Holy Roman Empire

The Russian Empire was originally a major food exporter. If it continued to increase its production capacity, it would definitely not be consumed internally, and exporting became the only option.

From the very beginning, the tsarist government was ready to bring down food prices in Europe.Countries can dump industrial products on them, and they can reverse dump agricultural products.

It would be great if we could monopolize the food supply of the continent.To achieve this step, the grain of the Russian Empire must first be shipped out.

The railway is an indispensable link. If the traffic problem cannot be solved, the plan will always remain on paper.

No one objected to Alexander II's plan. Compared with the great plan, it was more important to get through the immediate difficulties.

As long as it survives the first year and the output on the land can guarantee the basic livelihood of the people, then it will be easy to solve later.

In this day and age, Russian peasants are easy to feed, and they have just changed from serfs to free people. As long as they can fill their stomachs, they dare not have other demands.

As long as the most critical moment is passed, the following problems will be easy to handle.

On July 1869, 7, the Tsarist government issued a note to major creditors, announcing that the Russian Empire was financially bankrupt and unable to continue to pay its debts.

The European world was in an uproar. In recent years, no European country has defaulted on its debts. This has given the public the illusion that the morality of governments has improved.

The Russians have now broken everyone's illusions. If there is no default, it means that everyone's financial situation is good, and there is no time to default.

If you really have no money, then you have to renege on your debts.Anyway, if you want money or not, you will not give it, and everyone can figure out the rest!

Except for the creditors, the European people have become melon-eating people, turning their attention to Vienna, and the expression of gloating is beyond words.

Austria has developed very well recently, which naturally makes many people jealous.As the biggest creditor of the Russians, many people are now watching Austrian jokes.

You know, now the Russians have to pay the principal and interest of 306.84 million Aegis every month, which is 3682.08 million Aegis every year.

This astronomical figure is enough to destroy the Russia-Austria alliance.No matter how good the relationship is, it cannot withstand the destruction of interests.

Franz was not as panicked as the outside world imagined. As early as when he refused to provide loans to the Tsarist government, he was prepared for the Russians to renege on their debts.

No, it should be said that earlier, there was this mental preparation.After all, the financial situation of the tsarist government has always been poor, and it is not easy to support it until now.

No matter how well prepared, aftermath work must be done.Most of these loans were guaranteed by the Vienna government, otherwise few banks would dare to accept the order.

In addition to the problem, the Vienna government also needs to take responsibility.Fortunately, most of the loans are secured, and now the job of the Vienna government is to urge the Russians to secure the collateral.

Prime Minister Felix frowned and reported: "Your Majesty, we have made a preliminary estimate for the signed contract. Even if the Russians fulfill the mortgage, we will also bear the compensation of 3800 million Aegis within the scope of the guarantee.

This money cannot be directly borne by us, the Russians must be held accountable for it.Now that there is no money in the finances, let them postpone the repayment. The tsarist government cannot go bankrupt forever. "

Franz nodded, he can ignore other people's debts, but his own debts will always be recovered.Even if there is no money, the tsarist government must first admit it, otherwise the Vienna government will find it difficult to explain to the people.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs communicated with the Russians and urged them to fulfill the contract. If they are unable to repay the debt, payment can be postponed."

It is the uncle who owes the money, and the current tsarist government is this uncle.

It is impossible to collect debts by force, and this amount of money is simply not enough for military expenses.Unlike Mexico, who is easy to bully, Mao Xiong still has strength.

Just because the tsarist government has no money does not mean that the tsarist nobles also have no money. Hundreds of years of accumulation can support a war no matter what.

The aristocracy and the tsarist government were both damaged and prosperous. When foreign enemies invaded, they would soon be like a family.

The Russians have many creditors. Based on the principle of bullying the weak and fearing the strong, it is estimated that the debts of small countries will be defaulted, and the debts of large countries are generally deferred.

The deferred payment of debts is also divided into three grades. Those guaranteed by the governments of various countries must be repaid first. Private commercial loans without government guarantees are mostly repaid if they can be repaid, and postponed if they cannot be repaid.

After picking and picking, the Russians reduced their foreign debts by at least [-] million Aegis in this renegotiation.If the tsarist government was strong enough, maybe there would be more.

To Franz's relief, the Russians had already repaid the foreign debts during the Near East War. Not to mention the interest income, at least the principal was returned.

The debts incurred during the Russo-Prussian War, of course, have not been recovered.The bank with the strongest business ability can recover at most [-] to [-]% of the cost.

The Austrian government has no losses, and most of the loans have additional conditions. Through the trade between the two countries over the years, the economic development has been driven, and the increased taxation is enough to make up for the losses.

Financial institutions are different. If the Vienna government provides a guarantee, then it will be easy to handle. Even if the Russians default, the Vienna government will be responsible for ensuring the safety of the principal.

Without a secured business loan, you're in big trouble.The financial institution is responsible for this kind of loan.

Philippot is such an unlucky guy. He is not a banker, but just the boss of a securities company.

Because of the high rebates given by the Russians, he sold a batch of bonds on behalf of the tsarist government. Now that the Russians have declared financial bankruptcy, according to Austrian law, his securities company will bear joint and several liabilities.

A middle-aged fat man hurried over and said, "Mr. Philippot, the news of the Russians declaring bankruptcy must have spread, and now the people outside are asking us to pay the bonds in advance."

Austria's securities management system in this era can be called brutal. Securities companies issue bonds on their behalf and must be responsible for the people who buy bonds.

Simply put, the right to review bonds is in the hands of securities companies.This is not just a good thing, since you have obtained the right to review, you also have to bear the corresponding responsibilities.

For example: guarantee that the bond can be dealt with normally, explain the risks to the people who buy the bond in advance, and if there is a default, the securities company needs to bear certain compensation responsibilities.

This compensation standard is jointly determined by the securities company and the government.The standard set by the government is no less than 50.00% of the principal, and securities companies often set a high standard in order to attract business.

There are not one or two securities companies in Austria that claim to be capital-guaranteed, and Philippot's securities company happens to be one of them.

According to the promise, now that the Russians have defaulted on their debts and are unable to pay the bonds normally, Philippot's securities company will repay the principal on their behalf.

The promises made by oneself must be fulfilled.Philippo regretted it now. The commission given by the Russians was as high as 15%.

Philippot asked with concern: "Berg, how much money do we still have in our accounts?"

It is impossible to run away, and the police have already spotted him.If he ran away, he would probably be arrested if he could not leave Austria.

Finding ways to deal with the aftermath is the kingly way, and losing money is a must.It is obviously impossible to sell these bonds at a fair price now, but after the discount, some people may dare to take the order.

After all, this is a national bond issued by the Tsarist government. Even if it is bankrupt and unable to repay it now, the Russians may still buy it back if they want to rebuild their credibility in the future.

Ordinary people can't see that far, or wait that long.

Berg thought for a while and said: "There are a total of 389.46 million Aegis in the account, but after deducting the operating expenses of the securities company, only 356 million Aegis can be used.

Mr. Philippot, there are a lot of people outside asking for cash in advance, and the money may not be enough to pay. "

Philippot sighed and said: "I know, first send someone out to appease the people and tell them that we agree to pay in advance according to the contract.

I remember that there was an agreement in the original sales contract that we were indeed responsible for any force majeure that caused the bond to be unable to be settled normally.

However, this responsible time is after the bond matures.Now they require early payment, which is a breach of contract and needs to bear 20.00% liquidated damages. We only need to pay 80.00% of the principal.

After releasing the news, after three days, we began to pay the bonds in advance, only opened a window, increased the review steps, and delayed the time as much as possible.

I'm going to check the news and see if things turn around.It was impossible for the Vienna government to be unresponsive when something of this magnitude happened.

Don't worry, this matter cannot knock us down.The total number of Russian bonds issued by the company is more than 800 million. It is impossible for all the people to demand payment in advance!

You should also inquire to see if there is anyone in the market to buy Russian bonds. Even at a [-]% discount, we may accept it. "

The securities company's profits have always been huge. When Philippot founded the company ten years ago, he only invested less than 30 Aegis. Now the liquid capital alone is more than ten times that amount.

The profits and dividends he has withdrawn from the securities company over the years have also amounted to millions of Aegis. This crisis has caused him a lot of losses, but as long as he handles it properly, there is still hope for surviving this crisis.

Philippot had to rejoice that the Russians themselves had poor reputation, and their bonds were not popular in the market.Otherwise, if tens of millions of Aegis were sold at a time, he would have to go to the rooftop.

Of course, if he could sell tens of millions of Aegis, he would not be able to do this business.

Austria's laws are no joke. The government will interfere with the issuance of bonds that exceed its carrying capacity.

Otherwise, registering a leather bag securities company, issuing bonds in the market to make money, and running away with the money and declaring bankruptcy after selling out, wouldn’t it be possible to make a fortune quickly?

Obviously, this way of getting rich overnight has been clearly written in the law.

Unlike other companies, the bankruptcy of securities companies is the most stringent.Both management and shareholders are subject to strict scrutiny. Unless all operations are strictly in accordance with the regulations, basically no one can escape.

Strictly speaking, the bonds issued by Philippot for the Russians are considered to be sidelines.

There is no problem if there is no accident. Now that something happened, if the aftermath is not done as soon as possible, he will probably go to jail when the police intervene.

Chapter 23 混水摸鱼

Negotiations between Russia and Austria have already begun. Alexander II is not a reckless man, and his refusal is mainly due to lack of money, which does not mean that he is not aware of the consequences of losing credibility.

Even if you want to renege on the debt, you must minimize the impact as much as possible. One day in the future, the tsarist government will still have to re-establish its credibility.

The worse the impact is now, the harder it will be to clean up in the future.The grain of the Russian Empire still needs to be exported, and the relationship with European countries cannot completely deteriorate.

Otherwise, even if it is the price of cabbage in the future, people will not want it.At that time, it will be a tragedy. We must know that excess food production capacity can also lead to economic crisis.

The Russian Empire's own market alone does not have the strength to maintain an economic cycle.The era of playing by yourself behind closed doors has ended since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

Austria is not only the biggest creditor and part-time ally of the Russians, but also the most important link in the foreign relations of the Russians.

If you can't even handle Austria, then don't do the following work.In future activities on the European continent, the Russians will have nothing to do.

In this era, many people still think that Russia is an Asian country. After all, the seven continents are also divided artificially, and the dividing line between Asia and Europe has not been recognized by the world.

Most of the territory of the Russian Empire is in Asia, and the European part is only a little more than a quarter. It is not a big problem to say that they are Asian countries.

Of course, the Russians will not admit that they are an Asian country, even Franz will not admit that if the division is made according to the location of the country, he will become a "non-chief".

This title alone is very ugly, so it is scientific to use the location of the capital to divide which state the country belongs to, and it must not be divided according to the location of the main land area.

In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vienna, Weissenberg sent a note to the Russian minister to discuss the debt issue of Fao.

"Mr. Solace, your country's sudden declaration of financial bankruptcy may be a little too much! As far as I know, although your country's finances are in difficulty, it has not reached the point of immediate bankruptcy."

It's true that it's not going to go bankrupt immediately, it's just going to go bankrupt in a few months.After the civil war, the tsarist government had to pay more than half of its current fiscal revenue every year.

In this case, repudiation can be said to be inevitable.Of course, if the tsarist bureaucracy suddenly became clean and honest, it might be able to fill this hole.

Obviously, this is impossible.In this era, the bureaucrats of the governments of various countries are not so clean, and the so-called cleanliness of officials is only relative.

Compared with the Russians, the bureaucrats of European countries are considered clean.It's not that they are less corrupt and accepting bribes, it's just that they have evolved and know what money can be collected and what money can't be touched.

There are still very few fools who want money but don't want their lives.European countries basically have supervisory agencies, and bureaucrats who are restrained naturally perform better than bureaucrats who are not restrained.

Minister Solace cried very calmly and said: "Your Excellency, you don't understand our suffering. Years of continuous wars have caused a devastating blow to our domestic economy.

To tell you the truth, this year's fiscal revenue may be less than 2 million rubles, and it will return to 20 years ago.

However, the debt that needs to be repaid every year is as high as 1.2 million rubles, and the remaining money is simply not enough to maintain the operation of the government.

From the outbreak of the Russo-Prussian War to the present, our annual fiscal deficit has exceeded our fiscal revenue. Please read the detailed information here. "

Looking at the thick document, Weissenberg didn't reach out to pick it up.These were all open secrets, the vienna government was well aware of the dire financial situation of the tsarist government.

The current fiscal revenue is less than 2 million rubles, which is also normal.After losing so much land and smashing the Moscow region, it is only a problem if the fiscal revenue does not decrease.

"Mr. Solace, today we are not discussing your country's financial issues. You should report this issue to your country's Ministry of Finance, and they are the ones in charge.

The purpose of our meeting today is only to discuss the debt issue between the two countries.Repayment of debts is approved by God, and your country must give a clear answer. "

Solace didn't feel depressed when he failed to take a side topic.You can fool the past for a while, but you can't fool the whole life.Such a large debt cannot be settled just by talking about it.

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency. In our current financial situation, we cannot continue to pay our debts. We request an extension of payment.

This deadline is tentatively set at five years later, and we hope to be able to waive loan interest and default damages, otherwise we will not be able to pay it back after five years. "

Repayment of the principal without interest, the total debt between Russia and Austria has been directly reduced by half, and the actual payment that the Russians need to pay has shrunk to less than one-third of the original.

This obviously exceeded the bottom line of the Vienna government. According to this standard, the Vienna government will lose money for the Russians.

Weisenberg shook his head and said seriously: "Sorry, Your Excellency, Minister, we cannot accept this condition.

We have provided guarantees for many loans from your government, otherwise you would not be able to get loans at such a low interest rate.

Now that you are defaulting on the contract, we need to bear this debt. As an ally, we can't cheat people like this.

We require that the contract be implemented, and the deferred payment of the loan can be negotiated.The loan interest we provide is already very favorable and cannot be further reduced. "

No one does business that loses money, and the Vienna government naturally cannot take advantage of it.The tsarist government did not want to declare bankruptcy because it was forced by reality, and Austria did not dare to follow suit.

……

Negotiations are still at a stalemate, and both parties want to strive for more benefits.This news is not a good thing for the Austrian financial community.

Especially securities companies that undertook Russian bonds in private, and banks that provided loans to Russians.This kind of private transnational debt has always been the most difficult to collect.

Originally, compared with commercial loans, the security of national debt is actually the highest, and under normal circumstances, few countries default on their debts.

It's a pity that I met the Russians. If I were to change to a small country, even if I had to renege on my debts, I would at most announce a suspension of payment, and then take the initiative to negotiate to postpone the debt.

Tragically now, the representatives of Russia are gone.If the tsarist government did not admit the existence of this debt, they would all suspect that they had been cheated.

Admitting is admitting, anyway, no money or no money.When to pay back the money, no one has given any answer to this question.

Their only hope is this Russia-Austria negotiation.If the Vienna government fails to deal with the Russians, then this debt is everyone's bad debt.

Who in finance does not have a few bad debts?If it weren't for the strict supervision of the Vienna government, they would have passed the losses to private investors long ago, and reopened with a different vest.

Unfortunately, the Austrian law is so strict that even if you get away with it.The law also stipulates that after the bankruptcy of any financial institution, all three generations of management and shareholders are prohibited from engaging in similar businesses.

This is very restrictive to the financial predators, and the trick of Jin Chan's escape from the shell will not work.When speculating, you must consider risks. If something goes wrong, you may be implicated behind the scenes.

Otherwise, starting with Russia's announcement of a default on its debt, it would have been a wave of bankruptcies for Austrian financial institutions.