The economic crisis had erupted in full force. It was not only Franz who did not dare act recklessly; the British Government likewise dared not stir up trouble at a time like this.
Exporting revolution to the European Continent seemed capable of striking at the Holy Roman Empire's newly emerging hegemony, but revolutionary ideas were contagious.
Europe's economy was deteriorating, and Britain's economic conditions were no better. Though it had not yet reached the point where a single spark could set everything ablaze, lighting a fire would certainly leave them unable to bear the consequences.
As the world's largest financial empire, Britain was also the world's largest bubble empire. When the bubbles burst, the resulting losses were naturally the greatest as well.
In this highly developed financial nation, more than one-sixth of the British populace had invested in stocks, bonds, or futures. In London, even the aunties sweeping the streets could talk your ear off about stocks.
Ordinary investment was one thing. As long as the companies themselves had no problems, one could simply wait for the next bull market to get out of the hole. After all, London had plenty of bull markets; one came along every few years.
Playing with leverage was different. Many unlucky souls were wiped out in a single wave. In a stock market crash, going from millionaire to a man owing millions sometimes took only a few minutes.
The collapse of the bull market, artificially postponed, inflicted losses more devastating than any before it. According to incomplete statistics, in the three months after the crash broke out, London's suicides exceeded twenty thousand, while hundreds of thousands of families were pushed to the brink of bankruptcy by the market crash.
The direct evaporation of wealth was only a minor problem. More seriously, companies found it