Since the French army’s defeat on the front lines, domestic internal conflicts had gradually been exposed. Soaring prices and the meager income of ordinary people had become irreconcilable social contradictions. It was impossible to stabilize prices. In addition to capitalists hoarding goods, the rise in international prices was also an important factor in the increase of French prices. After the outbreak of the European War, France’s domestic industrial and agricultural production both declined significantly, requiring a large import of goods to meet the basic needs of its citizens. Prices went up, but wages didn’t, and so the conflict was born. No matter how sufficient the reason for the price hike was, if people couldn’t fill their stomachs, it was a problem. According to incomplete statistics, in the first half of 1891 alone, the French working class launched 126 strikes, with three of them involving more than 100,000 people. Paris, a holy land of revolution, had protest marches and demonstrations almost every week. Since it had become a powder keg, a revolution was naturally bound to explode. Within the last month, the French government had already suppressed four riots. Anyone with a clear eye knew that if this continued, France was bound to run into trouble. The French government also tried to intervene multiple times, but it was easy to see the problem and difficult to solve it. There was no way around it; greed moves people’s hearts. If the government were to forcefully stabilize prices, it would inevitably cut into the profits of the interest groups. Don’t just assume it was all the bourgeoisie’s fault just because the Austrian leaflets placed the blame on the capitalists and financial groups. If the nobility and bureaucracy hadn’t been involved, a single capitalist playing these games would have been taken out and shot long ago. No one knew how many people were involved. In short, the interest groups formed by the collusion of officials and businessmen had become a chronic disease of France. To solve these chronic issues, the French government has also made a lot of efforts. During the time of Napoleon III, the power of the bourgeois financial groups was restricted, which also earned him the title of “the Socialist Emperor.” Unfortunately, the previous revolution undid the government’s efforts. While making concessions to the financial groups, the government also allowed the groups’ tentacles to reach into every corner of France. To this day, every industry in France is filled with the shadow of these financial groups, making France the first among European nations to enter the era of monopolies. No monarch liked this kind of uncontrolled power, and Napoleon IV was no exception. The seeds of conflict were sown from the very beginning, just waiting to take root and sprout. The leaflets falling from the sky simply exposed France’s internal conflicts to the open and, incidentally, offered a terrible idea for how to solve the problem. In the evening, the lights of Field Manor were ablaze. Under the guise of a banquet, France’s financial emperors were holding a secret meeting. As the number one figure in the financial world, Maxim Sidoluev naturally became the host of the meeting. There was no lengthy discourse and he got straight to the point: “I presume you have all felt it... Since the war broke out, the domestic economic situation has sharply deteriorated, and business has become increasingly difficult to do. War bonds aren’t selling, and the British have refused to issue us loans. The government is as poor as a church mouse. Even the most profitable arms trade has now become a tasteless distraction. No one can guarantee that the francs in their hands will be currency in the future, and not just a pile of worthless paper. From the current situation, our chances of winning the war are slim to none. Once France is defeated, we will not be able to escape unscathed. I’ve invited everyone here today to discuss our countermeasures: to find a path for France, and to find a path for ourselves.” With no money in the people’s pockets, it was inevitable that business would be difficult to do. Behind the hoarding and speculation was also the goal of preserving the value of capital, as the franc was depreciating at an incredibly fast rate. There was no other way. In order to raise sufficient funds for the war, the French government had to over-issue currency. In fact, it wasn’t just France that was over-issuing currency; Austria, their enemy, was doing the same. But the capital market is the most sensitive and has its own judgment. Austria had sufficient gold reserves and was itself the world’s largest gold producer. After the outbreak of the war, it did not have to purchase a large amount of goods from abroad, and the money spent by the government was still circulating within its own economy. Coupled with continuous military victories and its imminent rise as the hegemon of Europe, the Austrian government was also preparing to annex French Africa and the German Federation. This series of favorable news was enough to offset the negative consequences of currency over-issuance. Wealth was not lost on a large scale, and the market for the guilder had expanded. The current currency surplus was only temporary; once the new markets were integrated, these problems would cease to exist. With the market’s confidence, the value of the guilder naturally wouldn’t fall too much. In comparison, the franc was a complete tragedy. Everyone knew that once France was defeated, the Italian territories would become independent and the overseas colonies would change hands. The franc would naturally also withdraw from these regions. The market would shrink dramatically, but the number of francs issued would not decrease. At that time, all this currency would flow back into mainland France, triggering even greater inflation. International capital might not be optimistic and could choose not to hold francs, but as domestic capital, they couldn’t avoid it. No one present could escape unscathed. To counteract even greater inflation, everyone had to hold more tangible assets. The ones who were originally in the financial game were now on the verge of becoming industrial magnates. Everyone had a sense of crisis. While holding a large number of physical assets certainly increased their paper wealth, the corresponding risks also increased. Putting everything else aside, the difficulty of fleeing alone increased exponentially. People could leave, but their businesses couldn’t be taken with them. Even liquidating them at a discount was useless as taking a pile of francs abroad would make them impossible to exchange. Even if some people had prepared early and left themselves a way out, who would ever complain about having too much money? Besides, everyone had previously believed France would win, so the preparations for a way out had only begun in the last few months. There was no time to transfer a large amount of assets abroad. In a sense, everyone present had been passively tied together with France. Once the coalition forces broke in, all of them would suffer heavy losses. A middle-aged man sighed and said, “Mr. Maxim, at this point, even if we lent all our money to the government, we wouldn’t be able to win this war. Since we are destined to lose, to reduce unnecessary losses, we can only cut our losses in a timely manner. There’s a rumor, and I don’t know if everyone has heard it... someone in the Anti-French Coalition has proposed that after the war, all of our assets be confiscated to serve as war reparations. Coupled with the leaflets the Austrians are scattering and the consistent style of the Austrian government, I think the probability of this happening is very high. If we don’t want the worst to happen, then we must end this war through negotiation before we lose all our bargaining chips.” Their own people knew their own business. The more they understood the situation, the more they despaired about the war. The French government was certainly short on money, but what they were short on wasn’t francs. Everyone in the room undoubtedly had foreign currency and gold, but these were their most precious assets, and no one was about to give them up. Negotiating when you couldn’t win was standard European practice, so the idea didn’t cause them any mental distress. The only thing that gave them a headache was the rumor about the confiscation of assets. When it came to such matters, Austria was a professional. When they suppressed the rebellion, the Austrian government confiscated the assets of everyone involved. Even those who were only remotely connected weren’t spared. Later, when they destroyed the Ottoman Empire, this tactic was perfected, and the assets of everyone from top to bottom were seized. Given the animosity between France and Austria, no one could guarantee that Austria wouldn’t use the same tactics, repeating the Ottoman Empire’s fate in France. After all, France had used similar methods in Belgium and Germany, so it was entirely possible the Anti-French Coalition would retaliate. Maxim Sidoluev nodded, “Mr. Roman is right. With a matter like this, it’s better to believe it than to ignore it. If it happens, it will be too late to regret it. However, ending the war isn’t something we alone can decide. The parasites in the government are still dreaming of turning the tide, and they’re truly pushing France toward the abyss.” He left it at that. From beginning to end, Maxim Sidoluev never mentioned Austria’s meddling or their attempt to sow discord and spark infighting within France. This was an open conspiracy, and even though they knew it was the enemy’s scheme, no one had a way to resist it. Someone always has to take responsibility for a failed war. Either the emperor and the government take the fall, or they have to bear the public’s wrath themselves. If they didn’t want to become the unlucky ones, they had to step up and fight for control. And they had to be fast, or they’d be pushing up daisies. “Mr. Maxim, the current situation is very unfavorable for us. If we hadn’t been working so hard to suppress public opinion, we’d probably have been universally condemned a long time ago. Without public support, with our power alone, once we initiate…” Before the old man could finish, Maxim Sidoluev interrupted, “Sir Zis, you’ve misunderstood. This kind of thing isn’t our forte. Getting directly involved would be irresponsible to our own lives. The public may hate us, but that doesn’t mean we can’t use them. Paris right now is a powder keg. All it takes is a single spark to make it explode. All we need to do is provide that spark, detonate the powder keg, and let the revolutionaries handle the rest. Oh, and we can also talk to the people from the Bourbon and Orléans dynasties. I’m sure we’ll find common ground.” Starting a rebellion is too unsophisticated. Such a high-risk job isn’t suitable for respectable gentlemen like them. Their job is to be the black hand operating behind the scenes. Clearly, Maxim Sidoluev was a master of this art. He had gathered everyone not to have them fight, but to have them contribute money and effort. He didn’t expect a bunch of capitalists to start a rebellion. Instead, he entrusted the task to the more professional revolutionaries. To ensure nothing went wrong, he was also prepared to stir up the other two royal families.
*** https://postimg.cc/gallery/PwXsBkC (Maps of the current territories of the countries in this novel made by ScH)
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