Chapter 332: Autonomous Province
The naval construction plan of the Kingdom of Prussia came as a surprise to Franz. He couldnt imagine that Prussia, which had been solely focused on its army, would suddenly shift its attention to developing its navy.
However, after reviewing Prussias development in recent years, Franz understood their approach.
The domestic industry needed cheap raw materials and markets, and with the European continent already stabilized, the Kingdom of Prussia could no longer see hope for growth.
Given the current situation, if the delay continues, even if Germany unifies, they will be the ones being unified rather than the driving force behind it.
No one was willing to passively wait for their demise. By leveraging the period of peace to strengthen their navy, they might have a chance to survive.
To get the Junker aristocrats to accept this cruel reality, William I even personally served as a lobbyist and promised benefits.
Whether the government could profit from overseas colonial expansion was unknown, but domestic capitalists would definitely profit.
If the nobles are willing to take on the main role in colonization, they will naturally have their share.
This is also why many colonial empires experienced financial losses. The vested interests take too much and are unwilling to pay taxes to the government while passing administrative expenses on to the government.
This situation is more pronounced in old imperial powers, where the government is unable to suppress these interest groups and collect taxes. Coupled with bureaucratic corruption, wealth is consumed, leading to losses in the long run.
Short-term losses can be tolerated, but if they exceed the governments financial limits over time, and domestic interest groups become unwilling to continue footing the bill, it would ultimately lead to the abandonment of colonies.
The most typical example is the British establishment of autonomous dominions. Who would have thought that colonial governments in places like South Africa, Australia, and India would incur losses?
The Americans initially suffered from this as well. The Philippines and Cuba, which could generate profits of tens of millions of dollars annually under Spanish control, were consistently losing money once they came under American rule.
In the end, they lost over a billion and couldnt bear it anymore, so they simply let go. It was the result of the combined influence of capitalists and bureaucratic groups.
After this lesson, the U.S. government clearly recognized its shortcomings. If they couldnt even control domestic capitalists, how could they manage overseas colonies?
This was also why Franz defined the African colonies as Germanys second homeland from the beginning.
Since it was a second homeland, it could not be a purely colonial rule. Once immigrants reached a certain number, it would become localized.
It was also good timing as telegraph technology had already made breakthroughs and submarine cables connecting to the African continent had been laid almost entirely.
Convenient communication is a necessary factor for local management. This is only effective for newly opened colonies, where there hasnt been enough time for local interest groups to establish and expand, and bureaucratic corruption hasnt yet taken root.
For old established colonies where interest groups have already formed, the only option is to suppress them by force or conduct a major purge.
To achieve this, a strong and capable government is necessary, along with the ability to suppress rebellions.
The head of intelligence, Tyron, handed Franz a document and whispered, Your Majesty, the French are extorting and purging many people who opposed them in the Balkans. Here are the detailed reports for your review.
After skimming through the documents, Franz had a puzzled expression. He couldnt fathom who came up with the brilliant idea for Napoleon III to utilize Balkan immigrants to develop overseas colonies.
It was indeed a clever idea. The Balkan Peninsula was known for its fierce people, who would be difficult to control if left in their homeland. However, once sent to colonies, their situation would change; being in unfamiliar territory, they would have no choice but to rely on the French.
Since the French had many colonies, dispersing these people and settling them elsewhere would prevent them from becoming a dominant force anywhere.
Franz was well aware of this aspect. The Balkan Peninsula was known for its diverse ethnicities, each with relatively small populations. Only Bulgaria and Romania had populations nearing one million, while the Greek population was also approaching that figure.
In addition to the major impact of warfare, the immigration policies of the Austrian government also contributed, allowing Bulgarians to directly become the predominant ethnicity in the Balkans.
The French Balkan Peninsula was even more lacking in a dominant ethnicity, with more than twenty ethnicities large and small, adding up to less than four million people. With heavy internal contradictions, it showed these people could not unite even if they wanted to.
Franz hesitated. He wasnt sure if he should stir up trouble now and cause some chaos for the French.
After all, the current French immigration methods were somewhat crude. Relying on head taxes to increase immigration could easily lead to a backlash. With a little push from behind, an armed riot would occur.
Continue monitoring the actions of the French. If theres an opportunity, we can provoke conflicts between them and Montenegro.
Franz was not John Bull, who did unprofitable harm. French immigration from the Balkans was also good for Austria, saving them from potential future upheavals that could affect Austria.
But he still had the instincts of a great power. Not destroying French immigration did not mean he could not stab them in the back.
Montenegro was not a peaceful country either. It was just that the two neighbors around it were too terrifying, so it had temporarily curbed its ambitions for now.
For the stability of the Austrian Balkan Peninsula, Franz decisively decided to divert the trouble eastward.
This was just a small problem that would not affect the French plans. Even if a conflict broke out, Napoleon III could handle it.
Perhaps there was no need to provoke at all. There were inherent contradictions between them. The arrival of the French deprived Montenegro of the opportunity to annex Albania, and the relationship between the two sides had always been bad.
Something shocking has happened on the island of Kalimantan, shaking the entire Southeast Asian region. On September 12, 1861, the flag of the double-headed eagle was raised over the skies of the Lanfang Republic.
Anyone with some international common sense knew what this flag meant.
The Lanfang Republic has also been downgraded to become the Lanfang Autonomous Province under the flag of the New Holy Roman Empire, with the title of the republic thrown into the annals of history.
No, the name Lanfang Republic was merely given by Europeans; within the Chinese community, it has always been referred to as the Lanfang Company.
Transitioning from a private company to an autonomous province can only be seen as being absorbed. Liu Aisheng, the President of Lanfang, has been appointed as the first governor.
Amidst the grand celebration outside, Governor Liu was unprecedentedly absent. He was still poring over the new laws of the Holy Roman Empires member states. Despite having joined, he still harbors uncertainties.
The cultural differences between East and West mean that what may seem perfectly normal to Europeans can be shocking to Easterners.
In the eyes of many Easterners, werent these states just feudal lords? The rights of the state governments were even greater than those of feudal lords, almost reaching the level of vassals enfeoffed by the Zhou Dynastys Son of Heaven.
A young man smiled and said, Father, youre studying these laws again.
Governor Liu nodded and said, Chuner, the more I study these laws, the more alarmed I become. Wont the Emperor ever curtail these vassals?
The young man confidently said, Father, rest assured, Europe places great importance on the rule of law. During my studies in England, I learned about the history of the Holy Roman Empire, a system that has persisted for centuries.
Even during the recent unification war, where the King of Bavaria stood opposed to the Emperor, he was merely transferred to rule over Lombardy.
If the Emperor truly wished to limit the vassals, there would be no need for such actions. The might of Austria far surpasses that of these member states combined, yet Emperor Franz strictly abides by the law.
So, theres no need for us to worry. If such adherence is maintained domestically, how could the Emperor possibly violate his own laws for the sake of an overseas autonomous territory?
People are driven by self-interest. Without sufficient benefits, the senior leadership of Lanfang Company would not have joined the New Holy Roman Empire either.
Apart from the security provided, whats most important is that everyones interests are protected. Aside from sharing military expenses and paying royal tax, their substantive interests have not been harmed.
When dealing with external affairs, its actually advantageous to display the flag of the New Holy Roman Empire, deterring other colonial empires from coveting them.
At least the Dutch, who were pressing them relentlessly, have now halted their advance. Representatives from Austria have also made commitments that the privileges of all nations in Lanfang will be handled by the Imperial Foreign Ministry.
Governor Liu remarked, That would be best, otherwise wed be paying protection money for nothing.
Mindsets arent easily changed; in the eyes of the older generation, this is simply buying peace of mind, leveraging the strength of Austria to ensure their safety.
In any case, they handled all affairs by themselves, and still had their own army, with full autonomy retained.
It was just right to hand over diplomatic affairs. They were too lazy to deal with Westerners anyway, and they were the ones who suffered losses almost every time they made contact.
The younger generation who received a Western-style education knew how to use the rules to protect their own interests, so they were the most supportive of joining the New Holy Roman Empire.
Originally, they all wanted to join the Qing Dynasty, even accepting to be a tributary state. Still, unfortunately, the Qing government found this inconvenient and dared not accept it.
In this era, overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia all had a sense of crisis, for fear of provoking catastrophic destruction with the slightest carelessness.
Without strength, wealth was a source of calamity.
As the earliest to open their eyes to the world, they are well aware that the Lanfang Company is on the brink of collapse. Without a powerful backer, they cannot survive on their own.
So, after signing the agreement with the Austrian government, there was a grand celebration outside.
It was not that everyone was so happy to join the New Holy Roman Empire. Essentially, it was still about borrowing the tigers ferocity to awe others. The bigger the spectacle, the greater the benefits.
This time, the Lanfang government sent invitations to representatives from various countries in Southeast Asia just to inform everyone that the Lanfang Republic is now the Lanfang Autonomous Province of the New Holy Roman Empire. If they want to gain advantages from here, they should talk to the Austrian government.
Governor Lius absence from the banquet also serves a political purpose. Through this method, he informed representatives from various countries that as a high-ranking official of the New Holy Roman Empire, he now had the authority to say no to them.
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