Chapter 115 After Christmas

On Christmas Day 1867, if you want to say which country had the happiest time, it was definitely Prussia. Throughout 1867, the economy of the North German Federation, headed by Prussia, experienced great growth in the second half of the year.

The establishment of the North German Confederation connected the entire northern part of Germany. The most important industrial areas in western Prussia and the political center in the east were connected by railways.

Within the federation, unified transportation and tariffs have greatly reduced the cost of transporting goods and raw materials within North Germany.

As long as the relatively large-scale factories and enterprises have all benefited from this wave of unified dividends.

Ernst's Hechingen Consortium is naturally the most prosperous among them, except in the emerging economic field of Prussia, it jointly forms the German locomotive with Siemens and other companies.

In the traditional economic field, the Hechingen Consortium relied on creation and invention to conquer the city. For example, in terms of daily necessities, Hechingen's products accounted for 15% of the market in Germany (including the Austro-Hungarian Empire).

That is, those heavy industries such as steel, coal, machine tools... are firmly in the hands of Germany's traditional industrial and commercial giants.

In the financial field, Hechingen Bank, relying on many companies under the Hechingen Consortium and relying on Ernst's memories of his previous life to invest in companies in the emerging fields of the second industrial revolution, has gradually completed the overtaking of some traditional commercial banks.

Currently sitting firmly in third place in the German region, Hechingen is geographically located in southern Germany, and politically, it belongs to the North German Federation and is closely related to the royal family of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. With the help of nobles from all over the country, it is difficult not to develop and grow.

Therefore, the Bank of Hechingen has been operating very smoothly throughout the entire German region. Banks of all sizes are spread throughout Germany, from the Baltic Sea coast southward to Trieste on the Adriatic coast.

At the same time, the Bank of Hechingen carried out banking business in big cities such as St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Kiev on the grounds of facilitating the repayment of funds obtained from the sale of Alaska to Tsarist Russia.

Tsarist Russia is a very large market. Although the Russians welcome other European companies to invest in Russia, Ernst still chooses to play it safe.

Only opening business offices in a few key cities, the investment environment in big cities is always much better than that in local places, especially the credibility of local Tsarist Russian bureaucrats, which is not trustworthy at all.

If it is the German region, Ernst's identity as the Hohenzollern family can also gain recognition and help from the nobles of the German region.

But in Russia, except for some big nobles (who have cooperative relations), no one knows the princes of the small country of Hechingen.

In addition to Tsarist Russia, Hechingen Bank has carried out business activities in other countries, including Britain, France, the United States, the Netherlands, Northern Europe and other countries with mature market rules.

In the economic field, both Prussia and Ernst achieved good results, as well as in other aspects.

For example, in terms of military affairs, the successive victories over Denmark and Austria, coupled with Prussia's victory before Ernst's awakening, made the Prussian army's confidence unprecedentedly high.

Especially in the second half of this year (1867), the "North German Federal Constitution" came into effect, and the North German Federation became a new political entity.

Its territory reaches two-fifths of the entire German region, with 340,000 square kilometers of land.

The population accounts for two-thirds of the total population of Germany, growing to more than 24 million people.

For comparison, France's mainland area is only 550,000 square kilometers, and its population at this time is only more than 36 million. Taking into account the industrialization levels of the two countries, Prussia already has the strength to compete with France.

Coupled with innovations in weapons and equipment, industrial production bonuses, the application of inventions such as railways and telegraphs in the military field, and the advancement of Prussian military reforms (especially the reserve and general staff systems).

The North German Federation, in its essence, has crossed the threshold of the European powers and has become a new European power. Its status is only behind Britain, France, Russia and Austria. However, considering the previous combat effectiveness of Prussia and Austria, it is hard to say who will be ranked fourth.

Of course, Ernst has placed the North German Federation in the fourth position in the world. It is really difficult for the bulk of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to give Ernst confidence, which means that its size still looks intimidating.

…

In any case, the North German Confederation (Prussia) has had a very good time this year, from top to bottom.

In the South German region, ordinary people's lives were very unsatisfactory, and the impact of food shortages was still great. Fortunately, the East African colonies gave these people a way to survive.

However, there is a saying that goes well, if you are not desperate, who would be willing to leave your hometown!

In this wave, regarding the destination of immigrants in the South German region, the East African colonies have completely defeated the United States, and the vast majority of immigrants have chosen to go to East Africa.

This is not because the conditions in the United States are not good, but because German immigrants are unwilling to take risks. After going to North America, everything is unknown.

When we arrived in East Africa, it was clear that we should farm the land for the aristocrats. The farmers in South Germany did not understand the American capitalists, but they still believed in the aristocratic masters in the German region.

In particular, Ernst was a local aristocratic gentleman in South Germany. The worst conditions in East Africa would not be worse than in South Germany. But in the United States, who knows how Americans would treat him.

After Christmas, immigration from South Germany to East Africa reached a small peak. Many young people went to East Africa to make a fortune, bid farewell to their parents, brothers and other family members, and boarded carriages hired by the Hechingen Consortium.

Temporary carriages hired by the Hechingen Consortium can be seen in many villages throughout South Germany, and all freight is included as a promise of the East African colony.

These immigrants will be gathered nearby, taken to the nearest train station, and sent to the seaport city according to prior arrangements.

At present, German immigrants have a two-day route. One is to go north along the railway and take a ship from Hechingen or a hired Dutch ship at the ports of the Baltic Sea and North Sea to East Africa.

All the way, the unification was transferred in Bavaria, followed the railway south, passed the railway in the Austro-Hungarian Empire directly to Trieste, and then took Hechingen's own ship to East Africa together with the Austro-Hungarian Empire immigrants.

Each of these two routes has its own pros and cons, but the difference in distance is not too big. Both require a large circle along the west coast of Africa.

For this wave of immigrants, the Hechingen Consortium paid a large amount for freight, but as long as it could replenish the German population in East Africa, spending more money was not a big deal at all.

Anyway, this group of immigrants will continue to create value for Ernst when they arrive in East Africa. It's just that the investment will take longer to bear fruit, so Ernst can't lose no matter what.

While focusing on the immigration task, Ernst is not idle. Many employees in Berlin are currently on a few days off, and there are company executives watching, so there are not many major events.

And Ernst happened to be in Hechingen, and happened to take care of the students at the Hechingen Military Academy and Cultural School.

These students were all orphans with no roots and no family. Ernst was their only relative, so Ernst ordered his servants to prepare gifts and prepare to inspect the two schools.