Chapter 425: Eating a piece of meat from Britain (Second update, please subscribe)
Early that morning, a black carriage quietly drove towards the center of London. The carriage passed Buckingham Palace and then continued along the street. A passenger sat in the carriage, staring solemnly at the street scene passing by.
“I hope everything goes well!”
At this moment, Buffett seemed a little depressed. Yesterday, he received a secret message from Nanhua asking him to speed up the negotiations.
"Quick victory."
How is this possible?
The negotiations between South China and the Hudson's Bay Company had been going on for seven years, on and off, but there had not been much substantive progress, especially when the other party was not very willing to sell.
But Buffett didn't know that in 1870, the Hudson's Bay Company had already sold the land to Canada. Facing the strong rise of the United States, in order to prevent the United States from opening up a land route between its mainland and Alaska, Britain instructed the Hudson's Bay Company, which was interested in selling land, to sell the territory to Canada for control. Thus, the largest land transaction in the modern history of the world was born.
In this world, the threat posed by the divided United States to Canada has been greatly reduced. In this case, it is naturally impossible for the British government to be the "buyer". After all, running a colony requires funds.
But even in this case, it is not easy to buy the land from the company. After all, in this era, no one can take advantage of England.
Want to dig a piece of meat out of Britain?
You don't have to think about it to know how difficult it is.
But even if it is difficult, we have to do it, just like what he said when Zhu Xianhai proposed his great idea before he came to London.
“No one wants to take a bite of the British, not because they can’t eat it, but because they don’t dare to think about it. As long as you think about it, it is always possible!”
That’s right, as long as you dare to think, it is always possible!
Ten minutes later, sitting in the office of Dawson Mulroney, chairman of the Institute of International Finance, Buffett said with a smile.
"… Seven years ago, under your auspices, the International Finance Association was established, which bought the controlling stake in the company. Then, it publicly issued 2 million pounds of shares using the untransferred land held by the Hudson's Bay Company as assets, and used the real estate as collateral for the funds. These real estate shares provided the association with sufficient financial capital. By selling or mortgaging the land, the new shareholders invested extensively in immigration, mining, railways, and telegraphs to accelerate the company's market capitalization. And that capital also ensured that the company survived the financial crisis of 1866. It can be said, Dawson, that your decision was simply a stroke of genius."
People are always happy when they are praised, and Dawson Mulroney is no exception. He smiled and nodded, gesturing to the cup.
"It's just to help the company through the crisis. As early as 20 years ago, the company's fur trade was no longer sustainable, and its 'monopoly' was also challenged in many ways. Land management is just a transformation. But it's far from a success. After all, as you know, the company did encounter some problems in its operations."
Mulroney, who was a banker, had been eyeing the Hudson's Bay Company as early as eight years ago. When the company was unable to continue due to the decline of the fur trade, he invited his partners to establish the International Finance Association and took the opportunity to take over the company. By managing the land, he helped the company out of its difficulties and made a lot of money personally.
"Although immigration settlement, mining, railways, and telegraphs can accelerate the company's market capitalization. These investments related to immigration expansion require real government support. Although the company has survived the crisis and obtained rich returns through the operation of the land, the company's administrative expenses in the territory are definitely increasing. You know, the company has fallen into losses again since two years ago!"
Mulroney shrugged helplessly and looked at Buffett and said.
"That's why I agree to sell the company to you. But, you know, I don't have the final say over this company. I guarantee it with my head. The only problem is that we have no way to return the 'crown' to the royal family. If the royal family can't take back the crown, it will be almost impossible for us to sell the company. After all, the Hudson's Bay Company is a chartered company."
In fact, as early as two years ago, Buffett had reached a consensus with Mulroney privately on selling the company. For Mulroney, a banker, he entered the company for money, and sold or leased the land to make a profit, but now the administrative expenses of colonial affairs are gradually draining the company's financial resources.
In this situation, cutting losses in time is the best option. Fed up with colonial management affairs, the Hudson's Bay Company naturally wants to sell all the land they own.
But the problem is that the Hudson's Bay Company is not a simple company. It holds a royal charter and the territory it owns is the "Crown Territory", which means that without the permission of the royal family, they cannot sell all the company's land.
"Without royal permission, before they agree that we hand over the crown, this royal territory will never be sold as a whole."
"What if we eliminate Rupert's Land first?"
Buffett, who wanted to speed up the negotiations, asked tentatively:
"It's true that Prince Rupert's Territory is a crown territory, but the Northwest Territory is not. It originally belonged to the Northwest Company. The Northwest Territory was forcibly merged by the British government in order to quell the continuous violent disputes between the two companies. This land is not a crown territory. If possible, we can reach an agreement on this land first!"
At least buying the "Northwest Territory" is Zhu Xianhai's bottom line. In fact, he himself knows that it is not an easy task to get Britain to sell land to a foreign country. After all, in history, the Hudson's Bay Company sold all its land to Canada at the instruction of the British government.
But the Northwest region also covers several million square kilometers!
"Northwest Territory?"
Mulroney's brows furrowed as he thought for a moment before speaking.
"I don't know, my friend, you know, I personally agree, but just selling the northwest region doesn't seem to be in our plan, and it can't change the difficulties the company is facing now."
"Is the company in trouble?"
Buffett asked with a smile.
"The government will not help you solve the company's predicament. As we all know, the era of companies has long ended. The chartered company, the huge East India Company, was solved more than a decade ago. What did the company's shareholders get?"
Shaking his head, Buffett looked at Mulroney and said.
"Nothing was gained. Ordinary employees could continue to work, but what about the shareholders in London? They lost everything, everything! Downing Street can disintegrate the East India Company, but what about the Hudson's Bay Company?"
For capitalists, money is the most important thing. The country will of course take a back seat to money. For the country, interests are also the first priority.
"Go, sir. Frankly speaking, I don't think you can get rid of all this. I think maybe soon, in five or ten years, you will lose all this. Now, while you can still make the decision, consider your own interests."
Of course, he had to consider his own interests. How could Mulroney not know the miserable experiences of the shareholders when the East India Company was dissolved? The government directly dismantled the East India Company without any compensation to the shareholders, and many of them lost hundreds of thousands or even millions of pounds.
If a company as huge as the East India Company could be broken up, what about the Hudson's Bay Company?
Mulroney, who fell into silence, thought for a moment and then spoke.
"Hey, old man. Please give me some time to convince them to sign the contract."
(End of this chapter)
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