It was clear from the results of the investigation that the Austrian Empire had also taken a fancy to the iron mines in the middle of the Ural Mountains, so it risked offending France and cut a side into it.

Does this make France if it can stand it?

As the overlord of the European continent, France was also proud, and immediately, the king of France ordered Hugo to teach the Austrian Empire a lesson.

Since it is a financial problem, it is natural to solve it through financial means, and there is no more suitable bank in the whole of France than the Banque de France, the largest bank in France.

Besides, if the Austrian Empire were to be slashed against because of this issue, wouldn't it be unjustifiable?

No matter in any era or in any country, it is an indispensable condition for teachers to be famous.

Even the US imperialists of later generations will have to find some excuses before attacking those small countries?

Although the Austrian Empire has long since lost the glory of the Holy Roman Empire, it has a huge influence in Europe and is an unscrupulous traditional power.

If there is no reasonable excuse for going to war with such a country, I am afraid that it is not very appropriate.

What's more, the King of France and his ministers had not yet broken their brains to wage war with the Austrian Empire for a mere iron mine, as long as anyone with brains understood that it was obviously impossible.

Then, since it is a financial problem, it is natural to return it to finance itself to solve.

As for how to solve it, it was Hugo's problem, and the King of France himself was not familiar with this aspect.

Of course, France itself wants to solve this problem through diplomatic means.

After all, if you use financial means to solve the problem, not to mention it for a long time, I am afraid that you will kill a thousand enemies and lose 800 yourself.

France won't do such a loss-making deal.

The main thing is that the Rus' are in dire need of money now and simply cannot afford to wait.

"So be it!" The King of France thought twice and instructed Hugo: "Go and send a note to the Foreign Minister of the Rus' State at once, Lopunov, and explain the reason, I believe he must understand how to choose."

Of course, the Austrian Empire cannot be easily let go, you have to teach him a profound lesson, so that Austria can understand, and let the whole of Europe understand, what will happen if you provoke France! ”

Both the Austrian Empire and the Rus' State had vital interests in Eastern Europe and the Balkans.

It is only because both sides are big European countries that no one dares to act rashly, so that Eastern Europe has been in a peaceful scene for so many years.

If the Rus' state wants to expand its influence in Europe, it is obvious that it will put pressure on neighboring countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine, and although it will not send troops, the political and diplomatic pressure is obvious.

But what we have to understand is that both the king of Poland and the king of the Czech Republic are related to the Austrian Emperor, some are brothers, some are cousins, anyway, they are all relatives of the Austrian Emperor.

Thus, in the face of political and diplomatic pressure from the Rus' state, with the Austrian Empire behind it, countries such as the Czech Republic and Poland appeared to be emboldened.

It can be said that the Austrian Empire completely blocked the pace of the expansion of the Rus' influence to the west, and how could the Rus' not be angry?

Therefore, when Lopnov visited Hugo for the second time, Hugo made it clear that the mastermind behind the Commercial Bank of Venice was the Austrian Empire.

As soon as he heard that it was the Austrian Empire, Lopunov also agreed to sign an agreement with the Venetian Commercial Bank.

If signed, wouldn't this be a clear gift of the support of the Rus' Kingdom to the Austrian Empire, the great enemy of the Rus' State?

This is a matter of the enemy, even if Lopunov is the brother-in-law of the emperor Alexander II of the Rus' state, but once the matter is revealed, he, the foreign minister, will not be able to eat and walk around.

Without thinking about it, Lopunov apologized to Hugo a few times and said: "I didn't think about it before, and I ask Your Excellency Hugo not to be angry."

France has always been an ally of our Rus' country, and we can't avoid France's support for things like this.

Now, in accordance with the wishes of His Majesty the Emperor, I would like to pledge the iron ore in the middle of the Ural Mountains to the Banque de France for a period of twenty years at the price of one and a half thousand gold francs, as a sign of my good intentions. ”

"One and a half million gold francs?" Hugo snorted lightly and said, "Your Excellency Lopunov, don't you think the price is a bit expensive?" ”

Hugo had already guessed that the Rus' country would willingly mortgage the iron ore in the middle of the Ural Mountains to the Bank of France, so he was not surprised, and Hugo was surprised that up to now, Lopunov had even thought that the Bank of France would come up with 1.5 million gold francs, which was obviously impossible.

"Is it expensive?" Lopunov shook his head and said, "Your Excellency Hugo, I have already calculated before I came that the iron ore in the middle of the Ural Mountains was mortgaged to the Bank of France at a price of one and a half million gold francs, and your bank will earn at least twice as much profit in twenty years. ”

"Your Excellency Lopunov, you are talking about ideal conditions!" Hugo said: "Your Excellency, I don't know if you have ever thought that in the past 20 years, the Bank of France has to invest in infrastructure in the iron ore mines in the middle of the Ural Mountains, improve the transportation conditions there, and transport iron ore from the Ural Mountains thousands of miles away to France.

It all takes money, and a lot of money.

I have calculated that if I want to get more than twice the rate of return, the Banque de France will have to invest no less than one million gold francs in the next few years.

Once the 20-year mortgage period is up, the money invested will not be recovered. ”

Although Hugo did not say it explicitly, the meaning was very clear: once the mortgage period of the iron ore mine in the middle of the Ural Mountains expired, the various facilities invested and built by the Bank of France in the territory of the Rus' State would automatically belong to the Rus' State.

As for who it will be in the end, that's not something Hugo has to worry about.

Listening to Hugo's analysis, Lopunov's heart was very moved. After all, no matter how much money the Bank of France invested in the territory of the Rus' country, the improved transportation conditions and the facilities of the iron mines in the central Ural Mountains would not be recovered.

This is a great thing for the Rus' country, which will be able to directly mine iron ore in the middle of the Ural Mountains after twenty years.

"Then Your Excellency thinks more money is appropriate?" Thinking of this, Lopunov couldn't help but feel a little relieved and asked.

"Eight hundred thousand gold francs!" Hugo replied.

"Oh my God! You're not kidding, Hugo, are you? For Hugo's offer, Lopnov was obviously surprised, "Don't say that I, the foreign minister, are unwilling, even if His Majesty the Emperor knows about this price, he will not agree." ”