Chapter 972: 880 Italian Competition

Chapter 972: Chapter 880 Italian Competition

McGovern immediately collapsed into his chair, his eyes losing focus.

18 million, that number was simply too large. He didn’t have nearly that much “ammunition” at hand.

He had already taken out loans totaling nearly 30 million francs, and adding the interest he had to pay, he had mortgaged all his gold.

Yes, although he submitted a request to exchange for more than 57 million francs in gold, due to the “long-distance transportation clause,” 20 million francs worth of gold would not be delivered for more than ten days.

He was now at the end of his tether.

“No! I won’t give up!” Lord McGovern suddenly roared, leaping up and pulling writing paper from his drawer with trembling hands, shaking his head repeatedly, “I need to apply for funds from Mr. Wilberforce! If we can get another 500,000 pounds, the French people will surely collapse! Yes, 500,000 pounds!”

He quickly finished the letter, sealed it with wax, and called to his attendant at the door: “Thomas, take this to the embassy immediately and have Mr. Harriet send it to London! Hurry!”

As his attendant stepped out with the letter, several carriages passed by below McGovern’s window.

The Milanese Minister of Finance kept urging the driver, “Mr. Bianchi, faster!”

“Damn storm, we should have been the first to arrive in Paris. Now the Parmans have beaten us to it…”

“Yes, Baron Colombo. Up ahead is the Bank of France Reserve.”

The driver cracked his whip, and the carriage dashed forward, startling passersby with screams.

Luckily, the quality of the gemstone carriage’s craftsmanship was superb; otherwise, speeding with such a heavy load of gold coins would surely have snapped the axle.

Baron Colombo saw the side gate of the Bank of France Reserve and was calculating whether after completing the exchange procedures he could still make it to the Palace of Versailles to meet the Crown Prince when suddenly several carriages charged out from the right, cutting rudely in front of him.

The driver Bianchi hurriedly pulled the reins, shouting, “Whoa—”

The carriages brushed past his horse’s nose and then steadily parked outside the VIP entrance of the Bank of France Reserve.

Baron Colombo saw the insignia on the carriages and slapped the cabin in anger, “Those shameless Modena people! Shameless!”

They had arrived in Paris a week earlier, but Archbishop Brienne kept them waiting in the outskirts.

Just yesterday they were informed that they could start the exchange.

But Baron Colombo’s carriage had gotten stuck in a waterhole, delaying half a day, and today Modena had beaten them to it.

He knew that counting so many gold coins would be time-consuming, and by the time the Modena people finished moving their gold, he would surely miss the opportunity to go to the Palace of Versailles.

This could leave an impression on the Crown Prince that “Milan is not attentive to his requests.”

Milan and Modena both coveted Ferrara Province of the Pope State, and with the Security Organization’s army about to take control of the entire Ferrara, the competition was at its peak.

This little mishap might cause Ferrara to slip through Milan’s fingers.

Before long, an attendant approached Baron Colombo’s carriage and quietly reported, “Sir, I found out that the Modena people brought 9 million ducats.”

Colombo breathed a sigh of relief.

9 million ducats amounted to 10 million francs, while he brought gold coins worth 12 million francs.

Hmph, those impoverished Modena people still want to compete with Milan?

He recalled the French Government’s motive for asking the various Italian countries to bring gold coins to exchange for francs, and suddenly a brilliant idea popped into his mind.

Among the long queues outside the Bank of France Reserve, Mrs. Colamo watched as people kept leaving and asked the middle-aged man in front of her in surprise, “Mr. Durac, you see, many people have left. Maybe the government really won’t ban the exchange of gold.”

They had been queuing together all day and had become acquaintances.

The middle-aged man looked toward the Modena people unloading their gold coins, shook his head thoughtfully:

“Those Italians may not bring enough gold coins to cover the Bank of France Reserve’s deficit. It’s still safer for us to get our hands on gold.”

Mrs. Colamo looked at the long queue in front, sighed, “Ah, it seems we’ll have to be stuck here for at least another day. I hope Miss Maria won’t find someone else to replace my work.”

She was a washerwoman, her biggest client being the noble Miss Maria.

But the competition among washerwomen was intense, and she wished she could return to work immediately. Even if Miss Maria wouldn’t fire her, she would at least lose two days’ wages.

That means her children would have two fewer meals of olive oil mixed with mashed potatoes.

Just then, the Modena people finished moving their gold, and several more carriages parked outside the side gate of the Bank of France Reserve.

A Milanese official got off a carriage, had a servant bring down a chest of gold coins, and unexpectedly opened it publicly, proclaiming in French: “The first chest, 5,000 ounces of gold coins. Please verify.”

Someone brought a scale, and they began weighing on the spot.

Despite being shielded by more than a dozen guards, people could barely see the weight stop near the 8,000-ounce mark.

The Milanese official continued, “Next chest, also 5,000 ounces of gold coins.”

“Public display” continued for nearly an hour, and Mrs. Colamo looked at Mr. Durac again, uncertainly asking, “How many gold coins did those Italians bring in total?”

Durac hadn’t learned arithmetic either and looked around for help.

Finally, a young man called out, “A total of 138,000 ounces of gold, worth about 12 million francs.”

The people in line suddenly quieted down.

Most didn’t have a concept of how much 12 million francs was, but they knew it was a very, very large amount of gold coins.

Several batches of Italians had already moved gold into the Bank of France Reserve today; how much was that in total!

Mrs. Colamo and Mr. Durac exchanged a glance, then she decisively nodded to him, “I don’t want to be delayed here anymore. If I return now, I might still make it to wash the evening’s clothes. Mr. Durac, hopefully, I will see you again.”

Many shared her thoughts, and a third of those queuing for gold exchange left instantly.

On the second floor of the Bank of France Reserve, the person in charge of command

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His brothers had only daughters, so after Carl Eugen died in 1793 and his younger brother Ludwig Eugen, Duke, in 1795, Friedrich Eugen became the ruling Duke until he himself died two years later. He tacitly approved the signing of the Paris Treaty with revolutionary France (August 7, 1796), in which he gave up his claims to Montbéliard and all other territories on the left bank of the Rhine River. However, Friedrich Eugen retained the recognition of Württemberg Duchy’s integrity by France. The Duke died at Hornheim.