The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1223 Punishment (Part )

Prince Uvarov's words "total embargo" shocked everyone.

A total embargo is a rather extreme measure, and is usually a double-edged sword that hurts the enemy by a thousand and hurts oneself by eight hundred.

The best example is the Continental Blockade policy that Napoleon used against Britain. Napoleon hoped to "control the sea with land", but the result was the opposite of what he expected. Not only did he fail to conquer the ocean, but he also destroyed his own empire.

If Russia imposed a trade embargo on Britain at this time, no one would doubt that Russia would follow in the footsteps of Napoleon's Empire.

As soon as Prince Uvarov finished speaking, someone jumped out to object.

"Are you crazy? Your Excellency, who should we sell our timber to if not to the British? Do you want our timber to rot at home?"

"Yes! If a total embargo is implemented, our fur trade will also be affected. Britain is our largest fur trader!"

"We also need to import our machinery from Britain. Without British steam engines, the workers would not be willing to work."

In fact, Russia was also able to produce steam engines at that time. After all, the principle was not that complicated. It’s just that its quality control was not very good, and unexpected problems often occurred.

The most important thing is that the production cost cannot be reduced. Even if it is purchased from the UK and sent to St. Petersburg, it is still cheaper than the steam engines produced by Russia itself.

As for the workers' reluctance to start work, that is complete nonsense. Although British factories are inhumane, Russian factories are actually no worse.

"If the UK doesn't do business with us, we will be the only ones who lose. They can just import from other countries and sell the goods to other countries."

"That's right! The British have many colonies, and we only have Siberia! Doing this is simply courting death!"

The public in the court was in an uproar, but Prince Uvarov remained calm. Nicholas I couldn't help but wonder how he would respond.

"My Lords, you are right. If it were in the past, then our country's embargo on Britain would be tantamount to seeking death.

But it is different now. Britain is in the midst of an economic crisis, and its imports have obviously decreased. On the contrary, they are still dumping their stocks into our country.

Many of the goods that the British sell to us now are long-extended stocks or even obsolete products. You should have noticed that there have been more and more accidents caused by steam engines recently. "

"So what? We can take this opportunity to buy more and save money."

Count Stetore's words were echoed by a chorus of people.

Historically, when we mention Russian aristocrats, people seem to only think of stingy landlords like Old Goriot, but in fact, most of the early factories in Russia were opened by aristocrats.

First, the nobles were rich. Second, their status and power could protect the factories and reduce trouble. After all, Russian officials were notoriously greedy.

Another counterintuitive fact is that the Russian royal family was actually the first force in Russia to promote industrialization reforms.

Both Peter the Great and Catherine the Great were supporters of industrialization, and their attitudes towards foreign things were completely opposite to those of Kang Mazi and Qian Xiaosi.

Prince Uvarov showed great disdain for Count Stetore's words.

“This era is changing with each passing day, but some of us are still complacent about buying industrial waste discarded by other countries. How sad!

In the past, Austrian steam engines were also mediocre, but now they are almost as good as those made in Britain. my country should take this opportunity to research our own steam engines, rather than letting other countries take advantage of us!
Similarly, we should not sell our flax, wool and cotton abroad. We should set up our own factories to produce clothes, cotton cloth and hemp rope, and keep the profits in our country! "In fact, there was a very strange phenomenon in Russia at that time, that is, primary products such as flax and fur were sold abroad, and then clothes, hemp rope, cloth and other commodities were bought back from abroad.

Independent research and development, this one is very much in line with the Tsar's wishes. In fact, he had wanted to do this for a long time, but there were always many people who opposed it, and in the end it had to be left unfinished.

"Good!" The Tsar immediately made the decision. He couldn't wait to see the day when Russia could be self-sufficient without having to rely on other countries for help.

The sight of the embargo causing the nobles to loot Britain like beggars and hooligans left him with an indelible shadow.

Uvarov's words also aroused the national pride of some Russian officials. In fact, no one does not want their country to be strong and prosperous. If possible, Russians are also willing to support domestic products.

However, the pro-British factions and compradors who were closely tied to Britain were livid. They all thought that Prince Uvarov and the Tsar were crazy.

Russia cannot lose Britain. If it loses Britain, it will be like a banker losing the sun and Russia will only become a second-rate country.

At this time, the pro-Austrian faction in the Russian court became restless.

"Your Majesty, the quality of Austrian goods is not inferior to that of Britain. The former is our ally. The British are not irreplaceable."

"That's right! We can increase trade with the German Confederation to make up for the losses."

"Recently, there has been a strong demand for timber in the German region, which has become our second largest timber exporter."

The demand for German common colonies and the exile of Jews, as well as the development of tourism, greatly stimulated the shipbuilding industry in the German region.

The German economy has been improving over the years, and people's demand for large furniture has been increasing. The development of commodity trade, especially the grain and beer industries, has also driven the barrel making industry.

At that time, there was no plastic, and iron was too expensive and not suitable for storing some goods, so the most important container was wooden barrels.

Its consumption of wood once exceeded that of the shipbuilding industry, and another major consumer of wood was the paper industry. Especially after Austria began compulsory education, the whole of Germany followed suit, resulting in an increase in the price of paper, lead, and ink.

"Yes! At this moment, Austria is our largest exporter and second largest importer. Together with the German Confederation, it will definitely fill the gap left by Britain!"

Nicholas I's brows also relaxed, and all problems seemed to have been solved.

At this time, Prince Uvarov changed the subject again.

"At that time, Britain was in the midst of a great famine, and the focus of the embargo was on food rather than other things. As long as we seized this lifeline, we would not be afraid that the British would not surrender."

"Your Excellency, you are wrong. If the British do not import food from us, they can import it from other countries. How can we blockade it?"

“No, I have a data here showing that the proportion of grain imported by Britain from my country has been increasing since 1848, and now accounts for 55% of imported grain.

The United States came second with 25%, and the rest was imported from distant colonies.

If we suddenly impose an embargo on the UK, they will be in a panic and suffer heavy losses as food, a bulk commodity, is no different from other goods.

The best-case scenario is that the Irish uprising becomes as unmanageable as the rebellions in Poland and Hungary."