Chapter 1274: Leverage

Chapter 1274: Leverage

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To put it bluntly, Pedro II, the King of Brazil, is the King of Brazil only because he is supported by others. If one day those people get tired of playing house games, or if the Kingdom of Brazil no longer needs to exist, they can always ask Pedro II to get out.

In history, Pedro II never thought about these problems, but under the inspiration of Franz, he soon discovered these problems in front of him, but he had never thought about them before.

A deep fear lingered in Pedro II's heart. All he could think of was to marry the Austrian Empire and use the power of the Austrian Empire to solve Brazil's domestic problems.

At this time, the war between the Austrian Empire and Spain further confirmed Pedro II's idea. He felt that only a country like the Austrian Empire could help him solve Brazil's internal problems.

So Pedro II wrote to his stepmother Amelie de Beauharnais, hoping that Maria Amelia could marry Franz as a Brazilian princess, and he was willing to pay a large sum of money as Maria Amelia's dowry.

Amelie de Beauharnais was very surprised when she received the letter. Although she always thought that her daughter was excellent, it was not easy to be favored by both Madame Sophie and Pedro II.

"Maria! Your brother has written to you."

"Mom, I'll come right away."

Amelia put down the book in her hand. It was said that this book was translated by Franz himself. The ideas in it were really interesting and she liked it very much.

The mother and daughter sat together, and Mrs. Beauharnais unfolded the letter and read it carefully.

"Your brother still cares about you very much."

Mrs. Beauharnais patted Amelia's hand and said, but the latter was a little embarrassed.

"Mom, I know you want me to marry Franz Joseph I. But can he still remember me now?"

"Silly child, of course he can remember. My daughter is so beautiful, which man can't remember you?"

Mrs. Beauharnais comforted, but Amelia became less and less confident.

"But I saw that the maids in Schönbrunn Palace were so beautiful."

"So what? What are their backgrounds? How can they compare with you? My daughter, you are destined to be the queen."

Mrs. Beauharnais touched Amelia's smooth hair and cursed in her heart.

"Which damn eunuch stuffed so many bitches in the palace."

The Austrian Empire's court steward and Prince Schwarzenberg sneezed at the same time.

"I'm really old, I shouldn't stay up late."

Prince Schwarzenberg had just laid down, and the scene in the daytime appeared in his mind again.

The British actually wanted to lend money to the Austrian Empire. This should be a signal of easing relations between the two countries. But now the Austrian Empire is really not short of money, and the capital return of the Austrian Empire has never been so fast.

Although the war and construction costs of the Austrian Empire are amazing, the money in the treasury always makes as much money as it spends, like a magic trick.

Recently, the Austrian secret police discovered the secret vault of the Rothschild family. The vaults and property of those rebellious families are enough for the Austrian Empire to eat for a long time.

Add to that the income from taxes and the Royal Development Company, as well as the gold sent from all over the country, he really doesn't know how the British country, which is in deep economic crisis, has the nerve to ask for money to lend to the Austrian Empire.     What made Prince Schwarzenberg even more unacceptable was that Franz really agreed, and he asked for 100 million pounds at the first mouth.

Prince Schwarzenberg really didn't understand what Franz borrowed this money for? The Austrian Empire is already under full construction, and there are so many things to do all day that it's unbelievable.

Various documents, plans, and reports can even cover the entire Heroes' Square. There were only a dozen clerks in the Prime Minister's Office in the Metternich era, but now there are at least two hundred clerks in the Prime Minister's Office, but they are still too busy.

From birth to becoming prime minister, Prince Schwarzenberg had never seen any official voluntarily ask for retirement. However, since he became prime minister, almost every day there are old and weak officials who voluntarily ask for resignation.

This is a double whammy for the Austrian imperial government, which already has a serious shortage of officials, but His Majesty the Emperor not only did not retain them, but even gave pensions to those "deserters" who resigned.

This is simply intolerable!

Coupled with the emergence of railways and telegraphs, the workload of government officials has reached an exaggerated level. In the past, officials were so bored that they had to rely on meetings to pass the time and prove that they were not lazy.

Now everyone is too busy to have time for meetings. Unless it is related to their own department, most people will refuse on the spot.

Due to the serious shortage of officials, the government can only look for some people with the potential to become officials.

As a result, the employment problem of college students that has plagued the Austrian Empire for decades has been solved, and even some college students who have switched to being pig butchers many years ago have been invited.

These people also brought many new ideas based on their life experiences. The officialdom of the Austrian Empire has never seen such a scene of everything competing and thriving.

However, the emperor became less and less reliable. Usually, loans between countries are in the form of national debt.

If the Austrian Empire wanted to borrow money, it could just issue national debt itself. However, the British actually asked the Austrian Empire to issue national debt in the City of London, and even shamelessly wanted to underwrite the money.

Prince Schwarzenberg wanted to beat these greedy British guys out immediately. He thought that the wise and powerful Majesty would definitely see through the British tricks and teach them a lesson.

However, Franz agreed again.

Although the underwriting fee was only 3%, it was three million pounds!

What is the concept of three million pounds? The annual fiscal revenue of most countries in the world does not even reach one million pounds.

Prince Schwarzenberg lost three million pounds before the loan arrived. He suddenly felt a pain in his chest. He took out a small medicine bottle and took a gulp of nitroglycerin to relieve it.

The officials of the Austrian Empire looked at the Prime Minister with very surprised eyes. They finally knew why the Prime Minister had a hot temper and drank explosives all day long. How could this temper be good?

On the other hand, something that made Prince Schwarzenberg even more upset came. The British also wanted interest, an annual interest rate of 10%. Are they here to rob money?

This time Franz did not agree at once, and Prince Schwarzenberg finally breathed a sigh of relief. But soon Franz sent Baron Brooke to negotiate with the financial experts sent by the UK.

The interest rate finally agreed upon by both parties was 6%.

"As expected of Baron Brooke, he actually cut the interest rate by 40% at once."

Just as his colleagues were praising him, Prince Schwarzenberg couldn't help it.

"Six million pounds a year! This is also terrifying! Spending so much money every year can support hundreds of thousands of troops!"

As expected, there was another accident. Franz agreed without hesitation. Schwarzenberg sighed. It seems that he will work for the British this time.

But what made him even more confused was that the deal was just made in the morning, and in the afternoon Franz used the money to clear the national debts of the German states.