Chapter 294 Suez Canal Equity

Palais Royal

Napoleon III asked incredulously: "Auvergne, are you sure that the Vienna government is really willing to join us in leading the canal plan, rather than deliberately making trouble?"

Auvergne, Minister of Foreign Affairs, replied affirmatively: "Your Majesty, the Vienna government should be sincere, and they are willing to pay for the digging of the Grand Canal with us.

No one jokes about tens of millions of francs, as long as they put money into the canal company, they will support us for their own benefit.

It's just that the Austrians have always been conservative. They were worried that according to our plan, the final navigation volume would not be able to meet the demand, so they asked to deepen the design depth of the canal by four meters. "

Napoleon III rubbed his forehead and asked: "I remember that the design depth of the Canal Company is nine meters, and the largest ships in the world can navigate freely. Are the Austrians not enough?

Don't they know that every additional meter will increase a huge investment? An increase of four meters now means that the budget will be significantly increased. "

The planned cost of the Suez Canal is 200 million francs, a figure that is already challenging investors' affordability. Before the canal was opened to navigation, no one knew that this golden waterway would be so profitable.

Now most people don't think the Suez Canal can be profitable. After all, there are free waterways to go, and the Suez Canal charges can't be too high.

With such a high investment, no one can guarantee how long it will take to recover the cost. Naturally, capitalists will not have much interest in such long-term investment projects with uncertain returns.

Auvergne explained: "We have communicated with the Vienna government many times about this issue. However, they consider more strategic value, which has something to do with the appearance of the ironclad.

The Vienna government believes that the tonnage of ships is about to rise sharply. The newly established Austrian Royal Shipyard is already building 10,000-ton freighters.

It is said that a designer has increased the tonnage design of the ship to 20,000 tons. The Vienna government believes that the mainstream ships in the future will exceed 20,000 tons, which is not a big problem from a technical point of view.

The Vienna government believes that the tonnage of warships will also be greatly increased. If the investment is saved now, and the navigation volume will be insufficient in the future, the strategic value of this canal will not exist. "

Napoleon III fell into contemplation, the arrival of ironclad ships, the keel that restricts the size of the ship is no longer a problem. In theory, a substantial increase in the tonnage of the ship is inevitable.

However, the bigger the boat is not the better, and the market demand must also be taken into account. The million-ton giant ships of later generations are useless in this era, and there are simply not so many goods to be loaded into them.

However, the 10,000-ton ship is already competitive at this time. At least Austria needs such a big guy to export agricultural products.

Admiral Dicko said, "Your Majesty, from a strategic point of view, the greater the traffic volume of the Suez Canal, the better.

If Austria joins, the funds for the construction of the Grand Canal will be shared by the two of us, and the problem will not be too great. Even if the private sector can't raise it, we can also take the government's share. "

There is no doubt that the Paris government's planning of the Suez Canal also has a strategic value that exceeds its economic value, otherwise they would not have invested at all.

After hesitating for a while, Napoleon III said proudly: "Add more, since the Austrians dare to invest so much, we have no reason to be afraid!"

The strategic vision of the French in this era is really not bad. They built the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal first. Unfortunately, they were not able to hold on to it.

...

On May 10, 1858, France and Austria signed the Suez Canal Cooperation Agreement. The treaty stipulates that the two countries will each contribute half of the funds to excavate the Grand Canal, with the French as the originator holding 51% and Austria 49%.

There is nothing to say about this. For the Suez Canal, France's initial investment is not small, and its dominance is inevitable.

With the design changes, the canal's budget was also raised to 340 million francs. Franz is dismissive of this astonishing figure, not to mention 340 million francs, even 540 million francs may not be enough.

Of course, there are free labors, and the construction cost is still saved by more than half, and the final cost is not clear for Franz.

After all, the two countries are now joining forces, and they will not be forced to abandon the use of slave labor because of the destruction by the British, which will greatly increase the construction cost.

Looking at the agreement in his hand, Franz smiled and said, "Hurry up the French and let them start work as soon as possible."

Now that they have joined the canal plan, it is naturally impossible to dawdle like the French in history, and it took more than ten years to dig the Grand Canal.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Metternich replied

Chancellor of the Exchequer Carr asked: "Your Majesty, do we learn from the French in investing in the Canal Company and raise shares in the capital market?"

The Suez Canal is a sure-fire investment, but only a few people can see it.

In the eyes of most people, this is a long-term investment with unknown returns, and it is not so favored in the capital market.

Historically, the Suez Canal has been suspended due to lack of funds. If it weren't for the support of the French government, the canal company would have gone bankrupt before the canal was dug through.

Franz, who is accustomed to making a fortune in a muffled voice, will naturally not shout that the whole world knows that others are unwilling to invest, so he is just taking advantage of it.

Considering the dangers of eating alone, Franz decided to let the government take the lead, otherwise all the money in the future would go into the pockets of the royal family, which could easily arouse criticism.

“The economic crisis is not over yet, and the market’s capacity is limited. The government subscribes for half, and the remaining shares are put into

market circulation. "

There is no doubt that all shares in circulation only have the right to dividends, and the voting rights are still in the hands of the governments of Vienna and Paris.

A turning point has taken place in history. The Suez Canal, which was originally dominated by private capital, is now full of strong political implications.

London

The joint excavation of the Suez Canal by France and Austria has brought a huge impact on the British government's railway plan, after all, the cost of water transportation is lower.

Once the Suez Canal was navigable, the geographical advantage of the British would decline, and the French and Austrian countries had closer access to the Indian Ocean than the British Isles.

Prime Minister Granville is not only worried about a Grand Canal, but more about the improvement of relations between France and Austria, which makes the London government very uncomfortable.

Unlike in history, the Russians have not yet lost their hegemony on the European continent, and both France and Austria are only potential competitors, not to the point of direct competition for hegemony.

Without sufficient interests, the two governments will naturally restrain each other. Austria is now much stronger than in history, having suffered a loss in the Near Eastern War, the French are also cautious.

"Everyone, the warming of relations between France and Austria has had a huge impact on our strategy of balancing the European continent. What do you think?"

Chancellor John Russell said: "Your Excellency, you are too sensitive.

France and Austria have cooperated on the issue of the Suez Canal. There are still many conflicts in other places, and it is unlikely that the two countries will actually join forces. "

There is indeed a conflict between France and Austria. Leaving aside the hegemony of the European continent, the two sides have clashed many times over the issue of African colonies alone.

It's just that this kind of small conflict exists between almost all colonial empires, and it has not risen to the point of hostility between the two countries.

Foreign Secretary Thomas said: "Under the Vienna system, Franco-Austrian relations have been very good for the past few decades.

It was not until the February Revolution that relations between the two countries gradually cooled down. The breakdown of the relationship between the two countries was still in the German unification war, and now they are standing together because of common interests.

However, this does not affect our interests. As long as France and Austria have the ambition to compete for hegemony in the European continent, the relationship between the two countries will break down sooner or later.

Even the now close Russian-Austrian alliance will sooner or later part ways on the issue of continental hegemony. I don't believe that the Vienna government has no ambitions. "

This is a real problem, and allies are unreliable in the face of interests. Unless the power of various countries has been kept in balance, sooner or later, confrontation will occur.