Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 831 - 94, Arms Race

The guilty were executed, the exilable were exiled, and those to be removed from office were removed. Throughout the entire year of 1887, the Vienna Government was busy cleaning out corrupt officials and confiscating illegal assets.

As the curtain fell on the grand case of anti-corruption and crackdown operations, a total of 10,286 criminals were executed, 96,412 people were exiled, and countless others were fined or warned.

Including 1,274 corrupt officials identified within the government, 7,421 people who turned themselves in, 76 were executed for heinous crimes, 376 officials were exiled, and all individuals involved were removed from their positions and a staggering sum of 47,560,000 Divine Shields confiscated.

Frankly, the amount involved in the cases was much less than what Franz had estimated, and the average amount involved per person was only slightly over 5,000 Divine Shields, which clearly showed that the pigs had not been fattened yet.

No wonder everyone favored anti-Semitism. Compared to the confiscation of Jewish assets, the corruption of bureaucrats was child’s play, not even on the same level.

Of course, this was related to the intensity of Vienna Government’s anti-corruption efforts. Most people didn’t dare to offer bribes directly, and the threshold for transferring benefits was too high, which shied many from their path to wealth.

The purchasing power of the Divine Shield was still impressive. For frontline public officials, a bribe amounting to a few hundred Divine Shields simply wasn’t feasible given their limited authority.

Even if gifts were offered, they usually consisted of just a few Divine Shields or perhaps a dozen, and at most, a few dozen.

With only so much money involved, playing elaborate games of benefit transfer just wasn’t realistic.

Therefore, their grey income could only come from profit-sharing above. After all, as direct operators, they were needed to ensure smooth transactions, and sealing the deal without sweetening the pot was impossible.

What they received wasn’t cash but various discount cards, vouchers, many of which were distributed under the guise of departmental welfare.

Legally speaking, this didn’t even constitute a bribery offense. Their real crime was failure to report and dereliction of duty.

This is also why there were so many officials turning themselves in. After all, by confessing before being caught, the charge of "failure to report" was dropped, and if "dereliction of duty" didn’t cause serious consequences, being dismissed from public office was considered the end of the matter.

With such a large number of people involved, house raids were actually carried out only on high-ranking officials with serious issues. Hence, the 47,560,000 Divine Shields confiscated were quite significant after all.

The per capita gain from the raids was 135,000 Divine Shields; had the anti-corruption case broken just a few days later, it would have been an average of half a ton of gold per person, a clear mark of major corruption.

With these results, Franz was very satisfied. Compared to the situation at the beginning of his reign, where "nine out of ten bureaucrats would be caught and there would still be one that slipped through," there had now been a fundamental change.

The case might have ended, but the subsequent impacts were just beginning. The most direct effect was a significant improvement in social order.

While it wasn’t safe to say that households could leave their doors unlocked at night, at least those who charged protection money or offered high-interest loans had disappeared without a trace, and even the petty thugs on the streets rarely made an appearance.

The harsh reality taught the naive young that being involved in the underworld came at a cost, and becoming a boss was essentially stepping one foot into the gates of hell.

This also served as a mass legal education lesson. The Vienna Government forged the majesty of the law with the lives of tens of thousands of criminals, and society’s immoral trends were reversed.

All of Europe was shocked by Austria’s bold move, which even managed to overshadow the anti-Semitic movement.

The execution of tens of thousands in one go was enough to make many people’s scalp tingle, and public opinion was divided.

Supporters believed that the Austrian Government had upheld the dignity of the law and that the executions of the criminals had followed proper judicial procedures, worthy of emulation worldwide;

The opponents, however, saw the Austrian Government as showing no respect for life, depriving them of the chance to reform, which constituted a desecration of human rights.

The two sides were at loggerheads, battling through newspapers at a distance, with offline debates and academic symposia becoming their battlegrounds.

Well, the Vienna Government still spent money on public relations; otherwise, the forces supporting the rule of law would have fallen into the minority long ago.

As a result, the total amount of foreign investment entering Austria in 1887 fell by 46% from the previous year, while, conversely, capital outflows increased by 21.2%.

Mainly, it was the Jewish capitalists who retreated. Others might not see it, but they, the people concerned, understood it very clearly.

The Vienna Government certainly treated ordinary Jews very kindly, but behind that kindness was the aim for national integration.

For those standing in the way of national integration, they were shown no mercy, especially Count Witters, an old friend, who was dealt with incredibly harshly.

Those who could be arrested were arrested; those who could be killed were killed—all without clemency, and no one was spared.

This could be seen from the list of those executed or exiled; indeed, the actions were in accordance with Austrian law. The issue was that there were just too many Jews on that list.

There were indeed Jewish capitalists who were entirely law-abiding, but they were very few. Most capitalists had ventured, more or less, into a grey area.

The investigative team clearly gave them special attention, pulling out many hidden issues that had been concealed.

Knowing that they were targeted, they were powerless to change it. Compared to other European countries, this was still playing by the rules.

If they wanted to avoid being treated differently, it was very simple: they just needed to give up their legacies and actively integrate.

In fact, Austria’s Jews had long been divided, and this sudden blow just made the issue clearer.

Those who left were just a part of those not content with the status quo. Ordinary people were reluctant to continue drifting, as stepping out meant facing an uncertain future.

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London

Prime Minister Gladstone said, "What is your view on the bold move by the Austrian Government this time?"

Most people only focused on the anti-corruption cases themselves, and the experts and scholars in the market only noticed the legal issues; but through the eyes of politicians, it’s a different story.

Foreign Minister George said, "This is related to the national integration policies executed by Austria, which can be traced back to 1820.

However, these policies were not well promoted until Franz’s era.

Overall, the integration of various nationalities within Austria is not bad, with the only trouble being the Jews.

Even if Europe does not burst into an anti-Semitic movement, the Vienna Government would sooner or later target these Jewish capitalists who hinder national integration.

As for the anti-corruption cases that erupted afterward, they are actually just a power game by Franz, who took advantage of the situation to cleanse the bureaucratic team and strengthen his control over the country."

Those who hold high positions are all intelligent; the benefits of national integration are clear at a glance.

However, knowing it is one thing, following suit is another. If true national integration were pursued, The British Isles would have already been unified.

In fact, including the Gladstone Cabinet, all successive British governments have tried to solve this problem, but all failed in the end.

There is no way around it. If everyone becomes one of our own, then it wouldn’t be so easy to exploit them so outrageously, which is tantamount to cutting off the capitalists’ money route.

Finance Minister George Childs said, "These are just the political aspects. What I am talking about is the economy.

Have you noticed that in this anti-corruption and anti-Semitic movement, the Vienna Government earned a substantial amount of funds?

Although the specific amount is unknown, it is certain that the most was harvested from this anti-Semitic movement, and where this money will be spent is also worth our vigilance."

This is an inevitable result; one side is shearing the sheep while the other is slaughtering them for meat, the disparity in profits speaks for itself.

International competition is not only about competing in strength but also in financial power. When competitors have money, it is certainly not a good thing for Britannia.

Hearing this bad news, Prime Minister Gladstone furrowed his brows and muttered to himself, "Is the arms race coming again?"

After the anti-Semitic movement ended, it wasn’t only Austria that had money in its pockets. To be precise, governments across Europe had money in their pockets.

Generally speaking, in such cases, everyone will spend their money. Exactly where it will be spent is hard to determine.

However, what is certain is that as soon as someone leads the development of armaments, it will immediately detonate an arms race.

Sir Astley Cooper Key, Minister of the Navy, said, "Your Excellency Prime Minister, the French government has recently announced a new shipbuilding plan.

According to the plan, within the next three years, the French Navy will add three new battleships, seven destroyers, four cruisers, and a total of 24 ships of various other types and sizes.

Following the recent naval construction norms, the Austrians will maintain a similar scale of capital ships as the French.

If nothing unexpected occurs, it won’t take long for the Austrian Navy to announce its shipbuilding plan, and when that time comes, the pressure on the Royal Navy will significantly increase.

To secure the naval supremacy of the Royal Navy, the Naval Department plans to build six new battleships, ten destroyers...."

Faced with the opportunistic Minister of the Navy, Prime Minister Gladstone slapped his forehead and thought to himself: A mistake has been made.

Before he could speak, Finance Minister George Childs preemptively objected, "No, if we follow this plan, France and Austria will surely continue to increase their number of ships. Then, an arms race would be inevitable.

Although the government has recently come into some money, this money has other uses and shouldn’t be squandered on a meaningless arms race."

Minister of the Navy Astley Cooper Key laughed and said, "How can you say it is meaningless? If we deplete the finances of France and Austria in an arms race, they won’t have the capacity to do anything else.

Otherwise, what do you think they will spend these funds on?

Austria’s Near East development plans, the French’s Africa development plans, their large farm projects—all these are capable of strengthening their national power.

If we don’t deplete their financial resources and use the arms race to drag them down, can we continue to maintain our superiority in the long run?"

This is a reality we must face; Britannia, with its narrow territories, has very limited potential for its own development.

To keep its superior position, it must continuously suppress its competitors. Otherwise, in the long-distance race of national development, they will inevitably fall behind sooner or later.

This can be seen from recent developments. First, Austria’s economic output surpassed Britain, followed by France’s economic total surpassing France.

Although it was only the domestic parts, this still caught the attention of the British elite, who listed the two countries as their greatest competitors.

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