The power of black is also the gold of black.

Even in the traditional South, the rich people are deeply aware of this, but compared to the North, the Southerners are only petty and they don't have any decent industry, and those small coal mines and small iron mines have met most of their needs.

When the Doge's Office announced that it would auction off the newly discovered coal and iron ore mines in North Genoa, many people began to take action, asking around for information, but the Doge's Office kept these secrets, and in fact the people around Byrne did not know how much the value of the two deposits was.

The fact that the perpetrator was Viscount Sean Connery scared off many people, as most of them thought they were not financially comparable to Viscount Connery.

When Countess Koval heard about it, she immediately summoned the family's commercial director, Sdia Koval, one of Count Koval's nephews.

The Koval family was a large landowner, but unlike the traditional aristocracy who lived on the land, the family did not exclude investing in new industries, on the contrary, the family owned the bonds and stocks of many industrial companies, which brought huge returns to the family every year.

The wealthy Countess has recently encountered a few soft nails on Sean, and although she has not actually lost much of what she can see, it has indeed weakened the authority of the Koval family.

In her opinion, this invisible loss made her even more uncomfortable.

The rise of an aristocracy that seemed to challenge the Corval family's power in Genoa alerted the countess like a large beast with a strong sense of territory.

"The Koval family must get that iron mine and coal mine. The Countess said to her commercial director.

"But we have very little information on hand right now. Steele frowned, "Now we get the news that Viscount Connelly has sent someone to explore a long time ago, and it is also his people who have discovered mineral deposits, how many reserves, how much they are worth, and how much investment is needed, we don't know anything." ”

"Hasn't anyone explored it before?" said the Countess.

"Of course there were, I guess those deposits were buried deeper, so they were missed before. Of course, North Genoa is close to the area of Mount Ott, and there have been sporadic mineral deposits found in the past, and there have been many small iron mines and small coal mines there for hundreds of years, but they have not been climate-friendly and have no value for large-scale investment. If it was an open-pit bonanza, they would have been discovered long ago. "This also shows that they will be more difficult to mine." ”

"But I don't want that bastard to get them. "The Countess was very upset.

Bastard, of course, refers to Sean, whose illegitimate son he is, I'm afraid no one knows. If Sean's biological parents were still alive and saw Sean's current achievements, I am afraid that they would have come to recognize their relatives a long time ago.

But the countess called Sean in private, which was obviously a humiliation for Sean, after all, for the nobles, the purity and inheritance of the bloodline is the guarantee of noble status. She felt that in this way, she would feel better.

"But the Governor's Palace has only given us seven days, and during these seven days, it is difficult for us to get definite information. For example, the true value of those deposits, and the price we offer based on them. "The bidding seems to be completely procedurally justified and legitimate, but insiders know that it is exclusively for Viscount Connelly. If we make a bold bid, we are likely to lose a lot of money. ”

The implication of Steele's words is that there is no need for a battle of wills.

"Money, not a problem. My supervisor sir. The Countess expressed her displeasure, "but the authority of the Koval family is priceless. ”

"As you wish, ma'am!"

Hearing this decision, Steele immediately discarded his personal opinion.

The auction of mining rights was held as scheduled at the Grand Poitu Hotel.

The auction still attracts the participation of many wealthy people.

When the Governor's agent publicly announced the bidding method, everyone felt that there must be something shady.

Because the Governor's Palace divided the iron ore and coal mines into ten districts, and the reserve price of each division was 200,000 gold louis, all bidders had to pay a deposit of 200,000 yuan before they were allowed to bid - the Governor's Palace would receive a deposit of tens of millions, and even if these deposits were placed in the bank to eat interest, it was a huge amount of money, so the Governor's Palace made a sum of money first.

The Governor's Office could not guarantee that the twenty subdivisions would actually have large-scale mining value, but the Governor's Office gave the winning bidder one year to explore, and if the winning bidder repented, he could request to terminate the contract within that year, and the Governor's Office would return the full amount of the winning bid, but only half of the deposit, and this harsh condition also successfully dissuaded those who wanted to try their luck.

This is simply an exclusive order for Sean, because only Sean has spent a lot of effort to explore in advance, and has the most detailed geological information, especially the secret bidding method, which is extremely beneficial to Sean - each bidder will put the block he likes and the documents of how much he bids in an envelope, put it into a wooden box on the spot, and open the bid at the same time, which also means that everyone only has one chance to bid.

The reason given by the Doge's Office was to prevent vicious competition and malicious conspiracy, and at the same time to reward Viscount Connery for his "selfless contributions" - after all, without Viscount Connery's discovery, the bid would not have taken place at all, and the mineral deposits would still be dormant and could not be used for the benefit of mankind.

In addition, the Doge's Office assured that at least five of the iron and coal subdivisions were of large-scale mining value, and Viscount Connally would not monopolize them, but would choose only two of them.

Stia Koval came to the scene early, he glanced at the crowded scene, and did not see Viscount Connelly come in person, but saw the Viscount's henchman Pierre and others.

Albert-Pierre was surrounded by some of Genoa's richest men, all of whom were chattering in their pleasantries, trying to find out what the viscount had his eye on.

It was of course absolutely secret, and Pierre was tight-lipped about it, and across the crowd, Pierre's gaze met that of Steele of the Koval family.

Stya disdainfully shifted his gaze, as a key member of the Koval family and head of business, he looked down on Pierre, who had been an insignificant small businessman two years earlier.

But now Pierre and others have risen rapidly in the business world of Poitou, as can be seen from the rich people who revolve around him.

The banker Siyes was also present in person, and he was also present in person because he was of high standing and had rarely been personally involved in business negotiations, but today he was also present in person.

His aim is to provide loans to those who are interested in obtaining the right to exploit the mineral deposits, and to explore the future of banking services.

You must know that many people have to take out at least two deposits in order to win the bid and get the opportunity to bid twice to improve the probability of winning the bid. Some, determined to win, were prepared to pay five bonds, i.e. 1,000,000 louis, which were to remain in the account of the Doge's Palace for a year.

Their personal assets may be much more than that, but it is extremely difficult to come up with such a large sum of cash, not to mention that it is just to obtain mining rights, and it will take a lot of money to actually mine it.

This is where the value of finance and bankers comes in.

Sieyès's target was Pierre: "Albert, what can my bank do for you?"

"No, honorable Sir Siyes, I represent Viscount Rocky Hill. Pierre shook his head, "If you're asking the Viscount, I can answer on his behalf, he needs funds, but it's not about today." ”

"Oh, that's good news. As all Genoese knows, the Viscount's tea plantations are of great value, and his name is always at the top of the list of the best customers of the First Bank of Poitou. "As far as I know, the Viscount is sure to win this race, but I have also been informed that the Viscount will have a strong competitor. So ......"

Siyes deliberately set his eyes on someone in the field.

Pierre glanced at it and said, "The Viscount's business is very large, and I think the most prominent financiers of Poitou have seen it." ”

"Indeed, Mayor Stanley was ready to lease a section of the coast of East Poittu to the Viscount's shipbuilding company for a symbolic price of 1 gold louis. The news was surprising, but logical, because the successful trial of the Genoese heralded the dawn of a new era of shipping. Siyes said.

Pierre was calm on the surface, but he was surprised in his heart, because he had not received the good news yet, but the banker in front of him knew it in advance, and Siyes had a lot of energy.

These bankers are the most well-informed.

"So ......"

Siyes said: "The Viscount has great ambitions, and the stalls are also very large, it is difficult to raise enough funds by himself on his tea plantation alone, especially the limited funds he can use immediately, once something bad happens, it is likely that something bad will happen." So, he needed the help of the Poitu consortium. ”

Siyes's words imply that he does not represent a person.

"But our competitors are also very strong, and they have huge amounts of cash. "If the bid loses today, the shipyard will have to give up or move north." ”

"In business, as long as you pay a certain price, you will get anything. Siyes said, raising his chin at Steele and whispering, "Albert, do you know what the gentlemen who are with Mr. Stya Koval today?"

Pierre glanced at it: "It looks a little familiar, but it's not a regular visitor to the Poitou salon, I don't know them." ”

"The agents of several banks in Genoa in the Holy City of their holy city, in the eyes of the Poitu financial community I represent, are undesirable outsiders, so it is normal that you are not familiar with them. "They're staying with Styja, which means that someone is willing to do whatever it takes to frustrate your master's goals." ”

Pierre's heart tightened, so Sieyès was taken by Pierre's secretary to a private room on the third floor of the Grand Poitou Hotel.