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The French reinitiating their colonial developnt 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 dostic economic developnt 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 plumted, whereas the economies of England and Austria continued to skyrocket.
From total economic volu 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 inco, the inco 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 developnt over the years.
If one calculates the total industrial output, this disparity becos 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 ti 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 ca 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 volu, 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 Governnt, as the greatest beneficiary of colonial developnt, 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 developnt 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 kiloters, the developnt potential cannot be matched by the Prusso-Polish Federation.
It is precisely with this privately owned land, coupled with a large dostic market, that Austria has risen to beco the world’s leading industrial nation.
Ever since the French restarted their colonial plan, the Austrian Governnt had beco vigilant. The current dinsion 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 developnt of the French economy is constrained by industrial raw materials and is now nearing its limit. The French governnt’s move to restart the colonial developnt 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 developnt 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 re 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 developnt project."
It is necessary to be vigilant; who else but the formidable Napoleon to bla? Even after so many years, the Vienna Governnt has never relaxed its guard against them.
Foreign Minister Weisenberg: "I oppose, the French colonial developnt plan has already failed once, and whether it will succeed this ti 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 sa. The British are a mariti 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 governnt 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 developnt isn’t an overnight issue, it requires consistent investnt over decades.
From the current situation, the French public is not enthusiastic about developing colonies, and the French governnt’s investnt in colonial developnt 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 Arica 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 developnt 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 kiloters. 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 kiloters, Morocco 220,000 square kiloters, Tunisia 70,000 square kiloters, and Egypt 35,000 square kiloters)
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.
Pri Minister Felix: "We can’t underestimate the French; they have a solid foundation. If the French governnt is determined, they have the financial strength to accomplish the colonial developnt 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 developnt plan is too extre; the situation hasn’t reached that point. Clashing with the French prematurely is more trouble than it’s worth.
For now, creating so trouble for them in secret to delay their colonial developnt 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 agreent, even if a fallout was inevitable, there was no hurry to co to that.
The French have only just announced a plan that has yet to be implented; we can completely wait until they are midway through before taking action.
So early disruption, much like what the French governnt did during Austria’s ti of colonial developnt.
However, at that ti, 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 developnt ti. 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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