Chapter 648： Raise funds

In the evening, the Russian embassy in Vienna was brightly lit, and there were sounds of music from time to time. There was no doubt that a diplomatic reception was going on.

Not many people participated. The host of the banquet only invited national envoys with good relations with the Tsar government, and some Russian nobles in Austria.

This diplomatic reception is held almost every month without any notice. The only concern is that Austrian Foreign Minister Weissenberg attended the banquet in person.

It was not surprising that Weissenberg appeared here before the Russo-Austrian alliance broke down. But now it's different. Russia-Austria relations have begun to alienate. Weissenberg's presence here is thought-provoking.

...

With a snoring sound, Weissenberg couldn't help squirting the drink out of his mouth. With his eyes widened, he stared at Russian Minister Alexander Niklayevich Hull: "Sir, are you kidding me?"

Niklayevich nodded seriously and replied carefully: "No!"

After speaking, he and Weissenberg stared at each other.

After a brief pause, Weissenberg refused directly: "This is impossible!"

"How much is your country's fiscal revenue? 500 million Aegis has far exceeded your government's debt carrying capacity. Don't forget that your country still has a large amount of debt outstanding."

Fortunately, the two were talking in the corner, and no one came to bother with disinterest, otherwise the audience would be sensational.

"500 million Aegis" This is not a small figure. It is equivalent to 250 million pounds, or about 1,830 tons of gold, compared to the total fiscal revenue of the three countries in Britain, France and Austria.

Borrowing, not to mention now, even in the Russian-Olympic League honeymoon period, Austria has not provided such huge sums to the Russians.

Of course, this is not that the Tsarist government did not want to borrow it in the early stage, mainly because Austria was not rich in previous years. Despite the rich heritage of the old empire, Austria has really made a fortune in recent years.

Capital accumulation also takes time. Even if it became the world's largest economy, capital accumulation in the Austrian financial community is still very limited.

It's almost time to catch up with France, a long way from England. To put it plainly, Austria's fortune was based on industry, not finance.

The 500 million Aegis is not out of the question, the problem is that after it is taken out, Austria will be short of money.

Not to mention Austria, even the richest capital of Britain, letting them take out this huge sum of money at one time, will also affect the entire financial market.

Wealth and cash are two concepts. The gap between wealth and liquidity on paper is even more different.

Of course, this is just going to be difficult. If enough time is available, the three countries will be able to raise the funds.

With reference to the Franco-Prussian War, the French lost 20 billion francs (approximately 1.6 billion Aegis) during the war, and after the war lost 5 billion francs (approximately 400 million Aegis), they paid in just 3 years.

Weissenberg refused, not even mentioning the conditions. The most important thing is that the tsarist government has no credibility. Now, lending money to the Russians is meat buns and dogs-no return.

The Minister of Russia Niklaevich said, "My Excellency, this time we are very sincere. Interest on borrowings, we are willing to calculate 0.5% monthly interest, this income ..."

Weissenberg interrupted directly: "IMHO, in the credibility of your government, no bank dares to lend you money.

Don't say five-thousandths monthly interest, even five-thousandths daily interest. Who dares to put a loan that is destined to not be returned? "

According to the practice of international loans in this era, it is necessary to deduct handling fees, exchange fees, guarantee fees, and one-year principal and interest and re-lending. Five-thousandths of monthly interest is indeed very generous, not to mention a series of additional conditions.

As good as everything is, it is not worth the phrase "poor reputation." No matter how high the income is, it is also necessary to recover the money.

"We can provide physical collateral, and if the debt cannot be fulfilled later, your country can directly hold the collateral," Niklavavic explained.

Weissenberg glanced at Nikolayevich and said coldly: "If your country can use gold as a collateral, there will be no problem.

Don't say 500 million SHIELD, even if it is 1 billion SHIELD, I can lend it to you as a master, and even exempt your interest. "

Niklarevich frowned, secretly suffering. If so much gold was used as collateral, the Tsarist government would have started printing machines.

In the gold standard era, gold is wealth. There is no problem whether it is used as the currency of a standard hair bank or directly used as currency.

"Sir, this joke is not funny at all. If we have so much gold, why do we need a loan?"

This is the fact that 500 million Aegis is about 1,830 tons of gold. Except for Britain and Austria, there is no third country and there are so many gold reserves.

Folks don't count. If you count folk gold, then India and the Far East Empire both exceed this number.

Niklavevich's words reminded Weissenberg that the tsarist government still had a large amount of gold in his hands.

"My Excellency, it is too modest. As far as I know, your country has always been a gold exporter. How can it be short of gold?

Instead, your government deposits the ruble-standard gold into the Austrian National Bank and uses the gold as a guarantee.

For the sake of friendship between the two countries, I can make the decision to give you interest free. Your government can get a huge sum of money without paying a price. "

"Gold exporter", this is not what the Tsarist government wants. Even if the Russian Empire's gold production is not low, the demand is also huge!

Because of the credibility, except for the domestic circulation of the ruble, no one buys it at all in international settlement, and the tsarist government can only use foreign exchange or gold for settlement.

In order to promote industrialization, the Russian Empire has been importing machinery and equipment in recent years. In order to calm the trade deficit, the Tsarist government had to fill the pit with gold.

Weissenberg asked the Tsarist government to deposit gold in the Austrian National Bank. Naturally, it was not for the Russians to mobilize more funds.

Taking out gold is easy and only requires a decision by the Tsarist government. Want to redeem gold? This is a joke.

The Tsarist government is now borrowing money to raise funds for the war. As long as the Prussian-Russian war begins, these money will soon be consumed in the war.

Even after winning the war, the Tsarist government has not redeemed gold for a long time to come.

With or without return, this is dangerous. It seems that using financial means to obtain a huge sum of money, it seems to have made money. In fact, this is entirely based on the fact that Russia-Austria relations have always been friendly.

If one day the two countries turn their heads, the government of Vienna swallows the gold, and the ruble becomes waste paper in no time.

After thinking about the risks involved, Niklayevich immediately refused: "This is impossible. Your Excellency, we can use territory as collateral, but gold cannot."

Weissenberg smiled slightly and didn't answer directly. The two ended the conversation hastily.

...

In the early morning of the following day, information about the tsarist government's financing of the war appeared in front of Franz.

"The Tsarist government wants to advance the war. It seems that Alexander II had lost his blood this time, and he was willing to take out his own territory and mortgage it.

If they had done this earlier, they would not have lost so badly in the last war. People, I always have to lose a lot before I learn the lessons! "

Prime Minister Felix: "Although this is true, how do you know the consequences of failure without experiencing failure?

The Tsarist government used the failures of the previous war to buy lessons. Without the invincible pride of the past, it knew that it was down to earth.

The war fought money. To a certain extent, the key to determining the victory of the Russian-Prussian War is no longer military, but it depends on how much the two governments can raise funds for the war.

With the mass of the Russian Empire, as long as there is sufficient war funding, even the drag can drag the Popo Federation to death. "

The concept of "pulling the Popo Federation" flashed in Franz's mind. This is based on the ideal situation without external interference, the Berlin government is not stupid, and cohesion is necessary.

"People are staring at the financial circles of various countries and paying close attention to large capital flows. The governments of the two countries are poor and the war cannot be fought without sufficient funding.

War and swallowing gold beasts, it is not easy to raise enough funds for war. Only in the world, we, Britain, and France have this financial resources, and everyone's money does not fall from the sky.

Without sufficient benefits, it is difficult for General Russia to raise sufficient funds. Geopolitically, we are the best creditors, and only we dare to accept land mortgages.

The Russians have already come to the door, so find out the bottom line of the tsarist government as soon as possible, and maximize the best interests for Austria. "

Franz did not mention the gold mortgage loan, and no one would give his lifeline to others until the end of the country. This is much more serious than territorial mortgages.

Territorial mortgages appear to be serious, but the risks are actually under control. As long as the war is won, there is enough room to operate even if it can't afford the money, such as replacing the mortgaged territories.

If you use your own territory to pay off debts, it may not be easy for you to explain it in your country. If you use your enemy's territory to pay off debts, there will be no pressure.

No need to say anything after losing the war. The government has changed, no matter how messy it is, the next government will be responsible for cleaning up.

The same is true for monarchy countries. It may not be necessary to change the emperor, but it is necessary to change the minister. There is always someone responsible for the defeat, and the bureaucrats see it clearly.

Naturally, this cannot be hidden from Alexander II, and the territorial mortgage was carried out with his acquiescence. But the gold mortgage definitely exceeded his bottom line.

To put it bluntly, the Russian Empire has a great career, as long as it is not a core territory, it doesn't matter if it sells a piece. Territorial sales are not without precedent, and political risks are limited.

Sending gold to Austria as a mortgage is completely different, which means that the economic lifeline of the Russian Empire fell into Austria's hands.

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