Holy Roman Empire

After thinking for a while, Marquis Dumanov said seriously: "Now the pressure of public opinion is very unfavorable to us, immediately report the information we have in our hands, and remember that the murderer is the Polish Independence Organization.

He also told reporters that there may be internal traitors in the Prussian embassy, ​​and it was because of their internal and external collusion that Minister Bismarck was assassinated.

And because of the traitor, Bismarck was not sent to the hospital for treatment in time after he was assassinated, which led to his death.

Let the reporter make up the specific details. Anyway, we have no right to intervene in the internal issues of the Prussian embassy. We will notify the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to send them a letter to let the Prussians conduct self-examination. "

It doesn't matter whether it's true or not. Marquis Dumanov himself doesn't want to bear this responsibility. The current investigation results are enough.

It is not a day or two for the Polish independence organization to do things in the Russian Empire.In normal times, they are doing things in Poland, and it is not surprising that they have gone to St. Petersburg now.

There are not so many detective tools in this era, and it is very difficult to find out the ins and outs of things.If it is insisted that the Poles did it, and the traitors cooperated, then the Prussian government will be dragged into the water.

If they continue to cling to this problem, then they themselves will inevitably be responsible, and the Berlin government dare not continue to expand the problem.

This is related to domestic ethnic issues. After all, there are a large number of Poles in the Kingdom of Prussia, close to the fourth floor of the total population.

It took a lot of effort to assimilate them, and if we continue to quarrel over this issue, it is easy to stir up ethnic conflicts.

Marquis Dumanov thought he had considered all aspects, hello, hello, everyone, and the matter passed.

Berlin

Regent Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig didn't feel much when he received the news of Bismarck's assassination. Anyway, everyone's relationship is not good, and there is no sadness.

He even had a little bit of secret joy, taking this opportunity to make Russia bleed.After all, the victims also need to be appeased. Without their cooperation, this matter would not be so easy to complete.

Foreign Minister Andrea said with a gloomy face: "Your Highness, I just received a briefing on the case from the Russians. It is said that the murderer is the Polish Independence Organization. They think it has something to do with the political struggle in the country. Let us conduct a self-examination of the embassy. This is Please have a look at the details."

The same words, interpreted by people with different identities, have different meanings.

Now there is an undercurrent in the Kingdom of Prussia, and with Frederick William IV falling ill, a round of reshuffle is also going on within the government.

Once it is proved that someone in the Prussian embassy colluded with the assassins, it would be another political earthquake, which would be very detrimental to William Frederick Ludwig who had just regented.

The principle of political struggle is to fight without breaking. In the internal struggles of European governments, there are very few bad incidents of buying murder.Once it happens, it will be boycotted by everyone.

The current action of the Russians is obviously not acceptable to William Frederick Ludwig, which means that the political struggle in the Kingdom of Prussia has broken the bottom line.

The more he looked at him, the angrier he became, and he insisted that there was an internal traitor in the Prussian embassy based on guesswork. Obviously, the Russians were perfunctory.

The murderer who assassinated Bismarck was a Polish independent organization. This statement is barely acceptable. At least a few suspects have been caught, and the special weapons and ammunition found can be regarded as evidence.

This is the scapegoat chosen by Franz's intelligence organization, and naturally there are clues left behind.In order to quickly close the case, the bureaucrats of the tsarist government naturally would not let go of these "evidences".

The so-called untimely rescue and the existence of traitors are pure nonsense.

The assassination of the minister is such a serious matter, there will definitely be chaos at the scene, and it will obviously take time to send it to the hospital for treatment after everyone reacts.

In fact, everyone was delayed for more than ten minutes, including the time for simple bandaging of the wound. How can it be regarded as deliberately delaying the treatment time?

It is even more nonsense to speculate that there are traitors in the Prussian embassy based on this.In his view, this is the Russians deliberately provoking internal conflicts in the Kingdom of Prussia.

The assassination of Bismarck by the Polish independence organization is not a big problem. If the assimilated Poles also participate and are still officials in the government, then the problem will be big.

This means that the assimilated Poles, who have not yet given up their independence, have become entangled with the Polish Independence Organization.If the problem is magnified, it will inevitably alienate the Poles and the government.

William Frederick Ludwig said angrily: "Tell the Russians that we need an explanation. Don't use this kind of general and possible reasons to perfuse things. The Kingdom of Prussia will not accept such nonsense reasons."

Foreign Minister Andrea objected: "Your Highness, let's check ourselves first! We are not sure whether the Russians' statement is accurate, and they still have members of the Polish Independence Organization in their hands.

If someone really colluded with the Polish independence organization and the evidence fell into the hands of the Russians, then it can only be downplayed. "

The Kingdom of Prussia has assimilated the Poles in the country. Andrea doesn't think they will get involved with the Polish Independence Organization. Even if there are, there are only a very small number of them and they cannot represent everyone.

In contrast, someone in the government participated in this operation, and it is more likely to take the opportunity to kill Bismarck.

Political struggles are cruel, and it's not a big deal to kill someone with a borrowed knife in order to beat an opponent.

You must know that the Prussian government and the Polish independence organization have always been linked. During the Great Revolution, the anti-Russian faction advocated support for Polish independence, contained the Russians, and concentrated their efforts to unify the German region.

Although it was unsuccessful in the end, the connection has never been broken.Now the anti-Russian faction in the country is colluding with the Polish independence organization to kill Bismarck and prevent the two countries from getting closer.

Because it involves ethnic conflicts, the government is doomed to just downplay it.If you want to investigate, you can only continue to investigate secretly, and the risk of everyone's exposure is reduced again.

Moreover, there are still enemies of Bismarck in Prussia, so it is not surprising to use this opportunity to kill him.This "enemy" is not only a political enemy, but also a personal enmity, which adds to the complexity of the matter.

What the Russians said was nonsense in the eyes of Prince Wilhelm Frederick Ludwig, but it became the truth in Andrea's eyes.

There are so many places that can be assassinated, why choose the gate of the embassy?If no one cooperated, how could he leave the scene quickly after the murder?

Chapter 40 Suez Canal Equity

Palais Royal

Napoleon III couldn't believe it and asked: "Auvergne, are you sure that the Vienna government is really willing to join us in leading the canal project, rather than intentionally making trouble?"

Foreign Minister Auvergne replied affirmatively: "Your Majesty, the Vienna government should be sincere, and they are willing to pay for the excavation of the Grand Canal with us.

No one will joke about hundreds of millions of francs, as long as they put money in the canal company, they will support us for their own interests.

It's just that the Austrians have always been conservative. They worried that according to our plan, the final navigation volume would not meet the demand, so they asked to deepen the canal by four meters from the designed depth. "

Napoleon III rubbed his forehead and asked: "I remember that the canal company's design depth is nine meters, and the largest ships in the world can navigate freely. The Austrians are not enough?

Don't they know that every additional meter will increase the huge investment?Adding four meters now means that the budget will be greatly increased. "

The planned cost of the Suez Canal is 2 million francs, which is already challenging the affordability of investors.Before the opening of the canal, no one knew that this golden waterway would be so profitable.

Now most people don't think that the Suez Canal can be profitable. After all, there are still free waterways to go, and the Suez Canal charges cannot be too high.

With such a high investment, no one can guarantee how long it will take to recover the cost.Capitalists naturally have little interest in such long-term investment projects with uncertain returns.

Auvergne explained: "We have communicated with the Vienna government many times on this issue. However, they consider more strategic value, which has something to do with the appearance of ironclad ships.

The Vienna government believes that the tonnage of ships is about to increase significantly, and the newly established Austrian Royal Shipyard is already building [-]-ton freighters.

It is said that a designer increased the tonnage design of the ship to [-] tons.The Vienna government believes that the mainstream ships in the future will exceed [-] tons, and technically speaking, the problem is no longer a big one.

The Vienna government believes that the tonnage of warships will also increase significantly. If the investment is saved now and the navigation volume in the future is insufficient, the strategic value of this canal will not exist. "

Napoleon III fell into contemplation. With the arrival of ironclad ships, the keel that restricts the size of ships is no longer a problem. Theoretically, a substantial increase in ship tonnage is inevitable.

But the bigger the ship, the better, and the market demand must also be considered.The million-ton giant ships of later generations are useless in this era, and there is simply not so much cargo in them.

However, the [-]-ton giant ship is already competitive in this period. At least Austria needs such a big ship to export agricultural products.

Secretary of the Navy Dicko said: "Your Majesty, from a strategic point of view, the greater the navigation volume of the Suez Canal, the better.

If Austria joins, the funds for the construction of the Grand Canal will be shared between the two of us, so the problem is not too big.Even if the private sector cannot raise funds, we can still invest in the government. "

There is no doubt that the strategic value of the Paris government's plan for the Suez Canal also exceeds the economic value, otherwise they would not spend their money at all.

After hesitating for a while, Napoleon III said proudly: "Add more, since the Austrians dare to invest so much, we have no reason to be afraid!"

The strategic vision of the French in this era is really not bad. They built the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal first, but unfortunately they failed to hold them.

……

On May 1858, 5, France and Austria signed the "Suez Canal Cooperation Agreement".The treaty stipulates that the two countries will each invest half of the excavation of the Grand Canal. As the initiator, the French will hold 10% of the shares, and Austria will hold 51% of the shares.

There is nothing to say about this. France's initial investment for the Suez Canal is not small, and it is inevitable to take the lead.

With the design changes, the canal's budget was raised to 3.4 million francs.Franz dismissed this amazing figure, let alone 3.4 million francs, even 5.4 million francs may not be enough.

Of course, with free labor, the construction cost was saved by more than half, and Franz didn't know how much the final cost would be.

After all, the two countries are now joining forces, and the British will not be forced to abandon the use of slave labor later because of the sabotage by the British, which will greatly increase the construction cost.

Looking at the agreement in his hand, Franz smiled and said, "Urge the French and let them start working as soon as possible."

Now that it has joined the canal plan, it is naturally impossible to dawdle like the French in history, and it took more than ten years to dig the Grand Canal.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Metternich replied

Chancellor of the Exchequer Karl asked: "Your Majesty, are we learning from the French in investing in the Canal Company and raising shares in the capital market?"

The Suez Canal is a sure-fire investment, but only a few people can see this.

In the eyes of most people, this is a long-term investment with unknown returns, and it is not so favored in the capital market.

Historically, the Suez Canal has been shut down due to lack of funds.If it were not for the support of the French government, the canal company would have gone bankrupt before the canal was dug through.

Franz, who was used to making a fortune silently, naturally wouldn't yell that the whole world knew about it, and that he just took advantage of the fact that others were unwilling to invest.

Considering the dangers of eating alone, Franz decided to let the government take the lead, otherwise all the wealth in the future will go into the pockets of the royal family, which will easily cause criticism.

"The economic crisis has not yet passed, and the market's capacity to bear is limited. The government will subscribe for half of the shares, and the remaining shares will be put into circulation in the market."

There is no doubt that all the shares in circulation have only the right to dividends, and the voting rights are still in the hands of the governments of Vienna and Paris.

History has reached a turning point. The Suez Canal, which was originally dominated by private capital, has now become a cooperation project between the two governments, full of strong political implications.

London

The joint excavation of the Suez Canal by France and Austria has brought a huge impact to the British government's railway plan. After all, the cost of water transportation is lower.

Once the Suez Canal is open to navigation, the geographical advantage of the British will decline, and France and Austria will be closer to the Indian Ocean than the British Isles.

Prime Minister Granville is not only worried about a Grand Canal, but also about the improvement of the relationship between France and Austria, which makes the London government very uncomfortable.

Unlike in history, the Russians have not yet lost their European hegemony, and France and Austria are only potential competitors, and have not reached the point of directly competing for hegemony.

Without sufficient interests, the two governments will naturally restrain each other.Austria is now much stronger than in history. It suffered a loss in the Near East War, and the French became more cautious.

"Everyone, the warming up of the relationship between France and Austria has brought a huge impact on our continental European balance strategy. What do you think?"

Chancellor of the Exchequer John Russell said: "Your Excellency, you are too sensitive.

France and Austria have also cooperated on the issue of the Suez Canal. There are still many conflicts in other places, and it is unlikely that the two countries will really join forces. "

There are indeed conflicts between France and Austria. Leaving aside European hegemony, the two sides have clashed many times on the issue of African colonies.

It's just that this kind of small conflict exists between almost all colonial empires, and it has not risen to the point where the two countries are hostile.

Foreign Minister Thomas analyzed: "Under the Vienna system, the relationship between France and Austria has been very good in the past few decades.

It was not until after the February Revolution that the relationship between the two countries gradually became cold.The relationship between the two countries broke down during the German Unification War, but now they are standing together because of common interests.

However, this does not affect our interests. As long as France and Austria have the ambition to compete for European hegemony, the relationship between the two countries will break down sooner or later.

Even the now close Russia-Austria alliance will part ways sooner or later on the issue of European hegemony. I don't believe that the Vienna government has no ambitions. "

This is a practical problem, and allies are unreliable in the face of interests.Unless the power of each country is always balanced, sooner or later it will lead to confrontation.

Chapter 41 The Depressed Stock Market

The economic crisis is a disaster for ordinary people, but it is an opportunity for capital predators.Now Franz is one of the predators, harvesting in the capital market.

As an emperor, he still pays attention to his appearance, he didn't give people peanuts, let alone invite people to take a dirt plane.

There is endless money to be made, and there is no need to be notorious for profit.Annexation of companies will definitely be hostile. If it is just investment and shareholding, the situation will be different.

Now that everyone is short of money, how could they refuse to invest?The idea of ​​investing in a company had already been figured out by Franz in advance.

Human energy is limited, even with a mature management team, it is impossible to expand indefinitely.

In this case, it is imperative to abandon non-core industries.Anyway, it's all about making money, as long as the supervision work is done well, the interests can be guaranteed, and there is no need to hold shares.

Looking at the thick acquisition case in his hands, Franz was filled with emotion.Any page here is a goal that ordinary people can't achieve in their lifetime, but now they can't arouse his interest.

……

After listening to the person in charge's report, Franz said calmly: "There is no need to invest in the textile industry anymore. The British have too much advantage in this field, and their position cannot be shaken for at least 20 years. There is no need for vicious competition.

Later, we will focus on metallurgy, shipbuilding, mining, machinery manufacturing and other fields to increase our economic influence.

The shares of the Canal Company will be issued soon, and people will be sent to buy them secretly, whether they are domestic or foreign.As long as the stock price increases by less than double, you can sweep the goods. "

It is only one aspect of the royal family's business to make money. It is also necessary to increase its influence on the domestic economy. This is a rainy day.

Even Franz subconsciously recruited some nobles to form a consortium, and it was not just a consortium.

Of course, on the surface, these consortiums have nothing to do with everyone. They are ordinary commercial consortiums, and there is still competition among them.

When it comes to playing vests, everyone is very professional.There are many ways to show off, and there is no need to stand out in this regard.

Jung is a retainer of the Habsburg family, and he has served the royal family for seven generations. His personal ability is very strong, and his loyalty reassures Franz. He has become one of the main persons in charge of the royal industry.

Jung reminded: "Your Majesty, investing in the canal company is very risky. It is too early to enter the market now. It is safer to wait a few years."

When the capital reaches a certain level, the importance of taking the lead gradually decreases.Even if you enter the market one step late, you can still make a way out with strong financial strength.

The Suez Canal is a huge investment, and whether it can be successfully completed is a problem. It also involves political uncertainties.