Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 257: Chapter 6, Divine Shield

The wedding celebration had ended, and Franz had become even busier. With so many guests coming over, how could he not entertain them well as the host?

Feast, feast, and still more feasts; these days, Franz felt nauseated at the thought of attending another banquet. There was no helping it, though—manners were indispensable.

Several brothers and a bunch of grand dukes from the Habsburg family had all become hard-working laborers, but they seemed to enjoy it, leaving Franz with nothing to say.

Under the overwhelming news of Franz’s marriage, the setback the Vienna Government faced in purchasing gold was overshadowed. In the minds of the public, the Emperor’s wedding was of greater interest; only professionals were concerned with the gold acquisition hitch.

After being busy for over a month, he finally saw off all the guests. During this time, he made so many promises and assurances that he himself couldn’t remember them all. But that didn’t matter—there were specialized staff taking notes.

These kings had come in person to the wedding, certainly not just to visit relatives. Otherwise, in an era where travel was inconvenient and nobility had many relatives, there would be weddings year-round, and they would be run to death with busyness, wouldn’t they?

Since Franz had no intention of causing trouble on the European Continent, it was natural for him to get along with everyone.

Don’t look down on these small countries for their lack of strength and voice; it was precisely for this reason everyone could be friends with peace of mind!

As an Emperor who advocated for peace, Franz’s favorite thing was for everyone to be friends. If brawling and killing could be avoided, it was better not to engage.

Europe was at peace, but the world was not. With time on their hands, the United Kingdom and France had started causing trouble around the globe.

In 1852, a representative commander of the East India Company, Lambert, set his sights on Burma. Using the excuse that the administrative head of the Burmese Pagoda had not received him, he extorted 100,000 British Pounds from the Burmese King and issued an ultimatum of war.

This kind of far-fetched pretext was something Franz could not bring himself to comment on. Whether or not someone wished to receive a guest was their prerogative. It was normal to not want to host an unwelcome visitor.

However, in this era, the British imposed their will in the East, even having the British diplomat Haxa declare brazenly, “Anywhere in the East, we cannot be shut out.”

The Burmese King was lucky—the Near East conflict suddenly erupted, and the London Government’s attention was concentrated on the European Continent, resulting in an inevitable contraction of their overseas colonial expansion activities.

After paying a sum of money, the Burmese government survived a crisis.

Unfortunately, the Near East conflict did not persist, and the decaying Burmese government did not seize this opportunity to enrich the nation and strengthen its military.

Now, with nothing else occupying the attention of the London Government, the war with the idle British recommenced without suspense.

The war continued, and the British diplomat Haxa had blatantly announced: Burma is now a colony of the Great Britain Empire.

This high-handed approach thoroughly shocked Franz’s worldview and made him reassess what colonialism was.

In the Pacific region, the United Kingdom and France were fiercely vying for control. On the whole, the British gained the upper hand, but the French had achievements as well.

Watching the United Kingdom and France stake out their claims, Franz could only envy them, as colonizing the Pacific was indeed a challenge for Austria.

Justice is always within the range of a cannon, and Austria’s cannons could not reach that far; running over there would likely result in a harsh lesson.

This was exemplified by the Netherlands and Portugal, pioneers of the colonial movement who now had to proceed with caution facing the competition from England and France.

Of course, snatching food from the tiger’s mouth was unavoidable. Amidst the competition of England, France, and the Netherlands, the Dutch managed to secure the lucrative Indonesian region.

This was certainly influenced by international politics, but it was even more a result of the Dutch holding the advantage in Indonesia, having been established there longer and boasting a stronger presence compared to the colonial powers of England and France.

If the Dutch had no significant presence locally, no diplomatic maneuvering could have persuaded England and France to abandon the resource-rich Indonesian region, be it for spices or various minerals.

Now was the climax of the scramble for colonies, with plenty of unclaimed lands around the world. Although competition was fierce, it was not yet as brutal as the late 19th century.

Austria did not participate in this wave of colonization; the Government’s main focus remained on currency reform, and at most, the African Colony began to slowly expand.

These were minor issues. With everyone’s eyes overseas, and the African Continent infested with noxious insects and savage beasts, Austria’s minor movements naturally went unnoticed.

Vienna Palace

Finance Minister Karl said angrily, “Your Majesty, the sudden drop in gold prices has triggered severe turmoil in the London stock market, and UK consortia have begun reaping the whirlwind. We’ve been caught in the crossfire.”

Following the logic that the beneficiary is the mastermind, the Vienna Government naturally regarded this UK consortium as the main culprit.

As for the subtle maneuvers of the London Government? It was clear they were either outplayed or genuine economic ignoramuses.

The outcome was apparent: the Vienna Government had to spend more money to buy gold. However, no matter how great the loss, it was not as costly as the price the United Kingdom had paid itself.

Tactics that kill a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of one’s own might find those brave enough to use them, but tactics that kill a thousand enemies at the cost of sacrificing eight thousand can only be attempted by real military novices.

After a bout of stock market turmoil, London’s stock exchange plummeted by seven percent, tens of millions of British Pounds in wealth evaporated into thin air. The number of bankrupt businesses rose, with over a hundred thousand people joining the ranks of the unemployed.

Paying such a heavy price, the only ones who profited were the UK consortium. They not only grabbed a hefty sum but also strengthened their monopoly in the industry.

After big data analysis, Carl naturally concluded that Austria had become collateral damage. The gold purchasing amount was less than expected, which affected the government’s currency reform efforts, with the main losses incurred in terms of time.

Franz thought for a moment and said, “Let’s not bother with them. As long as the price of gold returns to normal, we’ll start buying. Once the gold-to-silver exchange rate rises above five percent, we’ll immediately stop.

We’ll take as much as we can get. After all this turmoil, we must be prepared for a protracted battle. We’ll buy when the gold price drops and sell when the increase is too significant.

Since the British dare to disturb the gold market, let this chaos continue and see who ultimately suffers greater losses.”

Others might be oblivious to the dangers of a currency’s blind appreciation, but how could Franz not be aware? When the price of gold rises, the value of the British Pound naturally goes up as well, leading to increased costs for British industrial and commercial products.

These few points might seem trivial, but in reality, they signify a decline in profits from the UK’s export trade. When capitalists’ profits decrease, reducing investment and increasing exploitation of the working class become inevitable.

A day or two might not make a difference, but over time, social conflicts accumulate. Even if the British, with their vast family businesses, can withstand it, economic growth slows, a problem they have no way to solve.

This issue can be easily resolved, either by waiting for the Vienna Government to complete the gold standard reform, after which, for their own interests, they would naturally strive for the stability of the gold market.

Or by allowing the Vienna Government to acquire enough gold. Once they have enough, they won’t need to continue buying.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Carl responded.

After a pause, he added, “Your Majesty, the currency for the New Holy Roman Empire has already been designed; here’s a sample for you to review.”

Taking the new Rhine Shield sample, its front bore the emblem of the Habsburg dynasty and his own portrait as Emperor; the back featured vast landscapes, which could be seen as an artistic version of the map of the New Holy Roman Empire.

Whether it’s aesthetically pleasing or not, Franz couldn’t care less. The most important thing is the political implication. As long as the message is conveyed, even if it’s somewhat unattractive, everyone will like it in the end.

After examining it carefully, Franz asked, “How was the currency value of the new Rhine Shield determined?”

When issuing currency, the value is often dictated by market demand. Too low a value wouldn’t work, as it would mean increasing denominations; too high a value is also problematic, as it would make exchanges very inconvenient.

Carl replied, “After our initial research, we’ve designed three options:

The first is that 1 Rhine Shield is equivalent to 3.66 grams of gold, roughly half the value of the British Pound;

The second is that the Rhine Shield is equivalent in value to the British Pound, about 7.32 grams of gold;

The third is that the Rhine Shield is equivalent in value to the Franc, about 0.29 grams of gold.

The main reason for this design is to facilitate international trade settlements. Currently, our largest trading partners are England, France, and Russia, with the Russians directly using metal currency, eliminating the need for exchange.”

Indeed, this is the simplest method of determination. The values of the British Pound and Franc have been researched and established by England and France, and currently circulate well in the market, making them the two most mainstream currencies in the world today.

If the Vienna Government decided to blaze a new trail with an entirely different currency value, it wouldn’t be impossible, but this would require a great deal of new research and consume precious time.

Considering for a moment, Franz said, “If we do exactly the same as England and France, we do not yet know how the outside world will react; let’s simply adopt the 3.66 grams value.

It’s convenient for settlements, and the number is quite auspicious too. Let’s temporarily set the denominations at 1 Shield, 5 Shields, 10 Shields, 20 Shields, 50 Shields, and 100 Shields. If needed, we can add more later on.”

With such casualness, Franz determined the value of the new currency.

Its full name was the Holy Roman Empire Rhine Shield, also referred to simply as “Rhine Shield” or “Divine Shield,” just an “League” short of a movie title.

The name has its origins, as the Rhine River is considered the mother river (or father river) of the German Region, and the most widely used currency there previously was the Rhine Shield issued by the Rhine Federation.

In order to demonstrate the Vienna Government’s determination to unify the German Region, it was natural that the Rhine Shield couldn’t be discontinued; otherwise, the nationalists within the German Federation Empire would become discontented.

In that era, the purchasing power of the Divine Shield was still very strong. Besides the Shield, naturally, there had to be smaller denominations of currency.

1 Shield = 100 Pennies = 10,000 Groschen

With so many denominations, it’s ensured that even the cheapest goods can be paid for with currency.