After a while, seeing that the Minister of Foreign Affairs still hadn’t spoken, Napoleon IV let out a helpless sigh. France being isolated by the European powers wasn’t anything new, it could be traced back to the Middle Ages. From the very beginning, the House of Bonaparte had been surrounded and besieged. Successive French governments had made efforts to end this diplomatic and political isolation, but with little success. It was as if there were a curse. Every time the French government tried to improve relations with European nations, some major event would break out before long and reset all the goodwill. There was no need to look far back. During the reign of Napoleon III, relations with European countries had begun to thaw, only for him to annex parts of Italy, wiping out all previous diplomatic progress in a single move. Napoleon IV had also made efforts after taking the throne, and it was no different this time. The only change was that this time it wasn’t France causing trouble, but others stirring up trouble against them. The result was the same. Just as things had begun to improve, diplomatic relations once again dropped to freezing point. Even the Spanish government, which had been supported and propped up by the French, remained lukewarm toward them and could hardly be called an ally. In this context, asking the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to persuade European countries to allow the French government to issue bonds in their markets was nothing short of wishful thinking. After some hesitation, Napoleon IV slowly said, “Cancel the refugee relief plan for now. Restart negotiations with the financial consortiums.” Once again, reality proved that having no money simply doesn’t work. The large-scale agricultural development plan had only just begun and not even the seeds had been sown yet. France was still a grain-importing country. Using the government’s precious foreign exchange reserves to purchase food from abroad to aid indigenous people in the colonies was, to the colonizers, an incredibly extravagant act. When the government had money, Napoleon IV didn’t mind showing some compassion to save these “laborers.” But now that the money was gone, there was no point in even considering it. Prime Minister Terence Bourquin reminded him, “Your Majesty, if we negotiate with the consortium now, they’ll definitely open their mouths wide and ask for outrageous terms. The cost we’ll have to pay…” Napoleon IV interrupted, “Do we have any choice? The domestic cotton inventory has already been completely used up. Most cotton textile enterprises are cutting production and laying off workers. The unemployment rate is soaring. If we don’t quickly restore cotton production in Egypt, all the domestic textile companies will go under. And when that happens, what about the millions of textile workers?” Even though it was like drinking poison to quench thirst, Napoleon IV had no choice. The market needed confidence. If the capitalists saw no hope, waves of bankruptcies and mass unemployment would soon follow. To avoid another revolution, Napoleon IV knew full well that compromising with the consortium would have dire consequences, but he still had to go through with it. Minister of Finance Roy Vernon spoke hesitantly, “How about we turn against the Jews?” This suggestion wasn’t made out of nowhere. The Jewish community happened to be one of the major creditors of the French government, holding at least one-third of its debt. Stirring up an anti-Jewish movement meant those debts wouldn’t have to be repaid. And with some house raids and confiscation of Jewish assets, the immediate crisis could be overcome. After hesitating for a moment, Napoleon IV nodded and commanded, “Send someone to negotiate with the Jewish consortium first. If they’re willing to lend money to the government, we’ll let them off the hook.” Money or their lives—that was the difficult choice they were being forced to make. The tragedy was that the Jewish community, who had to answer that question, had no idea what the consequences of refusal might be. Even if someone could foresee it, it would be difficult to walk away from profit. It could be said that from the moment Napoleon IV made this decision, a new wave of anti-Semitism in France had already begun. ... At the Vienna Palace, Franz set down his newspaper and noticed something unusual. In recent days, news across Europe exposing the dark history of Jewish individuals had suddenly surged. With his years of political experience, Franz could tell for sure that this was a coordinated and targeted campaign. Otherwise, with unscrupulous capitalists everywhere these days, why were the ones exposed in the papers all Jewish? Of course, the newspapers themselves were not at fault. The stories were backed by evidence, photos, and hard facts. Everything that had happened could be proven. The journalists were fulfilling their duty. Even knowing there was likely a hidden hand behind it all, nothing could be done. What was worth reporting still had to be reported, especially when the Jewish financiers had indeed acted unethically. Although the Austrian government imposed relatively strict controls over the press, the focus was on truthfulness and accuracy, cracking down only on rumors and manipulative narratives. News backed with solid evidence did not fall under censorship. Not only were Jewish capitalists exposed in the press, but even domestic elites were fair game. As long as there was proof of wrongdoing, the newspapers were allowed to report it. … On Christmas Eve, French economist Julien Faubert gave a radio speech titled “Beware the Hidden Hands Behind the Economic Crisis,” directly targeting the Jewish financial consortium. Shortly after, numerous French experts and scholars publicly spoke out, placing the blame for the worsening domestic economy squarely on the Jewish financiers. With the tacit approval of the French government, incidents of violence against Jews began to increase. Sensing the rising danger, the experienced Jewish capitalists quickly launched their always-effective “franc” lobbying campaign. However, by that time, it was already too late. From the moment negotiations had broken down, the French government had made up its mind. On January 4, 1886, the French government launched investigations into several domestic banks under the accusation of “colluding with foreign hostile powers to short the franc and committing financial crimes,” pushing the anti-Jewish movement to its peak. ... As time went on, the anti-Semitic wave in Europe grew stronger. Once again, Jews found themselves in a precarious and persecuted position. On January 11, 1886, Edward York, Mayor of the Free City of Frankfurt, published an article in the Austrian Daily criticizing Jewish capitalists for manipulating stock prices and fabricating both “positive” and “negative” news to profit off the market. Prior to this, the Frankfurt Securities Regulatory Commission had already issued investigation orders to several Jewish-controlled brokerage firms and foundations. Once the allegations were confirmed, the anti-Semitic movement spread into Austria. Countless ordinary investors, furious over their losses, seethed with resentment toward the Jewish financiers. In this era of slow communication, the fact that the anti-Semitic movement surged from a quiet build-up to full-blown crisis in just over a month proved one thing clearly: Jews had once again been made the perfect scapegoats. … At a government meeting, Franz asked with a blank expression, “The anti-Semitic movement among the public is rising. What are your thoughts?” It wasn’t just that public anti-Semitism was gaining momentum; even within the government, anti-Jewish voices had become mainstream. However, due to official constraints, people were not in a position to express their views openly. Not being able to state a position publicly didn’t mean action couldn’t be taken. Exposing the shady history of Jewish capitalists was still possible, and Edward York was just one among many. Recently, multiple agencies such as the Ministry of Commerce, the Quality Inspection Bureau, the Labor Supervision Committee, the Tax Office, and the Securities Regulatory Commission had all launched operations. All were cracking down on illegal activities within the limits of the law. Each case was backed by concrete evidence, leaving no room for criticism. If not for the risk that the situation might spiral out of control, Franz would not have even bothered to bring it up. After all, cracking down on crime was part of the government’s responsibility. As long as penalties were imposed in accordance with Austrian law and there was no abuse of power, there was no issue. Chancellor Karl responded, “Your Majesty, ever since the French launched their anti-Semitic movement, the wave has swept across the European continent. The domestic situation remains relatively stable. It has not affected ordinary Jewish citizens, and the targets have primarily been Jewish capitalists. The government has strengthened public security and banned violent acts such as vandalism, looting, and arson. At the same time, we are encouraging citizens to report any and all illegal activity. As for those criminals, we will show no mercy.” Franz rubbed his forehead, and now he finally understood. The recent streak of bad luck hitting Jewish capitalists stemmed from this very issue. In this day and age, truly law-abiding capitalists were extremely rare. As long as an investigation was thorough, problems could always be uncovered. Because the implications were too widespread, Franz couldn’t simply crack down on everyone. He could only single out a few with the most serious issues to set an example. Jewish capitalists did have problems of their own, and during this wave of anti-Semitism sweeping across Europe, having those problems exposed meant they had walked right into the line of fire. Chancellor Karl, who already had a distaste for Jewish capitalists, clearly intended to handle everything strictly by the book this time. Punishments would be carried out entirely according to Austrian laws and regulations, and possibly even enforced more severely than usual. Franz understood this, but he had no intention of calling a halt. The dignity of the law had to be upheld, and the government’s actions were entirely reasonable and lawful. “As long as you all understand the situation. Crimes must be punished strictly, but the matter must not be allowed to escalate. For the sake of domestic economic stability, the government must not only enforce the law but also manage the aftermath properly, especially when it comes to stabilizing employment. For labor-intensive industries such as manufacturing, state-owned enterprises can temporarily take over operations. Once the situation settles, assets can then be auctioned publicly in accordance with the law.” *** https://postimg.cc/gallery/PwXsBkC (Maps of the current territories of the countries in this novel made by ScH)
[Previous | Table of Contents | Next]
Comments
Post a Comment