"Thirty million livres? What are you talking about?!"
Even King Louis XV was stunned for a moment when he heard this number, wondering if he had heard something wrong because he was old and frail.
Even if he has no concept of money, he still knows how much wealth thirty million livres is.
On the order of tens of millions plus the unit of livre, Louis XV had only seen this kind of figure in those national financial reports that he hardly read.
The Duke of Aiguillon was completely stunned on the spot, his head was filled with the number three and the innumerable string of zeros that followed.
"How is it possible...how is it possible for a company to amass such a large amount of money..."
As a duke with a prominent position in the political arena, the Duke of Aiguillon is well aware of how exaggerated this wealth is.
Thirty million livres can fully support the entire cost of a small war, and can even directly wipe out France's two-year fiscal deficit.
Even if the market value is not equal to the actual wealth, this number still made the Duke of Aiguillon break into a cold sweat.
There was even silence at the banquet table. Everyone, including Madame Du Barry, couldn't help but cover their mouths and quickly thought about what this number meant in their minds.
"Your Majesty, I didn't believe this news at first. I only reported it to you after confirming it several times."
The press officer kept saying:
"And... based on the royal family's share of the company... nearly six million livres belong to the royal family."
"Six million livres, complete royal property?"
Louis XV said in disbelief.
Although he did not understand the difference between market value and actual value, this astonishing number already made Louis XV feel slightly dizzy.
After all, this is a complete windfall for the royal family.
The royal family paid nothing, relying solely on the thin piece of paper signed by Lawrence and the Duke of Choiseul, and took this huge sum of money into the Palace of Versailles legitimately and without any exploitation.
Even Louis XV himself felt that the name National Silver Company of Corsica was becoming more and more pleasant to the ears.
By this time, no one at the banquet table was stupid enough to attack Crown Prince Louis as a director of the company.
The face of Duke Aiguillon, who took the initiative to attack, was livid. He also knew that there was no point in making a fuss about this matter. After all, he could not afford six million livres to send to the Palace of Versailles.
As for possible criticism from foreign courts, Louis XV was in a good mood and didn't care at all.
If any king really pointed out this, Louis XV would probably retort directly:
"Send all your princes and princesses to the market and see if they can bring back six million livres!"
Although this asset could not be realized for a while, Louis XV was still very happy about it and hummed a little tune and said:
"Laurence and Choiseul are really capable ministers. In just a few days, they have sent me another great gift. You are right, Duke Aiguillon."
The Duke of Aiguillon gritted his teeth and nodded reluctantly.
He and the Duke of Choiseul were not only in political opposition, but also had a personal grudge. Even the superficial acknowledgment made the Duke of Aiguillon feel sick to his stomach.
"I don't know what Marquis Maup thought, but he actually wanted to stop such a company from going public."
Louis XV suddenly thought of the fact that Justice Maupe had stopped the listing of the National Silver Company a few days ago, frowned and muttered:
"Fortunately, I didn't let him mess around. I hope he won't make such mistakes in his future work."
The Duke of Aiguillon on the side couldn't help but shudder after hearing this, and even Madame Du Barry, who was not interested in politics, showed her unwillingness and worry.
It was obvious that Louis XV deliberately said these words to them.
Both of them also understood that the Duke of Choiseul, who was gradually alienated by the king, would definitely regain a lot of status because of this incident.
As for Lawrence, who was already highly regarded by Louis XV, there is no doubt that he will become even more powerful.
...
At the same time, in the Paris Stock Exchange, Lord Melly's private office.
"Cheers! Old friend, and Monsieur Bonaparte, I must toast you!"
Mr. Montmartre raised a goblet filled with champagne and said to Lord Melly and Lawrence beside him with great joy.
Judging from his rosy face and the smile that he couldn't hide, Mr. Montmartre may have never been so proud and happy in his life.
As for the reason, you only need to go to the exchange hall downstairs to understand.
The huge hall is full of investors, even during the lunch break.
Mr. Montmartre swore that this was definitely the hottest day on the stock exchange he had ever witnessed in his life.
And these people came to the stock exchange for almost one purpose - Corsican National Silver Company.
After yesterday's press conference, various newspapers rushed to make the content of this press conference the undisputed front page, and began to contact the printing factory to print in advance in the afternoon.
And this morning, as the first batch of newspapers smelling of ink were delivered to the hands of Paris citizens, the financial market in Paris instantly exploded.
The originally despairing mentality of investors took a 180-degree turn like a roller coaster.
They first took the newspaper gloomily, then glanced at the title with confusion and shock, and then greedily and crazily read every word on it.
Even a fool can see that since Monsignor Bonaparte has rejected Justice Maupp's intention to control the financial world, the downturn in the financial market that has lasted for several days will inevitably end.
In other words, now is an excellent time to buy the bottom, because the market is bound to usher in an upward trend.
After reading the newspaper, investors immediately rushed to the Paris Stock Exchange desperately, just like famine victims smelling endless delicacies.
Funds that had been idle due to the market downturn suddenly became active and rushed into the financial market.
Especially those leading investors who personally participated in yesterday's press conference. They were already ready to go, tied their napkins, and were ready to enjoy this feast of capital.
As for the protagonist of this feast, there is no doubt that the Corsican National Silver Company.
Every newspaper obtained the company's disclosure data from the stock exchange and placed it on the front page as second only to the front page news.
Investors who read the newspaper suddenly realized why this company was favored by so many politicians - an unprecedented giant silver mine.
And it is a silver mine that is almost completely unexploited.
In other words, as long as this silver mine starts to be mined and the National Silver Company starts to make profits, its stock price will inevitably rise.
And what this means, every investor also understands: investment in the National Silver Company is absolutely guaranteed to make a profit, and the more you invest, the more you make.
With this idea in mind, people gathered at the entrance of the Paris Stock Exchange early in the morning and formed several long queues waiting for the opening of trading.
The queue stretched to the other end of the square on St. Paul's Avenue, and many people even got into fights for jumping in line.
After all, at this critical juncture, if you step into the door of the stock exchange earlier, you can earn ten more livres.
At 9 o'clock this morning, the Paris Stock Exchange officially opened.
The carnival also began.
A large number of people rushed into the exchange hall, and many of them were not professional investors, but ordinary citizens or working class people who had gotten wind of the situation.
They waved remittance orders and money bags in their hands and loudly urged trading brokers to complete their orders.
The billboard in the center of the hall used to announce prices changes almost every five seconds, and the numbers on it are also rising, indicating to everyone the fact that the stock market is recovering.
As for the protagonist in the exchange hall today, the National Silver Company, it has attracted everyone's attention.
Its stock price even has a separate billboard hanging above the lobby.
Every time the price on this billboard changed or jumped, investors in the hall would burst into cheers.
Some ordinary people who took advantage of the situation bought National Silver Company stocks when the market opened and sold them all before the market closed. This way, they added hundreds of livres to their pockets and walked out satisfied.
Exchange.
More people stayed at the desks of trading brokers, and once there was a surplus in the stocks of the National Silver Company, they immediately took it without hesitation.
In their eyes, this is just a matter of money.
In this morning alone, all the shares of the National Silver Company contracted by the French Commercial Bank were sold.
...
"It's simply wonderful."
Mr. Montmartre took a deep breath of the mellow aroma of champagne, as if he smelled the smell of silver coins, and said intoxicatedly:
"I didn't expect it to go so smoothly. I will make today my lucky day."
As the original shareholder of the National Silver Company, Mr. Montmartre naturally benefited greatly from the hot stock market.
To be continued...