Loan Crisis

"You certainly won't regret today's decision." Manager Brent made a token hat-tipping gesture and said in an extremely rousing tone, "Viscount Baudouin, congratulations on becoming a member of Paris Angel!"

Count Albrau had not expected this young viscount to be so decisive, but he reacted swiftly as well. "I've also decided to invest in a franchise."

"Oh, that's wonderful, Count. Your eye for investment is as sharp as ever."

The others were instantly stunned. One moment they had still been haggling, and the next, the three shops in the Paris District had been completely divided up?

After all, there was a popular saying these days—France really had only two provinces: Paris and everywhere else. As the political, economic, and cultural center of all France, Paris had far greater purchasing power than other regions.

If people were investing heavily, that meant the business was certainly profitable! Those who had hesitated and watched from the sidelines now began blaming themselves for lacking courage.

But having missed one chance, they absolutely could not miss a second!

Duke Lavalliere followed suit. "I'll open a shop in Reims. That's where my hometown is."

"Ahem, I'll join too. I have some properties in Marseille, so I'll put two shops there."

"I'll invest in one too..."

That night, in Brent's home, he fiercely kissed the seven franchise contracts in his hands, shouting and jumping like a madman.

Joining Paris Angel Company was undoubtedly the most correct decision he had made in his life. Just that afternoon, he had achieved financial freedom—Joseph had promised him a commission of 3,000 livres for every franchise he signed.

In other words, he was now a wealthy man worth more than twenty thousand!

He poured himself a glass of Wine, took a huge gulp with the contracts as his accompaniment, and happily calculated: First, I'll buy a villa in the Louvre District or Saint-Germain District, then I'll go to Viscount Machiavelli's house to propose marriage for my son! That old miser will never be able to mock my family for being poorer than his again, hahaha!

Joseph signed Brent's contracts one by one, and did not find it particularly surprising.

Anyone with eyes could see Paris Angel's profitability. Besides, although the French Government was poor, the common people were very wealthy. There was no shortage of investors for such a good project.

The seven shops were merely a beginning. He estimated that once these franchise shops opened, their demonstration effect would bring in at least twice as many franchisees.

After Brent left, Joseph, the second-in-command of France's finances, set off for the Office of the Minister of Finance.

The moment he entered, every official in the room swarmed around him and warmly saluted and congratulated him. "Your Highness, congratulations!"

"Your Highness saved the Dutch!"

"The Prussians slunk back with their tails between their legs, hahaha!"

"France's Child of Divine Grace!"

Minister of Finance Brienne came to the front of the crowd and said sincerely, "Your Highness, I heard about what happened in the Netherlands. I must say, your diplomatic methods astonished me!"

Joseph smiled. "This was France's victory. I merely gave things a little push from behind."

The crowd broke into another round of lavish praise before gradually dispersing.

Brienne's smile faded. "Your Highness, according to the information I obtained, the High Court's deliberation result will come out in the next few days. It will likely still be a refusal to register it."

Joseph was not surprised. The terms of the bill submitted this time had been designed to be rejected.

He said calmly, "Archbishop Brienne, there's no need to worry. This is only the beginning. I haven't played my cards yet."

Thinking of the Crown Prince's masterful maneuver in the Netherlands, Brienne immediately felt reassured. After offering a few words of encouragement, he added casually, "Oh, I saw yesterday's financial report. It seems that loan of yours has not yet been finalized?"

"Yes. Thank you for the reminder. I'll handle it as soon as possible."

Joseph returned to his office, looked over the recent important matters, and asked his assistant, "Tomorrow's loan negotiations with Lavier Bank have been postponed again?"

The latter said helplessly, "Your Highness, they said they need to audit their accounts lately and have no energy for other matters for the time being."

Joseph frowned. "Then what arrangements has Laborde Bank made?"

"They haven't replied yet, but I heard they invested a great deal of money in the United Kingdom's steam-powered weaving machine industry. They may not be able to produce a loan of several million in the short term..."

"Hm?" Joseph immediately narrowed his eyes.

As far as he knew, the French Government had worked with the two banks to obtain short-term loans for more than a decade. In the past, there had not even been any need for the Assistant Minister of Finance to step in—the banks would draft the agreement and send it over two months in advance.

Yet this time, with only half a month left before the Government Bonds matured, the two banks were still putting him off again and again. If there was no problem here, then hell had frozen over!

Banking systems in this era were highly inefficient. For a massive sum of over six million, several days were needed from signing the agreement to receiving the funds. In other words, if things dragged on for another eight or nine days, France's finances would face a debt default!

He had to find another way.

Joseph immediately motioned to Eman, who stood waiting at the door. "Prepare a carriage for me. I'm going to Paris Discount Bank."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

By noon, Joseph had arrived at the headquarters of Paris Discount Bank, currently the largest bank in France.

The Discount Bank's manager grandly led a group of senior managers to welcome the Crown Prince and even wanted to host a luncheon in his honor.

However, when Joseph brought up the loan, he was immediately refused with extreme politeness. "Your Highness, we have long had an agreement with banks such as Lavier Bank. They handle the Government's large short-term loans, so it would not be appropriate for us to involve ourselves in this kind of business."

Joseph tried for a long time, but in the end, the Discount Bank was only willing to provide medium- to long-term loans with collateral, and even then, raising the funds might take quite a while.

Joseph left helplessly and went to Paris Bank, where he received the same answer as from the Discount Bank.

His final destination was Royal Bank.

Only... this bank truly had no money.

Though it was also a major bank, ever since John Law had created massive inflation through the Mississippi Company Ponzi scheme and ruined Royal Bank's reputation, this state-owned bank had become as poor as the French Government.

In the end, only two medium-sized banks were willing to lend the French Government 600,000 livres, and their interest rate was as high as 25%. As for the other small banks, many had capital of only one or two million livres to begin with and simply could not provide much of a loan.

Back in the carriage, Joseph's face was as dark as water. These banks had most likely planned this together, and it did not seem as though they were merely putting on airs to raise the interest rate.

He looked at the finance assistant traveling with him. "Can we use administrative measures to pressure those banks?"

The latter immediately pulled a long face. "Your Highness, given the Government's current financial situation, it would be unwise to fall out too badly with the banking industry..."

Joseph took a deep breath and looked out the carriage window at Cano Bank. In a low voice, he said, "They dare play tricks with the nation's finances just because they control the source of money?"

"Fine. Then I'll open a bank myself."