Rothschild

Such a significant matter was beyond François's control, so he could only tell Louis that he needed to go back and inform his investors. Louis understood, and the two agreed on a time for the next meeting. François then took his leave.

After leaving the Bonaparte General Electric, François boarded a waiting carriage and went directly to the Austria embassy. At the embassy, François informed Metternich of the results of his conversation with Louis, and then asked Metternich, "Your Excellency, what are your thoughts on the France suggestion?"

Metternich thought for a moment and then replied, "Francisco, I think overall, the Bonaparte Family has shown us a certain degree of goodwill. As they said, they don't actually lack access to funding. If they needed funds, I believe banks all over Europe, including the Britain banks, would be very willing to cooperate with them. Under these circumstances, it's already quite remarkable that they are willing to give us a portion of the shares. As for the preferred shares, I've never seen anything like that before. I don't think the terms are bad. Anyway, I don't think our goal includes competing with the Bonaparte Family for control of 'Bonaparte General Electric,' right?"

"At least in the short term, it's impossible," François shook his head. "The Bonaparte Family's rule France has gradually taken root. It wasn't easy, but they really did it. Bonaparte came to power as a war hero. This position is unstable. Although when he first ascended the throne, the people praised his achievements and sang his praises, great achievements fade, and it won't be long before the people forget the merits he made on the battlefield."

The reason they supported him before was ultimately because he led them to plunder a great deal of things— the France nobility's wealth, and they also robbed us, the Italy, and Prussia. He distributed some of what he had stolen to the ignorant masses at home, and those people naturally felt grateful to him.

But the wealth obtained through plunder will eventually run out, and the people, accustomed to easily acquiring money through robbery, will find it difficult to settle down and live a life of poverty. If General Napoleon wanted to maintain the people's support and affection for him, he had to provide them with a relatively comfortable life. This was difficult, and we initially thought he couldn't do it. We felt his most likely course of action was to keep leading his army out to plunder. But this would only be a short-sighted solution, making France, and himself, an enemy of all of Europe. At that point, his defeat would be predictable.

However, we must admit that we underestimated General Napoleon and the Bonaparte Family behind him. They possessed more than just one military genius; under their leadership, the France forged a new path—a path we hadn't foreseen. Through commerce and science, they could now easily acquire far more wealth than they could through war. Therefore, at least for the foreseeable future, General Napoleon's rule in France was firmly established. It's a pity he wasn't of royal birth; otherwise, he could have directly transformed France into a kingdom.

Since they won't cause any problems in the short term, we naturally can't try to seize their core interests. France's rise is now unstoppable; it seems God is truly on Bonaparte's side. We can only temporarily set aside our other thoughts and submit to God's will. Mr. Ambassador, I know what you mean by asking me. My continued doubts stem from the fact that preferred shares cannot be freely transferred. This means that if we get on the France ship, it will be difficult to get off.

I think the France brought up the preferred stock idea probably to see how much we were willing to tie ourselves to them. So, I'm hesitant."

"François, you've come to the wrong person with this question. You know I'm not very knowledgeable about these things. But I have a friend who's Jewish and quite knowledgeable about economic matters. Perhaps you could ask him for his opinion."

"Thank you for your help," François said. "May I ask who your friend is?"

"Mayer Rothschild —a banker from Frankfurt. He's very good at business and also a great teacher of his sons. He has five sons, all of whom are skilled in business. Now his son Nathan Mayer Rothschild owns a bank in Paris, and it's doing quite well. You could go ask him; he might be able to give you some advice."

Nathan Mayer Rothschild was a pivotal figure in the rise of the historically renowned Rothschild family. He was the third son of the elder Rothschild and the most capable of his five sons. In the original historical account, he arrived in London in late 1798 with a sum of start-up capital. At that time, he was London already running his own bank and had become a respected figure in the Britain capital market.

However, in this timeline, for some unknown reason, Nathan did not go to London in 1798 as is recorded in history; instead, he went to Paris. During the Battle of Verdun, Joseph's false report of being wounded fooled almost everyone, but Nathan, based on information he had gathered, deduced that even if the report were true, the Anglo-Prussian Allied Forces would not be able to breach the Verdun defenses and would ultimately be defeated. Therefore, when rumors spread and France bonds plummeted to only one-twentieth of their original value, he decisively bet most of his wealth, buying up France bonds on a large scale before Bovan Bank could. As a result, he made a fortune and earned Bovan's hatred and admiration.

It is said that when Mr. Bovan was educating his son, he often used Nathan Mayer Rothschild as a role model. This greatly inspired young Bovan, making him study exceptionally hard. However, it also had another consequence: it made young Bovan very resentful of anyone with the Rothschild name, and even of Jews in general.

Nathan Mayer Rothschild then hoped to infiltrate the France Military-Industrial Complex, but firstly, Mr. Bovan strongly opposed it, and secondly, Joseph seemed to have some reservations about the "Rothschild" surname.

This is actually quite normal, since Joseph had read "Currency Wars" in his previous life. Although Joseph knew in his previous life that "Currency Wars" was just a novel, and that the Rothschild Family wasn't actually that powerful. Joseph even knew that since missing out on the United States, the Rothschild Family had suffered two major losses in World War I and World War II, and was no longer considered the most powerful financial group.

But this did not mean Joseph could let his guard down, especially when dealing with a man named Nathan Mayer Rothschild. Joseph recalled that in the original history, this man had once almost controlled the entire monetary policy of Britain.

Monetary policy is one of the most important sovereign rights of a nation. This must never fall into the hands of any financial group other than Bonaparte Consortium's; otherwise, the interests of the France people will not be protected, and the France people will be reduced to slavery.

Like the Lighthouse Country, where monetary sovereignty fell into the hands of a private institution, resulting in a pandemic where, despite having months of warning time, the world's most abundant medical resources and technology, and an omnipotent and omniscient president, they ultimately chose to prioritize the economy over human lives, turning what was once the world's leading superpower into something resembling a third-world country. How could such a thing be allowed to happen in the great France? How could monetary sovereignty fall into the hands of Jews?

The France people will never agree to such a thing; we recognize no one but the Bonaparte Consortium!

Because of this awareness, Nathan Mayer Rothschild, despite making a lot of money in France, did not have much success in his attempts to join the "Military-Industrial Complex."

Holding Metternich's letter of introduction, François met the banker at the lavishly furnished home of Nathan Mayer Rothschild. François explained his purpose to Nathan.

Nathan interlaced his fingers, sat on the sofa, and thought for a moment before saying, "I understand your concerns. You think this deal is worthwhile—and I do too; you plan to invest as much cash as possible—and I would love to do the same if given the opportunity. But you're worried that once the money becomes preferred stock, it can't be converted into cash on the market like regular stock. If you invest too much cash, it could put you in trouble when you urgently need it; but if you don't invest all the cash, you feel like you're missing out on a great opportunity to make money. Am I right?"

François nodded and said, "Mr. Rothschild, you are absolutely right. That is exactly what I was worried about."

"Mr. François," Nathan Mayer Rothschild said, spreading his hands on the table, "I have a solution that offers the best of both worlds, allowing you to invest with confidence while ensuring ample liquidity. We can first establish an investment company, then inject the funds into this company, and through this company, purchase preferred stock of Bonaparte General Electric. In this way, while the preferred stock of Bonaparte General Electric cannot be traded on the market, the shares of the company holding it can be freely traded. What do you think of this plan?"

"Mr. Rothschild, thank you so much. That's a wonderful idea. How can I possibly thank you?" François said.

"Ah, Mr. François, if you are truly willing to express your gratitude to me, then I very much hope that you will allow me to invest in your new company..." Nathan Mayer Rothschild said with a smile.