Chapter 819： The struggle of Napoleon IV

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The constant victory on the African battlefield did not please the French for long. The defeat of the rebels does not mean that the matter is over. The aftermath is the real trouble.

Regardless of the broken soldiers scattered in the countryside, anyway, the Egyptian region has almost been scourged. French immigrants who have escaped the disaster ran to the city to avoid scourge.

But the flooding Nile River cannot be ignored. Now is the dry season, and the destructive power is not too amazing.

If the river channel cannot be cleared in time, until the flood season comes, including the most fertile delta, do n’t expect any harvest along the Nile.

Looking at the reconstruction plan for Egypt in his hand, Napoleon IV's complexion dimmed, and even the good news that the frontline had defeated the main force of the rebels did not make him feel a little relieved.

"Why spend so much money?"

Napoleon IV had also seen the big scene, and it would not be a small number that would move him.

Egypt's post-war reconstruction plan has already cost nearly one-fifth of the post-civil war reconstruction plan in France, and it needs to invest up to billions of francs.

This is a colony, not a native. At such a great price, it can only restore the social order in Egypt, not to mention the real development.

The new Prime Minister Terence Burkin explained hurriedly: "Your Majesty, the rebels have done a great job.

The Nile River, Egypt ’s largest river, was devastated and blocked more than a hundred river channels, forming seventy-three dammed lakes.

Due to the serious blockage of the river channel, the river continued to overflow to both sides, and many farmlands along the Nile River were damaged.

The expenditure to clear the river alone requires hundreds of millions of francs. To restore these farmland, more investment is required.

Because of the war, most small towns and plantations in Egypt were devastated, and the local economy was completely over.

Affected by this, many domestic companies engaged in agricultural insurance have fallen into crisis and need government funding for assistance.

The capitalists, plantation owners, and ordinary immigrants who suffered heavy losses in the Egyptian region all need government funding.

In addition, the biggest expense is relief for refugees.

According to incomplete statistics, two out of every three people in Egypt are refugees, and the total number of refugees may exceed the two million mark.

If these problems cannot be solved, the situation in Egypt is difficult to stabilize.

The government has included all these necessary expenses, together with the military expenditure to maintain local stability after the war, into the post-war reconstruction funds. "

After hearing this explanation, Napoleon IV was still not relieved. No amount of reason can change the fact that money still has to be spent.

Before waiting for Napoleon IV's position, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Roy Vernon, first denied it: "This is impossible!

Egypt is just a colony, and no matter how important it is, it is not worth the cost.

The government's financial resources are limited, we have more meaningful things to do, and we cannot waste precious funds. "

This is the truth, the French government really has no money. Affected by the Egyptian rebellion, the French economy suffered heavy losses, and fiscal revenue also declined.

Revenue has decreased, but financial expenditure has not decreased, especially military expenditure has also increased significantly.

Not long ago, the Paris government also launched a ranch plan, planning more than 100 farms in French Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and other regions.

At present, one third of the farm projects are under construction, and some farms have completed land leveling and are ready for spring cultivation.

These achievements were made with money. No accidents, all farm projects are government funded.

As for private capital?

Unfortunately, the group of planters in Egypt is France ’s most passionate representative of agriculture. Now they are all busy licking wounds. Who dares to use money to fill the bottomless hole of agriculture.

Prime Minister Terrence Burgin glared: "No matter what you can do! Other projects can be postponed, but the Nile must be cleared as soon as possible.

This year ’s agriculture in the Egyptian region is less than one-third of the normal year, and the autumn grains along the Nile are almost out of reach.

According to estimates by the colonial government, the population in the Egyptian region has fallen by at least a quarter due to war, hunger, and disease.

If the rivers cannot be cleared before May, next year the grain along the Nile will fail again, and the famine will continue for another year.

Once this happens, the situation in Egypt, which has now stabilized, will fall into chaos.

When things go by, whether the local population can still have a third left is an unknown.

Without a sufficient population, there is not enough labor. What about our cotton plantations? "

Having just suffered the loss of insufficient cotton supply, a large number of domestic capitalists in the cotton spinning industry are urging the government to stabilize the situation as soon as possible in order to resume production.

From this point of view, the masses who walked outside demonstrated that 7 out of 10 were workers in the cotton textile industry chain.

Due to insufficient supply of raw materials, most factories cannot start construction normally. If the enterprise is not good, the workers' lives will be even worse.

Terrence Burgin could not care about the life and death of the Egyptians, but could not help but consider the consequences of labor shortage.

The current French Egypt also includes half of the Sudan, if the territorial area is 2 million square kilometers.

However, on such a large site, including the indigenous tribes living in the deep forest and old forest, there are only less than five million people.

This is the figure before the outbreak of the rebellion. When the situation stabilizes and there are 3.5 million people who can survive, that is God ’s blessing.

If the famine continues, it will not be a dream if there are no people in it. After all, there is only one Nile Delta in the rich land of Egypt, and most of the rest is desert.

If you want to survive by hunting and picking wild fruits, it is a pity that this is the wrong place. Most African countries do not have this ability.

Whether it is to clear rivers, to help plantation owners resume production, or to repair damaged towns, a lot of labor is required.

Essentially, these projects are all about disaster relief. Lest the locals starve to death, no cheap labor can continue to exploit.

Having pointed out the seriousness of the consequences, Napoleon IV could not sit still. In the context of the heavy industry hard to improve, France can't live without cotton.

"The work to clear the river channel must be started as soon as possible. The front-line troops are ordered to speed up, and the rebels cannot continue to destroy the upstream channel.

The National Bank issued low-interest loans to the plantation owners to help them resume production as soon as possible. The farm originally planned to be established in the Egyptian Delta region was also immediately started.

Generate electricity to the colonial government and let them distribute a portion of the relief food so that the local people cannot be starved to death. "

In a sense, Napoleon IV was really hard. Although he was the second generation of the emperor, he was born to be the emperor's life, but his emperor received a super mess.

Napoleon III was infinitely beautiful, and it hung smoothly all the way, and finally won the title of "Emperor", but the aftereffects were all left to Napoleon IV.

Huge debts, complex ethnic conflicts, a recession-oriented economy, and ridiculed international relations have all been exposed at once.

In such a bad situation, it was possible to stabilize the situation without letting France crash, and Napoleon IV was enough to rank among the top few contemporary monarchs.

Both the African development plan and the current ranch plan are measures taken by Napoleon IV to reverse the decadence of France.

It's a pity that time doesn't wait for others, and competitors have been adding chaos to him, not giving France a chance to make a comeback at all.

The African development plan encountered a man-made economic crisis, and even triggered a civil war. The outcome is self-evident.

This ranch plan was born during the war. Originally Napoleon IV was very optimistic, after all, this trick hit the weakness of Russia and Austria.

However, the plan has not changed fast, and this has just begun to be implemented, and the government will have no money first.

After a pause, Napoleon IV added: "The Ministry of Finance issued another 5 billion francs of government bonds to raise funds."

The mouth is 5 billion francs. Even if the current French Empire is much larger than the same period in history, this is still an astronomical figure, which is equivalent to the whole year's fiscal revenue of the French government.

Hearing the news, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Roy Vernon was stunned. He was very suspicious of his ears.

In recent years, the French government ’s debt has been surging continuously, and it is about to cross the 25 billion mark. At this time, if there is another 5 billion bond, it will directly break through 30 billion.

"Your Majesty, even if the government ’s financial pressure is not mentioned, the issue of interest on funds will not be considered, and even the aftermath of the monetary tightening will be ignored, and the Ministry of Finance will not be able to complete this fundraising task.

In recent years, the government has issued massive amounts of bonds, absorbing large amounts of idle funds in the market. In the short term, the domestic financial market simply cannot raise so much money. "

In the era of the gold standard, limited by the amount of gold reserves, the amount of currency issued by various countries is very limited.

For example, the major gold-producing countries such as Indo-Austria have enough gold reserves, and the market is confident enough to increase their leverage.

Even if a part of the banknote is printed, the British pound and the Aegis as international currencies, and the international market can be digested, as long as the play is not too excessive, it will not affect the currency value.

A gold importing country like France will not be able to do so. If the ratio of issued currency to reserve funds is not well controlled, it is easy for international hot money to take advantage of it.

The French have personally taught them once. Before the financial turmoil, the French government played high leverage with Britain and Austria. The Franc even occupied an important position in the international currency settlement system.

It is a pity that the French government has insufficient gold reserves to cope with the run-up crisis, and the franc's international currency status has been hit by dust.

Napoleon IV asked: "Doesn't it work at home, isn't there an international market?

I remember that Austria issued a bond to all of Europe that year and received a lot of money.

It was with the funds raised from the international market that Austria completed the industrial revolution and revived again. "

Chancellor of the Exchequer Roy Vernon shook his head: "Your Majesty, we are different from Austria, and the current international situation is also different.

What the Austrian government can do does not mean that we can also do it. At least there is no way to resolve the political interference of various countries. "

This year's money is not easy to borrow. International loans are subject to additional conditions. How can the issue of international bonds be an exception?

Austria is issuing huge amounts of bond financing to the European world. In addition to the sufficient collateral provided by the Vienna government, it is more important to have a good international environment.

Most of the agreements between Austria and European countries were reached in that era. After a series of close contracts, even if the relationship with European countries was not an ally, it was also a quasi-ally.

If the relationship is good, no one will get stuck in the neck. It will not work if the French government is changed. It is estimated that the bonds have just entered the markets of various countries, and it is too late to sell them. Political interference will come.

The ball hit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Under the eyes that Napoleon IV expected, the Foreign Minister Karel Kadletz directly lowered his proud head.

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