Chapter 681 He Wants to Improve

Chapter 674 He Wants to Improve

"God bless our emperor!"

"Long live our emperor!"

"Long live France!"

The French expatriates who came to the train station spontaneously saw their emperor with their own eyes and cheered with tears in their eyes.

Although Napoleon III was an emperor, he was not a hereditary emperor in the strict sense, but was legally elected by French citizens within the framework of the republican system.

Before the Battle of Sedan, Napoleon III had a very high reputation in the minds of the French.

Especially now that Napoleon III is not the first to ascend the throne, but has defeated Tsarist Russia in the Crimean War, smashed the Vienna system, and put France back to its rightful position, completing the revenge on Tsarist Russia.

Moreover, Napoleon III has now successfully conquered Mexico and replanted the French tricolor flag on the North American continent.

All of this makes the French at home and abroad feel that this emperor is very much like his uncle, and they also believe that France can return to the top of the world under the leadership of this emperor.

Perhaps infected by the enthusiasm of the French expatriates, or perhaps out of the desire to join in the fun, many locals also followed suit and shouted in broken French.

"I didn't see you so excited when the King of Hawaii visited." Some people in the crowd began to whisper.

"How can the king of a small country be compared with the monarch of a big country?"

"After all, he is the monarch of a big country. This demeanor and posture, wow, it's not something that a monarch of a small country can compare with."

The Republic of America is an immigrant country. The main ethnic group is the Chinese who immigrated from the Qing Dynasty. To be honest, their cultural level is not high.

But thanks to the developed newspaper industry in the Republic of America and freedom of speech, they have already made a very obvious difference from the ignorant people of the Qing Dynasty.

At least they are not completely ignorant of the outside world. They have heard of the major countries on the European continent because these countries often appear in newspapers.

After meeting with the main politicians of the American Republic and personally greeting the expatriates who came to greet him, Napoleon III took a carriage to tour the city of San Francisco as usual. The first community he visited was the French expatriate community next to Republic Avenue.

Thanks to the relatively open and tolerant immigration policy of the local government, California has attracted tens of thousands of French people to settle down and form its own French community over the past decade of the gold rush.

The French expatriate community in San Francisco is the largest French community in the entire West Coast region, with more than 30,000 French-speaking expatriates. About a quarter of the French expatriates have been naturalized, and the rest still retain their French nationality.

French Ambassador Le Goff was fortunate to have the opportunity to ride in a carriage with Napoleon III. Le Goff was very excited. This was the emperor's affirmation of his work and a rare opportunity for him to perform in front of the emperor.

"Since 1851, you have come here as a representative of the Bank of France to conduct business. I have read your reports. You have done a good job." Napoleon III first affirmed Le Goff's sincerity over the years, but he immediately changed the subject and said meaningfully.

"For ten years, a full ten years, the business of the Bank of France and our influence have been limited to the small gold mountain. This is far from enough."

The status of the Bank of France and the British Bank of Barings are both the vanguards of the foreign capital expansion of these old capitalist countries, not just banks.

In the 19th century, banks that could be opened abroad were basically endorsed by their own governments. There were pure multinational commercial banks, but they were few and far between, and they were basically concentrated in a corner of the European continent where the capital market was the most mature.

France's overseas colonial expansion was not late, but as a relatively traditional land power country, France did far less well in this regard than Britain on the other side of the strait.

In addition, under the constraints of the Vienna system, France was suppressed for more than 30 years. France's overseas expansion results can be said to be a little early and late.

There are very few French banks like the Jinshan Branch of the Bank of France that do not rely on local blood transfusions, but can feed back to the local area with real money every year.

Of course, the insignificant results of France's colonial expansion are relative to Britain. Compared with the rising stars such as Prussia and Italy, which did not even have the qualifications to fight for land under the sun at this time, France's colonial expansion is undoubtedly very successful.

"Your Majesty is wise. Although the profits of gold mining and industrial mining are lucrative, they cannot be compared with the chemical industry. This is a different time. In the past, the West Coast developed smoothly. Not to mention foreign capital, even capital in the eastern United States could not get involved in the petrochemical industry."

Le Goff has been working in California for ten years. He is the Frenchman who knows the West Coast of North America best. He knows very well that as early as five years ago, the petrochemical industry in Los Angeles has replaced the gold mining industry and become the most important pillar industry for the West Coast authorities.

California gold mines are rapidly depleting at a visible speed under high-intensity mining, while Los Angeles' oil seems to be inexhaustible. Until now, Los Angeles' petrochemical industry is still expanding rapidly.

"During the North American Civil War, the British now have the idea of ​​regaining Hong Kong Island and expelling Umbrella from Australia. Even the Russians have extended their hands to places such as Ezo.

Given the current situation of the American Republic, it is not difficult for our French investors to enter the Los Angeles petrochemical industry you mentioned with a little operation. The key is how much return on investment we can get from Los Angeles.

No mistakes, just read the content!

And I want more than just economic returns, Le Goff, you are not a banker now, but our French ambassador, you can't just weigh the economic gains and losses. "Napoleon III said slowly.

"In addition to Los Angeles, they have also been mining oil in North Borneo and Texas in recent years. I think there must be oil in other parts of the world. Maybe there has been oil buried under the ground of France and French colonies, but we have never found it. "

Napoleon III firmly believes that there is oil in other parts of the world, even in France. It's just that the technology for exploring oil is currently only mastered by these petrochemical capitals on the West Coast.

Compared to investing in Los Angeles to enjoy dividends, Napoleon III wants more oil exploration technology and supporting refining and processing technology.

"Remember your majesty's teachings. "

Le Goff lowered his head and replied. He was eager to show himself in front of Napoleon III and promote deeper cooperation between France and the American Republic. This was not only because the local politicians treated him very well, but also for his own future. He did not want to be an ambassador forever. He wanted to make progress.

"If we start from the perspective of political investment, Liang Yao is a rare and high-quality investment target."

Speaking of this, Le Goff paused and looked up carefully to observe Napoleon III's reaction.

"Go on." Napoleon III had no extra expression, and his face was so calm that it was difficult to understand.