Make France Great Again-Chapter 941 - 932: Outbreak of the Economic Crisis
When Richard Metternich kindly reminded him, Jerome Bonaparte merely smiled at him.
In this world, no one understands better than Jerome Bonaparte whether there are still gold mines on Romanian soil.
In fact, due to technical limitations, the thousand-year-long extraction has only mined small amounts of gold and silver within Romania.
There are still many gold mines within Romania that have not been discovered, and the claim of complete depletion is simply unfounded.
Even now, let alone in the 21st century, Romania has reported discoveries of 8 million ounces (approximately 227 tons) of gold mines.
All in all, while Romania’s gold mine yield may not compare to "golden lands" like California and Melbourne, it is among the top in Europe.
To be fair, apart from Russia, no other European country can match Romania.
Then, Jerome Bonaparte remarked, "Gold mining is essentially a gamble on luck!
If you truly strike gold, then naturally, it’s the best outcome!
If no gold is found, the loss won’t be significant!"
Since Emperor Jerome Bonaparte has spoken, Richard Metternich dared not persuade any further!
After all, it was just a suggestion, not a command.
If gold is indeed found, Austria can also profit.
Since the discovery of a gold mine would inevitably attract more people to the vicinity of the gold site.
As long as enough consortiums head to Romania, local governments within the Austrian Empire can capitalize on the gold frenzy and sell land cheaply at relatively high prices to these consortiums.
The central government can also seize this opportunity to earn a substantial profit.
As for whether the land-buying consortium can mine gold, it’s not Austria’s concern.
If no gold is extracted, it simply means luck isn’t on their side.
However, most consortiums wouldn’t suffer losses even if they don’t find gold; they only need to create a virtual gold mine and establish a gold mining company.
This way, they can attract numerous retail investors hoping to get rich quick. The more investors, the better the market feedback, and the higher the stock price of the virtual gold mine.
The consortium needs only to decisively sell off its stock once it reaches the expected level, then announce that a mining accident has rendered the company’s gold mine inoperative.
At that moment, the market will swiftly react, and the virtual gold mine’s stock will plummet instantly.
Those retail investors dreaming of overnight wealth will become the coined scapegoats, holding nothing but worthless stock.
Meanwhile, the instigators and accomplices can still roam free.
In summary, Jerome Bonaparte and Richard Metternich reached a verbal agreement.
Richard Metternich left Jerome Bonaparte’s study with a cheerful heart, while Jerome Bonaparte summoned Bashirio, ordering him to go to the General Staff to retrieve maps of Transylvania, Moldova, and Wallachia.
Bashirio obeyed Jerome Bonaparte’s orders and left. Half an hour later, he reappeared before him.
At the same time, Bashirio held maps rolled into a cylinder, which he unfolded and placed before Jerome Bonaparte.
The map was a standard military map at a 1:5000 scale, annotated only with city names and elevations, but nothing else.
Looking at the map before him, Jerome Bonaparte felt satisfied that his careful efforts had not been in vain.
Then, Jerome Bonaparte carefully scanned the map once more, and turned to command Bashirio to leave.
After Bashirio left, Jerome Bonaparte’s mind incessantly pondered the approximate locations of gold mines within the Kingdom of Romania.
Finally, a vague memory was "unearthed" by Jerome Bonaparte.
"I recall Rosia Montana (which had mined gold during the Roman Empire) seems to still have gold. Let’s start here!" Jerome Bonaparte muttered quietly before noting down Rosia Montana.
Later, Jerome Bonaparte rolled up the map and handed it to Bashirio, instructing him to return it to the Ministry of War.
Bashirio took the map, nodded, and left.
When Bashirio returned once more, Jerome Bonaparte assigned him the task of establishing a gold mining company within Romania.
Upon receiving the task, Bashirio showed no sign of complaint and assured Jerome Bonaparte that he would complete it as quickly as possible.
...
At the beginning of November, an economic crisis that had been delayed for nearly two months finally erupted at the end of the year in the United States of America.
This outbreak happened a little later than in history, and at the same time, it was much more severe than in history.
The previously soaring United States stock market crashed overnight like a dam breach, plummeting by 15% within an hour of opening.
The entire New York Stock Exchange was instantly shrouded in grief and madness. The retail investors clutching their stocks desperately tried to push forward, aiming to convert their holdings into US dollars as quickly as possible to cut their losses.
Even those well-dressed professional stockbrokers couldn’t sit still. While shouting terms like "technical correction" and "don’t panic," they were also desperately squeezing in.
This contradictory behavior filled the surrounding retail investors with disdain for them.
Meanwhile, the stock exchange staff at the counters were also drenched in sweat as they looked at the hands reaching into the counters, their hearts equally filled with fear.
If the stock market continued to fall, the retail investors inside the exchange would undoubtedly riot.
At that time, the small counters would be unable to protect their safety.
However, they currently had no way to leave the counters.
The thousands of pairs of eyes in the trading hall were tightly fixed on them, giving them no excuse to leave.
At this moment, they could only do their best to assist the investors in the stock exchange with converting their stocks.
As time ticked away, the stock market in the United States not only failed to stop its decline but fell even more sharply.
Within two hours, the US stock market had dropped to 70% of its pre-opening level. Already frenzied investors went even crazier upon seeing their stocks cut in half, and investors at the back started desperately pushing forward.
Investors at the front, feeling a strong push from behind, also pushed back with all their might.
The wooden counters creaked under the pushing and shoving of investors in the stock exchange.
The staff behind the counters, hearing the sounds, became increasingly terrified.
The hands initially used to convert stocks/bonds into notes (notes from various banks) couldn’t help but start trembling.
Fortunately, this chaos didn’t last long.
Accompanied by the sound of a gunshot at the entrance of the New York Stock Exchange hall, the hysterical crowd gradually regained their composure.
The investors at the back instinctively turned their attention to the entrance of the stock exchange.
A team of nearly a hundred people entered through the entrance to the stock exchange, each carrying Minie Rifles on their backs and revolvers at their waists.
Judging by their formation, they didn’t seem to be a government armed force.
However, a person from the team stepped forward and informed the present retail investors that they were there under the orders of the Governor of New York State to maintain order at the stock exchange. He hoped everyone would line up in an orderly manner, avoiding collisions and shoving.
Under the threat of this fully armed hundred-man squad, the retail investors inside the stock exchange had no choice but to obey, silently praying that their stocks could climb back up just a little.
At the very least, hoping for a slower decline.
Unfortunately, their prayers were in vain, as the stock market continued its relentless descent.
By the close of the market, the stocks in the exchange were only at 50% of their opening value.
The vast majority of retail investors hadn’t even completed their exchanges, closing their eyes in despair as they looked at the numbers before them.
That night, over a hundred investors leaped from the buildings.
Among them were even some accomplished gentlemen.
However, this was just the beginning. In the following days, the stock market continued to decline.
Although the drop wasn’t as steep as on the first day, it was still enough to drive wave after wave of people to jump off buildings.
As the stocks fell, the factories affected by the plunge also began to go bankrupt on a large scale. Those once well-dressed factory owners now appeared downtrodden, pleading with the bank managers who came to collect debts to give them more time.
However, the factory owners didn’t realize that the banks were also running out of time.
The stock market crash caused many factories to go bankrupt instantly, and the factory bankruptcies further affected the banking industry.
Faced with bankrupt factories, the banks that lent them money had no effective solutions. A large number of bad debts and rotten loans appeared on the banks’ ledgers, and the banks were unable to fill such large deficits.
This situation led British capital, which initially lent to the United States, to begin cutting their losses, quickly withdrawing their funds from US banks, leaving the US banks even more vulnerable.
At this moment, a withdrawal crisis erupted as many savings users rushed into banks demanding exchanges.
The banks had no capability to fulfill their promises, and the heads of several banks began to flee with funds.
Banks fell like dominoes, one after another.
