February 3, 1873.

Austria, Vienna.

For Austrians, the entire year of 1872 was unforgettable. Like other countries worldwide, Austria experienced an unprecedented market boom in 1872, coupled with Austria's victory over Italy, recapturing Venice, which made Austrians even happier.

Dual victories in the economy and military are always the greatest confidence boosters for any nation's people. Economic overheating had led to a creation of many jobs, and the outbreak of war initiated military conscription, making Austrians less enthusiastic about emigrating overseas.

The direct manifestation was a cliff-like drop in the number of Austrian immigrants to East Africa in 1872, falling to fewer than five thousand for the year. Due to the Austrian government's intent to move the German population into Venice, emigration shifted from East Africa primarily to the cities and Venice.

Since 1848, the only major setback Austrians faced was the defeat in the Austro-Prussian War, where they were ousted from the German area by Prussia.

However, Austria's economy remained unaffected. Although Austria's industrialization was slightly slower than France and Prussia, it was still developing at a rapid pace.

And the construction of railways was a direct manifestation of this economic state. Between 1859 and 1872, over seven thousand kilometers of railroads were built across the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Although these figures might not match those of other major powers, they were still impressive. This period also marked the privatization phase of Austrian railways.

However, all of this took a turn at the end of 1872. By the end of 1872, bonds from 76 railway companies in the Austro-Hungarian Empire went into default. Among the 384 listed railway companies, 279 companies had no dividends to distribute.

Yet, railway stocks were still on the rise, with the market cheering, giving eager investors the illusion that they had to buy quickly before missing out.

Come February, the bad news arrived.

On February 4, Barclay Railway Company defaulted.

On February 5, Cook Railway Company defaulted.

On February 6, Ken Yongke Bank defaulted.

On February 7, all railway stocks plunged, and under the eyes of investors, stock prices in the Vienna Stock Exchange cascaded like waterfalls. That night, many gamblers headed to the rooftops.

Vienna Court.

"Your Majesty, according to statistics, over four hundred million florins evaporated from the Vienna Stock Exchange in one day. Countless investors were reduced to poverty overnight. Preliminary statistics show that seventeen instances of suicide occurred within 24 hours. Accompanying this is a complete collapse of credit and a halt in tradable securities. Austria's economic winter is imminent."

Franz listened expressionlessly to the Finance Minister's report. As a now mature emperor, Franz appeared significantly steadier.

Franz directly asked, "To what extent will this crisis impact the empire?"

"We are currently unclear, but the impact may exceed that of 1848, as the scale of this crisis is evidently larger. Apart from a few state enterprises, the entire railway industry faces the risk of collapse, and currently, the crisis is spreading from the railways to other fields."

For Franz, 1848 was a terrifying number. At that time, the Habsburgs were nearly overthrown, and Franz ascended amidst stormy turmoil. For over a decade, Austria's development was relatively unsmooth, and it was only recently that it began to improve. Yet, before enjoying a few days of comfort, an economic crisis broke out again.

In fact, the capitalist economic crisis first broke out in Austria, which is not surprising. An economic crisis is a game of passing the parcel. And in recent years, as the industrialization of the Austro-Hungarian Empire deepened, the Empire inevitably fell into the cyclical rhythm of capitalist development.

The prosperity before the economic crisis was typical data falsification and living beyond their means, with the financial markets and stock market being abnormally high for an extended period.

The 1873 economic crisis was a profoundly significant worldwide economic crisis. This crisis first emerged in industrial countries and then spread to others. Any country integrated into the global market would be first affected.

However, unaffected regions included the Far East, and South America, which historically included Africa as unaffected. Yet, due to the East African Kingdom's new variable, it too would be impacted. The East African Kingdom might not be large, but it represents nearly a third of Africa, and coupled with Egypt and other North African countries, this economic crisis couldn't be avoided.

The reason Austria became the first epicenter was entirely due to Austro-Hungarian national circumstances. The Austro-Hungarian Empire's industrialization was a step behind other countries, and its financial industry development was relatively chaotic. Coupled with the dual monarchy system of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, financial regulation was inevitably worse than in other countries.

Capitalists in other countries could band together before the bubble burst, tricking investors long enough to safely withdraw themselves. However, due to the diverse ethnic groups and factions within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austrian capitalists lacked camaraderie, communication, and resorted to malicious competition and mutual suspicion. This led Vienna Stock Exchange to burst first, saving oneself at the expense of others!

Although all countries had economic issues and everyone was deceiving, the better the deception tactics, the later the crisis erupted. Clearly, the banks and entrepreneurs in Vienna lacked the acting skills compared to the old foxes of England, France, and America.

With the outbreak of the Austro-Hungarian economic crisis, it was bound to first impact the Heixinggen Consortium's business. What is certain is that East African grain exports would inevitably suffer, as this crisis was accompanied by a significant agricultural crisis.

Originally, international grain prices were fiercely competitive due to the newly developed lands in North America, the Russian Empire, and Australia, and with the East African Kingdom's new player fanning the flames, this agricultural crisis would be even more formidable.

On the day the Vienna Stock Exchange burst, Ernst received the news, and all companies under the Heixinggen began lowering product prices, joining the dumping battle first.

It must be noted that the Heixinggen Consortium's food enterprises not only engaged in East African business but also in German and Austro-Hungarian business, being the largest grain distributor in the entire German region. Thus, the Heixinggen Consortium's enterprises engaged in dumping, representing not just the East African Kingdom but also the agricultural products from Germany, Austria, and Hungary in the battle.

The three countries of East Africa, Germany, and Austria-Hungary are all major grain-producing nations on the international stage. As the Heixinggen Consortium initiated the grain dumping battle, the three countries' massive amount of cheap agricultural products flooded all over Europe.

Meanwhile, East Africa was also hastily negotiating (ordering) with the Sultanate of Zanzibar to export grain to the entire Arab region and parts of Southeast Asia through the Sultanate's channels.

The Heixinggen Consortium caught the world off guard the moment the crisis erupted, directly blowing up international grain prices.

Ernst was fearless about this. Even if other countries wanted to reckon, they must involve Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Junker landowners and Hungarian landlords actually became passive beneficiaries, clearly an impossible scenario. As for the exacerbation of the food crisis, that was exactly what Ernst wanted to see because East Africa wasn't a free economic market, and the crisis wouldn't have any negative impact on East Africa.

Although the plummeting grain prices would cause Ernst to earn substantially less, making money at all now was fortunate. Just a little later, it would no longer be a matter of earning or not but rather selling at a loss, unless it was given away for free.

In reality, as long as East African exports of grain could sell for a penny, the Heixinggen Consortium would earn a penny in revenue, a result stemming from the unique economic system of the East African Kingdom.

The moment grain was shipped out of East Africa, it was no longer linked to the East African Kingdom, instead directly allocated to the Heixinggen Consortium. The labor and production costs for these grains were almost nonexistent because within East Africa, grain held no economic value. The land was seized, labor was provided free by local workers, and East African farmers maintained only minimal food needs, which were insignificant compared to the profits they generated for the Heixinggen royal family.

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