Holy Roman Empire-Chapter 1101 - 115, Bad Idea

Chapter 1101: Chapter 115, Bad Idea

Reputation is a good thing, and the good name Franz had cultivated over a long time now had its chance to exert influence.

No matter how much the Russians guaranteed, nobody dared to trust them, but once a member of the Habsburg Family stepped forward to vouch, everyone quickly accepted it.

Daring to make a promise, Louis was naturally not shooting blindly. That a royal family member took action in person meant this trade was no ordinary affair.

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While on the surface the arms dealers acted of their own accord, it was actually the Vienna and St. Petersburg governments that had settled the deal behind the scenes, with the Vienna Government being the real seller of arms.

Stumbling upon a war was not easy, and having traveled all the way to the Far East, Louis surely couldn’t pass up this chance to make money.

The Vienna Government sold arms and medical supplies, but he could still sell other strategic materials! Once war broke out, it would be worth ten thousand taels of gold, no matter what was sold, it was all excessive profit.

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Having no goods on hand was no issue, for the local big shots had them. While the Merchant Jin worried about the difficulty of collecting Russian money, Louis was not afraid at all.

The Russian bureaucracy were not fools; they might bully merchants without backgrounds, but to mess with the Vienna Government’s goods, they didn’t dare even if they were lent the courage.

“Using a tiger’s skin as a banner, and waving a big flag.”

Intimidating the Russian bureaucrats in the Far Eastern region was more than sufficient. Even if someone could pull strings to investigate, the Habsburg Family’s influence could certainly settle the situation.

What really needed to be dealt with was the official trouble, not just pressure from the Far Eastern Empire, but also pressure from the Japanese Government.

In fact, it was quite simple, to just appear on the scene at the right moment and show some toughness.

Remember, Louis was now the representative of the Roman Empire in the Far East, coming here to strengthen royal exchanges.

Even if he had little actual power, this status was definitely no problem to intimidate others with.

Though it was said that both the Roman Empire and Britain’s power in the Far Eastern region were just for show, with limited actual deployment capability, the outside world didn’t know that!

Just seeing the military strength on the surface, Austrian Nanyang was believed by many in the Far East to have the power to defeat Japan, or the Far Eastern Empire.

The reference model was the Philippines campaign. Even a declining Spain could give the Far East’s foremost power, Japan, a run for its money, so the much stronger Roman Empire was naturally overestimated.

The Merchant Jin was not a rootless wanderer; once they made their move as the established power, the energy they could mobilize was indeed beyond imagination.

Remember, two hundred years ago, they had managed to support…

Not promising anything else, but at least the issue of feeding the Russian Army was resolved, and that was also Louis’s mission for this trip to the Far East.

Using Emperor Franz’s words, that was: “We cannot let the Russians go hungry, and equally, we cannot let them eat too much, maintaining a balance with Japan would be just right.”

To achieve this, the input of strategic materials had to be strictly controlled. Too much was no good, too little was also no good.

Zhang Xingbo clasped his hands together and bowed to the old man: “Xingbo is young and ignorant and has offended earlier, please forgive me.

To not withhold from you, just yesterday I received news that the family’s caravan had sold goods to the Russians but only received seventy percent of the payment.

I believe everyone has experienced similar situations. If we can bring in a partner to ensure the normal delivery of payments, Xingbo will be the first to support.

However, Sir Louis comes from the high-ranking and powerful Habsburg dynasty. After he joins in, how shall we divide the interests?”

In a certain sense, the Russian military’s defeat in the original timeline was also caused by their own corrupt bureaucracy.

For personal gain, the military procurement officers often lined their pockets and skimmed kickbacks, even floating payments.

If the trade amount was too large, there might even be cases of betrayals and murders, with the blame pinned on bandits. This frightened the smugglers.

It was only after the situation escalated that high-ranking officers of the Russian Army intervened, but by then, it was too late to turn back.

Even with some changes, the number of merchants willing to take risks had decreased. Many instead chose to do business with the Japanese, which significantly reduced the smuggling gains.

Now it was just beginning, with each transaction amount not too large, and it hadn’t escalated to betrayal and murder. However, kickbacks and withholding of payments were still common.

Being able to solve these issues was indeed very good. However, what everyone was more concerned about was the specific “distribution of benefits.”

Taking a sip from his teacup, Chairman Wang slowly said, “Let’s first talk about the current trade through the Western route, where there are two types of partnerships.

“One is to sign a contract with Sir Louis for an exclusive deal. We deliver directly to the Russians, and upon completion, all subsequent issues are communicated between him and the Russians, guaranteeing us a gross profit of no less than fifty percent.

“The second is for everyone to form a partnership and create a trading company. We are responsible for the specific operational management, while Sir Louis deals with the Russian connections. The shareholding ratio is based on the amount of capital invested.

“After the Western route trade ends, the company will open up overseas trade routes. He can help coordinate relationships anywhere in the world.

“However, these favors will need to be compensated for elsewhere, and specific details will be discussed later.”

An exclusive deal sounded good with fifty percent gross profit, but the premise for making a profit was safe delivery of the goods.

Although the other party promised to deal with the official troubles, mountain bandits along the way were also a threat.

Even though we had our connections and usually just needed to pay a toll, there were always exceptions.

Partnerships were different. If the goods were lost, then it included the Roman Empire’s money, and that involved international disputes.

Just let the authorities know, and they were more anxious than us. Within minutes, they would send troops to suppress bandits, and even if the goods couldn’t be recovered, the losses could be compensated for.

The second option was different, especially after hearing “shareholding proportion determined by the investment amount,” everyone’s eyes shone even brighter.

To be frank, no one had thought that the other party would contribute funds. In everyone’s view, it was just a second-generation individual wanting to use his connections for profit.

Such situations were too common. Usually, a dry share was given, and then everyone was considered part of the group.

Taking a dry share versus investing one’s own money was clearly not on the same level.

The former indicated the other party hadn’t put in anything and could walk away from problems; the latter meant everyone’s interests were tied together, truly sharing both the losses and the glories.

Liu Rusong asked incredulously, “Old Wang, are you sure it’s determined by the investment proportion, with no other additional conditions?”

There was no way around it, such cooperative conditions were impossible to refuse by any merchants in the country, let alone Merchant Jin.

Although it was mutually beneficial, the social structure of “Agriculture, Industry, and Commerce” of the Far Eastern Empire inherently put them at a disadvantage.

Looking at the shocked people, Chairman Wang calmly said, “Don’t worry, I have personally confirmed it. According to Sir Louis, this is a family rule of the Habsburg Family.

“They forbid the exploitation of their status for profit. All external business cooperation must be fair and just, to avoid tarnishing the family’s reputation.”

When Chairman Wang first heard this, he could hardly believe it. In this world, there were people who thought they had too much money, refusing the money that came knocking.

But after sending a telegram to his son studying in Europe, he found out that the Habsburg dynasty indeed had this rule and it was well-respected in the European world.

“Fair and just” was just lip service; the network of connections gave them an inherent advantage, but taking a dry share was indeed specifically prohibited by Franz.

On one hand, it was to protect the family reputation, worried that the worthless descendants might tarnish it for money; on the other hand, they truly weren’t short of money.

Numerous such family rules existed, most were aimed at the profligate sons of nobility. Once violated, the lighter punishment was to retract their title and surname, while the more severe consequence would be serving time in the royal prison.

Whether it could be enforced 100% in the future was unknown, but during the many years of Franz’s reign, no one had tested it.

Before coming to the Far Eastern Empire, asking Louis to bring sufficient initial capital was obviously a tough request—the royal stipend was clearly not enough.

However, once in the Far Eastern Empire, everything changed. Along the way, that was receiving gifts until one’s hands were sore.

Especially in Capital City, after several banquets, the profits were through the roof. Although there was a necessary exchange of courtesy gifts, the gains were nevertheless greater.

Louis was not a governmental public servant, and this trip was an exchange between royal families. The exchanging of gifts was perfectly normal behavior.

Only in the Far Eastern Empire, with its many wealthy individuals, could one expect to profit from such exchange activities. In Europe, to break even was already fortunate, with large profits virtually impossible.

So, as usual, these gifts belonged to the individual. Neither the government nor the royal family would intervene.

If not for the time constraints, Louis probably would have invited every royal and noble from the Far Eastern Empire.

There was no choice; these people were too polite. Anyone who received an invitation would send a gift, even if they couldn’t attend—none came empty-handed.

As a representative of the Roman Empire’s royal family, Louis also couldn’t afford to be rude when others showed such respect. He had to prepare return gifts, to avoid causing loss of face for anyone.

The initial quantity of gifts prepared was not sufficient, which was one of the reasons Louis quickly set out on official business. It was estimated that once more gifts ordered from his own country arrived, the banquet exchanges would continue.

Though the gifts were not cash, they could be converted into cash. In this respect, Merchant Jin was professional—One third of the bureaucratic gifts from the Far Eastern Empire were underwritten by them.

On hearing Chairman Wang’s explanation, everyone’s spirits soared. Being able to partner with such principled collaborators was a rare opportunity indeed.

Such an opportunity naturally couldn’t be missed, and offending the Japanese was hardly a concern.

…

Sir Louis, who had easily settled matters, was at that moment still worried about gathering supplies. There was no choice; the logistics for hundreds of thousands of Russian troops had astonishingly been entrusted to him by the Tsarist Government.

It sounded frivolous, but the Russians had indeed entrusted the Vienna Government with the immense responsibility of procuring supplies, and then Emperor Franz had authorized him to handle it completely.

The reason was very simple: there were very few members of the Shinra royal family in Asia, and even fewer who spoke Chinese.

Yet, this task required communication by someone of high status, otherwise it was impossible to intimidate the consortium of bureaucrats—the royal family members were the most suitable.

In order to accomplish this political mission, after arriving in the Far Eastern Empire from Austrian Nanyang, the first thing Louis did was make numerous friends.

The results were indeed significant; with the prestige of the Shinra royal family and his own social talents, he quickly made many “new friends.”

Regardless of how unreliable those friendships were, they were still good for gathering information. If he hadn’t worried that involving more people might mess things up, Louis might have even led a group of the elite to fortune.

Of course, it was also fortunate he did not do so, otherwise, he would have had to learn firsthand the meaning of “Interfere in everything, excel at nothing, first in causing trouble.”

Originally, Louis was quite confident in gathering supplies, but after witnessing the roads in the Far Eastern Empire, his hope completely diminished.

With such terrible transport infrastructure, he viewed solving the logistics for hundreds of thousands of troops as an utterly impossible task.

If not for a friend recommending Merchant Jin and recounting the remarkable feat of supplying grain to support tens of thousands two hundred years ago, Louis wouldn’t have believed it was possible.

Since someone had managed it, there was no question; naturally, cooperation was essential.

You should know that since receiving the order, more than two months have passed. If the progress doesn’t speed up, the frontline Russian Army will be in trouble.

Louis could be indifferent to the fate of the Russians, but his own mission must not fail.

Seeing that Louis was in poor spirits, the accompanying interpreter comforted him, “Sir, you need not worry at all. The Merchant Jin is intelligent and knows how to make the right choice.”

Knowing Chinese but still needing an interpreter?

There was no choice; at that time, there was no standardized Mandarin, and there were a heap of local dialects everywhere. Including the Minnan dialect that Louis had learned.

After a pause, Louis shook his head, “Li, you don’t understand military affairs. The consumption of material by modern armies is completely different from that of ancient armies.

From the data provided by the Russians, the average daily consumption of supplies for five hundred thousand Russian troops is over five thousand tons. Even if the Russians can solve half of it themselves, that still leaves a gap of two thousand five hundred tons, which amounts to a shortfall of seventy-five thousand tons a month.

If it were within our own country, this amount of supplies would not be worth mentioning, simply a matter of a dozen or so train carloads per day.

But this is the Far Eastern Empire, where everything relies on human and animal power. To transport two thousand five hundred tons of supplies to the front daily is unimaginable.

I am not even hoping to meet the Russian Army’s entire logistical needs, just resolving their food supply and weapons and ammunition would be enough.”

Interpreter, Li: “Sir, the problem is not as complicated as you think. As long as the Russians have money, all this isn’t an issue.”

“If the grain transport doesn’t keep up, they can simply purchase a batch of livestock from the nearby grasslands and drive them directly to their destination.

All that is required now is to get the weapons and ammunition over there. If that really doesn’t work out, we could sell a batch of transport airships to the Russians.

I remember that during the wars in Europe, your country once made a record of air-dropping five thousand tons of bombs in one day. Using transport airships for a temporary emergency should not be a big problem.”

It was clear that this interpreter really didn’t understand military matters. Dropping five thousand tons of ammunition in one day was true, but the cost behind it was that the airship troops of Shinra had to collectively shut down and rest for the following few days.

There was no other reason; after extreme flights, the airships had to be fully inspected, or else there was a risk of becoming fireworks.

Of course, that was the airships from more than ten years ago. Now, the technology has improved, and large transport airships can even transport hundreds of tons of supplies in a single trip.

Theoretically, with just a few dozen behemoths, it would be possible to temporarily solve the logistical issues of the Russian Army.

The prerequisite is not to encounter enemy planes, or else it would turn into a large fireworks display, where an explosion would mean the end of everything.

In reality, there will be even more limitations, such as high operating costs, troublesome logistical maintenance, the need for a professional technical team, and so on.

After pondering for a moment, Louis affirmed, “Good idea, I’ll immediately send a telegram to our homeland; this is another big business opportunity.”

Obviously, Louis was well aware of the weaknesses of airships. Even if airship transport were to be developed, it would only play a role in the early stage; once the Japanese caught on, it would be scrapped.

Under the influence of the European wars, airplanes had already made their appearance on the stage of history ahead of schedule. They were rarely used in the Russo-Japanese War, mainly because both Japan and Russia were too poor to maintain air forces.

While the prices of airplanes at that time weren’t high, that was relative. Especially considering that maintenance was tricky, and after each flight mission, the aircraft had to be inspected.

Keeping an air force meant not just maintaining airplanes but also the crew behind them. If you account for everything, the cost of a single airplane, along with its support facilities, was far higher than that of an infantry battalion.

Apart from Shinra and Britain, the two wealthy nations that dared to equip on a large scale, other countries, even if they wanted to follow suit, couldn’t afford to do so.

Knowing this didn’t stop Louis from adding an order. Shinra retired a large number of airships every year and faced the problem of finding new buyers.

Selling them to the Russians was just right for temporary emergencies. As long as the number wasn’t too large, the Tsarist Government should be able to scrape together the necessary crew.