Chapter 70, Alexander II

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Franz soon experienced the shrewdness of Alexander II. The news of the secret negotiations between Russia and Austria inadvertently leaked out; however, a slight change in the content occurred.

This minor change forced Franz to grind his teeth and approve the loan, increasing the amount from 30 million Divine Shields to a bargained 50 million Divine Shields, and it was an interest-free loan at that.

Of course, the Russians had offered up new collateral—the tariff revenue from the Ukraine region—to avoid a total loss.

If after the war the Tsarist Government acquired Prussian Saxony, the debt would be written off, with the Tsarist Government using the Prussian Saxon area as collateral for the debt.

There was no helping it; the Russians had praised it so highly. The Russian Envoy, with his big mouth, trumpeted all over the place the efforts the Vienna Government made to reclaim the Prussian Saxon region.