Chapter 171 The French Emperor is a Sucker (Second Update, Please Subscribe)
"Mr. Field, you are the Columbus of our time... Through your transoceanic telegram, mankind has finally tied the New World and the Old World firmly together."
Different from the previous sarcasm, Field was surrounded by compliments at this time, and he was extremely polite about it.
After all, before this, he still had the reputation of being a "liar".
But now he has once again become a hero in the eyes of everyone, not just ordinary people. Even the French ministers, when talking to him, are also full of flattery.
As for the socialites around him, they were flirting with him with their bright eyes. It was certain that he could lift the skirt of any Parisian socialite as long as he wanted.
Of course, compared to romantic encounters, he now prefers to chat with those ministers. After all, in this country, they are power themselves, and power represents wealth.
"Mr. Minister, this is just the beginning. In the future, we will lay the cables to more areas. It will be my lifelong career..."
"Sir, you deserve all the praise - after all, this is the noblest achievement of human civilization."
Compliments, the utmost compliments came out of the mouths of ministers and ladies. Faced with these compliments, even Field, who had suffered many setbacks, felt a little flattered.
Buffett was concentrating on chatting with several ladies. He knew that those socialites were the most well-informed people in Paris. He even wanted to turn some of them into his spies. As we all know, men are always defenseless in women's beds.
French politicians can live without everything, but they absolutely cannot live without two things: one is the bed of socialites, and the other is money.
But what is certain is that more money can be obtained through the intelligence obtained from these socialites. Even the existence of socialites themselves is a power-for-sex transaction. They are the intelligence center of Parisian upper-city society. Anyone who wants to obtain intelligence cannot ignore their existence.
While they were chatting with France's interior minister, postal minister and others, U.S. Ambassador to France Coughlan said to British Ambassador Cowley.
"My friend, it seems that the Atlantic Cable Company is very popular in Paris. I heard that they are making contacts in the Paris banking community. Perhaps they are considering bringing in new shareholders."
Kefulo's tone of voice was sour, how could he not be sour?
Originally, the U.S. government also held 25% of the shares of the Atlantic Telegraph Company, but after the telegraph line broke for the first time, the U.S. government sold half of the shares. At the beginning of the year, after Field fished it out again, faced with the reality that the telegraph line was still unusable, the U.S. government directly sold all of its shares.
But who would have thought that a few months later, Atlantic Cable actually received the signal again, and then... naturally the stock price soared.
But all this has nothing to do with the United States. Even now, even though the United States is well aware of the importance of the Atlantic Telegraph, they are powerless to do anything - because they have no money!
Now the company's stock has skyrocketed, and the value of the stocks they sold originally has exceeded tens of millions of dollars. In Washington, there are even members of Congress who demanded the resignation of the Postal Secretary, because the U.S. government's stocks were only sold for tens of thousands of dollars in total.
This was simply a scandal, and some congressmen even felt that it was a conspiracy - that unscrupulous businessmen in Field had teamed up to cut the cables and create a false impression in order to defraud the US government of its shares.
In a word, there is nothing wrong with being jealous at this time.
"Of course it's possible. After all, introducing a powerful shareholder will definitely be beneficial to the company's stock price. You know, someone is even preparing to sue the court and ask the court to declare the original equity sale contract a fraud and an invalid contract!"
Ambassador Cowley was talking about none other than the United States. After the Atlantic Cable Company used a new mirror ammeter to solve the signal problem of the cable, the soaring stock price and the importance of electricity bills made Washington politicians furious. Naturally, they tried every means to take back the Atlantic Cable Company.
In the eyes of many British politicians, this is probably the reason why Field and others mortgaged their shares to British banks - trying to seek protection from Britain, but as businessmen, they will definitely not just look for one backer.
The French... are of course one of the people they are looking for.
Corey's sarcasm made Kevro's face look extremely ugly. After an awkward smile, Kevro turned around and started chatting with the Russian ambassador. Now Russia is a friendly country of the United States, and they have sent warships to New York to support the Federation.
"The French..."
Britain would not let them get what they wanted. Looking at Field and the other man surrounded by French officials and ladies, Cauley smiled slightly. Just at this moment, he saw court attendants walking over, and then Field and the others left under the guidance of the attendants. Looking at this scene in front of him, Cauley muttered to himself thoughtfully.
"It looks like the French are ready to intervene!"
The French have been deliberately interfering in the affairs of America. They took advantage of the civil war in the United States to invade Mexico on the pretext of debt problems, and now they are preparing to intervene in the Atlantic Telegraph Company.
What does this mean for the UK?
This... is good news!
For Napoleon III, the fact that the Atlantic Telegraph Company was preparing to sell its shares was indeed good news, which is why he summoned Buffett and Field.
"As we all know, the Americans are preparing to take the matter to court to resolve the share issue. I'd like to know how you plan to protect the company's shares."
Napoleon III stared at Buffett with his eyes sharp.
"Steam power was the first olive branch offered us by science. Now it offers us another, and this time it will be more effective—the electric current telegraph, by which a man, who can find a telegraph station, can communicate instantly with his fellows in all parts of the world."
Buffett did not answer Napoleon III's question, he added.
"The telegraph line is the nerve cell of communication between nations. It transmits news of important events, eliminates causes of misunderstanding, and promotes peace and harmony throughout the world. Now, one end of it connects the Old World and the other end connects the New World. One thing is certain: this line belongs to all mankind. The Atlantic Telegraph Company will bring the dawn of peace to mankind, Your Majesty."
There is peace there. In fact, Buffett was telling Napoleon III that this telegram was very important and it did belong to all mankind, but it was ultimately controlled by the company, and France... was not a part of the company.
"So what?"
Napoleon III asked back.
"If the U.S. government declares the contract invalid, you will have to surrender a considerable portion of your shares."
"This means that your Majesty has little time left. Your Majesty, once the US government violates the law and seizes equity by distorting the facts, one thing is certain: France will lose the opportunity to enter this company. Your Majesty, perhaps Americans are not radicals, but they have always been extremely resistant to France's actions in Mexico. With the telegraph, your Majesty can be the first to know what is happening in Mexico. If there is no telegraph..."
Buffett shrugged and smiled.
“The border between the U.S. and Mexico is very long, and the Atlantic Ocean is too vast!”
All of Buffett's words touched Napoleon III's heart. The Atlantic Telegraph Company was too important to France for him, who was determined to restore the glory of the French Empire.
The value of the Atlantic Telegraph Company is not just commercial value. Investing in this company can bring rich economic returns to France, but the political returns will undoubtedly be even greater.
For example, France's current operations in Mexico do require this telegraph line.
(End of this chapter)
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