Mediterranean Hegemony Road

Chapter 85, Influence of Serbia

"The mention of a thousand miles collapsed in the ant's nest!"

The economic crisis from 1890 to 1893, under the butterfly effect of Ferdinand, together with the commercial conspiracy against the Austro-Hungarian bank, finally detonated the Austro-Hungarian financial crisis.

History has begun to change. The United States and Germany, the two countries that lost the most in this economic crisis, have now joined the unfortunate Austria-Hungary Empire. The future direction of the world has become unclear.

Well, now the economic crisis is brewing in the United States, and it has not yet exploded. The outbreak of the Austro-Hungarian financial crisis shook the whole of Europe.

At present, the hegemony of the British Empire is still very stable, the contradictions between the powers have not intensified, and the two major military groups have not been formally established.

For the sake of friendly relations and the common progress of human society, international capital has extended a helping hand to help the Austro-Hungarian Empire out of the economic crisis.

Of course, the noble capitalists have paid so much for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and they have gained a little benefit, and it is not worth mentioning.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire was still very rich. At that time, it was listed as one of the five traditional European powers along with Britain, France, Germany and Russia, and it was also one of the five major powers in the world.

Its vast territory ranked third in Europe at that time, after the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire; its population was slightly lower than that of Russia and the German Empire, ranking third in Europe.

In the field of heavy industry, the prosperity of the machinery and instrument manufacturing industry and the strength of the steel and arms industry ranked fourth in the world, after Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. Before the First World War, the heavy artillery weapons produced by the Skoda Arsenal ranked first in the world.

In the field of agriculture, the variety and output of agricultural products have surpassed Russia and ranked first in Europe.

With such a large family, the financial system of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is still struggling, waiting for international friends like Ferdinand to come to rescue.

Affected by the financial crisis, the Balkans were the first to suffer. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was too busy to take care of itself, and naturally the younger brothers couldn't take care of it.

Since the Austro-Hungarian Bank announced that it would stop lending, other financial institutions have followed suit. Still waiting to feed, the small Balkan country that is waiting for the payment to get through the economic crisis is miserable.

The economic crisis is not over yet, the financial crisis is coming again. The first to bear the brunt is Serbia. As the younger brother of the Austria-Hungary Empire, after the outbreak of the economic crisis, it was in trouble.

Was waiting for the Austro-Hungarian loan to get out of the woods, and now suddenly it's gone. Alexander, who was only 16 years old, was angry. He didn't wait for such bullying. The contract was signed, half of the loan was paid, and he suddenly said that it was gone.

Then the flowers and plants in the palace were ruined, and they were ravaged by Alexander, and an emergency meeting was called after venting enough.

...

"Austro-Hungary suddenly stopped our loans, you say, what should we do now?" Alexander Oblianovic said angrily

"We are going to make the most severe protest to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which is completely ignoring our Serbia!" said the foreign minister with an angry face

"The Austro-Hungarian Empire has suddenly suffered an economic crisis, and now it is overwhelmed by itself. Protesting will not be useful! We have been abandoned, and now I am afraid we have to make a living on our own!" The Minister of Finance said with a complicated look

"How much money does the government have now?" Alexander asked sharply

"A total of 213,218 dinars, these are not enough for the government to spend a month!" The Minister of Finance thought for a while and said

"Then you Ministry of Finance, what is the solution now?" Alexander asked expectantly

"In the short term, spending can only be reduced. All government officials will stop paying half of their salaries from now on. The military expansion will be suspended, and military spending will be cut by two-thirds. With the subsequent taxes, this should last for three months! During this period of time. , we will seek external loans again!" the Minister of Finance said confidently

"No, I am against it!" shouted the Minister of War.

"Oh,

What advice does our war secretary have? ' said the Chancellor of the Exchequer with a contemptuous glance.

"Humph! Now the financial crisis is serious, and the army's expansion is temporarily suspended. This is acceptable; but why do you cut military spending by two-thirds? Aren't you afraid of the army's mutiny?" the war minister asked angrily.

After hearing the mutiny, the finance minister's face changed slightly, and then he quickly returned to his normal sneer and said: "'Mutiny', are you threatening me? Now the financial crisis, everyone should help each other and overcome the difficulties together, can't the army not Sacrifice for the country?"

"And according to the current number of troops, our Ministry of Finance has accurately calculated that even if the military expenditure is cut by two-thirds, it is still barely enough to pay the soldiers! Why do they want to mutiny? Could it be someone~~"

Having said that, the voice of the Minister of Finance came to an abrupt end, and he stared at the Minister of War with a strange look, as if to find out something.

"Don't spit! Don't the army need training? Does the equipment need to be updated? You idiot!"

"Idiot! There are priorities, don't you know how to find an excuse to do some low-cost training for soldiers? Wouldn't it be enough to delay the equipment update for a few days?" said the chancellor contemptuously.

"You~you~" The Minister of War was so angry that he was speechless

As soon as the Minister of Finance showed a triumphant smile, Alexander said: "Enough, stop arguing! Now the situation in Serbia is very critical, you must focus on the overall situation, and don't keep arguing about everything!"

"Humph!" The Minister of War snorted in dissatisfaction. Although he didn't say it clearly, he also knew that Alexander, who had always advocated military expansion, was now obviously more inclined to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which made him very dissatisfied.

The Minister of War wants to ask everyone now: What do you think the army is? You can cut military spending if you want. Is this taking national defense as a child's play?

In the end he gave up, he knew it was useless to say anything now. The government has no money, and even if he grinds his lips, he can't change the result.

...

"Misfortunes do not come singly, and blessings are unparalleled!"

Just as the meeting was about to end, an emergency phone call came with bad news: "Peasants in the Kralev region have rioted"!

The consequences of blindly raising taxes are here! After the outbreak of the economic crisis, the prices of agricultural products in Serbia plummeted due to the dumping of international capital.

Farmers' income has decreased, but taxes have increased. Overwhelmed, the angry peasants in the Kralev region decided to resist the tax!

What followed was a violent clash with tax collectors in the Kralev region, followed by peasant riots for unknown reasons.

Upon receiving this thunderbolt, Alexander said with emotion: "Ah, God, have you abandoned Serbia?"

As for the riot, there is no doubt that it was suppressed! The cabinet soon reached an agreement and immediately sent troops to suppress it. For a time, Serbia was surging, and there was a lot of smoke everywhere.

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like