Chapter 685
Saint Petersburg, Winter Palace.
At this time, Russia was not the desperate Tsarist Russia after the defeat of Crimea. Nicholas I had an almost blind confidence in his country and army.
Therefore, the reason why Prime Minister Hilarion was not beaten to death just now was because the other party had no credit but hard work.
Although Nicholas I was very angry and wished he could punch Louis Philippe in the head, the rebellion in the Caucasus had become a major concern for him.
If the problem of the Imam Khanate cannot be resolved as soon as possible, then Russia will be regarded as a paper tiger that can only bluff, and everyone will want to tear a piece of flesh from it.
But for the Tsar at this time, ten million francs was too little.
At this time, Prime Minister Hilarion got up again, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said.
"Please leave this matter to me. Even if I risk my life, I will definitely negotiate a satisfactory price for Your Majesty."
The tsar looked at the arrogant old prime minister in front of him, and couldn't help but be moved and said.
"Hilarion, I will give you one more chance and don't let me down again. Remember! Our sacred land must not be sold for cheap!
If the French bid is less than 100 million francs, then there is no need to negotiate. "
Prime Minister Hilarion's heart skipped a beat when he heard this, but at this point, he could only bite the bullet.
Tsar Nicholas I hated people who went back on their word and were greedy for life. If he backed down now, not only him, but the entire Russian civil service group would be suppressed.
As a result, Prime Minister Hilarion could only pretend to be very glorious, with his chest raised and his head raised as if he was undergoing a review.
Prime Minister Hilarion's aloofness seemed to have affected the Tsar. The latter stepped forward to tidy up the former's messed up clothes, patted him on the shoulder again and said.
"Don't let me down."
Hilarion couldn't help but choke, swallowed, and then answered in a loud voice.
"Long live His Majesty the Tsar! Long live the Great Russian Empire! Long live the glorious Third Roman Empire!"
After Prime Minister Hilarion left the palace, he led people to surround the residence of the French envoy. He had been blinded by 20 million francs before.
But the life and death crisis at this time made him realize that the French government would not be stupid enough to really want to buy Alaska with 50 million francs.
You must know that on October 26, 1836, the French bought Texas from Mexico for 100 million francs.
The area of Alaska is larger than the two Texas combined, and it should be worth at least 200 million francs. Moreover, the French's ambitions for the North American continent have been clearly revealed, and their conspiracy must not stop there.
At the same time, there is no need for any intelligence. Prime Minister Hilarion also knows how corrupt the French are. Guizot and his group of corrupt officials are notorious.
Especially when French Prime Minister Soult only wanted to retire honorably and ignored the behavior of his subordinates, which further encouraged the corruption of the July Dynasty.
In fact, the corruption in the Russian bureaucracy is also very serious, so the combination of the two made Ilarion even more convinced that the French envoy was lying.
But regardless of whether the other party lied or not, the Tsar said that 100 million cannot be less than this number. If it cannot be reached, he also needs to have an explanation.
The efficiency of Russia's Special Third Division is quite high. It immediately controlled the French envoy and several of his entourages.
Pierre Giscard looked at the Russians in front of him without panic at all. After all, he was the special envoy of France, and he also had a secret deal with the Russian Prime Minister.
"Gentlemen, don't be so nervous. I think you must have made a mistake. I am the special envoy of France. My name is Pierre Guiscard. Your Prime Minister and I are good friends."
Pierre Guiscard is a typical example of a businessman entering politics. He served as France's Minister of the Interior and Minister of Education. In the end, he was impeached because of his blatant greed.
Fortunately, Pierre Giscard had a good friend named Guizot, so he was able to turn danger into disaster every time. At this time, he was even entrusted with the important task of negotiating with Russia.
At this time, Prime Minister Hilarion came up from downstairs and looked at Pierre Guiscard with an unkind expression. The latter immediately realized that he might be in trouble, but still greeted the former with a smile.
"Hilarion, my friend, what wind has brought you here."
Pierre Guiscard was rudely interrupted by Hilarion before he could finish his words.
"Friend? I don't remember having you as a friend!"
Hilarion waved his hand, and before Pierre Guiscard could react, he was pushed to the ground by several strong men.
"What are you going to do! I am the special envoy of France! I..."
"Special envoy? I think you are pretending, right? France is the second largest colonial empire in the world. How could it spend a mere 10 million francs to buy Alaska?"
"Damn it, you said 10 million yourself, not me. I said 50 million, why are you talking about it!" Pierre Guiscard couldn't stop complaining in his heart.
But he deeply understands the principle that a good man will not suffer the immediate losses. I am afraid that the other party is also unable to help himself. Of course, it may also be due to his nature as a businessman. In short, Pierre Giscard said.
"Thirty million! Thirty million francs!"
Hilarion was unmoved.
"Throw this guy pretending to be the French envoy into the Neva River!"
"Okay! Our country is not buying fifty million francs, but if you are willing to mortgage Alaska to our country, we can lend you fifty million francs.
alright! Let me go! "
"Fifty million? Our sacred territory of Russia is worth fifty million?"
Pierre Guiscard looked at Hilarion with some confusion and said subconsciously.
"Then how much did you say?"
"At least two hundred million francs!"
"This is crazy! It's impossible. Who would spend 200 million francs to buy a freezer?"
"Then you want to swim back to Paris from the Arctic Ocean?"
"The Arctic Ocean is in the North Pole, and the nearest sea is the Baltic Sea, which belongs to the Atlantic Ocean."
"you wanna die!."
Hilarion really wanted to beat the guy in front of him to death, but he held back for the sake of his own life.
After the final wrangling, Pierre Guiscard gave up. After all, money was not as important as his own life, and he had plenty of money in Paris, so there was no need to die because of it.
"One hundred million francs!"
Hilarion was actually a little dissatisfied. He originally thought he could squeeze something out of it.
At this time Pierre Guiscard added, "But we also have conditions."
The next day, the Winter Palace.
Hilarion brought Pierre Guiscard to meet the Tsar. The latter's majestic figure and aggressive momentum were much more oppressive than Louis Philippe's pear king.
Pierre Giscard was like a hawker who set up a stall privately, lowering his head and swallowing his saliva and not daring to speak.
Hilarion spoke first.
"Your Majesty, the French have agreed that if we use Alaska as collateral, they will loan us 100 million francs for three years at an annual interest rate of 8%."