there are numerous conflicts among this group of people.
Russia was ostensibly the Austrian Empire's backyard, but Franz didn't know when such days would suddenly end.

As for why not form a new customs union?

Because Russians often act without any moral compass, Franz completely abandoned this idea after being severely punished twice.

After Russia, the United States is Austria's second-largest trading partner.

At this time, the United States was probably the region with the highest acceptance of Austrian goods, especially in the American South, where an Austrian would feel a sense of familiarity if they walked into a store.

Because many of the products are clearly Austrian in style at a glance, although they tend to be a bit more expensive.

At this time, Austrian goods could enter the US market with almost zero tariffs, and the entire Holy Roman Empire naturally enjoyed this preferential treatment as well.

American cotton remains the main export commodity, and Shinra has surpassed Britain to become the largest buyer of American cotton.

On the other hand, the UK has increased imports from countries such as India and Brazil. In fact, British factories and markets are shifting eastward.

Due to the increased direct market competition brought about by the rise of the Austrian Empire, the British also groped their way forward in a difficult situation, resulting in them starting the capital export model earlier than expected.

This significantly boosted Britain's economy; it must be said that this type of business is indeed very profitable.

Franz knew this too, and he had considered it.

However, this approach was not suitable for Austria. On the one hand, the Holy Roman Empire's own development was not yet complete, and on the other hand, the capital export conflicted with the tone set by Franz for the Holy Roman Empire.

However, since Austria has replaced Britain in the US ecosystem, some investments are inevitable.

Of course, Franz only invested in the American South, and his investments were mainly concentrated in railroads and shipping.

As for the reasons, they are not fundamentally different from those of later colonizers.

If I had to put it in a way, it would be profitable and have long-term implications.

These railroads objectively boosted American exports and the dumping by the Shinra, while also strengthening the power of the American South.

Austria receives very little investment in the northern United States, primarily because the northern United States has been plagued by constant warfare and instability, making it unsuitable for investment.

Secondly, there was a time when the elites of the American North were very opposed to the Austrian Empire. However, their opposition was not entirely based on the principle of America First. Many people opposed it because they had not been able to become compradors.

Furthermore, the American North was never part of Franz's plans from the beginning, which is why he so readily gave Nicholas I directions. If the British had failed to hold it and the Russians had successfully advanced south, the American North would have never known peace.

On the contrary, buying Alaska was never an option for Franz. Alaska had good resources, but almost no infrastructure. In addition, it was surrounded by powerful enemies, so it was unrealistic to hold onto such a valuable territory that was too far from the mainland.

In the hands of the Russians, it would also arouse the covetousness of Britain and the United States, especially as the longer it was developed and the higher the profits, the stronger their covetousness would become.

Historically, the United States was able to hold onto Alaska largely because Britain and Russia were preoccupied with other matters and were in a period of decline.

The situation is completely different now. Franz has unlocked Alaska's resources ahead of time, and driven by their thirst for gold and expansion, it's hard to say whether the three parties can resist this impulse.

A bloody storm is inevitable in North America in the future.
Franz did not originally intend to transfer large amounts of capital to the United States. After all, such behavior is considered an investment in modern financial capitalism, but in a monarchical country in the 19th century, it would be pure investment in the enemy.

However, a war between Britain and the United States that should never have happened allowed Franz to make a fortune from the war. He did not want to actively export capital, but he could not resist the other side's capital actively throwing itself into his arms.

Ignoring the advances of a beautiful woman would be considered inhuman, but refusing free opportunities would be seen as being out of touch with reality.

However, this capital is both an advantage and a burden. With this capital, Franz can certainly further wield influence in the American market, but if he continues to stir up trouble as he has in the past, he will also suffer losses. He will have to reassess the benefits and costs.

American cotton made Austria a fortune, but American grain was something Austria both loved and hated.

Thanks to cheap food provided by the Americans, the Austrian Empire's food problem was largely solved, which was a truly remarkable achievement.

Here, Austria refers to the original Austrian Empire, not the entire Holy Roman Empire.

The surplus grain greatly stimulated the livestock industry in the Austrian Empire, with pig, cattle, horse, poultry, and even fish farming developing rapidly.

In the past, feeding livestock with grain was something Austrians would never have dared to imagine. After all, many people were starving, so how could they possibly feed livestock with grain?

Previously, only warhorses could enjoy this special treatment; even oxen and draft horses were not entitled to it.

This is not simply a moral issue, but also a political and economic one.

From ancient times until the 19th century, stability was the primary pursuit of any regime, and ensuring that people had enough to eat and did not starve to death was always a matter of utmost importance.

Although people often say that humans were inferior to livestock in the past, from a purely price perspective, this statement often reflects a fact, such as the famous case of sheep eating people.

However, humans are far more destructive than livestock. When people can't get food and can't survive, their aggression increases dramatically, their morality and rationality gradually disappear, and they become extremely easy to incite.

The losses caused by a rebellion far outweigh those of a few livestock, and in the economics of traditional rulers, it was clearly more important to prevent people from starving than to feed livestock.

However, as trade expanded, grain prices in the United States and Russia fell so low that the Prussian Junker aristocracy had to call the police.

To avoid a devastating blow to the grain market, Franz had no choice but to impose an 80% tariff on American grain.

Even so, after deducting shipping costs and other expenses, the United States still makes a profit on its grain, which is a complete game-changer for the entire Shinra agricultural sector.

The situation in Russia is similar. Although officials, social elites and ordinary people in the Holy Roman Empire all call for a boycott of Russian goods, when it comes to actually choosing, they will vote with their feet.

Even if Russian grain is coarse and crude, they will not choose expensive domestic grain. The borders between Russia and Austria and Russia and Prussia have always been hotspots for smuggling. Even though both countries have been cracking down hard, there will always be people who choose to take the risk.

Fortunately, grain is a large enough target; otherwise, it would be difficult to combat smuggling with the technology available today.

The Austrian Empire sometimes enforced laws across borders, which greatly angered the Prussian government, though the Junker nobles were indeed divided in their opinions.

After all, not all Prussian nobles had access to smuggling channels; the vast majority of Junker nobles could only honestly farm, and smuggled grain would directly affect their interests.

Franz's actions earned him the praise of many Junker nobles, but Prussia's biggest smuggler was actually Wilhelm I.

Everyone knows this, but no one will hold a grudge about it.

Faced with these cheap grains that could destroy the Holy Roman Empire's market, Franz opted for the state to purchase them all, process them into animal feed for sale, store them as reserve grain, or use them as a supplement to the market.

Franz was confident that he could solve the entire Holy Roman Empire's food problem within three years. He did not take direct action because he was afraid of causing too much turmoil to the country and the market.

Excessive government intervention in the market can also lead to a host of side effects, such as market disorder and systemic collapse, which will be even more difficult to manage later.

The main concern is that a small change could have far-reaching consequences, with negative outcomes occurring in completely unexpected places.

With two major suppliers, the United States and Russia, Franz no longer needed to worry about local nobles and merchants hoarding goods.

In fact, the traditional wisdom of those guys would kill them in the new country Franz established. Every time a disaster strikes, there will always be people who, as if by conditioned reflex, start hoarding supplies and then prepare to drive up prices.

This tactic had been used on the European continent for thousands of years, but it was nothing but child's play in front of Franz. Every time someone tried to pull this trick on Franz, they would end up bankrupt performing a freestyle swim in the Danube.

Both the US and Russia owe Austria a significant amount of debt, and they are quite willing to use grain to pay off their debts and make money from it, since there aren't many countries that can afford to consume so much grain.

Let the US and Russia handle it themselves? That's even more unrealistic. The Americans simply can't handle it all, and the Russians feel it's really unnecessary.

For the Shinra, the United States and Russia have one thing in common: they may suddenly lose contact or even become enemies one day in the future.

Franz had already prepared enough backup plans, with Brazil, Mexico, the New Granada colony, and Oman being the first choices.

These countries have ample land potential, but lack sufficient market access. If Franz is willing to allocate some market share to them, these countries will certainly be willing to give it their all.

Brazil, however, might be an exception; Franz had never imagined he would describe a country as lazy.

It's no wonder that economists thought Brazil would take off; Franz also felt that Brazil would definitely take off when he saw those data.

Judging solely from the indicators, Brazil is practically a perfect country. Its overall data is in no way inferior to that of the United States, and it is even better than the United States in terms of resource endowment.

Leaving aside other aspects, the rubber production alone is astonishing. Who would believe that twenty years later, Franz's rubber plantations are already being tapped on a large scale?

Brazilians are still harvesting rubber from the virgin forests using the most primitive methods. They have been developing commercial rubber plantations for over a decade, but they still haven't achieved a significant scale.

The only way for Brazil to increase rubber production is to hire more rubber tappers. Pedro II often complained about the declining profits in the rubber industry, which left Franz speechless.

The situation was similar in other areas as well. After several years of soaring prices, Brazilian cotton prices also began to stagnate. The situation was similar in other industries as well, which reminded Franz of the old saying, "A jack of all trades, master of none."

It has everything: tobacco, alcohol, sugar, tea, coffee, rubber, and minerals, but nothing is on a large enough scale.

Everyone is guarding their own little plot of land, preferring to earn less rather than increase investment.

Are all the people in Brazil short-sighted fools?

Not entirely, but there are many such cases.

In fact, Brazil is closer to a medieval commercial city-state. The Brazilian government has very weak control and is even less effective at maintaining rules than those medieval city-states.

Brazil is made up of countless plantation owners and businessmen, who are like numerous small companies, sharing the risks of the entire country.

So no matter how the international market changes, Brazil always seems to be able to make money.

However, that view Brazil as a whole, while the countless estates and companies are not a whole. The country's minor hardships are like an ice age for those estates and companies that face risks head-on.

Moreover, due to their dispersed nature, they lack sufficient capital to expand, and any expansion would mean risking their entire estate.

Such risks and costs are unacceptable to most estate owners.

Similarly, they cannot unite as one, the country lacks sufficient strength, there is no stable international market, and the domestic market is very small, which makes Brazilian plantation owners lack stable expectations for future income.

This cycle is constantly worsening: the weaker the nation, the stronger the landowners become; and the stronger the landowners become, the weaker the nation becomes.

The weak Brazilian government was unable to maintain the power of the plantation owners, so their centrifugal forces continued to grow.

However, Pedro II and his ministers did not feel the crisis because they believed that this was how a constitutional monarchy should be. They were even complacent about the MPs' outbursts, after all, they had accomplished in a few decades what Britain had taken hundreds of years to achieve.

Franz was also helpless in this regard. Brazil's problems were too deep-seated, and to truly change the situation, it was necessary to remove the rotten parts and promote regeneration. However, he doubted that Pedro II had the courage to do so.

Mexico's situation is also precarious; without the support of the Omega-Mexico joint development company, the Mexican economy would probably have collapsed long ago.

However, Franz knew why national governments were so fond of financial capitalism. Through a series of financial operations, Austria was essentially exchanging paper for money and resources in Mexico, and the paper itself was even provided by the Mexicans.

Such a life is truly irresistible. The Mexican government plays the bad cop, and Austria plays the good cop. All the benefits go to Austria, while the blame is entirely placed on the Mexican government.

They had to exploit their own people to make Austrians live a good life, and the most ridiculous thing was that the harder they worked, the more debt they accumulated.

Of course, their debt would continue to grow even if they didn't work hard, so Tassan Anna and his officials simply chose to give up.

However, Tassan Anna's slackness made Mexicans feel that the Mexican national government was like an overseer, while the company seemed like the true master of the country.