Cash-for-work is one of the most important and quintessential policies of Roosevelt's New Deal, which refers to a support policy in which the government invests in the construction of infrastructure projects, and the recipients participate in the construction of the projects to receive remuneration for labor services, so as to replace direct relief. What are the benefits of cash-for-work? Whoever says it right...... Ahem.

Jochen summed up the benefits of cash-for-work in three ways: first, the unemployed have jobs to do, so that they don't have nothing to do, gather together, and then feel sorry for their situation, and then there is a risk of growing resentment and gathering people to make trouble. It is of great help to maintain social stability. Second, the remuneration for work gives workers a sense of dignity that they are not being given handouts, but that they have made an effort, which has a positive impact on society as a whole in times of economic hardship. The third is to expand domestic demand and increase GDP.

Of course, if you want to work for cash, you must first have a job offer, which requires the government to use its brains. There was a joke in Roosevelt's New Deal that in order to create jobs, the U.S. government hired a group of people to dig holes, the next day they hired another group of people to fill the holes, and the third day they found people to dig holes, and so on, so that a steady stream of jobs were created. Regardless of whether this story is true or not, it gives Jochen a strong sense of immediacy with two postdocs, two lumps of Xiang, and an increase of 100 million GDP.

In short, in any case, Jochen came to the conclusion that digging a pit is a good job that can provide employment opportunities, increase GDP, and maintain social stability and unity! And digging a hole without filling it is very dangerous! Ahem, I'm sorry, I accidentally ran to the wrong set.

Every country has its own national conditions, who told you that you must fill in the holes you dig them? Germany's current national situation is that it needs to dig holes and not fill them!

As for why the pit is dug, it starts with the shipping demand in Germany.

At the end of the 19th century, the short maneuvers of German naval vessels between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea also required a circumnavigation of Jutland. After fighting two Schleswig wars with the Danes, the Germans realized that the Guòskagerak and Kattegat straits were the territory of Norway, Denmark and Sweden, and that in the event of a war it would be difficult for the German navy to deploy quickly, and that it was unrealistic to build two fleets to garrison the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. This feeling of being pinched by someone else in the throat of their own navy made the Germans very uneasy. Therefore, the Navy wanted a large canal that would connect the naval bases in the Baltic and North Seas so that it would not have to detour the waters around Jutland.

On the other hand, the development of commerce also required the construction of a new canal. With the development of the economy, maritime shipping in Germany gradually began to flourish at the end of the 19th century. At that time, Germany had a vast outlet to the Baltic Sea, and a large amount of goods had to be transported every day. Merchant ships circumnavigating Jutland not only wastes time, but also affects economic efficiency.

In view of the need for military commerce, Germany decided to build an inland canal in Schleswig-Holstein to connect the waters of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. In this way, it will not only be able to stimulate the economic development of the Baltic Sea coast. The Navy can move quickly between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, which reduces the construction investment of the Navy and reduces the deployment pressure of the Navy.

In June 1887, the construction of a new canal began, which ran from Brunsbittel at the mouth of the Elbe on the North Sea in the west, across Jutland and east to the port of Holtenau in the Baltic Sea in the Gulf of Kiel. With a total length of 53.3 nautical miles, it is an important waterway connecting the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, so it is also known as the North Sea-Baltic Sea Canal. The opening of the canal would significantly shorten the distance between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, 370 nautical miles less than the circumnavigation of Jutland. The entire canal project took 9,000 workers eight years to complete.

In the era of Wilhelm I, the German Navy did not have any big things at all, the largest warship King Wilhelm had a standard displacement of no more than 10,000 tons, and the best cruise ship in Germany at this time is also known to everyone, less than 8,000 tons, so this canal was quite small at the beginning of the design.

When the canal was first built in 1895, the width of the water surface was not small, close to 57 meters, but the width of the bottom of the channel was only 22 meters. In addition to this, the depth of the channel is only 9 meters, and the lock chamber is 125 meters long and 25 meters wide. This means that the width of the canal cannot exceed 22 meters, the length cannot exceed 125 meters, the draft cannot exceed 9 meters, and the displacement of navigable vessels cannot exceed 15,000 tons under these restrictions. The canal was of limited service to both military and commercial purposes.

It is precisely for this reason that the tonnage of the former dreadnoughts and armored cruisers of the German Navy did not exceed 13,000 tons, and the design of the second naval act began in late 1903, and it was expected to be completed in 1906 to replace the coastal defense ships of 1870, that is, the later German-class battleships. Then in 1906, the Germans were punished. Because of the navigable capacity of the Kiel Canal, the shipyard's slipways and dockyards are also matched by this standard. In the face of the British Dreadnought, with a full load displacement of 21,800 tons, the Germans found that they could not build ships!

Although the exact number of the Dreadnought was not known at the time, Tirpitz had already realized that none of the German battleships could stand up to the British. Therefore, it was proposed that the displacement of German warships in the future should exceed 19 thousand tons. This means that Germany will have to carry out large-scale infrastructure renovation and expansion work first.

However, the renovation work is not easy to say, and the large-scale infrastructure renovation and expansion work not only consumes a lot of money, manpower, and material resources, but also seriously delays the progress.

The canal was expanded in 1907 and completed in June 1914, just weeks before the start of World War I. After the expansion, the canal is 102.5 meters wide, 44 meters wide, 11 meters deep, and two locks are added at both ends of the canal, with a length of 330 meters and a width of 45 meters. It was only by this time that the canal regained its strategic value for the German Navy.

And the expansion of the canal was not only a waste of time, but also a waste of money, at the height of the official Anglo-German naval competition in 1907-1914, it was fatal to spend money on widening the canal and building docks. By 1914, the German Navy's military expenditure was only 49.4% of that of Britain, 79% of that of the U.S. Navy, and 93.8% of the Russian Navy, ranking only fourth in the world, but it had battleships equivalent to 70% of Britain, battlecruisers equivalent to 50% of Britain, and various types of capital warships equivalent to 60% of Britain's second naval fleet. If the 240 million marks spent on the expansion of the canal could be used to build ships, it would no longer be a dream for the German Navy to face the British!

So the main job of the Germans now is to dig holes, dig holes desperately.

So Jochen said to Capriveti, "Your Excellency, it has been almost three years since the construction of the Kiel Canal began in 1887, but the progress is slow because of the small number of workers. Moreover, by the design standards of the canal, the navigable capacity is also very limited. So my idea is to invest more in the canal, to increase the number of workers, to expand the scale. In this way, after the canal is opened, we don't have to worry about the lack of navigation capacity in the face of larger and larger ships in the future. ”

"Then Your Highness, what do you mean by the appropriate scale for the expansion of the canal?" Caprivi asked, "I've heard that you're talking to a shipping company about a new cargo vessel. You should know a little bit about these ships that pass through the canals. ”

"Indeed, my idea was to widen the width of the water to 110 meters, the width of the bottom to 50 meters, and the depth of the water to 12 meters, and to straighten the bends in the design of the canal so that the length of navigable ships could be increased, and the locks built were 330 meters long, 45 meters wide and 13 meters deep. The locks have more room to spare, and the canal can be widened again if needed later. ”

"In this way, the investment will increase exponentially, and even a conservative estimate will require an increase of less than 200 million marks. Is it really necessary for us to build a canal on such a large scale? Caprivi was frightened.

"Even on this scale, I only think it will last for 100 years, and in 100 years, the canal will definitely have to be widened as the shipping capacity increases. It's better to invest this money early than late, and you can't use it after 2-30 years and find that it can't be used, right? And after completion, it will be a large project that can be used for a hundred years, and your Excellency, Prime Minister, will also benefit the empire for a century. "Jochen is a slap in the face. Taking into account inflation, 200 million marks in 1890 was certainly worth more than 240 million marks in 1907. But this money cannot be left unspoiled.

Seeing that Caprivi was a little moved, Jochen continued to add fuel to the fire: "And it happens that there is a large number of idle labor in the empire now, and in this situation, the wages we give are also low. After 2-30 years, how can we have such a large number of laborers now, and then we will have to spend more money on expansion in order to hire workers. ”

"I'm afraid it's a bit difficult for such a big investment to pass the approval of the council. What do you mean? ”

"I agree that it is better to spend this money later than early, and if the new cargo ship is really capable of transporting amazing capacity, then it is certain that the tonnage will increase in the future. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to use a canal for 100 years? Frederick III agreed with a smile: "Also, since the canal will serve all kinds of cargo ships in the future, you can contact the heads of shipping companies, shipyards, machinery factories, and other related enterprises." Since it's good for them and it's for them to contribute, there will be less resistance when you push it out in the council. Frederick III pointed.

"Xie Majesty Xià advice." Caprivi bowed excitedly, and the Emperor's words were tantamount to allowing him to find his political allies, which made Caprivi very excited. After all, as a prime minister promoted in the line of fire, his ass can't sit firmly in the current state of the empire's recession. Able to win over a group of political allies with a combination of interests, and also the owner of the most powerful cartel enterprise in the empire, his political power should not be underestimated, so he was naturally very grateful to Frederick III.

Jochen didn't expect his dad to play such a game. Caprivi is a very obedient person, and if he can sit firmly in the position of prime minister of the empire, it is all thanks to the emperor's approval, and more importantly, these political allies have stakeholders who are also crown princes. Therefore, it will be easier for the future chancellor of the empire to be the executor of the emperor's policies, rather than always working against the emperor like Bismarck's old stubbornness.

Yoheng had to sigh again, playing politics and playing politics himself was still very tender. If his father died in 1888 and he became emperor, it is estimated that he would be turned around by the government because he was young.