Of course, Louis the Great was a loyal believer in God... After he became the Roman Emperor, he also allowed the Roman Church to sell indulgences within the empire, and he also took the lead in buying several large boxes of indulgences—— It was enough to atone for his sin of selling a gun to the Tianfang cultists to kill Leopold.
Henry showed an expression of admiration and nodded repeatedly: "Your Majesty, you said so well... It seems that I misunderstood you. You will definitely pay off all your debts. But now we have the opportunity to raise money for you." A huge amount of money that doesn’t need to be paid back…do you need this money?”
"No need to return it? Really? Is there really such a thing?" A look of surprise immediately appeared on Emperor Louis' face.
Although he believed in God, it was impossible for him to admit that he owed debt and refused to repay it. It's one thing not to come out yet, but to borrow it knowingly that it hasn't come out yet is fraud!
Of course, it would be great if you could get some money that you don’t have to pay back.
"Really, really," Archduke Henry nodded repeatedly, "because the entire banking industry in Vienna also believes in God like you... You know, the sales of indulgences in Vienna have always been particularly hot, and all the banks Everyone bought a bunch of them, which is proof that they believe in God.”
Emperor Louis the Great nodded in agreement. Only those who believe in God will buy indulgences... People who do not believe in God will not buy it. For example, Muhammad IV, Aurangzeb and Zhu Cixi will not buy it, although they His sin is greater than anyone else’s!
Henry continued: "Because we all believe in God, we are willing to provide funds for your cause after predicting that your Majesty will launch a war to defeat the Ottoman Empire and regain the lost lands...No need Return the funds!”
Louis looked at his son-in-law, "So... what kind of rewards are the Catholic believers in Vienna prepared to achieve?"
"First of all, of course, the soul can go to heaven after death!" Henry laughed, "I believe God will accept them!"
"That's for sure!" Louis nodded, "They bought so many indulgences, they can definitely atone for their loan sharking sin!"
"You are right," Henry said, "In fact, loan sharking is not a particularly big sin... In addition to pursuing the soul to ascend to heaven after death, the believers in Vienna also hope to get something from you. Something called a stock.”
"Stocks?" Louis the Great was stunned, "But I don't have stocks...and aren't European stocks traded in London and Amsterdam?"
It is completely normal that Vienna's stock market is far less developed than London and Amsterdam, because Vienna, the European financial center, lacks the support of the real economy - Vienna is a place to borrow and save money. Rich people in the Roman Empire and the Ottoman Empire liked to store their money in neutral Vienna, and the Roman and Ottoman courts also borrowed money from Vienna bankers.
But apart from banking, the Grand Duchy of Austria has no industries worthy of praise. Moreover, there were no particularly prosperous industries in Rome and the Ottoman Empire that Vienna's banking industry served... Without a prosperous industry, of course there would be no way to issue stocks - you can't let a church selling indulgences go public. Bar?
Behind London and Amsterdam are the overseas trade and booming manufacturing industries of Britain and the Netherlands! With a good industrial foundation, the stock markets in London and Amsterdam are of course more active.
In the past ten or twenty years, the stocks of trading and colonial companies such as the British East India Company, the British South Sea Company, the Dutch East India Company, and the Dutch India Company, as well as a large number of handicraft factories and mining stocks, have been rising continuously. It has attracted investors and made financial professionals in London and Amsterdam a huge profit.
The God-believing bankers in Vienna were naturally jealous when they saw their colleagues in Amsterdam and London getting rich.
But just being jealous doesn’t help! The bankers in Vienna were unable to come up with investment targets that would attract the attention of investors...but the critical illness of Carlos II allowed the bankers in Vienna to see an opportunity.
Because the overseas colonies owned by the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of New Spain are very valuable!
These territories are much stronger than the New France and New Rome owned by the Roman Empire... If they can be packaged and put on the market, they will definitely make a lot of money!
And Vienna can go one step further and become the center of stock trading in Europe!
"Your Majesty," Henry said to Louis the Great, "you have stocks... As long as you get the inheritance of Carlos II, you can issue stocks of the New World Colonial Company that are very popular among investors all over Europe. At that time, your Majesty can initiate the establishment of chartered trading companies similar to the South Sea Company and the East India Company, such as the Caribbean Company, the South American Company, the Mexican Company... With these joint stock companies, the bankers in Vienna They can issue shares for you, and just sell some shares and you can raise enough money."
The tricks Henry gave his father-in-law were leftover from his father Zhu Cixiang's tricks, but they were still very effective in Europe in 1700.
Because at this time, Europe was in the middle of a stock bubble, because the world was generally relatively peaceful for more than two decades before, and the European market was brought about by the revival of the Roman Empire. As a result, the industry and commerce in England and the Netherlands have developed rapidly, and the market is flooded with funds looking for investment opportunities. The stocks of the British East India Company, the Dutch East India Company, the Dutch India Company, and the British South Sea Company all soared.
If the Roman Empire swallowed up Spain and New Spain, it would have the most profitable colonies in the world... What a huge subject!
If the gold mines, silver mines, and plantations of New Spain could be put into a joint-stock colonial company like the East India Company and managed by shrewd and responsible businessmen, very huge profits would definitely be generated... Regardless of this expectation Whether it can be realized or not depends on the market believing in it.
Henry smiled and said: "Because the huge profits of Caribbean companies, South American companies, and Mexican companies are completely predictable, the stocks of these companies will definitely rise to the sky before the profits are fully reflected in the financial statements. And the stocks ...You don’t have to repay the principal, and you don’t have to pay interest!”
"Really?" Louis the Great's eyes lit up - issuing stocks to make money seems to be better than paying back debts! Moreover, you can not repay the principal or interest... and you are not considered a fraudster!
"Can you really cheat," Emperor Louis the Great looked at his good son-in-law and said, "It's not cheating, but can he sell a lot of stocks?"
"Yes!" Henry nodded very confidently, "Your Majesty, as long as you trust me and Francois, you will be able to sell a lot of stocks. We can at least raise tens of millions of gold louis for you!"
"Okay!" Emperor Louis nodded, "Henry, Francois, the issue of stocks will be left to you two! You can form any kind of joint-stock company.
But we must start the process as soon as possible, because Carlos II is dying...perhaps within a few weeks, he will return to the arms of God! Once he died, the Roman Empire would be preparing for war, and would be in great need of money. "
Now you can make a lot of money! Henry and François Eugen were overjoyed when they heard this. Not only did they get the business of issuing stocks for Louis the Great to make money, but they also asked the Emperor to set up a joint-stock company to make money!
These companies are not completely fake, because Louis the Great really had large tracts of land in the Caribbean, Mexico and South America. The question was just how to develop and make profits.
"As you wish," Henry smiled immediately, "When Francois and I return to Vienna, we will immediately start to establish the Caribbean Trading Co., Ltd. and the Mexican Mining Co., Ltd.... All the start-up funds will be From our Grand Duchy of Austria."
