The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1163 Capital Injection
“In this great era, we stand at the intersection of history.

We in Egypt, an ancient civilization between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, today call upon the world to support the wise and visionary to open a new era of prosperity.

We are pleased to announce that the Suez Canal Company is now officially established!

Our goal is to build a canal connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, which will be a landmark project in world history.

This move will not only significantly shorten the sailing distance from Europe to Asia and create countless economic benefits, but will also benefit the whole world and all mankind!
In order to better benefit the world, we will put aside past grudges and sincerely invite investors from all over the world to complete this great initiative together and enjoy the best investment returns! ”

Muhammad Ali was obviously very confident in his plan, but the initial response was not very strong, especially the reaction of the Italian states could be described as cold.

The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the Papal States, and a series of small states controlled by Austria on the Apennine Islands were not at all surprised nor showed any interest in Ali the Elder's Suez Canal plan.

However, the reaction of the great powers and German states was huge, especially France and Spain, who were almost jumping on the table and cheering.

In fact, the European continent has suffered from Britain for a long time. The British have long occupied a dominant position in the East trade and artificially raised the prices of Indian and Far Eastern goods.

This has long caused dissatisfaction among European countries, and some countries have considered skipping the UK as a middleman and going directly to the East to trade.

But it was difficult to implement. India had already become a forbidden fruit of Britain, and goods in Southeast Asia were in short supply, so Britain could only seek business opportunities in the Far East.

However, to go to the East at this time, one had to go around the African continent, and the main trade nodes along the way were almost all under British control.

The Cape of Good Hope alone is enough to make most countries give up. Even if there is no deliberate suppression, the invisibly increased transportation costs will make those countries lose their competitive advantage.

After the world trade center shifted from the Mediterranean to the North Sea, the major powers on the European continent suffered varying degrees of damage, while Britain became increasingly stronger.

Once the Suez Canal is opened, the distance of trade between the East and the West will be greatly shortened, and European countries will no longer be able to avoid being fleeced by Britain.

If the center of world trade could return to the Mediterranean again, it would be a good thing for the major powers on the European continent.

The British naturally could not sit idly by and watch this happen. Viscount Stratford immediately contacted Muhammad Ali and asked him to stop this crazy plan.

He first threatened to occupy Egypt, but when he saw that old Ali was unmoved, he turned to bribery and proposed to allocate 100,000 pounds to Egypt every year.

Generally speaking, under the coercion and inducement of the world hegemon, it is difficult for a country's leader to remain true to himself and he will most likely choose to submit.

But who was old Ali? The more others opposed him, the more he was sure he was doing the right thing. The more others told him not to do something, the more he wanted to do it.

In desperation, the British had to be the first to jump out and try to acquire the Suez Canal Company.

Viscount Stratford was not a man without courage. He immediately proposed to acquire the Suez Canal Company for one million pounds.

But how could Muhammad Ali's appetite be limited to this?
Muhammad Ali had already come up with a plan to raise funds and invest, but it was originally used against the Austrian Empire and now it was used against the British.

In desperation, Viscount Stratford could only use the one million pounds to invest in the Suez Canal Company. In theory, Britain only needed to hold more than 50% of the shares to control the Suez Canal. In this way, even after the Suez Canal was opened, no one could shake Britain's position as the hegemon of the sea. However, Viscount Stratford still underestimated the heroes of the world.
"We, the Second French Republic, are willing to invest 20 million francs!"

"The Kingdom of Spain is also willing to invest and invest 21.6 million reais!"

Both Tocqueville and Blas Osmeno announced the injection of funds into the Suez Canal without consulting their countries. They were both aware of the importance of the Suez Canal to their countries, and they knew that it would be impossible for Viscount Stratford to succeed in whatever the British wanted to do.

The rapid follow-up of France and Spain caught Viscount Stratford off guard, as he thought the enemy would be Austria.

At this time, Prince Schwarzenberg still looked as if nothing had happened, but the Russian ambassador, Duke Uvarov, took action.

"Since this is related to the well-being of the people of the world, how can Russia be left out? Russia is also willing to invest 9 million rubles."

Prince Uvarov actually had little interest in shortening routes to the East and shifting the center of world trade.

Russia's business competitiveness is currently weak, and given its historical economic performance, the outlook for the future is not optimistic.

However, Duke Uvarov was convinced that investing in the Suez Canal would be profitable, and that it would be a good bargaining chip for making friends with Austria or Britain.

At this time, everyone's eyes turned to Austria, and Prince Schwarzenberg nodded.

"We, the Austrian Empire, are willing to invest 10 million florins."

This time it was Prussia's turn to be embarrassed. They were not really that interested in this canal because they could not benefit from it directly.

Franz Eichmann adjusted his monocle.

"Our country is willing to invest one million thalers."

With the great powers setting an example, other small countries followed suit. However, these countries did not hold out hope of controlling the Suez Canal. They only wanted benefits in return.

Viscount Stratford's plan came to nothing just as it began. Now the funds invested by France, Russia, Austria and Spain alone have reached 4 million pounds.

Adding those small countries participating in the conference, even if these countries do not make additional investments, the total investment will be close to six million pounds.

What's even more hateful is that the Egyptian government will invest 20% of the total shares in the form of land and labor. At this time, Britain must invest more than million pounds to ensure its position. If it wants to control the Suez Canal, it will need to invest at least million pounds.

Ten million pounds is not a small number at this time. Even for the UK, it needs to be treated with caution, not to mention that the UK is still in the midst of an economic crisis.

In addition, Viscount Stratford had to admit that Muhammad Ali was indeed good at disgusting people. On the one hand, he was reaping benefits from the British, and on the other hand, he was secretly tripping up the British.

Viscount Stratford did not want to let the Albanian take advantage of him again, and the crazy bidding that Mohammed Ali had expected did not happen, but how could the latter allow this to happen?