Holy Roman Empire

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

Not many people participated. The party organizers only invited national envoys with good relations with the tsarist government, as well as some Russian Russian nobles in Austria.

This kind of diplomatic reception is held almost every month, and it is not conspicuous at all.The only thing worth noting is that the Austrian Foreign Minister Weisenberg personally attended the banquet.

It was not surprising that Weissenberg appeared here before the Russian-Austrian League broke down.But now it's different. Russia-Australia relations are beginning to alienate. Wesenberg's appearance here will make people think deeply.

...

With a loud noise, Weisenberg couldn't help but spit out the wine in his mouth.His eyes widened and he stared at the Russian Minister Alexander Nikolaevich Hull: "Your Excellency, are you sure you are not kidding?"

Nick Lajevic nodded seriously and replied cautiously: "No!"

After talking, he and Weisenberg looked at each other.

After pausing for a moment, Weisenberg directly refused: "This is impossible!"

"How much is your country's fiscal revenue? 500 million Aegis has far exceeded your government's debt bearing capacity. Don't forget that your country still has a lot of debt that has not been paid."

Fortunately, the two were talking in the corner, and no one came here to disturb them, otherwise the audience would be sensational.

"500 million Aegis" is not a small number, equivalent to 250 million pounds, or about 1830 tons of gold, relative to the total fiscal revenue of the three countries of Britain, France and Austria.

Borrowing, let alone now, even in the honeymoon period of the Russian-Austrian League, Austria has never provided such huge sums to the Russians.

Of course, this is not that the Tsarist government did not want to borrow in the early stage, mainly because Austria was not rich in previous years.Despite the deep roots of the veteran 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 Austrian financial circles is still very limited.

It is almost time to catch up with France, and there is still a long way to go before England.To put it bluntly, Austrian fortunes depend on industry, not finance.

The 500 million Aegis is not unavailable. The problem is that after it is taken out, there will be a shortage of money in Austria.

Not to mention Austria, even the most wealthy Britain, letting them take out this huge sum of money at once would also affect the entire financial market.

Wealth and cash are two concepts, and the gap between wealth and liquidity on paper is even more profound.

Of course, this is just difficult to come up with.If there is enough time, the three countries of Britain, France and Austria will be able to raise this fund.

With reference to the Franco-Prussian War, we know that the French lost 20 billion francs (about 1.6 billion Aegis) in the war, and after the war they paid 5 billion francs (about 400 million Aegis), which was paid in just three years.

Weissenberg refused, not even mentioning the conditions. The most important thing was that the tsarist government had no credibility. Now the Russians are lent money to buns and dogs-there is no return.

Russian Minister Nikolayevich did not change his face: "My Excellency, this time we are very sincere. We are willing to calculate the interest on the loan interest at 0.5% of the monthly interest rate."

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

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

According to the practice of international loans in this era, deduction of handling fees, exchange fees, guarantee fees, and one-year principal and interest and repayments, the monthly interest rate of five thousandths is indeed very generous, not to mention a series of additional conditions.

Everything is so good, it's not worth the phrase "poor credibility".No matter how high the income is, the money must be recovered.

Nick Lajevic hurriedly explained: "We can provide physical collateral, if your debt cannot be fulfilled later, your country can directly withhold the collateral."

Weissenberg glanced at Nick Lajevic and said coldly: "If your country can use gold as a mortgage, there is no problem.

Not to mention 500 million Aegis, even 1 billion Aegis, I can lend to you as the master, and you can even waive your interest."

Nick Lajevic frowned, secretly bitter in his heart.If there was so much gold as collateral, the Tsarist government had already started the printing machine.

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

"Your Excellency, 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 with so much gold reserves.

Civil does not count.If the calculation of folk gold, then India and the Far East Empire have exceeded this figure.

Nick Lajevic's words reminded Weisenberg that there was still a considerable amount of gold in the hands of the tsarist government.

"My Excellency, you are too humble. As far as I know, your country has always been a gold exporter. How could it be lacking?

Rather than this, the government of your country deposits the standard gold for the issuance of rubles into the Austrian National Bank and uses this gold as a guarantee.

For the sake of friendship between the two countries, I can take the initiative to give you interest free.Your government can use a huge sum of money without paying any 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, apart from the domestic circulation of the ruble, no one buys the bill in the international settlement, and the tsar government can only use foreign exchange or gold for settlement.

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

Weisenberg asked the tsarist government to deposit gold in the Austrian National Bank, and it was naturally not for the Russians to mobilize an extra amount of money.

It is easy to take out gold, and only one decision of the tsarist government is needed.Want to redeem gold?This is a joke.

The tsarist government now borrows money just to raise funds for war.As long as the war between Russia and Russia begins, the 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.

There is no return, this is dangerous.It seems that the use of financial means to obtain a huge sum of money seems to have been earned. In fact, this is entirely based on the fact that Russia-Australia relations have always been friendly.

In case one day the two countries turned their faces, the Vienna government swallowed the gold, and the ruble instantly became waste paper.

After thinking about the risks, Nick Lajevic immediately refused: "This is impossible. Your Excellency, we can use the territory as a mortgage, but gold cannot."

Weissenberg smiled slightly without answering directly, and the two ended the conversation hastily.

...

In the early morning of the next day, the tsarist government's information on war funding appeared in front of Franz.

"The Tsarist government wants to advance the war. It seems that Alexander II had made a bloody investment this time and was willing to take out his own territory and mortgage it.

If they did this earlier, they would not lose so much in the last war.Man, I have to suffer a loss before I learn a lesson!"

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

The tsarist government bought lessons from the defeat of the last war, without the invincible arrogance of the past, knowing to be down to earth.

The war is all about money.To a certain extent, the key to deciding the victory of the Russian-Russian war is no longer military, but depends on how much war funds the two governments can raise.

With the size of the Russian Empire, as long as there is sufficient war funding, even the procrastination can drag the Pupo Federation."

The concept of "Falling the Popper Federation" flashed through Franz's mind.This is based on the ideal situation where there is no external interference, and the Berlin government is not stupid.

"Send people to watch the financial circles of various countries and pay close attention to the flow of large sums of money. The governments of both Russia and Russia are poor ghosts. The war cannot be fought without sufficient funds.

Wars and devouring gold beasts, it is not easy to raise enough war funding.Only us and Britain and France have the financial resources in the world, and everyone's money does not fall from the sky.

Without sufficient benefits, it is difficult for Prussia to raise sufficient funds.From a geopolitical perspective, we are the best creditors, and only we dare to accept land mortgages.

The Russians have come to the door, so as soon as possible to figure out the bottom line of the tsarist government, and grab the greatest benefit for Austria."

Franz didn't mention the gold mortgage loan, and no one would give his lifeline to others until the mountains and rivers were exhausted.This is much more serious than the territorial mortgage.

The territorial mortgage seems to be serious, but the risk is actually within the controllable range.As long as the war is won, even if it can't afford the money, there is still enough maneuverable space, for example: to replace the mortgaged territory.

If you use your own territory to pay off the debt, you may not be able to account for it domestically; if you take the enemy's territory to pay off the debt, there will be no pressure.

If you lose the war, you don't need to say anything.The government has replaced people, no matter how big the mess is, it is also the next government to take care of it.

The same is true of the monarchy. Perhaps it is not necessary to change the emperor, but it is necessary to change the minister.The defeat always requires someone to be responsible, and the bureaucrats see it clearly.

This naturally cannot be concealed from Alexander II, and the territorial mortgage was carried out with his tacit consent.But the gold mortgage definitely exceeded his bottom line.

To put it bluntly, the Russian emperor has a great cause, and as long as it is not the core territory, it does not matter if it is sold.Territorial trading is not without precedent, and political risks are limited.

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