No one can resist the temptation of gold, and since Baron Fikney's discovery of the first gold mine, God seems to have opened the door, and large and small gold mines have been discovered one after another.

The scope has long been not limited to Guinea, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali and other regions, gold mines have been discovered.

Even the most conservative aristocracy in Germany couldn't help it, and sent their family children to organize overseas expansion groups to compete for this fat cake.

Vienna Palace

López, president of the German Regional Cultural Exchange Association, said: "Your Majesty, many German nobles have expressed their goodwill to us recently, hoping to join in the battle for gold mines. ”

The German Regional Cultural Exchange Association was established by Franz after the Paris Conference, and its main purpose was to continue to resist the banner of reunification.

There is a very good market for young people, literary and artistic circles, and educational circles in the German region, and through the connection of this organization, the Vienna government organizes cultural exchange meetings in the German region every year.

Not only the new Holy Roman Empire, the Federal German Empire, and the Kingdom of Prussia participated, but in fact independent countries such as Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

The meeting was also held in rotation between the states of the German region, and the funds were nominally from private donations, but in fact most of them were allocated by the Vienna government.

The nobility of the German region proposed by López will naturally not be the nobility within the new Holy Roman Empire, these families are interested in it, and they have already joined in, and more are from other regions.

"Anyone who agrees with German culture can join, whether it is an aristocratic or a civil organization or an individual, and you can spread the word about it.

The land we have expanded on the African continent has opened up space not just for the new Holy Roman Empire, but for the entire Germanic peoples.

We welcome every compatriot to join us and contribute to the construction of our second home.

The Vienna government is working on a bill to encourage emigration, and all immigrants from the German region will enjoy the best possible conditions. ”

Franz was still worried that there would not be enough immigrants, so how could he refuse them to join?

In this era, the nobles went to pan for gold, but they didn't just go into battle single-handedly, and if they didn't organize an armed team, even if they found gold mines on the African continent, you couldn't defend it.

Serfdom in Germany had only recently been abolished, and the influence of the aristocracy had not yet dissipated, and it was much more effective for them to organize armed emigration than government propaganda.

As long as the people were fooled, Franz was not afraid of them leaving. The big deal is the distribution of land, which is not tempting for the capitalists, and it is not the same for the poor jingle ordinary immigrants.

Is a farm afraid that it won't be able to keep people? Anyway, there is not much else on the African continent, but there are many borderlands. Logging is done to sell wood, and then a farm is planted.

If you fool one, you will fool one. People who can't eat enough in their own country suddenly have a farm of their own, are you afraid that they will not emigrate?

Although the conditions in the United States are better, it is also full of uncertainties, and many people may not be able to achieve it by fighting for a lifetime to get a farm of their own.

The continent is much better, and Franz the Great has land distribution. The prerequisite is to defeat the local disease, and the personal risk factor is high.

In order to increase the number of immigrants, Franz had to mobilize everyone's patriotic enthusiasm and build a second home, which was the slogan of the government's immigration propaganda.

……

Guinea

The Royal Bank has been on the African continent for more than a year, and since the colonial stronghold was stabilized, the Royal Bank opened a branch here, and was the first bank to enter the Austrian colony.

Now there's another business, lending to underfunded mine owners. The development of gold mines also requires a lot of investment, and most of the gold diggers cannot come up with this money, so the need for loans appears.

While everyone was running to find gold, Franz didn't follow suit. He knew very well that people looking for gold mines would not necessarily make money, but they would certainly make money doing logistics services.

The outbreaks who have just discovered the gold mine are the bank's most high-quality customers, and they have gold mineral rights as collateral, so they don't have to worry about their ability to repay at all.

……

The bank account manager, Tedis, said with a smile: "Your Excellency, this is already the most generous loan condition.

If you don't believe me, you can go out and ask if there is a lower interest rate in the Newbrook area than Royal Bank. ”

Baron Fickney shrugged his shoulders and said, "Mr. Tedis, there is only one bank in the whole of New Brook, such as the Royal Bank, where do you ask me to inquire?"

If there is still a financing channel outside, it must be the loan sharks of the underworld. You can't learn from them, it would be detrimental to the glorious image of His Majesty the Great Franz! ”

Baron Fickney also knew that he had little room for bargaining, and that there was only one bank in the entire Austrian African colony, and it was impossible for him to go back to his homeland to raise money.

When it comes to developing gold mines, time is of the essence. The sooner you develop, the sooner you can dig out the gold and make a profit the sooner.

He has not forgotten that he still has a lot of debts in his homeland, and the collateral is a family fief, although the income from the land is not high, he does not want to become a loser in the eyes of people and lose his ancestral business.

Tedis said without changing his face: "Your Excellency, you are so humorous. Is there any doubt about the credibility of the Royal Bank?

You should be aware that the cost of operating a bank on the continent is much higher than it is at home. Now Newbrook is in ruins, and we basically don't have any business.

Now the interest is a little higher than the local one, mainly amortized on the operating costs, and when the economy of New Brook enters the regular in the future, our customer base grows, this interest will naturally come down. ”

Baron Fickney said helplessly: "Mr. Tedis, but the interest on your loan is not a little high, the monthly interest rate of 1.5 percent, which is three times higher than the interest rate of the domestic loan.

Even the riskiest business loan interest is nothing more than that. I've taken out some of the gold mine as collateral, so you don't have to worry about default. ”

Tedis shook his head and said, "Baron Fikney, the account can't be counted like this. This is the African continent, and the risks are always there.

The threat of the indigenous tribes to the gold mines, the threat of diseases in various countries, although your gold reserves are good, but the development environment is not good, and accidents may occur at any time.

When the worst happens, we lose all our money.

Royal Bank is a humane bank, and if you are unable to perform due to force majeure, we will simply take away the collateral and will not hold you personally liable.

In fact, we've taken the risk off your shoulder. At that point, the property rights to the gold mine will be worthless.

In addition, if you encounter some trouble in the process of mining the mine, the Royal Bank will also block the pressure from the outside world for you, and if you give up this service, then the interest is not negotiable. ”

The last one is Baron Fikney's most tempting, pulling the Royal Bank into the market, which can block the peeping eyes of hungry wolves.

As for whether it will be swallowed by the Royal Bank, he is not worried at all. A gold mine is not worth it, and the Royal Bank has built on its own credibility.

After hesitating for a moment, Baron Fickney said, "I can pay in gold, and I can always get a certain discount, right?" ”

Tedis replied with a smile: "Of course, we can settle at a ninety-eighty discount on the price of gold in the international market, which is already the biggest discount."

I can guarantee that in the future, the price of gold in New Brook will not exceed 95% of the international gold market, which is the general situation in all gold sources. ”

After pondering for a while, Baron Fikni, who felt that the price was not bad, did not hesitate any longer, and directly picked up the pen and signed the contract.

After the deal was completed, Tedis continued to sell: "Baron Fikney, I think you still need machinery and equipment for mining, which is available in New Brook.

We have cooperation with the Austrian Machinery Group, if you haven't bought it yet, you can go and have a look, the quality is definitely not worse than any similar products. ”

Baron Fickney replied politely: "Thank you, the name of the Austrian Machinery Group, I have heard of it in China." I'm happy to work with them as long as the price is right. ”

The relationship between the Royal Bank and the Austrian Machinery Group, Baron Fickney has no interest in caring. How the big man makes money is not something he can consider.

However, now he does need machinery and equipment, and it is simply impossible to arrive in a few months from the domestic order.

As long as the price is not too perverted, he will accept it. The profits from the gold mine were enough to wipe out all this investment, and all he lacked was time.

……

After a large number of gold mines were discovered, the gold rush broke out. After 1856, the situation was out of the control of the Vienna government, and the British, French, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, and American all joined the gold rush.

Gold prospectors come from all over the world almost every day, and in just one year, Guinea's Golden Bay has grown by nearly 200,000 people.

This number is just the beginning, and there are many more people coming from all over the world, and the conflicts between migrants and even the disputes between governments have increased.

Especially in Ghana, the power of the great powers is intricate, and the gold mines found are also the most, which has become the focus of the conflict between the power of various countries.

Austria was the first to act, undoubtedly having an advantage, at least in the number of immigrants.

At this time, propaganda came into play, and the voice of the Federal Empire of Germany and the Kingdom of Prussia in this round of competition was too low, and most of the German immigrants gathered under the banner of the new Holy Roman Empire.

Combined with the local immigrants in the early stage, the total population of the new Holy Roman Empire's Golden Bay Colony in Guinea exceeded 200,000 at this time, exceeding the total number of gold prospectors from all over the world.

There is nothing wrong with the saying that there is a lot of strength in numbers, at least when it comes to finding gold mines, they have an advantage and occupy a large number of gold mines first.

In response to the colonial strife, Franz appointed governor of the Gulf of Guinea, included all gold prospectors from Germany in reserve, and added an infantry division to the country.

It can be said that Franz could mobilize 100,000 troops at the first order, which was enough to sweep away all the colonies of various countries in this region.

Austria had the advantage on land, Britain and France had the advantage at sea, and Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands, although they were not strong enough, did not occupy a large share of interests.

How to handle relations between countries has become the primary task of all countries concerned. It is impossible to monopolize alone, and no one is capable of dealing with so many enemies.

Moreover, the benefits of the gold mines seem very attractive, because of the mining technology, the region can extract a maximum of 180 tons of gold a year, and the profit left after the cost is obviously not enough to cover the war effort.