Chapter 824: Transaction. Accident.

Frankfurt, temporary conference center of the German Confederation.

(This is often changed, otherwise other countries in the Confederation are unwilling, mainly referring to Prussia.)

What is the concept of 10 million pounds? It is equivalent to the fiscal revenue of the United States in the same period of history for two years and the fiscal revenue of Prussia for half a year. Even for the entire German Confederation, it is not a small number.

"10 million florins."

Prince Metternich, the representative of the Austrian Empire, directly gave another number tit-for-tat. 10 million florins is equivalent to 1 million pounds, which is one-tenth of what Palmerston said.

At the beginning of the negotiations, the dialogue between the two sides was somewhat jaw-dropping. Representatives of many small countries felt that the two sides would definitely not reach an agreement and would eventually go to war.

But this is none of their business, after all, they don't even have a navy. There are only a few countries in the German states that have a navy, Austria, Prussia, Hanover, and Denmark. Other countries either don't have one or are just a joke.

In fact, most countries are not only unwilling to fight, but also unwilling to pay, but due to the domestic situation, they have to come forward.

As a result, all the delicatessens near the venue were sold out. After all, these old men like to eat pig's trotters and chicken legs when they have nothing to do.

How can meat be without good wine? How can wine and meat be without the company of beautiful women? They really didn't dare to do this. At that time, the social status of women was very low. If they really called some prostitutes, it would become an international joke.

However, even so, the scene was very shocking. Palmerston looked at the group of "good-for-nothings" in front of him and was a little speechless.

But he felt that the price offered by Metternich was too low. Although Transvaal was a barren land, it was also the territory of the British Empire.

At present, only the United States, the rebellious son, has occupied the territory of the British Empire. Palmerston felt that the price must not be too low, otherwise the descendants in the future would also be good-for-nothings, and it would be a pity to give it to others.

"Twenty million pounds."

"Five million florins."

Palmerston and Metternich spoke calmly, but the representatives of Prussia and Denmark were a little restless.

The reason was that they would be the biggest victims if they went to war with Britain.

Although Austria's broken terrain made it difficult to attack, it was also difficult for others to attack. And Austria had a strong army to support it.

But Prussia and Denmark were not so good. The British could easily destroy their coastal areas.

"Five million pounds."

"Deal, but it must be traded in our expected notes."

"Half gold, silver, half expected notes."

"Eighty percent expected notes, twenty percent gold."

"Deal."

While everyone was still confused, Palmerston and Metternich reached a deal.

It was Franz who proposed to pay with expected notes. Although the expected notes had the same payment ability as real gold and silver at this time, it was not so easy to redeem them.

The British could only choose to consume within the German Confederation, which could also drive internal development. And the money would be paid within five years, so there was no need to worry about inflation.

In fact, London did not have high expectations for the results of this negotiation, because the so-called Transvaal was still the territory of the East Bantu people at this time.

And there were not many resources in this area, at least British geologists and expeditions did not find anything valuable when they passed by.

But after all, it was a large piece of land, and it was close to the British Cape Colony, so one million pounds was the bottom line for the British.

Their main purpose was to prevent Austria or the German Confederation from intervening in the possible war, so Palmerston did not mind what to pay for the remaining four million pounds.

For the German Confederation, the Spanish Civil War and so on had nothing to do with them, after all, there was France in the middle.

But some experienced politicians had already understood the meaning of it, but since the Austrian Empire did not mind, those small countries that had no chance of dominating naturally did not care.

Metternich naturally understood that the British were going to attack the Franco-Spanish alliance, which was good news for Austria.

In Metternich's view, remaining neutral and watching the French get beaten was the best choice for Austria.

Although Austria's security was threatened by Britain several times, in Metternich's view, the old rival, the French, was more hateful.

Moreover, he felt that the dismantling of the Franco-Spanish alliance would benefit Austria in every way, but in fact, this matter was mixed. After all, if the Franco-Spanish alliance continued to exist, it would share the firepower of the British.

However, as the storm year was approaching, the so-called Franco-Spanish alliance was very likely to become the first victim of this storm.

In the end, the German Confederation purchased the land of Transvaal for 5 million pounds, and Transvaal officially became a member of the German Confederation.

The 5 million pounds would be paid within five years, of which 80% would be replaced by expected notes, and the rest would be paid in equivalent gold or silver.

However, Transvaal could not exist in the form of a commercial republic, but Andres Pretorius firmly opposed arranging a country for them, even for members of the Dutch royal family.

This actually made the Boers offend almost all the German monarchies at once, and Councillor Coulderre Jr. even thought he was crazy.

You know, Luxembourg is already an outlier, but they still have to respect the King of the Netherlands as the Grand Duke in name.

Metternich also felt that these guys were ungrateful. Were they going to rebel just after the German Confederation redeemed them?

At this time, almost all states hoped to expel the German nationality of Transvaal, so that they could get rid of this burden.

So the German Confederation held a meeting again, and almost all states opposed the inclusion of Transvaal into the German Confederation.

Karl von Kanitz, the new Prussian Foreign Minister, stood up and suggested.

"Since it is a deal between Prince Metternich and Palmerston, why not make it a colony of the Austrian Empire!"

The Prussians opened their mouths, and the other states immediately followed, especially the Danes who were eating melons and shouting loudly.

"The non-Austrian Empire is not enough to deter the African natives, and Austria already has colonies in East Africa. As long as they buy the Portuguese Mozambique, they can be connected."

Note: eating melons means an unprovoked disaster.

The most panicked person at this time was Andreas Pretorius. If Transvaal became a colony of Austria, would it suffer the same fate again?

If he was expelled again, he really didn't know what to take back to meet his parents and fellow countrymen. A good backer is about to become the last straw that breaks the camel's back.

Metternich was helpless in the face of this situation, but Archduke Franz seemed to be very knowledgeable about the situation of the colonies, and the latter might be able to give good suggestions.

In fact, Metternich was still unwilling to bear the cost alone. Although the Austrian Empire was much richer than in history, he could not accept wasting money on irrelevant things.