Chapter 952: Chapter 215: Professional Montenegro Hand
Ever since the French Army had faced defeat at the front, internal conflicts within the nation had gradually co to light. The rising cost of living and ager incos of the common folk had beco irreconcilable social issues.
Stabilizing prices was impossible. Beyond capitalists hoarding resources, global price increases also played a significant role in the inflation within France.
After the outbreak of the land war, industrial and agricultural production in France had significantly declined, and it had beco necessary to import a vast amount of resources to et the basic needs of the people.
With prices rising and wages remaining stagnant, tensions arose. Regardless of the justifications for the price hikes, it was problematic if people couldn’t afford to fill their stomachs.
According to incomplete statistics, in just the first half of 1891, the French working class had launched 126 strikes, three of which involved more than a hundred thousand participants. As the Revolutionary Holy Land, Paris nearly erupted in protests and demonstrations every week.
Given it had beco a powder keg, it was natural that revolutions would burst forth. In the past month alone, the French governnt had quelled four riots.
It was clear to any discerning observer that France was bound to face serious troubles. The French governnt had attempted to intervene multiple tis, but while recognizing the problem was easy, solving it proved difficult.
There was no alternative, as interests swayed the hearts of n. For the governnt to forcefully stabilize prices, it would inevitably have to cut into the profits of interest groups.
One might see the flyers from Austria blaming the capitalists and syndicates and think it was all the fault of the bourgeoisie. If the nobility and bureaucracy hadn’t been involved, the capitalists alone wouldn’t have been able to manipulate the system without being taken out and shot.
The number of people involved in this was unknown to anyone. In any case, the collusive interest groups between officials and rchants had beco a chronic ailnt in France.
To address these issues, the French governnt had made nurous efforts. Under Napoleon III, the power of the bourgeois syndicates had been limited, earning him the title of the “Socialist Emperor.”
Unfortunately, the previous great revolution had destroyed the governnt’s efforts. In making concessions to the syndicates, their influence had perated every corner of France.
Today, every sector in France was filled with the shadow of syndicates, and France had surpassed other European nations, entering an era of major monopolies first.
No monarch liked uncontrollable forces, and Napoleon IV was no exception. The seeds of discord had been planted from the beginning, just waiting to take root and grow.
The flyers that fell from the sky rely brought the various internal conflicts in France into the open and conveniently proposed a terrible idea to solve these issues.
By evening, Filt Manor was brightly lit. Under the guise of a banquet, the financial emperors of France were holding a secret eting.
As the leading figure in finance, Maxim Sidolov was the undeniable chair of the eting. Dispensing with lengthy speeches, he got straight to the point,
“I’m sure everyone has felt it—since the outbreak of the war, our dostic economic situation has drastically worsened, and doing business has beco increasingly difficult.
War bonds are not selling, and the British have refused to give us loans. The governnt is already penniless.
Even the most profitable arms trade has now beco worthless. No one can guarantee whether the francs in our hands, in the future, will be currency or just a pile of scrap paper.
From the current situation, our chances of winning the war seem slim. Should France be defeated, we will also not be able to save ourselves.
I invited everyone here today to discuss strategies. We need to find a way out for France and for ourselves.”
People had no money left in their pockets, so business difficulties were inevitable. Behind hoarding resources, there was also a goal of preserving capital value, especially considering how rapidly the franc was depreciating.
Out of necessity, to raise enough funds for the war, the French governnt had to over-issue currency.
In fact, not only France but also Austria, as the enemy, was over-issuing currency.
The capital market is most sensitive and possesses its own judgntal power.
Austria had sufficient gold reserves and was the largest gold producer in the world. After the war broke out, it did not make large-scale foreign purchases of resources, and the money spent by the governnt was still circulating within its own economy.
Additionally, with continuous military victories, Austria was about to beco the dominant power in Europe. With the Vienna Governnt also preparing to annex French African and the German Federation, these series of positive news was enough to offset the adverse effects of over-issuing currency.
Without significant loss of wealth and an increasing market for the Divine Shield, the current currency surplus was only temporary. Once the new markets were integrated, these problems would no longer exist.
The market had confidence, so the value of Divine Shield currency was naturally not going to fall much. In contrast, the franc was utterly disastrous.
Everyone knew that once France was defeated, the Italian Area would beco independent, and overseas colonies would change rulers, which would naturally lead the franc to exit these areas.
The market would shrink dramatically, and the francs issued would not decrease. When the ti ca, this currency would all flow back to the French holand, triggering even greater inflation.
International capital might choose not to hold francs, but dostic capital could not avoid it. Everyone present couldn’t save themselves on their own.
In the face of escalating inflation, everyone had to hold more tangible assets, and those who originally played with finance were now becoming industrial magnates.
Everyone was aware of the crisis. Holding a large amount of tangible industries did increase their paper wealth, but correspondingly, their risks also increased.
Not to ntion, the difficulty of fleeing had increased manifold. People could leave, but industries could not be taken along. Even liquidating at a discount was futile, as holding a pile of Francs was basically useless for exchange when going abroad.
Even if so were prepared in advance and had an escape plan, who would complain about having too much money?
Moreover, everyone had previously believed that France would win. Plans for an escape route started only in recent months, leaving no ti to transfer large amounts of assets abroad.
In a sense, everyone present had inevitably beco bound together with France. Should the Allied Forces breakthrough, everyone would suffer heavy losses.
A middle-aged man sighed and said, “Mr. Maxim, at this stage, even if we lend all our money to the governnt, we cannot win this war.
Since it’s destined that we cannot win the war, to minimize unnecessary losses, we must cut our losses in ti.
There’s a rumor within the Anti-French Alliance that soone proposed: after the war, they would confiscate all our assets to serve as war reparations.
With the Austrians distributing flyers and considering the consistent behavior of the Vienna Governnt, I think it is very likely that this could happen.
If we don’t want the worst-case scenario to occur, then we must end this war through negotiations before we lose all our chips.”
People know their own affairs; the more they know, the more desperate they feel about this war. Sure, the French governnt is short of money, but not Francs.
Foreign exchange and gold, everyone surely has them, but these are the most precious treasures at the mont, and nobody would want to part with them.
Unable to win, negotiating has beco the European norm, so everyone feels no psychological pressure. The only headache for everyone is the rumor about “asset confiscation.”
The Austrians are professionals at this. When suppressing rebellions in the past, the Vienna Governnt confiscated the assets of all involved, even those slightly implicated couldn’t escape this fate.
Latter, when they wiped out the Ottoman Empire, this tactic was even more magnified, with assets from all levels of the Ottoman Empire completely confiscated.
Given the friction between France and Austria, no one can guarantee that Austria wouldn’t repeat its old tricks, letting the old fate of the Ottoman Empire recur in France. After all, France had applied the sa tactics in Prussia and Germany, so retaliation from the Anti-French Alliance was not out of the question.
Maxim Sidolov nodded, “Mr. Roman is correct; it is better to believe it could happen and not be caught off guard. Otherwise, it will be too late to regret it if it truly happens.
However, ending the war is not just up to us. Those parasites in the governnt are still daydreaming about turning defeat into victory, truly trying to push France into the abyss.”
Maxim Sidolov did not ntion Austria’s instigation and attempts to incite internal strife in France from beginning to end.
This is an open plot; even knowing it’s an enemy’s sche, everyone is helpless to refuse it.
Failure in war always requires soone to take responsibility. Either let the Emperor and governnt take the bla, or bear the brunt of public anger ourselves.
If we don’t want to be that unfortunate person, we must co forward and compete for leadership. And we must act quickly, or we will only be left to feed the grass at our graves.
“Mr. Maxim, the current situation is very unfavorable for us. Had it not been for our continuous efforts to suppress public opinion, we might already have beco targets for everyone.
Without public support, relying solely on our strength, once it starts…”
Before the older man finished speaking, Maxim Sidolov interrupted, “Your Excellency Siss, you are mistaken. This isn’t our forte; directly getting involved would be irresponsible towards our own lives.
The public detesting us doesn’t an they can’t be used. Paris is now a powder keg, just waiting for a spark to ignite.
All we need to do is provide that spark, detonate this powder keg, and let the Revolutionary Party handle the rest.
By the way, we can also talk to people from the Bourbon and Orleans Dynasties, I believe we will have common ground.”
Starting a rebellion lacks sophistication; such high-risk endeavors are not suitable for these distinguished gentlen. Operating behind the scenes is what they should be doing.
Clearly, Maxim Sidolov is well versed in this craft. Gathering everyone was rely to have them contribute money and effort.
He had no plans to lead a revolt with a group of capitalists but instead delegated this task to the more professional Revolutionary Party. To ensure a foolproof plan, he also prepared to incite the other two royal families.
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