Chapter 301: The Class That Shouldn't Degenerate
Seeing the two letters of resignation in his hands, Franz could only sigh helplessly.
Time spares no one. It is beyond the control of mere mortals.
Marshal Radetzky was already 91 years old. Historically, he should have passed away by now. In fact, he was nearing the end of his life. Although he was nominally still the Chief of Staff, he had actually retired three years ago.
Anyway, the position of Chief of Staff only carries significant weight in wartime, and in peacetime, it mainly involves strategic planning, with few specific duties. Franz decided to keep the position for the old marshal.
Clearly, Marshal Radetzky was unwilling to simply occupy the post. Upon finding his health unable to keep up, he repeatedly submitted resignation letters to Franz.
The wording grew increasingly intense. If resignation was still not approved, the Marshal would have died in office. After some hesitation, Franz reluctantly agreed to his resignation.
While Marshal Radetzkys resignation was emotionally difficult for him, Metternichs resignation was truly giving him a headache.
The Foreign Minister was not just an empty title. It was one of the three most important roles that could rival the Prime Minister and Finance Minister.
Metternich was also already 85 years old and clearly could not keep up with the demands of the position at that age. Most of the affairs of the foreign ministry were already being handled by the deputy, with Metternich only getting involved in important matters.
Two years ago, Franz had given him special permission to set his own hours, choose where he worked, and take leave without having to report it.
After sighing for a while, Franz had no choice but to accept the departure of the two veteran ministers. Or perhaps it was not two, but three. Archduke Louis would also be leaving soon.
Franz was certain that the moment Metternich stepped down, Archduke Louis would not stay either. At his age of over eighty, and with his decades-long political rival gone, what was the point of staying?
This mans abilities were average, not comparable at all to the previous two. He was even somewhat mediocre. But in the early days, when Franz was provoking conflicts between the bourgeoisie and the nobility, this man had been his loyal supporter.
In politics, many problems cannot be judged by surface appearances. At the time, Archduke Louis had taken the fall for Franz. He had even sacrificed a son during the Vienna Uprising.
Setting aside his capabilities, Louis loyalty was unquestionable. Over the years, he had zealously led the nobility in suppressing the bourgeoisie, earning the resentment of the capitalists on Franzs behalf.
Without them, the domestic capitalists would probably not be so docile. Among other things, labor protection laws would not have been implemented, child workers would not have returned to school, and domestic class conflicts would not have been suppressed.
There was no way around it; governance requires, above all, balance. During periods of rapid economic development, the power of the bourgeoisie would naturally grow rapidly. Without restraint, they would have plunged the country into chaos long ago.
The primitive accumulation of capital was always bloody. These people were still in the stage of pure profit-seeking and cared little about the consequences.
To ensure domestic stability, Franz had no choice but to put a leash on them. And that leash needed someone to enforce it; the Conservatives took on that role, acting as executioners.
The results were also remarkably obvious. With constraints in place, capitalists finally realized the immensity of heaven and earth, improving their behavior somewhat.
Franz wasnt about to buy into their nonsense. Claims that rising labor costs were undermining market competitiveness were mostly smoke and mirrors.
Speaking of labor costs, why dont they compare with their industry peers in Britain and France? As a major agricultural exporter, Austrias cost of living was still below those two countries.
It was for illegally seeking excessive gains that they violated the law, yet they made the preposterous claim that it was caused by market competition. If one were to make a case for high labor costs, one would have to make relevant comparisons before the truth would be revealed.
In this era, the only nations with qualifications to compare with Austria were Britain and France. And Austria still had some advantages over them.
Comparing labor costs with the Russian Bear was, of course, pointless. Their factories were still using free serf labor. Surely they couldnt go back to such backward practices?
Franz can confidently say that in this era, investment in industry was still in its golden age. Any enterprise with a gross profit margin of less than 30% was considered ripe for elimination.
Even if profits increased tenfold, capitalists would still find them too low. Franz deeply understood this point. Even he felt that the returns on gold mining were low!
The biggest cautionary tale was Britain and France. After the Second Industrial Revolution, their industrial production fell behind.
The reason they were falling behind was not technology or markets. The real reason was absurdly simple: if you can make money lying down, why bother making an effort?
In any case, they had cheaper raw materials and abundant markets. Profits could still be made without technological innovation.
From a profit perspective, upgrading machinery also requires investment. And in this fast-changing era, the pace of machine upgrades was also fast. To maximize profits, they simply decided not to upgrade.
On the other hand, the German Reich, with its higher labor and raw material costs, faced ruthless market competition. They had no choice but to encourage technological innovation it was the only way to survive.
Over time, despite their absolute advantages, Britain and France were overtaken.
Were it not for the pressure to survive, Franz deeply suspected that Austria would have followed in the footsteps of Britain and France. Once everyone had picked up this bad habit, it would have been difficult to correct it later.
To obtain even cheaper labor, these capitalists may even have promoted some absurd policies without any concept of national interests.
Not only did they have to guard against capitalist degeneration, but they also had to guard against aristocratic decline. All people were the same once the pressure was relieved, it was easy to slip down the slope.
For Franz, the degeneration of the aristocracy was even more frightening than capitalist corruption. They were the foundation of his rule. If there were problems with this class, his rule would become unstable.
These were the people truly bound together with the Emperor. Their roots were all in Austria, and the cost of betrayal was extremely high. They would not be like capitalists, betraying as soon as greater profits appeared somewhere else.
The current promotion of overseas colonial movements and the domestic civil service examination system have sparked conflicts between the nobility and the bourgeoisie. In reality, these are all means of putting pressure on the nobility.
They must know that if they dont work hard today, they will be replaced tomorrow. Faced with this harsh reality, many nobles who are on the verge of bankruptcy or are already bankrupt have become pioneers of colonization.
In order not to let the elite of his nation degenerate, Franz also racked his brains. Many policies were devised with this problem in mind.
The subsequent personnel changes gave Franz further headaches.
The position of Chief of Staff is relatively easy to fill; there are many candidates, and many of them are capable.
In the later stages, wars became contests of national power. The most reliable strategy and tactic was to develop comprehensive national power and to crush the enemy directly by force.
A successor to the Foreign Minister has also been cultivated. His abilities may not match those of Metternich, but he was still above the average of other countries.
Essentially, diplomacy is also based on national strength. A weak country has no diplomacy; if there is no strength, even the most talented diplomats are useless.
Its the Minister of Internal Affairs that poses more trouble. For the sake of political balance in the country, this person must come from the conservatives, possess certain abilities that can convince others, and be willing to act according to Franzs will.
While countless people met one of those criteria, people who satisfied all conditions were rare even across Austrias entire government.
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