Holy Roman Empire

Not only Austria realized the crisis was imminent. The Vienna Government simply acted a step ahead. After Austria opened the floodgates of dumping, British capitalists quickly followed suit.

In those days, the combined market share of the Anglo-Austrian two countries occupied three-quarters of overseas trade, and the so-called international competition mainly unfolded between them.

The market was only so big. If you occupied more, I occupied less; neither of us could afford to give way.

The reason why the Anglo-Austrian two countries didn’t come to blows was because their developmental directions were different.

Britannia exported the most textiles, while Austria exported the most agricultural products, which were the two commodities with the largest share in international trade at that time.

They respectively accounted for 68.3% and 21.6% of the total volume of international trade. Notably, the proportion of textiles was increasing year by year, while the proportion of agricultural products was decreasing.

The disparity in proportions was so stark, which was not only due to the industrial-agricultural scissors gap but also related to their trading models.

The British textile industry imported raw materials and exported finished products after processing, whereas the majority of Austrian agricultural products were domestically produced, with relatively fewer imported raw materials.

In terms of industrial scale, the agricultural sector was definitely larger than the textile industry. This was determined by the population structure; over 80% of the world’s population were agriculturalists.

However, when it came to making money, the agricultural industry certainly couldn’t compare with the textile industry, even after the products had been processed.

In the textile field, the British’s biggest competitor was France. Their earlier meddling with cotton plantation projects in Egypt ultimately benefited the French.

With raw material issues resolved, the French cotton textile industry was able to develop rapidly and had become a pillar industry domestically. The Paris Government’s African development plan ranked the expansion of cotton plantation areas as its top priority.

If the French’s plan succeeded, the dominant position of the British cotton textile industry would face a significant threat. This was one of the main reasons for the cooling of Anglo-French relations.

In the field of agricultural products, Austria’s biggest competitor was the Russian Empire. Due to the war, Russia’s nascent national industry suffered severe damage.

Limited by technology and capital, Russia did not have the capacity to process all agricultural products in the short term and had to temporarily serve as a raw material producer for Austria.

"Temporarily" did not equal forever, and the Russian Empire remained one of the largest potential competitors in Austria’s agricultural field.

Anglo-Austrian competition still centered around the industrial manufacturing sector, with the British being the traditional industry’s leader and Austria at the forefront of emerging industries.

In hindsight, these were the most important industries. However, from a short-term perspective, the markets for these industries were still very narrow.

This was decided by the industry’s characteristics. Insufficient infrastructure made the blind adoption of new equipment too costly, making it more economical to stick with the old steam engines.

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Frankfurt, the traditional financial center of the Germany Region, had taken on a new brilliance after joining the New Roman Empire.

To this day, it had become one of the world’s four major financial centers, having surpassed Vienna and ranked only behind Paris and London.

Of course, the idea of the four major financial centers had not gained widespread acceptance, as London alone was approximately equal to the combined total of Paris, Frankfurt, and Vienna.

This was still based on the premise that Austria had seized many gold-producing regions; otherwise, London’s advantage would have been even more pronounced.

The depth of the global hegemon’s foundation could not be leveled in a short time. For a long time to come, London would remain the world financial center.

The British had poured the resources of a whole country into one city, which differed from Austria’s development model. The fact that Frankfurt was able to surpass Vienna despite resource scarcity had its special reasons.

Firstly, the influence. Frankfurt was well-known throughout the Germany Region, home to many banks with robust financial strength.

Secondly, there’s the geographical location, right in the heart of the Germany Region, at the border between Germany and Austria, and very close to Prussia, which is conducive to gathering capital from these countries.

Last, and most crucially, Austria’s national policy did not aim to develop a super-city, so Vienna, as the capital, did not jump out to compete for resources.

With so many advantages, Frankfurt, already the Central European financial center, naturally soared.

However, there are downsides as well. In gathering capital from Central Europe, it inevitably also became subject to the economic influences of various countries.

After the Kingdom of Prussia’s defeat, the Frankfurt stock market was the first to feel the impact.

Fortunately, the Vienna Government refused to grant loans to the Berlin Government, so the financiers in Frankfurt didn’t fall into that massive pitfall.

The ones mainly affected were some of the listed Prussian companies, especially those in the Russian-occupied zones, which were almost completely devastated.

According to statistics, in the last six months, influenced by the Prusso-Russian war, the number of people jumping from buildings in Frankfurt had already exceeded thirty.

This is normal; every financial center will not lack for unlucky individuals. Even at the best of times in the market, there will be those who lose everything and jump.

Early in the morning, the autumn wind whipped up leaves off the ground, blowing them into Flores’s face, giving rise to an ominous premonition.

As an experienced stock speculator, Flores had already established his own securities company in Frankfurt, small though it was, thus avoiding the tragedy of becoming mere fodder.

Just like in a casino, the house always has better odds than the gamblers. After setting up the securities company, Flores had also colluded with others to speculate on several stocks, experiencing the grandeur of the market makers and earning a substantial profit.

If everything went smoothly, after a few more such ventures, Flores could take a step further, perhaps even becoming one of the dominators here.

But everyone has their run of bad luck. Led by a financial giant, Flores joined the war speculation during the Prusso-Russian conflict.

Unfortunately, they bet on the wrong side, resulting in the Prusso Federation’s great defeat and their own heavy losses, and they were also stuck with a large amount of capital.

It is normal to have losses and gains in the financial market, and Flores had enough mental fortitude to withstand these fluctuations.

Getting caught was just a minor issue; as long as the companies didn’t go bankrupt, once the aftermath of the Prusso-Russian war subsided, a few favorable news releases could easily untangle the situation.

Similar incidents often occur in the stock market. If the invested capital is too large and there’s no positive news, it can always be manufactured.

As a qualified speculator, Flores always adhered to a diversified investment strategy. Withstanding a failure or two was manageable as long as it wasn’t a stock market crash.

Shielding his face with his hand, Flores quickened his pace. He trusted his own instincts greatly, having relied on them to safely navigate through two previous stock crises. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

When Flores arrived, the Frankfurt Securities Exchange was already buzzing with activity. Not wasting time in the main hall, Flores went straight to the office of his company.

Calling it an office was a bit generous. In reality, it was a small room of less than fifty square meters, shared by three securities companies.

There was no other option; in those days, without electronic trading, stock trades relied entirely on human activity, making firsthand information extremely valuable.

The price of space within the exchange was astronomically high, such that this small room of less than fifty square meters cost a monthly rent of 2000 Divine Shields, and it wasn’t even for sale.

Elsewhere, that amount of money could buy a large house.

If it weren’t for attracting customers and demonstrating capability, Flores would never have been so extravagant.