Stockholm, since becoming the capital of the Nordic Federation, this ancient city has once again revitalized, and "Northern Venice" is well deserved.

The beautiful scenery and unique Nordic style add a special charm to the city and are endlessly evocative.

No matter how pleasant the scenery is, it cannot move Philip Francis Thomas. As an official of the Russian Empire's Foreign Ministry, Francis has always been very arrogant.

However, his so-called arrogance was defeated by reality. Since accepting this task, his whole heart has disappeared.

In order to win a new round of the Prussian-Russian War, the Tsarist government not only found ways to raise money from Britain, France and Austria, but also did not let go of the Nordic Federation with all its clothes.

Of course, Francis' main task is not to raise money, but to stabilize the Nordic Federation so as not to stab them at critical moments.

The three Nordic countries were unified, and the comprehensive national strength was not a problem of 111=3. After the three countries learned from each other's strengths and weaknesses, the Nordic Federation had already formed its own system, and its comprehensive national strength was comparable to that of Prussia twenty years ago.

Thinking about the past old incident of fighting for Nordic hegemony with Sweden, the Tsarist government did not dare to underestimate this potential opponent, and finally decided to appease this old opponent first.

For diplomats, this is undoubtedly a chore. There is no way, and it is impossible not to give in the face of cruel reality.

After experiencing the last war personally, Francis knew that the Russian Empire's advantage over the Popo Federation was not as big as the government's propaganda.

To a certain extent, the Nordic Federation already has the strength to have a balance tendency. In order to win this war, the Tsarist government no longer cared about embarrassment.

Not only to appease the Nordic Federation, but all neighbors are the objects they have won over. It is enough not to ask these neighbors to support them, but to just make them neutral.

With a depressed mood, Francis, as the Tsar's envoy, entered the Nordic Federal Foreign Ministry. Unlike the last time he came here, he no longer had the capital to be arrogant.

...

Francis: "His Earl, we are very sincere this time. The Russian Empire is willing to use Finland as collateral in exchange for a loan of 800 million kroner.

We can make a commitment that half of the funds in this loan will be used to import goods from your country. The interest rate is 6% per annum, and the principal and interest will be paid in annual installments according to international commercial loan practices."

The currencies of Denmark, Norway and Sweden are all kroners, and the currency value is the same (1 kroner is about 0.4 grams of gold). After the establishment of the Nordic Federation, there is naturally no need to change the currency name.

"Empression, you overestimate us. The Nordic Federation is just a small country, not as rich as your country. Not to mention 800 million kroner, we can't even get 100 million kroner." Nordic Federation Foreign Minister Kara Valenti refused decisively.

Francis was not angry. He was careful and had already noticed it. When he just heard the mortgage of Finland, Cara Valenti's eyebrows moved and quickly covered it up.

This is expected. After the establishment of the Nordic Federation, the domestic calls for the retraction of Finland have become increasingly high.

It is unrealistic to regain Finland by force. The Russian Empire is not something that the Nordic Federation can challenge, and the gap between the strength of the two sides is too big.

Moreover, there is also pro-Russian Denmark within the Nordic Federation, which rashly provoked wars, and perhaps this fragile new government will be divided again.

If we change the method and use economic means to get it back to Finland, the situation will be completely different.

The Danish government will not refuse Finland's return, and a powerful Nordic Federation can help them regain their lost two principalities.

That's right, the Nordic Federation is a alliance of countries that compromised each other. It was established while the Russian Empire was in a weak period and the support of the great powers.

In this context, when the government engages in domestic and diplomatic affairs, it must also take into account the interests of all parties. For example, Sweden supports Denmark in regaining the two principalities in exchange for Denmark supporting Sweden to regain Finland.

Of course, the prerequisite is that you have enough strength. Although the Nordic Federation is a small country, it also has historical heritage. With the comfortable natural environment, everyone tends to be conservative in strategy.

In other words: if you have enough strength and the opportunity comes, you will recover the lost land; if you don’t have enough strength, then endure it first!

The Prussian-Russian War was the opportunity they were waiting for. Oscar II formulated a strategy: whoever loses will be the one who takes the blame.

This is an obvious problem. If the Popo Federation loses, the country may be lost, and naturally it will not be able to stop the Nordic Federation's actions; if the Russian Empire loses the war, it will not be much better, and the Finnish region will definitely not be able to maintain it.

The Tsarist government was willing to use Finland as collateral for this reason. Anyway, if the war is lost, Finland will not be saved in the end. It is better to use it to stabilize the Nordic Federation first.

Francis: "Your Excellency the Earl is too modest. With your country's economic strength, it is no problem to have a mere 800 million crowns.

As far as I know, your government's fiscal revenue this year is as high as 320 million kroners, and the liquidity in Stockholm financial market alone exceeds 840 million kroners.

Your bank has the strength to take over this loan.”

800 million kroner is approximately: 87.43 million ASUS, or 43.715 million pounds. For any country, this is a huge sum of money.

Francis proposed this number with reason. Although Finland is not small in size, it is a bitter and cold place in Nordic Europe, and it is a devastating place in this era.

There are many similar bad Russians. If it weren't for the high strategic value, the Tsarist government would not have attached so much importance to it.

In this era of the strong prey on the weak, the European continent is not peaceful, and small countries have no sense of security at all. Everyone is as strong as possible.

The Nordic Federation has set its sights on Finland, and apart from nationalist factors, there are no better choices.

Cara Valenti shook her head: "Empress, loans need to be considered risks. The financial situation of your government has always been poor, and there is a possibility of war with the Popo Federation at any time.

Once a war breaks out, your country's debt repayment ability will definitely have problems, and in the end, you can only rely on collateral to compensate.

Finland is too barren, and fiscal revenue is only enough for expenses. There is not enough minerals, so it takes to sell wood to recover the cost?

One hundred years or two hundred years, we can’t wait that long.”

If you are rejected, if some talks are half successful, it means that the Nordic federal government is tempted.

Francis's mission is to stabilize the Nordic Federation, rather than really borrowing how much money it is. If you want to raise funds for the war, you can only find ways from Britain, France and Austria. Other countries are too poor.

After the tentative inquiry failed, Francis said goodbye and left, leaving Cara Valenti with a secret headache.

Although the stuffing cakes falling from the sky are good, we must also consider whether they are poisonous. Russians are not easy to get along with each other. If they want to take advantage of them, they will easily be retaliated.

...

In the palace, after receiving this good news, Oscar II's first reaction was not surprise, but shock.

After pondering for a while, Oscar II expressed his doubts: "What if the Russians won the war and refused to fulfill their contract in the end?"

There is no way, the reputation of the Tsarist government is so good. If the war is lost, the Russians will definitely fulfill their contracts because they have no money to pay off their debts and have no strength to protect the Finnish region.

But winning the war is different. Although the Tsarist government still has no money to pay off the debt, it can't help but dare to rely on the debt!

At that time, while the Tsar refused to pay the debt, they would be stunned.

You can't collect debts by force, right?

This is just a exclusive means for a strong country to collect debts from weak countries, and weak countries will not work for strong countries at all.

Foreign Minister Kara Valenti said uncertainly: "It shouldn't be! The Tsarist government is raising funds for the war, not only borrowing money from us, but also borrowing money from Austria.

If the Tsarist government breached the contract…”

Before he could finish his words, Count Cara Valenti himself didn't believe it. Borrowing money from Austria and borrowing money from the Nordic Federation are completely different concepts.

To refrain from Austria's debt, the Tsarist government must think twice before doing so, and must consider the political risks behind it and the possible countermeasures that the Vienna government may take.

The Nordic Federation is different, so it is also dependent on the debt. At least Cara Valenti did not find out, and they had any countermeasures to use.

It is impossible to say that the risk of lending money to the Tsarist government is too great, and it has far exceeded the risk tolerance of the Nordic Federation.

After a long silence, Oscar II said: "Continue to talk to the Russians, no matter what, this is an opportunity.

We cannot refuse to be able to rely on economic means to recover the Finnish region. The most important thing now is to reduce the risks.

Since the Russians have put forward loan requirements, there are certainly measures that allow us to feel at ease. For example: a third party provides loan guarantees.

If the Tsarist government can convince one of Britain, France and Australia to provide debt performance guarantees, it is not impossible to consider it."

The Tsarist government may not care about credibility, because their credibility is not good. The three countries of Britain, France and Austria are different. The three countries have excellent economic credibility, but they cannot be bought with just 800 million kroner.

...
Chapter completed!