C3345 First war reparations (2/2)
”Yes, of course I know what Gan Bida is doing in the south. I'm just a little confused …” Why did you get five hundred million so quickly? ”
”Is France that rich? If he was really that rich, why did Napoleon III face such a serious financial crisis in the end? ”He doesn't even have the money to fight anymore …”
Xiao Letian had learned On Capital from his previous life and had met the original author before.
”Haha …” In this war, you, the Prime Minister, have calculated everything, and this is the only thing that is wrong! ”
”Let me tell you, France's real national power is even greater than you can imagine. It's just that the wealth has been accumulated and is not in the national financial system!”
From the The Age of Great Navigation onwards, how much wealth had Europe plundered from the world? Just Spain and the Portugal alone could not count, not to mention the coachman at sea, Holland.
As for Britain and France, they were actually not the first wave to eat crabs. They were completely relying on the power of the Industrial Revolution.
At that time, Spain had no idea about its own industrial development. All the gold and silver it had looted had been used to build churches, build palaces, and raise armies.
The weak handicrafts could not withstand the dumping of the English and French's industrial products at all, especially the textiles and machinery products, which had no resistance at all.
Spain became a god of wealth, with a large amount of gold and silver in exchange for the English and French!
France was different from Britain, which had its own navy, while France sought dominance in the continental Europe.
The money earned began to build armies to expand. Spain and the Netherlands had once been French territory, and it was impossible to say that there had been no economic plunder after the military occupation.
The Industrial Revolution and military expansion had helped France to obtain a huge number of Real Gold and Silver, and the other pillar of the French economy was even more terrifying.
Culture! France also has another ability to make money is the output of culture!
From the Bourbon dynasty onwards, French culture had always been the center of Europe. Literature, poetry, painting, sculpture, clothing … All sorts of arts are at the forefront of Europe!
And the most important sign of cultural development is the prosperity of the luxury industry!
In that era, the Europeans were proud to speak French. Even in the circle of nobility of the Russian Empire, they spoke French collectively instead of Russian.
In Europe, nobles who didn't speak French were a laughingstock. If a woman didn't understand French, she wouldn't even be able to marry into a good family!
The culture was intangible, but it was also tangible!
Once the high ground of French culture was established, they became the standard makers!
Clothing industry, wine, food, painting, sculpture, literature... The French had the power to set standards, and the money came rolling in.
Clothes, wine, French food... How much do French citizens make in Europe each year for these three industries? There were too many to count!
Listening to Xiao Letian's analysis, Bismark's face was filled with realization, he did not think that his plan would have such a big slip.
”My God! I just calculated the total amount of wealth in the treasury and in the banking system, completely ignoring the enormous wealth in the folk... ”
”Damn it!”
Xiao Letian looked at the vexed Bismark and laughed coldly, ”Not only that! Many of the wealth hidden in France is due to Germany! ”