Struggle in Russia

In Li Xiao's opinion, it is impossible for Austria to afford one-third of the military expenditure of the Russian army. Schwarzenberg's agreement to such a condition is more like a drunkard's intention, just to coax Nicholas I to achieve it as soon as possible. related agreements.

Duke Alexander also has speculations in this regard, because he has not seen the specific content of the agreement. What he knows is: "Schwarzenberg proposed that Austria bear one-third of the operational costs of our army, but this one-third is not Instead of paying it right away, pay a portion first, and the remaining 75% will be paid off over the next ten years."

Has someone engaged in mortgages these days? Li Xiao blurted out a question at the time: "Then how do you calculate the interest on the final payment?"

Duke Alexander was dumbfounded by the question, he didn't understand what interest there was. Because in his opinion, it is not easy for Austria to promise to pay back the money, which is already considered a pleasant surprise, but here is the interest? Besides, they didn't lend money to Austria, so how could there be interest?

Li Xiao immediately stamped his feet and thumped his chest, hating the failure of steel. He told Duke Alexander: "How can this be done? Austria only wants to pay 25% down payment, which is no problem, but the remaining 75% should be converted into a loan , or simply let our country organize banking institutions to directly lend the remaining 75% of the money to Austria, and Austria will pay the interest and principal annually... In this way, His Majesty can receive the third of the money as soon as possible. Military spending, to alleviate financial problems, and we can also take the opportunity to lend money to Austria to make a fortune!"

Duke Alexander was stunned. He looked at Li Xiao in disbelief, as if he was looking at an alien. After a long time, he sighed, "How did your brain grow!"

Yes, Duke Alexander thinks that Li Xiao’s method is 10,000 times better than Austria’s installment payment. It not only relieves Nicholas I and the national treasury from being so tense, but also has a way to pay Austria more money. The remaining 75% of the military expenditure seems to be Quite a lot, but with the financial resources of these top Russian families, it is not a problem for the big guys to gather them together casually.

How flattering it would be to impose this sum of money on Austria in the form of usury, and then make a wave of wool! Why can't he think of such a good way!

"It's not too late for you to know now!" Li Xiao hurriedly said, "I guess that although the draft agreement has almost been reached, the official text will not come out so soon, so you should immediately send someone back to St. Petersburg as quickly as possible. Can't let this fat sheep go!"

Duke Alexander made a rough estimate of the time, and felt that there might be something to be done by rushing back with the diplomatic express line regardless of gains or losses. Immediately, he quickly wrote a long letter, explaining Li Xiao's suggestion, and then called Secretary: "Send it to the Duke of Aldorf through the special express line of the third part. Be sure to use the fastest speed without any delay!"

Seeing this scene, Li Xiao felt like a bright mirror in his heart. His previous guess was indeed correct. Duke Alexander really has a well-developed intelligence network in the country.

Otherwise he could not have been in Vienna to know all about the events in St. Petersburg.

It's just that what he didn't expect was that the ally of Duke Alexander turned out to be Duke Aldorf. He knew the energy of that person very well, and he learned a lot when he was in prison last time. But with a well-informed ally like Duke Aldorf, Duke Alexander was almost invincible.

No matter what happened in St. Petersburg, it is impossible to hide it from his eyes and ears, and there are some secret tricks with someone helping to wipe his butt. The only thing that makes Li Xiao a little uncertain is whether the Duke of Aldorf and the Duke of Alexander are temporary short-term cooperation. Still a long-term alliance.

It would be a pity if it was only the former. However, Li Xiao didn't like to ask too many questions. Even if he asked Duke Alexander, he would avoid answering. Because Li Xiao is not his core ally, he can only be regarded as a peripheral brother at most, and he is not qualified to understand such a big matter.

However, knowing the relationship between the Duke of Aldorf and the Duke of Alexander has another benefit for Li Xiao, that is, he pays more attention to the warning of the Duke of Alexander. If you really have a hard time, you won't try it rashly.

"We may have to divide our troops into two groups," Li Xiao said to Vishniak and Boris after returning, "Because the situation in Hungary has changed, and I have to go back to Bucharest as soon as possible, so I can only detour to Serbia ..."

Vishniak asked in surprise: "Then what about the re-contact with Kossuth we agreed on?"

According to the previous plan, Li Xiao was going to meet with Kossuth for the last time, mainly to get back the final payment of the last arms deal, and by the way, help him come up with a bad idea to disgust Paskovich.

Now it is obviously impossible for Li Xiao to do this. He replied: "You and Boris can only go there. My uncle's special envoy set off from Moscow a week ago. I must arrive in Bucharest before him. Otherwise, things will be very troublesome, so I can only trouble you two to go there!"

Vishniak and Boris didn't object to this, anyway, they were not in a hurry, so it didn't matter if it was earlier or later, the key was to get the money back from Kossuth in a serious manner, you know, their pockets are a bit tight now. deflated!

For Vishniak and Boris, they were used to having a lot of money, and the feeling of suddenly having no money made them very insecure. Who made Li Xiao lend almost all of their working capital to King William I before. Although they also know that this is the best way to expand their relationship network and open up the situation, it feels really uncomfortable to have no money!

What's more, they know very well that Kossuth will never have a tomorrow. Now that he is still in power, he can still get the money, but when the Hungarian revolutionary government collapses, if the final payment is not recovered, it will really be a waste of money.

So the two of them are very active in asking Kossuth for money, not to mention that it's just a little dangerous, they are willing to break into the dragon's pond and tiger's den.

However, Li Xiao still reminded them: "Duke Alexander reminded me that the situation in Hungary has deteriorated too much compared to before, and the situation is very complicated, so you must put safety first on this trip... You can make money if you lose money, but life It’s gone, even if there is a mountain of gold waiting for you, it’s useless! When you arrive in Perth, it’s best to get money. If things change and the situation is particularly dangerous, you should immediately go to the French Consul General to find Perth, and he will protect you!”

Li Xiao has repeatedly stated that safety is the first priority, and then hurriedly set off on the road, but he didn't know what Vishniak and Boris would encounter this trip, otherwise he would definitely regret the decision to divide the army into two groups... …