Flowers, Swords and France

Although the Baron's words "Every one of us should be patriotic" sounded very incongruous, Charles did not find it funny.

Because, a big banker like Baron de Bovan would certainly be patriotic - how could a tiger not love its hunting ground? How could a child not love his playground?

For them, the country is almost such a thing.

After talking for a while, the Baron picked up the documents Charles gave him again and read them carefully again.

After confirming that there was no problem, he handed the documents to his daughter, and then whispered, "You read more, learn more and understand more things, it will be good for you."

Lola took the documents silently and put them beside her.

After seeing this scene, Charles also breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that after his explanation, the Baron had almost accepted the plan made by Charles and others.

Because it was the first time for the Ministry to raise funds, he himself had no idea about the market trend, so when he saw the Baron's statement, he was relieved - at least, the first fundraising for the Ministry of Railways, which they had been planning for a long time, would not be in the embarrassing situation of no one interested.

At least in the eyes of these sensitive bankers, the bonds they were going to issue were valuable, and that was enough.

And only by successfully completing this fundraising task, his prestige in the Ministry would be improved, his position would be stable, and his value in the eyes of Louis Bonaparte would be maintained.

After the cooperation between officials and businessmen was completed, the atmosphere in the study became more relaxed. The Baron asked the servant to bring a few cups of coffee, and then talked with Charles.

Perhaps because of his humble origins, the Baron completely disdained the art that the upper class loved. He had no interest in his son's favorite gambling and horse racing, and even when chatting, his topic was inseparable from business.

"Mr. Treville, you should know that the war between the United States and Mexico has ended in the New World." After taking a sip of coffee, the baron said meaningfully.

"Yes. That's true." Charles answered cautiously. "As of now, the expansion of the United States is unstoppable."

With the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848, the United States seized 2.3 million square kilometers of land through this not-so-large war. It has become a great power across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In 1870, Prussia and France used millions of troops to fight each other, and the territorial changes involved were nothing more than Lorraine-Alsace, which was less than 30,000 square kilometers of land. It was a pity.

"I'm not concerned about the war. It's something else." The baron suddenly raised his head and looked at Charles cunningly, "This thing is cuter than the war..."

"What do you mean?" Charles was a little confused.

"Gold." After keeping it a secret for a while, the baron answered with a smile. "You probably don't know? There are many gold mines on the west coast of North America, more than the rest of the world combined..."

Sure enough. Charles suddenly realized.

With the end of the Mexican-American War, the gold rush in the western United States will also heat up suddenly, and thousands of people will abandon their jobs. Flock to the birthplace of gold mines and frantically engage in gold mining activities. Thousands of gold diggers have caused the population of California to surge. And many newly emerged towns soon became international cities. In Europe at that time, of course, many people ran over because of poverty, hoping to get rich overnight. Of course, most of them did not achieve their goals.

At the beginning of the journey, when he wanted to raise money for his career, Charles also thought about running to the gold rush first, but after careful consideration, he gave up this idea-the West at that time was a well-known chaos, and he didn't want to abandon everything and run to gamble his life.

Now that he has become so successful, he has no time to think about such things - all his businesses are now in the Old World, and it takes a lot of energy to run these businesses well, so how can he have time to care about the New World?

Besides, in this world, what business can make more money than manipulating politics and countries?

However, just because he doesn't think so doesn't mean that ambitious financiers won't think so. Baron de Bovan seems to be very interested in this.

"Do you want to send people to pan for gold?" Driven by curiosity, Charles asked softly, "I did hear that there are rich gold mines there, and it is not difficult to mine."

"Yes, I have sent an exploration team to look there," the baron nodded, "If nothing goes wrong, they should have good news next year. I want to set up a mining company there to specialize in gold mining..."

"This is a good idea," Charles nodded first, and then he expressed his doubts, "However, we all know that the United States has a serious protectionist tendency. If you intervene, it will easily cause resentment in the business community. And the people there are fierce and shoot and kill people at any time..."

"Of course I won't go there alone," the baron smiled cunningly, "I will find agents there and let them act as white gloves to deal with those congressmen. As for ordinary people, it's scary! When have I ever been afraid of poor people? No matter how many knives and guns they have, can they compare with me? At most, I will spend 10 million to wipe them out!"

After a pause, he laughed again, "Don't you understand? What you can earn from gold mines is not just gold money. After I established this company, I can earn money in France, Europe, and all over the world. Is it true that I alone have the final say in the world’s sales of my stocks? The amount of gold produced is not determined by me. Who can find out? As long as I have this gimmick, I can do it. Complete If we spend hundreds of millions of francs across Europe, and then throw this money anywhere, we can make a fortune! You know, as long as a person has the brains, courage, and execution ability, then he can make a fortune! The money you make on paper is much more than what you can earn from real money... Digging for gold requires exhausting strength and luck, but poaching people is much easier. As long as you are willing to use your brain, there are many people who are willing to be generous to you. Unpack!"

Did he mean "let's make a fortune"? Did he want to drag me into it?

Baron de Beauvain's great ambitions did not completely go to Charles's head, and he would not be easily fooled. At least, he still remembered how much trouble the "Lorraine Iron Mine" project had caused the Treville family.

However, with my current status, he wouldn't lie to me just because he wants to? Ciel thought.

At least, on the surface, this plan was very profitable, and Ciel didn't see anything wrong with it. In the 19th century, many people did this and made a lot of money. He continued to observe the Baron calmly.

The baron's spirit seemed to be very high now, and his plump, round face was incredibly red, as if it was shining with the luster of gold. The sparkle in his eyes was that of pure joy, like that of a scientist presenting the results of his research. His entire life value is reflected in these vicious or grand business plans.

"But... Mr. Treville, I don't think that's enough." He took another sip of coffee and calmed down. "I have another idea, a bigger plan. This plan can only be made by real people." Smart and strong people to execute, and you, I think, are a great fit.”

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

Ciel's heart skipped a beat.

"Can you explain it to me in detail?" He looked at the Baron.

The baron drank the coffee in his hand, and then motioned for his daughter to get another cup.

"The situation is already obvious. With the continuous exploration of gold mines in America, a large amount of gold will flood into the market, which will inevitably impact the price of gold. In addition to my mining company, I will also acquire a large amount of gold. , when the time is right, I will devote myself to Put the market in the market, and then push the price of gold sharply down... Those who are looking for gold in the West cannot last long in the face of this trend. It won't take much effort, and they will have to sell the gold they have at our price. The whole thing is sold out, which is the same as stock speculation.”

After Laura refilled the coffee, the Baron took another sip and then continued.

"When the price of gold falls to a suitable level, I can make large purchases, and then..." He smiled slyly, "You also know that the currencies of each of our countries are linked to gold, and no one can afford it. When the price of gold fluctuates significantly, the Banque de France will take the lead with other European banks to purchase gold and bring the price back up. Stabilize it. When the time comes, we will slowly throw out the gold in our hands and let these central banks fill the hole for us. You see, as long as we have patience, brains, and repeated operations, those who are like groundhogs will be there. The tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of people crawling around in the American wilderness will all be our lovely laborers, even though we don’t have to pay them a penny of salary..."

After hearing Baron Bowen's plan, Charles's heart beat wildly.

This guy is really awesome!

"How can we ensure that the Bank of France can move at the pace you want?" After thinking for a moment, Charles raised his own question, "It is very important to grasp the timing, and there can be no mistakes."

"Hahahaha..." Baron Bowang suddenly laughed.

He laughed for a moment before answering.

“The Banque de France has to do this because we want it to do this, do you understand?”

Then he stretched out his hand.

"Charles, I want to be the president of the Bank of France. Please help me do this." (To be continued...)