The office door closed again, and everyone left. One of the two bank representatives stayed in the office, and the other guarded the door. It seemed like they were preventing others from eavesdropping.
Baron Philon furrowed his brows. This was clearly a sign of distrust, but considering the terrible situation they were in, he had no choice but to restrain his anger.
"Tell me, why are you being so secretive? If you want to take advantage of the Machinery Factory, then don't waste your time here.
The Machinery Factory is my child. No matter how poor it is, I will not hand it over. BNP Paribas has no right to take it away from me! "
Baron Ferdinand was full of confidence when he said this. Although the power of the aristocrats had declined, they still held the power of the Government of France.
Although the capitalists were rich, they still had less say in politics than the aristocrats.
As one of the few successful businessmen among the aristocrats, Baron Ferdinand had powerful connections. Once he mobilized them, even financial groups would have a headache.
Under such circumstances, there were many people who wanted to take advantage of the Machinery Factory, but very few dared to take action.
The middle-aged man smiled awkwardly. "Baron, you are overthinking. How would we dare to take advantage of you?
The stock market has been falling continuously for the past week, and the market is on the verge of collapse. I am here on behalf of BNP Paribas to discuss with you how to overcome this impending economic crisis. "
There was no doubt that BNP Paribas had also taken advantage of the Machinery Factory. But they realized that this was a tough bone, and the meat was hidden between the bones.
Baron Philon rolled his eyes. "Enough. This old man knows his limits. If the economic crisis was within my control, I would not be worrying about money now. "
The Machinery Factory was short of cash because of the sudden large scale default. This was something that everyone in the capital market knew.
There was no way he could hide it. Baron Philon wasn't prepared to put on airs, nor did he think that he could fool the vampires in the bank.
The middle-aged man stopped smiling and said in a serious tone, "Baron, what we are going to talk about next is very important. If you want to listen, then you must ensure that the contents of the conversation are not leaked.
I can guarantee that what we are going to talk about next will only be good for you. Even the problems you are facing now can be easily solved. "
It was a blatant provocation. But seeing that there was a chance to solve the funding gap, Baron Ferdinand decided to continue listening.
As for whether to keep it a secret or not, that would depend on what kind of news it was. As long as the benefits were big enough, keeping it a secret was just a joke.
"Say it. If it's good for me, do you still need to worry about the news being leaked?"
The middle-aged man nodded and slowly said, "You should have noticed it, Baron. Currently, various countries in Europe were experiencing different degrees of excess production capacity, but France was the only country that suffered the greatest loss.
At the end of the day, our industrial production costs are too high, and we have no way to compete with Britain and Austria.
In order to solve the problem of industrial raw materials, we have also made a lot of efforts, but the results have been very little.
The main problem is that we haven't solved the problem of energy. We have no choice but to buy coal from the international market at sky-high prices. Moreover, there is often a shortage of coal, and all kinds of industries suffer from it.
In order to solve this problem, we hope that the domestic business community can unite and work together to persuade the central government to implement the China-EU strategy as soon as possible.
As long as the energy problem is solved, the domestic industry and commerce will immediately welcome the spring.
When that time comes, I'm afraid that your orders will be queued up for a few years. The companies that are canceling the orders now will also beg to pay you the balance. "
To implement the Central European Strategy, words alone would not solve the problem. The Government of France would definitely expand its military and prepare for war. At that time, the unsalable strategic materials in the country would immediately be digested.
If Austria were to intervene and a European war broke out, then the required strategic materials would be astronomical.
As an upstream machinery and equipment manufacturer, Baron Fillon's machinery factory was naturally a beneficiary.
Although the benefits were great, Baron Fillon's brows were tightly furrowed. After a long while of silence, he slowly said, "You're playing with fire. Once an accident happens, the France Empire will be destroyed!"
The benefits were great, but the risks were even greater. The Government of France's Central European Strategy had been regarded as an ideal strategy from the very beginning.
It had been more than 30 years since the time of Napoleon Iii, but the Government of France had yet to implement it.
It wasn't that everyone didn't want to. In fact, the previous Government of France had always wanted to complete this great strategy, but the key was that they didn't have the strength to do so.
France might be powerful, but there was still a big gap between them and the joint forces of the European countries. If they didn't handle it well, it would trigger a new round of war against France, and that would be disastrous.
The middle-aged man shook his head. "Your Excellency, high risks have high returns. If we don't want to take risks, how can we solve our current predicament?
Moreover, now is the best time to act. Britain and Russia are engaged in a fierce battle in Central Asia, and they are restraining each other. At this time, the only obstacle in front of us is Austria.
If we miss this opportunity, we won't have another chance once the war between Britain and Russia ends.
Although our economy has been recovering well in recent years, compared to other European countries, our development speed is almost at the bottom.
As time goes on, this situation will only get worse. If we act now, we still have a chance of winning, but as time goes on, our chances will get lower and lower.
In fact, as early as 1880, during the Prussian War, we should have taken action. Unfortunately, because some people were overcautious, we wasted an opportunity. "
Purely in terms of strength, 1880 was indeed the time when France had the highest success rate in challenging the European order.
Following the Paris Revolution, France's economy suffered a heavy blow, and it only recovered now.
Unfortunately, this wasn't the end of things, but only the beginning of the disaster. Looking at the economic crisis, if they didn't think of a way to overcome it, France's economy would be hit hard again.
In the long river of history, ten years was not worth mentioning at all. But for France, this wasted decade was a decade in which the economy lagged behind in every aspect.
As early as ten years ago, the total economic output of France exceeded that of the British Isles, but now, the British overtook it.
Compared to Austria, the gap in economic strength was even greater. If this continued, perhaps in the next ten years, the gap between the two sides would not be measured in percentage points, but in times.
These days, everyone underestimated the importance of the economy. When calculating the overall strength of a country, the proportion of the economy was negligible.
With the prestige left behind from the Napoleonic era, after years of propaganda by the government, people subconsciously thought that France was still the world's number one land power and the world's number two naval power, and ordinary people didn't feel the pressure.
But the financial groups were different, they were the most sensitive to the economy. Economic prosperity meant more money, and if the economy was in a disadvantageous position for a long time, it would gradually widen the gap between them and Anglo-Austrian Capital.
Whether it was for long-term development or short-term benefits, the financial groups had the need to promote the Central European strategy.
The main reason to rope in Baron Fillon was because the capital was interested in his network of connections, which could influence the government's decisions to a certain extent.
These things couldn't be exchanged with money. Even now, the representatives of the French financial groups didn't have much say in politics.
They could influence some small decisions, but if they wanted to promote the Central European strategy, they had to win the support of the nobles.
"Sigh!"
After a sigh, Baron Fillon closed his eyes and fell into a fierce internal struggle.
The more he knew, the more troubled he was. The current situation of France couldn't be hidden from the elites at all. The more he understood, the more difficult it was for Baron Fillon to make a decision.
Seeing that Baron Fillon was hesitating, the middle-aged man added, "As long as you are willing to promote the Central European strategy, regardless of the final success or failure, the bank loan can be extended to next year.
If the Central European strategy is approved by the government, we can also provide another loan to the machinery factory. "
"Bank loan" and not just "Paris Bank loan", Baron Fillon was very clear about the meaning behind it. It was nothing more than a few French financial groups working together to promote this plan.
Unlike the nobles and France, once the empire was destroyed, everyone's good days would come to an end.
The capitalists always had a lot of choices. Even if they lost the bet, they could still withdraw and develop in other countries.
It was just that they had to start from scratch, and the cost would be higher. If it wasn't necessary, no one would easily abandon France.
Baron Fillon said sarcastically, "You guys are so generous! Alright, I know what to do. I still have a meeting, so I won't keep you any longer. "
The middle-aged man wasn't angry at being treated rudely. He knew that the matter was done, so he left the office with a polite smile.
From the beginning to the end, Baron Fillon didn't ask for the middle-aged man's name or identity. It wasn't that he was arrogant, but he really didn't need to care about a small figure.
Making decisions for the government and promoting the Central European strategy was also a taboo. The big shots wouldn't show up at all, and those who came out to make connections were all dispensable pawns.
It was fine if the plan succeeded, but if the plan failed, it would attract the hostility of the Government of France, and these pawns would be ready-made scapegoats.
After looking out the window for a long time, Baron Fillon connected the phone line, took out his phone book, and started to connect …
…
Baron Fillon wasn't the only one who was being lobbied. From the moment the stock crash broke out, the capitalists began to secretly make connections.
First, it was the business community, followed by members of parliament and government officials. A huge public relations campaign began.
Unknowingly, the public opinion in France also began to change. Experts and scholars attributed a series of problems such as the stock crash, the wave of unemployment, and the low treatment of workers to the speculation of coal prices by Belgium and Germany.
To sum it up, the despicable and shameless Belgium and Germany plundered the wealth of France by raising the price of coal exports.
Of course, some of the street tabloids also conveniently mentioned John Bull in order to attract attention. After all, Britannia was the world's number one coal exporter these days.
These were all small problems. The conflict between Britain and France wasn't just a day or two, so it didn't matter if there was one more.
Following the principle of looking for a soft target, the experts and scholars didn't see the decisive choice. They only asked the government to take tough measures against Belgium and Germany to prevent the loss of national wealth.
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