What troubled the British Government was not merely the international situation, but also the economic problems that came with it.
Barring any surprises, the markets abandoned by the French would mostly be taken over by Austrian industrial and commercial goods, leaving Britain to pick at the leftovers.
The law that "the strong grow ever stronger" applied here as well. Austria was already an industrial hegemon, and now that it had seized the French market, its domestic industry and commerce would undoubtedly develop even further.
Anyone with a little common sense knew that the more industrial goods were produced, the lower their costs became, and the stronger their market competitiveness grew.
The market was only so large. As Austrian industry and commerce expanded further, it was bound to compete with Britain.
Leaving other regions aside, Britain's market share in Europe would certainly be squeezed.
As markets shrank, corporate profits would fall accordingly, and the money invested in product development and promotion would decrease as well. It was a vicious cycle.
Of course, those were long-term problems. Britain possessed the richest colonies in the world and could hold on for the time being.
At worst, it could slowly transform its economy, abandon low-profit manufacturing, and vigorously develop finance and services. That was what had been done in the original timeline, so naturally it could be done now as well.
Long-term problems were matters for the next administration, or perhaps the one after that. Gladstone had no need to worry on their behalf; the troubles before him were already enough to give him a headache.
As the world's foremost financial empire, Britain naturally did plenty of usury. Everyone knew that those who played with finance were the sort with courage that scraped the heavens and morals shattered to pieces.
So long as the