Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.

Watching beautiful women play billiards is also a pleasure, Adjani elegantly picked up the cue stick to hit the ball, a series of actions flowed, the graceful figure flashed like a phantom, leaving only two large white semicircular spheres lingering in Franz's mind.

"Archduke Franz, what do you think of Solomon Rothschild's proposal?"

Franz shook his head and said.

"It's not good, dogs can't change their. Can't they just make money honestly? If you have to engage in some kind of financial innovation, isn't the interest of 25% per year usury? ”

In fact, Franz's sewing machine business was booming during this time, and the foot-operated sewing machine not only took away the market of hand-cranked sewing machines, but also detonated the entire household machinery industry in one fell swoop.

It has become the second mechanical product to enter thousands of households after clocks and watches.

Historically, it was precisely because of the rapid popularity of foot-operated sewing machines that it directly changed the history of the financial industry in later generations. But at this time, the ambitious Solomon Rothschild was trying to change his life.

A sewing machine priced at 350-400 florins is not something that an average Austrian with an annual income of only 100-150 florins can afford.

This was the actual situation at that time, and many ordinary families had to save a few years of savings to have a little purchasing power.

Solomon, who had a shark's sense of smell, sensed the opportunity, and approached Adjani to say that he was willing to lend money to poor buyers, and promised to give 40% of the interest to the royal family.

Franz's estate is naturally under the banner of royalty, but few people think that he is the real boss behind the scenes, and on the surface Archduke Franz Karl does not seem to be a person who can do this.

Therefore, people have decided that Mrs. Sophie is behind the scenes, but on the surface, the work of contact and coordination is done by Adjani, which makes people very confused.

To get back to the point, Franz, who has a certain understanding of the operation of financial capital, doesn't want to be a lackey of these moths at all, not to mention that the 40% income is simply a life-booster for the court.

The Habsburgs owered much of their rule to the support of the lower classes, and such a conspiracy with usurers to entrap its citizens would be tantamount to suicide for the country.

Adjani wasn't surprised by Franz's words, as he always seemed to come up with amazing and wonderful solutions.

However, if Solomon Rothschild's opinion is adopted, more people can indeed benefit from the convenience of sewing machines, which is more conducive to its promotion and popularization, and the profits and income obtained can also increase rapidly.

As an intelligence chief, she can be said to know everything about all classes in Austria. The current growth rate of sales of sewing machines is exaggerated, but it has not yet reached its potential limits.

Many people are unable to come up with a very high amount of money to cross this high threshold and give up. And because of the advent of the sewing machine, the incomes of women who relied on the family for manual sewing plummeted.

They had only two options: either immediately consider joining the factory to make a living, or buy a sewing machine to upgrade their equipment to improve efficiency.

She believes that stimulated by the surrounding environment and the pressures of life, many people will choose to borrow usury, as long as someone is willing to lend to them.

Since ancient times, usurers have been dependent on power, and the Rothschilds were no exception. It's just that before he met Franz, Solomon had a bit of a smooth life, which made him think that he was the king.

To be honest, at this moment, even Adjani feels sad for him. A former "king" is still only willing to share a small part of the benefits after being hit head-on many times, and he really doesn't know whether he is alive or dead.

"Archduke Franz, you must have some idea again, right? After all, I'm in charge of the department store's business now. I'm sure your approach will work for other goods as well. ”

Adjani smiled and jumped back to sit on the billiard table.

"I think you should use your brain, after all, your brain will rust if you don't use it for a long time." Franz deliberately rebuked.

"Oh, is it? But experts in Vienna say that women should not be too smart, otherwise they will easily follow the path of Satan. ”

The belief that women should not be too smart was the consensus in nineteenth-century Europe.

"You're bad enough, Satan's route isn't for you." Franz teased.

"Isn't it bad to be a bad woman?" Adjani took off her shoes and put her feet on the pool table, tilted her head to look at Franz, and blinked.

"You should talk to the archbishop about this, maybe he will exorcise the demons for you.

Okay, let's get back to the topic. Solomon's proposal was fine in a good economic year, but if an economic crisis like the one of 1837 returned, or if there was another food crisis, a flood of bad debts was inevitable.

What we will see before our eyes is a ruined society in which large numbers of people go bankrupt, consumption power is weakened on a large scale, factories are shut down, and large numbers of workers lose their jobs.

Of course, the crisis will not stop its spread, from the city to the countryside, and eventually the entire empire will fall into a state of semi-paralysis. If there were any more Mars at such a critical moment, it would be a catastrophe."

The above analysis made Adjani's eyes shine, although she also spent time doing a lot of homework, but there is still a gap from the height of the former's inference.

Linking usury, the international situation, and the revolution to three seemingly separate events, Franz wasn't sure if she was alarmist, but she knew that the financial problems at hand were much more serious than she had imagined.

"The solution is to get people to buy goods that are within their spending range and earning power?"

"Not exactly, economic problems have always been complex and multifaceted, and they cannot be solved once and for all by a suitable or one-size-fits-all antidote. Moreover, blind austerity is not conducive to economic development. Maybe we can go with the installment model. ”

"Installments?" Adjani asked.

"Yes, for example, a sewing machine priced at 350 florins allows the other party to buy it for a period of 18 months with a monthly repayment of 20 florins. The extra 10 florins are considered interest. ”

Franz's explanation made Adjani's eyes light up, and then she asked questions.

"Isn't the interest rate too low for only 10 florins? And there are many risks, what if the buyer dies, or goes missing? ”

"Miss Adjani, what I have proposed is just a concept, and of course it is up to you, or your men, to do it. I only ask that the total amount of interest charged should not exceed 10% of the value of the goods, preferably less than 5%.

As for how to eliminate the risk, whether it is a mortgage, or a pre-loan investigation, it's up to you. There are some things that you don't know the result if you don't do them. ”

Adjani jumped off the pool table and walked over to Franz and said.

"Grand Duke Franz, there are some things that you can't figure out just by looking at them."

(End of chapter)