NOVPUBGelson was not swept away by the good news before him, the sole benefit of devouring the Ottoman Empire seemed great, but to bolster the Ottomans to contain Austria was not something the United Kingdom alone could achieve.
Now that the Ottoman Empire was in decline, the Vienna Government could observe with indifference, allowing them to act at will. Once the Ottoman Empire showed signs of resurgence, the situation would immediately change.
If one day the Vienna Government suddenly took a notion to remove this thorn in their side, the British were actually quite powerless.
The London Government could not possibly go to war with the Austrians for the sake of the Ottomans, regardless of whether they won or lost, it would simply play into the hands of the French.
Therefore, pulling the French into the fray was the best choice. It wasn’t necessary for the Ottoman Empire to play a significant role, as long as they existed, they could prevent Austria from engaging fully in the struggle for dominance in Europe.
Under circumstances where they couldn’t fully commit, Austria naturally had no way to break through the obstacles to unify the Germany Region, and even for their own strategic safety, the Austrians must drag down the French.
With France and Austria holding each other back, the British could play the balance between them, achieving their strategic goals.
MacKinnon shook his head, "Prime Minister, this could be somewhat troublesome. The French financial sector is not optimistic about the Ottoman Empire. After the Second Near East War, the French banks have not issued a loan to the Ottoman Government.
During the reign of Napoleon III, the relationship with the financial sector was very poor, and this has not improved. Even if the Paris Government is willing to support the Ottoman Empire, they do not have the means to supply a great amount of funds."
You should not assume that because the French financial sector supported Napoleon III, there were no conflicts. In fact, the divergence began when Napoleon III encouraged the development of the real economy and the establishment of state-owned banks.
In the original timeline, Napoleon III was deposed by the financial capitalists. Now, without the great defeat of the Prussia and France war, the financial capitalists naturally didn’t have the power to turn against him.
However, the deterioration of relations between the financial sector and the Paris Government is an undeniable fact. After the ascension of Napoleon IV, although there was much noise, the economic policies of the Napoleon III Era were still continued.
For instance, imposing heavy taxes on finance, legally restricting the maximum interest on loans, cracking down on financial speculation, and so on.
For national development, these measures are undoubtedly correct. To the financial capitalists, however, they blocked their road to wealth.
Of course, in the era of vigorous economic development in France, the financial capitalists still walked away with the biggest slice of the cake, but people are never satisfied, especially capitalists.
The Emperor believed that the financial capitalists were making money too easily and that the benefits they obtained were already enough to justify their contributions. However, the capitalists did not see it that way.
What does the grand scheme of things or long-term development have to do with them? The capitalists only wanted to take away more benefits. What did the nation’s development or lack thereof have to do with them?
That’s how conflicts between the two sides began, and relationships became complicated.
On one hand, the capitalists recognized the contributions of Napoleon III to economic development; on the other hand, they resented the limitations he imposed that obstructed their profit-making.
The souring of relations between the two had a direct impact: the Paris Government’s financing capabilities weakened, and to gather substantial funding, they first needed to win the capitalists’ approval.
If both sides shared common ground, believing there was money to be made, then everything was negotiable. Otherwise, the financial sector would not cooperate.
The French financial sector currently deemed lending to the Ottoman Government as a high-risk business, under such circumstances, unless the Paris Government personally guaranteed these loans, the capitalists simply would not entertain the idea.
Of course, interest swaps behind closed doors could also be a solution. Many international loans are known from the outset to be unrecoverable, yet are still made, as a result of clandestine benefit exchanges.
For capitalists, even if a loan became bad debt, the loss could still be diverted. For example, by establishing a shell company to undertake operations, then selling the debt to the public in the form of bonds.
Every year, there are a three-digit number of banks and securities firms going bankrupt worldwide, a considerable portion of which are intentional on the part of the capitalists. After all, executives and owners make their money, and it’s only the ordinary investors who suffer the losses in the end.
Gelson furrowed his brow, "Then let’s allow the French to participate in the currency issuance of the Ottoman Empire, we can make some concessions in other areas, besides the necessary tariffs we must collect."
Capitalists are the most difficult beings to deal with, yet ironically also the easiest; as long as the profit is right, no issue is really an issue.
Prime Minister Gelson initially promised to let France train the Ottoman Army, which was essentially giving away the Ottoman Empire’s arms market.
’Arms trade’ was indeed lucrative, but the Ottoman Empire’s arms market was different, the biggest issue being that the Ottoman Government was out of money.
Without money, the government naturally can’t update military supplies, making this seemingly lucrative market nothing more than a pie in the sky.
By comparison, tariffs and currency issuance are where the real benefits lie.
To control a nation’s tariffs is to control its market; to control a nation’s currency issuance is to control its economic lifeline.
The best way to buy off financial capitalists is to let them participate in currency issuance.
Conveniently, the British had the capacity to absorb these benefits but not to maintain them, hence sharing them with the French was a practical necessity.
…
Vienna Palace: Franz had just finished an exhausting special trip.
He used to think he was a homebody in his past life because he was poor, but now he realized it wasn’t just about being "poor;" he was inherently a homebody.
Now back in his comfort zone, he immediately felt more relaxed. To celebrate his return, the fish in the artificial lake suffered once again.
As a pragmatist, Franz never kept ornamental fish; all the fish in the artificial lake were edible.
This was almost the exact opposite of Austria’s cultural traditions, as most Austrians dislike seafood, especially fish and shellfish such as shrimp and crabs, which are an absolute no-no during festivities.
The reasons are quite peculiar: crabs are disliked because they walk sideways, which goes against the natural laws bestowed by God; shrimps are disliked because they walk backward, which symbolizes bad omens.
Because of this dislike, they aren’t inclined to eat them.
Of course, in this era, most people didn’t have the luxury of being picky. Preferences weren’t important; the key point was that meat products like fish, shrimps, and crabs were somewhat cheaper.
Aside from festivals, fish was still a staple in the commoner’s diet during normal times. Taking Vienna’s prices as example, the cost of 1 pound of beef = 1.4 pounds of lamb = 2.3 pounds of pork = 3 pounds of goose = 4 pounds of fish.
Prices varied by region, with fish being relatively inexpensive in coastal and riverside areas and beef and mutton cheaper in grassland regions, but generally speaking, beef was the most expensive, and fish and poultry the cheapest.
The outside world’s perceptions in no way affected Franz’s menu; instead, it was the Emperor’s diet that influenced the Austrians’ eating habits.
What’s done by those above is sure to be emulated by those below in any society.
Franz never cared whether ingredients were expensive or cheap; as long as they tasted good, that was enough for him.
Under Franz’s "butterfly effect," many delicacies from around the world were introduced early on, and they took root here, enriching the Austrians’ dining tables considerably.
Watching the bobber in the water flicker, Franz quickly turned the pulley to tighten the fishing line.
The commotion in the water grew, and as the hooked fish breached the surface, Franz’s delight took flight. 𝖓𝖔𝖛𝔭𝖚𝖇.𝔠𝖔𝔪
He beheld a small fish about seven or eight centimeters long. Franz didn’t care about the species anymore; he wondered how such a small fish could be eaten?
Deep-frying, steaming, braising – sadly, even for making soup, it seemed too small. No help for it, this was Franz’s catch for the morning.
The claim was already out there that he would cook with the fish he caught for lunch, but with no fish taking the bait, Franz found himself in a difficult position.
Keep in mind, this artificial lake was not small; the fish had lived there for many years. Except for the occasional visit from Franz, the Emperor, to wreak havoc, they usually weren’t anyone’s target.
From where Franz now stood, he could see fish swimming in the clear lake water, and they were not small, yet none took the bait.
After much hesitation, Franz decided to release this hard-won catch. The fish wasn’t even close to a Silver, so he really didn’t want to trouble the chef.
As for the lunch dilemma, no worries, the rules had just changed. If they wouldn’t bite, then use a net. The main thing was that there had to be fish.
