His Excellency the Count of Grandet

May in Paris is almost the most beautiful time of the year.The sky is light blue, the wind is soft, and flowers of various colors are blooming one after another. The gorgeous and delicate dresses of ladies and ladies are even more eye-catching. It is worthy of its name as a romantic city.

But such beauty is not for everyone.At least in the eyes of the Earl of Liverpool, who had just crossed the English Channel, all he could think of was one thing that had nothing to do with the scenery——

Has the great French entrepreneur who is said to have begun preparations for a steamboat factory returned to Paris?

God bless the king, they must succeed this time!

There is naturally a reason why Shire can make the leader of the British House of Lords and the first chancellor of the exchequer so concerned.Leaving aside the problems of science and technology, the economic situation in the UK is enough for the Prime Minister and his cabinet members to have a headache——

We have already mentioned the issue of workers' strikes, and now we must add the peasants.In recent years, the grain harvest has been bumper and the price of grain has dropped. Farmers quit their jobs, and there must be a protective price.

The prime minister himself is actually a free trader, but there is nothing he can do when there is a disturbance. He can only weigh the parliament to discuss the new corn law, and look at importing less wheat, and deal with it.

Because the most troublesome problem is not this, but the government's financial crisis.

In the Napoleonic Wars and the Anglo-American Wars in previous years, military expenditures were very large.Most of the money here comes from national debt; in order to sell them smoothly, the predecessor and the previous cabinet set a fairly high interest rate.

By the time the Earl of Liverpool took over as Prime Minister, it had become a huge mess—

Debt repayment and annuity, these two together cost a lot of government revenue; the remaining income is not enough to maintain daily expenses, so we can only continue to borrow money, a vicious circle.

If you want to get rid of this situation, you can only find ways to increase income. The most direct way is to increase the tax rate.But the disadvantages of this method are obvious: capitalists earn less money, workers get less wages, and then there are predictable riots and assassinations——

Yes, the Prime Minister himself was ambushed in the street with members of his cabinet just last year, luckily no one was hurt.

In this case, we can only use "fortunately", and the Prime Minister himself is very helpless.He wanted to be tough, but he didn't have enough capital, so he could only make peace between various forces——

How can you stop everyone without money?Just relying on his prime minister's lip service?It's impossible!

It’s really hard to be a prime minister these days: with a heart that’s like selling white powder, with only enough money to buy cabbage, on the way home, you have to be careful where a knife or pistol that will kill you pops out——

Life is simply impossible!

When thinking of this, the prime minister couldn't help but sighed deeply.He had been to Paris when he was young, just in time to witness the fall of the Bastille; at that time he still felt that the future of France was uncertain, but now he came again, but he came again in order to obtain a solution to the high debt of the British government from France, which had experienced social turmoil. The way of the situation...

The Prime Minister could not help but sigh again.Considering that a surplus in foreign trade can also increase revenue for the government, he hopes that his trip will be worthwhile!

This situation is obviously not good for the British.And even if they kept silent about the exact truth, the French felt it vaguely.

"The current balance of victory is tilted towards us; you must not let go!"

Before the formal meeting between the two parties, Duke Decaz, who had returned to Paris from London, reminded Victor privately.It has been more than a year since he stepped down from the position of prime minister, and the changes during the period have finally given him enough confidence in what he is doing, and he no longer seems so timid and indecisive.

In addition, although the Duke of Richelieu presided over the meeting, France is not like the United Kingdom, where the prime minister is also the chancellor of the exchequer as a rule, and the current chancellor of the exchequer is not courageous, and it is Victor who decides in the end.

"I think you should consider another situation," the Duke of Richelieu who was listening laughed, "Don't you think that Lafitte is synonymous with toughness? If you say that now, you should be more worried about the British Get scared away!"

Because both François and Victor are staunch defenders of French interests, and they will never compromise with the outside world—especially some foreigners with ulterior motives—as can be seen from their insistence on their gold standard system.

"I can't agree to that." Victor heard that Duke Richelieu did not mean "tough" seriously, but he still expressed his attitude directly: "You see, if we are not optimistic about our family, it is time to go abroad to borrow money That's us!"

Several people nodded together, feeling a little concerned.

Britain is considered a veteran world hegemon, known as the empire on which the sun never sets.On the one hand, a huge colony can bring extremely considerable income; on the other hand, once the colony strives for independence, the troubles begin.Isn't the United States a typical example?If Napoleon had not sold Louisiana a few years ago, France might have fallen into the same quagmire!

War and military expenditures are the fastest way to consume a country's financial resources; moreover, what happened in the United States is no accident, and the current trend of the world is against slavery and colonization.This also means that the British are sending more and more troops overseas, which is another big expense.

The big end must be broken, and the tail must not be dropped - the British are perfectly interpreting this sentence.Relying on plundering various resources from other people's homes to supply one's own development can achieve quick results in a short period of time, but it is by no means a long-term solution.

"If they don't plan to change their usual way of making money, sooner or later..." Charles started, but stopped halfway.

He felt that the British would suffer their own consequences if they went on like this. He also felt that the British were more like international bandits, and their ideas and practices were too rough. Looking back now, when they went to the United States, the suspicion and hostility that the other party had at the beginning must also have something. Partly based on the shadow left by the British before——

Who is willing to do unequal transactions?

Of course, looting is costless, but how much can the combined cost of raw materials and manpower be?It can't compare to the huge profits brought by technological upgrading!

He thought so, but why did he say it?What a waste of saliva - he will let those people know that facts speak louder than words!

This half-sentence made everyone else turn to Ciel.The Duke of Richelieu was particularly attentive, and it took a while before he said: "Come, my dear gentlemen; take up the spears and sound the horns, there is a tough battle ahead of us!"

So far, Charles has not tried to get a job in parliament or the cabinet.It's one thing for him to be busy, it's another for him not to have much interest.However, compared to when he was in Washington, he is now a nobleman entrusted by the king, and has a real identity that can be put on the table.At the same time, he has also made a name for himself in the industry, and he will not be able to escape the official appearance of this meeting.

As a result, the people on both sides sat down at the long conference table, and finally the names and faces of the British people, from the prime minister to the recorder, were all shocked——

I heard that the young Earl Grandet has not yet passed his 24th birthday, but is he too young? !

I have to say that Charles has such a good appearance that he is always very pleasing to the eye.And if this feeling is just the first impression, after the meeting is over and further exchanges in the following salon, the villain in the prime minister's heart will start biting his handkerchief and beeping - it's not fair!If he had someone like Charles in his cabinet, how much easier would he be as the first chancellor of the exchequer?

The fiscal crisis was so obvious and serious that most of the accompanying British officials felt it too.As for the remaining few, the idea has already been elsewhere.

The most typical is of course James.He is the youngest of the five brothers in his family. Now that he welcomes the third brother Nathan who arrived with the prime minister, he finally feels that he has enough confidence.The British mission's itinerary was to stay in Paris for a few days before leaving for eastern France. They just had time to discuss countermeasures.

The Rothschild family has just come to James and Nathan's second generation, but some signs of family training have already emerged.For example, "Once the money starts ringing, the bad things stop abruptly," or, "I get on my knees, just to jump higher."The meaning of the former sentence is nothing more than money can turn ghosts; and the latter sentence, to put it bluntly, they have no bottom line to flatter anyone, in order to get more benefits from that person in the future-their father Meyer, precisely because he chose the Duke of Hesse as his allegiance, managed to make a fortune.

That being said, there are not many people who can meet the standard of a Rothschild kneeling down.Looking at the UK, you can count such people on two hands, and most of them are important people like the Duke of Wellington who hold real power in the military and politics.The factory was not the main investment area of ​​the Rothschild family, and no one in this area had attracted their attention before.As for now...

"Do you think it's worth moving here, brother?" James asked Nathan on the night of the meeting.

Although Charles had been to London before, if he thought about it, it was impossible for Nathan to notice an ordinary Frenchman at that time.In other words, he had just met Charles, and he really didn't feel that he had enough information to make a correct judgment.

At this time, while thinking about his brother's French bond business, which had not made any progress, he considered the possibility of switching to textile, railway and shipbuilding industries, and felt that it was indeed a bit troublesome.Shire and their business philosophy are very different, and what's worse...

"I heard that Mr. Grandet is on good terms with Mr. Lafitte?" Nathan asked their most troublesome question.Although the Rothschilds firmly believe in the power of money, it is always more troublesome to win over a person with different ideas.

James knew he didn't need to answer, because it wasn't a question, it was an affirmation. "If we can't start in both industry and finance, we won't be able to get the expected benefits in Paris." The voice behind these words lowered, showing that he was quite ashamed.

Nathan finally looked up.He glanced at his younger brother's receding hairline, and couldn't blame him. "We'll make the final decision after we've been to Eperna and Chalon!"