In the evening, the Imperial Russian Embassy in Vienna was brightly lit and there was occasional burst of music, and there was no doubt that there was a diplomatic reception going on.

Not many people attended, and the banquet was organized only by envoys of countries with good relations with the tsarist government, as well as some Russian nobles in Austria.

This kind of diplomatic reception, which takes place almost every month, is not at all inconspicuous. The only thing worth noting is that the banquet was personally attended by Austrian Foreign Minister Wessenberg.

Before the rupture of the Russo-Austrian alliance, it was not surprising that Wessenberg appeared here. But now it is different, Russian-Austrian relations are beginning to drift apart, and the appearance of Wesenberg here is something to think about.

……

With a pop, Wessenberg couldn't help but squirt the wine out of his mouth. With wide eyes, he stared at the Russian Minister Alexander Niklaevich Hull: "Your Excellency, are you sure you are not joking?" ”

Nikolaevich nodded seriously and replied cautiously: "No! ”

After speaking, he did not shy away from looking at Wesenberg.

After a momentary pause, Wesenberg directly refused: "This is impossible! ”

"How much does your country have revenue? The 500 million Aegis is far more than your government's debt capacity, and don't forget that your country still has a lot of outstanding debt. ”

Fortunately, the two were talking in the corner, and no one came to disturb them without interest, otherwise the whole audience would have been a sensation.

"500 million Aegis" is not a small number, equivalent to 250 million pounds, about 1,830 tons of gold, compared to the total annual fiscal revenue of Britain, France and Austria.

Borrowing, not to mention that now, even during the honeymoon period of the Russian-Austrian alliance, Austria has never provided such huge sums of money to the Russians.

Of course, this is not because the tsarist government did not want to borrow it in the early stage, but mainly because Austria was not rich in previous years. Despite its long-established empire, it has only been a few years since Austria really made its fortune.

Capital accumulation takes time, and even after becoming the world's largest economy, the capital accumulation of Austria's financial community is still very limited.

Now it's almost time to catch up with France, and it's still a long way from England. To put it bluntly, Austria made its fortune on industry, not finance.

It's not that 500 million Aegis can't be taken out, the problem is that after it is taken out, there will be a shortage of money in Austria.

Not to mention Austria, even Britain, the richest country in capital, for them to come up with such a huge sum of money at once, it will also affect the entire financial market.

Wealth and cash are two different concepts, and the gap between wealth and liquidity on paper is even more different.

Of course, this is just about to come out with difficulty. If there is enough time, Britain, France and Austria can afford to raise this money.

Referring to the Franco-Prussian War, we know that the French lost 20 billion francs (about 1.6 billion Aegis) in the war, and after the war, they paid another 5 billion francs (about 400 million Aegis), which was paid in just 3 years.

Wesenberg refused, did not even mention the conditions, the most important thing is that the tsarist government has no credibility, and now lending money to the Russians is like meat buns and beating dogs - there is no return.

Russian Minister Niklaevich said with an unchanged face: "Your Excellency, this time we are very sincere. The interest on the borrowing, we are willing to calculate it at a monthly interest rate of 0.5%, and the income is ......"

Wessenberg interrupted directly: "With all due respect, with the credibility of your government, no bank will dare to lend you money.

Don't say 5 thousandths a month, even 5 thousandths a day. Who would dare to release a loan that is destined not to be recovered? ”

According to the practice of international loans in this era, it is necessary to deduct handling fees, exchange fees, guarantee fees, and one-year principal and interest and then lend money, and the monthly interest rate of 5/1000 is indeed very generous, not to mention a series of additional conditions.

No matter how good it is, it can't be worth the sentence "bad reputation". No matter how high the income is, the money must be recovered to be the income.

Niklaevich hurriedly explained: "We can provide collateral in kind, and if it is not possible to fulfill the debt at a later stage, your country can directly withhold the collateral." ”

Wesenberg glanced at Nikolaevich and said in a cold tone: "If your country can use gold as collateral, there will be no problem.

Don't say 500 million Aegis, even if it's 1 billion Aegis, I can lend it to you, and I can even waive your interest. ”

Nikolaevich frowned, and his heart was secretly bitter. If there had been so much gold as collateral, the tsarist government would have started the printing press long ago.

In the era of the gold standard, gold was wealth. Whether it is used as a standard to issue currency, or directly as a currency, there is no problem.

"Your Excellency, this joke is not funny at all. If we have so much gold, why take out a loan? ”

This is a fact, 500 million Aegis is about 1,830 tons of gold. Apart from Britain and Austria, there is no third country with so many gold reserves.

The folk ones don't count. If you count the gold of the people, then India and the Far Eastern Empire have exceeded this figure.

Nikolaevich's words reminded Wesenberg that the tsarist government still had a significant amount of gold in its hands.

"Your Excellency, you are too modest. As far as I know, your country has always been an exporter of gold, so how can there be a shortage of gold?

Otherwise, your government would deposit the standard gold for the issuance of rubles with the Austrian National Bank and use the gold as a guarantee.

For the sake of friendship between the two countries, I can call the shots and waive the interest for you. Your government can get a huge sum of money to use at no cost. ”

"Gold exporter", this is not what the tsarist government wanted. Even though the Russian Empire produced a lot of gold, it was in great demand!

Because of the credibility of the ruble, in addition to domestic circulation, no one bought it in international settlements, and the tsarist government had to use foreign exchange or gold for settlement.

In order to promote industrialization, the Russian Empire has been importing machinery and equipment on a large scale in recent years, and in order to calm the trade deficit, the tsarist government has had to fill the hole with gold.

Wessenberg asked the tsarist government to deposit gold in the Austrian National Bank, naturally not for the sake of the Russians to raise an extra sum of money.

It was easy to take out the gold, it only took one decision from the tsarist government. Want to redeem your gold? It's a joke.

The tsarist government now borrowed money precisely to raise funds for the war. As long as the Russo-Prussian war starts, the money will soon be consumed in the war.

Even if the war was won, the tsarist government did not have the funds to redeem the gold for a long time to come.

There is no return, and this is dangerous. It seems that the use of financial means to obtain a huge amount of money for use seems to be earned, but in fact this is entirely based on the fact that Russian-Austrian relations have always been friendly.

In the event that one day the two countries turn their faces and the Vienna government swallows the gold, the ruble will instantly turn into waste paper.

After thinking clearly about the risks, Niklaevich immediately refused: "It's impossible. Your Excellency, we can use territory as collateral, but gold cannot. ”

Wesenberg smiled slightly, did not answer directly, and the two ended the conversation hastily.

……

Early the next morning, information on the tsarist government's efforts to finance the war appeared in front of Franz.

"The tsarist government wants to go to war in advance, and it seems that Alexander II has made a bloody investment this time, and he is willing to mortgage his own territory.

If they had done this earlier, the last war would not have been so badly lost. People, you always have to suffer losses before you know how to learn a lesson! ”

Prime Minister Felix: "This is true, but how can we know the consequences of failure without experiencing failure?"

The tsarist government used the defeat of the last war to learn a lesson, and without the invincible arrogance of the past, it knew that it had to be down-to-earth.

War is about money. To a certain extent, the key to determining the outcome of the Russo-Prussian War is no longer military, but depends on how much war funds the two governments can raise.

With the size of the Russian Empire, as long as there is enough war funds, even if it is delayed, it can drag the Pop-Po Federation to death. ”

The concept of "dragging the Popo Confederation" flashed through Franz's mind. This is based on the ideal situation of no external interference, and the Berlin government is not stupid, and it is necessary to cooperate with each other.

"Send people to keep an eye on the financial circles of various countries and pay close attention to the flow of large sums of money. Both the governments of Prussia and Russia are poor ghosts, and the war cannot be fought until sufficient funds are obtained.

War and the Gold Eater, it is not easy to raise enough funds for the war. Only us, Britain and France have this financial strength in the world, and everyone's money does not fall from the sky.

Without sufficient interests, it will be difficult for Prussia to raise sufficient funds. Geopolitically, we are the best creditors, and only we dare to accept land mortgages.

The Russians have already sent to the door, so as soon as possible to figure out the bottom line of the tsarist government and grab the maximum benefits for Austria. ”

Franz did not mention the gold mortgage, and no one would give his lifeblood to anyone else until he was exhausted. This is much more serious than a territorial mortgage.

The territorial mortgage may seem serious, but in fact the risk is within a controllable range. As long as the war is won, even if you can't afford to pay it back, there is enough room to maneuver, for example: to replace the mortgaged territory.

If you use your own territory to pay off your debts, it may be difficult to account for it at home; Take the enemy's territory to pay the debt, then there is no pressure.

Losing the war, there is nothing to say. The government has changed, and no matter how big the mess is, the next government will be responsible for cleaning it up.

The same is true in monarchies, where it may not be necessary to change the emperor, but it is necessary to change the minister. Defeat always requires someone to be responsible, and the bureaucrats see it clearly.

Naturally, this could not be concealed from Alexander II, and the territorial mortgages were made with his tacit consent. But the gold mortgage definitely exceeded his bottom line.

To put it bluntly, the Russian empire has a great cause, and as long as it is not the core territory, it doesn't matter if you sell a piece. Territorial buying and selling is not without precedent, and the political risks are limited.

Sending gold to Austria as collateral would have been completely different, which meant that the economic lifeblood of the Russian Empire had fallen into Austrian hands.