Palais Royal

Napoleon III asked with disbelief: "Auvergne, are you sure that the Viennese government is really willing to join us in leading the canal project, and not deliberately trying to cause trouble?" ”

Foreign Minister Auvergne replied affirmatively: "Your Majesty, the Viennese government should be sincere, and they are willing to pay for the construction of the Grand Canal with us.

No one will joke with tens of millions of francs, as long as they have invested money in the Canal Company, they will support us for their own benefit.

It was only the Austrians, who had always been conservative, fearing that according to our plan, the final navigable volume would not be sufficient to meet the demand, so they demanded a four-metre depth of the canal's design. ”

Napoleon III rubbed his forehead and asked: "I remember that the Canal Company was designed to a depth of nine meters, and the largest ships in the world were free to navigate, and the Austrians were not enough?"

Don't they know that every meter added adds a huge investment? An increase of four meters now means that the budget will be significantly higher. ”

The Suez Canal is planned to cost 200 million francs, a figure that is already challenging investors' affordability. Before the canal opened, no one knew that this golden waterway would be so profitable.

Now most people don't think that the Suez Canal can be profitable, after all, there are free shipping lanes to travel, and the Suez Canal can't be too expensive.

With such a high investment, no one can guarantee how long it will take to pay for itself. Capitalists naturally do not have much interest in such long-term investments and projects with uncertain returns.

"We have communicated this issue to the Vienna government many times," Auvergne explains. However, they are more concerned about strategic value, which has something to do with the appearance of ironclad ships.

The Vienna government believes that the tonnage of ships is about to rise sharply, and the newly established Royal Shipyard in Austria is already building 10,000-ton freighters.

It is said that there were designers who raised the design of the tonnage of the ship to 20,000 tons. The Vienna government believes that the mainstream ships of the future will exceed 20,000 tons, and technically speaking, it is no longer a big problem.

The Vienna government believed that the tonnage of warships would also increase significantly, and that the strategic value of the canal would no longer exist if the investment was saved now and the future navigation volume would be insufficient. ”

Napoleon III fell into deep thought, the arrival of ironclad ships, the keel that limited the size of the ship was no longer a problem, and theoretically a large increase in the tonnage of the ship was inevitable.

But the bigger the boat is not always better, and the market demand must also be taken into account. The million-ton giant ships of later generations were useless in this era, and there were not so many goods to load into them.

However, the 10,000-ton giant ship is already competitive in this period, at least Austria needs this kind of big guy for exporting agricultural products.

Admiral Dicko said: "Your Majesty, from a strategic point of view, the navigable volume of the Suez Canal is indeed as large as possible.

If Austria joins, the funds for the construction of the Grand Canal will be split between the two of us, and the problem is not too big. Even if the private sector can't raise it, we can take a stake in the government. ”

There is no doubt that the strategic value of the Paris government's planning of the Suez Canal also outweighs the economic value, otherwise they would not have invested in it at all.

After hesitating for a moment, Napoleon III said arrogantly: "Add it, add it, since the Austrians dare to invest so much, we have no reason to be afraid!" ”

The strategic vision of the French in this era was really not bad, and they were the first to build the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal, but unfortunately they were not able to hold it.

……

On May 10, 1858, France and Austria signed the Suez Canal Cooperation Agreement. Under the terms of the treaty, the two countries each contributed half of the construction of the Grand Canal, with the French holding 51 percent of the shares and Austria 49 percent of the shares.

There is nothing to say about this, for the Suez Canal France has invested a lot in the early stage, and dominance is inevitable.

With the change in design, the budget for the canal was also raised to 340 million francs. Franz was dismissive of this staggering figure, not to mention 340 million francs, even 540 million francs was not necessarily enough.

Of course, there is free labor, but the construction cost is still saved by half, and Franz is not clear how much the final cost will be.

After all, now that the two countries are joining forces, they will not be forced to abandon the use of slave labor in the later stage because of the destruction carried out by the British, which will greatly increase the construction cost.

Looking at the agreement in his hand, Franz smiled and said: "Urge the French to start work as soon as possible." ”

Now that it has joined the canal plan, it is naturally impossible to grind like the French in history, and it took more than ten years to dig the Grand Canal.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Metternich replied

Chancellor of the Exchequer Karl asked: "Your Majesty, are we following the example of the French in the investment of the Canal Company and raising shares in the capital market?" ”

The Suez Canal is a surefire investment, but only a few people can see it.

In the eyes of most people, this is a long-term investment with unknown returns, and it is not so favored in the capital markets.

Historically, the Suez Canal was halted due to lack of funding. If it weren't for the support of the French government, the canal company would have gone bankrupt before the canal could have been dug up.

Franz, who is accustomed to making a fortune in a muffled voice, naturally does not shout that the whole world knows that others are unwilling to invest, and he just picks up the cheap.

Considering the dangers of eating alone, Franz decided to let the government take the lead, otherwise the future wealth will go into the pockets of the royal family, which will easily cause criticism.

"The economic crisis has not yet passed, and the market's ability to withstand it is limited. Half of the government subscribes, and the rest of the shares are put into circulation. ”

There is no doubt that all the shares in circulation have only the right to dividends, and the voting rights are still in the hands of the governments of Vienna and Paris.

A turning point has occurred in history, and the Suez Canal, which was originally dominated by private capital, is now full of strong political connotations.

London

The joint excavation of the Suez Canal by France and Austria has had a huge impact on the British government's railway plans, after all, the cost of water transport is lower.

Once the Suez Canal was opened, the geographical advantage of the British would decline, and France and Austria would have closer access to the Indian Ocean than the British Isles.

Prime Minister Granville was not only worried about the Grand Canal, but also about the improvement of relations between France and Austria, which made the London government uncomfortable.

Unlike in history, the Russians have not yet lost their hegemony on the European continent, and both France and Austria are still only potential rivals, not to the point of direct competition for hegemony.

Without sufficient benefits, the two governments will naturally restrain each other. Austria is now much stronger than it was in history, having suffered a loss in the war in the Near East, and the French have become cautious.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the warming of relations between France and Austria has had a huge impact on our strategy of balancing the European continent, what do you think?"

Chancellor of the Exchequer John Russell said: "Your Excellency Prime Minister, you are too sensitive.

France and Austria have cooperated on the issue of the Suez Canal, but there are still many conflicts elsewhere, and it is unlikely that the two countries will really join forces. ”

There is indeed a conflict between France and Austria, and the hegemony of the European continent is not to mention for the time being, and the two sides have clashed many times on the issue of African colonies alone.

It's just that this kind of skirmish, which existed between almost all colonial empires, did not rise to the point of hostility between the two countries.

Foreign Secretary Thomas explained: "Under the Vienna system, Franco-Austrian relations have been very good for the past few decades.

It was only after the February Revolution that relations between the two countries gradually cooled. Relations between the two countries broke down in the War of German Unification, and now they are together again because of common interests.

However, this will not affect our interests, as long as France and Austria have the ambition to dominate the European continent, the relationship between the two countries will break down sooner or later.

Even if the Russian-Austrian alliance, which is now close, will sooner or later part ways on the issue of continental hegemony, I do not believe that the Vienna government has no ambitions. ”

This is a real problem, and allies are unreliable in the face of interests. Unless the balance of power of all countries is maintained, sooner or later it will lead to confrontation.