Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 638 - 211: Sabotage

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The French reinitiating their colonial development plan has certainly caused quite a stir. Seeing Austria’s success, no one could be certain that the French would fail.

In recent years, France has been gradually losing ground in international competition, the primary issue being that domestic economic development has hit a bottleneck, unable to keep pace with the likes of England and Austria.

Especially in the past two years, France’s economic growth rate drastically plummeted, whereas the economies of England and Austria continued to skyrocket.

From total economic volume alone, Britannia, which had once been surpassed by France, is now showing signs of catching up again.

This is no minor issue; The British Isles have a total population of just over thirty-one million, while present-day France boasts nearly sixty million.

By simply calculating per capita income, the income of the French people is only sixty percent of that of the British.

This is mainly due to the Italian Area dragging its feet, particularly Southern Italy, where the local economy is still agricultural and has seen virtually no development over the years.

If one calculates the total industrial output, this disparity becomes even more stark. The industrial output of Great France is less than half of that of Britain, and only forty percent of Austria’s.

As time goes on, this gap continues to widen. In this era, not everyone recognized the power of industry, but the stark reality of having no money was acutely felt.

During its peak, the financial revenue of France once came close to the British, and during the era of Napoleon III, they could compete with the British in an arms race. Now, the fiscal revenue of France is only slightly higher than Britain’s.

This is due to the butterfly effect. With the Italian Area split into two, it is hardly surprising that the peak period of Great France, plus half of Italy and its colonies, saw fiscal revenues close to the British.

However, there was a lot of fluff in this; the real economy made up a very small proportion, with the manufacturing industry accounting for only about ten percent of France’s total economic volume, the rest being either agriculture or services, including a good part in the financial sector, which held the largest share.

What is hollow is hollow, and it cannot be solidified by beautiful lies.

Since the last economic crisis erupted, France’s bubble economy had been burst. Without industrial pillars, the financial sector alone could not support an empire.

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The Vienna Government, as the greatest beneficiary of colonial development, undoubtedly understood the benefits involved the clearest.

If the benefits were not significant, even Franz with all his persistence could not have brought Austro-African development to its present state.

In layman’s terms, once a colony is developed, there would no longer be any worry about industrial raw materials, and a market for goods would be established.

The market in Austro-Africa now is no weaker than Spain’s, and when all of Austria’s colonies are combined, the market is nearly as large as the Prusso-Polish Federation’s.

This is just the beginning. With over twenty million square kilometers, the development potential cannot be matched by the Prusso-Polish Federation.

It is precisely with this privately owned land, coupled with a large domestic market, that Austria has risen to become the world’s leading industrial nation.

Ever since the French restarted their colonial plan, the Austrian Government had become vigilant. The current dimension of the French Empire is substantial. If they were to resolve their last shortcoming, it would pose a threat to Austria as well.

Economy Minister Reinhardt Halden: "The development of the French economy is constrained by industrial raw materials and is now nearing its limit. The French government’s move to restart the colonial development plan is clearly an act of self-rescue.

If the French plan succeeds, our goal to economically crush France will dissolve into nothing.

The European Continent is small and cannot accommodate so many great powers. With the development of industry, conflicts between nations will only continue to escalate and might even lead to a great war engulfing Europe.

If we do not take this opportunity to suppress France, it is inevitable that we will clash with them in the future, a situation not preventable by mere individual power.

For the enduring peace and stability of the Empire, it is necessary to eliminate this hidden danger in advance. I propose taking action against the French to sabotage their colonial development project."

It is necessary to be vigilant; who else but the formidable Napoleon to blame? Even after so many years, the Vienna Government has never relaxed its guard against them.

Foreign Minister Weisenberg: "I oppose, the French colonial development plan has already failed once, and whether it will succeed this time is also unknown.

We should not, because of uncertain risks, prematurely drive France and Austria towards opposition."

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"If we were to take action simply because there might be a threat, then the Prusso Federation, Russia, and Britannia all pose threats. Are we to make enemies with the entire world?"

Economy Minister Reinhardt Halden retorted, "It’s not the same. The British are a maritime power, and although their threat to us is significant, it’s not lethal.

The Prusso Federation and the Russian Empire are at odds, having exhausted most of their energies. All we need to do is to play the balance between them.

Only France is an exception, like us, it’s a land power and its military strength is very close to ours, with our main advantage being economic.

If the French manage to fix this shortcoming, it’s quite possible that the French government will once again embark on a path of external expansion. We certainly can’t sit by and watch Napoleon’s history repeat itself!"

Colonial Minister Stephen: "It’s not so serious, colonial development isn’t an overnight issue, it requires consistent investment over decades.

From the current situation, the French public is not enthusiastic about developing colonies, and the French government’s investment in colonial development is limited.

Everyone is clear about the state of the French colonies. They are essentially deserts and wastelands, with not many areas suitable for human habitation.

French America and the Asian colonies are too far away and not large in size; they can be temporarily dismissed, and the French likely won’t be concerned with them in the short term.

The areas that truly have development potential are actually just French Algeria, Egypt, half of Tunisia, and half of Morocco, and it’s only a part of the land near the coast that’s reasonable.

According to the data we’ve collected, these areas have relatively scarce mineral resources. Although many rich mines have been discovered, most remain undeveloped due to natural conditions.

The areas suitable for agricultural production won’t exceed 400,000 square kilometers. Even if plantation economy is developed, whether it will be successful under external competition is still uncertain."

(Note the arable land suitable for agriculture in the following countries: Algeria 210,000 square kilometers, Morocco 220,000 square kilometers, Tunisia 70,000 square kilometers, and Egypt 35,000 square kilometers)

Such is the tragedy of the Desert Empire. The French occupy less than thirty percent of the African Continent’s territory, yet they hold three-quarters of its deserts.

As the world’s third colonial empire, besides having a larger size, its actual revenue doesn’t necessarily surpass the Dutch, who are essentially affluent in the Southeast Asia region.

Prime Minister Felix: "We can’t underestimate the French; they have a solid foundation. If the French government is determined, they have the financial strength to accomplish the colonial development plan.

Without saying anything about developing all the colonies, just by developing Algeria, Morocco, and the Egypt Area, the French could increase their comprehensive national strength by twenty to thirty percent.

This is also a threat to us. However, this is a problem for the future, and it’s too early to talk about these things now.

Taking direct action to sabotage the French colonial development plan is too extreme; the situation hasn’t reached that point. Clashing with the French prematurely is more trouble than it’s worth.

For now, creating some trouble for them in secret to delay their colonial development plan is enough. The longer we drag this out, the better it is for us."

Undermining their efforts is a given; England, France, and Austria are allies but also competitors. If one can suppress another, no one would mind playing underhanded tactics.

Franz nodded in agreement, even if a fallout was inevitable, there was no hurry to come to that.

The French have only just announced a plan that has yet to be implemented; we can completely wait until they are midway through before taking action.

Some early disruption, much like what the French government did during Austria’s time of colonial development.

However, at that time, the French were also busy with colonial expansion, with limited strength in the African Continent and not much resources to invest.

Later on, when a large number of immigrants poured into the African Continent, Austria’s power there surged rapidly. Even if everyone wanted to undermine those efforts, it would no longer be possible.

Foreign Minister Weisenberg suggested, "The Paris Conference is about to conclude, and once everyone’s spheres of influence are defined, taking any action would require considering the stance of all nations.

Our core objective is still to secure enough development time. If we want to delay the French colonial plans, it’s best to do so from an economic standpoint and avoid a direct military conflict."

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