Chapter 115 After Christmas

If we were to ask which country had the happiest Christmas in 1867, it would definitely be Prussia. Throughout 1867, the economy of the North German Confederation, led 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, and 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 greatly reduced the transportation costs of goods and raw materials within northern Germany.

All large-scale factories and enterprises have benefited from this wave of unified dividends.

Ernst's Hechingen Group was naturally the most prosperous among them. In addition to forming the locomotive of Germany together with companies such as Siemens in the emerging economic sector of Prussia.

In the traditional economic field, the Hechingen Group relied on creation and invention to conquer the world. For example, in terms of daily necessities, Hechingen's products occupied 15 percent of the market in Germany (including the Austro-Hungarian Empire).

That is, heavy industries such as steel, coal, machine tools, etc. are firmly controlled by Germany's traditional industrial and commercial giants.

In the financial field, the Hechingen Bank, relying on the numerous enterprises under the Hechingen Group and investing in companies in emerging fields of the Second Industrial Revolution with the help of Ernst's memories of his previous life, has gradually surpassed some traditional commercial banks.

Currently, it is firmly ranked third in the German region. Geographically, Hechingen is located in southern Germany, but politically, it belongs to the North German Confederation and has close relations with the Austro-Hungarian royal family. With the help of nobles from all over the country, it is hard not to grow and develop.

Therefore, the business of the Hechingen Bank in the entire German region was carried out very smoothly. Banks of all sizes were spread throughout Germany, from the Baltic coast south to Trieste on the Adriatic coast.

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

Tsarist Russia was a very large market, and although the Russians welcomed other European companies to invest in Russia, Ernst still chose to play it safe.

Business outlets were only opened in a few key cities. The investment environment in big cities was always much better than those in rural areas. In particular, the credit of local Tsarist bureaucrats was not trustworthy at all.

If it were in the German region, Ernst's status as a member of the Hohenzollern family could also gain recognition and help from the nobles in the German region.

But in Russia, apart from some great nobles (with whom we have cooperative relations), who knows the princes of the small country of Hechingen?

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

In the economic field, Prussia and Ernst achieved good results, and the same was true in other areas.

For example, in the military field, the successive victories over Denmark and Austria, coupled with Prussia's victories before Ernst's awakening, gave the Prussian army unprecedented confidence.

In particular, in the second half of this year (1867), the Constitution of the North German Confederation came into effect, and the North German Confederation became a new political entity.

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

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

In comparison, the area of ​​France is only 550,000 square kilometers, and the population of France at that time is only more than 36 million. Considering the industrialization levels of the two countries, Prussia already has the strength to confront France.

Coupled with the innovation of weapons and equipment, industrial production bonus, 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 Confederation has essentially crossed the threshold of European powers and has become a new European power, with a status only behind Britain, France, Russia and Austria. However, considering the combat effectiveness of Prussia and Austria before, it is hard to say who ranks fourth.

Of course, Ernst has already placed the North German Confederation in fourth place in the world. It is really difficult for the bulky Austro-Hungarian Empire to give Ernst confidence, that is, its size still looks very intimidating.

…

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

In southern Germany, ordinary people lived a very miserable life as the poor harvest had a huge impact. Fortunately, the East African colonies gave these people a way to survive.

However, there is a saying that goes, who would be willing to leave their hometown unless they have no other choice?

In this wave, in the southern German region, regarding the destination of immigrants, 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 conditions in the United States are bad, but because German immigrants are unwilling to take risks. After going to North America, everything is unknown.

But when they arrived in East Africa, it was obvious that they were still farming for the nobles. The farmers in southern Germany did not understand the American capitalists, but still believed in the nobles in Germany.

Especially since Ernst was a local nobleman in southern Germany, the conditions in East Africa would at worst be no worse than in southern Germany. But if he went to the United States, who knew how the Americans would treat him.

After Christmas, the number of immigrants from South Germany to East Africa reached a small peak. Many young people who were heading to East Africa bid farewell to their parents, brothers and other family members, and boarded carriages hired by the Hechingen Consortium.

In many villages throughout southern Germany, one can see temporary horse-drawn carriages hired by the Hechingen Consortium, with all freight included as a promise from the East African colony.

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

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

All the way, they transited in Bavaria, went south along the railway, went directly to Trieste via the railway in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and then took Hechingen's own ships to East Africa together with the Austro-Hungarian immigrants.

These two routes each have their own advantages and disadvantages, but the distance difference is not too big. Both routes require a long detour along the west coast of Africa.

For this wave of immigrants, the Hexingen Consortium paid a huge amount of shipping fees, but as long as it could replenish the German population in East Africa, paying a little more money was not a big deal.

Anyway, this group of immigrants will continue to create value for Ernst after arriving in East Africa. It’s just that the investment will take a longer time to take effect. Ernst will not lose money no matter how he calculates it.

While keeping an eye on the immigration task, Ernst was not idle either. Many employees in Berlin had taken a few days off, and with the company's senior management keeping an eye on it, there were not many major events.

Ernst happened to be in Hechingen, so he went to check on the students at the Hechingen Military Academy and Cultural School.

These students were all orphans, without roots or friends, and Ernst was their only relative, so Ernst ordered his servants to prepare gifts and go to inspect the two schools.

(End of this chapter)