Holy Roman Empire

In a sense, the internal turmoil in France had delayed the explosion of the Austrian navy’s expansion.

Pre-dreadnoughts were just a transitional product with a very short economic lifespan; the glory of pre-dreadnoughts in the original timeline lasted only about a decade.

They became obsolete before they could be decommissioned; from an economic standpoint, it was a very poor investment.

Knowing that this type of warship was not cost-effective, Franz still decided to build them, and to do so on a large scale.

Before the birth of dreadnoughts, pre-dreadnought battleships were still formidable, at least surpassing all other warships currently at sea.

As long as Austria built them on a large scale, the United Kingdom and France would have to follow suit; due to their concern for naval dominance, they would have to build even more warships.

Losing money meant losing money; as long as his competitors lost more, Franz didn’t mind letting this losing game go on.

Alas, in this attempt to suppress France, he had underestimated the French public’s passion for revolution, and with a slightly trembling hand, he had overdone it a little, nearly causing the French government to fall.

Under such circumstances, if the French even wanted to keep up with naval construction, reality wouldn’t allow it!

With no other choice, Franz had to slow down the pace of naval expansion, waiting for the French government to stabilize the situation before continuing with the costly competition.

There was no need to worry about the financial strength of the French; although they had suffered heavy losses in this crisis, the outflow of wealth wasn’t too significant.

The most severely affected sectors were industry and manufacturing, which accounted for just over a tenth of the overall French economy, with other industries experiencing relatively lower impacts.

The loss suffered from this shock was about the same as what the French endured during the Franco-Prussian War in the original timeline.

The scale of the Greater French Empire now was much larger than in the original timeline, and with the support of overseas colonies, economic recovery was not difficult.

It may seem like they were short on money, but that’s because most of the wealth was concentrated in the hands of a few people, especially those syndicates that had colluded with international capital, who had made a fortune.

Sometimes having too much money can be a problem, too. While grabbing land domestically, the syndicates also needed more investment channels, and high-interest lending was certainly a favorite among financial tycoons.

The French government was undoubtedly the best client; its ability to repay was a minor issue. The syndicates loaned money to the government not so much for the interest income, but rather to strengthen their influence over the government through financial means.

"He who takes the king’s shilling is the king’s man." Influencing the government through debt was a common tactic used by capitalists.

The fact that such a big domestic mess had happened and the Paris government still wasn’t short on money was the most accurate portrayal.

When a government is deeply in debt, it gradually becomes dependent and may even reach the point where it can’t operate without syndicate support.

At that time, when formulating policies, there will inevitably be a certain bias.

Looking at the current situation, the French economy was not optimistic for a long time to come. If the government wanted to stabilize the situation, it would have to create more jobs and reduce unemployment.

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Building ships wasn’t the best option, but it was the most suitable one. It could not only stimulate domestic demand but also there was no worry of investment going to waste.

As long as England and Austria started building, the Paris government would definitely keep up. Once enough pre-dreadnoughts are built, the era of dreadnoughts could begin, igniting another round of money-burning competition.

The only regret was that John Bull had abandoned the two-power standard too early; otherwise, the arms race could have dragged them down.

Without the two-power standard, the British aim was only to exceed the second-place power by sixty-five percent. Since the overall tonnage of the Austrian Navy was 84% of that of the French, it meant that the British shipbuilding plan had been reduced from 1.84 to 1.65.

It might seem like a mere reduction of 0.19, not even an 11% decrease, and based on the current shipbuilding costs of the United Kingdom, it seemed like a problem of only a few million pounds, seemingly without pressure on the London Government.

In reality, it was far from a question of just a few million pounds. The most expensive part of a navy wasn’t the shipbuilding costs, but the subsequent port construction, ship maintenance, and sailors’ salaries, which far exceeded the costs of building the ships.

The former is a one-time payment of millions, while the latter is an increase of millions every year. Even John Bull, with his vast wealth, must tread carefully on this issue.

From the current situation, it seems that the French will be the first to be dragged down to death.

This is determined by comprehensive national strength, their financial abilities have always been at the bottom among the three powers, and encountering so many frustrating issues only widens the financial disparity even further.

...

In the town of Molo in West Prussia, the townspeople were gathered around a notice. From their grim faces, it was clear this was not good news.

After the Russian soldier who had posted the notice had walked away, a young man broke the silence, "They’re demanding taxes in advance again, this is the fifth time, how are we supposed to live!"

After the Russians occupied the region of West Prussia, the Tsarist Government, in an attempt to win over the hearts of the people, immediately announced tax reductions and abolished most of the taxes from the Kingdom of Prussia era.

Without a doubt, this policy ended in failure. The quality of a policy doesn’t lie in the policy itself; what matters most is the implementation.

With the abysmal military discipline of the Russian Army, even the best policies couldn’t withstand their mishandling. Under the force of hatred, the local population still supported the Berlin Government even more.

The endless emergence of guerilla fighters ultimately wore out the patience of the Tsarist Government.

Following the war, the Russians abandoned their plan to charm the local populace and switched to the Tsarist mode.

In less than a year, the Russians raised the taxes of the West Prussia region to the level of 1886.

If there’s no money to pay taxes, land is taken as debt payment, and those without land can simply become indentured servants. This was the case not just in West Prussia but in nearly all the newly occupied territories.

The cause of all this was the nobles appointed by the Tsarist Government. The granted estates were essentially just a title, having an estate did not equate to having land.

The lands on the estates of the nobility had owners, and based on the legal interpretation that private property is inviolable, this was private finance, and no one had the right to strip it away at will.

If the nobles wanted to truly turn their estates into their own property, they needed to find their own way to wrest them from the original owners.

After the reforms of Alexander II, the power of local governments and the nobility had been somewhat diminished.

Changes to tax rates and the introduction of new taxes had to be approved by the Central Government.

It is easy to raise tax rates and introduce new taxes, as the Tsarist Government was in need of money. As long as local governments could collect the taxes and keep things under control, there would be no problem.

The troublesome part is that it would be difficult to revert these changes in the future. Everyone regarded the land as their personal property, and if they couldn’t change it back, they would have to pay more taxes, which naturally nobody wanted to do.

Under these circumstances, the traditional operating method of "advance tax collection" shone anew in the newly occupied territories.

An elderly man dressed in fine clothing, looking extraordinary, sighed and said sadly, "If it really won’t work, then just give up the land!

The Russians came for the land, this is just the beginning.

Even if we pool money to pay the taxes for 1886, there will be the next amount for 1887 taxes, and they will not stop until they reach their goal.

No matter how big a family’s enterprise is, it cannot withstand such torment. It’s still early enough to let go now to avoid ending up with the land gone and a huge debt on top of that."

After speaking, the elder turned and walked away, not giving the others a chance to debate.

He had said similar things more than once before, but everyone always clung to a sliver of hope, fantasizing that they could keep their land.