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

Chapter 1164 Canal Supervisory Committee

Schönbrunn Palace, the Emperor's study.

"Your Majesty, the Arab is just as you said. He is so self-righteous! But the British were not fooled.

The major countries, except Prussia, have reached a tacit understanding and have injected one million pounds each."

Franz was somewhat surprised that the British did not take the lead, but the matter did not end there. This capital injection was just the beginning. Neither Britain nor Egypt would be willing to accept this.

Franz had long anticipated Prussia's lack of interest in the Suez Canal. After all, the two countries in the German Confederation that least wanted to see the Suez Canal opened were Prussia and Hanover.

Prussia was facing huge competitive pressure from Austria. After the opening of the Suez Canal, the latter could easily deliver goods from the East and Africa to the German Confederation.

This might be a good thing for other countries because it would make trade easier, but for Prussia it would have to deal with Austria's growing influence.

Hanover was originally the largest middleman in the German Confederation, but after the opening of the Suez Canal, other countries in the Confederation no longer needed to buy Eastern goods brought back by the British.

Moreover, as transportation distances are shortened, commodity prices will inevitably fall, and Hanover must consider reducing its inventory.

"Mohammed Ali still has some skills, but those who betray us must pay the price."

Franz plays with a fountain pen, a gift from the British. Fountain pens were definitely a novelty at the time, as most people preferred to use cheap quill pens.

That's right, at this time the price of a quill pen was much lower than that of a fountain pen. In the UK, a quill pen usually cost only a few pence, while a fountain pen usually cost several pounds or even more than ten pounds.

(At the time, one pound was equal to twenty shillings, and one shilling was equal to twelve pence.)
However, not counting the intricately decorated feather pen inlaid with gold and silver and hung with a gem pendant on Franz's desk, the famous paintings on it alone are not something that can be bought with a few pounds.

Of course, Franz wouldn't write with that pen, but the fountain pen might be a new business opportunity.

If the British pen companies knew that the British ambassador sent the pen to Franz, which led to the overall backwardness of the British pen industry, no one would know how they would react.

"As you command, Your Majesty. But according to intelligence, the British seem to have set their sights on that Arab."

“It doesn’t matter, as long as the results meet expectations.”

"clear."

Lion Pride Hotel.

The Egyptian delegation stayed here. Vienna opened the eyes of the indigenous people of these desert areas, which was a greater shock than Venice had brought to them before.

In comparison, Cairo really is the countryside, an uncivilized wilderness.

Of course, they would never dare to mention such an idea in front of Muhammad Ali, and they really admired this hero.

An investment of seven million pounds was an amount they could not even imagine.

After all, the fiscal revenue of the entire Egypt in 1848 was only 214 million pounds, and Muhammad Ali brought back 700 million pounds at one time, and the price he paid was nothing more than some useless land and slaves.

In their view, this was already a great victory, except that Muhammad Ali's expression was so gloomy that it seemed as if water was about to drip out of it.

Obviously, seven million pounds could not satisfy his appetite at all, because seven million pounds was not enough to make up for Egypt’s losses in the previous war, let alone make up for the gap between Egypt and the great powers.

At the peace conference, Muhammad Ali tried to provoke conflicts between the great powers in order to maximize his own interests.

However, neither the British nor the Austrians were interested in this. All the powers seemed to have agreed on this. No one was willing to pay an extra penny, which made him look like a clown. A new plan had already been conceived in Muhammad Ali's mind. Since the powers did not know the value of the project, could he find some private capital?

Originally, Muhammad Ali's first choice was the Rothschild family. However, the Rothschild family suffered devastating blows twice in the Austrian Civil War and the German Civil War.

Most Jewish bankers throughout Germany did not escape this fate, and the Arties family had too close ties with the Austrian government.

Mohammed Ali invited the British Baring family and the French Bellera brothers, as well as all the big bankers and investors that the Egyptians could contact.

Historically, the Suez Canal was sought after by private capital because of the halo effect of Napoleon III, and in the eyes of many experts it was a lucrative business.

However, the situation is different this time. On the one hand, there is a lack of effective large-scale publicity, and on the other hand, state capital entered the market too early and on a too large scale. In short, the premium is too high.

These guys have a very keen sense of smell, and most people don't want to get involved in this mess, so naturally they're not interested.

Mohammed Ali wants to suck blood from all over Europe to return to the top, but things are not as easy as he thinks.
The betrayer still wants to have a good ending? Have you asked Franz?
While Muhammad Ali's plan was still in the works, the Austrian Empire took the first step.

After the usual debate at the conference, Prince Schwarzenberg once again came to the front.

"Gentlemen, the construction of the Suez Canal is a great thing that will benefit the present and future generations."

The Austrian Empire's statement confused all parties, especially Muhammad Ali, who was confused about what Franz was up to.

"Are you trying to please yourself?"

Muhammad Ali thought so in his heart. After all, the Suez Canal was proposed by Franz, so was he holding the pulse of Austria?

"However, we need to take such good things seriously. Therefore, in order to ensure that all countries can get the maximum return on their investment, our country proposes to establish a canal supervision committee to ensure that every penny of our money is spent where it should be spent."

"No! No need!"

Muhammad Ali almost catapulted to his feet.

"We in Egypt are fully capable of handling this matter, and we guarantee that all investors will be satisfied!"

Mohammed Ali doesn't want to have an emperor above his head, and he doesn't want anyone to restrict how he uses the funds.

But how is that possible? The great powers are not philanthropists, let alone fools.

"Ali Pasha, it's not that we don't trust your country. The establishment of the Canal Supervisory Committee is just to gather ideas and prevent everyone from being deceived by villains."

Prince Schwarzenberg's words were polite, but to Mohammed Ali they sounded like a piercing blow.

Austria's proposal is reasonable and no country would object to it.

Muhammad Ali gritted his teeth when he saw this.

"No more digging! I'll give you your money back!"

"Hahaha!"

In an instant, the venue was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

"That's not up to you."