Chapter 193 Alaska is worth a penny (3rd update, please subscribe)
How much is it worth?
Faced with the ball being kicked back, Zhu Xianhai was silent for a while, and then he calculated in his mind that although Alaska was a money-losing commodity for Russia, they would definitely not sell it if the offer was too low.
To put it bluntly, the reason they want to sell Alaska is that they want to use the land to exchange for some money to overcome the current financial crisis.
If the price is lower, you will regret it if you miss such a good opportunity.
But the price is too high... and I’m not happy with it either!
After thinking about it, Zhu Xianhai said.
"There are examples of decent land purchases before this. For example, most of the territory of the United States was purchased. For example, Louisiana was purchased from the French. They paid 15 million US dollars. After the Mexican-American War, although Mexico ceded most of its territory, the Americans still paid 15 million US dollars for it and gave up 3.25 million US dollars in claims. Of course, my personal understanding of Louisiana is more instructive. At that time, the United States purchased more than 529,911,680 acres, or 2,144,476 square kilometers of land from France at about 3 cents per acre..."
Before Zhu Xianhai finished speaking, Count Bruno said with a smile on his face.
"Sir, Alaska has nearly 1.5 million square kilometers of land. If we take this price as a reference..."
“Is there any value in comparison?”
Zhu Xianhai didn't even bother to pay attention to this guy.
"What kind of land is the 2.14 million square kilometers of Louisiana? It is fertile prairie, fertile land that can be cultivated. As for Alaska, Mr. Count, tell me what else is there besides icebergs? How much land is there that can be cultivated? What can be grown on that land? I'm afraid even potatoes can't grow there!"
If they could grow crops, they wouldn't have to import food from Mexico and the United States every year. They actually had the nerve to compare the snowy Alaska with Louisiana. I really don't know how they said that.
"Without the fur, it's worth nothing, Mr. Count. We all know this! So, name a price! Then we can continue the discussion. If you ask for an exorbitant price, I don't think there's any need for negotiation!"
Zhu Xianhai, who took the initiative, had no intention of being polite at all. Historically, in 1867, the United States bought nearly 1.5 million square kilometers of Alaska from Tsarist Russia for US$7 million plus a handling fee of US$200,000. It should be said to be 1.7 million square kilometers, after all, it also includes 200,000 square kilometers of sea area.
This money is undoubtedly a very worthwhile investment, but Zhu Xianhai had no intention of paying it at all. After all, Russia needs money more now, and apart from Nanhua, they can't find any other buyers.
American?
They are at war, what a joke.
"Sir, four years ago, in 1859, U.S. Senator William Gwynne of California expressed his intention to purchase Alaska to the Russian ambassador to the United States. His asking price at the time was five million U.S. dollars."
Count Bruno's answer made Zhu Xianhai grin.
"In that case, you can go to California to find Senator William Gwynne and ask him if the United States is willing to pay $5 million!"
Asking Americans today to pay $5 million to buy that piece of ice and snow?
Is it possible?
Even if the United States is at war, even when it is not at war, they may not be willing to pay. Quoting a price is one thing, and being willing to pay is another.
Of course, it is impossible for Americans to pay such a huge sum of money to buy Alaska now. Count Bruno thought for a while and then quoted his bottom price.
"Mr. Zhu, 5 million is the bottom line that Russia can accept!"
William Gwynne's offer at that time was one of the reasons why St. Petersburg was excited. A piece of icy and worthless place could be sold for 5 million US dollars. This was definitely a very good deal.
"But who's willing to pay $5 million?"
Zhu Xianhai asked back.
"Even William Gwynne wouldn't be willing to pay $5 million, Your Excellency. Louisiana's fertile land is only worth $15 million. How much can Alaska be worth?"
Alaska is certainly not worth much.
Count Bruno was certainly aware of this, but he was even more aware of why Russia wanted to sell the territory - the Crimean War not only caused Russia to lose hundreds of thousands of troops, but also hundreds of millions of rubles in economic losses. It can be said that Russia was very short of money after the war. Therefore, it was forced to think of selling the territory to ease the financial pressure.
Therefore, he had to sell it at a good price. Only in this way could he please the Tsar. The reason why he took the initiative to come here was not to seek credit in front of the Tsar?
But what kind of place is Alaska?
Is that place worth five million dollars?
Not to mention other people, even Count Bruno himself didn't believe that the place was worth so much money. The offer made by the Americans... in his opinion, it was just a false price, an offer to bring Russia to the negotiation table. In the end, they would definitely not be willing to spend so much money to buy that piece of ice and snow.
Just as Count Bruno was thinking about it, Zhu Xianhai made an offer.
"One point!"
"What?"
"One cent an acre. The average American buys Louisiana for about three cents an acre. But the icy land in Alaska is definitely not worth that price, one cent an acre!"
Zhu Xianhai made a reasonable offer.
"Well, that's about $3.5 million."
In another world, the best land buyer in history, America, bought Alaska at two cents an acre. But Zhu Xianhai didn't plan to pay that much.
"This is impossible!"
cried Count Bruno.
"3.5 million dollars, that's basically giving it away for free! Mr. Zhu! If that's the case, I'd rather negotiate with the Americans. They've already offered at least 5 million dollars."
"You can go to them. Let's not talk about whether the Americans are willing to pay 5 million. But the Americans who are at war certainly won't, and they can't pay 5 million to buy that big refrigerator. Well, maybe three years, maybe five years. Anyway, we have to wait until the war is over. In the next few years, how much subsidy do you need to provide? Half a million? One million? Or more? What is certain is that every day, in order to maintain your rule over Alaska, you are spending a lot of money, but if you accept my offer now, you can not only get rid of this burden, but also get a huge sum of money!"
Seeing Count Bruno frowning, Zhu Xianhai, who had a calm face, felt a little proud. The Russians had always been the ones who took advantage of the situation, and now it was his turn.
Although he was reluctant to admit it, Count Bruno knew that what the other party said was true. Alaska was consuming Russia's wealth bit by bit. Every day of delay was a day of consumption. More importantly, it was very likely to be occupied by the British or even the Americans in the future.
“Four and a half million pesos!”
Finally, after repeated consideration, Count Bruno made the final offer.
"This is the lowest offer St. Petersburg can accept! If it's any lower, St. Petersburg will never agree! Mr. Zhu, I hope you can understand that Russia may need money to ease the current situation, but it doesn't mean it will give away the land for free!"
After giving this final offer, Count Bruno had already made up his mind. If the other party refused again, there would be no need for negotiation.
After all, he knew very well what the Tsar's bottom line was.
Alaska may be a land of ice and snow that produces nothing and is worthless, but Russia has every right to have an inch of land.
Even selling now is only out of necessity.
4.5 million!
This was the bottom line that the Tsar could accept! Any lower would be like giving it away for free.
I have set up a book club: 335260551. Everyone is welcome to join and discuss and deduce the plot together.
(End of this chapter)
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