Chapter 1164 Canal Supervisory Committee
Schönbrunn Palace, the Emperor's study.
"Your Majesty, the Arab is just as you said. He is too self-righteous! But the British were not fooled.
Except for Prussia, the major countries have a tacit understanding and the amount of capital injection is one million pounds each."
It was somewhat unexpected for Franz that the British did not take the initiative, but the matter did not end there. This capital injection was just the beginning. Neither Britain nor Egypt would be willing to accept it.
Prussia's lack of interest in the Suez Canal was expected by Franz. After all, the two countries in the German Confederation that least wanted to see the Suez Canal opened were Prussia and Hanover.
Prussia was facing huge competitive pressure from Austria. After the Suez Canal was opened, the latter could easily send goods from the East and Africa to the German Confederation.
This may be a good thing for other countries because it will make trade more convenient, but for Prussia, it has to face the increasingly powerful influence of Austria.
Hanover was originally the largest middleman in the German Confederation, but after the opening of the Suez Canal, other countries in the Confederation no longer needed to buy the oriental goods brought back by the British.
And as the transportation distance shortens, the price of goods will inevitably fall, and Hanover must consider reducing its inventory.
"Mohammed Ali is still quite capable, but those who betray us must pay the price."
Franz played with the fountain pen in his hand, which was a gift from the British. The fountain pen was definitely a novelty at this time, because most people preferred to use cheap feather pens.
Yes, the price of feather pens was much lower than that of fountain pens at this time. In the UK, a feather pen usually only cost a few pence, while a fountain pen usually cost several pounds or even more than ten pounds.
(At that time, one pound was equal to twenty shillings, and one shilling was equal to twelve pence.)
However, not including the feather pen with complicated decorations, inlaid with gold and silver, and hanging with gem pendants on Franz's desk, the famous paintings on it alone could not be bought with a few pounds.
Of course, Franz would not write with that pen, but fountain pens might be a new business opportunity.
If the British pen companies knew that the British ambassador sent the fountain pen to Franz, which led to the overall backwardness of the British pen industry, I don’t know what the reaction would be.
"As you wish, Your Majesty. But according to intelligence, the British seem to have set their sights on that Arab."
"It doesn't matter, as long as the result is in line with expectations."
"Understood."
Lion Pride Hotel.
The Egyptian delegation stayed here. Vienna opened the eyes of the natives of these desert areas, which was more shocking than Venice before.
In comparison, Cairo is really a countryside, an uncivilized wilderness.
Of course, they would never dare to mention this idea in front of Muhammad Ali, and they really admired this hero.
An investment of seven million pounds, this is an amount they dare not even think about.
After all, the fiscal revenue of Egypt in 1848 was only 2.14 million pounds, and Muhammad Ali brought back 7 million pounds at once, and the price he paid was just some useless land and slaves.
In their view, this was already a great victory, but Muhammad Ali's expression was so gloomy that he almost dripped water.
Obviously, 7 million pounds could not satisfy his appetite at all, because 7 million pounds was not enough to make up for Egypt's losses in the previous war, let alone to close the gap between Egypt and the powers.
At the peace conference, Muhammad Ali tried to provoke a fight between the powers in order to maximize his own interests.
However, both the British and the Austrians were indifferent to this. All the powers seemed to have discussed it. No one was willing to pay a penny more, but he looked like a clown.
A new plan has been conceived in Muhammad Ali's mind. Since the powers don't know the goods, can he find some private capital?
Originally, Muhammad Ali's first choice was the Rothschild family, but the Rothschild family suffered two devastating blows in the Austrian Civil War and the German Civil War.
Most of the Jewish bankers in the entire German region did not escape this fate, and the Atieth family had too close a relationship with the Austrian government.
Muhammad Ali invited the British Baring family and the French Bellera brothers, as well as all the big bankers and investors that the Egyptians could contact.
Historically, the Suez Canal was sought after by private capital because of the halo effect of Napoleon III, and it was a profitable business in the eyes of many experts.
However, this time it was different. On the one hand, there was a lack of effective large-scale publicity, and on the other hand, state capital entered the market too early and on a large scale. In short, the premium was too high.
These guys have a very keen sense of smell, and most people don't want to wade into this muddy water, so they are naturally uninterested.
Muhammad Ali wants to suck blood from all of Europe to return to the top, but how can things be as easy as he thought?
The betrayer still wants to have a good end? Have you asked Franz?
Mohammed Ali's plan was still in the making, but the Austrian Empire took the lead.
After the daily debate at the meeting, Prince Schwarzenberg came to the stage again.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the construction of the Suez Canal is a great thing that will benefit the present and future generations."
The Austrian Empire's statement puzzled all parties, especially Mohammed Ali, who couldn't figure out what Franz was up to.
"Is he trying to please himself?"
Mohammed Ali thought so in his heart. After all, the Suez Canal was proposed by Franz, so did he hold Austria's pulse?
"But we need to take such a good thing seriously. So in order to ensure that all countries can get the maximum return on investment, our country proposes to establish a canal supervision committee to ensure that every penny of our money can be spent where it should be spent."
"No! No need!"
Mohammed Ali almost jumped up.
"We in Egypt are fully capable of handling this matter. We promise to satisfy all investors!"
Mohammed Ali doesn't want to have an emperor on his head, and he doesn't want anyone to restrict how he uses the funds.
But how is that possible? The great powers are not philanthropists, let alone fools.
"Ali Pasha, we don't distrust your country. The establishment of the Canal Supervision Committee is just to gather ideas to prevent everyone from being deceived by traitors."
Prince Schwarzenberg's words were polite, but to Mohammed Ali, every word was heart-wrenching.
Austria's proposal was reasonable and no country would object.
Mohammed Ali gritted his teeth at this.
"No more digging! I'll give you the money back!"
"Hahaha!"
The venue was instantly filled with a joyful atmosphere.
"That's not up to you."