Chapter 1051: Chapter 1041: The Spendthrift Emperor and the Stingy Minister

"Minister Fuld, Minister Barroso has already provided his insights!

What is your opinion on this?"

Jerome Bonaparte looked at Achille Fuld, with a hint of pressuring in his words.

Clearly, the Emperor had been inclined towards Barroso... no, it should be said Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann’s plans from the start.

Thinking of this, Achille Fuld couldn’t help but feel somewhat aggrieved.

He worked diligently at the position of Minister of Finance, sometimes even late into the night.

And he worked so hard precisely to maintain the balance of the Empire’s finances.

In Achille Fuld’s view, excessive expenditure would only lead the nation’s finances back to the plight of 1789.

However, His Majesty the Emperor maintained a dismissive attitude towards this, always believing that the Empire’s wealth was inexhaustible.

Whenever there was a bit of surplus in the national finances, he would think of spending it all.

He was practically a complete spendthrift!

And those ministers surrounding him (except Fuld himself) were similarly trying their best to drain the Empire’s savings, fearing to leave even a penny for this nearly bankrupt Empire.

"Your Majesty!" Achille Fuld looked at Jerome Bonaparte with a serious expression, speaking word by word, "Minister Barroso’s plan is indeed good, but I still suggest waiting!

Such large-scale renovation plans will inevitably increase the fiscal burden on the Empire, easily leading to a budget deficit!

Moreover, the economy of France is still in a slump at present.

So I personally suggest waiting for a period of time.

When France’s economy returns to normal (1818-1853), we can then implement the plan!

If forced to implement, the government may have to resort to the populace and the Bank of France (bluntly, issuing bonds to the French people and the Bank of France)."

Jerome Bonaparte could still understand Achille Fuld’s attitude of polite refusal.

Given that France is indeed in an economic slump currently.

However, the approach of "implementing the plan after the economy returns to normal" that Achille Fuld mentioned was something Jerome Bonaparte did not agree with.

He vaguely remembered that the economy of the French Empire did not completely emerge from its slump until about 1866.

It wasn’t until 1868, three years after the American Civil War had completely ended, that the Empire’s economy barely began to recover.

Upon analysis, Jerome Bonaparte guessed it was largely due to the increase in cotton prices caused by the American Civil War, which in turn led to a rise in the price of French cotton textiles.

But the wages of domestic and foreign people did not increase along with the rise of textiles, causing purchasing desires to drop.

Given that consumer purchasing power dropped, France’s economy naturally maintained this low-growth status.

According to Achille Fuld’s method, France’s renovation plan couldn’t officially take place until at least after 1866.

However, historically, 1866 was the beginning of the Austro-Prussian War.

Even if the Austrian Empire did not suffer the heavy blow synonymous with that historical period, as long as the Kingdom of Prussia still harbors ambitions for Northern Germany, the war between the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire would not cease, at most just delaying the time of the hegemonic struggle.

(The Kingdom of Prussia did not initially seek to rule over the entire German Region, but hoped to negotiate acquiring Northern Germany from the Austrian Empire. However, the Austrian Empire was unwilling to relinquish its dominance over Northern Germany, thus the Austro-Prussian War broke out.)

So Jerome Bonaparte must seize every moment to fully complete the roads in Alsace and Lorraine Region.

Only then, can his army enter Germany faster than historically.

However, these words could not be shared with Achille Fuld.

Because Achille Fuld simply wouldn’t believe that a large-scale war could break out between the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire, just as he wouldn’t believe a world war would break out two years later in the United States of America.

Let alone him; no astute politician could predict events five years into the future.

"Minister Fuld!" Jerome Bonaparte hardened his stance and said, "What if I insist on carrying out this plan?"

"Then please dismiss me, Your Majesty!" Achille Fuld answered Jerome Bonaparte without any compromise, "I believe Your Majesty can certainly find someone more suitable for the position of Minister of Finance than myself!"

The needlepoint and spike conversation between Jerome Bonaparte and Achille Fuld made the chairman of the Bank of France, Mr. Beimini, sitting beside them, feel an unprecedented pressure. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

As a chairman brought up by Achille Fuld, Mr. Beimini internally didn’t wish for Achille Fuld’s relationship with the Emperor to become so rigid.

After all, the Emperor is the one who leads the entire French Empire.

Once Achille Fuld is dismissed, his tenure as the President of the Bank of France might come to an end.

As for the instigator, Barroso, he had already broken ties with Achille Fuld due to the proposal, and now he was eager for the Emperor to directly dismiss Achille Fuld.

The Emperor and Achille Fuld stared at each other for a while, but ultimately did not speak to Achille Fuld.

An able Minister of Finance is extremely important for a country.

Furthermore, Achille Fuld’s desire to maintain a fiscal balance was not entirely erroneous in an era when credit currency was not yet fully widespread.

To break the awkward atmosphere, Jerome Bonaparte could only choose to speak himself; he shrugged slightly, spread his hands, and said with a hint of helplessness, "Alright!

Minister Fuld, my loyal steward! You win!"

Hearing this, Mr. Beimini couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

From the outcome, it seems that Achille Fuld had successfully forced the Emperor to accept his recommendation.

As for Barroso, his eyes conveyed a sense of despair; he never expected Achille Fuld to achieve a great victory in his conflict with the Emperor.

This also means that Achille Fuld retains a high position in the Emperor’s mind.

As for Achille Fuld, upon hearing Jerome Bonaparte’s concession, he was very pleased.

At last, he prevented the Emperor from continuing his reckless spending.

After a brief moment of joy, Achille Fuld also slightly regretted whether his previous behavior was too irrational.

If this incident caused the Emperor to hold a grudge against him, it would be difficult for Achille Fuld to carry out his future financial duties.

"Your Majesty, I am very sorry!" Achille Fuld immediately apologized to Jerome Bonaparte.

"My steward, there’s nothing you need to apologize for!" Jerome Bonaparte seemed to have forgotten the previous conflict, still amiable in demeanor, "You do have a point, the Empire’s finances indeed need to slow down!"

"Your Majesty!" Achille Fuld felt a surge of emotion.

However, before Achille Fuld could bask in his emotions, Jerome Bonaparte’s next words made his sentiment disappear completely.

"Minister Fuld, I remember that the Empire provides me an annual salary of 20 million francs, correct?" Jerome Bonaparte softly responded to Achille Fuld.

Achille Fuld was somewhat puzzled; he didn’t understand why the Emperor suddenly brought up the annual salary.

"Yes! Your Majesty! According to the Empire’s law, as the highest-ranking official of the Empire, your annual salary is 20 million francs!" Achille Fuld replied to Jerome Bonaparte.

Jerome Bonaparte then asked Mr. Beimini to call Barishio over.

"Your Majesty!" Barishio respectfully greeted Jerome Bonaparte, unsure why the Emperor summoned him.

"Barishio!" Jerome Bonaparte gently inquired, "Can you honestly tell me how much surplus remains each year after the basic expenses and banquets of the Imperial Family?"

After carefully calculating in his mind, Barishio finally replied to Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty!

Excluding the annual banquets, expenses, charity, and rewards to Princes not holding public office, the yearly surplus is approximately 3 million francs!"

"Then what is the market value of the Northern Industrial Group?" Jerome Bonaparte continued with another question.

"Um..." Barishio pondered for a moment, then bowed apologetically to Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, I am very sorry!

Due to my negligence, the court did not conduct a detailed calculation of the group’s market value.

However, I estimate that the Northern Industrial Group’s market value is around 40 million francs."

"Is it that much?" Jerome Bonaparte stroked his chin and commented.

"Because the current Northern Industrial Group covers all aspects of France, from small items like hair oil to large items like rifles, cannons, and even the steel plates used for battleships are produced by the group’s headquarters and its subsidiaries under our control!" Barishio replied to Jerome Bonaparte, "The 40 million francs is just the value of the enterprise itself; there are also a large number of patents controlled by the group!"

"If Northern Industrial Group were to issue stocks externally, wouldn’t it potentially expand several times over in a short time?" Jerome Bonaparte continued with another question.

"Theoretically, yes!" Barishio replied to Jerome Bonaparte.

Jerome Bonaparte then turned his gaze to Mr. Beimini and asked calmly,

"Mr. Beimini!

If I were to use the Northern Industrial Group and my annual salary surplus as collateral to borrow from the Bank of France,

how much could the Bank of France lend me, and what would the annual interest rate be?"