Half an hour later, Luciveld hurriedly saw the French Minister of Foreign Affairs out of the royal palace, his face stricken with panic.
Once Talleyrand's carriage vanished from sight, he forcefully slapped his trembling legs and turned, striding quickly toward King Karl Eugen's bedroom.
Talleyrand had just told him that France's financial order had suffered severe damage due to this gold run, with losses exceeding 67 million francs.
Had the French Government not borrowed high-interest loans from the Italian States to fill the gap, France's finances might already have collapsed.
France had determined that the United Kingdom was behind all of this, and the reason the British had been able to wage a Financial War against France was that Württemberg and other states had provided them with vast quantities of franc Paper Money.
Luciveld had previously only read in the newspapers that France had withstood the attack on its gold reserves. He had never imagined that France's losses would be so immense.
He had not doubted the loss figure Talleyrand cited. After all, this incident had caused a stir across all Europe, which showed just how serious the situation was.
In truth, if he had voiced any doubts, Talleyrand would generously have invited him to verify it at the French Reserve Bank—the loss accounts had naturally been prepared long ago, seamless and watertight.
Before long, Württemberg's ministers had gathered in the King's bedroom, all lowering their heads with grave expressions.
Crown Prince Luciveld glanced at the King, who had been worn frail by illness, and carefully continued:
"Your Majesty, the French Government's demands for compensation are—
"First, immediately terminate the previous loan agreement. Our country must repay all 10 million francs in loans within one month and pay a penalty of 5 million francs.
"Second, compensate France 19 million francs