Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 666 - 239: Can’t Stay Idle

To wage a trade war does not mean allowing industries to develop wildly. Countless cases have proved that enterprises without competitiveness are the first to fail when crisis strikes.

Big but not strong industries find it hard to stand in international competition. Austria has surpassed the era of blindly chasing quantity; now, what’s needed is an emphasis on both quality and quantity.

In order to calm the market, right before Christmas in 1879, the Austrian Government issued a "Market Risk Warning", listing thirty-nine industries as having overcapacity.

It also raised the investment entry barrier, demanding not only registered capital but also technical requirements. Capitalists who wanted to invest in these industries had to use the most advanced technology available.

For capital, these barriers were not really a problem. Except for the high-tech fields, you could easily buy whatever technology you needed as long as you had the money.

Franz did not expect investors to heed the government’s advice; in the face of profit, people always liked to overlook risks.

Forcing everyone to adopt more advanced productive forces and to increase product competitiveness was mainly to allow these newcomers to hold out a little longer when crisis exploded.

This was of great importance; once a global overcapacity crisis erupted, companies would compete in comprehensive strength, and cost and capital would determine who could survive to the end.

The victor is king, and the survivor is king as well; the enterprises that make it through are the real winners.

It is the same for nations. The country with more surviving enterprises and stronger power will become the new industrial hegemon.

Perhaps at the onset of the crisis, the capital of the Anglo-Austrian two countries might join forces to eliminate competitors, but in the latter stages, the industrial and commercial sectors of the two countries are bound to clash eventually.

However, both are Colonial Empires, free trade aside, the market of their Overseas Colonies remains their own private land. With such an outlet in place, a complete collapse is unlikely.

A heated market gives people the most direct sense that money has become easier to earn. Nearly every industry enjoys the spoils of war, with the immigration industry being the sole exception.

Indeed, immigration is also an industry in Austria. Affected by the grand immigration strategy, several hundred thousand to over a million people emigrate to the African Continent every year. From transportation to settlement, a complete industry chain has already formed.

Regrettably, the immigration industry has always been inversely proportional to economic development; only when there are economic issues does the immigration industry thrive.

As a large amount of hot money flows in, the number of new job positions surges, and with the opportunity to earn money domestically, naturally, the number of people willing to emigrate overseas decreases.

On the Vienna Ring Road, there is a building full of Renaissance charm that no longer boasts its former bustle. The staff gather in small groups, idly basking in the sun.

If not for the sign at the main entrance, no one would believe this is an Austrian Government department—indeed, it is the renowned Immigration Bureau.

If such a situation occurred in another government department, the supervisory department would have intervened by now. The Immigration Bureau, however, is an exception.

During busy times, it could be alight with activity day and night; during slack periods, one could complete a day’s work in ten minutes and then have nothing left to do.

While ordinary staff have time on their hands, the chief, Gold, is worried. With everyone idling, what will happen to the grand immigration strategy?

Even if the Cabinet Government understands his predicament and does not hold him accountable, failure to meet targets will indefinitely stain his political record.

In the meeting room, Gold laid down the report he was holding, "Gentlemen, since the outbreak of the Prusso-Russian War, the number of people applying for immigration has drastically decreased, and this year’s immigration plan cannot be completed.

If we do not take action, next year’s immigration efforts are also likely to be bleak.

Year by year, if this continues, the government’s grand immigration strategy will be doomed.

The failure of the immigration strategy will directly affect the development of the African Continent and the domestication process, consequences we cannot bear.

Starting now, everyone must get moving. Mobilize your personal connections and promote immigration as much as possible."

Everyone’s expressions soured, clearly seeing this as a thankless task. At this moment, they all reminisced about the economic crisis period when people would take the initiative to come knocking on doors to pull connections without them even asking.

A senior official objected, "Chief, I’m afraid this might not be effective. We’ve plastered immigration ads all over the country. Even in the most remote mountain villages, they can be seen.

After years of promotion, the concept of immigration has deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. However, as dear as the homeland is, people are reluctant to leave. We can’t force them to migrate."

Not everyone is willing to go through the trouble, and many older officials, having lost the possibility of further advancement, are no longer interested in these political missions.

That’s not much of an issue, though; once the orders are issued, everyone will still carry them out.

What gave Gold headaches was the phrase "very difficult to make an impact". If it couldn’t make an impact, then sending everyone out for propaganda would be pointless.

After hesitating for a moment, Gold said firmly, "If we can’t do it here, then go to other countries in the Germany Region for propaganda. As long as they are German Descendants, it can count towards your political achievements.

Especially the Kingdom of Prussia, which is currently at war, can be considered a key propaganda area. Even if you’re caught, Austria’s Foreign Ministry will bail you out.

Let’s discuss and set a target, then divide into groups to start working. Everyone present at today’s meeting will be the propaganda team leaders, myself included."

It can’t be helped; the Austrian Immigration Office already has a notorious reputation in the Germany Region, and all the national governments are on high alert against them.

For instance, the Kingdom of Prussia had long since listed them as undesirable, and even the staff of the Immigration Bureau can’t get visas.

But for every measure from above, there is a counter from below. The Immigration Bureau is also a government department; forging a new identity and slipping through the cracks is nothing out of the ordinary.

Propagandizing immigration isn’t illegal, and even if they are caught, the Berlin Government has no authority to handle them; they usually just notify Austria’s Foreign Ministry to take custody of the individuals.

Austria is strong enough; the Berlin Government can’t do much openly, but they still make sure to give them a hard time in secret.

Gold didn’t want to do it that way either, but he had no choice. If he didn’t put forth a semblance of doing everything possible, how would the outside world know of their continued efforts?

Having tried and not tried are two completely different concepts when the strategic plan ultimately fails to be fulfilled.

Taking the lead personally and making a trip, regardless of the outcome, is better than watching a group of subordinates just soaking up the sun every day.

Retire? Gold wasn’t even forty years old yet. As the head of Immigration, the most important branch of the Colonial Department, he had a long political career ahead, with plenty of room for advancement.

Franz naturally did not know the enormous pressure the grand immigration strategy had put on the Immigration Bureau.

In fact, not only the Immigration Bureau was under great pressure; many other government departments in Austria were as well.

At this time, civil servants were not as common as in later eras, yet the workload hadn’t decreased by much.

Take the Immigration Bureau as an example; the total staff was less than fifteen hundred, covering the entire European Continent. At its peak, it organized up to 1.3 million immigrants in a single year to the Overseas Colonies.

Of course, a large part of this was already organized by the Colonial Companies; the Immigration Bureau was merely responsible for data statistics and coordinating relations among various parties.

What to do when staff is insufficient? The answer, of course, is overtime. Forget about an eight-hour workday; during busy times, even working "996" would be considered knocking off early.

There’s nothing unfair about it; within the societal norm of prevalent overtime, there’s nothing much to complain about. You should know that the situation in factories regarding overtime is much worse.

According to statistics from the Vienna Government, urban workers average 9.1 hours of work per day, calculated over the whole year of 365 days.

If you subtract holidays and rest days, many people work more than 12 hours a day, indicating an enormous workload.

Certainly, the capitalists won’t admit to this. Many companies, when calculating working hours, exclude necessary breaks, meal times, bathroom breaks, and even the intermittent downtime of machinery.

The goal is clear: pay less for overtime. With a different calculation method, the daily working hours suddenly look much shorter by 1-2 hours, making the data appear far more appealing.

The woes of the Immigration Bureau do not affect the Austrian public, who are still basking in the joy of increased income, striving for a dreamy tomorrow.

There’s a saying that fits well: happiness is relative.

Compared with the Prussia and Russia, who are in the midst of war, with Great France, which is trapped in a resource crisis, and with many small countries who are on the brink of collapse, the Austrian people naturally feel the happiness.