The economic crisis suddenly erupted, and the value of the franc could no longer be defended. In just a few days, its value plummeted by 28.7%, shocking the world. France was one of the three global giants, ranking fifth in the world in economic output and standing just behind the top in military strength. Whenever the French government sneezed, the world trembled. Yet, despite being such a behemoth, its financial system proved so fragile that it collapsed after just one round of attacks. After completing their harvest, financial consortiums began to withdraw, leaving international speculative capital to bear the wrath of the French people. Just like the saying, “I came quietly but left with great momentum, waving my sleeve without taking away a single cloud.” They did not take away a single cloud, but they did take away a massive amount of guilders, pounds, and gold. As if by tacit agreement, the international financial groups led by Britain and Austria withdrew first. Only after that did the French financial consortiums finally step in, joining the resistance. Without the presence of financial behemoths, the remaining retail speculators were naturally no match for the French consortiums. Seeing the French financial groups rise to fame in a single battle, seemingly becoming national heroes overnight, Napoleon IV was infuriated. As an outlet for his anger, many vases in the Palace of Versailles had to be replaced once again. Capital had infiltrated politics, and the absolute dominance established since the era of Napoleon III was now gone. … At the Vienna Palace, watching the plight of the French government, Franz couldn’t help but feel a sense of sympathy, like a fox mourning the death of a rabbit. After the economic crisis, the strength of the French financial consortiums grew significantly, further increasing their influence over the government. The future of the French Empire was bound to become even more turbulent. After a simple breakfast, Franz pushed aside these troubling thoughts and was about to bask in the gentle sunlight when an unexpected guest arrived. Foreign Minister Wessenberg reported, “Your Majesty, a workers’ uprising broke out in Lyon last night. There are signs that the situation in France is spiraling out of control.” For a major power, external threats were no longer fatal. The only thing that could truly bring them down was themselves. Without a doubt, France was such a great power. At least in this era, as long as it wasn’t besieged by multiple enemies, no single nation had the strength to destroy it in a one-on-one confrontation. Even the strongest nation could crumble under internal turmoil. Even a small leak sinks a great ship. The workers’ uprising in Lyon was only the beginning. If the economic crisis remained unresolved, France would never be stable. Franz asked in confusion, “Didn’t the French government already distribute relief grain? Why is there still an uprising?” This was a well-crafted policy established during the reign of Napoleon III. French workers were entitled to unemployment benefits. Under this favorable policy, although the labor movement in France continued to flourish, uprisings were rare. Wessenberg explained, “According to information from our embassy, the initial assessment suggests that this is related to the depreciation of the franc. Due to the currency’s devaluation, prices in France have skyrocketed. The original unemployment benefits are no longer enough to cover workers’ daily expenses.” Franz nodded but did not rush to a conclusion. Generally speaking, a sharp rise in prices is caused by multiple factors. Inflation is only one of them, and its effects usually take time to manifest. It is unlikely that the franc’s depreciation today would immediately lead to soaring prices as markets need time to react. By contrast, Franz was more inclined to believe that hoarding and supply shortages were the main reasons for the sudden price surge. After hesitating for a moment, Franz decided to strike while the iron was hot. “Secretly fund the Italian independence movement with an operational grant and let them act when the opportunity arises.” Even though he had little faith in the Italian revolutionaries, Franz was still willing to create more trouble for the French government. “Yes, Your Majesty!” Wessenberg responded. After a brief pause, Wessenberg added, “Your Majesty, according to intelligence gathered by our embassies, Alexander III, under financial pressure, has granted land in the newly occupied territories as rewards to his meritorious officials. As a result, various levels of unrest have erupted in the newly occupied Polish and East Prussian regions. The Russian governor in Königsberg, through the colonial companies, has relayed a request for us to ease immigration restrictions.” This was a lingering consequence of the Cossack cavalry campaigns. Whatever little public support the Russian government had in these regions had been completely exhausted. Winning back the hearts of the people was now impossible. At least not until the current generation had died out. Any effort in that direction would yield minimal results. To reestablish control in these regions, the Russians had to foster a new ruling class. From that perspective, Alexander III’s decision was not wrong. Rather than relying on the unreliable local population, it was better to replace them with their own people. By distributing land as rewards, the government could also save a considerable amount of expenses. Austria had done something similar in the Balkans. However, Austria had largely relocated the local population before taking action, which prevented unrest. After some thought, Franz said, “We can make contact with the Russians through the colonial companies, not the government. This is not something the state should be directly involved in. However, our immigration policy must remain unchanged. Our only concern is relocating the local German population or minorities who have already been Germanized.” Even after the ravages of war, the population of Russian-occupied Poland, the Baltic region, Belarus, and East Prussia still totaled nearly ten million. For the Russian government, failing to win the loyalty of the local people meant these populations would become the greatest source of instability. If the Russian government had strong enough execution capabilities and sufficient financial resources, they could identify and eliminate the most stubborn elements, then disperse the rest for gradual assimilation. Unfortunately, that was impossible. The Russian government lacked both the efficiency and the financial strength to carry out such a plan. If this were the era of the “man with the big mustache,” perhaps they could all be sent to farm potatoes. But before then, no Russian government had ever possessed such formidable execution power. TN: Probably Joseph Stalin. What the Russians couldn’t do, Austria certainly wouldn’t attempt. Accepting a large influx of minorities all at once would be disastrous for Austria’s assimilation efforts. There were limits to multicultural integration. Once that threshold was exceeded, things would begin to unravel in the opposite direction. Without sufficient benefits, Franz naturally had no interest in cleaning up Russia’s mess. From Austria’s perspective, having these hostile populations exist to drag down the Russians was actually the best possible outcome. … Influenced by the workers’ uprising in Lyon, the people of Paris—being in the holy land of revolution—naturally could not remain silent. On December 11, 1881, a massive demonstration erupted in Paris, with hundreds of thousands of citizens taking to the streets in support of the Lyon workers' uprising. Like a string of firecrackers, France began to explode. On December 12, Toulouse followed suit, breaking out into a workers’ uprising.
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