Chapter 557 Breach of Contract

Chapter 558 Breaking the Contract

"Oh, the British also said that they will persuade Sweden to respect our interests in the Baltic Sea." The tsar's secretary said, "At least ensure that Sweden will not launch another attack on our Finnish possessions."

Britain provided Sweden with a large amount of war materials. Without their support, Sweden, whose national strength had seriously declined, would basically be unable to fight a war. So their attitude can definitely have a big impact on Sweden.

"Aha, I see!"

Potemkin suddenly laughed loudly: "These cunning British people, it turns out they are heading for France."

"France?" Hrabovich asked with some confusion, "But the British envoy never mentioned France."

Potemkin patted the wooden table in the carriage with great pride, like a hunter who had discovered the hiding place of a wild beast: "Why did they spend so much energy mediating the Prussian-Austrian war?"

"This...I can't understand."

"The purpose is to reduce France's military influence on Austria and thereby disintegrate the alliance between the two countries. However, Britain's influence in the German region is insufficient, so it can only ask us to come forward to persuade Austria.

“On the Prussian side, Britain, as their ally, would definitely have a way to get William II to accept the armistice.

"As for increasing trade volume, that is because the trade volume between Russia and France has increased rapidly in the past two years, which has given them a sense of crisis. The increase in trade between Russia and Britain will crowd out the trade space between Russia and France.

"The reason they restrain Sweden is to ensure the smooth flow of our Baltic shipping."

Most of the Russian-British trade departs from Riga, passes through the Baltic Sea, and crosses the Skagerrak to the UK.

Potemkin continued: “The British were worried that French investment in the Donbas region would make us hesitate, so they used Crimea’s investment to hedge.

"In short, everything they do ends up weakening France.

"That's not bad. Let them fight, and we will find many opportunities to gain benefits in the process!"

He said and looked at Hrabovich: "So, let me guess, His Majesty is ready to accept the British proposal, right?"

"It seems that His Majesty has this tendency. Of course, this requires your approval."

…

The royal hunting grounds outside Petersburg.

Catherine II sat upright on the horse, smiling and looking at the princes and nobles in the distance who were shouting to drive away the prey, imagining that she was also chasing them on horseback.

Next to her, a very handsome young man in his twenties with a French temperament pretended to chat casually: "Those British are so generous. The French have invested less than 300,000 yuan in Donbas this year." Rubles, and they were prepared to invest millions of rubles as soon as they arrived, and more than 500,000 more in the future.”

The nobles drove the prey to a place near the tsar. The young man saw two wild boars not far away, and hurriedly handed a shotgun to Catherine II and helped her hold the muzzle of the gun.

The Tsarina is already 63 years old, and her health is not as good as before. It is quite difficult to aim a gun independently.

She held her breath as she aimed at the strong male wild boar and pulled the trigger.

There was a roar, and the young man helped her blow away the smoke, but he didn't hit her. The prey was frightened by the gunfire and hid in the bushes in panic.

"That wild boar ran like an Ottoman army." The young man hurriedly told a little joke to divert the tsar's attention, and then continued his task of lobbying, "With the British joining, I believe the Crimean port will be very good." It will get lively soon..."

He received a large amount of favors from the British Foreign Secretary, so naturally he had to do his best to advocate for him.

Catherine II turned to look at him with a smile and asked: "My dear, you have been mentioning Britain, so do you know the purpose of their coming this time?"

Yes, this handsome "little fresh meat" is her current favorite lover, Pladen Zubov.

Every time she saw his charming face, she felt relaxed physically and mentally.

Zubov was startled and said hesitantly: "It should be to enhance Russian-British relations, right?"

The tsarina smiled: "The differences between Russia and Britain are far greater than cooperation. The two sides are only connected by trade needs."

Zubov immediately took out his trump card - showing a bright smile and acting ignorant: "Then they are here..."

Catherine II shook her head and pointed to several black figures in the distance: "The prey is coming."

"Little Fresh Meat" hurriedly handed over the shotgun.

Catherine II glanced at a wild boar, but couldn't help but think that if it were Grisha, he would definitely be able to tell that the British came to suppress France.

Grisha is the nickname of Potemkin's name "Grigory".

The man she misses most is still him. Unfortunately, his body has collapsed and he is completely unable to fulfill his duties as a lover. However, he still uses his mind and courage to take care of the country for her.

When he comes back, let's discuss in detail how to seek the greatest benefits between Britain and France. She thought so and pulled the trigger hard.

The firelight pushed a lead bullet accurately into the wild boar's eye, causing it to flip over on the grass instantly.

…

Austria.

In an exquisite brick-red villa two streets away from Schönbrunn Palace, Norbert Kleistier, the second president of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, looked at the Duke of Leeds in surprise and confirmed: "You mean, let us Ordering goods for 3 million florins from France?”

Three million florins is equivalent to 7.5 million francs, which is definitely an impressive deal.

"No, not a direct order." The Englishman smiled and shook his head, "These are just deposits."

Klestil's eyes widened: "Deposit? In other words, the final transaction amount will exceed 10 million florins?!"

"My bottom line is 13 million, the more the better." The Duke of Leeds seemed to be talking about a pile of stones instead of gold coins.

"But why do you want to help the French make money?" The president of the Chamber of Commerce said somewhat dissatisfiedly, "French goods have already occupied too much of our market, I'm afraid no one will be willing to do so.

"Besides, even if all the people in the Chamber of Commerce are added together, I'm afraid they can't come up with such a large sum of money."

"You misunderstood, my old friend." The Duke of Leeds still smiled kindly, groping for the teacup in his hand, and said, "First of all, I'm always talking about 300,000 pounds, oh, that's 3 million florins. That's all.

"Secondly, I will provide the money. You and your friends in the Chamber of Commerce only need to take the money to place orders with the French factory. I will also pay you a considerable fee."

"I don't understand this even more." Chrystil's eyes were full of confusion, "Who will pay the balance after the order is placed?"

"There is no balance." The Duke of Leeds raised a sinister smile, "After the French goods are produced, they will rot in the warehouse."

Chrystil was shocked: "You mean, let us break the contract?!"