Walsh didn’t give a definite answer about the loan, but instead asked, "Do you intend to use this money to maintain your port business in Rotterdam?"
"Yes." Pride flashed in Brode’s eyes, "You know, the Brode family has been operating there for over a hundred years, possessing..."
But Walsh waved his hand to interrupt him, "If that’s the case, I’m sorry, I can’t lend you the money."
Brode’s expression dimd instantly, and he struggled, "For Jesus’s sake, at least lend 3,000 British Pounds. Have you forgotten that a few years ago when you were at your lowest, I didn’t refuse you?"
His liquid assets had nearly run out, and if he couldn’t secure funding within a month, he would have to sell off his valuable warehouse.
Walsh nodded, "I’ve never forgotten, but I don’t want to throw money into the sea."
Brode anxiously said, "No, it won’t be like that. The war is over, and trade will soon return to its previous state, even beco more prosperous. Within at most two and a half years, I can pay you back with interest."
Walsh, with eyes downcast, said, "Forgive for being blunt, but you’re being overly optimistic.
"Firstly, the truce between France and England hasn’t been reached yet, the British fleet is still hovering outside Brest and Le Havre. And the Franco-Spanish Alliance is continually besieging Gibraltar."
"But the French Governnt has already condoned trade between Germanic Region countries and England."
"That’s right. Which brings to my second point," said Walsh, "You’re familiar with the Stuttgart Trade Agreent, right? France has secured most-favored-nation status for goods in the Germanic Region. In the future, whether it’s iron goods, machinery, or glass and chemical products, British goods will find it increasingly harder to sell."
Brode felt sowhat disheartened too, and sighed, "Indeed, but at least British textiles still hold an advantage."
"But relying solely on imported textiles, you can at best break even," Walsh continued to "undermine" his cousin, "And the textiles from Lyon are getting increasingly competitive; perhaps one day they’ll surpass the British goods.
"Moreover, with England continuing to disrupt France’s mariti trade, no one can be certain if the French Governnt will one day, regardless of the Germanic Region countries’ objections, suddenly ban British goods from entering the Rhine River. That would be your undoing."
In fact, Brode knew these things himself, but he just wasn’t willing to easily give up the family business: "I beg you, I want to try again..."
Walsh still shook his head.
Brode’s eyes were full of despair: "Alright, then just watch go bankrupt."
"Oh, how can you see like that?" Walsh’s tone was sincere, "I’m just saying I won’t lend you money, but I definitely won’t stand by and watch you go bankrupt."
Brode looked at him: "What do you an?"
"Trust , trading with England is absolutely not worth clinging to right now." Walsh exhibited the deanor of a business elite, "I suggest you imdiately sell off the assets in Rotterdam, and then I have two options to assist you."
"This sounds extrely risky. Please tell what to do next."
"The first option. Transfer the business to Port of Marseille," Walsh said, "With the rapid developnt of North Africa, and the continuous expansion of trade with France, Italy, and the Ottoman Empire, there are plenty of opportunities there."
"You know, over the years, for the convenience of shipping goods to Lyon, I’ve t many friends in Marseille. If you’re willing, you can acquire a warehouse at Port of Marseille, or I can help you purchase an exclusive berth. With your port managent skills, you’ll surely achieve satisfactory returns."
Brode nodded thoughtfully. He had read about the flourishing trade in the diterranean Sea in recent years in the newspapers, and standing firm there with his cousin’s connections indeed seed a better choice than staying in the Netherlands.
He looked expectantly, "And what about the second option you ntioned?"
"Are you familiar with trains?"
"I’ve heard a bit," Brode said, "Oh, it should be sowhat similar to the steam railcar I rode these past few days."
Walsh shook his head with a smile, "In fact, there’s a very big difference. Although they both use a Steam Engine to move forward, trains are much larger, capable of transporting five to six hundred people or hundreds of tons of goods at once, oh, that’s about 900 dan."
"Even better, trains can maintain a daily travel of 300 kiloters, hmm, roughly over 180 miles... The imperial unit is really cumberso to use.
"Do you know what this ans?"
Brode widened his eyes but didn’t respond, not because he couldn’t, but because he had too many thoughts and didn’t know where to start.
Walsh helped him by saying, "This ans — farrs in autumn Reims can load their wheat onto trains and transport it to Nancy for sale, with the freight costing only 100 to 150 francs, about 15% of the selling price.
"The price of the water pumps transported from Nancy to Reims will decrease by a quarter due to reduced transportation costs, even the usual maintenance costs will be significantly reduced.
"Oysters transported from Marseille to Paris will still be fresh enough to pop into your mouth, and the price will be less than a third of what it was before.
"And the apples from Brittany, pears from Burgundy, no longer need to be made into preserves and can be sold across the country imdiately after being picked.
"Nobles from Bordeaux, Artuwa, and even Italy can co to Paris every week to relax and buy so clothes and jewelry to take back.
"Even people from the Gascony mountains can head to Bordeaux when the grapes ripen there, earning money by helping with the grape picking."
Walsh spread his arms, "You can imagine, the whole world would be completely different from now. It would be a paradise where you could get anything you want!"
Brode swallowed, probing, "Are you saying that I should sell trains?"
Walsh paused for a mont and then laughed, waving his hand, "That would certainly be a good business, but unfortunately, the Royal Steam Locomotive Manufacturing Company is already doing that."
He leaned in a bit, "You know, trains must run on tracks, and the cost of laying tracks is extrely high. It costs nearly 200,000 francs per kiloter."
"So?"
"So, laying tracks requires a lot of investnt. Trust , this is by far the most lucrative investnt project."
Walsh’s eyes lit up, "To confess, I’m planning to mortgage all my pastures and sheep in England, and with that money, join a few friends to start a Railway Company.
"We’re preparing to bid for the right to construct the railway from Lille to Mons. Though this route is only over 60 kiloters, which is 37 miles, it will be the necessary path for coal and iron from the Walloon Region to be transported to the West in the future.
"If we manage to win the bid, we would obtain 50 years of operating rights for that railway, and the profit would be unimaginably high!"
Brode quietly calculated the mileage and the construction cost, gasping with his mouth open, "Doesn’t this require more than ten million francs?!"
"Yes, approximately 10.5 million francs, and we’ve already gathered 7.2 million. The remaining portion can be raised by selling shares or through bank loans. Of course, I’d like for you to be involved in this business."
Brode imdiately appeared conflicted, building a railway sounded indeed wonderful, but selling off his family’s traditional business for a gamble was ultimately too risky.
He looked at Walsh, "What if things don’t go as well as we expect..."
The latter smiled, "You don’t need to worry, the governnt has set a ’minimum yield’ for railway investnts, 4.5%. This ans that whenever the returns fall below this number, the governnt will provide us with subsidies."
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