Lately Prussia had become more cordial to Ernst, and before he had returned to Hohenzollern Castle, Ernst learned that the Prussian royal family had invited him to Berlin.

Ernst had anticipated Prussia's intentions and diverted from Bavaria to Berlin.

Kingdom of Prussia.

"Ernst, how are you doing?" William I said with a smile.

"Your Majesty, I'm doing well, I've been busy with business lately, so I'm busy." Ernst said.

"It's okay to call uncle, your father is also a king now, you are also the prince, and they are all members of the Hohenzollern family, so you don't have to be so angry." William I said.

"I'm afraid that's not good!"

"What's wrong, everyone is a family, in this case, in the future, you will call me uncle in private, and then talk about Your Majesty on a formal occasion."

Didn't Wilhelm II become my great nephew! Ernst was secretly refreshed, but he still said quietly: "Yes, I listen, Uncle William. ”

"That's right!"

"I called you here today, in fact, I also asked you, and I am not afraid of your jokes, although I, the king, have fought a lot of battles in my life, but Prussia's finances are unsustainable because of this, and I owe a lot of debts, but for the cause of German unification, Prussia cannot stop." William I sighed.

"This, of course, I understand, that Prussia has indeed made a great contribution to the cause of German unification in these years." Ernst complimented.

"Well, now I can tell you the news, the French can't bear it anymore, but Prussia already owes a lot of debt in the last war, and this time the military budget is really difficult to raise!"

Show one’s true colors in the end.

"Well, Uncle William, although Hei Xinggen has developed well over the years, the investment this year is also relatively large, so I am afraid that the funds are not too abundant, and I also know the difficulties of the government, so I subscribe to 500,000 Taylor's war bonds to show my support for the kingdom."

500,000 Taylor is not a small amount, but it is really not enough for a big capitalist like Ernst.

Although Prussia was now preparing for war, France did not declare war on Prussia, and the North German Federal Government could not agree to allocate funds to the kingdom.

Historically, it was only on July 21, 1870, that the Prussian-dominated North German Confederation Parliament approved a war credit of 120 million taylors.

So now, the Kingdom of Prussia can only rely on itself to think of more ways to raise some funds, and Ernst estimates that Prussia will be able to raise a few million at most.

Even in the early days of the war, Berlin's stock market was in a panic, with even high-quality stocks such as the Cologne-Minden railway falling by 30 percent. The Prussian government urgently sold the first tranche of war bonds of 100 million taylors, trying to get rid of the underwriting channels monopolized by the bankers and selling them directly to the market on the condition that they would receive an interest rate of 5% and an 88% discount, while the bankers' proposal of an 85% discount was rejected by the government. In his letter to Braischroeder, Oppenheimer stressed that "this is a ridiculous condition in the current market situation".

As a result, the sale suffered a huge failure, and the bonds were sold for only 60 million taylors. In fact, the root of the problem is that if the government sells directly, the bankers are unable to earn underwriting fees, so they have resorted to collective boycotts. This once again shows the power of "channel is king" in the financial market. At the end of October 1870, the Prussian government learned the lesson of the previous time and appointed Hansmann to form a syndicate of underwriters to sell the second tranche of 20 million Taylors in London and Berlin. With the success of the Prussian army, the price of these loan contracts rose, and the government was soon able to cancel some of the pledged credits, and finally the interest rate on the war debt was set at 5% for a period of five years.

On 30 November, bankers continued their efforts and once again successfully issued a 92% loan of 34 million Taylors in the UK, with the option to issue a further 17 million Taylor powers. At the same time, although the British began to sympathize with the hapless French, French bonds could barely be sold in England, and France failed again on the invisible front of finance.

But until the end of the Franco-Prussian War, the total cost of the war in Prussia was only 22 million taylors.

Ernst was not greedy, he had already begun to save money to prepare for the Franco-Prussian War, and at present, the entire Heixingen consortium had about 30 million Taylors at his disposal, and Ernst was ready to take out at least 20 million bets on the Prussian victory, and the bet was won, and finally the French paid the bill.

"500,000? This ...... "William I was a little melancholy, 500,000 is not a small amount, but it is tantamount to a drop in the bucket for the war."

"Ernst, the development of the Heixingen Bank alone over the years should be very good, I heard that you have a business in the Far East...... You can rest assured that we Prussia will win this war, invest boldly, and at the same time we will set a slightly higher market price for the interest, not only that, but the East African kingdom is created, I am afraid that there are many things lacking, which we Prussia can cooperate ......with in the future."

William I casually said that Prussia was still stunned before it fought France.

But William I knew that the wealth of the Hashingen royal family was absolutely astronomical, and now the Hexingen consortium had taken shape, with operations throughout Europe and around the world. So it was right to ask Ernst to borrow money, so Wilhelm I made a bold promise.

At the same time, everyone is a Hohenzollern family, and they can play the emotional card, and if they can borrow more from the Heixingen royal family, they can negotiate with other big capitalists a little later.

Ernst pretended to be embarrassed and said: "Actually, there are many industries under Heixingen, but there are also many workers, and the wages of workers alone are not a small amount......

"You tell you the truth, as much as you can come up with, Prussia can give seven percent of the benefits, and at the same time the army will give priority to the purchase of the products of the Hexingen Company."

"Uncle William, in fact, this is not a matter of money, but you helped me a lot when I started my business, and it was a bit too much for me to be so stingy, and I won't hide it from you, this year the company can mobilize all the funds about 15 million Taylor, including workers' wages, but for the cause of German unification, I will first order 15 million Taylor's share! From now on, if Prussia cannot win, then the Heixingen company will also collapse due to the rupture of the capital chain, so please be sure to win! Ernst said with some "heaviness".

15 million! William I was a little confused when he heard this number, according to his expectations, or this time, the goal, which was three or four million Taylors. After all, I haven't decided whether to fight or not!

Large-scale borrowing also requires France to declare war on Prussia, that is, Prussia's finances are too tight now, after all, the last Prussian-Austrian war did not ask Austria for war reparations, and there are too many debts, so try to borrow some money to meet the emergency.

Ernst came up with an investment of 15 million, which is enough to fight a big battle, and at the same time can greatly alleviate the current financial pressure on Prussia, which also means that the army can be prepared in advance!

Wilhelm I was very moved, sure enough, his family was reliable, and Ernst really smashed the pot and sold iron to support Prussia this time! After all, there are not many people who are optimistic about Prussia's victory now, and if this war is lost, I am afraid that the Heshingen royal family will really go bankrupt.

In fact, Wilhelm I was completely overthinking, and it was impossible for such a cautious person as Ernst to gamble on all his possessions.

Not only that, Ernst planned to continue to buy shares worth 10 million Taylors after Prussia issued its first war bonds, and at the same time use the Hashingen Bank to help Prussia issue bonds to earn some extra fees, plus the privileges promised by William I before, it would be really profitable at that time.

The two parties, who both thought they were making a lot of money, soon signed the agreement, and the professionals of the Prussian government and the Heshingen consortium double-checked all the terms dozens of times before signing their names.

(End of chapter)