Chapter 287: Chapter 36, The Great Migration

Franz was credible, and after signing the treaty with the Ottoman Empire, he immediately paid for the goods worth ten million Divine Shields.

This time, the Vienna Government did not discount at all, having no choice due to the aftershocks of overproduction capacity, the stockpile of goods was too much. They couldn’t sell them, and Franz wasn’t wasteful enough to simply destroy them.

Using them to trade with the Sultan Government was the best option. If possible, he would also like to conduct the same trade with the Russians. Anyhow, it would be better than watching these goods rot in the warehouses.

Especially agricultural products, these processed goods had a short shelf life. The preservatives of this era were too poor, and adding too much would be lethal.

Even if food safety was not a priority for many, it still couldn’t poison people—such brand-damaging practices could not be allowed.

When it came to reputation, the Vienna Government still maintained very strict control. Not killing people was the bottom line for food safety, and that applied even to exported goods.

Of course, this was just the bare minimum, and higher standards were reserved for premium foods, such as those labeled exclusively for the nobility. The quality of these products was not much lower than in later generations.

The gap in price between the two tiers of goods was usually several times, or even several tens of times, clearly proving that you can’t get good quality cheaply.

In the Vienna Palace, after hearing the report from the Minister of Agriculture, Franz thought for a moment and said, “Since the export of agricultural products is declining, then we shall artificially create a market.

Didn’t we just reach an agreement with the Ottoman Empire that all the population on these lands will be withdrawing? We should immediately organize ship transportation, and at worst, we’ll provide them with a year’s worth of food as compensation for the early relocation. I believe the Sultan Government will not refuse such an offer.

Once the Ottomans have all left, we can then organize immigration to fill their places and take complete control of these regions.

Thus, the shipping companies will have new business, and we can alleviate the pressure from the surplus of food, helping to stabilize domestic food prices,” he concluded.

The Mediterranean Region, unlike other overseas colonies, was directly controllable by the Vienna Government. Even without transoceanic telegraph, communicating messages would only take about a week.

As long as all the local Ottomans have withdrawn and our own country’s immigrants have taken their place, there would be no concerns about governance anymore.

Minister of Agriculture Christian responded, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

After a pause, Franz added, “Remember to include the populations from the Ionian Islands and the Sinai Peninsula in the package to the Ottoman Empire. If there are problems, just bribe the officials of the Sultan Government.

After all, the Ottoman Empire doesn’t have a household registration system. The Sultan Government doesn’t keep clear records of how many people there are, so it shouldn’t be difficult to cheat them.

The immigration needs to be completed quickly. During an economic crisis, it’s the least expensive time to do this. It also reduces the crisis, a win-win situation.”

This was not speculation. In this era, the Ottoman Empire was known as the most corrupt empire in the world. As long as you had money, there was nothing these bureaucrats wouldn’t dare to do.

Hearing that the immigration needed to be finished quickly, Colonial Minister József Jellacic developed a headache. The demand for immigrants this time was not small; if they wanted to control these new territories permanently, they couldn’t do it without people.

At least thirty to forty thousand immigrants for Crete, thirty to forty thousand for Cyprus Island, twenty to thirty thousand for the Ionian Islands, over one hundred thousand for Libya, and let’s say five thousand for the Sinai Peninsula. That’s over two hundred thousand people in total.

These regions need people, and the African Colonies need people too. Congo and the Gulf of Guinea can wait, their populations are already substantial and a pause in large-scale immigration is permissible.

But the recently acquired Nigeria, infiltrating Cameroon and Benin, absolutely cannot do without immigrants.”

Otherwise, once John Bull recovers from his setback, they’ll start causing trouble again. The best choice is like the Gulf of Guinea now; even though the British are very envious, seeing the large number of German immigrants, they lost interest.

In this era, those who go to the colonies to seek fortune are not easily bullied, especially the nobles who open farms and plantations; they are all capable of bearing arms on horseback.

On land, the British simply can’t do anything to them. If a colony has only tens of thousands of people, one day, if relations with England and France sour, the leadership of the colony will change hands immediately.

The Vienna Government is considering not only how to open up colonies but also how to keep them. In this context, without several hundred thousand immigrants, it really isn’t enough.

Beyond these regions, there is also the Balkan Peninsula to consider. To control Wallachia, Moldavia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Vienna Government even devised a plan for one million immigrants.

These immigrants could only come from the German Region, to ensure the smooth process of ethnic integration, which is also an urgent task.

To avoid directives coming from multiple departments and the resulting competition for immigrants, all immigration work was placed under the sole responsibility of the Colonial Department.

József Jellacic explained, “Your Majesty, as the domestic economic situation improves, fewer and fewer people are willing to emigrate overseas. In the short term, we will not gather enough immigrants.

You know that for easier assimilation, each time we organize immigration, we scatter the settlement and prevent minority groups from clustering in one area.

Including refugees relocated from the Balkans, they are distributed in certain proportions to ensure they cannot form a dominant influence locally.

This has brought troubles to immigration efforts; as of now, the number of domestic individuals interested in signing up for immigration is less than two hundred thousand, and including the total number of sign-ups from the German Region, does not exceed five hundred and fifty thousand.

The majority of people are inclined to immigrate to the Balkan Peninsula. Those willing to go to overseas colonies are less than half.”

Franz nodded in understanding; this was quite normal. How could common people possibly want to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary?

To migrate to the Balkan Peninsula is one thing, as it’s still on the home soil, and one can travel back and forth along the Danube River within a month; going overseas is different.

Even though the Vienna Government offers favorable conditions, recognizing property rights directly for farms and plantations opened in the overseas colonies, and even providing policy loans, many people are still filled with worry.

“The economy has only recently started affecting the German Region. It will continue for a while. The number of bankrupt people in the German Region will increase, and that is an opportunity.

The Foreign Ministry has already communicated with the governments of the sub-states, and they will not obstruct your actions. Before the end of the economic crisis, it will be a peak period for immigration.

You now have to race against time to send off the immigrants as fast as possible. If it is too late for overseas, send them to the Balkan Peninsula. Once the economic crisis ends and everyone finds work, circumstances will be different.”

Reality is that harsh; during an economic crisis, the unemployed population becomes not a wealth but a social issue, and governments of all countries would rather they leave quickly.

Against this backdrop, the Vienna Foreign Ministry managed to persuade countries within the German Cultural Circles, like Switzerland and Belgium, and their governments to welcome the immigration efforts from Austria.

Of course, this good opportunity is limited to the period of the economic crisis. Once the economy recovers, it will be much harder to persuade immigrants to move, even if the governments of various countries do not prevent it, the local capitalists will not agree.

It’s only when there is an abundance of labor that it is cheap, which is also why European governments struggle to organize large-scale immigration.

If the Vienna Government were not strong enough to suppress domestic capitalists, Franz could not organize such a large-scale immigration drive.