Paris Imperial Palace
Napoleon III asked uncertainly, "Auvergne, are you sure the Vienna Government truly intends to join our canal project, rather than deliberately coming to cause trouble?"
Foreign Minister Auvergne replied with certainty, "Your Majesty, the Vienna Government should be sincere. They are willing to fund the excavation of the grand canal together with us.
"No one would joke around with hundreds of millions of francs. As long as they invest in the canal company, they will support us for the sake of their own interests.
"It is simply that the Austrians have always been conservative. They fear that, following our plan, the canal's eventual shipping capacity will fail to meet demand, which is why they requested that its designed depth be increased by four meters."
Napoleon III rubbed his forehead and asked, "I recall that the canal company's design depth is nine meters. The largest ships in the world can all pass through freely, yet the Austrians still think that is not enough?
"Do they not know that every additional meter means a huge increase in investment? Adding four meters now means the budget will rise sharply."
The Suez Canal's planned funding was 200 million francs, a figure that was already testing the limits of what investors could bear. Before the canal opened to shipping, no one knew that this golden waterway would be so profitable.
Most people now did not believe the Suez Canal could turn a profit. After all, there were still free sea routes available, and the Suez Canal could not charge excessively high tolls.
With such a massive investment, no one could guarantee how long it would take to recoup the costs. Naturally, capitalists had little interest in projects that required long-term investment with uncertain returns.
Auvergne explained, "We have discussed this issue with