It was not just the Austrian government enjoying the dividends, governments across Europe also made huge fortunes from this “anti-Jewish movement.” Even the Russians, who usually gained less, managed to turn a profit this time. It marked the second time in forty years that the Russian government achieved a budget surplus. It is worth noting that the last time the Russian government posted a surplus, it was also thanks to an anti-Jewish campaign. Once again, facts proved that targeting Jews was a surefire path to wealth. Watching the daily increase in financial assets, Alexander III felt refreshed and invigorated.
With the Tsar in a good mood, the entire Gatchina Palace was filled with joy. However, after the excitement passed, Alexander III started to worry. Since his accession to the throne, this was the first time he had so much money at hand, and he had no experience in how to spend it. It was not that there were few places needing money. On the contrary, the Russian Empire had too many areas desperate for funding. Whether it was reducing government debt, investing in domestic infrastructure, or upgrading military equipment, all required large sums of money. Because the previous anti-Jewish campaign had occurred not long ago, the “leeks” had not yet grown back, so the Russian government’s profits this time were relatively limited, making it impossible to support multiple projects simultaneously. Finance Minister Alisher Gurov said, “Your Majesty, although the assets seized this time include tens of billions of rubles in cash, most of this money actually belongs to depositors. Only a small portion truly belonged to Jewish capitalists. Among these assets, foreign currency and gold make up an even smaller share, with a total value of about one hundred million rubles. Considering that the government has nearly forty-three million rubles in international debt maturing this year that must be repaid, and another thirty-eight million rubles of debt maturing next year, the Ministry of Finance recommends using all the foreign currency reserves to settle these debts. In addition, nearly eighty million rubles of domestic debt will also come due soon, and funds need to be set aside for that as well. After deducting these expenses, in theory, the government would still have about six hundred and forty million rubles of assets at its disposal. However, among these assets, only eighty million rubles’ worth of stocks and bonds can be quickly liquidated. The rest mainly consists of outstanding loans and a small portion of real estate. The Ministry of Finance has already begun handling the real estate, aiming to sell it all within a year. As for the outstanding loans, they are more troublesome and can only be recovered once they mature.” There was no helping it. Jewish capitalists had always favored usury as their preferred form of investment. Especially in a country like Russia, where industry and commerce were underdeveloped, lending money at high interest rates was far more profitable than investing in manufacturing. Naturally, Jewish financiers flocked to it. In a sense, this was also why the Russian government dared to suppress Jews so unscrupulously. After all, since Jewish capital was concentrated mainly in banking, even if they tried to cause trouble, the impact on the national economy would remain relatively limited. If Jewish capitalists had been enthusiastic about investing in industry, employing millions of workers who depended on them for their livelihoods, any government would have thought twice before taking action against them. Unfortunately, Jewish capitalists had not yet realized this. Each of them was focused on using banking and financial methods to secretly control other industries and seek exorbitant profits. Alexander III frowned and asked, “So you are saying that the funds we can actually use right now are only eighty million rubles?” Finance Minister Alisher Gurov replied, “It is slightly more. Previously, we had also prepared a separate fund to repay debts, although the amount was not very large. Originally, we had planned to negotiate with the banks for another loan to repay the old debts, but now that is no longer necessary. Including that fund, the government currently has about one hundred and ten million rubles in cash at its disposal. Considering that we might face an agricultural crisis in the coming years, the Ministry of Finance recommends reducing debt as much as possible or reserving a portion of the funds to deal with emergencies.” The reign of Alexander III marked a turning point. From the moment he ascended the throne, the Russian government had been working to improve its international image, including the timely repayment of debts. Of course, the debts they had already defaulted on before were not counted. Having shamelessly defaulted, they certainly would not go back to repay them. Currently, the debts being repaid were mainly owed to two major creditors: Austria and the Nordic Federation, both of whom were close neighbors of the Russian Empire. Thanks to Alexander III’s efforts, the Russian Empire’s total foreign debt had decreased by nearly one-fifth from its peak, and the financial situation had seen some improvement. Achieving such remarkable results in just five years was naturally due to “international trade.” By selling off the spoils from the Third Near East War and taking on the task of resettling immigrants from the Ottoman Empire, the Russian government successfully reduced its debt. Even with the debt reduction, however, the government’s finances were still strained. This anti-Jewish campaign was, in many ways, a timely rescue. Unfortunately, the bureaucratic class was quite corrupt. Otherwise, Alexander III would not have had so much to worry about. The meager assets confiscated during the raids were almost an insult to the legendary wealth-gathering abilities of the Jewish community, so meager that no one would believe it if they heard. Seeing that the Minister of Finance intended to hold onto the money, Minister of Navy Andrei Nikolai quickly spoke up, “Your Majesty, the ships that the Austrians promised us are ready for delivery. They have already urged us several times. If we keep delaying the collection, the Navy Ministry will soon be too embarrassed to face them.” The navy was a bottomless pit for spending. Once they took delivery of the ships from the Austrian Navy, the costs of maintaining them would fall on Russia. The Russian Navy was a typical “poor man’s navy,” with most of its ships dating back to the era of Nicholas I. Some of the vessels were even older than the average age of the sailors serving on them. It is hard to believe, but the Russian Navy no longer even needs to board its ships, let alone sail them. Their training manuals are identical to the army’s. The reason is not that the naval high command has lost its mind. It is simply that the ships cannot operate. Most vessels have long since exceeded their service lives. If you send one out into the harbor now, nobody knows when it will sink. Not to mention conducting live-fire exercises at sea. A single broadside would likely tear the ship apart under the recoil. Given this situation, what choice was there but to use army manuals? If they tried to follow true naval training standards, one live-fire exercise after departure could have sunk a ship and wiped out the navy. No one could bear such terrible consequences. From top to bottom, the Russian government chose very deliberately to pretend not to notice the navy’s plight. To secure new ships as quickly as possible, the Russian Navy frequently petitioned for them. Navy Minister Andrei Nikolai was even afraid to inspect the fleet, worried that the sailors might block his way and cause a scene. Now that the chance had arrived, they intended to seize it. They did not need much, just a few tens of millions of rubles to take delivery of the Austrian ships and finally give the navy vessels that could actually put to sea. Locked in a wordless glance, Alexander III found himself unable to refuse the minister’s eager look. The Russian Empire was the fourth greatest power in the world. A navy without even enough ships to maintain appearances was simply unacceptable. If it had been a matter of purchasing warships, Alexander III would certainly have refused. The Russian government could not afford such luxury goods. But since the ships were being gifted for free, there was no excuse to turn them down. Alexander III had his own ambitions. He had heard the phrase “century-old navy” before. If the current situation continued, it would not be long before the Russian Navy lost even its foundational strength. Clenching his fist silently, as if going through an internal struggle, Alexander III finally said after a moment, “Bring the ships back first. The warships promised by the Austrians are all active service vessels and are considered among the most advanced in the world. The Ministry of Finance will allocate another eight million rubles for ship maintenance. We must not let these ships fall into neglect.” Everything depends on what you compare it to. Now that the pre-dreadnought battleships had appeared, the Austrian battleships on offer were no longer the absolute latest. However, only Britain and Austria currently had pre-dreadnoughts, and each had only one experimental ship. France had been delayed by civil war, and their first pre-dreadnought was still under construction. Looking across the world, the active ships Austria was offering were still top-tier. Only Britain, France, and Austria could build warships of this class on a large scale. Once the Russians took possession of this fleet, in theory, they would regain their position as the world’s fourth-strongest navy, at least in terms of the tonnage of their main warships. Minister of Finance Alisher Gurov reminded him, “Your Majesty, the number of ships Austria promised us is not small. Once we take them all, annual maintenance costs will increase by over ten million rubles. This will place considerable pressure on the government’s finances. Perhaps we should only take delivery of some of the ships for now and deal with the rest later.” As soon as he finished speaking, Alisher Gurov realized he had misspoken. While accepting only part of the warships was possible, doing so would cause the Russian Empire to lose face completely. Losing face was a minor issue compared to the real danger that it would reveal their weakness to the outside world. Other countries, when weak, could afford to keep their heads down, but Russia could not. For a country like Russia, with poor diplomatic relations, a high level of resentment from others, and many enemies, the weaker they appeared, the more they needed to project strength. Otherwise, they risked becoming prey to a pack of wolves. As expected, Alexander III decisively rejected the idea. “No. We must take all the warships. Also, the government’s gains this time must be kept strictly confidential. If necessary, we can release some false information to make the outside world believe we have fully recovered our strength. Next month, relocate fifty thousand Cossacks into Central Asia. Some conflicts with the Central Asian khanates are acceptable, but control the situation carefully. We must not actually trigger a war.” The Minister of Finance’s words had indeed made Alexander III more cautious. Delaying the receipt of the warships for over a year would certainly raise suspicion. At this point, it was necessary to find a way to cover up any weaknesses. The best approach was to showcase strength to the world. Looking around, the easiest and most suitable targets for this were the Central Asian khanates. *** https://postimg.cc/gallery/PwXsBkC (Maps of the current territories of the countries in this novel made by ScH)
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