Russian-Austrian negotiations have begun, Alexander II is not a reckless man, and the fact that he is not in debt mainly because of lack of money does not mean that he does not know the consequences of losing credibility.

Even if it is necessary to repay the debt, it must minimize the impact as much as possible, and the tsarist government will have to re-establish its credibility one day in the future.

The worse the impact is done now, the harder it will be to wash it down in the future. The Russian Empire still needed to export grain, and relations with the European countries could not be completely deteriorated.

Otherwise, even if it is the price of cabbage in the future, no one will want it. Then it will be a tragedy, knowing that overcapacity in food can also lead to an economic crisis.

The Russian Empire's own market alone did not have the strength to sustain an economic cycle. The era of playing behind closed doors has been over since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

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

If Austria can't do it, then the rest of the work will not be done. In the future, there will be no Russians to do anything about the activities on the European continent.

At this time, many people still believed that Russia was an Asian country, after all, the seven continents were also artificially divided, and the dividing line between Asia and Europe had not yet been recognized by the world.

Most of the territory of the Russian Empire was in Asia, and a little more than a quarter of the European part was a little more than a problem, so it would not be too much of a problem to say that they were Asian countries.

Of course, the Russians will not admit that they are Asian countries, and even Franz will not admit them, and if they were divided according to the size of the country, he would become a "non-chieftain".

This title alone is very ugly, so it is scientific to divide the state to which the country belongs by the location of the capital, and it is absolutely impossible to divide it according to the location of the main land area.

In the Vienna Foreign Office, Wessenberg sent a note to the Russian minister to discuss the Franco-Austrian debt.

"Mr. Solace, I am afraid that your country's sudden declaration of financial bankruptcy is a bit excessive! As far as I know, your country's finances are in difficulty, but it has not reached the point of immediate bankruptcy. ”

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

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

Obviously, this is not possible. In this era, the bureaucrats of various governments were not so clean, and the so-called rule of officials was only relative.

Compared to the Russians, the bureaucrats of the European countries are incorruptible. It's not that they are less corrupt and take bribes, it's just that they have evolved and know what money can be collected and what money cannot be touched.

There are still very few fools who want money and don't want to die. Basically all European countries have oversight bodies, and constrained bureaucrats naturally perform better than non-binding bureaucrats.

Minister Solace cried very calmly: "Your Excellency, you don't know our suffering. Years of war have devastated our domestic economy.

To tell you the truth, this year's fiscal revenue is probably less than 200 million rubles, and it has returned to 20 years ago.

However, the annual debt to be repaid is as high as 120 million rubles, and the remaining money is simply not enough to keep the government running.

From the outbreak of the Russo-Prussian War to the present, our annual fiscal deficit has exceeded our fiscal revenue. ”

Looking at the thick papers, Wessenberg didn't reach for them. These are open secrets, and the Vienna government knows exactly how bad the financial situation of the tsarist government was.

Now the fiscal revenue is less than 200 million rubles, and that is normal. Having lost so much land and smashed the Moscow region, there is only a problem if the fiscal revenue is not reduced.

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

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

Turning off the topic failed, and Solace was not discouraged. Fooling the past for a while, but not fooling for a lifetime. Such a large debt cannot be solved with just words.

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency. In our current financial position, we are unable to continue to meet our debts, and we request a deferral of payments.

This period is tentatively set at five years, and we hope that the interest on the loan and the liquidated damages on the debt will be waived, otherwise we will not be able to pay it back after five years. ”

The total debt between Russia and Austria has been directly halved, and the actual amount that the Russians need to pay has shrunk to less than one-third.

This clearly exceeded the bottom line of the Vienna government, and if the Vienna government fulfilled the treaty according to this standard, it would have to lose money for the Russians.

Wessenberg shook his head and said solemnly, "I'm sorry, Your Excellency, but we can't accept this condition.

Many of the loans from your government are guaranteed by us, otherwise you would not have been able to borrow at such a low interest rate.

Now that you are in default, we need to bear this debt, and as allies, we can't cheat people like this.

We require that the contract be executed in accordance with the agreement, and the deferred payment of the loan can be negotiated. The interest rates we offer on our loans are already very good and cannot be further reduced. ”

No one did the money-losing business, and the Vienna government naturally could not do such a big deal. The tsarist government did not want to declare bankruptcy in distrust, it was forced by reality to have no choice, and Austria did not dare to follow suit.

……

The negotiations are still deadlocked, and both sides want to fight for more benefits. This news is not a good thing for the Austrian financial community.

In particular, securities companies that privately undertake Russian bonds, and banks that lend 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 bonds is actually the highest, and under normal circumstances, few countries have defaulted on their debts.

It's a pity that when I met the Russians, if it were a small country, even if it was a debt, at most it would announce a moratorium on payments, and then take the initiative to negotiate an extension of the debt.

Now it's tragic that the Russian representatives are gone. If it weren't for the tsarist government's acknowledgment of the existence of this debt, they would have wondered if they had been cheated.

Admit it is admit it, no money anyway or no money. When will the money be repaid, no one has given any answer to this question.

Their only hope is this Russian-Austrian negotiation. If the Vienna government doesn't get the Russians right, then the debt is everyone's bad debt.

Who doesn't have a few bad debts in their hands in finance? If it weren't for the Vienna government's strict supervision, they would have dumped the losses on private investors and reopened their businesses in a different vest.

Unfortunately, Austrian law is too strict, even if it goes unpunished. The law also stipulates that after the bankruptcy of any financial institution, all management and shareholders are not allowed to engage in similar business for three generations.

This is very restrictive to the financial predators, and the trick of the golden cicada to get out of the shell does not work. When speculating, it is necessary to consider the risks, and if something goes wrong, it is very likely that you will be implicated in the background.

Otherwise, from the time Russia announced its debt default, there would have been a wave of bankruptcies of Austrian financial institutions.

So far, more than triple-digit financial institutions across the continent have declared bankruptcy due to Russia's debt default, while Austria's financial sector is still struggling.

For the sake of long-term interests, as long as the capitalists can get through, no one wants to be out of the game at this time.

Phillip Potter is just one of them, and after a lot of travel, he still doesn't get the answer he wants.

High profits always come with high risks, and it is easy to reduce the risk, do not make a commitment to protect the capital when selling bonds, and clearly inform investors of the risks.

The issuance of bonds does not depend on creditworthiness, but on guarantees. As long as it has been strictly reviewed, even if the final debt goes wrong, it is impossible to lose all the money.

Back in the office, Phillip Potter sat in his office and smoked a cigarette. I have already begun to think about whether to raise funds from other places to fill this hole.

The high commission plus the liquidated damages paid in advance, in the case of calculating the company's operating costs and taxes, the loss this time is about more than 560 Aegis.

As for the company's operating costs and taxes, in fact, the commissions obtained at the beginning can be compensated for long ago by rolling over the financial market.

If all things are taken together, the loss of this business may be smaller, otherwise the financial industry would not be called a profiteering industry.

Even if all bondholders need to pay in advance, the funds that need to be spent now are only 66.7 million Aegis.

Half of the funds on the company's projects can be solved, and some of the stocks and bonds held for a long time can be sold, and another 1.5 million Aegis can be raised.

Selling a few mansions under his name can also raise four or five hundred thousand Aegis, and the final gap is one million Aegis.

As long as the company is kept, the money can be earned back. After all, Phillipto's securities company does not exist alone, and it also holds shares in a bank.

Some of the profits Phillip Potter makes from the company are used for personal consumption, and the vast majority is invested in other areas, and banks are one of them.

Even now, he has no intention of selling his shares in the bank. Without the identity of a bank shareholder, it is difficult for a securities company to raise funds.

Just as he was thinking about how to raise money, a familiar voice came from outside the door.

"Mr. Phillippoter, good news, good news!"

Phillip Potter pretended to be calm and said, "Alpha speak slowly, don't get excited." ”

The young man of Alpha panted and said: "I just received the news that Wells Fargo Securities is buying Russian bonds on the market.

It's just that the price is a little low, they are only willing to offer two layers of face value, which is lower than the current market value, and they also limit the collection of exclusive bonds issued by the Russians to Austria. ”

After the tsarist government announced that it would default on its debts, the Russians' bonds depreciated. It didn't become waste paper all at once, after all, it was still possible for the Russians to pay for it, but there was little hope.

There is a price, but unfortunately there is no market. No matter what the price is, no one in the market dares to collect it at all. Collecting debts from the Russians, people don't think they have that ability.

Wells Fargo's action is undoubtedly a good medicine for the market. But this has nothing to do with Phillippot, it's terrible to buy back Russian bonds, and then collect bonds from the market to make the difference, forget it!

This kind of high-risk money, only the predators dare to play. As a pawn in the capital market, don't join in the fun.

"Immediately reach out to them, we have a lot of bonds in our hands and ask them if they want it. As long as they can give 5% off, if not 4% off, I will sell it to them! ”

This is a temptation, and compared to the financial predators, Phillip Porter's news is still not well-informed.

Whether it is the smoke bomb released by Wells Fargo Securities, or whether things have really taken a turn for the better, is completely unknown.

After all, the large institutions hold much more bonds than they do. There is not one or two financial institutions that are forced to buy back bonds in advance.

In order to stabilize people's hearts, it is entirely possible to deliberately release a message. It's not just Phillip that is suspicious, it's many financial institutions in Austria who are suspicious.

It is an open secret that the Russian-Austrian negotiations have reached an impasse, and most people in the financial community are paying close attention to the negotiation process.

It is not difficult to know the specifics, it may be difficult to get information from Austrian diplomacy, but to find out the negotiation process from the Russians, it is only a matter of money.

However, the truth of the news cannot be judged. Under normal circumstances, the credibility of the Russian bureaucrats is still very good, and it is their good work ethic to collect money and do things.

In case things can't be done, it is likely that you will also enjoy the refund service, which is what many people have experienced.

However, this time the situation is different, and the problems involved are too great. It is not impossible for someone to offer a high price and let them make a show on the spot.

The most reliable thing is to ask the foreign secretary to confirm in person, no one knows how to do such a stupid thing. The dignity of the Vienna government does not allow for provocation, and those who dare to peep into state secrets will die.

Testing Wells Fargo became the only option, and if the negotiations progressed, it would be profitable to hold a large number of Russian bonds, and vice versa.