Since then, most of the brick families no longer dare to stand on the platform directly, but choose to play the emotional card, saying that "the life of a loan shark is also a life, and he also needs to live." ”

Of course, this kind of is simply ignored.

In short, in the midst of several chaotic wars, the royal family gradually took the lead, although it was denounced as perverse and tyranny, but in general Austria's economy was in the recovery stage, taxes increased significantly, and the people's spending power was also rising.

Just when some are developing in a good direction, some people see the flaws in this model.

The so-called installment payment is actually a kind of food and grain practice, but as long as the income is in line with expectations and does not overgrow, there will be no major problems, and it can reduce the pressure on consumers to a certain extent, promote the growth of the economy, compared with usury, it is definitely a big step forward in financial history.

However, there is still a gap in the lack of norms and corresponding laws and regulations in the current market, which allows financiers and speculators to take advantage of loopholes.

As a result of Franz's strategy, the selling price of goods in Austria was much lower than that of the international market, and even if the tariffs were paid again, there would still be a small part of the profit.

This loophole was deliberately left to benefit the people, but in Soros's eyes, it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

He first took the initiative to contact Solomon Rothschild, and then gathered a large amount of capital to prepare for a monopoly on some important industries in Austria, such as steel, rails, rifled gun barrels, sewing machines, clocks, galoshes, raincoats, glass, etc.

However, Franz and the bigwigs he recruited had long anticipated this situation, so they could easily cope with it by raising prices and expanding production.

Although this move will cause some losses to the people, it is still more conscientious than the capitalists who monopolize and wantonly raise prices.

However, the unwilling Soros soon found a breakthrough again; That is to use the royal installment mechanism to allow ordinary people to participate in the feast of stock speculation.

In fact, Franz also took precautions against this, and in order to prevent too many retail investors, he set the investment threshold at 1,000 florins per share. But Austrian experts felt that his approach hindered the concentration of capital.

At the suggestion of a number of well-known financiers and banking tycoons, such as Solomon Rothschild, the amount per share was lowered to 5 florins, so as to attract the most investment.

This approach has brought a huge amount of money to the stock market of the empire. At the same time, Solomon and other bankers temporarily started a new business, that is, ordinary people could use installments to mortgage goods to banks to obtain funds.

That is, people can go to the royal family's store to buy goods in installments, and then resell them to private banks in exchange for funds to invest in the stock market; Of course, the banks will take a cut of it.

But at this time, the crazy stock market prices were soaring, and the exemplary effect of the first phase of the railway project in Neletania made everyone feel more confident that having the royal family behind them would be a sure thing.

At the same time, the major newspapers, banks and all sorts of so-called professionals once again hyped up the railway stocks, and of course the chicken soup for the soul that had been spilled by Franz's side also played a role.

Even if the stock market is suspended for three days, or even if the maximum increase is set (the last hand left), the large orders still cannot extinguish the enthusiasm of Austrians for railway stocks.

When a lot of wealth enters the stock market, all the stocks deviate from their original true value. That's exactly what Soros wants to see.

They just have to sit back and wait for them to continue to rise, and their wealth will continue to rise, which is equivalent to the whole country paying for them. At that time, when the price rises to the highest point, it is only necessary to sell them all, and the harvest of 38 million people in the whole territory can be completed.

Of course, theoretically, the empire will not suffer any losses, and only needs to collect the arrears on time. But it bears all the risk and notoriety, and desperate people are not only unable to benefit from financial investments, but also heavily indebted.

It's just that at this time, the top brass in Vienna actually took the initiative to contact the bankers to discuss when to sell their stocks, after all, only selling at the highest point can earn the greatest profit for the empire.

Adjani could only write countless letters to Franz asking for help, but with the current means of communication, in addition to the repeated deduction and discussion of various possibilities before the incident, it was difficult for him to effectively get information and make corresponding decisions at the first time while he was still adrift at sea.

A financial tsunami that is about to engulf the world seems inevitable

In the calm Indian Ocean, a fleet flying the black and gold flag of the Austrian Empire marches slowly.

Friedrich stood alone on the flagship Venice in the middle, looking around with a telescope from time to time.

Friedrich, as an aspiring soldier, the son of Archduke Karl, has always held himself to the strictest standards, and is not as casual as Franz.

However, the naval commander was disappointed that he failed to test the combat effectiveness of his new flagship on this voyage.

And he discovered the embarrassing fact that every time he came out with his nephew, he gained experience in land warfare, which made him embarrassed as the commander of the Austrian Imperial Navy, who dealt with ships and sailors every day.

Friedrich was very keen to use the Dutch stronghold in West Borneo as a target on the pretext of helping Nanming seize the base area more quickly. However, it was quickly stopped by Franz, after all, it would be tantamount to a war against the Dutch East India Company.

According to Franz's plan, Zhu Qiongying and her Nanming should seize Kalimantan Island on their own. But this time he seems to be too stingy compared to the past.

Not only was not a single breech gun of the latest type offered to the other side, but even the artillery only copingly took out four four-pounder guns. Revolvers were given 2,000 units, but such small arms were simply useless.

It's too limiting on its own; Although it has the advantage of a fast rate of fire, it is far inferior to a rifle in terms of range, accuracy and power.

The light cannon was barely enough to deal with the wooden doors and earthen walls, but it was helpless against the heavy stone walls or the gentle slopes and bastions.

Of course, there is also an element of Franz's own intentions. Strictly speaking, the armed conflicts and wars between Nanming and Lanfang and Dagang and Santiaogou and even the Dutch were not involved, and they almost belonged to the category of gang fights.

Besides, there is a weapons factory in the neighboring Zhenla, as long as Nanming has sufficient financial resources or has items to exchange with it, he can get weapons.

Since it is similar to gang fighting, street fighting is inevitable. And this kind of close confrontation is clearly the advantage of fast and light fire versus the easy-to-carry revolver.

When it comes to heavy firepower, transporting heavy artillery in the complex jungle terrain of Kalimantan is a tough task.

And according to Franz's estimate, he didn't think that Lan Fang's scattered organization could have decent resistance.

Although those men were brave in the face of the Austrian army that had raised the banner of the Ming Dynasty, he believed that it was only fear that had swept away reason.

Moreover, it is more important than the support of weapons and money that is more important than the support of the general righteousness and the program. Of course, with Austrian munitions, the process will be much faster, and the possibility of accidents will be much reduced.

When the real Ming army made a comeback, how many people were willing to accompany the Qing Dynasty to the funeral? Compared with Lan Fang, who was not recognized by the Qing Dynasty, Franz felt that the orthodox Southern Ming Dynasty was obviously more attractive.

(End of chapter)