Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 634 - 207: The Age of Free Trade

Vienna Palace, looking at the arranged content on the newspaper, Franz knew the European grandmother would no longer exist, or rather, would no longer be Queen Victoria.

It is estimated that for a long period in the future, the British Royal Family will be too preoccupied with their own troubles. A political crisis may not erupt, but political marriages will be difficult.

In order for the message published in French newspapers to appear as an accidental discovery, Franz naturally couldn’t explain the transmission path of the "royal disease."

The "royal disease" hasn’t been rampant for long, and based on the current cases that have emerged, it can only be proven that the patients all share Queen Victoria’s bloodline.

Many royal families in Europe have difficulties producing heirs, so for safety, everyone naturally shied away from Victoria’s descendants. Even marrying below one’s station is better than the extinction of a bloodline.

After indulging in schadenfreude for a while, Franz no longer paid attention. In times like these, the more one does, the more likely it is to slip up, and Franz never dared to underestimate the power of a nation.

...

Buckingham Palace, Queen Victoria hadn’t lost her composure like this in many years. Even with several failures in foreign wars, she had managed to control her emotions.

But now, she had broken that streak. In this society with a strong religious atmosphere, the destructive power of a "curse" is too great. With such an accusation, anyone would be unsettled.

Mainstream newspapers still knew to exercise restraint and, with the London Government’s public relations efforts, many papers even published news that medical experts debunked the rumors.

The street tabloids were different, they would do anything to attract attention.

From a medical standpoint, how could it compare to the allure of a "curse?"

Many newspapers directly linked Queen Victoria to witches, concocting a series of news stories.

Explanations were useless; the public loved to read about witchcraft, especially when it involved the Queen.

British domestic newspapers, perhaps, didn’t dare to go too far, but papers on the European Continent faced no such pressure.

"The Untold Story of the Queen and the Witch," "The Curse of the Witch," "God’s Punishment"...

Various shocking headlines were published on newspapers across the European Continent. As the saying goes, there’s safety in numbers; with everyone publishing, the British were at a loss for a target for retaliation.

In the realm of thought, France had always been at the forefront in Europe. Plus, due to the rivalry between England and France, blackening the British had always been a long-term job for French media.

True or false, public opinion directly attributed the "royal disease" to a "curse." They accused the British of committing too many misdeeds, with the royal family consequently suffering the curse.

Incuding the Austrian media, none were idle; like most idle onlookers, they joined in the discussion.

Don’t even think about hearing any good words; the British were so disliked that even the royal family had a bad reputation. Any newspaper that didn’t join in the criticism had surely been paid off.

Vienna Palace, beneath the noisy and confused waves of public opinion, quietly made the decision to begin the upcoming Austrian economic conference.

Prime Minister Felix, "As of now, over ninety-eight percent of peasants that have applied for land redemption have completely repaid their debts.

The domestic market has been expanding constantly in recent years, to a great extent due to the expansion of the rural market, thereby stimulating industrial production.

However, this wave of benefits is nearing its end. From now on, the growth of the domestic market will gradually slow down.

If domestic enterprises cannot keep up with the pace of the times and actively expand overseas markets, they will face elimination in the new round of competition.

From the perspective of development, our domestic economy is about to enter a new phase. Our industrial production technology is generally no weaker than any country.

Continuing to protect the domestic market will no longer stimulate economic development, it will only make our enterprises complacent in their comfort zone.

According to the theory of national economy proposed by Liszt, we have now reached the third stage of economic development—opening markets, embracing challenges, and ushering in the era of free trade."

Prior to this, Austria had always implemented trade protectionism. Relying on domestic and colonial markets, Austria completed its Industrial Revolution.

As of today, Austria has become the world’s leading industrial nation, possessing the confidence to engage in international competition.

Maintaining trade protection policies is obviously outdated, and launching a new round of economic reforms is imperative.

"Is it too soon to implement a free trade policy now? Many domestic companies have not yet had time to change their mindset; we should give them more time," Tofucox, the representative of the Kingdom of Lombardy, objected.

There is no way around it, compared to other regions of Austria, the Kingdom of Lombardy’s pillar industries are concentrated in light industry, especially the cotton textile and raw silk industries, and there are even some handicrafts.

Compared to other industries, once the era of free trade begins, they will be the most impacted. Especially the cotton textile industry, which is the core pillar of the British.

Austria’s advantages mainly lie in emerging industries. Traditional industries don’t have a clear advantage over the British and are even at a disadvantage.

Perversely, it’s the unenterprising businesses that are concentrated in the traditional industries. Essentially, it’s: if you can make money without trying, why bother with technological innovation?

This is not what Franz wanted to see: market survival of the fittest is inevitable. Companies that fail to see the progress of the times and just want to make money lying down are doomed to be eliminated.

Prime Minister Felix’s face darkened, "We’ve already given businesses time, haven’t we?

As early as 1865, the Central Government issued a notice advising companies to constantly reform and innovate to keep up with the times.

In 1870, the Central Government issued another warning to domestic companies, reminding them to enhance their competitiveness.

But what are the results after all these years?

While clamoring for the government not to interfere in the market, they also want the government to implement trade protectionism.

Have our domestic businesses really degraded to such an extent that they just grovel for survival?

The government gives businesses time, but who gives time to the country?

With such fierce international competition, a country’s development is like rowing upstream, if you don’t advance, you will recede.

Instead of spending energy on these complacent trash businesses, better concentrate our efforts on supporting the more vibrant emerging industries.

Market competition is becoming increasingly brutal, this is the natural law of human development. If businesses can’t withstand the challenge, then they might as well close their doors sooner rather than later, to avoid wasting social resources."

Opening the market and entering the era of free-trade economy are both challenges and opportunities.

The problem facing the Kingdom of Lombardy is not unique; many businesses in Austria have similar issues. These businesses are afraid to face international market competition directly and have become blockers of free trade.

However, as emerging industries rise and occupy an increasing share of the national economy, the calls for free trade are growing louder.

Today, in Austria, the voices advocating for free trade have already overshadowed trade protectionism. Seeing that the time is ripe for reform, the Vienna Government has decided to carry out economic reforms.

Tofucox was at a loss for words, having some integrity, he couldn’t outright lie.

Even as a representative of the Kingdom of Lombardy, and being on the government’s side, he couldn’t just blindly speak for the capitalists.

This is just a high-level economic conference, the representatives of the capitalists don’t even have the right to enter this place; the atmosphere is relatively relaxed.

Once we get to the implementation phase and expand the discussion, things are likely to get lively.

Franz was sure that, from the start of the expanded economic conference, supporters and opponents of free trade would be at each other’s throats—things might even turn violent.

That’s nothing, at government-organized conferences, capitalists might hold back a bit. The real cut-throat confrontations happen in public debates.

Knowing this, Franz would not interfere. Dividing the bourgeoisie has always been his established national policy. As long as the bourgeoisie is not united, the royal power is secure.

So far, the progress has been very smooth. Due to interests, conflicts often arise between emerging industry capitalists and traditional industry capitalists, and this economic reform is just a microcosm of that.