The Austro-Hungarian Empire's financial crisis came and went in a flash. Once the government had injected enough funds into the market, things quickly returned to normal.
After gorging himself at this feast of capital, Ferdinand now set off on a trip to London.
It was time to lie low for a while. Over the past two years, Ferdinand had made quite a name for himself in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and he had just made another killing at the feast of capital.
All this attention was not Ferdinand's style. This was the perfect opportunity to get out and see the world, and take care of the gold mine business while he was at it.
After being reborn, Ferdinand had immediately sent people out to buy land. He had snapped up many of the famous mineral deposits that would be discovered in later generations.
Many of those places were harsh and not yet worth mining, so he could leave them alone for now. But he couldn't just leave those few open-pit gold mines untouched!
What if someone discovered them first and swiped the gold mines? Millions of pounds in income were enough to drive anyone mad.
Lacking the strength to go it alone, Ferdinand planned to find a powerful partner. He also had to make sure his own interests were protected, which was why he was going to London.
Queen Victoria, whose full name was Alexandrina Victoria (May 24, 1819–January 22, 1901), was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn. She inherited the throne at the age of eighteen and was revered as a national symbol.
Queen Victoria reigned for 63 years and seven months, longer than any other British monarch and any other female monarch in history. Her reign was known as the Victorian era.
It was a period when the United Kingdom made remarkable strides in industry, culture, politics, science, and military affairs.
Queen Victoria was the last monarch of the House of Hanover. Her son and heir, Edward VII, belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
The Victorian era was the United Kingdom's most glorious period. It was then the world's center of trade, and the British proudly declared:
The plains of North America and Russia are our cornfields; Chicago and Odessa are our granaries; Canada and the Baltic Sea are our forests; Australia and West Asia are our pastures; Argentina and the western prairies of North America are home to our herds.
Peru sends us its silver; the gold of South Africa and Australia flows into London; the Indians and Chinese grow tea for us; and our coffee, sugarcane, and spice plantations are scattered throughout the East Indies.
Spain and France are our vineyards; the Mediterranean is our orchard; the United States is our cotton field.
In early December, Ferdinand set out from Vienna. By the time he reached London, Christmas was almost upon them. As soon as he stepped off the ship, he was greeted by his friend and cousin, Albert Edward von Saxe-Coburg-Gotha—Edward VII.
The main reason the two had become friends was that they shared the same interests. Both led dissolute lives and were oddballs among the nobility.
Edward was delighted to see Ferdinand. It was also possible he wanted someone to share the heat with him. After all, being scolded together felt different from being scolded alone. Otherwise, there was no need for an heir to the throne to come greet Ferdinand in person.
"Ferdinand, my brother, what took you so long?" Edward shouted at him.
"Damn it, you know how far it is! The rough seas were absolutely dreadful!" Ferdinand complained.
Shooting the breeze and chatting about everything under the sun was one of Ferdinand's strengths. The two naturally got along famously. As etiquette demanded, his first stop was to pay a visit to Queen Victoria.
Buckingham Palace. Well, it might have been famous in later generations, but Ferdinand didn't think it was anything special. Perhaps he had already grown accustomed to this world; to him, it looked much like any other palace.
The paintings and calligraphy along the way, however, caught his eye. The place was filled with antiques and relics from all over the world, and the furniture was like a collection of works of art. Ferdinand was dazzled.
Edward seemed very pleased with Ferdinand's reaction. "If you like them, I could consider giving you some. But we should go see my mother now."
Edward brought Ferdinand back to his senses. He gave an awkward smile; his behavior just now had been rather embarrassing.
"Ferdinand, welcome. I'm glad to have you here," Victoria said warmly.
But to Ferdinand, the visit felt like a year dragged by. Victoria's presence was overwhelming. He found himself feeling a little sorry for Edward. With such a forceful mother, his life couldn't have been easy.
Victoria was already very old and had limited energy. She soon let Ferdinand go. That evening, she duly attended the welcoming banquet, then hurried off.
The next day, Ferdinand and Edward let loose and set out to explore London.
"Ferdinand, I hear you've made a lot of money these past two years," Edward said enviously.
"Not that much, just a few million pounds. To the royal family, that's pocket change," Ferdinand said calmly.
He was a little puzzled by Edward's envy. As heir to the world's foremost power, surely it wasn't hard for him to get his hands on some money? Whatever he dabbled in would bring in a steady stream of cash, wouldn't it?
"Of course a few million pounds is nothing to the royal family! But to me, it's an astronomical sum," Edward complained.
Thinking it over, Ferdinand realized that the man before him was not having an easy time of it. He and Victoria had a very strained relationship. Although he was heir to the throne, he was forbidden from meddling in government affairs, and his spending was tightly restricted. He also loved yachts and horse racing, often spending lavishly, so it was only natural that he was short on money.
"Good Lord, you can't be serious! How could the heir to the British Empire be broke? Don't tell me you can't get your hands on the royal family's assets, worth hundreds of millions of pounds?" Ferdinand said with exaggerated surprise.
Inwardly, he was delighted. If Edward was short on money, this would be easy. He immediately changed his plans. Working with Edward seemed just as good. Unless the colonial officials had rocks for brains, surely none of them would dare make trouble for the heir's business!
However he looked at it, Edward was easier to sway than Victoria, and the price would be much lower. How could he turn down a gold mine delivered right to his doorstep?
"Financial restrictions. I'm not allowed to spend more than ten thousand pounds a month! You know how much I spend. How could that possibly be enough?" Edward complained.
"Couldn't you invest in something?" Ferdinand asked, playing along.
"Of course I have! But with the little capital I've got, even if I buy shares, I won't get much of a return!" Edward roared.
"Really? Well, I've found a gold mine. Would you be interested?" Ferdinand asked with a smile.
"A supermarket? I've opened a few myself, but the profits aren't all that great," Edward said candidly.
Ferdinand cursed inwardly. So you stole my idea, then complained to me, its creator, that the profits were low.
"Of course not. I mean a gold mine, and an open-pit one at that! Do you understand, Edward?" Ferdinand roared.
"Heavens! Good Lord, am I dreaming? If you've got a gold mine, why not dig it up yourself? Why come to me?" Edward asked in surprise.
"Damn it, don't you know mining takes a lot of workers? Do you know how high workers' wages are in Europe right now? I want to work with you, obviously, so I don't have to pay them!" Ferdinand said, as if it were only natural.
"What! You don't plan to pay them? You heartless capitalist! I won't let you get away with this. I'm cutting ties with you!" Edward said furiously.
Ferdinand remained unmoved and sneered. "Come on, stop putting on an act. There's no one else here, so there's no need to perform! This is the first time I've heard of the heir to the British throne caring about the lives of the natives! So..."
"Wait! You should've said so earlier, brother. You want slaves, right? Leave it to me. How much of the profits do I get?" Edward seemed to turn into a different person.
The two of them then started haggling, arguing over every last penny. In the end, they reached an agreement and jointly established the United Mining Co., Ltd.
As the owner of the gold mine, Ferdinand invested 300,000 pounds for a 60 percent stake. Edward put up not a single penny. He would handle the labor force, protect the company, and take care of any outside trouble, in return for a 40 percent stake.
The first site Ferdinand proposed was the Coolgardie goldfield.
Coolgardie: The Coolgardie Gold Belt was one of the two largest gold-producing regions in Australia. The Coolgardie gold project was located about 40 kilometers west of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.
In 1892, 554 ounces of gold were discovered in the area, setting off the last global gold rush migration. Nearly 16,000 people flocked to Coolgardie at the time, making it almost the third-largest city in Australia.
The project's resources totaled about 1.2 million tons, grading 1.7 grams per ton, for a total of 69,000 ounces of gold. During the first 28 months of the mine's life, 65,000 ounces of gold could be recovered from three shallow ore bodies.
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