Holy Roman Empire-Chapter 991 - 5, Lying Down to Win Tactic
Chapter 991 -5, Lying Down to Win Tactic
Vienna Palace,
after hearing the news brought by his younger brother, Franz said expressionlessly, “That’s fine, the Cabinet will handle Belgium’s issues. You don’t need to intervene anymore.
Now that the Franc has plummeted to rock bottom, let your Exiled Government pay off the French debts first and take the opportunity to make a wave in presence!”
Without expectations, there can be no disappointment. Franz had never placed faith in Maximilian from the start, so it was natural that he wouldn’t be disappointed.
In some ways, Maximilian’s performance was much better than Franz had expected. Apart from being overly idealistic, he had done quite well in other areas.
After so many years of development,
the Mexican Restitution Organization led by Maximilian had gradually grown and expanded, particularly influential among European students.
In those days, the European Continent was the stronghold of monarchism to begin with, and governments were not sparing in instilling loyalty and patriotism. Maximilian had stirred things up here, and the governments were happy to see its success.
Putting his capabilities aside for the moment, Maximilian was beyond reproach on a personal moral level. Compared to the warlords inside Mexico, this exiled Emperor left a much better impression on everyone.
Franz had provided considerable assistance in this regard, having misused public resources for personal ends more than once to whitewash this exiled Emperor.
Those Mexican students who could study in Europe were not from ordinary families. As these individuals completed their studies and returned home, the reach of the Restoration Organization extended back into Mexico.
If this situation continued, coupled with support from the Vienna Government, there might actually be a day when Maximilian could feasibly be restored.
Of course, this was just a possibility. Neither the British nor the Americans wanted to see the flags of the Habsburg dynasty flying over Mexico again.
The most critical issue was that Maximilian lacked the abilities, and the Restoration Organization did not have sufficient talent to deal with Mexico’s complex situation. To restore him would be to send him to hell.
Not to mention that they even missed such a golden opportunity with the devaluation of the Franc, requiring Franz himself to point it out, which showed the caliber of Maximilian’s Restoration Organization.
“Franc depreciation—debt repayment—boost presence!”
Awakened by the realization, Maximilian looked at Franz in disbelief. This maneuver was simply beyond his understanding.
Without a doubt, this was shamelessly playing the rogue, and yet the French couldn’t say a thing. The devaluation of the Franc was their own doing and had nothing to do with Maximilian, not a single Franc’s worth of relation.
Considering the astonishingly low value of the Franc now, one only needed to give a single Divine Shield to the bank to generously say, “Exchange it for Francs to repay the debt, and keep the change.”
One Divine Shield per bank, and at most it wouldn’t surpass a hundred Divine Shields for the Mexican Empire to clear its debt to the French people.
Of course, if the loan contract included a clause for settlement in Gold, then such a scheme wouldn’t be feasible.
However, that scenario was nearly impossible. Thirty years ago, who could have known France would be in such a state today?
In normal circumstances, even if the Franc depreciated, it would only be a short-term fluctuation, and the extent of depreciation wouldn’t be significant. With the exorbitant interest on loans, any currency fluctuation would still mean a profit.
Any country confident in itself wouldn’t bring up the issue of currency fluctuations when extending international loans. This was the case all over the world, including loans issued by the Holy Roman Empire settled in Divine Shield, rarely raising questions about currency values.
Regardless of the Franc’s depreciation, the Exiled Government taking the initiative to repay debts is a spirit of contract adherence worthy of being recorded grandly. If the Franc depreciated, that was just the French people’s bad luck.
European media certainly wouldn’t miss the chance to grab attention and increase newspaper sales. It cost less than a hundred Divine Shield to become a hot topic, and there was absolutely no reason to pass on such a good opportunity.
“Alright, I’ll arrange it right away!”
Being impressionable was Maximilian’s most apparent weakness, but his willingness to follow orders was his greatest strength. He would earnestly carry out anything Franz commanded.
If not for this virtue, Franz would have long since washed his hands of it, let alone sponsor an annual sum for the restitution effort.
In fact, the restitution fund wasn’t available from the beginning. Initially, it completely depended on Maximilian’s own efforts to solicit donations and support from his parents; it was only after the late 19th century, when Franz’s pockets gradually filled, that this “substantial” sponsorship came into being.
“Mhm!”
“Restitution is not an urgent concern. Right now, what you need most is to find talent. Governing a country is never just the Emperor’s affair, you need a team for support.
The Mexico Restitution Organization was too disorganized; its members were a motley crew, almost none of them up to the challenge of governing a country.
Especially for a country as complex as Mexico, the demands on government officials were even higher. This kind of thing couldn’t be rushed; it could only be slowly unearthed by you.
In some ways, discovering and employing talent is the most essential skill a monarch must possess. In this area, you still aren’t doing enough.”
Despite his lack of hope for Maximilian’s restoration, Franz certainly wouldn’t say so in front of his brother.
One cannot be without ideals, regardless of whether they are ultimately realized or not, one must have a goal to strive for. If he were to speak plain truth, Maximilian would probably be disheartened and fall into despair.
Lying is an art, and it’s one that Franz wasn’t adept at. On the issue of restoration, Franz never offered direct praise, only pointing out problems at the right moments.
Were it not for him serving remotely as the strategic advisor, and Maximilian himself willing to take advice, the Mexican Restoration Organization would have likely disbanded long ago.
What could an exiled emperor rely on to command loyalty, if not for some means at his disposal?
No matter the guidance, the natural law that “birds of a feather flock together, and people are known by the company they keep” remained unchanged.
An idealistic leader attracted a group of idealistic followers. Such an organization might do well in propaganda but expecting them to govern was nothing short of ludicrous.
…
Just as Leopold II’s trip to Vienna was taking place, the situation in Paris shifted once more.
King Carlos led the Noble Coalition Army, encircling the City of Paris from all sides. To reduce casualties, or perhaps due to internal sabotage, they were forced into a prolonged siege.
No matter how well the New Paris Government performed, the fundamental truth that “humans are iron, and food is steel; one meal missed and hunger strikes” couldn’t be changed.
With inbound food supplies cut off and relying solely on its reserves, Paris could clearly not hold out for long.
Contrary to what the new government anticipated, the revolutionary climax did not erupt following the victory of the Paris revolution; instead, the spread of the Bourbon restoration news plunged the revolution into a slump.
It wasn’t that the French people had lost their revolutionary fervor; it was that their stomachs were too hungry to muster the energy for a revolt.
Out of support for the Bourbon Dynasty, the Continental Alliance made a decision: all materials entering France would only be traded with the Bourbon Dynasty.
Simply put, wherever a revolution broke out, that place would face an economic blockade. Not just the nobility who were anti-revolution from the start, but even the intellectuals, middle class, workers, originally inclined towards the revolution… they now changed their stance en masse.
Whether voluntarily or not didn’t matter. As long as everyone knew that following the Revolutionary Party meant going hungry, no one was willing to join.
Those outside had choices, but the people trapped inside the City of Paris had none. To surrender and leave the city, they’d have to get through a minefield first.
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These were all unsolicited donations from international philanthropists, sourced entirely from the war surplus from conflicts across Europe. To prevent these products from being wasted upon expiration, they were all stuffed into the hands of the Noble Coalition Army by the Allied Forces.
Freebies not to be wasted, and to avoid assaults from the city’s garrison, the soon-to-be King Carlos decided on a winning by waiting strategy, ordering a massive minefield to be laid outside of Paris.
Safety wasn’t an issue anymore; it’s just that those inside couldn’t get out, and those outside couldn’t get in.
But now, they didn’t need to enter. Once the city ran out of food, the war would end. Such a tactic, aside from dragging out the time a little longer, had almost no downsides.
As for the survival of the city’s inhabitants, they had all been labeled as rioters, so the nobility naturally didn’t care.
With insufficient food reserves, in order to last longer, the new government had no choice but to implement a rationing system. At first, it went well, with leaders setting an example, everyone was held to the same standard, and no one had any complaints.
But as time passed, things changed. There’s always a black sheep in every group, and the New Paris Government was no exception.
Driven by self-interest, one black market after another sprung up quietly. As long as you had money, there were virtually no restrictions. Of course, this money did not refer to Francs; the currencies of trade were commodities like gold, silver, jewelry, British Pounds, Divine Shieds, and so on.
The food that ended up in the black market didn’t come out of thin air. The new government was very strict with its granary management, so if bureaucrats wanted to make money, they had to skimp on the ordinary people’s rations.
Human greed knows no bounds; it started with skimming two or three percent. Seeing there weren’t any serious reactions from the public, the amount skimmed grew larger and larger until it exceeded everyone’s limits…
