Chapter 286: Chapter 35, Another Deal

The sudden economic crisis had the already tempest-tossed Sultan Government struggling to find its footing even more so.

Despite the Ottoman Empire still being an agricultural state, the withdrawal of capital by England and France dealt them a heavy blow.

Out of necessity, the Sultan Government was forced to make concessions, with the only issue being money.

Fuad strived in negotiation, “Count, your offer is too low. There’s no land so cheap anywhere in the world!”

Johannes replied calmly, “Your Excellency, please don’t be anxious. Our offer is based on the international market prices for large comprehensive land transactions.

Not long ago, we were negotiating with the Russians who were considering selling Alaska, more than one and a half million square kilometers of land. The Tsarist Government only quoted a price of 4 million Divine Shield, our offer is already quite sincere.”

Indeed, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs had proposed selling Alaska. That piece of land couldn’t really make any money, and there was the added worry that the British might come over.

However, it was opposed by Nicholas I. His Majesty the Tsarist felt that selling land would tarnish his illustrious image, and so the matter was put on hold.

This issue had also caused quite a stir internationally, and as a diplomat concerned with international affairs, Fuad naturally wasn’t unfamiliar with it.

“Count, Alaska is just a giant ice block, practically worthless!”

Johannes shook his head, “Alaska may be ice, but it still produces leather. The Bering Strait is rich in fisheries, the southeast and central-south have a temperate climate, abundant in timber.

Furthermore, there’s an inland basin. We have sent people to investigate, and the agricultural land in the Matanuska Valley region is fertile, highly suitable for farming.

Compared with the Nordic region, sustaining a population of tens of millions is no problem. In contrast, the Libya region is all sand.

The land we wish to purchase is only truly valuable in a few islands. If Your country is concerned about the low price, we can exclude the Libya region and calculate it separately.

For the total area of over twenty thousand square kilometers of islands, we offer 20 million Divine Shield, which already breaks the world record for large comprehensive land transaction prices.”

Fuad was dumbfounded. To him, Alaska was just an iceberg, and the region likely didn’t even have a population of ten thousand at that time.

Yet Johannes had managed to find such valuable elements. These weren’t fabrications; they were based entirely on information provided by the Russians.

Even shrewd vendors know to praise their own wares. Of course, the Russians were no exception. To get a good price, a little exaggeration was perfectly natural.

If there was nothing of value, what would justify a price? Even with so many resources, the Russian offer was still only 4 million Divine Shield, which shows just how little land was valued back then.

To put it bluntly, everyone had enough resources at the time, and only developed land held any value. All the resources in the world are worthless if they are not developed.

Who would be crazy enough to go to Alaska to fish, log, or farm? The freezing temperatures were one thing; the key was that the development cost of the land was also high.

The Chosen Country’s land is too fertile. After developing the American plains, there’s such an excess of grain it can’t be finished, and year after year there are worries about grain market gluts.

Under such circumstances, Alaska’s land naturally lost its value for agricultural development; investing in agriculture there would be foolish.

In this era, it’s even more so. Coastal plains have yet to be fully developed, and the costs for developing inland basins are so high, only fools would go there.

Otherwise, the Russians would have organized the migration there long ago. Why would they need to worry about the British taking it then?

After all, negotiation is all about bluffing, and Johannes certainly didn’t mind painting Alaska in a better light by omitting the cost of land development and downplaying the value of Libya to press the price down.

Fuad argued, “Count, regardless of how you look at it, the Libya region still encompasses such an extensive area. Even if inland is a desert, the coastal area still has tens of thousands of square kilometers of fertile land.

There are over five or six hundred thousand inhabitants; an existing workforce that Your Country could directly develop, making it far more valuable than a desolate Alaska. 8 million Divine Shield is really not high.

Moreover, the islands’ utmost importance lies not in their economic value, but in their strategic value.

Cyprus stands at the crossroads of Asia, Europe, and Africa, in a particularly notable strategic location; Crete is situated at the heart of the Mediterranean, reaching out into the Aegean Sea…

These islands are not purely economincally valuable. After considering their strategic value, they are worth at least 35 million Divine Shield.”

Johannes replied cheerfully, “Your Excellency, that price is too high. As for the so-called human resources, we don’t need them at all. Let’s do this: we’ll handle the population on the land we’re trading, they will all belong to you.

Since you believe the strategic value is important, we will pass on the other islands except for Crete and Cyprus.

That way, everyone can accept the deal. I’ll raise the price again, how about 30 million Divine Shield? This price is really not low!”

A price of 30 million Divine Shield was indeed not low. Had the Vienna Government not intended to offset it with supposed credits, Fuad would have agreed immediately.

Clearly, Johannes had never intended to spend much money from the start, using bonds bought at cabbage prices as payment for land. A higher price was acceptable.

Fuad laid his cards on the table, “Count, we can make another concession. Both countries’ debts are wiped clean, and your country pays an additional 10 million Divine Shield for the land. How does that sound?”

If it involved paying gold or silver, the Vienna Government would never agree, no matter what. But if it could be settled with actual goods, then the problem was not so big.

An economic crisis had erupted, and Austria had a large surplus of stockpiled products. Being able to handle them would be a favorable option.

Johannes calculated for a moment and answered, “If Your country can repatriate the people on these lands, then we have a deal. We can pay with goods urgently needed by Your country, and cash will compensate for any shortfall.”

After a moment of silence, Fuad gave his answer, “The cost of immigration shall be entirely borne by your country!”

There was no alternative; first, they had lost the Balkan Peninsula, and then a civil war erupted. Now the population of the Ottoman Empire had dwindled to its lowest point in a hundred years, amounting to no more than 13 million people.

Once the civil war ended, the shortage of labor would become an urgent reality. Although the population on the traded land was not large, it was still a supplement for them.

Johannes replied, “Agreed!”

The agreement between the two men did not mean that things were settled. England and France would not stand by and watch Austria occupy many islands in the Aegean Sea; Johannes still had to haggle with the representatives of England and France.

Especially with the British, John Bull still held the Corfu Island in his hands, and without securing this gateway, the Vienna Government could not rest easy.

Compared to the French, they were relatively easier to deal with, as arrangements had been made in advance. A few islands were sold to them for military bases, and everyone shared the interests in the Aegean Sea, thus settling the matter.

Anyway, the Aegean Sea, if not plentiful in other aspects, was replete with islands—there were five to six thousand of them, with hundreds suitable for human habitation. The Vienna Government never planned to occupy it in the first place.

The British representative Nigel discontentedly said, “Count, your country is trading Ottoman land with us for territory, don’t you think that’s a bit excessive?”

“No, we have already reached an agreement with the Ottoman Empire. We’ve paid 45 million Divine Shield to buy their many islands in the Aegean Sea and the region of Libya.

Now what we are offering in the trade are Austria’s islands in the Aegean Sea for the Ionian Islands. Here is the map of the Aegean Sea, your excellency can have a look, the ones marked in red are Austrian islands, the rest belong to Greece and the Ottoman Empire.”

Johannes deliberately omitted Cyprus, as the British had already begun colonization activities on Cyprus Island, although this was conducted by private organizations and not related to the London Government.

Nigel did not notice this small detail. In this era, Cyprus did not hold much strategic value; until the advent of the aircraft, the strategic importance of this island wasn’t significant.

In contrast, the strategic value of a dozen islands in the Aegean Sea was higher. Once the Russians broke through the Dardanelles Strait, it would serve as a blockade line of islands.

To avoid excessively provoking the Ottoman Empire, and to prevent pushing the Sultan Government into desperation, their nearby islands were not included in the trading range.

The current negotiations with the British meant that the Vienna Government was not putting forth many valued islands, instead, they were leveraging the issue in India.

Since 1857, the Indian rebellion had not been subdued but had become even more severe; the London Government had no willingness to delay matters further.

Naturally, this was accredited to the Russians, without the Tsarist Government’s selfless assistance, the Indians couldn’t have caused such an uproar.

It was not clear what role the Vienna Government played behind the scenes, but officially, Austria had done nothing, at most they had provided a modest loan to the Russians.

This was a friendly symbol of the alliance between the two countries, certainly not funding to support the Indian rebels. What the Russians did with the money was no concern of the Vienna Government.

Nigel couldn’t afford to drag on. The Vienna Government’s support of the Indians with one million Divine Shield worth of weapons and ammunition was something they couldn’t suppress with ten million British Pounds.

The population in India was simply too vast; stirring up a batch with the help of Russian instructors was enough to cause them major headaches.

“If you want to complete this transaction, your country must immediately cease supporting the Indian rebels, including providing financial aid to the Tsarist Government.”

Johannes replied with an innocent face, “You worry too much, your excellency. The Vienna Government is peace-loving, how could we possibly support Indian rebels?

As for supporting the Russians, that’s even more unfounded. The finances of the Vienna Government are not lavish; we certainly don’t have such capability.”

It was one thing to engage in covert operations; blatantly admitting it was out of the question. All nations acted thusly. Now the British were also smuggling arms into Nigeria to support the Native Kingdom and cause trouble for Austria, right?

Without evidence, the mutual undermining continued in silence. The integrity of the great powers was not to stab each other openly; as long as that was respected, everything was negotiable.

Hearing Johannes’s implied message, Nigel understood that if they reached an agreement, everything was fine; if not, then chaos was inevitable.

“All the better, as long as your country promises to support our suppression of the Indian rebellion, the land transaction could be negotiable,” he said.

Johannes assured him very cooperatively, “Rest assured, your excellency, a colony is part of the sovereignty of a nation.

The Vienna Government firmly supports the British Government’s actions to maintain national sovereignty and opposes any external intervention.”

Such was international politics, where interests spoke loudest. In West Africa and the Mediterranean, the Anglo-Austrian two countries reached a tacit agreement. The British acquiesced to Austria’s expansion, and naturally, the Vienna Government had to give up their actions in the Indian region.

On March 12, 1858, the New Holy Roman Empire signed the “Mediterranean Land Transaction Treaty” with the Ottoman Empire. The Vienna Government paid 45.868 million Divine Shield to purchase Libya and over three hundred islands, including Crete and Cyprus Island.

Out of this sum, 35.868 million Divine Shield were offset by debts and arrears, and only the remaining 10 million Divine Shield were paid in kind. There was no use hoping for cash; gathering 10 million Divine Shield worth of goods was not difficult at all.

The following day, Johannes signed the “Aegean Sea Islands Trading Treaty” and the “Territory Exchange Treaty” with England and France, respectively.

The much-anticipated Mediterranean conflict was resolved, and England, France, and Austria once again clarified their spheres of influence in the Mediterranean, with North Africa officially falling within the French sphere of influence.

Clearly, John Bull had made a significant sacrifice this time, relinquishing a large amount of Mediterranean interests in exchange for the support of France and Austria on the Indian issue.