The shift in the economic model had far-reaching effects. As the new hegemon of continental Europe, every move made by the Holy Roman Empire drew intense outside attention.
Even though the Vienna Government's steps were small, the implementation of its new economic policies still attracted the attention of governments across Europe.
Attention was one thing, but what economic policies the Holy Roman Empire chose to implement was its own domestic affair. It was not for outsiders to meddle in.
Other than the Cannon Party, which championed free-market economics, shouting a few slogans, there was little reaction. Compared with the changes in the Holy Roman Empire's economic policies, the public was far more concerned with the French Civil War and the Japanese-Spanish War.
The French Civil War in particular was the favorite spectacle of the gawking masses. The Anti-French War had only just ended, and the hatred had yet to fully fade. Seeing their enemy fall on hard times, everyone was naturally delighted to watch the show.
Ordinary people could enjoy the spectacle, but governments could not. If the French Civil War dragged on, the reparations would become "the moon reflected in water, flowers seen in a mirror"—visible but impossible to grasp.
The Belgian Government was the first to lose its composure. As the greatest victim of the Continental War, Belgium had fallen directly from a developed nation into one mired in utter poverty.
Postwar reconstruction was still underway, and nearly all supplies had to be purchased from abroad. National tax revenues were practically zero. The Belgian Government's only current source of income was the war reparations paid by the French.
It was already the second half of the year, and the settlement date was drawing near. If the French Civil War did not end soon, this year's reparations would go