Facts have proved that as long as you do what you want, everyone may become a victim. But even if you are someone who is taken advantage of, it takes time to think about it.
For Napoleon III and IV, he still needed time to make a decision, but he was moved, but the two parties did not reach an agreement at the first time. After all, this was an extremely huge investment.
Of course, for Buffett and others, they did not expect to reach an agreement at the first meeting. The conversation with the emperor ended at some point.
Amidst the cheerful music, Buffett and Field were walking towards the ballroom.
"What do you think? Will he accept our suggestion?"
Phil asked.
"The question is not whether he will accept it, but how much he is prepared to pay!"
Buffett laughed.
"You can be sure that anything less than fifty million francs is out of the question!"
"What? Fifty million francs, British, British..."
Before Field could finish speaking, Buffett said again.
"The shares have risen a lot today. By the way, if my guess is correct, someone will come to us soon, such as Ambassador Cowley. The British should not want the French to control this company. We can
Give them this quote and say it’s a French quote!”
"What! French...English, do you want to..."
Looking at Field, who was stunned, Buffett just smiled.
"The highest bidder will get it, 100 million francs... almost enough to cover this year's expenses!"
In fact, the franc is worthless. The gold content of the franc is only 0.2903225 grams, while the US dollar is 1.50466 grams. One hundred million francs is less than twenty million US dollars, which is about 30 tons of gold. It is less than 20 million pesos or less.
Ocean.
However, Buffett knows very well that Zhu Xianhai’s goal is nothing more than to maintain the balance of the company by introducing Britain and France. The British and the French cannot piss in the same pot. Only with them in the company can they always control the telegraph company, even if they control 50
% of the shares, and the American Company still controls more than 45% of the shares of the Telegraph Company. In other words, the controlling rights are still in the hands of the company. In the future, the Telegraph Company will be a continuous cash cow.
After all, historically, the British government has received hundreds of thousands or even millions of pounds in profit dividends from the Atlantic Telegraph Company every year by virtue of its 25% shareholding. And every pound contains 7.32238 grams of pure gold!
How could Zhu Xianhai give up such huge profits? The purpose of bringing in Britain and France now is just to better control the company, and also to keep this cash cow.
After all, it is impossible for either of them to accept the other's control of the company. When the snipe and the clam quarrel, the fisherman will benefit.
"This year's expenses..."
100 million francs is only enough for this year's expenses! Even a country cannot spend so much money.
While Field was astonished, Buffett had already entered the ballroom and walked directly towards a well-known socialite.
It seems that to him, a big deal of "100 million francs" is not worth mentioning at all.
In fact, the reason why Buffett no longer considers this issue is, to put it bluntly, because he no longer needs to consider the remaining issues, and there is no point in thinking about it anymore. After all, the next game is no longer a businessman’s game.
, but the country's game, neither he nor the American Company is enough to watch it at the moment.
Instead of having a headache over this problem, it is better to communicate with the socialite and enjoy the various charms of French girls.
By the way, collect information from them and develop a few useful "lovers".
After all, information is extremely important to businessmen. Of course, this is also one of the reasons why he comes here.
…
London, 10 Downing Street, Prime Minister's official residence.
"One hundred million francs!"
Pasmeton frowned,
"If I remember correctly, they mortgaged 25% of their shares to the bank at a price of 200 pounds. Now, are they raising the price again?"
Lord Russell, the Foreign Secretary, smiled and said:
"Mr. Prime Minister, don't underestimate the power of the capital market. I've heard people say that for the stock markets in London and New York, the problem now is not how much the Atlantic Telegraph Company's shares are worth, but how to buy its shares.
As we all know, as the only telegraph line between the Old World and the New World, its importance cannot be overemphasized! In fact, the market is full of expectations for it now... What is basically certain is that this company
The future profits will be extremely considerable. According to the calculations of the Colonial Office, it will save the UK half a million pounds every year. The company's direct dividends will be no less than two hundred thousand pounds. And with the increase of telegraph users in the future
If it increases, its dividends will increase greatly!"
Who would have thought that the previous jokes and scandals would turn into fat gooses that lay golden eggs overnight. But the problem is that many people missed this opportunity.
"We all laughed knowing it was important."
Pasmeton nodded and said.
"But, fifty million francs! That's close to 2.1 million pounds. For Britain, this is a big expense, even a huge sum of money."
"It should be said to be 1.5 million pounds. After all, we still hold part of the shares. But Mr. Prime Minister, the problem now is that the involvement of the French has made the company's situation a little complicated, especially when the Americans have already
Being kicked out, and the French are now meddling in Mexico..."
"American……"
Pasmeton lit up his cigar, took a puff, and thought for a while.
"The most nervous people about the French expansion in Mexico are probably the Americans. How did the French respond to the previous protests from the United States? They bought cotton from the south. Now the traditional friendship between the United States and France during the War of Independence has been completely
Destroyed by dear Napoleon III, my friend, you think, if the Americans of the Atlantic Telegraph Company are excluded again, will it further intensify the contradiction between their two countries?"
"I am very sure of that."
Lord Russell nodded heavily and said:
"However, we don't know now who the final winner of the American Civil War is, nor do we know where the French will eventually go!"
"It does not matter!"
Pasmeton said.
"The important thing is that we need to plant a lead in advance and detonate him at the right time in the future. The French..."
He shook his head and took another puff of his cigar.
"They will neither be our friends nor our enemies. Of course, there is also the American company..."
Looking up at Lord Russell, Pasmeton said.
"I heard that they used us to force Mitre to make concessions, right?"
"It's not that we are being used, but we need Mitre to focus on other things. The American Company has not yet been solved, but I believe that in the near future, we will need to consider them.
The problem is, now... they are just a franchise company."
After thinking for a while, Lord Russell said again.
"Mr. Prime Minister, according to the information we have, after the American Company purchased the "Great Eastern", they sent the ship to the Far East, and many of the merchant ships they purchased in the UK were also modified into extreme
Crowded immigration ships, it seems they are preparing to introduce a large number of Chinese coolies to solve the problem of labor shortage."
"Introducing Chinese coolies? You mean, all their ships are used to bring in coolies from China? There are very few immigrants from Europe?"
Pasmeton looked at Russell in surprise, as if he didn't believe it, and even his expression became a bit strange. His eyes were full of doubts, as if he didn't believe this was true at all.
"Yes, as far as I know, sixteen of the twenty-three old ships they purchased so far have sailed to China after completing their renovations. It seems that they are more willing to bring in Chinese coolies than to bring in European immigrants.