The financial crisis in Austria-Hungary came and went quickly.
Once the Government injected sufficient funds into the market, it soon began to recover.
Having had his fill at the feast of capital, Ferdinand now embarked on a trip to London.
It was time to go out and lay low.
Over the past two years, Ferdinand had made quite a name for himself in Austria-Hungary, and he had just made a killing in the recent feast of capital.
Being too conspicuous was not Ferdinand’s style.
He would take this opportunity to travel and, while he was at it, settle the matter of the gold mines.
After his rebirth, the first thing Ferdinand did was send people out to buy land; he had already secured many famous mineral deposits that would be discovered in the future.
Many of these places had harsh conditions and were not yet worth mining, so he ignored them for now.
But those few open-pit gold mines couldn’t just be left alone!
Who knew if someone might discover them ahead of time and steal the mines?
The potential income of tens of millions of pounds was enough to drive anyone mad.
Lacking the necessary strength, Ferdinand prepared to find a powerful partner while ensuring his own interests were protected, which led to this trip to London.
Queen Victoria, full name: Alexandrina Victoria (May 24, 1819 – January 22, 1901), daughter of Prince Edward (Duke of Kent and Strathearn), inherited the throne at the age of 18 and was revered as a national symbol.
Queen Victoria reigned for 63 years and 7 months, longer than any other British monarch and longer than any other female monarch in history, a period known as the Victorian Era.
This was a period when the United Kingdom achieved significant development in industry, culture, politics, science, and the military.
Queen Victoria was the last monarch of the House of Hanover; her son and heir to the throne, Edward VII, belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
The Victorian Era was the most glorious period for the United Kingdom, which was then the center of world trade.
The British proudly said:
The plains of North America and Russia are our cornfields; Chicago and Odessa are our granaries; Canada and the Baltic Sea are our timberlands; Australia and West Asia have our sheep pastures; Argentina and the western prairies of North America have our herds of cattle.
Peru sends its silver; gold from South Africa and Australia flows to London; Indians and Chinese grow tea for us; and our coffee, sugarcane, and spice plantations span the Indian Archipelago.
Spain and France are our vineyards; the Mediterranean Sea is our orchard; the United States is our cotton field.
Ferdinand departed from Vienna in early December and arrived in London just before Christmas.
As soon as he disembarked, he was met by his friend and cousin, Albert Edward of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha—Edward VII.
They were able to become friends mainly because they shared common interests and lived dissolute lives; both were outliers among the nobility.
Edward welcomed Ferdinand’s arrival, and he didn’t rule out the possibility that Ferdinand could help him shoulder some of the heat.
After all, getting scolded together felt different than getting scolded alone.
Otherwise, there would be no need for a Crown Prince to personally greet Ferdinand.
“Ferdinand, my brother, why did you only just arrive?” Edward shouted at Ferdinand.
“Damn it, it’s not like you don’t know how far the journey is!
The winds and waves at sea were truly detestable!” Ferdinand complained.
Chatting about everything and nothing was Ferdinand’s specialty.
The two naturally had a pleasant conversation, but according to etiquette, he first had to pay a visit to Queen Victoria.
Buckingham Palace—well, although it was very famous in later generations, Ferdinand didn’t think it was anything special.
Perhaps because he had already integrated into this world, it looked like an ordinary palace to him.
However, the paintings and calligraphy along the way caught his eye.
Edward seemed very satisfied with Ferdinand’s reaction and said: “If you like them, I can consider giving you some, but now we must go to see my mother.”
This pulled Ferdinand back to reality.
He smiled awkwardly; his behavior just now was truly a bit embarrassing.
“Ferdinand, welcome as a guest here!” Victoria said kindly.
However, for Ferdinand, it felt like a year in a day.
Victoria’s aura was too powerful.
He now felt some sympathy for Edward; having such a strong-willed mother must make life very difficult.
Victoria was already quite old and had limited energy, so she soon let Ferdinand go.
That evening, he attended the welcome banquet as usual.
The next day, Ferdinand and Edward let loose and began touring London.
“Ferdinand, I heard you’ve made a lot of money in the past two years?” Edward said enviously.
“It’s not that much, just a few million pounds, which is a small number for the royal family!” Ferdinand said indifferently.
He was still a bit puzzled by Edward’s envy.
After all, as the heir to the world’s hegemon, wasn’t it easy for him to make money?
Whatever he did, wouldn’t the money just roll in?
“Of course, a few million pounds is nothing to the royal family!
But to me, it’s an astronomical figure!” Edward complained.
Reflecting on this, it seemed that the man before him wasn’t having an easy time right now.
His relationship with Victoria was very tense; although he was the Crown Prince, he was forbidden from participating in Government affairs, and his expenses were strictly limited.
He also loved cruise ships and horse racing, often spending money like water, so financial difficulties were quite normal.
“God, are you kidding me!
As the Crown Prince of the British Empire, you’re actually broke?
Don’t tell me you don’t have money with the royal family’s hundreds of millions of pounds in assets?” Ferdinand said, pretending to be surprised.
In reality, he was thrilled.
Since Edward was short on money, things would be easier.
He immediately changed his plan.
Cooperating with Edward seemed to be the same thing; as long as those colonial officials weren’t brain-dead, no one would dare to make things difficult for the Crown Prince’s businesses!
No matter how you looked at it, Edward was easier to swindle than Victoria, and the cost would be much lower.
How could he give up a gold mine delivered to his doorstep!
“Financial control, no more than ten thousand pounds per month!
You know I have high expenses; how could this bit of money be enough?” Edward complained.
“Can’t you invest?” Ferdinand asked, playing along.
“Of course I have!
But with my little capital, I wouldn’t get much of a share even if I invested!” Edward roared.
“Is that so?
Well, I’ve discovered a gold mine.
Are you interested?” Ferdinand said with a smile.
I’ve opened a few, but the profits aren’t that great,” Edward said straightforwardly.
Ferdinand cursed internally.
Great, you pirated my idea and are now complaining to me, the creator, that the profits aren’t high.
“Of course not!
I’m talking about a gold mine, and an open-pit one at that!
Do you understand?
Edward!” Ferdinand roared.
“Good heavens, God, am I dreaming?
If you have a gold mine, why don’t you mine it yourself?
Why come to me?” Edward said in surprise.
“Damn it, don’t you know that mining requires a large amount of manpower?
Do you know how high European workers’ wages are now?
I’m looking to cooperate with you because I don’t want to pay wages!” Ferdinand explained, roaring.
“What!
You’re actually not planning to pay wages!
You heartless Capitalists!
I won’t let you get away with this.
I’m breaking off our friendship!” Edward said angrily.
Ferdinand was unmoved and sneered: “Alright, stop putting on an act.
There are no outsiders here; there’s no need to perform!
This is the first time I’ve heard that the Crown Prince of the United Kingdom cares about the lives of indigenous people!
So…”
“Wait, you should have said so earlier, my brother.
If you need slaves, just tell me how many you need, and I’ll handle it.
But how should we split the money?” Edward acted as if he had become a completely different person.
Then the two began to haggle, bargaining over every penny.
Finally, they reached an agreement and jointly established the United Mining Co., Ltd.
As the owner of the gold mine, Ferdinand contributed 300,000 pounds and held a 60% stake; Edward contributed not a single penny but was responsible for solving the labor issue and providing protection for the company, resolving all external troubles, and held a 40% stake.
The first target Ferdinand provided was the Coolgardie mining area.
Coolgardie: The Coolgardie gold-bearing belt is one of the two largest gold-producing regions across Australia.
The Coolgardie gold mine project is located about 40 kilometers west of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.
In 1892, 554 ounces of gold were discovered here, triggering the last global gold rush.
Nearly 16,000 people poured into Coolgardie at the time, and it almost became the third-largest city in Australia.
The project’s resource volume is approximately 1.2 million tons, with a grade of 1.7 grams/ton, containing up to 69,000 ounces of gold.
During the first 28 months of the mine’s life, 65,000 ounces of gold can be recovered through three shallow ore bodies.