Chapter 1070： Campbell Reform

The undercurrent of the international situation is surging, but Franz stays at home with his grandchildren, as if unaware of it.

I don't know that it is obviously impossible. There are so many countries that the British want to win, and there will always be a few young people.

In international politics, there are always a small number of people who go all the way to the black, and the two ends of the snake and mouse are normal operations.

The battle between Britain and Shinra is not one-sided. Before the situation is clear, most countries will not tie themselves to one family.

Shenluo can rely on the advantages of land power to hold the European countries on board; the British also rely on the advantages of sea power to pull allies around the world.

It is impossible to stop it. The grass on the wall can only fall with the wind, and it can only fall with the wind. This is the way to survive in a small country.

It's not that the Vienna government can't take action. The main problem is that it has limited power and cannot compete with the British overseas.

The British have operated overseas for hundreds of years, and it hasn't been 40 years since Shenluo entered the era of great navigation, and its overseas influence is far behind the British.

Besides, the younger brother is not easy to collect. Overseas countries are not monolithic, and there are also not a few people who have deep hatred between neighboring countries. Winning this family will definitely offend that family.

It is easy to pull people on board, but the trouble is that while pulling people, it is also involved in regional conflicts.

Excessive involvement in regional conflicts does not mean anything to Shinra except to pull hatred.

Don't talk about the gratitude of allies. In international politics, only the benefits obtained are real, and "grateful" is the least valuable.

In this context, instead of taking the initiative and asking for trouble, it is better to watch the performance of the British first and then follow through.

If anyone messes with the British, then help their enemies. Shinra will not lack allies anyway.

Peaceful days always pass by in a flash. With the development of the times, the conflicts between Shenluo and Britain have become more acute.

Unconsciously, the term "trade friction" suddenly became popular and once became the darling of the media.

Relying on the dividends brought by the second industrial revolution and the cost advantage of industrial raw materials, Shinra's industrial and commercial products have increasingly taken advantage of international competition.

In the increasingly cruel market competition, many industries in the former world factory are now in a difficult situation.

The "free trade" that Britain was once proud of has become a complete joke at the moment under the impact of Shinra's industrial and commercial products.

No surprise, the Conservative Party, which advocates free trade, lost in the 1902 general election. Liberal Party candidate Henry Campbell-Bannavan successfully entered Downing Street.

As the winner, Campbell was stunned by the mess in his hands before he was happy for a few days.

Britain is still the overlord of the world, but a overlord with sore holes and leaks everywhere.

Frankly speaking, the previous administration of Robert Cecil did a very good job and achieved remarkable results in both political and diplomatic fields.

For example: it has eaten the French Indochina Peninsula and expanded the colonial territory of Britain; the strategy of diversion to the east was successful, the Russians were introduced into the Far East, the Russian-Austrian alliance was cracked; the British-Japanese alliance was established, and the relationship with the American countries was restored. Established strategic partnerships with many countries...

No amount of diplomatic achievements can conceal Britain’s economic difficulties. The second industrial revolution has begun to take off, and Britain, which has not kept up with the times, is paying the price at this moment.

Not only the overseas markets were squeezed by Shinra's products, but even the local market was also hit. Even the leading textile industry in Britain could not stand alone.

There is no way, who would let the London government choose to win over the United States?

Aware of the danger, the Confederate nation couldn't help but move closer to Shinra. Then, with the support of Shinra, the Allied Powers also set off an industrial revolution.

Like most countries, the beginning of the industrial revolution in the Union countries was also the textile industry. The origin of the raw materials is playing with weaving. Why does this make Britain, which is based on the textile industry, so embarrassed?

We must know that the textile industry is Britain's largest industrial chain, and more than one-third of the British people can be involved in this industrial chain.

As the world's largest cotton producing area, the Union countries have unparalleled advantages in developing the textile industry. In terms of cost, it is easy to beat British textile companies.

Once there is a problem in the textile industry, the British economy will collapse in minutes, and the British will naturally be unable to sit still.

As a result of wooing the United States, the Allied Powers turned to Shinra, which was regarded by the public as the biggest diplomatic mistake of the Robert Cecil administration, and it was also one of the important factors for the defeat of the Conservative Party in the general election.

When he was in the opposition, Campbell did not criticize the government for this issue. Now that he has replaced himself, he found that it was not the case at all.

It seems that it is a diplomatic error to win over the United States, but the British government has no choice at all. Regardless of whether there is such a thing or not, the Allied nations will develop their own cotton textile industry, which is determined by their interests.

As early as ten years ago, the Allied countries planned to develop their own cotton textile industry, but under the pressure of Britain, they were forced to give up.

In recent years, with the strong rise of the Holy Roman Empire, Britain's supremacy is faltering, and the suppressed confederacy has once again given birth to the ambition to develop the textile industry.

Unlike the past, with the Holy Roman Empire in trouble, Britain no longer has the ability to block the development of the textile industry of the Allied nations.

At this point, the gap between the two sides has been born. No matter how much attention is paid to the relationship between the two countries, the conflict of interests cannot be resisted.

The Vienna government can help the Union countries develop the textile industry, but the London government is absolutely impossible, otherwise the domestic interest groups must have a coup.

It is far less cost-effective to win a country with a core conflict of interest as an ally than a country with a relatively small conflict of interest and a stronger power.

After all, the next battle with the Holy Roman Empire is going to be, or maybe another battle is going to be fought. It's not enough if the allies are not able to do so.

"The mouth can be refreshed for a while, afterwards the crematorium".

Campbell now has this kind of feeling. The front is so cool, after reaching his position, he has to continue the foreign policy of his predecessor.

If it is only a diplomatic trouble, Prime Minister Campbell can handle it. For politicians, thick-skinned is only standard. "Say one thing, do one thing" is completely routine.

What worries Campbell most is the steadily declining domestic economy and the increasing social conflicts.

Of course, Campbell is not completely unprepared for these issues. As the leader of the reformists, Campbell put forward reform opinions as early as a few years ago.

This world has always been easy to shout slogans, but difficult to do real things.

"Reforms" have never been smooth sailing. Since ancient times, reforms have been successful, and most of them ended in tragedy.

When he took the position, Campbell really realized the difficult situation. Everything in reality told him that it was not that the previous government did not want to reform, it was that the interests it touched were too great to dare to start easily.

………

Minister of Trade Lloyd George: "This is our statistics on the import and export trade report for the first half of the year. The situation is very bad.

Compared with the same period last year, the total export volume in the first half of this year was 0.46% lower than the same period last year, and the total import volume increased by 2.67% year-on-year. The trade deficit increased by 3 percentage points.

This is the third consecutive year that our export trade has shrunk and our trade deficit has grown for the tenth year. To be precise, since the end of the European War, the empire's trade deficit has been increasing.

Affected by the shrinking exports and the trade deficit, the pound's international status has also been impacted.

Especially in the European world, countries have adopted Aegis and gold for trade settlement, and the British pound has been marginalized.

The fundamental reason for all this is mainly because domestic industrial and commercial products have lost their competitiveness in the international market.

In a series of emerging industries such as machinery manufacturing, electric power equipment, internal combustion engine and automobile industries, there is almost no shadow of imperial commodities.

Even our homeland is now full of Shenra manufacturing. If things continue like this, sooner or later the empire's economy will have problems. "

The trade deficit is nothing new. Since the industrialization of Fawau, Britain has gradually been in a deficit position in international trade.

With the first-hand advantage in the first industrial revolution, this deficit did not bring disaster to the British, but pushed the pound internationally.

It's just that the good times didn't last long, and with the continuous growth of the trade deficit, problems slowly emerged. Excessive deficit has directly led to the outflow of wealth.

After all, not all countries are willing to accept pound sterling. If you want to reap the world by printing tickets, Britain does not have that strength yet.

With the rise of the Holy Roman Empire, Aegis began to grab the pound sterling market, and this situation became more and more obvious.

Everyone is not a fool. Watching Britain's trade deficit is getting bigger and bigger, no one is willing to hold the British pound on a large scale and pay for the consumption of the British.

As time goes by, more and more European countries are no longer willing to accept the pound settlement.

The share of the British pound in the international currency market has decreased. To quell the trade deficit, the only way to fill this hole is with real money.

Although there were colonies that could be plundered, the continued outflow of gold and silver still became a problem that plagued the British government.

It is very simple to change all of this. Either take back the lost market or develop new products to open up new markets.

It is a pity that the competition this time is the Holy Roman Empire, and the deterrence of force has no effect, and competition by normal commercial means simply cannot grab the market.

It is even more unrealistic to develop new products. British companies are so powerful, and there will be no shrinking export trade volume.

Labor Secretary Burns: "Affected by the economic downturn, domestic labor conflicts and employment issues have also become acute.

According to data from our survey, our unemployment rate rose by another 0.3% in the first half of this year. It may seem inconspicuous, but this has been rising for five consecutive years.

Not to mention the labor conflict, just look at the procession team outside. Since the beginning of this year, there has been an increase in the number of events.

Take London as an example. In the first half of the year, there were 16 strikes with a scale of more than 1,000 people, and demonstrations occurred almost every month.

If it is not certain that this is London, I doubt whether I have entered Paris by mistake. The frequency of this strike is simply beyond..."

It can be seen that Burns really wants to solve the problem. As the first working class representative to join the cabinet, even if only for political reasons, Burns must also make achievements.

Before he took office, he believed that as long as the legislation protects the interests of labor and prohibits capitalists from acting arbitrarily, it is enough.

After learning the first-hand information, Burns doubted his eyes for a while.

Now the problem in Britain is not just a problem of capitalists' recklessness. The bigger problem lies in the challenge of the survival of the enterprise.

Emerging industries have been shattered, and traditional industries are facing a series of problems such as cruel market competition, meager profits and overcapacity.

The choice of the original time and space British capitalists was to reduce production capacity and play in the colonies behind closed doors. Anyway, the colony market in Britain is big enough to provide them with old age.

As for updating machinery and equipment, increasing investment in research and development, and facing international competition. Just shout some exciting slogans on your lips, if you really do, you lose.

Capital is the most realistic. If you can lie down and make money without risk, why take the risk to participate in international competition?

Data will not deceive people. No matter which country it is, radical and R&D companies die the fastest. On the contrary, conservative companies that don't want to make progress live longer.

Perhaps conservative companies will one day be eliminated by the market, but before they are eliminated by the market, capitalists have already made enough money from them.

In contrast, companies that have continued to invest in R&D will be happy if they succeed, but once there is a problem in the middle, it will be lost.

Capital hates risks, and making money steadily is the greatest happiness. Capitalists who are willing to bet on their wealth and win a better tomorrow for the enterprise are always a minority.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Herbert Henry Asquith: "These problems have already appeared. In order to solve domestic economic problems, the previous government twice lowered the tax rate of industrial and commercial enterprises.

If it is not rejected by the parliament, they are even preparing to launch an export subsidy program to increase the market competitiveness of enterprises.

It's just that these can only treat symptoms. If we want to really solve the problem, we still have to rely on our own efforts.

I have to admit that we have fallen behind in many areas. Shinra's products are all over the streets. Just compare one with similar domestic products. Our company does not do well in terms of cost performance.

The trouble now is that domestic capitalists lack interest in technological innovation, especially in the field of machinery and equipment, and lack the spirit of innovation.

What the capitalists want is to end free trade, restart trade barriers, and rely on tariffs to protect the market.

Of course, they are not so direct. The good name is: use trade barriers to temporarily protect the domestic casualty market and buy time for enterprise technological innovation.

But we all know that with the enthusiasm of domestic companies investing in scientific research, I am afraid that this situation will not change in the next century. "

Regardless of policies, in the final analysis, they are all interests. Because of interests, the British government established a free trade system; also because of interests, the British government now has to consider ending free trade.

Even Asquith is very disgusted with all of this and feels that these uninspiring guys are the **** of Britain, and they must be carefully considered.

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Prime Minister Campbell waved his hand and said: "These problems are the realities we will face in the coming days.

The fact that Britain has come to the present stage is the result of these problems. The reality tells us that Britain has reached the time when it has to reform.

If this continues, not to mention that it will compete with the Holy Roman Empire, and the social contradictions in the country will be able to toss our half-life.

The protection of the market can be considered, but how to protect, which step to protect, and what impact it will have, these must be carefully considered.

All these issues affect the whole body. Once we adopt trade barriers, other countries are bound to follow up, and our import and export trade will definitely be affected by that time.

domestic……"